PROJECT 65

One final blog...

2009-06-22T09:27:00.001-07:00

The Silver Surfer rides for one last time...

For some strange reason Ed wanted a final final blog from the Silver Surfer. For those of you who had the misfortune to meet me in person on the run I probably represent your worse nightmare i.e. the Dr from hell! When I got my current job in Grimsby a certain Dr Harold Shipman had applied for the same post, and according to one of my work colleagues he reckons they would have been better with Harold.

I think I’m over the worst recovery wise now, though oddly I’ve just lost a toe nail at this late stage. I did make my swimming session the Tuesday after the run finished, this despite arriving home at 3am on Monday. I had hoped for a greeting like Pegasus Bridge but they were all asleep and the Labrador barely stirred. Fat lot of good she would be as a guard dog! Still very full of it so did my evening surgery on Monday in the t-shirt. Barely a whimper from the patients, however, a few have started asking after the newspaper articles.

The swimming session was brilliant, the masters group clapped as I walked pool side. That was the high point as I was still in “la-la” land and did massive 0 out of 10 belly flop as my first dive, then functioned as a mobile chicane in my lane for the next hour. I tried to keep with the IM sets but the “butterfly swims” finally screwed me. I hauled myself out and then thought a good rest for a few days was sensible. I did my first duathlon last night and was fairly respectable, I did have a slight help on the tougher second run as I followed Sarah’s buttocks closely for the last 2 miles. From a purely medical point of view they fitted the Lycra in all the right places and wiggled nicely.

Finally I have to thank everyone involved for a fabulous fun time and all the memories, far too many to fill a short article with, and as I wondered in my last blog it does all now fit into place and I understand why 65 miles can be so much fun. I have also moved into the 21st century and added my selected photographs to the Flickr site. I do however have 2 final questions:

1) What exact distance is measured by a Project 65 mile? It obviously isn’t a mile if you get my drift!!!
2) Were the Gendarmes called out on Saturday night especially around 3am when someone tried to get into the tent via a non-existent door?

And if anyone ever ventures to the wilds of Great Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire feel free to look me up.

Best wishes to you all!!

The Silver Surfer - aka Doc Iain Chalmers.

Project 65 Photos

2009-06-16T02:41:00.000-07:00

All -

It has taken a while, for which I apologise, but I currently hold over 700 shots. Some are good, some not so good, but I've put the best 50 photos up on a Flickr group which can be found by clicking here.

Please feel free to join the group and upload your own photos, but please apply a modicum of quality control! If you can name anyone, then that would be fantastic!

I'm also going to put these 50 up on the Facebook website. I know that the new 'Project 65 community' will spread the word so please let all your co-runners know about where they can find the shots.

I'm going to work through the other 650 in slow time and get them up somewhere so if you subscribe to the RSS feed on the Flickr group you won't miss any!

The gallery on the website is being overhauled currently so we have avoided that for the time being. In due course, the VERY best of the Project 65 shots will go up there, so if you catch the selectors eye then we will publish them there. The Flickr group will be become the public library.

In the meantime, keep the word going, and once again, VERY MANY congratualtions for some supreme efforts.

Yours, as ever,

Ed Lloyd Owen.

Tell Everyone...!!

2009-06-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is the last blog I'll post before we start... I'll be keeping the world update on Twitter hereafter but will try to get something up tomorrow night.

In the meantime, we coming to close of play of the night before and I'm pleased to tell you all that the media are crawling all over Project 65 and what we are doing. We will probably be relegated to a footnote when put up against the like of the Prince of Wales, Obama, and Sarkozy but that is still better than nothing!

What I'd like to ask you all finally at this late stage is to ring every media outlet, every radio station and newspaper that you can think of and just ask them if they are coming to Tarrant Rushton. If they say no, ask them if they will get people out onto the streets to come and cheer their support for the hardy souls that are taking on the challenge. If they say yes, point them in my direction!!!

Just make two phone calls (more if you want) and hopefully we'll make the difference.

Well done and enjoy the party!!

Ed LO
07790021367
elloydowen@mac.com

The last one!

2009-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jonathon Ross signs off:

I did my last run on Sunday evening. A mere 4 miles through the woods. It was a bit slow mainly due to the weather and the fact that I had spent 2 days solid working in the garden. Made a visit to our local Up & Running shop to buy all the necessary gels, bars etc. Everything is now in place; it’s just got to be packed. I must remember to get some Euros!

Sponsorship has been excellent. I have managed to pass the £1000 mark. My British Legion is having a D-Day dance on Saturday night and all proceeds will go towards Project 65. So that will boost the kitty somewhat. So many people have been very generous. I have felt very humbled at the interest, encouragement and generosity given.

One last note on teenagers. My youngest son, Jake (18) has seen me come in and go out of the house in my running kit a hundred times in the last 6 months. He’s heard me discuss the run and what it’s for. He’s heard me moaning about the pain in my knees. He’s heard me talk about the distances involved. Then at the weekend I said ‘Its only a couple of days to the run and I’m getting a bit nervous’ to which he replied ‘What run is that then, Dad?!’

Look forward to seeing you all on the day. I know there is a lot of local interest here in Dorset for the event. Hopefully we should get quite a few people out cheering us on.

Stay fit.

It’s D Day -4!

2009-06-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

Rob Smart:

I've been trying to make the most of my 'taper time' and have just attended my second sports ‘massage’. I had my first one last Thursday in an attempt to loosen up my thighs which have been quite tight. I’m told there are women who have shown greater dignity during childbirth than I managed in front of the masseuse. I disagreed as I thought I stifled most of the screams myself, but in any case my legs do feel a lot easier.

One unexpected side effect of visits to the sports physio has been the Latin that I've picked up over the last few months. Going from zero knowledge, I now know my gluteas medius from my plantar fascitis, and my rectus abdominus from my pubic symphysis. I wish I didn't...

I've definitely found the fund raising the biggest challenge of all, and as part of my latest push for money I'm about to hold another cake sale at work. Today it's Mars Bar cakes with a secret ingredient (apricot jam - so not that secret anymore? -Ed). Tomorrow I'm bringing back the Project 65 Gingerbread Men which have proved quite popular (pictures attached).

As part of the Latin I seem to have picked up I worked out that Project 65 in Roman numerals is PLXV. I thought I’d drop that bit in to explain why in the pictures the Gingerbread men have the letters iced onto them! I’m terrible at icing and previous attempts to write out ‘Project 65’ defeated me. Perhaps professional icing competitions will be my challenge after ‘PLXV’. I hope not though – running’s much more straightforward!

Good luck again, everyone. See you all on the 4th!

Best wishes,

Rob

The route...

2009-06-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

Matt Barker's final blog:

Just checkin' in.

Visited Tarrant Rushton t'other day. What an amazingly atmospheric place! Then dragged the family on a hot drive along the route (pretty much) to the New Forest Hotel. Nice country lanes and changes in landscape. No major hills - shame!

Hot and grumpy family but happier now I have my bearings.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Good luck.

Ham and Bloody Jam!

Project 65 on Twitter

2009-05-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Moving with the times as we do, Project 65 now has Twitter account and will be tweeting to its heart's content!

Please go and have a look at the account page and follow us for all the latest coverage, news, updates, and status reports during the run itself... http://twitter.com/Project65

This will be a 36 hour Twitter-fest and you can be part of it...

Please re-tweet everything that we put up!

Thank you in advance for you indulgence and more importantly, your CASH!!!

5 Rifles check in...

2009-05-28T04:13:00.000-07:00

Capt Mark Shercliffe of 5 Rifles briefly updates us on their progress...

Away from the heat of Iraq a quick marathon before lunch seemed like a walk in the park!

It is not unusual to see soldiers out running in a squad and, now that all of 5th Battalion The Rifles are back from operational tour, it is a familiar sight around their home town of Paderborn, Germany.

Watching the squad run in, stretch off and walk, not hobble, away it would seem that they are now in the best condition for next week. With strict instructions of what to do over their ‘leave’ or holiday period, the next time they meet up there will be a carbo-packing couple of days!

Disbelief is also in the air that the end is very nearly in sight but there is still 65 miles to go!

Good luck to all and looking forward to seeing you all next week.

Mark

The Silver Surfer signs off...

2009-05-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers posts his last blog before the off:

Well here it is; the last Thursday blog from the Silver Surfer. Hooray I hear you say! It’s been an absolute blast, despite everything so far, and I’m really looking forward to the day. Not quite sure why I should look forward to running 65 miles but I’m sure it will all make sense place on the day.

Ominously took delivery from Welch Allan of the cardiac defibrillator late last week, and as I only have 1 set of disposable paddles if anyone is planning to have a cardiac arrest make sure you’re the first as I have no more!

On anther point had a run at the weekend hoping my plantar fasciitis had gone, and found out it hadn’t so only managed 12 miles before “bailing out”. Also the weather men suggest the summer will be hot/dry so thought I’d better dust down the running singlet and found it chaffed in the most exotic of places. I struggle to understand this as used it before in marathons, I think a t-shirt will do nicely then! So having messed up at the weekend, I think a total rest is called for over the next few days. The only problem is avoiding catching anything from my patients!!

I see teenagers are still on the agenda: Our dysfunctional family headed of to Phones4U and managed to clear the shop. To me a mobile phone should do what it says on the box; i.e. a phone! However my two were on a mission; which upgrade could they get on their current contract and which had the most “twiddly” bits and that was before the colour discussion! Just to prove that JR’s are not unique I enclose a photo of mine running the race for life. Look closely at the consequences of not tying your laces and in the background the Silver Surfer and his chocolate Labrador both appear embarrassed.

Finally another jovial little picture, I doubt this bouncy and jaunty running technique will be used on the day, more the Ranolph Fiennes method of “plodding”

Best wishes and see some of you on the bus and the rest at Tarrant Rushton.

Silver Surfer!

So close now...

2009-05-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

'Not the one from the Telly' replies:

Just before I started writing this blog, I read our Navy friend Ian’s thoughts on the run. I must say that for a sailor to run 2 miles in 3 hours is very acceptable. In fact he would probably make it into the Naval Cross Country running team. Come to think of it he would probably BE the Naval Cross Country running team!! I think the problem he is going to have is getting up early enough in the morning to make it to Tarrant Rushton for 2pm... Navy reveille is generally around 11am or when you feel like it especially when ‘Going ashore’. Good luck to you from a Pongo!! ;-)

Training down (or tapering as I’ve heard it called) is now in full swing. My knees are feeling much better, however I will still invest in some supports as recommended by Matt (thanks Matt for the advice). My mileage has reduced now so I have just one more 10 mile run to do and then its 6, 5, 4, 3 with a day rest in between. I have no idea if this is the correct way of doing it but it was part of a program I found on the internet.

I had my picture in the Bournemouth Echo again and a mention on the TV news again. This triggered sponsorship from some colleagues I haven’t seen in years. So I guess the promotion side is working. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I can see Tarrant Rushton from my office which makes the apprehension greater. I had a chat on the phone at the weekend with Roy Howard (brother of John Howard) and he will be meeting me at Tarrant Rushton on the day, together with another of his brothers who was in at D-Day+4. All media, please take note!!

I have now got myself back into my wife’s good books. Less training means less time out of the house and more time doing the garden, painting, building etc. I managed to build a new wall in the garden and planted up the veggies over the weekend. I set fire to the greenhouse at one point - oops! This happened when I lit some tea lights to purge the greenhouse of flies and bugs. The problem is the tea light’s wax dripped onto some bark chippings and they caught alight. Not too serious but I did feel a bit of an arse when I had to put it out!

I haven’t checked the long range weather forecast but really hope we don’t have a hot day on the 4th. Apart from the obvious sun burn, dehydration, heat exhaustion etc I have found that because my hair is so thin on top I get sweat in my eyes more than I used to. To combat this, I will wear a rather trendy bandana. Of course in my family’s eyes it will be just one more thing that makes me look even more like a chopper, but who cares!!

All the best to you all! Nearly there now.

Jonathan

The Naval Motivator.

2009-05-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Another new blogger, Ian Fleming (not the one who wrote the James Bond novels!) has chipped in...

The Royal Navy of old relied on one man, NELSON.

Today it has sent you a little fat Clearance Diver to represent the Royal Navy in the 'Run to Pegasus'. It is my aim to motivate good old Percy and a few crabs along the way, because you lot don't want the little FAT Matelot leaving you all behind!

My training schedule only started 7 weeks ago as I don't want an unfair advantage over all you fitties. My nutritionist has sorted my diet out; McKewans (Red Death) and lots of it, six Burger Kings and 10 KFC bargain buckets daily. Its hard work being this fat but maintaining it is great! This running lark is bad for my waistline as it keeps on making it smaller. I will have to eat more Burger Kings!

Looking forward to meeting everyone and flying the flag for the Royal Navy on the 4th June. Now you all know you need to up your training schedule to keep up with the little fat matelot Diver.

Laters Divers! Do it Deeper!

PS Has anyone attempted a 2 mile run yet?! I've just got back and I'm knackered! Good time though of 3 hours - I might try a 3 mile run next week

Tarrant Rushton today.

2009-05-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

A new blogger joins us. Rob Smart writes:

The final two weeks to the run! I’ve begun my taper and am set to be ready for the run come June 4!

As part of my last big run I took myself down to Dorset to look at the area of the route. I paid a visit to the starting point at the airfield. Knowing the history made it quite spooky walking around. Trundling up the access road from Tarrant Rushton towards the footpath access at the western side of the site, I wondered how the men from the Oxf. and Bucks Light Infantry must have felt when they were transported to the same airfield 65 years ago, knowing what they were soon to embark upon...

As far as my own feelings go, there’s nerves borne of respect for the distance, combined with gladness to be nearly ready to go. I emerged into the west part of the airfield and immediately saw why it was used to launch gliders from. It’s fantastic - you can see for miles. It’s so quiet now, it’s difficult to imagine what the atmosphere must have been like on June 5 1944. The area must have been completely locked down.

I’m glad to know I’m not the only one carrying injuries. I must have over trained a bit at Christmas and have been dealing with a groin injury. I’m defeating it though. I’m determined to enjoy the experience. I’ve also decided on my solid food to carry with me - honey and peanut butter sandwiches. I’ve also been trying out a carb loading regime that I read in a Sir Ranulph Feinnes fitness book. I’ve been taking 800g of carbohydrate within 60 minutes of hard exercise. I read elsewhere that caffeine accelerates the body’s absorption of carbs so I’ve followed the food with a double espresso. I haven’t yet figured out if it’s making my body store more glycogen for the run, or whether it’s just an excuse I’ve given myself to eat like a glutton!!!

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the day. From reading this blog over the past few months, and chatting to others taking part Project 65 is going to be a great experience. For me it will definitely be one of the things I’ll be glad to have done with my life, on top of being able to be part of raising money for forces charities and honouring such a special military feat.

Good luck to everyone,

Rob

The Surrey Advertiser are all over it. Is your local paper?! Get on the case if not!

2009-05-22T05:25:00.001-07:00

Iain Rodgers:

Hi Everyone,

Several runners from Surrey are taking part in the event. The Surrey Advertiser is taking an interest and there should be a press release in the next issue.

I have said that I will try to have photographs taken for them of the Surrey runners when we all gather at Tarrant Rushton, just before the start and at Pegasus Bridge the day after we arrive, hope that this is ok with everyone? I will ask the Project 65 team to announce this at the briefing prior to the start.

Hope that every ones training is going well and no serious injuries to cope with? Only 13 days to go then the “Big Push”

Good Luck!

Iain

Iain Rodgers

Knee supports have the answer.

2009-05-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

We don't have two Ronnies, we have two Barkers! The Matt variety writes:

Hey y'all!

Getting close now! Just been reading the blog. Nervous but excited as I am sure everyone is. It all seems very well organised so far and want to thank Danny and Barry, Ed and the rest of the team for the steady build up of info. and answering of difficult questions.

I was pleased to find out I am representing Sapper Bradford from the accompanying 249th Royal Engineer (Airborne) party in Glider 5. My grandad was, infact, a Sapper and Driver for the Royal Engineers in Africa and Italy with the 8th Army but I never got to hear him talk about it. He was fighting in Italy during D-Day. So I am very proud to be representing Spr. Bradford but as yet, have not managed to find anything out about him.

IF ANY OF HIS RELATIVES READ THIS, DO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME VIA DANNY GREENO AS I'D LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM.

Note to all suffering from knee aches at around mile 30 (Mr. Ross..I just read your blog!) I too am suffering those tweaks and twinges. I found this on Amazon, some neoprene York knee supports which have 3 velcro straps. They are very comfortable, extremely supportive, don't slip down and very reasonable at around £12.

I'm taking mine! I did 40 miles last Sunday and used them on the last 10. No adverse affects and knees stopped hurting... that could have been the Anadin though!!!

Good luck to everyone.

Bon Voyage!

Matt

A Woburn tale.

2009-05-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

James Barker writes:

Ten days ago, I put the family in the car with their DS’s and travelled for two hours in glorious weather to Woburn Abbey for ‘The Fit for Hero’s Day’. With some trepidation, I wondered, after training for months on my own, how I would fair amongst the other runners, considering I have had to take a 3 week enforced break due to a near show stopper of an injury when training in the dark - I caught my foot/ ankle on the side of a pot hole!

Soon after arriving, some of the Project 65 runners started to find each other and it was good to put faces to names, i.e. Ed and Danny. I seemed to attract some female attention while preparing cups of water for the runners - was it the skin-tight running outfit?! Nope, it was for directions to the loos! Charming.

