100 Days of Running: some facts

Still time to donate! Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice!

 

Well, it's been 5 days since I crossed the finish line at the Hoad Hill Marathon, and completed the final day of 100 days. It's been strange since then. Funny when something takes up so much of your focus for so long, and then suddenly stops. I miss it.

 

So I have been looking back over the time, and have found out some facts about 100 Days, to share with you (lucky you).

• Days (might as well start with the obvious) = 100
• Miles = 1010
• Pair of trainers gone through = 3
• Shortest run = 5 km (I did this on 3 of the days)
• Longest run = 30 miles (did that once)
• National Trails completed = Thames Path, Great Gen Way
• Places run = Lancashire, Yorkshire, London, Scotland
• Official races:
• Number of Parkruns = 6 (4 x Mile End, 2 x Preston)
• Number of 10 kms = 3 (Manchester Frontrunners 10km, Yarrow Bluebell 10km, Royal Mail Greenwich Park 10km)
• Number of 1/2 Marathons = 4 (Wimbledon Common, Pendle, Windmill at Lytham St Annes, Cheshire)
• Number of full Marathons = 4 (Richmond Park, Bolton Hill, Midnight Marathon Dartford, Hoad Hill Marathon)
• Most cake eaten in a day = Day 1 at the Manchester Frontrunners 1st Birthday 10km
• Biggest lie told = on day 5, promising never to complain about the weather again
• Favourite quote from a marshal who I left my jacket with at the start of Day 2 Bluebell 10 km "I can only watch it till 12, if you're back after that, you'll find me in the pub."
• Favourite conversation about 100 Days (also on Day 2)
• Marshal: "100 days of running! What day is this?"
• Me: "2"
• Marshal: "200?"
• Me: "No...2. Just 2."
• Marshal: "Oh! TWO! (pauses). Well, only 98 left. That'll be easy from now on."
• .......34 days later at the Bolton Hill Marathon I saw the same man again. He seemed more impressed that time.
• Favourite quote (from watching Wimbledon) = Keep your pedal on the medal
• Biggest medal = Windmill 1/2 Marathon Lytham St Annes
• Hilliest race = Bolton Hill Marathon.......no, the Pendle 1/2 was worse.....no no no! Definitely The Hoad Hill Marathon (day 100)
• Toughest day = day 3 (13 miles with Andrew on the canal, raining, tired from the weekends races, and behind on the miles already).....no, day 9 running 5 km with a migraine was worse....oh, no, there was that time running 5 miles on day 42 the day after finishing uni, and also finishing a wide selection off of the cocktail menu, that was pretty tough. But I suppose that was self inflicted, so can't count. Day 3 wins.
• Latest run = Midnight Marathon - finished at 11.51 pm
• Most exciting animal spotted = a warthog on day 43
• Number of DNA sculptures spotted = 21! On the Cancer Research Crick Trail in London
• Most exciting high five = high fiving a Womble on the Wimbledon Common 1/2 Marathon
• Most exciting weather = getting caught in a thunderstorm in Victoria Park out running on day 18
• Windiest run = Windmill 1/2 Marathon Lytham St Annes
• Favourite support vehicle = my Mum on a Boris Bike on day 14
• Best supporters = genuinely, everyone on every single race, and all my friends/ family/ strangers who have been so brilliant. But especially my Mum and Dad, whose constant feats of organisation and navigation ensure good cheer and support (with the odd smartie) in the most unlikely of places
• Miles run with Andrew = about 300, probably
• Favourite (well, OK only) radio interview = Radio Clatterbridge with Steve Evans on day 82! Click here to read/ listen
• Favourite (well, yes again, only) news article = Liverpool Echo - this is NEW! HOT OFF THE PRESS! Check it out here!
• Money raised so far = £520 !!!!!!!!!

And my page is still open for donations! Click here to support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Jospice and Macmillan!

 

100 Days of Running DAY 100! The Hoad Hill Marathon!

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice!

 

Wow, can't believe it, 100 Days of Running is finished! I might have crawled over the finish line looking a bit homeless, soaked, muddy, exhausted, and sort of only using really one leg, but those are the best type of runs, and give the best feeling at the end.

