Rising to the Challenge

Saturday 11^th December 2010 will always be a special day for me. After 6 months and over 750 miles of training and one last push of 26.2 miles I finally succeeded in running my first marathon. It was a special day and thanks to the generosity of a lot of friends and family, my best friend Mike and I managed to raise over £280 for Cancer Research UK.

Running a marathon may be hard but it is nothing to the hardships that families touched by Cancer go through. The money is not much in the big scheme of things but if I have helped one person or increased awareness of this horrible disease then I am happy. My run was dedicated to my Mum Peggy Alton who suffered bravely with several forms of Cancer before finally losing the fight in August 2008. She was a special Mum who gave so much for me so now it is quite fitting that I give something back in her memory. I was also running for my Granddad, Fred Eggleton, my Uncles, Alan Bissett and Trevor Beresford who both battled unsuccessfully against the disease. Outside of my family I was running for a really good friend Val Wheeldon who was a wonderful woman full of love and kindness who suffered a great deal but still had time to smile. Lastly a friend of mine called Stacey who was Val’s Granddaughter lost her other Nan to Cancer so I was running for her too. They were all special people and we are blessed to have so many good memories to help ease the pain. I cannot change what has gone before but if I can put on my trainers and run in their memory then perhaps their suffering wasn’t in vain.

When you sign up to run a marathon you know it is going to be hard but nothing prepares you for how hard it really is. Every muscle in your body aches, your energy levels seem to just fade to nothing and somehow willpower is all that carries you through. The training is exhausting, getting up at 5.30am to run for 3 hours in freezing temperatures is not fun. The long weeks building up to the marathon are tough but this pales into insignificance to what it feels like on the big day. My body aches everywhere and feels about 20 years older than it is but there is a strange warmth and satisfaction that I just might have done something good.

The race itself was good, the weather fine but cold and my fitness was at its best since I stopped playing football some 15 years ago. I was lucky to have Mike with me as just having someone to talk to makes the miles easier and keeps you motivated. We are both pretty stubborn and knew that there was no way we would let each other down which in the later stages of a marathon really helps. Mike is special as he will do things without question and his grit and determination at the hardest points really pulls you through. There were several points in the race when I could see he was really suffering but he never complained or lost pace he just got on with running.

We ran on the road, on pathways, on shingle, off road, through water in fact across nearly every type of terrain. The shingle was the worst as you can feel each pebble through the soles of your running shoes. As your feet become tender every step hurts until it feels like you are running barefoot. I was wearing a good pair of running shoes, two pairs of padded running socks with plasters on all toes as a precaution against blisters but I still felt every step. After the race I came away with a black toenail and bruises on the soles of my feet but luckily only one blister on my heel.

There is a point in the marathon that your body runs out of energy and despite all the fluids or energy gels you ingest running becomes extremely hard. Your legs are screaming, your vision is hazy, your back aches and just about every muscle is hurting. This happened to me at around about 18 miles with still 8.2 miles left to run. The determination not to let my Mum down or any of my sponsors kept me going. It is a funny feeling, you really do feel like you can’t run another 100 metres but somehow you keep going. After a while my energy returned and I felt good for a mile or so followed by the pain again and this was the pattern right up to the finish. Reaching the finish line is an exhilarating experience, your mind is awake and wanting to sprint those last few metres in style but your body refuses to budge. Once across the line the realisation hits you that you have run 26.2 miles and can call yourself a marathoner. To our credit we ran the whole way albeit not very fast only stopping 3 times on route when our bladders were just too full to run comfortably. In a short time your legs feel like jelly and the warmth of continuous running leaves you and quite suddenly you feel extremely cold.

I am so proud of what we have achieved as we are not runners. We really pushed ourselves hard and completed something that a lot of people thought we could never do. In a small way I wanted to make my Mum proud and I hope that this is just what I have done.

So what now? My body has recovered well and I have no lasting problems so should I go on. I am going to take 3 weeks off from running and then in the New Year embark on a new challenge. What this will be I am not sure. I am thinking of running 3 or maybe 4 marathons in a year, or maybe doing an Ultra-Marathon which will all be serious challenges. Whatever I decide I am sure I will keep running for my Mum and all those special people and raise some much needed funds for Cancer research.

