Review: Loch Ness Marathon

Well, it'll be done then! (Final post on the marathon - honest!)

Delighted to say that both Audrey and I managed to complete the scenic but undulating course without any major problems, other than those usually attributed to distance running - boredom, minor aches both during and after. And both in decent times too, well within our respective targets - Audrey finishing in 5 hours and 7 minutes, me stumbling over the line after 3 hours and 41 minutes, leading home the runners for MS Society Scotland, apparently in 528th place out of 3,500.

Perhaps needless to say, running the 26.2 miles along the banks of Loch Ness is the biggest challenge I've ever faced, and Audrey even rates it as harder than the trek she made through Pakistan to the foot of K2. But it was a cracking day and, on reflection, both of us really enjoyed our achievement.

The day started at 5am for us, as we got up and ate as much as we could stomach (pasta carb-loading the night before had pretty much filled us) before leaving Keith at 6am to get to Inverness for half 7. Buses were scheduled to leave for the start at 8, but it was nearly nine before 38 buses set off from the finish to the start at Whitebridge meaning a delay of almost an hour before the start at 10.50. That was the only sour reflection on the day however, and organisation after that was terrific - Malcolm Sutherland and the race organisers should be proud of their event which has become the third biggest marathon in the UK behind London and Edinburgh.

And then, with the swirl of the pipes, the race began, and the long, lonely 26.2 miles back to Inverness was in front of us. Audrey and I parted within a couple of hundred metres, and she watched me weaving in and out of participants stretched right across the single track road until I disappeared (I know - it was mean). I powered on, through 8 miles in the first hour and 15 in two, phoning my Gran on the way and receiving text updates on the Old Firm game from my uncle. Support in Dores - at 16 miles - was awesome. It appeared as though the whole village had come out to support us, including several folks who were handing out sweets and biscuits!

At 18 miles, my wee brother phoned me from Australia, giving me an excuse to avoid running too fast (if at all!) up the rather steep hill! By the three hour mark I'd reached 22 miles and only had four to go... but my legs were done. No energy left and my bones were creaking! A water stop, loads of Lucozade and a wonderful woman at 24 miles who handed me some jelly babies kept me going along the River Ness. Then the noise of the crowds carried me through the last mile or so and into the stadium. Hugs all round as I crossed the line, and a tear or two shed, more out of relief and exhaustion than pain.

So that was it, my race over - a muffin, a bottle of water and a Mars Bar, a terrific massage and then I changed before returning to the finish to welcome Audrey home - exhausted, blistered and emotional but thoroughly delighted with her achievement (and no, she didn't hate me!).

Special mention to the volunteers at the water and Lucozade stops every 3 or 4 miles, the First Aiders (with whom neither of us got too acquainted with) and to all the runners and passers-by who lent their support with encouraging words and cheers. And to the guys running for Help for Heroes, in full military gear - complete with pack - who made the rest of us look weak. Our effort looked poor in comparison - thanks guys! Also, our respective partners, Fiona and Si, who have understood (I think) the commitment we made 13 weeks ago and supported us through it - right to the end.

And finally, to every single one of you who has sponsored us to run, a lot of whom have been bloggers - some I've met and some I have not. Thank you! We've raised just under £1,500, pretty much tripling our target for MS Society Scotland. Thank you so much. That support above everything kept us going at the dark stages of training and the lows of the race. So thanks for having faith in our ability to complete this challenge!

Now, when do the entries open for Edinburgh Marathon 2010... Audrey?

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10 days to go!

As regular readers will know, I am running the Loch Ness Marathon in October.

The race is now only 10 days away and it can't come soon enough. I've totally sickened myself of running and I'm starting to feel minor twinges and aches and pains a wee bit more now. I think I know every street, cycle path and hill (the hills - ouch!) in Edinburgh now. That's what training for a marathon does to you! But the training (the hard part?) is nearly over, and the race is nearly upon us.

Audrey and I are running for MS Society Scotland who do terrific work for those 10,500 people with MS in Scotland - the highest proportion of a population anywhere in the world. To date we've managed to raise just under £1,400 - having set an original target of £500 - and we're absolutely thrilled and stunned at the generosity and support of friends, family and those who barely know us (this means you, dear blog reader!). It really is amazing - thanks so much!

A piece like this wouldn't be complete without a wee plea though. Our original aim was £500 - and you helped us smash that target. We haven't changed the target or anything, but we'd love to raise another £100 for a total of £1,500. If you feel like you can help at all - a couple of quid, the price of a pint - then please do sponsor us using the widget at the top of the page, or by visiting our JustGiving page here. I guess as some smart marketing guy/ girl said - "Every little helps."

Anyway, there have been times throughout our training when neither of us have been particularly enthusiastic about running, or have wilted dramatically when we were out on a long run. And I can honestly say that, at times like that, I started thinking about the money that we'd raised to that point, the support folks had given us and how much it would mean to those it would benefit and that kept me going.

What I mean is, your support is not only valuable to the charity and to those they will help, but it has helped us enormously as we tackle this challenge. So thank you for your continued support, and we'll let you know how it goes!

PS - Sponsor us please!

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A Marathon Effort

With less than 60 days to go until Audrey and I embark on the huge challenge of the Loch Ness Marathon, I thought I'd take this opportunity to write a wee update, publicly record our gratitude at the help we're had thus far and maybe try to prise a couple of quid out of some tight Scottish (and other!) wallets.

July saw us top 100 miles each as we build up our legs for the long distance event. Without wishing to tempt fate at all, we both seem to be in good health and spirits (no, not those spirits - I'm aff them til after the race) and enjoying determinedly taking on the challenge through.

