Devon Coastal Marathon - 24th February

This was hell! (only in a weirdly enjoyable way)

A 5 hour car journey down to Devon, pitched a tent in the final minutes before dark, a night of trying to get comfortable on the most uneven ground I have experienced whilst listening to raindrops the size of grapes hammer the tent, before waking up at 5am in a heap in the corner of the tent because in our rush to pitch before dark we failed to notice the slope.

I was joined on this challenge by Leeroy, a Watford Kamon classmate. We (along with the ever-supporting and long suffering Caroline) walked the mile downhill to the start line and hot coffee.

Then it began. 27 miles of self sustained (carry water and anything else yourself) running over rocks, beach, rivers, farmers fields, but mostly ankle deep mud, all either up or down hills that would make you think twice about walking up. This made Snowdon feel like a training run round Hemel! Some of the segments of coastal path were only as wide as one of my trainers, littered with rocks and a shear (unfenced) drop into the sea on my left! I will stop trying to describe the course now, because there is no way of doing it justice and I may risk sounding like a wimp.

I crossed the finish in 6 hours 2 minutes, over an hour and a half longer than Snowdon, with twisted knee and ankle and was rewarded with a plate of chilli and a hot chocolate. There was no time to relax though, as soon as Leeroy finished his chilli we had the walk back up the hill to pack away the tent and collapse into the car for the 5 hour journey to the Curry House in Dunstable.

Job done.

The Bleak month of January

I could not find a suitable challenge for January, seems everybody was detoxing and couldnt muster the energy for a decent event!

To make up for this I will be doing the London to Brighton bike ride in June. Rest assured you will get the 8 events of pain from me for you sponsorship money.

Ps If anybody fancies the shelterbox challenge in April let me know. I need another 3 members, for a team of 4. For details of the challenge visit endurancelife.com. If I cant get a team together I may have to settle for a less exciting event!

100 Rounds of Boxing

Sorry for the extreme delay , I survived. Pictures will follow very shortly!

Gorilla Duathlon

Sunday 26th November, 10:30am. With the feeling of the Marathon and Friday's beasting session (courtesy of British Military Fitness) still in my legs, I pulled on my Gorilla suit. Not loving the 7am start for the drive down to Castle Combe, I squeezed my hairy self into the bright yellow Tri top and began to check my bike would still function carrying the extra fuzz.

This was the Chilly Duathlon and my second Oxfam challenge. 4 miles of running, split with a 10 mile cycle round the windy motoracing circuit. The weather was not how I would have liked it. Last year it was freezing rain, perfect conditions for a protective fur suit. Now it was sunny!

As we gathered at the start line I noticed I was the only Gorilla, competing in a race full of grown adults in Lycra baby-grows. The whistle blew and we were running. All too quickly I began to notice the condensation in the head dripping onto my face through the warm cloud of used air. Soon I got into my stride and wary of saving as much energy as possible for the second run, completed the 2 miles in 16 minutes. Moving through transition it wasn't easy looking for my bike in the tightly packed cycle cloakroom through the pair of wobbly windows in the mask. Eventually I found it and with lots of encouragement from what seemed like every child at the event, I fumbled with my helmet and ran my bike out onto the track for the 5 laps. As soon as I made the first rotation of the pedals I knew this wasn't going to be fun. It had little to do with the costume, although trying to get into any sort of aerodynamic tuck was pretty impossible, but the problem was my legs. In the last few months I had completely neglected my bike and with my legs unrecovered from Friday's training, there was nothing but wobbly pain in them. The shouts from other competitors were enough to get me through the back straight and the chorus from the spectators lifted me for the start of each new lap. After 36 minutes the 5 laps were over, I came back into the transition area to rack my bike and begin the final stage. I don't know if running tired is easier than cycling or if I just get more practice, but, after the initial calf seizures which always accompany the bike/run, I felt much happier. I had a lot of ground to make up and determined not to be at the back, I picked up my pace. The suit was beginning to ride up after being on the bike, having a Gorilla wedgie is not the most comfortable way to run, although it did make me want to get across the line quicker. Now I began to pass people. I targeted the furthest person I could see ahead of me and over the last mile I made sure I caught them, much to the disgust of the people I was overtaking. On the final sprint there was no one left ahead and I crossed the line, into a mob of small kids. With the last 2 mile run taking me 15 minutes, I completed in about 1 hour 7 minutes (165 out of 183) and on to a Hot Chocolate and Bacon Roll.