 

The Hoad Hill Marathon in Ulverston was one of the toughest I've done, but let's be honest, that's why I entered it, so it doesn't do to complain. It was the first time that Pure Outdoors (tagline: blood, sweat, but no tears) have put it on, and it was a cracking race, so big thanks to the organisers and volunteers who made it a great event, and one which (after a couple of hours to recover) I hope will be repeated.

 

The weather was awful, there's no other way to put it really. It rained, consistently, for the first 20 miles, and the beautiful views were shrouded in a mysterious, but mostly just wet, cloud. It rained so hard that my tights started bubbling because not all of the washing powder must have come out of them in the wash.

 

The route was great. In this order: roads, trails, fields, mud, stiles, walls, gates to vault, moors, mud, beach, canal, Hoad Hill, cow poo (good bye new trainers), hills, hills, hills, wind turbines, quarry, moor, hills, hills, roads, cattle grids, hills, finish. A real adventure!

 

Fab checkpoints with lovely people manning them, I can't believe that there are people about who are just so genuinely nice that they will stand outside in the middle of nowhere in the rain for most of Sunday handing out water and food, and still be so full of good cheer and encouraging words for the runners (this also goes for the people watching - thanks guys!). This is the first race (but I do hope not the last) where there was watermelon at the checkpoints. This was like heaven, actual boxes of watermelon. It took all my focus not to sit down and eat the lot (I like watermelon. A lot). And there was flapjack. And there were two additional surprise checkpoints in the last few miles, which were like a dream had come true, as I was floating (or, crawling) along in a lack-of-sugar induced haze. I swear that the homemade Kendle Mint Cake at checkpoint 5 got me to the end. And it was delicious.

 

Another highlight was seeing my parents just over 16 miles into the race, who had brought Smarties and were shouting from slightly up the hill that I could have a blue Smartie once I got to them (see yesterdays' blog, to put this into some kind of context, so it sounds less weird). Obviously, it was very nice to see my parents even without Smarties, but it did give me a boost. It was also a very significant point for me to see them at - at 16 miles into the race I knew that I had passed my goal of 1000 miles in the 100 days, and could kick back and enjoy the last 10 miles.

 

But, you might have picked up from the odd negative comment bandied about here or there, that I did not feel on top form for a lot of the race, and the last 10 miles were tough. Whilst climbing over a gate at about 10km in I slipped and landed on my bad leg a bit funny, and my troublesome knee became trouble, so that was quite uncomfortable for the rest of the way. Despite eating and drinking as usual, I felt I hit the wall (or bonked, as triathletes say, and which sounds much more fun than running into a wall) quite early on in the race. It is a weird feeling and one that is hard to describe. It's a bit like swimming though syrup, although obviously as this is a marathon, you really should hope you're not swimming, and even if you were, I've never swum through treacle anyway, so that's a completely useless comparison. What I mean to say is, that everything slows down, it's harder to think clearly, and I make even worse decisions than usual. For example, for ages, I was sure that someone was shouting at me, but it turned out that it was just a pigeon, but it took a full minute to remember what a pigeon was called.

 

Then I had the magic Kendle Mint Cake, and things picked up a bit. And the sun came out, and then it was too hot. But eventually after what seemed like 1000 miles in one day, I limped back to the bottom of Hoad Hill and down into the park to the finishing line, to see my parents (still holding the Smarties), lots of nice people cheering, and....I'm not sure what I felt. Mostly like I needed a shower. But also happy that I did the whole 100 days and 1000 miles and have raised money for my Aunties three favourite charities and shown her I'm thinking of her at this time. And also really sad that it's over. Plus loads of other emotions that I was too tired to process.

 

And I still am. So that's enough chatter for today, time for some photos now, and I will carry on with my conclusions from 100 Days tomorrow!

 

 

Lovely day for it.

 

 

The start of a summer marathon.

 

 

Hoad Hill (hill of nightmares, but awesome checkpoint at the top!)

 

A Smartie! A blue one! 16 miles in and 1000 miles reached in 100 days.

