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!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Teenage Pranks.
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!
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!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Yes!! You can and you WILL!!
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!
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...?
'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!
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!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Training? What training?!
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
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.
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!
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!
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!
“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!
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