After a few minutes Spencer “Storm trooper” Rolls introduced himself and asked if he could run with me, I felt honored, then he said “give me 20 mins, I have to get my kit on!” The kit in question being the full storm trooper outfit! It was a warm day and he had turned up with a groin strain to contend with as well, but he still ran. This was beyond the call of duty. He needs a medal and possibly a brain scan!

When the 1pm bunch of runners started, Project65 “athletes” could easily be distinguished from the local highly strung club runners, running as a group, slowly, with much sociable banter, avoiding deer poo, and with stories of long training & injuries being the main topics of conversation. Soon we had Dutch and Steve joining our group with Dutch kitted out in full WW11 uniform, which he will be running in on the 4th June.

Inevitably the P65 group finished last after 10K‘s - saving the legs for the task which awaits us, of course. Some of us did another lap of honour later on, running with the lads from the Army Air Corp, who made running look effortless and us look old! From my understanding the oldest runner on the run to the Pegasus Bridge will be 74 and the youngest 19. The prize for looking the sexiest went to... Barry Tappenden in his skins! It was a brave man, who said that to him, weren’t you you Dutch? LOL!

The last week has been a busy one but managed a good sports massage (2 hours with a cracking blond), a good gym session and a 20 miler at the weekend, which hurt more than it should afterwards, all in the quads. However the calves & ankle held up well showing no stress, but managed to gain a nasty blister under the toe nail - ouch!

On Monday I slipped off with the Mrs in the afternoon to see ‘Star Trek’, highly recommended. Look out for the guy in the red jersey, they always came a cropper in the original series, and this one does some classic showing before being annihilated!

Well, 15 days to go, training done, insurance sorted, passport ready, “defib” on its way, sponsorship topping £700, just the Will to write now!

P.S. Children had a good day at Woburn Abbey too, but now want pet ferrets for some unknown reason, and my son has this fascination for hairy spiders! Cheers Danny!!

James Barker

15 DAYS TO GO!!

2009-05-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

ARE YOU READY? The Chairman is back...

The information you have all been waiting for is available NOW. If you click here and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find a document called 'Representation of the Coup de Main'. Open it and you will see who is representing who on the run! Those highlighted in RED are relatives of the Coup de Main. I'm afraid as there are so many of you it has not been possible to allocate you ALL with a name.

Now, some admin points. Quite a lot, I'm afraid!

Portsmouth to Tarrant Rushton:

As you are all aware, we are laying on transport from Portsmouth to take you to TR on the morning of the 4th June. The first of these vehicles will be leaving at 0900 and the last at 1030. PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARRIVE IN PLENTY OF TIME!!!!!!!! If you miss the last one, it will be taxi time at your own expense!

Upon arrival at the ferry port, drive into the car park (big blue building that says CAR PARK on it, oddly!), park, collect your bag from the boot and then walk back out to the front of the car park where you will have seen 3 coaches, 3 mini-buses and a truck waiting outside. Introduce yourselves to the P65 team of helpers who will be standing by, place your baggage in either the coaches hold or on the truck and then board a coach or mini-bus. As each one becomes full, they will leave for TR.

Baggage:

We have requested that you each have 2 separate bags; 1 containing your clothing etc for your stay in France and 1 containing your running kit etc for use during the run.

The 'French' bag will be loaded onto a truck at TR and driven straight to France. It will be waiting at the marquee for your arrival. The 'Run' bag will be carried on a support vehicle which will follow the run route. It will be made available to you as and when required. PLEASE PACK LIGHT! Our vehicles cannot carry too much and there are over 200 of you after all. Don't forget to pack a sleeping bag in your 'French' bag, otherwise you might have quite chilly night...

Water:

Support vehicles will be carrying a HUGE quantity of water along the route. Please use whatever container you normally train with. We will ensure you are kept 'topped-up' throughout the run. There will be numerous formation points along the route which will give an ideal opportunity to fill-up.

Signage:

We have a HUGE task ahead of us....... We have to place signs along the entire route telling you and the support crews where to go. These signs will vary from simple directional arrows to large text signs giving an instruction to 'Keep to the right hand side' or 'Use the pavement' etc.
However, the cyclist support team are there to guide and assist you. T hey are there to keep you safe so a simple plea; PLEASE FOLLOW THEIR INSTRUCTIONS!!!

TR:

A huge amount of work has been put into setting up a slick and efficient operation at Tarrant Rushton.

When you arrive, you will be guided into the main hangar to check-in. There will be 4 sections split into surnames A-E, F-L, M-S and T-Z. You will be asked to complete the back of your runner number which will hold your medical details in case of an emergency and also to complete the registration form. Once done, you will then be issued with a simple pack which, amongst other things will contain a colour coded baggage label which you will need to tie onto your 'French' bag. These will then be placed in 'Glider' piles ready for loading onto the transport vehicle. We have done this as it is much easier to locate your bag within a pile of 31 instead of a pile of 200!

Half way stop: New Forest Hotel, Ashurst, New Forest (A35)

Tony and Jane are going to be providing you with Pasta, Tuna and Chicken as well as bananas and water. You will have the opportunity to change clothes and shoes/socks etc and take on a hot meal.

This is also a great opportunity to catch up with friends and relatives. Tell them to head down there for about 8pm. The pub are extending their menu with a Hog Roast and putting up a marquee in the garden to cater for all the extra guests. After a nice meal, your supporters will then have the chance to catch up with you before you set off again for the remaining 30 miles to Portsmouth. PLEASE TELL AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN TO GET DOWN THERE!!!! Tony and Jane are doing this all for practically nothing in support of Project 65 and we would like them to get a bit of business back from it.

Medical support:

There will be a team of men from Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) who will follow the running group at all times to ensure they are on hand to deal with any issues. They are carrying a HUGE amount of equipment and should be able to handle almost any situation. If you require emergency treatment, then the team will provide immediate care until an ambulance arrives.
The team consists of:

Capt Ray Bowden (team leader)
Capt Thomas Feeney
Capt Laurence Feeney

We also have Dr Iain Chalmers (The Silver Surfer) within the group who will be able to assist if required but only on UK soil.

There will be a spare ambulance driven by Mike Lusado which will also be with the group. This is a stunning WWII field ambulance!

Media:

Ed and the team at ONE have been really pushing the run and the media attention is really starting to build now. If you have ANY contacts at all, no matter how small or insignificant you feel they may be, please pass them to Ed. The more coverage we have, the more money we raise! (I would like to echo that; please give us a ring if you think you can help us, or email me - elo@oneismore.com - Ed)

That's about it ladies and gentlemen. I hope you are all ready, or as ready as you'll ever be! I look forward immensely to seeing you all at TR on the 4th June.

Stay well and keep fit!

Best wishes

Danny Greeno
Chairman

The Silver Surfer delivers milk and justice!

2009-05-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers:

See teenagers are top of the list currently, don’t you love them!

Can I suggest a good method of taking out frustrations? Alice, my eldest, wanted a paint balling party; the Silver Surfer got the chance to dress up a soldier (evidence added) and retaliate! Best £100 I’ve ever invested. I even needed extra ammo, God it was a great day out!

I enclose another photo of a strange new milkman in my village. Yes it’s the silver surfer again, and yes, the road is flooded! The river is normally a gentle stream 3 feet below the green railings in the background.

The good news is my foot is better and a nice run tonight with my running club. Nearly there now the excitement is building!

Anyone want a teenager?!

2009-05-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

'Not the one from the Telly' is back:

After my absolutely pathetic attempt at running last Tuesday, I have had 6 days off from training. I found the 30 miles quite hard and my right knee was in pain for quite a bit of the last few miles. I therefore decided to lay off it for a while. By way of still training but reducing the impact on the knees I spent some time on my cross trainer. I’m not a fan of cross trainers; I find them intensely boring and a bit gimmicky. We bought it so members of the family could get fit. But it languished in the garage and was never used. So I set it up in our bedroom and it still doesn’t get used!!

To make the ‘journey’ more interesting I put on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the DVD. That broke the monotony! After nearly 2 hours I know I had a work out but it didn’t really feel like I have achieved anything. So, back to running. Last night I did 6 miles. Only a slight knee ache but nothing serious. Ten miles planned for tonight. I’ve been intensely stretching my hamstrings and it has worked a little. I must be the most unsupple person in the world, which doesn’t help the muscles.

I can sense the nervousness that Ed mentioned in his blog. I guess that must be the same for any endurance event. In my limited experience the training always pays off and everything goes well.

My youngest son Jake, (18 years old) is on a Public Service course at college in Bournemouth. He wants to be a policeman. At 6’4” he would certainly look the part. He is going sailing this week as part of his adventurous training. They will sail all around the Solent, Weymouth and maybe further a field. He was given a kit list of items to take.

When I was serving in the Army I did a lot of sailing all over the world. So I thought I would offer some words of encouragement and advice on what to take and what to do. I said “Do you want to sit down and talk about your sailing. Maybe I could give you some advice. I might have some things you could take that would make it easier or more interesting..." His reply was, "No you’re alright, I know exactly what I’m doing.” Anybody want to borrow a teenager for a few years!!

Best wishes to you all and stay fit!

Jonathon

16 Days to Go!

2009-05-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

Dear All -

Many thanks for your comments, suggestions and words of encouragement! With 16 days to go now, people are beginning to get really nervous. I have no doubt though that it will be a huge success and you will all do yourselves and those you are commemorating immensely proud!

May a make a small plea - the Project 65 Blog seems to be dying a death... For publicity purposes I would really like to make it hum again. If anyone wants to submit a blog, with pictures if you wish, please just email the text to me - elo@oneismore.com and I'll post them asap.

Thanks very much, and keep up the great work!

Ed LO

Nearly there.

2009-05-18T03:32:00.000-07:00

This is becoming the Doc Chalmers show... Does anyone else want to blog? Anyway here he is again:

Well it’s the finishing straight now on the running.

I know I’ve been banging on about keeping fit and injury free, surprise, surprise I’ve managed to do my self in! I obviously should know better but the duathlon recently was, for various reasons, too much of a challenge. The weather was driving rain and cold so I charged off on the 1st run. Bike had a few hairy moments: vision was restricted as glasses steamed up and hands were slipping on the bars. Got caught in the later stages of the bike but despite cramping up knew I could run them down. Certainly did them on the run managing sub 7 minute pace.

This has come at a high cost as now got super dose of “plantar fasciitis” and was barely able to walk far less train on Friday/Saturday. By Sunday it was much improved and managed an hour at high intensity on the static bike. I think a hefty dose of reality and discipline to not go 110% is called for! This will have to be done on our long run as even pace and following a plan is paramount.

Packed the youngest daughter off on adventure holiday this AM, she was like a spaniel on amphetamine all weekend and was doing me in! Despite my best efforts she still has a plaster on so more of a holiday and less of the adventure, methinks!

Booked my accommodation in Portsmouth at the Ibis Hotel so excitement is building, it’s a long way down from Grimsby and I’ve got a bit extra to carry as the medics wanted a “defibrillator”. So rather than catching the 5am train from Newark and crossing London in rush hour I’ve elected for a leisurely night in hotel. If anyone else is staying happy to join them for a pasta and some water!

Best wishes

And another from Doc Chalmers!

2009-05-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Silver Surfer:

Having got the triathlon out of my system it was back to pounding the roads around Utterby. It’s been hard as most of the mileage has been unaccompanied. The kids have refused to get out of bed, my wife doesn’t understand and Dan Chico has been working away. The bonus is I live on the edge of the “wolds” so a scenic area is very close by, so far seen lots of the local wildlife including some deer. For those of you who think Lincolnshire is flat hopefully the picture included on my last blog will disprove that; if you can’t see it there then just look at my just giving page!

Quite a sad thought entered my head today as my wife asked me at breakfast what I would do next after I’d “nailed this challenge”!? Have to say made me think, normally a season is fully planned with A races B races and training sessions but I’ve got nothing else entered for 2009. I’m sure she can find me some jobs but when I finish this challenge it’s not quite as simple as stop running. I, and I suspect the rest of us, will need to “de-train” and take stock. Even now I can feel a subtle difference on the bike being less able to push big cogs and needing different gears to ride hills.

The better news is my daughter has only got a "greenstick" so the plaster should be off by the end of the week, just in time for her going on an Adventure Holiday with school. The list of hideously dangerous things to do means I'll be visiting some A/E department in Shopshire soon. I have to admit she really is a mobile disaster area, and to make it worse the horse she fell off this time is well known for being so laid back he's nearly horizontal!

Anyway of to try and make a few pennies more for the charities as struggling to shift the Heart of Midlothian Directors box voucher.

Finally hot off the press is my mate Gavin (who started me on this challenge) may be joining us as a cycle outrider. He is a great bloke and has good motivational skills. He pulled numerous japes and wheezes when he coached us swimming and is quite a good cyclist: came 3rd in race across USA once!

Best wishes and keep injury free!

Second from Jonathon Ross...!

2009-05-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

Again, more apologies! Jonathon Ross is on fire;

Training again seems to have suffered. I had to buy new trainers after my last pair were punctured by a stone. Never had that happen before. The bruising from the stone has died down and I can now run OK. A short 8 miles on Wednesday was followed by 12 miles on Friday. Each was enjoyable but my knees are hurting a lot!

I managed 30 miles yesterday (Tuesday) but had to walk for a while due to the pain in my knees. I have since seen a fitness advisor. They said that I need to do more stretching and improve the muscles in my legs.

I have now decided not to run anymore long distances before the day. Instead I'll keep to 10 milers and workouts on the cross trainer. My tapering down was due to start soon anyway - judging by my fellow bloggers, I'm not the only one to start an early slow down. One extra problem I have is that last October I trapped my sciatic nerve and was laid flat for three days. Despite extensive physio I have very little feeling below the left knee! This doesn't affect my running but it makes the muscles very tight.

On Saturday we went, as a family, to Cardiff to attend a memorial for my nephew Tom. He sadly died last year aged 24. The memorial was in the form of a music evening in a pub. Tom had been a keen musician and all his friends had laid on a series of 'tunes'. Some played wonderfully and some would not have got through the first round of 'Britains Got Talent'. It was a good evening. Despite the circumstances it was great to spend time with my boys and one of their girlfriends. The journey back was full of reminiscings of childhood embarassments and funny stories. It has made me think that we really must spend more time together.

I have a fair knowledge of the run route as far as Lyndhurst. It is fairly flat, any slopes are gentle. The countryside is East Dorset and the New Forest so it very attractive. Past Lyndhurst it is more built up. Tarrant Rushton itself is no longer a working airstrip but you still get a great sense of history when you visit it. Some of the old wartime buildings are still standing (although they are derelict). It will certainly be quite a moving event when we set off.

Good luck to you all - nearly there!

Looking forward to sharing a tent with some of you, I will apologise now for my snoring!!

Two from Jonathon Ross...

2009-05-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

Apologies from the Editor - clearing up the back log of emails! Two blogs in quick succession from 'Not the one from the telly'!

I had a really good training session on Saturday. I managed 40 miles across a variety of terrains. My pace was a constant 5½ mph. It seems that this is my natural speed on long distances. I did try and slow myself down but found it uncomfortable. I did walk a few times but found that really boring and even more uncomfortable than running. I also had to have two “Sit Downs”. I don’t think this is a technical phrase but it explains the fact that at two points I just had to rest.

Once was when my right knee just gave up the ghost and was extremely painful. This was around 30 miles. I had a rest on a bench, ate some jelly babies then carried on. I then had a 5 minute rest when I bumped into two colleagues by a local golf course. The rest did me good and for the last 3 miles I felt quite fresh. When I got home I felt OK and after a few stretches, a couple of recovery drinks and a bath I was summoned to go shopping. My wife drove to the shops but when we arrived I had to be helped out of the car!

I did have a small disaster after 5 miles. A sharp stone went straight through my trainers, tore my sock and foot tape and cut my foot. The pain was excruciating. T he resultant bruising put paid to me going out on my planned 22 miles on Sunday. Instead I was volunteered to dig over my father in law’s garden. I would have preferred the run!

All is well now though and I will be out for a relatively sedate 8 miles tonight.

Many thanks to James and Giles who left fantastically encouraging comments after my last blog. When you have never run anywhere near the distance we will run you have no idea what it will be like. I now feel full of confidence and ready for the challenge.

When I was out on Saturday I had a number of people overtake me at different times. All in lovely bright colourful running outfits. Not one bit of sweat on them. All bouncy and bright. Some gave a small wave, but most gave me a sort of sideways sneering glance as if to say “What speed do you call that”. More than once I felt like shouting “I’m doing 40 bloody miles here not 40 metres, you T&%@!!!”

Happy days. Stay fit.

The Silver Surfer updates...

2009-05-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers:

I will admit that being a sneaky devious sod is not my style. I regret to say that I also never have been one of those touchy feely sorts either. Got back Friday night and piled off out on the tractor to cut the grass. This confused everyone including the dog. I guessed I may have got away with it till my wife spotted the TV schedule and race details for the triathlon on Sunday.

It all then fitted into place. I’d gone cutting the grass to ensure I could have a quiet Saturday watching the F1 qualifying while they all went shopping. This resulted in her visiting my wallet and removal of some notes. I have to say her mood improved later on Saturday as she swapped her mobile phone and in the process made £150 profit. My request to be taken out for a meal was declined!

Sunday dawned and off to the sprint triathlon, an early start racing at 09:00 for me. I met up with a load of mates from swimming club and triathlon club. I was ashamed as my swimming club had entered as a team relay. I was in with the 9 minute pace swimmers as I was planning to “trundle round”. Even they however annoyed me as I was pushing aggressively off the wall straight into the next racers feet.

