pickupthepacepaul

On 9th May 2021 I started my 11 marathons in 11 days. Today, Day 1, I was so nervous starting, but the reality is the challenge starts tomorrow. I was always going to be able to run the marathon today, it’s the subsequent ones that make it the challenge I know it will be. A challenge that was meant to be Ten in Ten (TiT), but ended up 11 in 11.

Today was not only my 1st of 11 marathons in 11 days, but my 73rd marathon towards the 100 marathon club. On this 8 lap route in Walton on Thames with Phoenix Running it is full of 100 marathon club members. It is a great mix of people, and so many who have ran 100, 250, 400 or even more than 1000 marathons. So although this 11 in 11 is a huge challenge for me, I am not alone here, with others doing even more impressive challenges.

The laps felt hard today. Ironically I think I found it tougher as I adapted my pace to sub 4 pace. I have decided my ultimate goal is 3:59 for every marathon, and to do that today I had to slow down. I don’t want to just do 3:59, I want even pacing. I am not sure how long I will keep this added pressure on myself, as I want to just make sure I finish, but I have no intentions on going faster.

It was lovely having my family waiting for me on the last lap and both Benjamin and Amelie there to cross the finish line with me.

Teddy did almost trip me up trying to run after me, but it was not long until I got back to him.

I absolutely love my medal and so pleased that I managed to hit my first day on time, in an official time of 3:59:27. Let’s see if I can repeat this another 10 times over the next 10 days.

I am happy that I’ve raised over £2,000 for Cancer Research before I’ve even started, but with 10 more days to go, I want to see how much more we can achieve. I also still have 40 medals left for the #FunbusMarathon For.you to complete your own virtual challenge and get one of my amazing medals, so it’s not to late to get involved.