Sunday 31st May 2009 was a scolding hot dayin Edinburgh and through the heat the 4 Marathon challange was completed.

No personal best this time, in fact it was my slowest marathon of the 4. I finished in 5hrs 8mins.

In the end my body simply couldn’t do it again. I started off at a good pace right up to 19 miles hitting the marker at 3hrs 10mins but that was as good as it was to get. My knee had in truth gone on 12 miles and at 19 miles my knee simply wouldn’t take anymore. I was left with no option but to hobble for the final 7 miles in the heat of Scotland.

Mixing a hobble run with a hobble walk, I took almost two hours to get through those final 7 miles. In truth I was in more pain than I had been in throughout the whole challange. My body fatigued and could do no more. The knee wouldn’t bend and all pressure on it was killing me.

Despite it all, the final mile was possibly the best moment of the whole challange. Hobbling through the final miles the Scottish crowd suddenly got behind me. With huge crowds packing in the the final half mile they started to roar me on. With my name on my vest they all started to shout me on and it was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like it. With other runners also patting me on I was totally pulled over the line by hundreds and hundreds of cheering watchers. It was so loud, I’ve never know anything like it. Amazing.

And so I crossed the line and I had done it. 4 Marathons in 8 weeks….Done.

I had been told by so many people that it wasn’t possible, that it was beyond me but in that heat and in pain, I did it.

It’s still sinking in and my body is still recovering. But all the aches, pains, sleepless nights, all the running in the cold, wind, snow all the hill training, fartleks, all the boring meals when I could have murdered something bad for me, the endless evenings down the gym…..It Was Worth It.

The Halstead marathon was a great race to run.

Totally different from Paris and London, only 600 odd runners through the country lanes of Halstead. As a result it wasn’t a crowded run and I was able to go at my own pace and more importantly, keep to it. Paris and London were brilliant experiences but being able to finally just run and stay at a pace I had been training with was such a great change.

And of course it showed in my time as I was able to knock off another 20 minutes from my personal best coming in at 4hrs 31mins.

The course went around the outskirts of Halstead and with the sun out it really was a great course to run. Thankfully the pollen count was low as running round next to fields could have been a disaster.

The atmostphere was great with all runners in good form with everyone talking to everyone and helping each other through.

The hills of Halstead on the other hand were cruel. Steep and exactly where you didn’t want them. Just when you felt you were coping, up came another hill. There was no option as pretty much all of us were left with only being able to walk up them as fast as we could.

My body however is getting close to calling it all a day. Come the 20 mile mark everything started to pack up.
My grion injury crept across to the right as well as the left hand side. My left calf started to cramp and pop every half mile and my back and neck just ached. Aches and pains that weren’t at the start of this challange are very much in place now as my poor body tries to cope with the strain of it all.

And so, we are left with just one last Marathon. Edinburgh on the 31sy May.
Training has been slow since Halstead but it’s slowly starting to come round. Hopefully I’ll be ready. Maybe there will also be another personal best time on the cards

Another personal best: 4hrs 31mins and the 3rd marathon complete.

Halstead was hot and the hills were steap but with this being a smaller event than Paris and London everyone was free to go at their own pace without crowds in the way and this was a much faster Marathon.

The only down side is I am now totally broken. Both sides of my groin are now injured and my left calf cramped from 20 miles onwards. In fact I’ve only just recovered and managed to get back to the gym.

There hasn’t been a lot of time to think about this one or prepare.

I spent so much time recovering from London that the Halstead Marathon has crept up and is suddenly a couple of days away.

Training has again been minimal and I’ve only done three sessions since the last race. But continued treatment on my legs and injuries has kept me feeling good and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can set another personal best time on Sunday.

This one won’t be as crowded and is set around the village of Halstead. There is a limit of only 750 runners and so this could feel a little more like a long training session than the crowded Marathon conditions I have had to run through recently. This could be a great change and I may be able to get up a pace that I’ve not been able to so far.

Of course this has lead to my mind wondering off dreaming of times that won’t be possible. I still have this passion to break 4 hours but I think this could be wishful thinking. Suddenly knocking 49 mins off my best time on the 3rd Marathon is possibly dream land stuff.

The Halstead Marathon has been voted in the top five best races to run in Runners World a couple of years running so I have read, so this really should be an enjoyable one to take part in.

The weather is supposed to be calm and overcast. Perfect if this is the case.

Halstead – Bring It On.

It’s a week later and the recovery this time round has been slow…

BUT, The London Marathon was completed in 4hrs 49mins.

A personal best beating the Paris time by 14 minutes. I also managed to run the whole way round this time with no real walking.
The groin did come back to haunt me but not as bad as Paris and I managed to get through the pain.

The whole day was excellent with large crowds all the way round cheering so loud at times it was deafening. The encouragement was amazing.

