Time to put the running shoes away...

Well it's now 2 days after I completed challenge 4 and what was the toughest challenge so far, 6 marathons in 6 days.

Although it was tough it was a great experience albeit a tad lonely at times.

I think what surprised me the most was how my feet and legs held up over the 6 days, they certainly lasted better than the tread on my trainers which were only about 6 weeks old and are now pretty worn! I think a new pair are in order before the next running challenge in September.

The final marathon was great and fuelled by adrenaline of it being the last one I felt great.

It was nice to hear me get a mention by the race organiser before we started over the PA system which gave me a little buzz. It was also nice to start the race with my sister, who despite having not trained much due to a bad back, completed the half marathon in 2hrs 40mins.

We started the race together but split up after about 4 miles. The crowds and marshals were brilliant throughout the race and having water stops at around every 3 miles helped, it also meant that I didn't have to carry anything which given the previous 5 days was a blessing!

I completed the first half in around 2hrs 16mins and I was concerned that having ran under 5 hours the previous day that I may suffer from burnout. But in fact the opposite happened and I gradually got quicker, not by much but quicker.

As I clocked the miles downs I was starting to think about the big Sunday roast at The One Elm afterwards.

Finally, I went passed the 25 mile marker and the end was in sight. As I crossed the river Avon for the last time I knew I had enough to kick on a bit more without the risk of cramping up.

As I entered the grassed park I knew it was the finishing area, it was hear that I heard someone shouting, not for me but for someone behind me and I could tell that they had upped their pace. So being the stubborn and competitive individual that I am I did the same determined that they would pip me on the line, after all I saw how gutted the guy was when I did it to him in the London Ultra in February.

Well he didn't pass me on the line but at the same time my supporters almost missed me coming in as they weren't expecting me to come through so soon.

I finally crossed the line in 4hrs 24mins my quickest marathon of the six which was pretty good going.

At the end it was great to see my family and friends including the surprise of George (fellow Lands end - John O Groats companion) who had drove from Devon that morning to be there!

The kids looked pleased to see me and were wearing t-shirts with Run Daddy Run on them which was very sweet.

So that was it the running was complete and there was only one thing left to do and that was eat and enjoy a refreshing pint which I did.

So the 6 marathons looked like this:
Day/Marathon 1 (27miles) - 4hrs 30mins
Day/Marathon 2 (26.2miles) - 5hrs 16mins
Day/Marathon 3 (27miles) - 5hrs 6mins
Day/Marathon 4 (26.2miles) - 5hrs 5mins
Day/Marathon 5 (26.2miles) - 4hrs 45mins
Day/Marathon 6 (26.2miles) - 4hrs 24mins

The toughest day by far was the second day but overall I'm extremely proud of what I have done and although I ran most days on my own I could of done it without the support of family and friends including:
* Veryan (the wife) for putting up with me!
* Roy and Su (brother) for picking me up and dropping me off several of the days and feeding me
* Debbie for letting me stay at The Gate House B&B and feeding me a fab breakfast
* Chink (bessie mate) for the massage and Chinese
* Andrew Kendall for cycling with me on Saturday
* Emma for picking me up on day 2 to take me to the start
* Janet (sister) for making sure I had everything I needed for the last day
* Kieron for the post marathons massage

I'm sure I may have missed people, the support I received throughout the week via messages on Facebook and Twitter was amazing too and really kept me motivated so thank you!

Now it's time to put the running shoes away and bring out the bike as in 3 weeks time it's Challenge number 5 the Castle 100mile bike ride!

The sponsorship currently sits just under £2k including gift aid so again thank you and it really doesn't matter how big or small the donation is!

Challenge 4 complete!

At this precise moment I'm very tired but very pleased that I have completed 6 marathons in 6 days.

Today was great and I felt pretty good. I completed the final marathon in 4hrs 24mins which I'm really pleased with!

That's it for now but I'll update more tomorrow.

Day 5 complete - Hello Stratford!

Sorry for the late post about day 5 but after finishing I've spent some time with the family as its been several days since I last saw them.

Today was surprisingly good considering it was the 5th marathon and I completed it in 4hrs 45mins, that's right 4hrs 45mins.

Now I put this down to a number of reasons:
1) I ate a lot the night before (see photo below)
2) I had a massage
3) I had a great full English breakfast
4) I had the company of a friend throughout the day
5) the weather was cooler
6) I was going to see my family

Whatever the reason I felt alright and the miles seemed to pass without too much thought.

I woke in the morning after a great night sleep at the Gate House in Middleton Cheney and thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Debbie (thats Debbie in the photo) I polished of a full English, 2 slices of toast and jam and a pot of tea.

This set me up nicely and with Andrew arriving just after 9, I had enough time to do my last minute preparations (Vaseline up) and was ready to hit the road.

The route was straight forward which I was quite please about as Andrew had told me he got lost cycling the 3 miles from Banbury to Middleton Cheney!

We passed through some beautiful little villages as we talked and reminisced about our lands end to John O groats experience some 2 years ago which was where we met.

Along with some photos Andrew filmed some of the run so look out for that in future blogs or on you tube!

