Preparing For My Toughest Running Event To Date

As you can tell, I’m not the most regular blogger on the planet.  Like most people I didn’t have too much to write about last year – I only completed one marathon, the Cambridge Boundary Run on 1^st March.  However, this doesn’t account for my inactivity for the rest of 2018 and 2019.  Here’s a very quick summary - I reached my 100^th marathon at the XNRG Pony Express on 13^th October 2018, which meant I ran the second day of the two day event as a new member of the 100 Marathon Club.  My long time goal thus achieved!  The aforementioned Cambridge Boundary Run was my 109^th official marathon.  My favourite race of 2018 was the 50 mile Pennine Barrier organised by GB Ultras.  I also highly enjoyed the double May the Fourth Be With You and Revenge of the Fifth marathons in Shropshire that year, which I was the overall winner of!  There were only about 30 people running the marathon route each day, but a win is a win.

Back to 2021.  In just over a week I will be taking part in my first actual race since March 2019, and I can’t wait.  For my 110^th official “marathon” I will be taking part in the Hardmoors 110, which is a 110 mile ultra-marathon covering the entire length of the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire.  I hadn’t planned on running 110 miles for my 110^th marathon. This is pure serendipity and it’s all thanks Rachel Hewitt. 

Back in November last year Rachel emailed me to say she’d entered the Hardmoors 110 but had changed her mind and intended to run the Dales Way 90 instead.  Would I like her place?  At the time I thought that I hadn’t even run a marathon for about 9 months, could I build up to 110 miles by May?  It seemed that entering a 110 mile race was a stupid idea.  So, of course, I said “Yes”.

From early November I started to increase my weekly running mileage.  I probably increased my distance a little too quickly and ended up with a minor calf injury.  I had a couple of sports massages that seemed to help.  Then for the 25 days of Christmas, thinking it would be a good idea to step up my training again, I entered an XNRG virtual race with the intention of running every day for 25 days.  My modest aim was to average 10 miles per day, i.e. 250 miles in 25 days.  This sounded very achievable, but in doing so my calf injury flared up again.  I spent a few days simply walking so that I could continue to add some miles to my total distance.  Then on December 22^nd I decided to go for a 9 hour walk/run just to see what I could do.  At that point in time I didn’t even feel ready to run a marathon. 

My strategy was to run/jog/walk and to simply focus on one hour at a time.  I told myself I’d really pay attention to how my body was feeling and to do whatever felt right, rather than trying to push a particular pace, or to jog when my body was saying walk.  I was amazed and delighted to complete 47 miles in the 9 hours, which included two short stops at two different cafés for tea and cake.  My suspected injured calf didn’t complain once.  This was all the proof I needed that 110 miles would be achievable if I followed the same strategy.  It was also proof that completing an ultra-marathon is very much in your head as much as it is about your physical fitness.  I also know that the years I’d spent studying the Franklin Method was a great help to me on that day.

Another consequence of my 47 mile day was that it got me back on track to complete my targeted 250 miles in 25 days, and I also raised over £600 for Humanity Direct.

All of my training since December has been 100% focused on the Hardmoors 110.  I have never spent so much time and energy planning for a single event before. No previous event has had me studying maps in such detail and thinking about what I’d like to eat and drink where and when from so long before race day.  Spreadsheets have been drawn up, amended and completely revised.  This upcoming race has occupied my thoughts on almost a daily basis since December.

Another unique aspect about this event, at least as far as I’m concerned, is that it requires the runner to have a support crew.  This requirement almost had me withdraw from the event as I didn’t think I’d be able to convince anyone to support me.  Ruth, my partner, was not interested in the task.  Thankfully, Rachel, who got me into this in the first place, agreed to crew for me.  In return I will crew for Rachel when she runs her 90 mile Dales Way race later in the year. 

I first met Rachel when she became one of my personal training clients a number of years ago.  At that time she barely ran herself, and now she can also call herself an ultra-marathon runner.  Rachel is one of those clients who I can now proudly state is also a friend.  It remains to be seen if I’ll still consider her a friend after I’ve run 110 miles!  I hope so.  If I can get to the finish without swearing at her once I will consider that in itself to be a great achievement.

