My Running Companions

Thanks to my running mates, Rachel "Rascal" Riley and Shawn "Badger" Wilebore for the company during training, especially on those cold, wet, and occasional, snowy mornings. All of my training runs during the week have been early in the morning and believe me, there has been many a morning I could have stayed in bed. So thank you Rachel for your dedication and determination in getting me up and out during the week.

6 o'clock on a Sunday morning certainly isn't an ideal time to rise in order to be out running and on the road for 7. Thanks to you Shawn and to you as well Rachel, for getting me up at such ridiculous and unearthly hours of the day.

Finally, thank you to my wife Paula, for putting up with me!!

Training

My training for this challenge started immediately after Christmas. The Charnwood Hills race was set for the beginning of February, 13.2 miles of tough and undulating off road running over Bradgate Park, Broombriggs, Beacon Hill and back. So I decided to enter for this one, as I had done for the past three years and the training for this race over the preceding weeks before the race was tough as we were running the course, on average, twice a week.

From then on, my early Sunday morning long runs have been around 17 miles. My run has taken me through Sapcote, on to Croft, over Croft Hill, (sometimes 2 to 3 times, depending how much energy I had), round the back of Calor Gas at Stoney Stanton, on to Earl Shilton, The Common and then home. A tough but rewarding run.

Today, Sunday 1^st April, I completed 19.5miles. An undulating and tiring course of cross-country, canal towpaths and roads saw me back in 2 hours 50 minutes.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be taking things a little easier in readiness for my first marathon – The Bath Beat