 

How Smarties make me feel.

 

The Finish.

 

Day 100!

 

Proper proud of this one!

 

Celebrations! With my Mum and Dad, who I couldn't have done it without - THANK YOU!!!

 

Fundraising still going well (thanks all you lovely people!) and is still open, if you fancy having a look :-) :

 

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

 

Final stats

Total days: 100 days

Total miles: 1010 miles

 

 

 

100 Days of Running - DAY 99, Parkrun PBs & hydration!

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Macmillan and Jospice!

 

 

Following my Dad's Parkrun/ race debut last weekend, we were back today at Preston Parkrun to break some records. Following a week of serious training, where I found out that my Dad has not one, but three (three!) running outfits, he set a PB of 29:46 knocking a solid 33 seconds off last weeks time. Very proud again! Well done Dad! Again a great Parkrun with some fab support on the way round. Preston wins for inclusion of musical instruments (a tambourine and a maraca today) and friendly supporters and marshals - thanks again Preston! Lovely morning for it too, the sun was shining and the park was all lovely, and the flowers smelt nice, and the river was shimmering. Ahhhh - moments like these are the best! A highlight of 100 Days is that I've got (well, kind of bullied) my Dad into running, and he likes it, and I've shared some of the runs with him, which is brilliant!

 

 

Home for a quick cuppa, then another quick 3.5 miler. The trouble (one of) with running is that once you start to get a bit obsessive about numbers/ miles/ times, it quickly snowballs out of control into a full blown obsession, and you can think of nothing else. I decided I wanted to finish the 100 days on a nice round number - 1010 miles, which meant that if I do the marathon tomorrow, I needed to do a bit extra today to make up the miles to that number (this could clearly go on and on and on). It was a great morning to do an extra run - the weather is perfect!

 

 

There has been a crisis in Lancashire these last couple of days - a parasite was found in a water treatment works, so we have to boil all the tap water before we drink it. My Mum went to the supermarket to get petrol for tomorrow (to get to the last marathon!) and to get a big bottle of water to take, because it's getting a bit tedious boiling the kettle every 5 minutes. They had run out of bottles of water, so she came back with wine. I was totally happy with this decision without any explanation. But just so you know how such as good decision was made, is that that wine is of low alcohol, and anyway back when water wasn't safe to drink people used to drink alcoholic drinks so they didn't get sick, so we're actually being careful by having wine. Good decision there Mum.

 

Pre-race hydration is going well.

 

So, the last day, day 100, is tomorrow! This is terrifying/ exciting/ happy/ sad/ all other emotions all at once, all in one day, which is also quite exhausting. I will be running the Hoad Hill Marathon in Ulverston, finishing on my favourite distance, on a hilly route in some beautiful countryside. And, if you believe the weather forecast, in the dry. Ha! Check back here tomorrow to find out how it went! Not sure how I will feel when I cross the finish line!

 

Thank you everyone who has sponsored me! Raising money for great charities - Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice, as chosen by my Aunty, is what this is all about, and you're donations are hugely appreciated - big BIG BIG thanks to you all, and I really mean that.

 

My fundraising page is here, if you'd like to take a look! It's staying open for donations for a few weeks even after tomorrow:

 

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

 

Had really better boil the kettle now, and have some actual water.

 

Stats

Total days: 99 days

Total miles: 984 miles

 

 

100 Days of Running Day 98 - a time to think

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice UK!

 

 

So the day before the day before the last day was today. Got that? Did 10 miles along a route by the canal towards Blackburn, which holds good and bad memories for running. Right in the first week on day 3 I did this run and it rained the whole time, was as cold as an ice pop in the arctic, I was sore from running 2 x 10 km races at the weekend, and I thought getting through 100 days of this seemed less likely than something happening twice in a blue moon (incidentally, there was a blue moon last month, which will teach me to make rash comparisons to things without first thinking about them properly) .

 

I've also had a few good runs along this route (at least until you start to get to Blackburn), in sunshine and positivity, when nothing could stop me reaching day 100.