Twelve lengths and a few kicks later a quick jump onto the bike and a 14 mile pedal round rural Lincolnshire. After 45+ minutes it was a rather ungainly dismount from the bike (not one of my better efforts) change of shoes and off on the run. Got the bit between the teeth and red mist was descending so set off to catch the ones in front! Had a surprisingly good run split, must be all that training and an OK finish in about 1h 20 minutes, stayed to cheer the rest of the boys and girls while eating generous amounts of bacon butties.

Unfortunately missed the really good bit as one of our lady club members forgot to screw her front wheel on properly, lifted the bike off the rack and front wheel fell out! Joking apart at least it wasn’t on the road, but she won’t do that again!

Anyway back to running now as on final straight. Had a look at the route and seems fairly flat, I enclose a recent photo taken at the Croxby Crawl finish, aptly named Heartbreak Hill and pray there is nothing similar to tackle on the day!

Best wishes

The Silver Surfer

Running the Fine Line....

2009-05-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Matt Barker:

Hello again to everyone! Matt Barker here updating the interweb with his training 'goings on'.

Hows training going??? That is what everyone keeps asking....Well, er...it's ok but not as well as I would like. While I am confident I can and will complete 65 miles on the day, I will always think I need to do more quality training.

I am treading the fine line at this stage of affairs, where I want to train hard enough to be confident and at ease with the task at hand but not so hard that I injure myself or become ill for it. I have been suffering from a head cold for the last 2 weeks so have only ran when I have felt like it... essentially starting my taper a little early maybe. There is much debate regarding running when you are feeling like crap.

Lots of people say DON'T, as it will set you back further, others, such as Dean Karnazes say that "unless you are running a high fever you should try". I opted for the 'rest' option with the idea that I still have a few weekends left. As a result I am feeling better and more positive despite having to adjust my taper plans.

I have been told a great tip by an ex-elite triathlete who recommended that to save my knees, build my quads and strengthen supporting muscles, I should cycle say 30 miles, then run 20. The idea being that you get the cardio workout over the distance as you would if you ran it but it would take less time, save joints from being battered and reduce the chance of injury.
An excellent idea for a time pressed family guy with a two busy jobs!!

The buzz coming from the organizers at the moment including emails and information packs is bringing the reality home now but also stirring up real positivity and energy for me. The last few months have flown past for me and I am truly excited and honoured to be part of this. I am doing well with sponsorship now having completely smothered the local town's shops, bars, fire stations, leisure centres etc. with posters.

Finally I am wondering what I will do once this is all over. Will there be a Project 66?!

Ham and Jam!

Matt

The Silver Surfer is still in trouble.

2009-05-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers:

Cycled over to Croxby tonight for my little 4.2 mile run, it was the 100th running of it and a very special night locally. The weather was windy and the 12 mile cycle took an hour due to the cross wind. 34 minute run was quite acceptable given that 1/3 of the run was full on into the wind. At least the 1:6 hills were cross wind. I passed my ever helpful coach Mike Hall taking photographs who told me to get moving, stop smiling as I obviously wasn’t working hard enough and reminding me I still had another 50+ to go. Thanks Mike, just what mates are for!

Then a quick shoe change and a 12 mile bike home, fortunately some was down wind. Arrival home for the “silver surfer” meant a bad day at the office got a whole lot worse. You couldn’t write a “soap” like this but my youngest daughter has fallen off a horse again. She has broken her wrist for the 3rd time and this needs to be added to the elbow fracture (which I diagnosed) and the shoulder fracture (that I missed!)

My wife wasn’t too chuffed as I was obviously uncontactable and the youngest has a swim completion, piano exam and violin exam and SATS all fairly soon! Mind you when I mentioned her Christmas present is now sorted as we could buy her a rocking horse instead of a real horse she really lost the plot!

My mad cycle mate gave me some helpful hints, makes a change from the Vaseline and plasters comments, regarding a rather curious concoction, non-steroid anabolic mega pack, from allsports (not the bucket high street shop) but an online store. He claims it’s the “biz” and legal so what the hell! Lets give it a go! On the ethanol front, amazed one of our number managed nearly 6 months sans alcohol, regrettably 6 days is nearer the case for me! Another case from the doctor of don’t do as I do, but as I say!

Anyway still have to plod on, feet to pickle, long run Saturday and a sprint tri on Sunday!

The Silver Surfer is in the dog house!

2009-05-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers:

I’m now officially worse than Osama Bin Laden in the eyes of my family. We have a Chocolate Labrador who eats sleeps and exercises only when the cattle prod comes out as well as goldfish, a tortoise and rabbits. We nearly added a family of mallard ducks to the list.

Doing some grouting my youngest shrieks that we have 8 baby ducks that have been abandoned and I must immediately do something to help (I thought about a roasting tin!) I told her they were not abandoned but likely to be left while the parents went feeding. Not to be fobbed off she kept a close eye on them and then forced me to do something as they waddled off towards the main road. Cue the farcical chase of 8 baby ducks, and, boy, can they shift!!

Having finally caught all 8 they needed to be loved, cared for, fed, watered etc! They couldn’t be left out as it was cold so had to come into the house. I was getting more “narked” by now as they were being treated better than me!

Additionally my helpful teenage daughter used them as an excuse to avoid revision claiming they needed round the clock 1 to 1 care! I spent early Sunday running hoping to arrive back to find the parents had returned and claimed their children - no such luck and my attitude hardened. I struggled to get them re homed but managed it although they did have to spend another 24 hours being pampered by the family. My vigorous waving and cheering as they left in the RSPCA van on Monday was not appreciated!

We need to encourage J Ross and his worries. I felt exactly the same on my first marathon, my first triathlon and my first ironman event: worries about training volumes, fluid, nutrition, psychology, blisters etc are normal. I’ve seen many training schedules and they are all different.

I’m so bored of the long steady runs currently than I tried to blag my way into a short triathlon. Lincoln was 'pulled' due to 'floater' in the pool so I’m off to Woodhall Spa this w/e. I may hold back on the cycle as a spirited ride and crash into the bushes is not plan A at the moment! He is not alone; I just hope, for me, all of the x training pays dividends on the day.

I’ve also gone with my local running club on some short sharp routes at 7 min/mile pace and as a consequence I feel inadequately compared with all those piling in the miles but know my knees wouldn’t stand a battering on roads day in and out. Remember DNF is not an option as pain is only transient, quitting is permanent!

Best wishes to you all

Runner's information Packs now available to download!!!

2009-05-05T07:31:00.001-07:00

Note from the Editor:

The runner's pack is now available to download from the Project 65 website. Go to http://www.project65.net/run/runners-info in order to get any info that you might be missing.

Cheers and stay fit!

Work, family and a social life makes for tough training.

2009-04-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

Jonathon Ross is still going...

The ability to continuously train and stick to a pre-planned schedule is proving to be difficult. With the best will in the world I have found that work, family and social life get in the way.

I had an army reunion last Friday in Chilwell, Nottingham. I actually stayed at the Village Hotel which I think Rory uses, but I didn’t see him there. It was a good day as I managed a short run and then an hour in the gym and then some time in the sauna. This was followed by a few Guinness’s in the evening and a lot of old war stories.

On Saturday night I had a cowboy fancy dress night to go to. Didn’t drink much so no real problems with a small 15 miler on Sunday. Today is Tuesday and I have 20 miles planned for this evening. I have to say at this point that since New Year I have had virtually no alcohol but I think sometimes a good blow out is justified....!

This weekend I have a 22 mile run planned for Saturday. This will be from Totton to West Moors in the afternoon. I then have a 40 mile run planned for Sunday. This will take in the delights of Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth seafront, Sandbanks, and the New Forest. This should be the test to see if I am ready. Bit late in the day if I’m not though!

I had found a training plan for a 100 mile run on the internet and sort of adapted it. The maximum mileage it recommended was 35 miles as part of the training. So I was a bit shocked to see that we were supposed to be at or above 40 miles. Panic did set in slightly at this point. I have now managed to sort of stop worrying. Surely I can’t be the only one having panic attacks; I’ve never had them before! I guess it must be the fear of not wanting to fail after such a big build up. Words of encouragement required please....

I wore a Camelbak last week for the first time on a 30 mile run. I found it more preferable than a waist belt. I was getting stomach aches from the belt, so have now ditched it and will continue with the Camelbak.

I did see Darth Vader briefly in the London Marathon, but not sure that was Spencer... Well done though for your fantastic effort, it looked extremely uncomfortable!

Hope you are all well.

Route Map et al

2009-04-29T02:25:00.001-07:00

Message from the Editor:

Dear All -

Just a very quick note to do a couple of things:

1. Commend Spencer Rolls on a superbly valiant effort during the London Marathon. Despite not having Project 65 plastered over his chest, he still managed to get himself both on the BBC and in The Sun! I've also seen the Facebook pictures of his chafing - not pretty!!

Well done, Spence - keep up the good work and let your example be a shining light to all other runners in their sponsorship efforts!

2. To remind you all that there are now 5 weeks and 1 day till H-Hr. Rory reckons that you should be banging out 40 milers by now....! No comment on that as I was out of breath running for the bus this morning!

3. To point out that the route map of the run is now downloadable from the website at this address in a fantastic powerpoint presentation by Danny Greeno that was clearly worth waiting for! Please do promote this link when you do all you promotional work as it will benefit you to have people turning out to cheer you along the route!

4. To congratulate you all on your training, committment and sponsorship raising efforts. The final push is about to start, and if what I'm hearing is correct, there could a massive surprise in store for us all - no more to be said on that at the moment, suffice to say, don't give up... It will be worth it eventually!

Take care, and keep banging out the (s)miles!

See you at Woburn.

Ed

The Silver Surfer has had a tough week!

2009-04-29T02:12:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers:

Just been one of those weeks. According to my wife I live on the 'edge' and by this she probably means the 'edge of sanity'! I’m currently feeling TATT (Tired All The Time) due to over exertion, and that message from R Coleman doesn’t make me feel that much better. Does he mean 40 mile runs or 40 mile total weeks training? To summarise one of those weeks:

HIGHS: The Mighty Mariners are pretty much safe unless we lose and Chester score 'shed loads' in their last match and we got Project 65 published in both local papers.

LOWS: Chased by cows when out running with my mates from 'Wolds Vets',; got totally frozen on Saturday doing a dock swim and had to help in rescuing an 'open water virgin' who had a bit of a 'paddy'; tried to find some soft ground for off road running in the afternoon when I’d thawed out but instead the bridal path I used was bone hard, heavily rutted and can best be described as a 'leg breaker'; a triathlon planned for Sunday as a bit of light relief was changed to a duathlon at short notice due to someone doing 'floater' in pool and hence water quality was somewhat suspect; tried to speak to Dan C in the evening about how his training was going and he had disappeared off 'clubbing'; and finally, there was the swim set today given to keep us quiet - a total horror with 3 lots of 100m individual medley swims as a small part of 1800m main set. The warm up/down was 650m.

Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned work!

But what the hell you’ve got to see the funny side, if the lows > highs this week maybe next week it will/must be better! Just 5 weeks to go and stay injury free. Weather picked up as I longingly look out of the window between seeing patients, so off on the bike for a leisurely spin this afternoon....

I know I can do it now...

2009-04-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

Matt Barker back again after a blog break;

Having had a mad few weeks with work and family life I have now 5 mins to do a blog. Training is going well. I am not running as far as I'd like at the mo but I know I can.

Last Sunday saw me do 24 miles by doing 8 mile loops in the Hampshire countryside near my house, experimenting with food and carb drinks. I was attempting 40 miles but left it too late in the day and had family commitments but knew I was good for 40 as I felt fresh as a daisy at the end of 34 and not sore at all during the next few days.

I shall be doing the 8 mile loop again soon but will get more weekly miles in due to working the next 2 weekends. :-(

Echoing Jonathan's comments, my local British legion has been very helpful especially after I did a talk for them plus I am now approaching local businesses and have posters nearly everywhere in the local town. Sponsorship is slow but sure.

Not much more happening other than BBQs, running, eating, sleeping and working.

Catch y'all later with a more interesting blog next time hopefully!

A special kind of idiot!

The Project 65 Chairman Checks-in.

2009-04-24T03:27:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the many wonderful posts on the PROJECT 65 blog over the last few weeks and I thank all the bloggers for lightening up my days at 'GCHQ'!

We are working flat out here to pull everything together to ensure the RUN TO PEGASUS is the great event it promises to be.

I'm sure you have all seen the numerous emails from me asking for various bits of info from you and I need to ask one final time for you all to confirm which ferry crossing you wish to return on:

2300 Saturday 6th June
1630 Sunday 7th June

For those of you who wish to return on the 7th I have a little treat for you. A lift back to the ferry port on genuine WWII vehicles!

We are also in the planning stages of a little soiree on the evening of the 6th. More details soon.......

I hope you are all training hard and well. A certain Mr Coleman from Nottinghamshire informs me you should all be at (or over!) the 40mile mark by now so best of luck with all that!

Please ensure that you are at Tarrant Rushton Airfield by 1200 on Thursday 4th June ready for the safety briefing and start of the run which will be accompanied by no less than 2 Spitfires, 1 Hurricane and a C47 Dakota!!!

If any of you have any questions relating to the run, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Information packs are in the post, FINALLY!!

Best wishes to you all. I look forward to seeing you at the start in June.

Danny Greeno
Chairman

Football and swimming in the docks.

2009-04-24T03:18:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers is back in the running (or swimming);

It never ceases to amaze me how things happen. Both Dan Chico and I are starting to make a concerted effort on the fund raising. We have a signed Grimsby Town shirt (a definite must have item) and Dan then decided to e-mail all of the football league clubs to try and scrounge something out of them, using the leverage that our local club are helping. Surprisingly not a lot ensued except but we did get 2 directors box tickets from Hearts in Edinburgh!

Now the problem how the hell do we get a decent amount for these tickets since they are not flying off the shelves in Grimsby! I’m Scottish but as a Hibs fan I couldn’t face the humiliation visiting the directors box of Hearts...! For those who don’t follow football consider the Hearts/Hibs rivalry on a similar, but slightly more posh footing, as Celtic/Rangers! All helpful hints accepted..

We also have been targeting TV, radio and the newspapers. It was all nice and quiet till our 2 local papers (Grimsby Telegraph and Cleethorpes Chronicle) found out they had both been targeted. There is now ensuing an unseemly and childish race to see who can print our story first. Dan and I are looking on from the side with considerable amusement, and my mobile is in melt down mode as I get repeated phone calls/texts for photo and interview requests. I have to say though any publicity will do!

This weekend sees the first chance to get the wet suit out for open water swimming. Most people think I’m extra mad (i.e. worse than usual) when we swim in the docks. However, our local open water swimming club laugh at us soft and weedy triathletes - they turn up in Speedos, goose fat and 70’s style swim caps including the flowers, like my Mum used to wear!!

Fortunately, we haven’t had too many problems to contend with; the rats are scared so stay away from us, the swans don’t like us so only attack us if we get close and the locals reckon we do it for charity so hang over the edge of the bridge side waving notes to try and give us a donation!

Best of all if someone tries to commit suicide by jumping in the docks the rescuers get the “full monty” antibiotics, vaccines for everything - including things I’ve probably forgotten about. Oh, and we get a nice cup of tea!

Finally I emailed my swimming coach about the Project and asking if the masters would like to sponsor me. Turned up today for my scheduled swim at 06:00 and the masters traipsed by muttering I was 'bloody mad'. My coach was much more supportive than usual - she is looking forward to me running as she reckons when I finish it I’ll be so 'trashed' it will keep me quiet when I return and she won’t have to suffer the usual mild mucking about and cheek! She didn’t sponsor me though!

Nearly there now...

And he thought he was so cool!

2009-04-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Jonathon Ross is back on the case;

I read a brilliant quote this week, “Any idiot can do a marathon but it takes a special kind of idiot to do an ultramarathon”. Enough said!

My training routine was again disrupted this week. We went away to stay with friends in Newport, Shropshire for Easter. Our friends like to stay fit so I thought I’d see if they were interested in a few runs whilst we were there. Sarah told me in no uncertain terms, “Why can’t you leave it alone just for a week?” I did try and explain that training is continuous but it fell on deaf ears.

Whilst we were staying there they had a few guests over for a BBQ. I got talking to one guy who said he used to do a bit of running but not any more. I then proudly told him all about Project 65 and the distances I was running. He then told me that he used to run marathons and his best time was 2hr 48mins. Feeling somewhat inadequate I think I managed to change the subject at this point.

Last Tuesday I booked myself a sports massage. I’ve never had one before and thought it might sort out a few muscle issues I have. So I went to the clinic in Wimborne and met Hannah. After I had explained my woes she set to work. Pain, Pain, Pain with an extra helping of pain is the only way I can describe the experience. She said that she had found a few ‘knots’ that needed sorting. I didn’t realise she was going to sort them with a hammer!! On a serious note she was excellent. However I did leave the clinic walking like I had marbles in my shoes.

My training routine is definitely back on track now (until the next disruption). Fifteen miles last night was actually very hard and I ache this morning. Not really what I was hoping for. I have a few short runs planned for today and Friday then a 30 miler for Sunday. The route I have chosen is through forests, along a disused railway to Hengistbury Head and along the coast to Bournemouth and back home. Then I will do 15 miles on Monday. All being well this will be my routine up until 2 weeks before the event.

I little tip on sponsorship. Your local British Legion may allow you to put a sponsorship form up on their notice board. It has worked for me and attracted some quite healthy amounts.

All the best to you all, stay fit and enjoy the pain – after all, it is free!!

Feel bad after a race? Drinks calf's milk!