Other milestones in my training so far this year have included a 55 mile solo run around the Wimpole Hall estate in April, and running 38 miles of the Cleveland Way in early May.  I ran what I believe should be the hardest part of the course, which goes from Roseberry Topping (63 miles in) to Sutton Bank (approximately 100 miles in).  I should find myself running this section during the night and, therefore, in the dark on the day.  Hopefully, the fact that I’ve run this part of the race in daylight will make my night time navigation a lot more straight forward.  If I do get lost I shouldn’t have any excuse.  Unless I suffer from hallucinations and start following a magical unicorn!  I have heard of runners who have hallucinated when taking part in races of 100 miles and over. A friend of mine once believed he saw a crouched runner by the side of the path and stopped to convince his fellow runner to get up and to run with him.  Another runner appeared and then pointed out to my mate that he was talking to a rock!

Roseberry Topping - the peak is at about 63 miles into the race.

The trip to Yorkshire to run part of the Cleveland Way was a very valuable learning experience.  Not only was it great to recce the part of the route I’d be running during the night time, it also had me completely revise what sort of pace I thought I’d be able to run.  I had hoped I could average a speed of 6 miles per hour.  But on the training run I only averaged 5 miles per hour, and this was with relatively fresh legs.  In reality, on the day itself, with 63 miles already in my legs and running in darkness I believe 4 miles per hour for this part of the route will be the absolute best I can hope for.  This, obviously, remains to be seen and it could be that even that assumption is way off.

This is the approach to a series of hills known as the three sisters.
I will definitely be running this section during the night.

As this event will be by way the hardest run I have ever done, I have decided to run for two charities.  Firstly, I’d like to raise money for cancer research in memory of my dad and a number of friends who have lost their lives way too soon to cancer.  But I’d also like to raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust in memory of Laura Hames-Franklin.  Laura was the wife of Eric Franklin, founder of the Franklin Method.  Shortly after I qualified as a Franklin Method Level III educator in January 2020, Laura lost her life to sepsis.  Laura’s death shocked the whole Franklin Method community.  She was someone who very much wore her heart on her sleeve. She had a bright soul and was always so very charming to everyone she met.  I still can’t quite believe she’s no longer with us.

If you are able to spare a few pounds for either (or both) charities I would be immensely grateful. Your donations will also help to spur me on and help me to dig deep whenever I have moments of doubt, or during difficult stages of the run when I may wish to throw in the towel.

I will next update this blog once I have finished the Hardmoors 110.  I definitely won’t leave it so long until the next installment.

To donate to The UK Sepsis Trust: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook2

To donate to Cancer Research UK: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Alan-Middlebrook3

London Marathon and the Franklin Method

I’ve been meaning to re-start this blog for months.  It’s been almost three and a half years since my last entry.  My running was put completely on hold for the whole of 2015 and I managed just two marathons in 2016.  I had a couple of fun years kayaking, but I never entered the D2W canoe race as access to the canoe club was very restricted, especially for someone who tends to work evenings.

In 2017 I managed to run a total of 12 marathons, including 2 runs slightly over the marathon distance.  So far this year I have run 10 marathons, which includes the 2 day Pilgrim Challenge on the North Downs Way (66 miles in 2 days), and the 3 day Devil’s Challenge on the South Downs Way (96 miles in 3 days).  My main goal for this year is to reach my 100^th marathon and join the 100 marathon club.  My progress towards this target has been greatly aided by discovering the Franklin Method.

I started training as a Franklin Method level 1 educator in May 2016 and qualified in April 2017.  I am now studying to be a level 2 educator.  The Franklin Method is a way to learn how the body has evolved to function and to use this knowledge along with mental imagery to improve the function of any movement, whether that is running, weight lifting, dancing or whatever.  Providing some form of movement is involved the Franklin Method can be applied to improve the function and quality of that movement.  The aim is to be more embodied when practising your movement and more aware of what is going on and recognising you can create positive change with the power of the mind.  There is slightly more to it than this, but this is perhaps the key feature of the Franklin Method.

In this blog I will aim to describe how I used the Franklin Method to overcome the heat at the 2018 London Marathon, which was the hottest London Marathon on record.

One of the first things we learn on the Franklin Method course is that we can access our mental toolbox and use a range of imagery tools to aid our movement and hence our physical performance.  You might not be aware of this, but as humans we tend to use one such tool on a daily basis without knowing it, but it is also the one tool you perhaps don’t want to use.  That tool is negative imagery, or negative self-talk.  Humans are exceptional at focusing on the negative.  It is said that up to 80% of our daily thoughts can be negative or have negative connotations.  You might not think this is true, but think about how we like to complain about the weather.  It’s always either too cold, too hot, too snowy, too wet, too windy, etc.  You very rarely hear people say the weather is just right or perfect.  We can also be very good at complaining about our work, our boss, our neighbours, the neighbour’s dog and even our friends.  Having a negative outlook can greatly affect your health.  I bet you can think of two people who represent the extremes, someone who seems highly negative, and someone who always seems very positive.  I can bet you that the negative person is ill more often.