Running Through the Barriers

I have been training for a Marathon for the last 6 months. In less than 2 weeks time all my efforts will come together when I take my place on the seafront at Southsea for the first Portsmouth Waterside Marathon. The training has been long and hard but I am pleased to say that I have completed every mile and not taken any short cuts. I have missed a couple of runs but managed to reschedule them so I could keep on track. I have been running at 5.30am for 4 days out of 7 using a training plan from David A. Whitsett’s excellent book The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer. The book has been excellent as it helps with both the physical trauma and the psychological trauma of running long distances. Before stating training I had only run a maximum of 4 miles so the thought of running 26.2 miles was quite frightening. The training plan was really good building your miles and fitness each week until you reach the two biggest runs of 18 miles. The training focuses on the minimum amount of miles you need to do to complete the race maximising fitness but not risking injury. So far I have found the training really good, hard at times but extremely fulfilling and exhilarating when you look back after a run to see what you have achieved.

I am in my mid 40’s, 6 foot tall with my weight wavering around the 15 stone mark. Before running I was fairly fit but now I can really see a marked difference. I have lost around 8 pounds in weight but gained muscle on my legs and upper body. I feel fitter, stronger and happier about myself than I have felt in a long time so whatever happens running has been good for me. I started running seriously because I signed up to run a 10k race for Cancer Research UK in memory of my Mum who sadly died of Cancer 2 years ago. The running bug caught me and encouraged me to sign up for a Marathon which I hoped would enable me to raise more funds and ultimately make my mum really proud of me.  Since May I have run a 10k race in Portsmouth, a 10k race in Southampton, a Half Marathon in West Sussex followed by a final Half Marathon in Gosport. I have enjoyed every race and although each one was hard I am pleased to have completed them all.

Running is hard for me. I am too big for long distances but I am determined and stubborn. On some of my long 18 mile training runs I have been out for over 4 hours but I never gave up and ran all the way. I am slow but I am steady and I know that in the end my determination will get me to the finish line. Running on your own is lonely and extremely hard work. Physically the runs are relatively easy if you keep to the training plan but physchologically they are phenomenally hard. I think training for a Marathon is 25% about your body and 75% in your head. Once you can prove to yourself you can run and break through your own psychological barriers the running becomes easier. Getting up on these cold winter mornings seeing all those miles ahead is daunting but when you complete it you get such a buzz which makes the effort worthwhile.

Running kit has proved to be important to me. In my early days I just ran in an old pair of sorts, a t-shirt and my old football trainers. As I have got more serious I have invested in some running clothing which has made a big difference to my comfort. My first and most important buy was my running shoes. These were the first running shoes I had purchased so I was not sure what to expect. The transformation was instant; they were comfortable from the start and gave me a spring in my step which helped propel me forward. I felt more like a runner and I am sure my posture and running style must have improved greatly just from this one addition. Next I brought a pair of anti-blister, padded running socks that I wore under my old running socks. They too were brilliant and kept my feet comfortable throughout my training runs. My next investment were some tight running shorts and a body moulded t-shirt. They also proved to be good although when they arrived they looked the same size as some of my 2 year old son’s clothes. Luckily they did stretch and in the end fitted really well. They do take some getting used to but after 6 months I honestly wouldn’t consider running without them. I also purchased some running shirts, a pair of lightweight running shorts, gloves and a warm hat which have all served me well in my training.

Now I am only 2 weeks away from my biggest challenge. I am running with my best friend who I know will motivate me and keep me going through those unknown last few miles. I also have the support of a lot of friends who have sponsored me and given me lots of encouragement. Also my wife and son have been brilliant. Standing in the cold at all my running events waiting for me while runner after runner passes the finish line before Daddy staggers home some time later. Also on the runs themselves I have met a lot of great people struggling at the back of the pack with me who despite their own pain have taken the time to give me a few words of encouragement Thank you one and all. I have the running bug now so hopefully with all these people behind me in a few weeks I will be crossing the finish line and then I can proudly call myself a marathon runner!