2009-04-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers is full of beans and the joys of Spring;

I finally had to give in; I had been a bit concerned about my down loaded training schedule as it included no x-training and true to form having stuck to it fairly rigidly, my legs gave up. A quick visit to my own GP didn’t help much as I got the sensible advice to rest, oh yeah! Next stop, swimming coach who is also an NHS physiotherapist and a similar comment ensued, as a consequence out came the “Jacques Cousteau” style flippers for lots of leg drills!

I’ve already shown an element of dogged independence and active ignorance of advice (don’t do as I do, do as I say) so it was back to duathlons after an all too short a rest. Our first duathlon, a short 1 mile run, 10 mile bike and 1m run outing, was postponed due to fog descending to virtually zero visibility and even I’m not that mad so we sensibly retired to the pub for a pint and a chance to brush up on my pool skills. (In an earlier life I did get an offer from my University Medical Dean, either play pool as a pro or finish your medical degree... good decision?!)

However I was in fine form next week at the duathlon until the chain came off the big ring on the racing bike, went from 'flogging it' to 'prating' about at the side of the road in a flash. The most enjoyable bit was zipping along down wind exceeding the 30mph speed restriction through picturesque Wold Newton village with all its daffodils at the road side. Still, 34 minutes for 10 miles on the bike with a repair stop is OK. I suspect the alleged 5m 30s for the second mile run was a tad dubious so I guess my wife was having a 'blonde' moment while acting as timekeeper.

I also see we have some excellent words of wisdom regarding recovery from training. No disrespect as it all looks very good and technically 100% but recently in 220 Tri magazine an article said a milkshake and a banana were just as good after a hard race. I suspect the extra clever amongst us will realise the milkshake will have Insulin like Growth Factors and other interesting substances hence the muscle recovery/development/adaption.

My other non scientific trick is a big slug of that miracle fluid Iron Bru: useless for adaption but superb for hangovers and also feeling “pasty” after a race. Recovery is vital given the volumes we are doing and the golden time is that hour after finishing. If you really go for broke there are nutritional supplements (legal, clearly) that can be used. I even was a guinea pig for one of them; Neovite. This is dried cow colostrum i.e. first milk passed for the new born calf. It puts Marvel milk powder to shame on the “vile” front but it works. I regret it’s expensive and has the minor drawback of needing to come from BSE free cows! All in all, a bit tricky!

Anyway off with our local running club tonight for a quick 5m road race. I feel a leisurely cycle to/form the start is required.

Best wishes and see you all soon!

How not to do it!

2009-04-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Project 65 blog editor thought he'd have his say...

Well, people, I think you are all completely bonkers.

Don't get me wrong, as an ex-Army officer myself, I understand and sympathise with the cause. God, I even did the FLM last year for one of the military charities and it practically killed me. Also note that I say 'did' not 'ran' - there is a reason for this.

It's not surprising given I did all my training on the dance floors of south-west London, showed up at the start having stuffed a kebab down between tube stop and line, still half-cut having not been to bed due to one of said dance-floors, and with the attitude of, 'How hard can it be for God's sake!? I am in the Army after all!! This is nothing in comparision to Sandhurst!!'

Six hours and twenty-fours minutes later, with burst blisters on both feet, feeling like I'd been kneecapped, bleeding nipples (and had been from about Mile 20), a raging thirst and possibly the worst hangover I'd ever known, I crossed the finish line in The Mall. I only narrow beat the street sweeper. Sandhurst didn't even register on the scale of pain.

So, now you've had the official method of long distance running (see Matt Furber below), I thought I give the antithesis... Let the above story, whilst vaguely amusing now in hindsight but not remotely at the time, be a sanguine lesson in how not to do marathon/ultra-marathon running!

However, I applaud you all tremendously for your efforts, big and small, and the committment that you will undoubtedly need to get round the 65 miles. I proved that you can just about get away with it for 26 miles, but there is no hiding in 65.

Collectively you have raised already a staggering amount, produced an unprecedented, and I would go as far as to say historic, collaboration between six military charities which normally are jockeying and vying for position, produced the best story of which I can possibly think to take to the papers to persuade the them to write about us, and given me some huge laughs with the entries to this blog..!

All I can say is please keep up the phenomenal work, keep pushing forward volunteers to Danny, and keep sending me press releases that I can correct for you and help with the publicity. Tell everyone you know about the Facebook group, this blog, the run and tell everyone to pass it on. Don't be shy in coming forward - you are all doing something amazing! Come to Woburn so that I can put faces to the names, and have a beer once you have finished your rather brief training run.

Above all though - keep banging out those miles! And that is from a seasoned marathon runner. Not.

Cheers

Ed

Carbs, protein and water!

2009-04-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Our man at Lucozade, Matt Furber, is back in the groove. This time it is post-run recovery. If you make it at all, of course.

Introduction:

The ability to recover fully from training and competition is important for all individuals. During periods of high training volume many people may train daily or even twice daily. Furthermore, there are a number of sports in which competition is divided into different periods providing short intervals for recovery, and there are other sports which require athletes to participate in different contests on the same day.

In such instances, recovery may determine the extent to which adaptations occur over time, whilst in competition it may define successful performance. Recovery can be defined as the period following exercise that allows the body (and its various components) to repair, regenerate and adapt for both short and long term gain. The three key nutritional areas for recovery include:

Carbohydrate to help replenish the body’s muscle glycogen stores.
Protein to stimulate protein synthesis aiding the manufacture and repair of muscle tissue.
Fluid and electrolytes to help restore and maintain fluid balance (hydration).

Carbohydrate:

The most important factor affecting the storage of carbohydrate as muscle glycogen is the total amount of carbohydrate consumed. When the recovery time between exercise is short (0-4 h) the immediate consumption of carbohydrate results in higher rates of muscle glycogen storage compared with delayed feeding. However, when the recovery period is longer, assuming total carbohydrate intake is sufficient; there is no further advantage of ensuring early carbohydrate consumption.

In these latter situations athletes can choose their preferred meal schedule according to what is practical and comfortable. Carbohydrate can be consumed as either a series of snacks or large meals, although more frequent intake of smaller snacks may be useful in overcoming the discomfort often associated with eating large amounts of bulky carbohydrate foods. When early carbohydrate consumption is necessary following exercise, consume moderate to high glycaemic index (GI) foods to stimulate the insulin response so critical to glycogen storage.

General recommendations for carbohydrate intake during recovery are provided below. However, these should be fine-tuned with individual consideration of total energy needs, specific training needs and feedback from training performance.

Current Carbohydrate Guidelines:

Immediate recovery after exercise (0-4 h): 1.0-1.2 g/kgBM/h at frequent intervals
Daily recovery: moderate duration/low intensity: 5-7 g/kgBM/day
Daily recovery: moderate to heavy endurance training: 7-12 g/kgBM/day
Daily recovery: extreme exercise programme (4-6+h per day) 10-12 g/kgBM/day

Protein

Protein is a key nutrient and its importance within the athletic diet has long been recognised, particularly in the area of recovery where protein is known to stimulate protein synthesis aiding the manufacture and repair of muscle tissue. Whilst the role of protein within the athletic diet is well established, there is some controversy regarding the amount of protein needed by individuals.

Currently, it is recommended that 1.2-1.7 g/kgBM/day protein is consumed (84-119 g for a 70 kg individual), with approximately 15-20 g taken within the first 60 min after endurance training. This protein requirement is generally met through the normal diet, although specialist protein products may be useful in the periods immediately after exercise to help promote recovery. More recently, it has become common place to consume protein in combination with carbohydrate.

Together carbohydrate and protein seem to have a larger effect on insulin, a key hormone influencing the uptake of carbohydrate in the muscle. The increased effect on muscle glycogen storage seems to be restricted to when carbohydrate intake might be below the threshold for maximal storage or feeding intervals are more than 1 h apart.

However, when taken together, it seems the effect on protein synthesis is greater following resistance exercise compared to protein taken in isolation. Consequently, it recommended that following high intensity training, or situations of high training/competition volume carbohydrate should be consumed together with protein. Consume 15-20 g of protein within 60-120 min of exercise, preferably in combination with 1.0-1.2 g/kgBM carbohydrate.

Hydration

The consumption of fluid before, during and after exercise is critical to help avoid dehydration and thus, the safe and effective functioning of the body. Following exercise, individuals should be looking to fully replace any fluid and electrolyte losses that might have occurred during exercise. This is best assessed by measuring body mass immediately before and immediately after exercise. For example, if you start exercise weighing 70 kg finish 69 kg then you have lost 1 kg in body mass as sweat (1 kg = 1 litre).

The main factors affecting post-exercise hydration are the volume and composition of the fluid consumed, whilst the aggressiveness of the strategy will depend on the amount of sweat lost and/or the timing of the next exercise bout. When rapid and complete restoration of fluid balance is necessary, plain water is not the ideal post-exercise hydration drink as it stimulates high urine flow and reduces the drive to drink.

Ideally fluids consumed in recovery should contain sodium as this the primary electrolyte lost in sweat, in addition to aiding the retention of ingested fluid, stimulating thirst and also enhancing the absorption of carbohydrate in the small intestine. Individuals are recommended to consume 1.5 litres (L) of fluid for each kilogram (kg) of body mass lost as sweat to help compensate for the inevitable urine losses that occur after exercise.

Hope this helps - keep on trucking!

Regards

Matt

Charming, to be sure!

2009-04-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

Doc Chalmers warns of some the nastier elements of ultra-marathon running...

I knew I shouldn’t have tempted fate and had a medicinal tincture last week. The 'Mighty Mariners' are now only 1 point above drop zone and knowing our luck Luton will somehow beat the 30 point deduction and stay in the league. Fair play to them; they deserve it after winning the Johnston’s Paint Trophy and showing promotion form...!

Enough football though, I also have a confession to make that no training was done this weekend - the ultimate shame! Somehow Gary, a fellow triathlete, and I ended up going to London for our joint birthday treat. The treat however involved sending the girlies and kids to a show, paying the train fares, buying all the food and drink and generally being a 'skivvy' by lumping the cases on and off the tube etc. To make it worse, although we got upgraded by the hotel and given complimentary cocktails, the girlies snaffled that as well! Nice one sided birthday present then. (Careful you don't fall into the same trap as Jonathon below...! - Ed)

On a more educational and sensible point we have touched on having a workable plan for fluids/nutrition. To really worry us all, there are worse things than 'bonking' i.e. running out of 'oomph' on the run...

Blisters are trivial and troublesome but soaking your feet in strong tea or pathology specimen fluid, if you can get it, will harden them up nicely. The pathology specimen fluid is superb though slightly tricky to acquire unless you a doctor like me, stinks and may damage carpets/floor so strongly advised to take care and avoid the Mrs when using! While I admire our Spencer I think it might be a bit late in the day for the toughening up trick. And looking at his choice of gear and all it’s rubbing points, he’ll need to soak himself in it! When I did FLM I kept passing 'rhinos', not realising that there were 10 on the course that year and I got a wee bit disorientated!

'Joggers nipple' is no laughing matter either and the tell tale circles of blood on a running top have stopped many before. Even lumps of Vaseline or corn plasters don’t offer 100% protection so train in your gear, and toughen them up!

'Joggers trots' is a charming loss of orifice control and is bad at any time, sober or otherwise and especially true of bottom control. A liberal dose of Imodium may be required/advised prior to racing...

'Hyponatraemia' - While the last 3 have a slightly light hearted element this definitely doesn’t and can be fatal due to central pontine myelinosis. I’ve seen a study that stated 13% of Boston Marathon runners had low serum sodium. I read that it was low but fortunately not low enough to hospitalise. The cause can be excess sweat, excess water consumption or both. Basically the longer you are exercising the more fluid you drink and the greater risk. To make it worse early symptoms can mimic dehydration so the natural inclination is to drink more water and it is more prevalent now there is increased popularity in doing long-distance events. Even doctor’s aren’t immune from it - I know of one doing an Ironman event and she stopped for a toilet break. On leaving the toilet she was so confused and disorientated she didn’t know which direction to run! She finished but “fitted” shortly after finishing and spent 2 days in intensive care. Please be warned!

On that happy, chirpy, positive note, off on the road bike!

Keep on trucking...!

2009-04-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Jonathon Ross is now making excellent progress;

I was very pleased with the interview I did with BBC South Today. I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t show much of it, they also omitted giving out the website details (!) and how to sponsor us. They did however give Project 65 some good coverage. So I guess something is better than nothing.

Training took a bit of a hit last week. My planned 30 miles last Sunday never materialised. I had to work on Saturday with my brother. He is a tree surgeon and he needed a hand with some rather large trees. He actually didn’t need a hand at all because I did all the lifting while he climbed and just cut large pieces off each tree. It was also my wife’s birthday. So by way of compromise I took her out for the day on Sunday. That meant Monday night I did another 22 miler home from work. A much improved performance on last time, thankfully! I then ran into work the next day and felt fine. My knees were screaming a little but I guess that’s as expected!

I was away on a course in Easingwald, York last week. What a beautiful part of the country! Managed to get out and run a couple of short runs through some very picturesque woods. Then on Sunday I managed 27 miles and felt pretty good at the end. I think I could have gone on for a good few more miles. For the first time I had some recovery drink when I finished and the improvement it made to my muscles and general feeling was immense.

I have a day off work this Wed and have planned a 35 miler....

With a little over 8 weeks to go, I have said to Sarah that I must focus on my training and make sure that I keep Sundays free from now on. She is happy with this as long as I have done all my chores beforehand! Unfortunately she read my blog on the mothers day issue and my win – win situation turned into a lost – lost situation with no remission!! Ha ha!! Schoolboy error allowing her to read it!

On a personal admin front I am happy with the set up I have for running now. I have a running belt with water bottle and a small bottle for gel. The belt has a large pouch for food, money etc. I also carry a 500ml water bottle in each hand when I am running. This may not be that orthodox but it works for me.

Best wishes to you all - stay fit and focused

Any ideas on how to combat chafing?!

2009-04-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Our little Trooper gives his update to go with the picture below:

Another interesting week for the FLM training:

Not much to report on the running side. I still have a niggly groin issue (make all the comments you like) but I can still run (plod). On Monday I had the local papers in again for the FLM Stormtrooper run. It went ok. I found even more areas that rub in the outfit and it is not getting any easier to run with the full face helmet on.

Afterwards I examined the damage on the inside of the legs. Looks like I have been Paintballing. Never mind... rather find out now than later on!

Thursday was the first time out on the roads. A bit of a mixed reception really. On Thursday I train with a local running club (Sutton Runners). So it seemed a good opportunity to get the Armour on the road. The club liked it, which is always a good thing. I managed to get 2 of the girlies to tie my laces for me because I cannot bend over enough!! Then out on the road.

Road was completely different to the running machine. A bit more air movement so I didn’t heat up as quickly, but after a while I couldn’t see anything with the lenses steaming up, so going to have to look for a solution there. I did take out the lenses which improved much needed ventilation.

Running on the road caused many people to cheer, beep the old horn, stop and take pics, but the worse one was a group of kids in a car throwing things at me. Great huh, you try to do something different and someone is always there to mess it up!!

At the end... I discovered even more new areas of rubbing! So a big learning from all of this, is the old ZINC oxide tape. It’s great to stop the rubbing, but getting the b@$tard off is another thing. So any advice on that is greatly received!

Going to try for a 10 miler in it this week so I’ll let you know.

CWP

The Sutton Guardian Strikes Back!

2009-04-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

Nut-job Spencer Rolls is doing things in a slightly eccentric fashion.
The article can be viewed here.

Nine weeks to go...

2009-04-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

Rob Starbuck is counting the days.

9 weeks to go and all is well – we hope that is the cry from all the runners!! I noticed it was 9 weeks this morning and a mixture of nerves and excitement surged through my veins.

Project 65 represents a unique challenge, regular runners mixed with those who have an emotional link with the events of 1944 alongside those who feel compelled to stand up and meet the challenge head on.

9 weeks to go so by now we all should be able to do a 40 mile training run. Yeah, right, hands up those that are there yet?!? I plan to do a 5 – 6 hour training session this Sunday. Just now a case of working out the route and deciding if I can run with a ruck-sack full of food and drink!

Oh, the joys of a long distance runner !

God, I love sport!

2009-04-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

The atmosphere in The Silver Surfer's house continues...

Well, it is a slightly better weekend this weekend. Grimsby (aka 'The Mighty Mariners') have won 3 in a row and move out of relegation places for the first time in weeks. I can hardly contain myself and indulge in a hopefully not premature medicinal tincture. Needless to say by Sunday normal service was resumed at The Silver Surfer's house. My eldest was still getting the 'deaf and dumb breakfast treatment' for omitting a Mother's Day present the previous week (the fact I’d skived off on a 3 hour run was fortunately overlooked!)

Her misdemeanors paled into insignificance when our chocolate Labrador decided that the recently delivered load of horse manure destined for the vegetable plot was a tasty snack or something to roll in! I was then instructed to dig the remaining horse manure into the whole vegetable plot completely and hose the dog down before even daring to think about pulling on my running shoes! 3 hours of digging and a soapy smelly dog wash later I needed a fortifying cup of tea. I then realised I still had my long run to do. As the old adage says 'no pain, no gain' so slow change and off we trundled. My youngest daughter initially decided she wanted to avoid the 'atmosphere' and join me, however 1 mile on the mountain bike was enough and she preferred the 'atmosphere' leaving yours truly to plod on for another 17 miles on his own.

I note another blogger will discuss recovery soon but we mustn’t forget even pacing for such distances. It is also helpful to assess the effort expended becuase if you 'red line' it you won’t be going anywhere! The posh way to do it is one of those clever 'Garmin' things. However they can be in the order of £400 for a super-duper version including distance covered, heart rate, cadence if on a bike, downloadable analysis etc. (though they are brilliant for personal usage).