It is possible there are very sound reasons to be negative.  Certainly the temperature on the day of London Marathon was much hotter than anyone would have liked, but dwelling on this can affect your performance, as well as your enjoyment of the run.  My strategy was to acknowledge that it was a hot day, change my goal for the run and to adopt the best strategy possible for dealing with the heat and not ending up dehydrated. 

Which brings me on to goal setting.  One of the things we learn on the Franklin Method course is that there are three types of goals, and these are:

1. Fixed outcome goals
2. Performance goals
3. Process goals

From my experience runners typically have a fixed outcome goal, although they are perhaps unaware that their goal has such a label.  At the start of any marathon you will typically hear runners ask, “What is your target for the race?”  The answer will be along the lines of, “I’d like to get under 3 hours 30.”  Or it might be a very specific, “I am aiming for 2 hours 52 minutes”.  Which was one of my goals once upon a time.  I was devastated when I ‘only’ achieved 2:54, even though it was a PB.  Fixed outcome goals can be the most stressful and lead to the biggest disappointments when they are not achieved.  I also think of Paula Radcliffe in the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon.  Her expectations for that race were high, but when she found herself in fourth place she immediately pulled out and was clearly distraught.  To me, and most runners I know, Paula will always be a hero, and we wouldn’t have felt any less of her if she had finished that marathon without a medal.  But watching the race unfold on TV it was clear to see how damaging it can be when the outcome is adrift from your expectations.

A performance goal is less stressful than a fixed outcome goal.  A performance goal is simply being able to compare how well you complete a task today with a previous attempt.  For a runner this could be completing a similar event in similar conditions.  This is a more realistic measure of your progress.  It’s not realistic to compare your time from a 25^oC marathon to a marathon completed in temperatures of 17^oC.  You wouldn’t compare your flat road marathon time to an off-road mountainous marathon event.

A process goal is the least stressful of the lot, but I can guarantee you’ll never hear of runners talking about process goals.  A process goal requires focusing on perhaps just one small element of a performance and working to perfect it.  This could be a dancer focusing on one small element of a dance move, or a javelin thrower working solely on their run up.  You might say running does not involve such processes, but I say it does.  When you understand running biomechanics you can focus on small elements of those biomechanics to ensure they are working at peak efficiency, and this is where the Franklin Method really starts to pay off.

One of the very first things we learnt about on the Franklin Method course was what we call the bone rhythms of the pelvis.  There is perhaps more movement in your pelvis than you are aware of, and the pelvis is moving and changing shape when you run.  If you think of your running stride starting from your hip sockets then you are missing out on some extra stride length by not fully utilising your pelvis.  By mentally imaging the movement of the pelvis when running you can increase the efficiency of your running stride and perhaps also reduce your injury risk (it is said that 60% of lower body injuries can be attributed to issues coming from the pelvis).  I found that by focusing on my pelvis when I ran I became a much more efficient runner and even changed the way I run.  I used to be an over pronator and always needed running shoes to correct for this.  But after about three months of running and imaging the actions of my pelvis my gait changed to a neutral running gait.  I’ve not needed corrective running shoes ever since.  We call this embodied movement, or embodiment of function.  Eric Franklin (founder of the Franklin Method) has a host of sayings and one is, “Embodiment of function improves function.”

These days I aim to practise embodied running whenever I run.  As well as focusing on my pelvis I also pay attention to my knees, my spine, the movement of my abdominals and ribs, my ligaments and even my fascia.  All can play a part in increasing your running efficiency.  Now, I don’t focus on embodiment all the time.  I do have to let my mind wonder and also take in my surroundings.  But I do try to be aware of how I’m feeling and focus on a particular embodiment as and when needed.  So if I feel a twinge behind my knee cap I will focus on the way the patella is supposed to be moving when I’m bending and straightening my knee and the twinge will typically disappear in less than 200m of running.  You’re probably thinking this is too far-fetched, but mental imagery has been shown to enhance neural activity in the correct part of the brain for the movement being imaged.  This falls into the world of brain plasticity and how the brain can be retrained to improve human motor performance.