It was such a great feeling as we arrived in Stratford and although I am proud of what I have achieved I also know that the job isn't done yet!

And so we reach the climax of the challenge tomorrow as I take on the Shakespeare Marathon, the final 26.2 miles!

Day 4 - I can almost see Stratford

Well that's the forth day completed and my last one on my own.

It's been a lonely 4 days and I've come to the conclusion I've got a rubbish taste in music!

But I'm here and all being well I will reach Stratford upon Avon by tomorrow afternoon.

I made a strategic change to the start point this morning which meant that I didn't have to run more than I needed to and I reached Middleton Cheney (26.2 miles) in 5hrs 5mins.

The weather was certainly a lot kinder to me today, it was cooler and I even manage to dodge the rain although I did get caught in one hailstone shower!

Thanks again to my brother for putting up with me, last night I was pretty knackered and was in bed by 7.

I'm now at the great B&B that is the Gate house in Middleton Cheney and I've just selected my breakfast for the morning, a cheeky fry up! Why not I have burnt over 18,000 calories in four days.

I looking forward to getting a massage letter and I'm so pleased that my legs have held up so well so far they deserve a rub down!

Surprisingly too my feet are not in too bad a state. Only today I have what I think is my first blister.

So on to tomorrow, I'm joined by Andrew a LEJOG buddy from 2 years ago who will be cycling along side me and dragging me in to Stratford where I will get to see my lovely wife and kids who I've not seen since Wednesday.

I cant believe I'm nearly there with only 2 days to go!!!!!

Day 3 - what a difference a day makes

It is safe to say that yesterday was tough and after feeling a bit dejected I had a good night sleep and woke up ready for the day ahead.

As I travelled to the start point the sky looked pretty overcast which gave me hope of a cooler day.

But as soon as I put my backpack on ready to start the clouds cleared and I was greeted with blue sky and the warm sun! The fact that it was only 9am and the sun was warm I knew I was in for a hot day.

The route today didn't need much navigating so the risk of getting lost was reduced compared to yesterday.

The only challenging part was early on when there was no footpath along a dual carriage way which meant running along the grass verge, this was my quickest leg of the day!

I went through some beautiful villages and towns including St Albans which looked very nice although I didn't stay long enough to check it out.

I would like to thank the Romans for creating a pretty flat and long road, I put this down to me finishing slightly quicker than yesterday.

The heat was pretty intense and I slighted to flag around 17 miles just as I came in to Dunstable. I needed to make a pit stop at the local BP garage to refuel on water, chicken sandwich and a bottle of coke!

After this I felt much better and completed 27 miles in 5hrs 6mins.

Tomorrow I head off towards Banbury for my last day on my own and I also say goodbye to my brother and his other half and say hello to Debbie at The Gate House B&B.

I'm also looking forward to seeing my best friend who will be providing me with a well deserved massage!

Day 2 - that was hard work!

Well with the previous day only taking 4 and a half hours I started to think that this challenge would be ok.

That thought went quite early in to day to as I got lost after only a couple of miles! So after a long 5 hours 16 mins I completed day 2.

Today I got done over by triple H, not the WWE wrestler but Heat, hills and heavy rucksack!

The only good thing about finishing today was the fact that my shoulders hurt so much from carrying my rucksack is that I haven't noticed how much my leg hurts!

My post run ritual of cold bath compression tights and food worked a treat yesterday as my legs were ok this morning and have not been too bad today.

Now without being the first person to moan about the the sunny weather and heat, it was bloody hot today and I now look like a white van man with a tan/sunburn down the one side of my body!

Fortunately I won't have my rucksack with me tomorrow so I can give my shoulders a rest before having to carry it again on Friday.

Thanks to my brother and his good lady Su for picking me up tonight and letting me crash at theirs. They will be my drop off and pick up team again tomorrow as well.

So lets see what tomorrow brings maybe I can tan the other side of my body!

Day 1 - Done

Well what a glorious day it's been today, the sun has shone all day with beautiful clear blue skies and with a slight wind you could think it was ideal for running.

It was up to about 20 miles, that is until the mercury started to rise which made the last 6 miles relatively tough going!

But I'm pleased to say that day 1 (27 miles) is complete in 4 hours 30mins.

Although I'm pleased with this time, which is actually 36 mins slower than my marathon PB , I am a bit worried that I may have gone too quick, only time will tell later in the week.

But as for today, I started just after 8am which meant that the first few miles was like being in an adventure race! I had to dodge pushchairs, school kids and cars where the drivers decided that one way streets did not include them during the school run!

Once I'd passed the obstacles of the morning rush hour the route turned into one long string of Tarmac! The picture below shows what my view was like for the majority of the day.

But day 1 is done now and it's always good to get the first one out the way.

As for the rest of the evening it's rest and refuel before it all starts again in the morning!

No turning back now!

So here it is the big one, the challenge within the challenge, 6 marathons in 6 days!

There's nothing left for me to do now but put on my kit and trainers and hit the road. So at around 8am tomorrow (Tuesday) that's exactly what I'll be doing.

Today has been a restful day just packing up the stuff I'm going to need for the next few days and realising that my shoulders will probably hurt just as much as my legs due to the weight of the rucksack!