Next, monitoring heart rate during exercise. Much cheaper but you need to do some simple maths to work out your training zones. I have an “idiots guide” if anyone wants it via Ed. Effectively this will help ensure quality training and avoid just “plodding” for plodding sake. Hence I didn’t feel too bad when I spat my dummy out and did that 10k recently as I still had some speed in my legs (completed at a smidgen over 7 min/mile pace)

The final and most entertaining way to asses pace and effort is to run and see if a) you can sing b) you can talk sentences c) you can talk words d) nothing, eyes on stalks e) blue/purple collapsed in heap at side of road. Obviously the running and singing version is close to the speed we will need in June...!

Possibly in better news, spring is here and the summer racing bike was dusted down, polished and serviced prior to the first 'duathlon' of the year (a run, bike, run combination event) The best bit is the last run off the bike, when your legs want to go in circles rather than running forward. The feeling is a bit like watching Mr L Majors running in the 6 Million Dollar Man series of years ago, oops showing my age now! The only thing is I don’t run at 60 mph, its just my legs feel like it, as they are completely 'wibble'!

God, I love sport.

Track bashing and running in dust clouds!

2009-03-30T02:35:00.000-07:00

The next installment from 5 Rifles and how they are getting on in Iraq;

This week the squad has been properly brought together for the first time. It stands at 15 hardy souls from all areas of the battalion. Some soldiers are new to the army and on their first tour, other have been here to Iraq three or even four times before.

We are training as a group, which means reining in some of the ‘racing snakes’ for the benefit of the plodders amongst us. The plan will see us doing two runs each week, of increasing length, until we complete a marathon distance in early May. This may, of course, prove to be too little, too late – I’m still learning about this ultra-running stuff!

Most of the squad will also burn many additional calories in the various gyms that are dotted around the sprawling Contingency Operating Base (COB). Others will spend a few hours in the increasingly hot sun ‘track bashing’, repairing armoured vehicles and keeping these heavy beasts in fighting condition.

The camp is filling up each day with more and more Americans - tents will soon be full to bursting. Our early morning starts are a pleasure by comparison; cool mornings albeit with the ever present clouds of dust and lumbering troop vehicles to contend with. We have been lucky to be able to fit in our training in amongst our patrols and duties, we are making the most of it whilst we can. Also, no injuries to the squad yet, touch wood, and everyone is now busy writing to their families back home to fight the sponsorship battle!

The photos below show some of our earlier runs within the battalion, team top runner Geordie Geoff and some of the guys in their day jobs

Have fun, and look forward to meeting you all!

Captain Mark Shercliff, 5 RIFLES
Team Captain, Project65

Halfway Picnics.

2009-03-30T02:31:00.001-07:00

Matt Barker suggests a novel way of including the family whilst training:

Hey y'all! Matt here. How is everybody's training going? Hope it is going very well indeed!

I have mixed feelings about my training this week. I managed to do 40 miles in 24 hours the other day, 10 on Friday then 30 on Saturday, split with a break in the middle at mile 15. I met the Mrs., boys and dogs at Stockbridge Downs for a picnic before reluctantly setting off home, waving them off in their comfy looking car!

It was my first ultra distance and apart from relying on the Rocky Story Soundtrack to get me going again for mile 16, was happy with my performance. The down side is I have a had a very hard week at work and have not run since due to time and commitments and also an overwhelming need to rest. I am listening to my body though and now feel like leggin' it out the door tomorrow morning which just happens to be my son Euan's Christening Day. I have family and friends coming from all around so will have to escape early and do a short one but at least I'm feeling like it again!

Just wanted to ask if any other runners are local to Winchester/Hampshire and fancied meeting up for a pint (joke, Rory!) or even a training run? I also wanted to say thanks to Jonathon Ross for doing the BBC South thing. I think they got bored with me when they rang me up and I couldn't fit them in when they wanted so they ditched me for Jonathan. You did a great job!

Anyway....cheers and see y'all soon.

Jonathon Ross - yes, that's right, our TV star!

2009-03-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

With apologies to Jonathon Ross from the Editor for not posting this last week, however, we have all seen the results of what he did with the BBC South..! Well done!

I had to alter my training routine this week. I had acquired a nasty blister on my right foot and didn't want to aggravate it. I had a cunning plan. I told my wife that as it was Mother's Day I wouldn't go running. Instead I would cook the roast and generally play servant for the whole day!

A win/win situation! I am now in her good books again and can go out to play when I want! I can hear you ask what were my boys doing for their mother on Mother's Day. Not much is the answer, they did cook a roast one year but never again. Its just easier that I do it!

This all meant that a weekday long run was required. On Monday I finished work early and set off for a run at around 5pm. I arrived home 22 miles later, at 8:30pm and absolutely shattered. This time I had prepared well but found the whole day very tiring. The next morning I ran the 6 miles into my work. I ran like 'Mrs Overall' from Acorn Antiques for the first 5 miles. It was only when I got to work that I started to feel OK. This was good training for me as I now know I can continue running even when my body is aching and not willing. I feel that I still have to up the ante so this Sunday I am aiming for 30 slow miles.

I have a reporter and cameraman visiting me tomorrow from South Today. Really looking forward to it. The publicity will be excellent and raise the profile of the event. Respect to CWP for running in the London Marathon dressed in that rather natty suit. Good luck to you.

Regards to everyone, dig deep, we can all do it!

And here is the link to the BBC South news item - Ed!

From The Times: Colonel David Wood, Pegasus Bridge D-Day veteran

2009-03-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

David Wood was the last surviving officer of the coup-de-main parties that captured the bridges over the Caen canal and the River Orne in the early hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The bridges were essential for the support of the 6th Airborne Division, dropped by parachute and landed by gliders east of the Orne, on the left flank of the Allied bridgehead. Gliders delivered the coup-de-main parties alongside the bridges, in what Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory commanding the Allied air forces on that day described as “the airmanship feat of the war”.

The infantry and engineer assault troops, 126 men in all, were commanded by Major John Howard of 2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Lieutenant David Wood led the men in the second of the three gliders that landed alongside the bridge over the Caen Canal, subsequently famous as “Pegasus Bridge”. Although severely shaken by landing on rough ground in the dark at about 90 miles an hour, he found himself in one piece and still clutching to his chest a bucket of primed 36 grenades he thought might come in useful in clearing the German defenders from around the bridge.

Ordered forward by Howard, who had climbed out of the wreckage of the leading glider only minutes before, he led his men up the slight slope to the bridge, checking that every enemy weapon pit was clear as he went. As he reached the road, a burst of enemy fire hit him in the leg and he went down with three bullets in it and a compound fracture of the femur.
His wound kept him out of action for the rest of the war and he needed a built-up shoe or boot for the rest of his life as his left leg was an inch and a half shorter than his right.

Howard, who had originally doubted whether the young, fresh-faced subaltern straight from officer training would measure up to the standards of Airborne forces, had recorded immediately before the operation: “Wood is a rattling good officer and I wouldn’t lose him for the world.”

After the war Wood resumed regimental soldiering, attended the Staff College and moved through a variety of posts to achieve the rank of colonel. He was Military Assistant to the C-in-C British Army of the Rhine, for which service he was appointed MBE, and second-in-command of 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets, as his regiment had by then become, in Malaysia during the Indonesian “Confrontation” with the new Federation. In his final army posting, he was in charge of the Infantry Records office in Exeter.

In 1994 he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French Government in recognition of his work on behalf of the Normandy Veterans’ Association, of which he was president of the Exeter branch until his death.

Until his final illness Wood had been planning to be present in Normandy this June to mark the 65th anniversary of the capture of Pegasus Bridge when a new memorial to the men of the coup-de-main parties, the glider pilots and RAF aircrew is to be unveiled as a result of a fundraising campaign organised under the title Project 65.

The greater part of the money raised is to be donated to charities helping wounded and needy service and ex-service men and women.

He is survived by his wife, Alice, a former officer of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.

Colonel David Wood, MBE, veteran of the Pegasus Bridge coup-de-main operation on D-Day, was born on February 23, 1923. He died on March 12, 2009, aged 86

Fluid Consumption during Ultra-Endurance.

2009-03-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

Our man at Lucozade, Matt Furber, wants you all to heed his expertise:

Time for my 3rd blog...doesn't time fly!

During exercise, heat production is 15-20 times greater than at rest. An increase in core temperature of 0.2 – 0.3 degrees can result in a significant decrease in exercise performance. Therefore your body needs an efficient way to dissipate the heat production from the core to the periphery so that the body can stay cool. 98% of heat produced during exercise is lost through sweat, therefore maintaining optimal hydration is of utmost importance.

Just 2 % body dehydration (1.4kg for a 70kg male) results in a significant decrease in endurance performance, 4% can result in muscular fatigue, 8% delusion, and 10% or greater can result in death. Don't worry though, this will not happen to you! Therefore starting exercise fully hydrated is essential, the best and easiest way to check that you are fully hydrated is by urine color, the clearer it is, the more hydrated you are - see urine chart below.

However, within 45 minutes of running if no fluid is consumed you can lose 2% body fluid. Therefore, it is essential to consume fluid during the run right from to work go. We would recommend consuming 100-150ml every 10-15 minutes, so about 600-800ml per hour. But, once again, every one is different, with you all having different numbers of sweat glands and sweat rates.

The best way to work your own individual sweat rate is to do a pre- and post-run weigh-in. Weigh yourself with as minimal clothing as possible before your run, then run and take note of how much fluid you consumed, then weigh yourself after. If you weighed 70kg pre-run, went for a 60 minute run and weighed 69kg post and drank 400ml of fluid during, that equates to a 1.4 litre (1kg = 1litre) loss of fluid. So your sweat rate would be 1.4 litres per hour. There is no chance that you would be able to replace all of this fluid as it would require almost constant drinking, however, the more you replace the better.

A way of retaining a higher percentage of the fluid consumed is to combine the fluid with electrolytes (salts). Electrolytes are lost through sweat and if not replaced can result in fatigue and heat illness such as hyponutremia (extreme low salt levels) which can be life threatening. As you will be sweating a lot it is of upmost importance that you replace these electrolytes. All sports drinks have them in and not only do they help with water retention but they are also essential for fluid absorption, brain function, muscle contraction and maintaining fluid balance.

So, the best strategy for you to use would be to combine water with a fluid that has high concentrations of electrolytes (such as Lucozade Sport - funny that!!), and drink little and often.

In summary from the last 2 posts, try and work out a strategy that entails you to consume 600-800ml of fluid per hour (some of which, but not all, that contain a high amount of electrolytes), and also work out how you can take onboard 40-60 g of carbohydrate per hour as well. Drip feeding is best for both strategy, so LITTLE and OFTEN is the golden rule.

Next week….the importance of recovery!

Regards, Matt

Stormtroopers are a-go-go!

2009-03-26T02:48:00.000-07:00

Spencer Rolls, aka Captain Wonder Pants, Project 65's resident nutcase, tells us how his week is progressing with a rather unusual (and uncomfortable) fashion ('xcuse the pun!)...

So this has been a very, very fun week!

For a while I have had a place in the Flora London Marathon. Now any normal person would just run it and enjoy the experience. Naaahhhh! That sounds just a tad too easy...!

So I’m not only doing the 65 miler with you all, but I am also running the FLM for Project 65... but with a twist! I tried to get acquire a 1944 authentic paratrooper uniform, just like the chaps had on that fateful day, but this was a becoming a tad impossible. So, with a little bit of panache, I acquired another uniform; that of a STAR WARS STORMTROOPER!!

Oh yeah. Who doesn’t love a trooper, huh?! Look at the curves!! Look at the whiteness!!

So, after constantly having to reorganise the logistics of collecting it, I finally got my hands on it, and what can I say...?!

Uncomfortable
Hard to put on
Rubs (soon to find out where exactly!)
BUT, Just looks so darn good!!

And now, the test run. IT is all ok in practice doing a marathon, I’ve done about 30 (really should count to get an exact number) including some nice ultras but never in a uniform or 'Fancy Dress'. It takes about 15 minutes to get ready so how these ever fought the Rebels, I’ll never know?! The thing I notice first is the lack of movement - can’t really bend my legs fully. So immediately, I mentally add an hour to the run. I can feel it resting in a couple of places so I’ll have to keep an eye out on them to stop chafing.

Then there's the helmet, the true symbol of a trooper. Well, not only can I now not move, but nor can I actually see anything or actually breathe!!

Next, onto the running machine... off on walk first to get going, then up the speed to 10kph. Its comfortable and all I can hear is the rattling of the armour. Surprising once you get going it’s easy. I’ll never break any records in this but at least it is run-able.

Oh, and then it gets hot - very hot! So now hard to breath, hard to see and sauna hot! Why have I decided to do this again?! JOY. Well, I suppose now it’s all about practice.

The thing I do notice is that I have a crowd watching me. I suppose it’s not every day you see a stormtrooper run down the road, is it?!

Well, just need to run further in it, and put on some advertising as well. The FLM is now my warm up, as well as Rory's! Feel free to sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/project65trooper

Happy running!

CWP

Take heed...! Be careful with your preparation!

2009-03-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

Dr Iain Chalmers, our resident doctor, offers further advice:

I see from the blog below Rory Coleman is off to the desert. I have to say though that any event where the entry price includes the cost of repatriating your body in the case of death seems a tad silly. However I would say my fellow GP’s locally and most of my triathlete mates think I’m mildly barking undertaking the Project 65 running challenge. This even includes one who has swum with a stress fracture in his foot - he found duck tape and plastic bags which rendered his plaster totally impervious to water.

Still, give him his due though and I have sent an encouraging e-mail to the Sahara. It is true though in any distance event you always have a bad moment. I heard a story about Paula Radcliffe in London one year - she was banging out the miles at 5:20 min per mile pace and her bad moment meant it dropped to a 5:40 pace! That’s when friends count double A-plus and any encouragement lifts you!

The nutritional advice is coming in thick and fast and all good it is too. The bottom line is 'Prior Planning& Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance', by that I mean practice your regime and stick to it, especially if you have a fancy for rice pudding! Don’t try “freebies” on or near the day and remember this time its not a race and 'second isn’t the first loser' as you'll have done 65 miles and can happily say you have 'one less thing to do in life'!!

If you don’t believe me I mucked about once and once only at Sheffield half-marathon. I did it 2 years running: one year proper preparation, carbo load, Vaseline etc and came home in 1h 42m and fine. The next year, 6 pints of Guinness and a BBQ the night before, no warm up, forgot half my kit. God, I felt dreadful from about mile 8, finished in complete pieces in 1h 44m and it took days to recover!!

Finally as we are all now doing prodigious volumes of training, some extra tips include using creatine (plus lots of water), ZMA powder for night-time to help sleep (important in its own right), build testosterone levels and aid muscle recovery and dropping caffeine from the diet but saving it for the race. Note some of the “gels” and “ride shots” used by cyclists include it in the mix so it may help later in long runs. If your want more information regarding this please contact me via the contact email on this blog.

Lastly we all got a nice load of information today from Project 65 about some local Lincolnshire chaps who are flying down; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. If I see the Hurricane then that’s the set as I will have seen them all. If you’ve never seen them close up they are truly amazing. The Lancaster flew low over our house 3 years ago following a display at North Thoresby and was truly impressive.

I feel a fund raising opportunity coming on and maybe I could try and blag a flight down...

Till next week - best wishes to you all!

Project 65 - our little jaunt along the south coast...!

2009-03-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Rory Coleman checks in before he heads to desert...

Well, it’s time for me to go and do some serious training at this years Marathon des Sables in Morocco. It's billed as the ‘World’s Toughest Footrace'! If any of the Project 65 runners would like to leave messages of support and a ‘Get a move on, Coleman!!’ at www.darbaroud.com (race number 587) the messages get delivered to my tent! It will of course be great to get some messages from back home.

After a successful marathon in Marrakech last week with Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton, the 152 miles of the Sahara will be a breeze! On my return to the UK I will be back in training straight away for our 65 mile jaunt to Pegasus Bridge. The Woburn event will give be a great opportunity to meet you guys and get to know you all. Looking forward to to it!

It’s an interesting month ahead of us and just keep banging in the miles…

Your gonna need ‘em…!!

Goodmorning, Basra City!!

2009-03-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Capt Mark Shercliff, 5 RIFLES, currently on operations in Iraq, tells about training in the desert for the Run to Pegasus.

The Iraqi days are really warming up so this week has been our first of early starts for our training runs. The Project 65 squad has yet to train together at once, as we are all on different duties across the province of Basra, but we still have a hardy bunch of 5 – 10. Some have run a marathon before, but most have yet to venture beyond an hour-long trot, less the obligatory long days and nights of marching with military equipment that we usually carry out in the Army!

Our running route takes us around the large British camp on the outskirts of Basra. We have found an increasing American presence as the days go by. Huge armoured vehicles lumber past us as we trot through the dust and still morning air.

Despite our choice of running routes being sorely limited (it is in fact, only one route - a 4 mile lap!) there is plenty to observe for those of us not too busy feeling the aches and pains from the last session. Military helicopters buzz purposefully overhead and every so often the sound of gunfire (just the testing of weapons and crews!) from the other end of the camp. Everywhere is a hive of activity – new buildings going up, old and weary camp compounds being demolished and flattened.

After the run the squad disappear within the many compounds to go to their duties for the day – some to patrol on foot or in vehicles, other to a helicopter, and others to prepare equipment and plans for forthcoming operations and activities. Lucky ones head to the airhead for their ‘R&R’ (rest and recuperation) - two weeks back home with their families. As captain of the team, I'm sure most will struggle to keep up the training miles with all the distractions of home, but they will be expected to keep up on the day!!

