Marathon Mann

When I am on holiday, especially if it’s just for a week, I find that in no time at all it’s half way through and there are fewer days left than have passed. Then before I know it, I am looking at the notice board for the departure time of the return home and planning what I can do on the last day to make the most of it. In a running race it’s not like that. When you have one mile left it doesn’t go quickly because time itself seems to slow down as you approach the end and the distance left extends itself out in front of you.

There are now just 4 days of my 10K-a-day challenge and it seems that this last week has already lasted too long. As time goes on I have realised that 10K is actually an awful long way; further than 6 miles, quite a bit further I have discovered. Once you have done 6 miles there is the best part of a running track lap to go!

Using the canals near where I live, it’s quite difficult to run any exact distance as a round trip and the best way to do exactly 10K is an out and back. But man, you have to go a long way to reach that 5K point! Never mind though because today is the first dry afternoon for quite some time and so at least I didn’t get wet.

Just 4 more 10Ks to go!

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Phil.‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIVUK

Richard is running 10K every day during June, to raise money for a public access defibrillator to be situated at Rothwell Baptist Church.  To sponsor him and make a donation, please visit his Just Giving Page.‬‬

I love my running club. I have been a member for over 10 years and I couldn’t wish for a friendlier and more supportive bunch. We also have lots of fun and and enjoy doing new and sometimes wild things.

Anyone who runs ought to be part of a running club because you do things that you simply wouldn’t do on your own, things that might be uncomfortable and challenging. Like tonight is an exercise we call “intervals to the Half Way House”. The Half Way House is a pub around 5K from the club. The intervals are where we run about 1K fast then 1K slow and so on. If you really push yourself it’s a great exercise and you feel you’ve worked hard afterwards.

Today no efforts for me though because I don’t want to injure myself just a few days before the end of my challenge. I therefore took it very easy but covered the distance all the same; another 10K in the bag and only 5 to go!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:24-25‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Richard is running 10K every day during June, to raise money for a public access defibrillator to be situated at Rothwell Baptist Church.  To sponsor him and make a donation, please visit his Just Giving Page.

When the BBC weather forecast has pictures of clouds with little yellow zig-zags coming out of them and the words “thundery showers” you know it’s not going to be the ideal running day.  What this kind of forecast means is that one moment everything can be dry and clear, the next, rain comes down so intensively that there might not even be gaps between the drops because it feels like solid water.

Now I know we macho runners are supposed to not be concerned in the least about a bit of rain, protesting that our skins are waterproof and that it can actually be quite enjoyable to run in the rain.  While this is true, I have never known of someone who waits until it starts raining before going out!

I’ve done running in the rain to death over the last few weeks so my plan today was to go out in the early morning when the forecast was dry and let nature do its worse for the rest of the day.   The result was that I had a great dry run at 5 AM, legs a bit sluggish after yesterday’s jaunt around St Aidan’s but at least another 10K is done.

Later in the week it’s supposed to be getting warmer and warmer so that will present a whole different set of problems.

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20:18‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Richard is running 10K every day during June, to raise money for a public access defibrillator to be situated at Rothwell Baptist Church.  To sponsor him and make a donation, please visit his Just Giving Page.