So the goals I set for myself at the London Marathon were:

1. Ditch my original target time of sub 3 hours 5 minutes, as it was unrealistic in the heat.
2.  Drink water whenever available and pour water over my head to stay cool.
3. Focus on the process of running rather than have a target time.
4. Enjoy the run.

At the end of the run my time was 3 hours 9 minutes, so not too far adrift from my original target.  I can also say I really enjoyed my run, probably more than most.  I was constantly aware of people moaning about the temperature and complaining that there is nothing you can do to train for it (negative self-talk/imagery).  I did my best to ignore them.  I also witnessed many people pulling out of the marathon, probably because they were behind on their target pace.  They certainly didn’t look like they absolutely had to stop.

I think the successfulness of using the Franklin Method can also be neatly demonstrated by comparing one of the statistics from the 2017 London Marathon to the 2018 edition.  You get some good stats from London, one of which is how many people you overtook and how many overtook you in the final stages.  So in 2017, over the last 7.2km I passed 183 runners and 179 passed me.  This is a fairly typical result for me, i.e. the number of people I pass is very close to the number that passed me.  In 2018 the information changed to the whole of the second half of the race, so for the last 21km I passed 1108 runners and a mere 28 passed me.  I think this demonstrates how well I coped with the heat, which was achieved by being positive, not dwelling on the temperature and staying focus on the process of running.

This post is now long enough.  London Marathon was my 83^rd marathon.  I have run another 5 since, all in the month of May.  My next marathon is the Midnight Mountain Marathon in the Brecon Beacons on 23^rd June.

 

The following is a list of all the marathons and ultra marathons I have completed since my DNF in the TDS (Traces du Savoie) in August 2014.

65	03 April 2016	Paris Marathon	03:13:32
66	16 October 2016	Maidstone Marathon	03:23:21
67	08 January 2017	East Hanningfield Trail Marathon, Essex	04:31:22
68	26 February 2017	Cambridge Boundary Marathon	03:23:37
69	11 March 2017	Thames Meander	03:09:21
70	23 April 2017	London Marathon	03:10:42
71	07 May 2017	Shakespeare Marathon	03:16:20
72	04 June 2017	Coniston Trail Marathon	03:52:23
73	01 October 2017	Clarendon Way Marathon	03:41:36
74	14 October 2017	Pony Express day 1 - New Forest 28 miles	04:04:44
75	15 October 2017	Pony Express day 2 - New Forest 28.5 miles	04:03:45
76	28 October 2017	Norfolk Coastal Marathon	03:33:24
77	02 December 2017	Dark Peak Trail Marathon	04:48:06
78	31 December 2017	Liverbird Marathon Double – day 1	03:20:59
79	01 January 2018	Liverbird Marathon Double – day 2	03:30:10
80	03 February 2018	XNRG Pilgrim Challenge day 1 - 33 miles	05:18:33
81	04 February 2018	XNRG Pilgrim Challenge day 2 - 33 miles	05:35:49
82	18 February 2018	Marriott's Way Trail Marathon, Norfolk	03:19:45
83	22 April 2018	London Marathon	03:09:05
84	05 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 1 - 31 miles	04:58:51
85	06 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 2 - 35 miles	05:45:38
86	07 May 2018	XNRG Devil's Challenege day 3 - 30 miles	04:55:09
87	13 May 2018	Halstead Marathon, Essex	03:08:48
88	27 May 2018	Neolithic Marathon, Wiltshire	03:27:49

A New Sport Awaits

I've had some serious down time in the last few months. My injury rumbles on from last August. I'm not even sure if I can call it an injury anymore! Whenever anyone asks what's wrong I feel as if I'm just making up some pathetic excuse for why I'm not running.  I can't say I've got iliotibial band syndrome, for example, which is what I think people want to hear. All I can say is that whenever I've been for even the shortest of runs, a few hours after the run my quadriceps tightens up to the point that I can barely bend my knee. I also feel that I have permanent inflammation to the knee. Prolonged sitting also causes my quadriceps to tighten and for the knee to then feel really stiff.

I've had countless sports massage and osteopathic treatments since August. Both have helped, but still my knees feel inflamed. The osteopath diagnosed a muscle imbalance mainly due to weak gluteus minimus/medius and I have been working on strengthening these muscles, but so far it's not helped that much. I am starting to think that maybe there is damage within the knee, whether a worn meniscus or ligament damage.