Some of the runners have succumbed to the gym, spending far too long preening and pumping iron – there will be no substitute for decent training mileage come 4th Jun. Otherwise some of the squad have been able to keep up their little of their fitness with dusty games of football and the occasional bit of touch rugby.

The arrival of the American ‘PX’ has brought with it a shimmering array of shiny and cheap trainers for the kit-addicts to get their hands on – some of us have worn out the pair we bought over at the start of the tour! Our next hurdle as a squad will be a group ½ marathon, probably in 10 days or so, starting at 0500 to catch the coolest part of the day so watch this space!

Captain Mark Shercliff, 5 RIFLES
Team Captain, Project65

Rice Pudding?

2009-03-23T06:56:00.001-07:00

Matt Barker enlightens us on a little known secret weapon in the battle of ultra-marathon running...

Ok. Hi to everyone who is patient and interested enough to read all these blogs - cheers for your support! Matt from Hampshire here again, aiming to bore you to death with my training progress this week.

I spoke to Rory Coleman the other day on Danny Greeno's recommendations. He gave me some good nutritional advice as I am now running further than ever before and don't really know how to eat for it. I have therefore started taking food with me on runs and was pleased to hear from Rory that one of my favourite puddings constitutes an excellent long distance fuel - RICE PUDDING! Yep, good carbs and sugar all in one! Don't know why I never thought of it before!

Anyway, I have decided to go and see Rory in April to take on more nutritional knowledge and learn as much as I can about ultra-running as possible. So I'm feeling inspired and enlightened at the moment, enough to do a 32 miler on Saturday with a planned family lunch break at the half way point. Lovely!

On top of that I apparently now have a date with BBC South Today to talk about the run, which is exciting!m More to follow about that...

Plus, I have also got to give the Royal British Legion a talk at the end of March which will boost awareness and hopefully help with my sponsorship. I think it is great that we are getting "out there" with the media and I am only to pleased to do my bit but I will have to dig deep as I am far happier running in my own little world than giving talks and interviews. These are all new things I am learning which I never thought would be part of Project 65.

I've also been asked to encourage all runners to get in touch with Ed Lloyd Owen at ONE to talk about the publicity for you all as well... please consider yourselves encouraged!!

I have also started on the carb loading sports drinks and protein recovery beverages. Will let you know if these help. So far they have only given me explosive, uncontrollable wind!!! And on that bombshell...

See you all next week!

A letter to the Editor...

2009-03-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

The text of a letter that the President of Project 65, General Sir Robert Pascoe, KCB, MBE, has sent to the Editors of all national newspapers...

Sir,

There has been criticism of the Government over recent days for not assisting D-Day veterans wishing to return to France this June.

No Government ever provides enough money for these things, not even enough to look after our wounded as well as we would wish and yesterday’s U-turn by the MOD over help for the Normandy veterans has come about only as a result of increasing pressure led by the Normandy Veterans Association through the media, perhaps helped by reports that President Obama would be present in France this year.

‘MOD money’ however is still ‘Government money’ and this comes from only one source; us, the taxpayers, and who among us likes to pay more tax?

None of us likes paying too much for anything. With obvious exaggeration we say that something expensive ‘costs us an arm and a leg’, but who amongst us would really give an arm and a leg for anything? Who would volunteer to do so?

Yet many of our young soldiers are doing just that. They are giving an arm and a leg, literally, in the service of their country in Afghanistan, and in recent years some did so in Iraq as well.

Our soldiers, and our sailors and airmen too, have been doing this forever. We still have many veterans of World War II as well as those wounded in later campaigns from Korea to Kosovo. While the death tolls of today’s campaigns are repeated endlessly by the media, no-one tells us about those who struggle on with physical or mental problems for the rest of their life.

Luckily in Britain today, we have many people raising money to support our wounded and needy veterans. The Trustees of Project 65, marking the 65th anniversary of ‘The Longest Day’, have already raised £150,000 towards their target of £500,000. Surviving D-Day Veterans are now in their 90s or late 80s and many need continuing help which is provided by a variety of specialist charities.

Project 65 will be passing on this sum to six of them: the Royal British Legion, Army Benevolent Fund, RAF Benevolent Fund, St Dunstan's, British Limbless Ex-Servicmen's Association and Help for Heroes.

Thank you.

You do have a family, you know?!

2009-03-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

Jonathon Ross...

KNACKERED is not a big enough word to describe how I felt after completing 26 miles on Sunday. I planned a great route through Bournemouth, along the seafront through the pleasure gardens, over some quite impressive hills then finishing via a lovely forest. I taped my feet up and set off at around 9am.

All was fine – except for some maniac who nearly ran me over at some traffic lights. I couldn’t get my two fingers up in time to let him know my displeasure before he had disappeared!

It was around the 23 mile point that I got severe stomach cramps and had to walk for a while. I finished the run but was still in some discomfort. After reading our Silver Surfers quality advice on nutrient intake I think I should watch exactly what I am eating and drinking more carefully. The good thing is that this is the reason we train, so we can eliminate all these problems and not suffer them on the actual event.

There are of course physical dangers when running. Just last week I was rounding the last bend to my home. I noticed a car starting to reverse out of a driveway. I slowed slightly, ready to take evasive action but actually thought he would stop. Well, he didn’t stop and I ended up trying to run round the back of his car. The trouble is he then accelerated and I ended up sprawled all over his boot lid. I had to bang on his rear window for him to stop. Needless to say I let him know where, in my opinion, he had gone wrong!

On a more domestic front, my wife Sarah has been fantastic in her support for the cause. She even let me purchase some very exotic looking trainers which almost required a second mortgage. She also let me buy a set of ‘Skins’. I have no idea if they do what they are supposed to but I find them great to run in. There is, however, a slightly strange feeling you get from wearing them, which is probably best not discussed.

Sarah did mention that. 'This 65 mile run thing you are doing is taking over your life, you do have a family, you know?!' So, I now have to pretend it hasn’t taken over my life and think more of my 18 and 20 year old sons, who quite frankly wouldn’t notice if I was thinking about them more or not. Unless of course they want more money or a lift to the pub. (Cynic! Of course they would! - Ed)

It is very difficult not to let this event take over your life especially as I can actually see Tarrant Rushton airfield from my office window!

Best regards to you all – stay fit.

Our man at Lucozade is back!

2009-03-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

Our resident Sport's Scientist, Matt Furber, offers his opinion on the week gone by and how the runners should be approaching the count-down...

Hi guys, right time for my second blog, I hope that you are all eating enough carbohydrate in your diets! Now it time for -

'Carbohydrate consumption during ultra-endurance running'

Carbohydrate is the main choice of fuel for you muscles, brains and central nervous system. When you run out of carbohydrate your body struggles to function. You have got about 2000 kcal of carbohydrate stored as energy in your body, which is enough to fuel your running for about 90-120 minutes of continuous running.

Once you run out of carbohydrate your body has to rely on fat as the main energy supplier. Fat has a much higher oxygen cost relative to carbohydrate, therefore you have to slow right down to get enough oxygen into the body to produce energy to fuel you muscles, hence the phrase 'hitting the wall' - running out of energy and having to slow down.

By supplementing carbohydrate while you run you will increase the amount of carbohydrate available to to muscles therefore prolonging time to fatigue. In ULTRA endurance running this is of utmost importance for without supplementing your carbohydrate levels your chances of completing the challenge is very slim.

The question is HOW MUCH?

During exercise your body can absorb approximately 30-60 g of carbohydrate per hour, with you stomach being able to process approximately 1 g of carbohydrate per minute. By consuming up to 60g of carbohydrate per hour you will be prolonging fatigue, improve endurance and increase your enjoyment of the event as you will not be in as much pain! Consuming anymore than this and your body may not be able to absorb it, so it will sit in your gut and could cause stomach upsets.

However, everyone is different. One of you may be able to consume 60g of carbohydrate per hour whereas another one may only be able to consume 40g. Therefore your target as ultra endurance runners is to work out the maximum amount of carbohydrate your body can absorb without feeling bloated or getting any stomach upsets. As with everything I am going to talk about, try it in training, do nothing new on the day of the run.

Those of you who have not tried carbo gels, they are a great tool for runners. Each gel has 30g of carbohydrate in, therefore can give you a great hit of carbohydrate. We will be supplying you all with Lucozade carbo gels on the day so I would suggest to train with them so to let your body get used to them in advance. Isotonic sports drinks contain approximately 30 g of carbohydrate in as well. Jelly babies, wine gums, bananas, glucose tablets are all other great ways of getting carbohydrate on board whilst you run. If you do want to use these, work out how much carbohydrate there is in each sweet you take so you can work out your carbohydrate consumption per hour.

Work out a strategy that suits you, I would suggest combining a couple of different carbohydrate sources as this will decrease boredom as you will have something to look forward to. It also will decrease the chance of getting stomach upset as well, as you will not be overloading you stomach with the same source of carbohydrate each time.

You want to take carbohydrate onboard at regular periods - every 15-30 minutes or so you should consume another hit of carbohydrate - 'little and often' is the rule that you should follow. By doing this you will decrease the chance of stomach upset, and have a constant slow release of energy throughout the run.

Next week.....the effects of dehydration and how to combat it!

Hope you all managed to get another week of quality training behind you!! Keep up the good efforts.

Casting out the marathon demons!

2009-03-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

James Barker, in Suffolk, tells us how it is:

Following Rory’s advice to go long and slow, I decided that I was strong enough and injury free enough to up the ante a little bit. It started last Monday with a heavy gym session: an hour on the tread mill followed by 45 mins on the X-trainer. Ten minutes into the X-trainer and I started to get some chaffing where a chap shouldn’t get chaffing - on my left nipple! 'Damn', I thought to myself as it became apparent that the plaster that I had used to cover the offending part had come free.

After twenty minutes and several failed attempts to stick it back on without attracting any attention from the rather attractive blonde next to me, the pain was getting beyond a joke but I was not going to give up even if my nipple dropped off! Normally I would have started to bleed by this point and fortunately because I was wearing a navy blue T-shirt it didn’t show! I finished sore, blood-soaked, but pride in place!

On Tuesday, I rested, but Wednesday I was planning to put my calves to their severest test yet. In the past, the mere sniff of a five mile run and they would give up the ghost, usually with a crippling muscle tear, followed by several trips to the physio. At that time I had frustrating and serious doubts that the age of 43 and with no distance running experience, I was going to be unable to complete Project65 but that was in the past & after months of slow build up I had now got many 10 and 12 milers under my belt with just a few aches and pains. So off I went slow and steady, three laps of my 5 mile circuit, finishing 15 miles in 2 hrs 33 mins. Very happy with that, no injuries, but still too fast for Project 65.

The next three days I rested and did core body work, but due to family commitments I could not get out till Sunday. However I started to prepare for this run the day before, birthday partying till 1 am and eating loads of carbs in the form of a buffet, fresh cream desserts and a couple of pints! (I know, I know, please don’t tell Rory!!) Sunday morning came - up at 9am, stretched, porridge and a Lucozade recovery drink for breakfast, a couple more stashed in my camel pack and off I went in the trainers I had worn on Wednesday.

The first 2.6 miles were slow, I could hardly get started, pains in my lower legs made it look like a no go, so back to the house and a swift change from my Nike Zooms to a new pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire5’s I'm breaking in. When walking in them they feel like you’re in slippers, and the change proved that the Nike’s were the problem. Off I went again this time with little pain and within a couple of miles no pain at all!

I carried on and did 26.4 miles in 4hrs 41 mins feeding carbs and fluids as I went. The wall was minimal, needed to stop to put on a knee strap at 22 miles as I passed the house for the third and last time. As I approached the final straight, the strains of the “Chariots of Fire” theme music rang in my ears as I bounced Tigger-like up the drive!!

I learnt a lot from doing the distance and that to finish 65 miles it’s got to be very slow. I felt the complete drain of energy, and the wear and tear on the feet showed where I have got to tape on high chaffing areas.

Now the Marathon demon is dealt with, its onward and upwards !!

No blog for a week or so, as off to Spain for some warm weather training - although that’s not what the weatherman says I’ll be getting - thunderstorms are forecast - c’est la vie !! (Sorry don’t know the Spanish phrase for that!!)

The Silver Surfer continues his efforts...

2009-03-18T08:09:00.001-07:00

Dr Iain Chalmers...

Well, it had to happen; a week of anti-inflammatories and repeated application of “frozen peas” did my head in.

Unless I’ve totally lost it 'health clubs' appear to have two sorts of members: those who exercise and those who have a 'blue rinse', do the St Tropez 'crawl' and have an amazing capacity to chat in the shallow end of the pool. I was able to swim, despite recent injuries, but after various swims totalling 6k in the health club pool, my teddies had exited their pram by the end of the week.

Having tried to get a slot in the pool and swim lengths uninterrupted, the 'blue rinses' waded over and did a 'critique' on my swim training schedule. Never mind the fact I was swimming in a straight line and trying to turn off the wall at this precise moment!

This resulted in a few lengths of 'butterfly' and the 'blue rinses' decided that to save the coiffure and so a tactical retreat was in order. After that a successfully leisurely and peaceful return to my training was achieved.

The next episode of losing it was on Sunday. My beloved obviously was aware I hadn’t been running so thought it was an opportune moment to mention that a shower cubicle and stud wall needed removing and if I had any time spare my obviously boundless energy could be directed towards cutting the grass. The fact we have 2/3 of an acre and it takes 3 hours using a tractor was lost on her. Not only is it to be cut but she insists it has to have nice stripes. The dummy was well and truly spat out and a same day entry for a 10k road race ensued.

I’m also fascinated by the rest of the bloggers entries here on the Project 65 Blog and would offer a selection of general comments. The nutritional stuff is interesting but I’m sure I’m preaching to the knowledgeable but remember do not exceed 60-80g carbohydrate hourly when racing, also do not mix gels and drinks like Powerade. Also, remember if using gels they need to be taken with 250mls water.

If you wish to be an anorak and get a strange look from your partner weigh yourself nude, run a 10k without water (nude not advised) towel down and reweigh nude. By metric calculations 0.5kg = 500ml water and an approximation of fluid loss and hence replacement can be made. Variables such as ambient temperature etc not factored in.

The training regimes are also fascinating, maybe another blog, as my little angel's dulcet tones can be heard suggesting more work beckons.

Surfing on...!

Capt Wonder Pants is back with his next installment...

2009-03-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

Spencer Rolls updates us on his progress:

Well, this week has been interesting...

Firstly training was right out of the window, down the path and then off to the shops... i.e. NOT there. It’s an amazing thing that work just gets in the way of my social life. I got six numbers on the lottery, but it was spread over 2 weeks... so a whole TWENTY quid. Anyway, none of my training happened due to work commitments. That I can handle, but I also got a bit of a cold and a dodgy stomach that helped me get thought half a Terry Pratchet book!

So, my run; 'The Stinger'. No training this week and a rather sensitive stomach that “could go at any time”. I managed to arrive at the event at around 7:30. The normal bubble of lyra clad people and the 'Oh, this is a hard one...' and 'Have you done it before..?' type of chats. Well, after shoveling down the old Imodium tablets, I’m ready to go. There is a staggered start and a main start.

The difference is that you can go off when you want or as the group. I chose off on my own. It’s easier that way as sometimes when you get to a style or something like that you just don’t have to queue.

Weather was great! Nice and cold, but it’s dry. All over the South Downs is chalk and clay which makes it difficult to travel safely at any speed when it’s wet and sodden. The first 2-3 miles are great. I don’t find my rhythm usually till about the the 6th or seventh mile, but it’s still ok. Seem to run up some hills I would normally walk (It’s ok to walk) and then to the 1st of I believe 8 checkpoints! Then after this have a gel, drink some water and then get stuck into the choccie digestives (I’m a sucker for them!) then on my way.

Then I get into my rhythm. Oh, I like it when that happens. I always seem to do these events on my own. I use them as a way of getting time to myself. So, headphones are on and I just get lost in my thoughts. I have been known to run with a partner on longer races (50 miles) but not this time.

Then the wall!! No idea why this came up. It just did, probably got bored with myself, so tried to get though it and managed to after a mile or 2. Then it hit again.. I must of hit it about 4 times. I can only think that I shouldn’t have run the race, but do dislike being told what to do by the wife!

Well the good thing is the last 3 miles are all downhill. So at least gravity can help! Cross the line in 4:59 (target was under 5 hours) so happy with that time but not my performance. Good thing was I finished and I checked last year’s results and found an improvement of 31 minutes!
The course is 26.2 miles long with an ascent of 4400 ft (someone had a Garmon on) so it’s quite a hilly course.

This week is resting so no running really this week. Just gym work and a cheeky 20 miler along the Thames this weekend...

Safe running!

CWP

Keep it fresh!

2009-03-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Rob Starbuck offers a salient lesson from Martin Yelling...

Yesterday, represented 12 weeks to the day when we set off on this 65 mile challenge. While tomorrow, Saturday and/or Sunday represents the ideal time to start consolidating and cranking up the training.

For my training programme, last Saturday I ran 25 miles in 4hrs and then on Sunday ran almost the same 25 miles (different owing to a fishing competition!) in 4 hrs 37 - not boring, but repetitive. Then Monday, pain!!! So more training and different training routines are needed.

We all fall into bad habits so a quick reminder that is important thing to remember is to change the routes of training – vary the landscape includes hills, include different terrains.

Read this article where Liz Yelling’s husband, Martin talks some common sense for runners.

