Tuesday 21 March 2017

A challenge and a Half

It was at the end of 2016 when I was given a runner’s ticket to the 2017 Bath Half Marathon by my local Crossfit Gym in Trowbridge. Although I’ve run a fair share of races, I’d never run this far on tarmac.

Now, I’m not a particularly, ultra-fast runner - once or twice a month I’ll do Parkrun at Southwick Country Park, with a personal best of 20 minutes 57 seconds - not too shabby for an old fella!

I knew I’d never keep up with the racing snakes, so decided to make it more personally challenging than just running faster!

So, I decided to do the Bath Half whilst carrying an 80lb bergen (military rucksack), which is a tad under 6 stone - it’s a bit like carrying both my children, Maddi and Archie, on my back for 13.1miles.  The bergen was filled with useful kit - rations, spare clothing, basha (tent-like thing), first aid kits, cooking equipment, wet weather gear, and lots and lots of water.

There was a method in this madness - I wanted to see how close to the Guinness World Record of 2 hours 30 minutes I could get!

Carrying such a huge load is very similar to walking your dog in a park. It's’ very sociable!  One of my very first clients came over to say hi even though we hadn’t seen each other for almost 8 years!  Thankfully I was able to remember Jo was a tree surgeon, who he worked for, and his family!  Lots of serving and ex soldiers came up to try the bergen on - the word ‘nutter’ was mentioned a few times!

The race started and I realised within 100 metres that it was going to be a very tough challenge right the way through.  Although the course is relatively flat, with that weight on your back, it didn’t feel at all flat.

The support along the route was terrific - from bands, drummers, cadets and the public as well as friends and family.  There was loads of support to the extent that by the end my shoulder was aching from the congratulatory shoulder slaps from other runners!

By mile 8 by left knee was aching and I was getting sharp pains on the side any time I tried to do more than a fast walk.  This meant the end to me getting anywhere near the World Record, but there was no way I wasn’t going to finish.

The last 2 miles were a long, long hard slog, and the final half mile was simply brutal.  I wasn’t out of breath and I was fully hydrated, but my legs, hips and shoulders were screaming blue murder and my heart rate was averaging 130bpm.

I rounded the corner toward the finish line ahead, to find a small but determined crowd egging me on.  I had no choice, however painful it was - I couldn’t walk it, I had to sprint it, and staggered over the line in 3hrs 40 minutes.

On the other side of the finish line I dropped the bergen off my back with a resounding thud.  One of the 8 or 9 medics, who crowded around shaking my hand, went to pick it up for me and couldn't get it more than 10-12 inches off the ground, so 2 of them managed to get it on to a wheelchair and accompanied me off the course.

It’s taken me about a week to start back in training and I can now run properly again!  Would I do it again?  Well, I’m already down for next year’s, so who knows!




In the meantime, lots of people have kindly donated to my fundraising page for Clic Sargent - feel free to help with this if you would like to.


 

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