The net result was that I wasn't able to complete my plans for 2014 and I now have no running plans for 2015. My place in the Cambridge Half Marathon and London Marathon will not be used this year.

As running is not an option right now I have turned my focus towards a non-running goal, which is to take part in the 125 mile Devises to Westminster canoe race. I suspect I will be too late to enter this year, so it's going to be a long term goal for next year and possibly also the year after. Ideally I'd like to take part the first year for fun and then the following year to be competitive. I've pretty much decided it is going to be unrealistic to take part this coming April, but I hope to do a few other long distance canoe races this year instead.

My introduction to the world of canoeing all starts tomorrow. I'm going along to an introductory session at the Cambridge Canoe Club so that I can then become a club member.  I was keen to join last November, but they only run a limited number of introductory sessions each year and I had just missed the last one of 2014. Tomorrow I should be put in a canoe, along with a few other novices, and we'll be taken for a paddle along the Cam under the guidance of two senior club members. Our paddling skills are going to be assessed to see if we can become immediate members, or whether we'll need to do a beginners' course. Part of the assessment will be to roll the canoe, get out whilst under water, and then swim to the river bank with the canoe in tow to do a rescue procedure (at least this is what I think we'll need to do). Given that the temperature has been bloody cold for the last few days, I'm not exactly thrilled by my choice to join the club in January!

My next decision is whether or not to start a different blog or to write about my progress into the world of canoeing on this blog.

Dos and Don'ts

Nine weeks have now passed since the TDS run around Mont Blanc and it feels like a lifetime. I am still not running properly. I have done a few small runs recently, but it feels as if I'm doing nothing. I am desperate to get out and run 10 miles, 15 miles, 20 miles and more, but I'm still injured from the run in the Alps. I have never been out of action for so long before and it is starting to do my head in. 

The ongoing issue is knee pain. I have days when it feels as if it is getting better, but then I have the odd day of pain, especially when walking down stairs or the smallest of hills. As a result I have written off the rest of this year, which means I will not be hitting my original target of 26 long runs of marathon distance or more. I am eight runs short of my target. 

Over the last few weeks I have been contemplating what advice I would give someone who is about to run their first ultra marathon. The following is a basic list of dos and don'ts that should be useful guidance regardless of what event you plan to run.

Do

Practise eating on the run before the big day. Running an ultra means eating more than just energy gels, so practise eating the sort of food that might be handed out during  the event. This could be cake, chocolate bars, fruit, sausage rolls, cheese sandwiches, pretzels, noodle soup or any local delicacies. Try to find out in advance what food will be laid on and then eat something that is at least a close substitute.

Eat early on, especially on very long runs. You're likely to go into energy deficit regardless, but eating early on will help minimise this as well as getting your stomach familiar with the art of digestion on the run.

Eat a big breakfast. This goes hand-in-hand with the above advise. You're going to be burning a lot of calories, so get plenty of calories in before you start. I think that just about covers the topic of eating.

Test all your kit before the run. If you need to carry a backpack with a lot of gear then get used to it on a training run. If you know you will need to run at night then do a training run at night so you can get use to running with a head torch.

Do your research and train for the right conditions. Long flat runs can be just as testing as long hilly runs. Don't train in the hills if your ultra run is going to be flat, and vice versa. I realise that a big part of my failure to complete the TDS was due to not training to run downhill. Seems such a basic error in hindsight. Also, if your ultra run is likely to be hot then get use to running in heat. If necessary wear extra clothing on your training runs to make yourself sweat more.

Drink plenty and often. It is better to need to stop for a pee then to make yourself dehydrated. I got seriously dehydrated on the North Downs Way 50 and running became seriously uncomfortable. The problem was rectified once I got to the next aid station, but it could have been avoided in the first place.

Keep going forward. If you have a stomach problem don't curl up in a ball and hope it goes away. Slow down to a walk and keep plodding on. The problem might subside whilst you walk. 

Look after your feet. Carry vaseline, surgical tape and blister patches. If you start to feel a rub on your feet than address it. A dollop of vaseline might be enough, or wrap it in surgical tape. If it has already developed into a blister then get a blister patch on it and wrap it in surgical tape as an extra measure.

Believe in yourself. Part of the reason for running an ultra is for the challenge. There will be hard times when you will need to dig deep and focus on just keep on going forward. Have faith that the training will get you to the finish. If you are struggling up a big hill look forward to the downhill section that will almost certainly follow.