Take heed.

How do you train for a 65 mile run?

2009-03-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Our very own 'television celebrity', Jonathon Ross, updates us on his progress...

It was before Christmas that I decided to take part in Project 65 but it was a conscious decision not to start training until the New Year. I think this was simply a case of putting off the inevitable and blaming it on the over indulgences of the festive period.

Having a full time job, wife, family, DIY commitments etc I thought I would plan my training around what I could actually achieve. This would be 2 short runs during the week after work and a long run at the weekend. I would continue with my 3 times a week visit to the gym at lunchtimes.

So I started training. The first few 5 milers were hard but I felt good that I was getting out. I managed 9 miles one Sunday morning and whilst being tired was relieved my body, especially my knees had stood the test. So this is the routine I have adopted. A couple of 8 milers during the week and then about 20 miles on a Sunday. The Sunday runs will increase in distance each week until I can manage two back to back 20’s in a day.

In the meantime I realised that the nutritional side of long distance running is so important. It appears that this is a complete science in its own right. What to eat, how to eat it, what to drink and when. Along with this science is the inevitable manufacturers’ dream of flogging any unsuspecting runner with tons of nutritional titbits!!

Being a grumpy old git and not wanting to shell out for anything that might be construed gimmicky I asked every single person I could think of for advice. I found that everyone does something different but all had a common theme. I now eat plenty of pasta, fish, fruit etc during the week. Now, as a bit of a convert, before a long run I have a couple of gels and also a couple during the run. I also have a Mars bar during the run. When I finish the run I have something to eat immediately as apparently this is when your body needs it most. Each bottle of water I take has an electrolyte tablet in as well. I also use a water belt which also has a small pouch for carrying things.

Obviously as a complete novice in this I stand to be corrected on any point I have made but right or wrong, I’m finding that my system is working for me.

Briefly, before I finish. I had a phone call from a man called Bob Howard. He is a member of our British Legion in Wimborne. He had seen my sponsorship form on the notice board and would like to sponsor me. He said that the event had a special place in his heart because his brother had been in charge of the operation. He then explained that his brother was Maj John Howard. We have arranged to meet up next week for lunch to have a chat - I'll let you more as it progresses...

Project 65 - now being advised by the science team at Lucozade!!

2009-03-11T02:40:00.000-07:00

Matt Furber, a sports scientist who works for the Lucozade Sports Science Academy, offers some practical advice on how to run 65 miles.

Upon hearing about Project 65 I was so inspired by the challenge that you guys are taking on, I thought I would like to help in anyway possible! Some may say that running it would do that, but 65 miles is to0 far for me - I am a track runner and 800m is about the furthest distance I race. Therefore I am going to follow your journeys through this blog offering nuggets of advice on training and nutrition for the challenge itself. I will also be there on the day for any last minute advice/to wish you luck! Along the way if you have got any questions regarding the above, I will be more than happy to answer - just add your comments below each of my blogs!

For this first blog, I will start with 'An Ultra Endurance Run - Dietary Carbohydrate Consumption'.

Ultra endurance, now that is a challenge! In terms of general dietary consumption it is essential that you get enough calories into your body to be able to maintain your training status. If you are not eating enough, each training session will deplete you energy stores a little bit more until you are running on empty. This results in a greater chance of injury, illness and demotivation - clearly none of which are good. Carbohydrate is the main choice of fuel for you brain, muscles and central nervous system, and without which your body is unable to function efficiently, and so simply put, the consumption of enough carbohydrate is essential for your success.

You should look at eating Low Glycemic Index (slow release) carbohydrates throughout your daily diet and they will give you a slow constant release of energy throughout the day. Thing like Basmati rice, pulses (lentils), spaghetti, porridge are all good carbs to eat. Your diet wants to consist of 60-65% carbohydrate, 15% Protein and 20-25% Fat. Try and ensure that you are getting in enough fruit and veg each day at these provide the body with the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which help remove free radicals (the bad by-products of exercise).
With the amount of training that you will be doing, it is important that you do not starve yourself. If you are hungry then make sure you eat!

I will upload more blogs in the coming weeks but once again, any questions, just ask!

In the meantime, keep up the outstanding work!

Matt

The Croxby Crawl and torn muscles...!

2009-03-10T03:56:00.000-07:00

The Silver Surfer is back in town...

Generally a better week especially as work has improved a bit and I managed to rake one of my fellow triathletes into doing the run this week. The only thing is Dan is a true legend in the club - but not for his prowess. He came to our training duathlon once (a run, bike, run session) with his bike but omitted the wheels and then, having found wheels, he did a cycle section with his cycle helmet on back to front - try it, it’s quite difficult and restricts forward vision!! And then to top it off he is the only guy who has got lost on our duathlon cycle route but didn’t realise it till he was miles away and had to ring for directions home!

That apart he is a great bloke but he is the sort of guy who if he needed to split his cycle chain could end up with 3 ends! To encourage him we went off on a joint run on a local iconic route, the infamous Croxby Crawl. Dan and I did a nice two laps and were discussing racing and fundraising etc. It was a nice easy jog but being an 'arse' I decided to show off and, on my own, run a 3rd lap with a negative split. This was a big mistake as on the 3rd ascent of Heartbreak Hill I tore the calf muscle in my left leg. I will admit it 'smarted' when I did it and it still 'smarts' a bit now but at least I can walk!

The pleasure of going sub 2 hours for this event was slightly lost. For anyone interested just to see how tough Croxby crawl is just Google and follow the link off the home page: in summary its a 4.4 mile loop with a couple of 1:6 hills and a lot of undulations!

Best wishes to the others and I’ll be improving my swimming this week as a consequence of such stupidity! Ha!

Inspiring the Old and the Young!!

2009-03-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

James Barker, in Suffolk, tells of how Project 65 has inspired a rather unusual audience to take action...

If you had said to me 3 years ago that I would be training to take part in a 65 mile run I would have laughed - as would my doctor! At that point in time I was overweight, unfit & suffering with high blood pressure(200/130!!!) and I was told not to undertake any physical activity until I had been checked at the hospital. After several months of the Doctors “experimenting” with medication I was considered stable enough to start some exercise & promptly set myself some goals. Shed some weight (2st), completed a fun run & the London to Brighton Bike Ride. After 6 months of exercise I was discharged from the Consultant’s care & have never looked back.

And look at me now…! Well not too closely , but I am well on the way to being fit enough to undertake the Project 65 challenge.

Not only that, but my teenage daughter , although suitably embarrassed by the prospect of her Dad appearing in the local press, (and all her mates seeing me) has decided to join in the action.

Her first reaction was that if a photograph was going in the press then no way was her Dad to appear in plastic, lycra, rubber or PVC (her understanding of running gear is a little off the mark - wicking to her is something completely different than it is to me!)

However, having got over the shock of the imminent press release, she then decided to have a go herself. I mean, if an “old man” like her Dad can do it, it can’t be too hard! Can it? Ha Ha Ha.

During the week she expends most of her energy doing her make-up & hair, and avoiding PE at school so to even offer to attempt a run was quite amazing. After I’d picked myself up off the floor we agreed that we would go out together that weekend. So, yesterday morning arrived, and I had expected her to have done a 'Harry Houdini' on me, but no, she appeared in her trendy tracksuit & glitzy “designer” trainers, forewent her normal make-up routine & we headed off (at a very slow & steady pace - her run, my warm up to the proceeding 10 miler)

The first hurdle to overcome was the horror of passing people without her 'face' on - desperately seeking ground cover whenever anyone came near! The next the peril of running in the countryside was getting mud on her precious pumps. The other potential show stopper was her breathing - her lung expansion had never really been tested before and we had several 'I’m gonna pass out or throw up, Dad!' drama queen statements. However, despite her lack of fitness she showed a steely determination to get to each of the 'markers' I gave her and to my surprise and delight, in fact exceeded many of them. After 2.6 miles she made it home thinking that she was about to expire, but once she’d got her breath back both she and the rest of the family were very impressed by her achievement - not least her very proud Dad. I then left her to recover and headed off into the distance.

It remains to be seen whether she joins me again, but she definitely wants to come to the unveiling ceremony in France and is now a little more aware of the importance of Project65 and the efforts of everyone involved - even her old Dad!!

Were off to Spain in a couple of weeks, maybe I can persuade her to run on the beach with me while we’re there. Or maybe not - I’ll keep you posted!

Looking forward to meeting everyone at Woburn in May. (Maybe she can run the 5k or even the 10k at Woburn?! - Ed)

Steppin' it Up..!

2009-03-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Matt Barker from Hants keeps update on his progress...

Hi, it's the firefighter runner with the hectic family life back for my second blog.

This week has been quieter than usual on the rural Hampshire firefighting front so I have to talk about running which I prefer to do anyway. I am quite chuffed with my training efforts this week. I planned a long run this last Sunday to be the longest yet involving a lunch break to mimic the actual Project65 plan to stop at 30 miles. I wanted to see if I could eat my carbs for half an hour and then start again. Would I cramp up, throw up, seize up or be ok? So I set off towards my local sports centre which is 12.75 miles away making the total run just under that of an ordinary marathon.

Most of the route through the pleasant Hampshire countryside was known by me from previous runs, bar the the final 4 miles to the centre and was made even more beautiful by the amazing sun and blue sky that day. I always find running in new areas easier as I am distracted - mainly by trying not to get lost!

I reached the centre in 2hrs19 which is roughly the pace I wanted. I wolfed down a baked potato and beans, put some sponsorship posters up and then set off again on a slightly different wooded route. I felt awful for about a mile but then got back into the swing of it until a lady with a dog said, "Good luck up the hill!" Not what I wanted next but its all good for training. It wasn't to0 bad though, only half a mile of slogging and tripping on roots but through a picturesque hazel and oak woodland.

I continued on, sipping from my backpacks of sun warmed water and isotonic drink until I hit the wall at 20 miles where I became very negative (and nearly threw myself under a truck) for all of about 2 minutes then I cheered up again and reached home in a total of 4hrs29....for 24.6 miles. I'm pretty happy with that for this stage in the training.

So far, this is my most successful training week. I had two days rest and ran again Wednesday and Friday. I do have some considerations for everyone though. I have a habit of saying 'Hi!' or 'Good afternoon!' to people when I pass them. Other runners always respond happily, most dog walkers do but certain other road users tend not to!!! You may know who I mean! Is there a reason for this? I am relatively new to running so may have missed some rule or something but manners cost nothing...and I am more than happy for a head nod or raised finger. Anyone else get this trouble?

I have also sadly had to stop taking one of my dogs on these runs as they get longer and hotter. I usually take my two Spinones (big shaggy dogs) on a home made 2 way lead but alas, it is getting too much for the oldest one. He's not fussed though, he prefers to eat and get fat!

So the effort continues. Let me know your thoughts on other road-users...! See y'all next week, hopefully!

Not the one from the telly...!

2009-03-05T02:51:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Ross explains how he has got wrapped up in such a crazy challenge.

I always say at the beginning 'Not the one off the telly' so that if anyone should meet me they won't be disappointed. They usually still are, but for different reasons!! This happens almost on a daily basis. I arrange a meeting and when the other person turns up, their face drops as they see it isn't the bloke off the telly. C'est la vie!

By way of introduction though, I'm 47, very happily married to Sarah for 22 years and have 2 sons aged 18 and 20. We all live in Bournemouth and I have been a Property Manager in Wimborne for the past 4 years. Previously, I spent 24 years in the Royal Engineers.

In my spare time I am Chairman of the Wimborne British Legion Poppy Appeal. A grand title but we do raise a significant amount of money. It was at one of our meetings last year that Dennis Hart mentioned Project 65. Whilst Dennis was explaining what Project 65 was all about, I was thinking,'Why would anyone want to run 65 miles?!' I didn't even know that people even ran that far in one go. I'd certainly never heard of the term 'Ultra marathon' either!

Anyway, whilst I was having these thoughts Dennis said that as the event was taking place on our patch and wouldn't it be great if someone from Wimborne British Legion actually took part? Almost instantly I felt eight pairs of eyes fall in my direction. My chest constricted and I thought 'No way am I entering this, my body just won't handle it'.

Now, I keep myself fit by going to the gym and running about 4 miles occasionally but not 65 miles worth of 'fit' - that's insane! I of course instantly meant to say 'No' but it came out as 'Yes'. I went home from the meeting and said to Sarah that I was going to run 65 miles for charity. 'Yeah, right!' she said, thinking I was joking, in a strange way I actually hoped I was joking.

But I wasn't.

I've since sent off my £65 cheque and am now fully onboard. I then had a series of panic attacks after realising I'd better sort myself out. So that is what I have been attempting to do since Christmas. More later on my training...

Best regards to you all. Keep the miles coming!

Teenage Pranks.

2009-03-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Silver Surfer is having a tough time, but it's not all Project 65 related...

Not any easy week for me as the local doctor as we had a fatal accident in my village.

To make it worse it was a 14 year old school girl and all my triathlon mates knew about it and rang/left messages for me on my mobile as they thought it was my daughter that had been involved. I’d had a “minging” day at work and had gone off on a belated 9-miler run so knew nothing about it all until I returned and collected my mobile. Sort of lost the “motivation” a bit after that - unsurprisingly. It does bring home slightly what 'life' means though and my involvment with Project 65 keeps that never very far from the surface.

A further problem surfaced later in the week that did involve my daughter. It changed from relief she wasn’t injured to exasperation at her latest “wizard wheeze”. I have never been one for understanding females (not that my manhood can be questioned) but she really “took the biscuit” this time.

Prank 1: Failure to understand 'No' means 'NO!' resulted in a dying of hair and a large % of the bathroom “ribena” colour. She tells us it’s a single wash out variety of dye but I have my doubts. The good news is you can gloss paint over it!!

Prank 2: Teenagers whinge and whine about the latest must have 'mobile'. My wife, in a moment of weakness, gave her a 'contract mobile' and the first bill was a mere 31 pages long. Needless to say my wife matched the hair colour and phone was confiscated!

Prank 3: As you can tell from my name I don’t have a lot of 'street cred' regarding 'mybook' and 'space face' but our wireless net access went down and thus my purple teenage daughter had to face up to the 'light' leave her bedroom and move computer. A short time later while passing by, my wife squinted over at the page currently on show to find an alleged male school friend naked on a bed with a very strategically placed car number plate. Cue another purple moment for my wife. I was summoned to instill further authority but unhelpfully found it all rather amusing; pointing out it was a rather short and small number plate!

As a medical person I never thought steam could come out your ears but I’ll now have to write my wife up in the British Medical Journal! I’ve now decided to go and lose myself on a long run before social services visit and feel secure in the knowledge next week must be better!

Yes!! You can and you WILL!!

2009-03-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

Our pro-ultra runner, Rory, offers his thoughts...

Well, it seems that Spring has Sprung and even up here in deepest Derbyshire nature seems to be waking up and training runs are a far warmer affair of late. For me it’s a great way of upping my training and the lighter nights really make a difference to being out and active. There seems to be lots of others out running too

For me? Well, my goals in the near future are to complete a series of marathons with Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton for the show, complete Marathon des Sables and then the London Marathon and then focus my attention on some real training for Project 65.

For you? If you are at the point where you are setting off on the Project 65 journey, which starts now, not in June, believe me, then you should already be out there - running lots of long, slow, distance miles which will pay off in full when you need them in June… also knowing that we have May’s Woburn Abbey event to get together will be a great chance to sharpen up your training then.

So let’s start… right now… today with a run out into the Spring sunshine and get motivated… Remember, this is where your journey begins!

Can I really run 65 miles...?

2009-03-03T05:24:00.000-08:00

'Old and Grey' ponders whether or not he can complete the challenge ahead of him...

Friday morning was not good. I’d run about a mile and the quad strain was complaining. Hmm, maybe I need to spend more time with the massage hammer.

The massage hammer is an absolutely brilliant tool. I bought it just before Christmas and found it didn’t work but eventually, by trial and error, I realised I had to do the massage like this;

• Standing or lying down – not sitting
• Keep the massage head in one place on the muscle
• Don’t push the massage head hard into the muscle
• A muscle which has an injury needs longer time – up to 10 minutes
• Keep the wire out of the way!!

Friday night was brilliant! Over 5 miles in 50 minutes with only a little backache starting at about 1 mile. It wasn’t quite the level of runners’ high that I’ve had sometimes but considering I haven’t run 5 miles for over 15 years I was really pleased.

6 miles on Sunday?

Friday night I had difficulty sleeping. Don’t run late at night if you have to work the next day. I was working in London, a 40 mile drive. Fortunately the buzz was still with me and I didn’t feel tired until about 5pm. Even then I had difficulty sleeping.

A couple of miles walk on Sunday produced no aches at all! Fantastic.

Monday 7am – 3 miles plus: In the past I’ve always had muscle ache from running. This time – no pain at all. There was a little feeling in the right hamstring which said to me “Maybe 6 miles today isn’t a good idea”. Longer with the massager! I have to admit my calves are very tight sometimes, probably because I spend most of the day sitting writing or researching.

Some people have questioned whether I can complete 65 miles, especially with the long layoff for the ferry crossing. I wonder too, but my thinking goes like this: the Marines had us run 30 miles over Dartmoor in November, mostly across open country in under 8 hours. The training was based on short runs over the assault course and longer 5 or 6 mile runs, mostly in soaking wet kit including boots, webbing and a proper rifle.

I know it was a long time ago (1971) but we did no warm up or cool down exercises. Yes, I’m older now, (62) but I did 5 miles on Friday night in 50 minutes after just two weeks of training – just 6 runs.

So, if I can do that, I reckon that I can push out the rest!

Run longer, sleep less!