Saturday saw a punishing (short!) 12 miles across the capital, including a clockwise circuit around Holyrood Park (trust me - that's the hard way!). By the end neither of us were feeling particularly good but we had run a fairly decent and consistent pace. And from this week, we've started incorporating some speed interval sessions over 800m, which I am thoroughly enjoying (although perhaps lasagne is not the best pre-training meal).

I have a busy weekend ahead at the Keith Country Show where I'm due to compete in a 10K (6.2 mile) race at 1.30pm followed by a 6 mile hill race... which starts at 3pm. Not much in the way of recovery time there! Those 12 miles are, of course, in addition to the 14 miles Audrey and I have scheduled for Friday. Naturally I'm taking the Saturday and the Monday off running!

And that brings me to our local press. The Keith paper - The Banffshire Herald - did a spread covering our preparations on the 24th of July and ran an update last week (31 July) publicising our fundraising site. Unfortunately, it is not available online, but my mother has scanned the articles and you can (perhaps) read them if you click on the images below. Big thanks to Caron, who has blogged an update on our progress and to everyone who has tweeted their support.

(the article about the "Trailer Theft" is not part of our fundraising effort!)

Finally, I get to the proper thanks bit. Thanks to everyone who has taken out their wallets to sponsor us. We're running for the MS Society Scotland which, if you've read my previous pleas, you'll know is a charity that raises money to help those with Multiple Sclerosis, a disabling neurological condition which affects young adults and in Scotland there are approximately 10,500 people with the disease - the highest proportion of a population anywhere in the world.

We reached our original target of £500 within 10 days of setting up our site, and decided on a revised target of £1,000. Two weeks later, and we've almost hit that target too. Huge thanks to everyone who has sponsored us. If you haven't yet, there's still plenty time. A couple of quid, a fiver, whatever you can afford - it'll make a huge difference. I can speak from experience when I say that, when training is hard, knowing people have sponsored you some of their hard earned cash to complete this challenge helps to get you through the difficult sessions.

So thanks again - and keep it coming! And if you are on Facebook and want more regular updates, sign up to our marathon group here.

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Thank you!

The fundraising page for our Loch Ness Marathon run has been live for just over a week and already our friends have exceeded our modest target of raising £500. You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for the support - we really appreciate it, and so does the MS Society.

But we were thinking, with 10 weeks still to go until we undertake this huge challenge, why not try to raise more money? So we've upped our target to £1,000 in the hope that those of you who haven't yet sponsored us can help us meet this increased target.

If you have already sponsored us, thanks so much. Your donation means so much and until you have trained for marathon, you have no idea how much that support spurs you on to train harder.

If you haven't yet, please consider it. A couple of quid or a fiver could make all the difference! You can do so by clicking on the widget above or by following this link.

Thanks so much... M&A.

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What kind of week has it been?

I had this piece ready to post on Saturday, but I forgot about it, so I'll post it now and update it at the end:

Fans of Aaron Sorkin will know where I got the title of this piece from. He used it ("day" not "week" but I'm taking liberties here) as the title of the final episode in the first season of each of his three major tv series - Sports Night, The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. All cracking entertainment and highly worth watching.

So what kind of week has it been?

Well, Monday I signed up for the Loch Ness Marathon. Wednesday I set up the page for sponsorship. And Saturday we went on the first of our "long and hellish" runs which turned out not to be too bad.

By the numbers then:
28 miles run this week.
£245 raised for MS Society by 2pm Saturday.
Oh yeah, and I also wrote 3,000 words of the second chapter of my thesis.
And sorted out a week-long holiday.

Pretty chuffed with the way the week went. Hope next week works as well!

It's now Wednesday - one week from when I set up the JustGiving site - and we have now raised a staggering £438.20 and currently stand at 88% of our target. A huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far. It really is awesome how quickly folks have dipped into their pockets for a great cause, even more remarkable in such difficult financial times. We really do appreciate all the support.

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Please help us!

As you can see from the note at the top of the page and the pretty cool widget at the top right, I've decided to run a marathon for the first time.

Obviously this is going to be a fairly tough challenge and one requiring a lot of hard training and a commitment not only to training but to eating healthily (and much more food than I've ever eaten before), drinking lots of fluids and talking about the charity we're raising money for as much as I possibly can.

I managed to convince my friend Audrey to run with me, assuring her that, despite having never done a marathon before, I knew what I was doing. Together we've set ourselves a modest target of raising £500 for MS Society Scotland. MS is a disabling neurological condition which affects young adults and in Scotland there are approximately 10,500 people with the disease - the highest proportion of a population anywhere in the world.

At the time of writing (and a litte under 48 hours since we started raising money) we're just under halfway to our total. For those who have already sponsored us some cash, we'd like to say a huge thanks. If you haven't yet, please think about doing so. We're not even asking for much - we know the financial situation at the moment. If you've a couple of quid or a fiver that is burning a hole in your pocket, please think about sponsoring us here.

Over the next 12 weeks we have lots of training to do. We'd like to share that experience with you. If you are on Facebook, we have a group there where we hope to upload some photos of the pain we're putting ourselves through, share some stories and (hopefully) get some words of encouragement from friends. (See screengrab below).


Big thanks to Caron (who has become our Chief Publicist!) for getting a blog post together before I had time to. Thanks also to Stephen for looking over the training programme we'd put together. And also to everyone's favourite former England captain Mr Will Carling for this:


Thanks again for the support.

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