I set off at a slower pace this time round to try and get round and it worked although I would have liked to have gone quicker. The only complaint of the day has to be that in places only half of the road was open to runners and it was just too crowded. Wth some people stopping right in front of you there was no room to go round them and it totally slowed you down. This was especially the case in the latter stages of the race when the last thing you wanted to do was stop and start again with everything hurting so much.

But all in all this really was a top day. The forecast heavy rain held off until the day after and the sun was out. To the point where I caught the sun and was burnt. But running in the sun with crowds cheering you on isn’t a bad way to run a Marathon.

Tracey and Michael were again there to support me which is always such a welcomed reward for getting to certain points of the course. Knowing you get to see them helps you round. I was also lucky to have Nick and Julia supporting me on the day.

My Dad was also on hand to support alothough crowds were so heavy that I never got to see him despite keeping an eye out for him at the point he was supposed to be.

I loved London and this is possibly going to be a race I do again in years to come.

Days away from the London Marathon and there are loads of questions waiting to be answered…

But the big question is “What will the weather be like?”.

Early forecasts show heavy rain. HEAVY RAIN. It’s been sunny all week and it’s going to be sunny right up until Sunday.

Rain would be ok, light rain better but heavy rain, that is all we need.

Although look on the bright side, this could open the way ahead, runners trying to get out the rain. Many may not turn up, runners could slip in the wet, after the disappointment of Paris, is this the chance of a top three finish !!!

Ok a top 30,000 maybe ????

Tuesday evening…4 days to go until the second Marathon – London.

The build up to this one has been different, rest and training don’t go together so it’s been a juggling act trying to do enough but not too much.

Sunday was the first time I had hit the road since Paris and the verdict is that the groin injury simply hasn’t gone.
15 minutes in and the pain was back. Short of resting totally over the last couple of weeks, there isn’t much more I could have done. But it’s not cleared and that is a big worry.

I managed to get through the pain Sunday but that was only 10 miles.

All I can do now it stock up with the right food, rest after tomorrow and pray I get through Sunday in one piece.

Tomorrow is the final training session and a light trip to the Gym will be as much as I will do and them to London and Bring It On!!

With the Paris Marathon completed its been hard knowing how to train for London.

Trying to combine recovery with training has been confusing. I managed to recover quickly in regards to aches and pains but after my first training session down the Gym soon showed me that I hadn’t quite got over the 1st challange.

If the truth be told, training has been minimal since I got back, a much needed sports massage and therapy has been undertaken but running hasn’t been top of the list. Stretching has been the main call as I try to shake off the groin injury picked up in Paris.

Suddenly I am 11 days away from London and those alarm bells have started ringing again. The fear of not being ready is slowly coming back, only this time I know what is coming. I’m not sure that is helping mind.

I still want to try and break the 4 hour barrier but I have no idea how my injury is going to hold up. All I can do is stretch, stretch and stretch some more. Running will begin again tomorrow but it’s not about building up the miles.

thankfully I’m not dreading it and there is a big part of me dying to put right everything that went wrong in Paris.
Will London be the place to do it ????

The Paris Marathon was completed on Sunday in 5hrs 3mins.

By a country mile the hardest thing I have ever done but a great experience and an amazing event.

But it has to be said, no matter how much training you do, nothing actually prepares you for a Marathon. Having run miles after mile for the last 8 months was nothing compared to the full 26 miles. Training doesn’t involve other people or minimal space to actually run in. Although your aware you will be running in a crowd, actually having to do it for such a long period of time really throws your plan.

Instead of heading off at your pace and running the race your way, you have to adjust and you find yourself constantly changing pace and trying to dodge others. All part of the challange of course.

And all was good at the half way point, under 2 hours and on target for a 4 hour finish and then it all went wrong.
Having struggled with aching knees and shins all the way through training it was my groin that went right at the halfway point.

From then on in it was torture. Every mile took an age to come around and every step simply added to the pain.
Come 18 miles the only option was to walk and even then it hurt.

Breaking through The Wall was as hard as it could get. Running, ok pigeon stepping in as much of a run as was possible through the park towards the end seemed to take forever. But with the crowds cheering everyone on and shouting out your name to push you on was amazing.

The atmosphere made the whole thing more than worthwhile.

So, here we are, one week away from the Paris Marathon.

All those months of training, running in the cold, snow, sleet and rain.
All that running in the dark night after night, all the aches, pains and doubts.

We are now only a week away from the start of the challange.

Will my body be able to cope, will I be able to recover in time for each Marathon. Is this going to be the most painful 8 weeks of my life. Am I going to break myself?

All will be answered in due course.

Added to that the challange of a sponsor offering to double his money if I finish the lot in a combined time of 18 hours.

I’ve had an easy week this week after last Sunday’s 22 miles. A couple of visits down the gym, nothing massive and this week will be the same. A couple of gym trips before heading off on Thursday to Paris.