Training? What training?!

2009-03-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Captain Wonder Pants enlightens us to his really tough programme - one run a week?! Although it is quite a long one!

Well this week has been interesting... ...

Firstly training was right out of the window, down the path and then off to the shops.... ie. NOT there. It’s an amazing thing that work just gets in the way of my social life. I got six numbers on the lottery, but it was spread over 2 weeks... so TWENTY quid.

Anyway, none of my training happened due to work commitments. That I can handle, but I also got a bit of a cold and a dodgy stomach that helped me get though half a Terry Pratchet book! Nice.

So my run.... The Stinger..... No training this week and a rather sensitive tummy that “could go at any time”. I managed to arrive at the even at around 7:30. The normal bubble of lyra clad people and the “oh this is a hard one.. have you done it before..” type of chats. Well after shovelling down the old Imodium tablets and a final “Read” I’m ready to go. There is a staggered start and a main start.

The difference is that you can go off when you want or as the group. I chose off on my own. It’s easier that way, sometimes when you get to style or something like that you just don’t have to queue.

Weather is great! Nice and cold, but it’s dry. All over the South Downs is Chalk and clay which makes it difficult to travel safely at any speed when it’s wet and sodden. The first 2-3 miles are great. I don’t find my rhythm usually till about the the 6th or seventh mile, but it’s still ok. Seem to run up some hills I would normally walk (It’s ok to walk) and then to the 1st of, I believe, 8 checkpoints! Then after this, have a gel, down some water and then get stuck into the Choocie Digestives (I’m a sucker for them) then on my way.

Then I get into my rhythm. Oh I like it when that happens. I always seem to do these events on my own. I use them as a way of getting time to myself. So headphones are on and I just get lost in my thoughts. I have been known to run with a partner on longer races (50 miles) but not this time.

Then the wall!! No idea why this came up. It just did (Probably got bored with myself), so tried to get though it. Managed to after a mile or 2. Then it hit again.. I must of hit it about 4 times. I can only think that I shouldn’t of run the race, but do dislike being told what to do by the wife! Well the good thing is the last 3 miles is all downhill. So at least gravity can help!

Cross the line in 4:59 (target was under 5 hours) so happy with that time but not my performance.

Good thing was I finished and I checked last year’s results and an improvement of 31 minutes!
The course is 26.2 miles long with an ascent of 4400 ft (someone had a Garmon on) so it’s quite a hilly course.

This week is resting so no real running this week. Just gym work and a cheeky 20 miler along the Thames this weekend.

So safe running!

CWP

Fire fighting and running.

2009-03-02T03:29:00.000-08:00

Matt Barker, a WWII enthusiast and part time firefighter from Hampshire, regales us with his Project 65 training...

I got involved with Project 65 due to an unhealthy obsession with WWII military history books in order to find out what my grandad did in the war and an even unhealthier obsession with running further and further to find my limits.

I am an ordinary family guy with a long-enduring wife, Nicola, a 12 year old son called Ethan and a new baby called Euan. All of whom seemed to have accepted the fact that I have to do insane things occasionally (although the in-laws remain slightly bemused)!

My main goal in this blog is to show that bog standard Joe Bloggs can train for an ultra whilst having a busy family and work life. OK, so I don't actually know if this is possible as it is my first one but so far so good and I did do the London Marathon last year in under 4hrs for Diabetes UK which gives me something to build on.

I have very little structure to my training. I have to fit runs in around everything else but I am managing to go out most days. I can't do mornings yet but will start once it gets lighter. I do have a basic plan I follow though which worked for the marathon. I don't run on Mondays as I have firefighting drills on these days which can knacker you out (even lectures take it out of you). I then spend weekdays doing runs from 3 to 10 miles depending on time and how I feel. Then I do the mandatory long weekend run which is up to 26 miles this weekend.

If I had to give advice it would be don't fight your body, go with how you feel - learned from experience by pushing to hard to early and tearing my meniscus!! So if you aren't feeling up to a run, rest because you will probably feel better the next day and run better and further as a result. This is my mantra and it works for me and my training hasn't slipped as I love running.

Finally, on a serious note, I think Project 65 is an amazing opportunity to show surviving veterans that many of the younger generations have not forgotten what they went through. I feel very honoured to be part of it. It is fantastic motivation to get your trainers on!

So that's the introduction over and if I survive the next long run I shall be back with tails of dogs, cyclists, rude people, fire fighting, injuries and much more. How exciting!

Ham and bloody Jam!

Fat or fit, they all did it!

2009-03-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Maj Wendy Faux, OC Rear Party, 5 Rifles in Paderborn, Germany, relates B Company's efforts for Project 65 in Iraq...

“Well, we made it! 1065 laps in all. Bloody hard work but well worth the effort. We have raised the best part of £1000 already with more to come.”

Those were the words sent to me this afternoon as the Headquarters element of B Company 5th Battalion the Rifles completed their incredible fundraising challenge. Each lap was 1km long – so it doesn’t take much to work out how far they have run but here is something to help. It is the equivalent distance of travelling:

From London Victoria to Verona

From Plymouth to York….and back again!

From Basra to Bahrain…and back again!

From Paderborn to Salamanca… taking in a few taverna diversions too!

As I sit in my office and look across the beautiful skyline of Paderborn, Germany, through the drizzle and grey it is difficult to imagine the heat of the day and the comparative cold of the night – let alone then run through it all.

Major Gary McDade, the Officer Commanding B Company explained: “As soon as we thought of 100 hours – 1000 laps, we knew it would capture people’s imaginations. It proved to be quite some undertaking, especially being woken up at 3am to go for a run, but the fantastic support we have received from friends and family has really spurred us on. Project 65 is supporting some extremely worthwhile charities and as our colleagues in 1 RIFLES are having such a hard time in Afghanistan, we sincerely hope that the money we have raised may go some way to helping their injured soldiers’.

Pain doesn’t understand the rank structure and it hits all equally as Corporal Sean Rhodes from Telford described, “The run was hard work, but actually quite good fun at the same time. Everyone who participated gave their all for a number of really good causes. I have blisters all over my feet and my knees are shot to bits but it was worth it – honestly!”

Craftsman Andy Waite from Wigan pointed out that day and night, just as the Tarrant Rushton run will be, the runner pushed through to get the laps under their belt. “The worst bit was being woken up from a deep sleep and having to get straight into it. We doubled up at night so you were always running with somebody, but we staggered the changeover meaning that when you started you were on with someone who had been running for half an hour and was warmed up. The first couple of laps each time were emotional!”

WO2 Andy Kuss from Bath summed up the whole event: “The worst part had to be the lack of recovery time between runs. However, everybody turned up on time to run their leg, whatever the time of day or however hot it was. Many thanks to all of those who give their support to the cause."

Not all of these runners will be taking part as one of the 3 different teams from 5 RIFLES in June but it is safe to say that they will fully understand what the runners will be going through. In the next blog, we'll meet those who will be taking part in the run in June and how they are planning to go from sun and sand to wet and woods!

Having just checked our Justgiving site , www.justgiving.com/5rifles, we have passed the first target of £10,000. Only another £240,000 to go!

Run longer, sleep less!

2009-02-27T09:05:00.001-08:00

David Hands, self titled 'Old and Gray' muses on the undertaking of 65 miles...

Not quite sure how to start this. Maybe a bit about why -

Just had a thought. Has anybody approached the French and German veterans organisations about participating? Yes, I know, it's daft but I'm known for my wacky ideas. There is one SS tank commander I would like to meet but I suppose the chances of that actually happening are zero. (Yes, we have, but no promises... Ed)

Anyway about running.

David Hands from Aylesbury here. Running for me is something of a religion. I'd rather do it than anything else. Talking or writing about it is a good second and it was talking to a Captain Vickery RAEC that got me interested.

Vickery was attached to 22 SAS in Hereford (in about 1968) and came once a week to Long Marston near Stratford on Avon on a little motorcyle. There were also occasionally young SAS soldiers at Long Marston for education courses but they didn't mix with us ordinary 'pongoes'.

Vickery encouraged me to run and eventually I joined 59 Commando Squadron RE when they came back from Singapore. Sadly I failed the commando course because I was afraid of an obstacle on the Tarzan course. I'd like to give credit to John Howell because he believed in me enough to put his neck on the line and got the Marines to accept me back for a second attempt. I was told that had never happened before. I still failed but not as badly as before. Thanks though, John.

Running at a track meet in Watford in June 1991 some unfortunate woman, acting as lap counter for the 5K race made us run an extra lap because she lost count through talking to other people. I was furious. I swore I'd never run there again.

August 1991 in Swansea I was running on the sea front looking forward to a long slow run of about 12 miles. Suddenly there's this sharp pain down the back of one thigh. It hurt so badly I was nearly in tears. I hobbled until it wore off but found it impossible to run again.

Several attempts to restart running resulted in back and leg pain. My GP said it was sciatica and there was very little that could be done. I was a psychiatric nurse at the time and I don't willingly accept the idea of "CAN'T" in most of what I do.

After some years of research I found glucosamine but the results I got from it were sporadic and painful. Some brands worked but all gave me horrendous calf cramps especially at night. Magnesium tissue salts solved that problem but the supply dried up when the local health shop shut down.

Back about 1989 I'd developed a severe quad strain because I hadn't understood stretching exercises and the need for them. Physiotherapy early in 1991 allowed me to continue in good condition but one physio did say that he thought I'd never run long distances again.

I'm about to prove him wrong! The quad strain has made its presence known the day after every time I've run. When I saw what the Pegasus Bridge crew were doing I said to myself, "I want that".

For two months I did nothing. One day, just before Christmas I bought a massage hammer from a local shop because I knew I couldn't afford physiotherapy. It didn't do any good until mid February when I used it standing up.

I can now run, albeit only at 10 minute miles. Yesterday I was at 3 and half miles, slight back pain but no muscle ache and no quad strain. I do have to use the massage hammer several times a day as most of my time is spent sitting writing.

The big question is "Can I get myself fit enough to make 65 miles in early June?"

I think I can. The Across Wales Walk at 45 miles, the Long Mynd Hike at 50 miles and the Marine 30 mile all tell me that I can, if I put in the training, even though they were a long time ago.

It's alright, it's ok -
Doesn't really matter if you're old and gray

Run Longer, Sleep Less!

David Hands

The Silver Surfer rides into week two...

2009-02-26T04:46:00.000-08:00

Dr Iain Chalmers:

Charging into the second week of training and I've had my first 'gel' fix of the season while running. God it brings back memories - all this hypertonic/isotonic strength, variety flavours, with or without caffeine etc! Bring back the good old simple days of “flat coke,” plimsolls and moustaches like the 118 chaps! Better still do like they did in the marathon at the first modern Olympics in Greece; the winner used a glass of red wine every mile as nutrition/hydration!!

I would not recommend this behaviour however as the winning time then (in the 1890’s) isn’t even good enough for an “elite” slot in today’s marathon. If it does appeal to you, I seem to remember that a similar event occurs in France: drinking every mile and trotting between vineyards, what more could one want! I think we'd better forget discussing the first marathon as the poor chap died after blurting out his message!

For those real anoraks amongst us who like trivial snippets, the accepted length of a modern marathon was decided at the London Olympics in 1908, the distance from Windsor castle to the finish line opposite the royal box at White City stadium!

That aside I got a new toy - a running headlamp! I’m afraid the local villager walking his dog who spotted me hasn’t been the same psychologically! Technically, they are really good but must remember to avoid the 'Radcliffe' method of head bobbing while running as I may make myself sick. Short and sweet this time as off to the pool followed by a nice quick 10k with my local club...

My continued best wishes!

Running against time through thin air.

2009-02-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

Rob Starbuck would like everyone to read this article in The International Herald Tribune.

Manitou Springs, Colorado: The course follows old Ute tribe trails 20 miles up, down and around Pikes Peak, a narrow, gravely passage rising 7,815 feet to crest 14,110 feet above sea level. Tourists with respiratory ailments are cautioned against making such an ascent, even by car. Motorists on nearby roads are advised to employ manual transmission. Promotional materials for the summit warn of altitude sickness, lightning, hypothermia, rattlesnakes and wild animals carrying bubonic plague. Matt Carpenter expected to run it in about three hours.

At 44, Carpenter is known as the grand paladin of high-altitude distance running. In 1993, he set record times - still standing - for the 13.3-mile, or 21.3-kilometer, Pikes Peak Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon, races he won again in 2001 and 2007, both times on consecutive days. He has also set speed marks in a high-altitude flat-surface marathon, a 50-mile race and a 100-mile race.

"Somebody told me you don't know who you are until you do a 100-miler," Carpenter said. "I said, 'Damned if I'm going to die and not know who I am."'

Rob comments, "We will all know a lot more about ourselves after 65 miles and I for one will come away knowing who I am."

Go the link above for the rest of the article...

Veteran Marathon Runner joins the Project 65 Community.

2009-02-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Rory Coleman, a marathon runner of some distinction, exhorts all Project 65 runners to knuckle down to some serious training!

I must say that I am excited by the thought of running 65 miles for Project 65. The part I am looking forward to the most is learning more about the history behind the run and the camaraderie that this type of event brings. People bond together when times get tough and the unity that the 200 runners will share will be an amazing thing to be part of.

I feel that my task is to make sure that everyone gets to the finish… a sort of Project 65 'Mr. Motivator'! There will be times when it will be too easy to give up or give in and that’s where I think my experience will be vital in getting the other 199 runners to Pegasus Bridge! Please get in touch if you want any help or advice with your training.

My focus now is on getting the runners together for a long training run so they get some idea of how to undertake the massive challenge ahead of them…

Rory's own website with plenty of tips and encouragement can be found at http://www.rorycoleman.co.uk/

Capt Wonder Pants is well on the way now.

2009-02-23T04:56:00.000-08:00

Spencer Rolls (aka Capt Wonder Pants) gives the Project 65 Blog his take on where he is in the training cycle.

How can you train for 65 miles? It’s difficult and to be honest daunting. Most people never manage to run to the end of the road let alone run a Marathon. But this isn’t classed as a Marathon, this is an ULTRA. A word that inspires those who want to push further and further into the madness of running.

So back to the question.... HOW?

The answer is actually pretty straightforward; the best way is to be able to run more than 65 miles. After all if you can run 70 miles, then you can run 65 but getting to that level is the problem.

It takes a gradual increase in training and events to get to a level where you know you can do this. It’s not all about the physical side either, the mental side in my opinion takes up more than 50% of the effort. If you believe you can do it, then there is more chance of success.

My training is simple... 3 times a week (2 at the club because after all it takes a lot to get out on your own) and 2 – 3 times at the gym to build up the core and the other muscle groups, and rest as well.

This week is going to be interesting. I have an event this weekend, 'the Steyning Stinger'. 26.2 ish miles of the South Downs countryside, all off road and hilly. Probably very cold and very muddy. GREAT. As I’m doing this I like to take it easy the week before, but not too easy mind you. The club run is on a Tuesday. Normally hill or speed work. Hate doing it, but this weekend will see if it is starting to improve my running. Thursday is the club run. Normally a pleasant run around the local area which is between 5 and 7 miles.
Should be fun.... I’ll keep you updated next week on the RUN!

Capt Wonder Pants!

The 'Silver Surfer' joins the Project 65 blog...

2009-02-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

Dr Iain Chalmers, an ageing (by his own admission!) GP from Grimsby, adds his own views on Project 65 as he continues his training for the big day:

The options for 2009 were an Ironman or an Ultra-marathon. Since I DNF’d [did not finish - Ed] the Ironman in September due to a dreadful swim and vomiting on the bike section, my wife clearly said it was divorce or behave!

Being a sensible triathlete it was an “ultra” instead - it’s so logical! So here I am on a 16 week programme for an ultra race. Done some fundraising before for some marathons but nothing in this league and I’ve no claim to fame other than meeting Jane Tomlinson at Great North Run (everyone went running round her but I just piled up alongside and said hello!)!

I’m trying to get on TV as we have a local health TV channel broadcast in all the local GP surgeries, but we'll have to wait and see. As for sponsoring me, you can find me at http://www.justgiving.com/iaindschalmers.

Best wishes to all...!

Welcome to the PROJECT 65 Blog!

2009-02-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

Danny Greeno, Chairman of Project 65, adds his very best wishes:

2009 marks a very big year for everyone at Project 65 with several very large scale events, the main one being our 65 mile ‘Run to Pegasus’. This blog has been designed to allow members of the running community and the thousands of supporters of Project 65 to communicate with each other and share stories, successes, recipes and ideas.

Many of the people running the momentous 'Run to Pegasus' will be posting weekly updates of their training for the big run and I would encourage you all to share your stories with us. My sincerest thanks to everyone who is supporting us by either running, donating or volunteering to assist with the many tasks that need to be covered to ensure that the Run to Pegasus is as special as it promises to be.

I wish everyone the very best of luck in their training, and look forward to seeing you at the start line... if not before!

65 miles start here..!

2009-02-18T04:27:00.000-08:00

Rob Starbuck, London, writes the first blog for Project 65:

The world of a long distance runner is normally quite lonely – with Project65 it is very different – since joining the Project65 community has developed and will continue to do so as the event in June draws closer.

I would normally be training for London [Marathon-sic] right now – but forget that - 65 miles is the new target ….but the way to complete it is no different - the miles must be done there is no getting around that – the right food must be eaten fish, chicken and pasta by the bucket load – behind all this is the Project 65 team who apart from seeking to raise funds for such a great cause certainly want it to be a fun few days in June…..the objective is to get all 200 or so runners across the Bridge in Normandy - no one will be left behind…..the D-Day spirit lives on!