Snowdonia Marathon

The race started at Nant Peris (300 ft above sea level) on a bright October morning. The first 4 miles was a long climb up to Pen-y-Pas (1,300 ft). At the top of the hill we turned right towards Bedgellert, circling round the valley lake, across which we could see the runners behind us making their way along the ridge. The next 3 miles were downhill, at this point going downhill was still pleasant, an opportunity to shake of the quads and get ready for the next climb. At the 7 mile marker I was feeling fine. Conscious of never having run a marathon and having had an inadvisable amount of training beforehand, I was trying to keep myself rained in and not go running off like a loon into the unknown. I reached 7 miles in almost exactly 1hr 10mins, sticking to my plan of a 10min mile.

The following 11 miles were fairly uneventful. Various pains and stiffness in different muscles came and went. Nothing severe enough to question the runner's mantra "It'll feel better in a mile or two". The road winded its way through the valleys, always either rising or falling; I don’t think there is a flat bit of ground anywhere in Snowdonia! The food stations were a welcome break (especially the one at 10 miles outside a youth hostel staffed by Nordic female backpackers). The only time I allowed myself to walk was at the stations and only until I was passed by 5 people, when I forced myself to start running again, ready or not. Whilst walking I drank my cup of water, fiddled with my shoes to get stones out and tried to unwrap my Kendal mint cake pieces from their cling film cocoons (I thoroughly recommend going old school with the mint cake for future endurance events).

We then started the 3 mile long steady climb to the 21st marker. It felt good to break the 20 and to get into familiar 'only a 10k to go' territory. By this time though my legs were beginning to permanently stiffen and the impact from downhill was taking its toll on my knees. At the 21 mile stage the terrain changed radically as we began the steepest climb of the day and encountered the off-road section. The last summit of Bwlch-y-Groes rises very steeply as the tarmac is replaced by track and eventually loose slate. It appears that it is tradition for competitors to walk this final climb as near everybody slowed to a walk. Not one to be defeated by a hill and having only one strategy for getting up them, I attacked it eyeballs out. As I made my way through some now familiar people I was spurred on with encouragement and calls of "have you done this before?" and "it doesn't finish until you see the trees... but you get another water station"

After about 25 minutes and arriving more shuffling than running I made the top. I didn't get chance to take in the view as the course drops near vertically down the other side almost immediately, only this side has no path! At this point I realised why people didn't run the assent, my first step downward was agony. My right knee finally gave way from the constant impact of the hills, a sharp pain down the outside of my leg and shooting through my knee with every bend. With only 4 miles to go I could use the promise of it ending soon to get me through, especially as I felt fine everywhere else. The people I passed on the way up were now bounding past me as I stuttered down sideways over the mud, moss and rocks. When I finally reached the bottom and got back onto firm ground there was just the last mile of shuffling round Llanberis before the finish, a cup of tea and a welsh lamb burger (between 2 slices of bread because they had run out of buns!!!)

Official finishing time 4 hours 32 minutes.

Welcome to the Challenge

Firstly, sorry it has taken me so long to get this going!

This is my challenge: To do one stupid / physically demanding event, every month, for 8 months in aid of Oxfam.

This is my challenge schedule:

2006
29th October - Snowdonia Marathon
26th November - Duathlon in a Gorilla Suit
9th December - 100 rounds of Boxing

2007
January - TBC
February - Devon Coastal Marathon
March - 100 rounds Kickboxing
April - TBC
5th May - 10 day Trek of the Great Wall of China

As you can see some months are still awaiting a suitable challenge. If anybody has a genius idea please let me know. I will be updating this post as they get filled.

If you would like to donate please visit www.bmycharity.com/richharris

Thanks.