I've had some great coverage of the challenge and for Springboard Opportunity Group over the last couple of days with a great article in the Southend Echo and then yesterday being interviewed on Southend Radio.

All of this has helped to raise nearly £1,600 so far and it would be great to reach the big £2k by Sunday the 6th Marathon.

The weather is looking good for this week especially on Sunday for the Shakespeare marathon where I will have the company of 3600 other runners.

Well that's it for now but you can follow me on twitter @andydknight for regular updates each day, but I plan to update the blog daily.

Finally, well done everyone who took part in the London Marathon yesterday especially Simon Blewett, Amy Smith and Eva's dad Russ Hodges!

Remember you can support and donate https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/averagejoe

A week to go

So this time next week I will be starting the first of my 6 marathons and at the minute I am going through a range of emotions so who knows what I'll be like on the Sunday.

So far plans have gone ok and this week I will be double checking everything but so far so good.

The one thing I can't control is the weather, obviously I am hoping that it is dry but also that the wind drops or at least behind me!

I've done my final "big runs" with two 12 milers over the weekend where I actually felt good and pain free. It's now a balancing act of not doing too much but keep ticking over.

I have had some more publicity regarding the challenge and promoting the charity. Thanks to the Stratford Observer http://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/paper/ page 12 for running the story.

Also thanks to Great Wakering Primary School for putting it in the latest newsletter, luckily for James, my son who goes to the school, they didn't include my picture!

There is more to come as well this week, hopefully today there will be a article in the Southend Echo and as soon as I get a copy I will post it and on Sunday I will be doing a radio interview on Southend Radio 105.1.

I would like to say a big well done to Steve Drake, my running buddy from the first 2 challenges, who completed the Marathon des Sables, a fantastic achievement and one that makes my 6 marathons look like a walk in the park!

Finally, as some of you are waking up to the news about the explosions at the Boston Marathon lets spare a thought to those who have been injured.

1000 not out!

It's now coming up to 6 months since I started training for my year long challenge to raise funds for Springboard Opportunity Group and as I've said in previous blogs, like any good stato nerd, I've been logging my runs.

Yesterday was a big land mark as I went past 1000 miles completed.

Not only did I go past 1000 miles but I'm still walking and still driven to continue training which given everything that Mother Nature has thrown at us in the last few month is amazing.

It's now 2 weeks until the start of what will be one of, if not the hardest challenge, of 6 marathons in 6 days.

I'm feeling in reasonable shape although I have reduced the amount of training to give my body a rest however I have forgot to reduce the amount of food I'm eating so I could be carrying a bit of extra baggage when I start.

That said burning nearly 6000 calories per marathon will probably sort this out!

A few thank you to be made, firstly to the Southend Echo who will be running an article either this week or next and hopefully an update for each of the remaining challenges. (Look out for the link in future blogs).

Also to Technogym who are an international gym kit manufacturer, as they have supported the challenge and will be looking to do some PR coverage in the coming month.

Finally I saw this picture yesterday and I thought it summed me up quite well when I'm out running, hope it makes you smile!

6 Marathons in 6 Days is no April fool!

So April is finally here and as we know now a new months means the next challenge.

The gap between the last one (10 March) to the start of the next one has been a bit frustrating as I just wanted to crack on with it.

That said I have had my first injury scare since I started my training nearly 6 months ago. I had a niggle in my left shin during the New Forest ultra but it wasn't anything to cause me a major concern. I've continue to train and it hasn't really given me any grief that is until last week.

I did 2 back to back days of 20 miles and I started to notice it on the first day but got through it ok, on the second days really started to struggle but got through the run.

Being a bit of a nerd and thinking I know better that he doctors I decided to find my Running Repairs book for the answer.

Now being a bit of a drama queen my worse fears were realised when I read that I could in fact have a stress fracture!

This has lead to me having nearly a week off from running which is no bad thing as I've only been having the odd day a week off during my training. I also visited friends and family over the Easter weekend which included a catch up with my best friend who happens to be a sports masseur.

Now I'm sure his advice and diagnosis was correct but when he checked it over we had had a few beers and ultimately he had no choice in looking at it as I thrust my leg in his face.

Anyway from the movements he got me to do he is pretty confident that it isn't a stress fracture and has given me some stretches to do. This was also a timely visit back to the midlands as I was able to pick up my new running shoes that were at my mums.

This was timely as it was probably the fact that my existing running shoes had done nearly 600 miles that my shin was starting to hurt!

With the fact that it is now 3 weeks today that I start the challenge I don't plan to do anything silly now with my training. I have had a pain free run this morning which is a relief and I will do some steady, middle distance runs between now and the 23 April.

I just want to say a big thank you to Debbie, the owner of the The Gate House B&B in Middleton Cheney.

Debbie has provided me with a room on Friday night (Day 4) of the challenge which is very generous of her. www.gatehousemc.com

That's it for now but hopefully in the coming days I will be able to provide details of the pub I plan to go to after the Shakespeare Marathon so if you fancy giving me some support on the last day in Stratford it would be great to see you afterwards.