Be prepared for the worst. The one thing out of your control is the weather. Make sure you have the right kit for the worst weather imaginable. Also have enough food reserves either with you or with your support crew (depending on the event) so if an aid station has either run out or doesn't have the food you want then you can be self sufficient, at least to some extent.

Keep your spirits up, smile, chat to fellow runners and thank the volunteers. Maintaining a sunny outlook in tough conditions will make the experience more enjoyable for you and everyone around you. Even if they do suspect you're on drugs.

Enjoy the view. Don't run with your head down looking at the path just six feet ahead of you (unless you're on a technical descent). You've probably chosen to run an event in a beautiful part of the world which you might never have visited before and may never visit again. So make sure you take in the scenery.

Don't

Don't go off too fast. Settle into a pace that feels comfortable. Ask yourself if your starting pace will at least get you to the halfway point in comfort. If the answer is no then slow down.

Don't waste energy running up hills. All but the very elite ultra runners run up hills. If you really think you can challenge Kilian Jornet, then go for it. But if your main goal is just to finish then take it easy on the climbs.

Don't run past a runner who looks like they are in difficulty. Find out if there is anything wrong. Offer them some of your food and water if this is what they need. Otherwise just give them some friendly encouragement. At some point you might need someone to help you out. And if they are in serious trouble alert the next aid station.

Don't run in new socks. This pretty much goes for not trying any new gear on the day, but trying new socks is the really big no, NO.

Don't continue if injured. This is going to be largely down to your personal goals and what you plan to do next and where you are in the race. If you twist an ankle 5 miles from the finish of a 100 mile ultra then there is going to be a very big temptation to carry on. My advice would be slow down and ask yourself if it is really worth making the injury worse by carrying on. If you've told yourself that this was going to be your one and only ultra, and the injury won't stop you from doing your job, then you might decide to plough on. But if you have another event already in your diary then why risk throwing that away as well?

Finally, don't litter. Leave only footprints.

The Recovery

It's been three and a half weeks since my 70km effort in the TDS and I'm still feeling the effects. My knees have not been feeling great since the event. At least my back is now fine. I've been seeing an osteopath for the last three weeks and I'm slowly on the mend. The conclusion reached during his initial assessment was that my pelvis wasn't moving as well as it should, my spine was slightly out of alignment and parts of my erector spinae muscle needed releasing. We jointly concluded that running with sticks affected the normal running rotation in my pelvis and spine, which is what caused my back to seize up and what then contributed to my knee pain. This is a very simplified summary of the diagnosis.

My initial two osteopath appointments focused on freeing up my back and pelvis, with me then doing lots of stretching homework for my hips. In my last appointment we focused on my knees, and I was amazed at how different they felt after the appointment. At the start of the session my knees creaked like an old rusty hinge on a heavy door. By the time I was done they were almost silent. Then I drove home and called Ruth to come listen to my usually creaky old knees and was disappointed to discover they were creaky again. Hopefully my ongoing homework will slowly reverse this.

I've done a few smallish runs over the last few weeks. I generally feel ok when I am running. There's an initial 5 minutes of discomfort at the start of the run which then disappears once my muscles have warmed up. The problem then arises the next day when my knees feel as if they stiffen up. If I spend any more than 30 minutes sitting down my knees complain like mad when I get up. If I spend large amounts of time on my feet I seem to be ok. Unfortunately, not even personal trainers can spend all day standing up.

I have had my doubts as to whether I now can finish my 26 long run challenge, or even if I should continue. I have decided to include my 12 hour night run as one of the events. Initially I said it wouldn't count as I wanted all my runs to be events that would be recognised by the 100 marathon club. However, with my knees now complaining and the fact that I did run 61.3 miles during that one night run I've decided to include it. That means my total now stands at 18 runs made up of:

• 6 marathons
• 3 one day ultras of 50k, 35 miles and 50 miles.
• 3 x two day ultra runs of between 30 miles and 38 miles each day (6 runs in total)
• 1 x 12 hour run
• 1 x 24 hour run
• TDS run around Mont Blanc (70km completed out of 119km).

I am suppose to be running in the Ely Monster Marathon next Sunday. It is still my intention to give it a go, but I will be paying close attention to how I'm feeling and I expect my time to be very slow.

Now I'm off to focus on the latest exercises prescribed by my osteopath, Dan Rollins.