 

Today was somewhere in the middle, I think because I knew it was the last time that I would run here in the fundraising challenge, and I hate things ending, so this was sad enough for me by itself. I thought about seeing my Aunty yesterday, and how positive she is despite how rubbish she must be feeling from all the treatment, and how unfair life is that it's thrown this at her, when she is such a lovely and wonderful person.

 

I allowed a few moments of melancholy to reflect on all this. Then I remembered the whole thing that made me want to do this was to do something positive for my Aunty, as she is always so positive herself. And here I was wallowing around like a pig in a great deep mud pit of negativity. What right have I got to be so negative? So I slapped myself round the face (got some strange looks from some people on a passing canal boat), snapped out of the mood, and pushed for home, in order to be one step closer to finishing this thing properly, for my Aunty, and for the charities too.

 

After some calculations I have figured out what the remaining runs will be:

 

Saturday (day 99): Preston Park run (5km) with Dad, plus 3.5 miles afterwards

Sunday (day 100): The Hoad Hill Marathon (26.2 miles)

 

This will bring the grand total to 1010 miles. Boom!

 

 

Stats

Total days: 98 days

Total miles: 977 miles

100 Days of Running Day 97 - family time!

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Macmillan, Jospice and Clatterbridge Cancer Charity!

 

 

In preparation for Saturday's Preston Parkrun, had a training run with Mr L this morning! 3.3 miles, my Dad's longest run by 0.2 miles - well done Dad! We have 20 seconds to knock off on Saturday, to get our time under 30 minutes, and I'll bet we'll do it, with time left over for a cuppa. Bring on Saturday!

 

 

Afterwards, we went to Crosby to visit my Northern Family. My Aunty Ursula has had 8 weeks of chemo now, and its all going well so far, so all fingers crossed (if you some spare fingers to cross, please cross them too!)  that she will be able to have the last 4 weeks with no problems too. She looks great, was so good to see her! And lots of the rest of my family too. It was her and my Uncle David's wedding anniversary - happy anniversary to a wonderful pair!

 

Had a trip to Crosby Beach with my other lovely Aunty and Uncles to see Antony Gormley's Another Place. 100 cast iron sculptures of the artists own body face towards the sea, submerged and revealed with the ebbing tides. The piece is controversial in the local area (and within my family). But what is art, if not a talking point? Some people think it is inappropriate that the statues are naked, but my Mum and Aunty Ann, as fans of the sculptures, have come up with a solution.

 

 

I don't see how anyone could object to that, really. What a lovely outfit.

 

I like them, clothes or no clothes. They are thoughtful, staring out to sea. What are they thinking? The sea comes and goes, but the men stay there, although nature is sculpting the sculptures in it's own way.

 

3 days left! Big thanks to everyone who has donated!

 

There is still time! ......... :-)

 

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

 

Stats

Total days: 97 days

Total miles: 967 miles

100 Days of Running Day 96 - 4 days to go!

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice!

 

Today ran 4 miles, leg still sore but getting better. Nothing much exciting happened on the run, other than it didn't rain, which was quite different to usual, and I've seen the same man walking his dog three days in a row, which means that I must have got quite predictable in my running routine over the last few days. If this pesky knee would stop being a bugger, I would do something different.

 

That's about it for the running news today, so in order to make this a bit more interesting, let's rewind to 1996 (day 96 - this is a bit tedious I know, but bear with me here, tomorrow I promise I will have come up with some new inspiration, and stop recycling old ideas).

 

Sad news after all the excitement of Take That in 1995, they split up in 1996. Everything Changes. But the baton of feel good pop was passed to the Spice Girls, who carried it on with the eternally memorable Wannabe!

 

I wanna I wanna I wanna I wanna I wanna really really really wanna zigagzig ha!

 

(now trying to get that out of your head in the next three days)

 

Other things that happened that year: they decided on where to build the Millenium Dome. Prince Charles and Princess Diana got divorced. So did the Duke and Duchess of York.  Dolly the Sheep was born. You could by GM foods for the first time. The Ford KA was released (and 8 years later the car I just bought was made). Sad news as well, with the Dunblane massacre and IRA bombings in London happening this year.

That'll be it for the history for a while (if you get any questions on the 90s in any quizzes, you'll be laughing). Tomorrow I'll think of something original.

4 days left!

Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me already!!! You're all amazing and we are so grateful for your kindness. Thank you.

If you haven't, but would like to, there is still time to donate! Every penny counts, and is much appreciated for these three fantastic charities!

 

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Macmillan and Jospice!

Stats

Total days: 96 days

Total miles: 964 miles

100 Days of Running Day 95 - rewind to 1995

Click here to visit my fundraising page and support Macmillan, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity and Jospice!

I guess the countdown could start today then -  5 days left!

 

Not a lot happened today to be honest. I didn't even really enjoy the run, all 5km of it. My leg is still a bit sore, and it hurt. I feel a bit peeved about this, as there are so few days left, I wanted them all to be exciting, but alas, this is not to be.

 

Therefore, I had nothing to write about. Andrew suggested first that I write about selotape (don't ask), and then when I said I didn't think people would find that interesting, he suggested 1995, I suppose because it has 95 in it. I could also write about 1895, or 1795, or even 2095 for that matter, but at least in 1995 I was here, even if my memories are dominated by the angst of being 11, finally being allowed to have hubba-bubba and get my ears pierced, and going to high school. Now I think of it, I think it's also the year I got into cross country running, so I suppose it is a bit significant.

 

So I could talk about that for a while. How I got into running. I sort of fell into it really, not literally, I didn't fall from the sky into a pair of trainers and set off jogging or anything like that, but I kind of got into it because I wasn't good at anything else. I was quite chubby as a child (someone once told me my legs looked like sausages), and compared to my sister who is tall and graceful like a swan (no sausage legs), when I got to nearly being a teenager I started to get a bit angry about it. So when I joined high school, I resolved to become 'sporty'. I joined the netball team, but that dream was crushed (I literally did fall about in netball) and the pinnacle of glory I reached was being a reserve for the 3rd team (the last reserve). Then one day in November, our PE teacher shouted at us it was cross country season. Immediately, my competition was obliterated as half of the class brought in sick notes; wow, a lot of people have bad ankles, and bad periods (even some of the boys I think, on cross country days), and really soft parents. Needless to say, my parents hadn't given me a sick note.  I remember being fairly no-plussed by the thought of doing long bouts of exercise outside in the winter time. My parents had had us out walking every weekend since I could walk, before that in fact, in the rain and shine, in fact if it was raining it was even more likely we would go. So I didn't get what all the fuss was about. At least we wouldn't have to throw a ball into a stupid net, and worry about how many times our feet touched the floor after we caught the ball - I mean, who's counting anyway, who even cares, at least I'd caught the ball, let's be grateful for the small things.

 

So there I was, in little gym knickers, a t-shirt, and some holey plimsolls in mid-November at the start line. Where I learnt quickly the first rule of cross country running - the faster you run, the faster you're done (and if you were at high school in 1995, that means if you finish before everyone else, you get to have a shower first, and before everyone else uses all the hot water).

 

Without ever running before, I finished 3rd in my class, and the rest is history. When you've never been good at sports before, coming 3rd is quite addictive, and so here we are today. I don't think I've ever come better than 3rd, but I don't think that's really relevant here, do you. 

 

So I've been addicted since 1995 which is now 20 years, and isn't that a terrifying thought.

 

What else happened in 1995? Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League (and I still have the sticker book - completed). The Queen Mother had a hip replacement (and was the oldest person at the time to do so). James Bond came back after 6 years, in Goldeneye. 1% of the UK population had internet access. The summer was the driest in meteorological history.

 

OAnd o this day in 1995 Take That were at No 1 in the charts with that old classic Never Forget. Altogether now! NEEEEEEEEEEEE VER forget where you've come here from. NEEEEEEE VER pretend that it's all real......

 

I realised that in all these years I've only ever known those two lines. And look what the very first two lines of the song are!

 

"Been on this path of life for so long.

Feels like I've walked a thousand miles"

 

Ah ha! I'll Take That and party, thanks very much.

Stats
Total days: 95 days

Total miles: 960 miles