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Topic: Charity

What have I done?



My brother takes part in these crazy races where he runs 100s of miles in one go- usually over multiple days with minimal sleep and maximum hills.

I, on the other hand do not like running. I have not ran more than 5 miles since 1985 when i was 10. I do like cycling, surfing and skateboarding but for fun. Not so that it hurts.

Somehow he has pursuaded me to run 50 miles in July 2018. 

One of these races my bro competes in is called The Lakeland 100 where competitors run 100 miles in the English Lake District under 24 hours. He has done this race a few times as well as The Dragon Back ("The toughest 5 day mountain race in the world") and The Spine ("Britain's most brutal race").

 

The 2nd time he did the The Lakeland 100 i went to see him off.. and see him come back in again 18 hours later. It was inspiring stuff. Man against mountain. Or how my brother sees it- Man against mind. 

 

My sister in law and I were sat in a community centre in Keswick at 4 am in the morning watching the runners coming back in,  waiting for Sean. As they all got back to the finish line most were hobbling in pain, but all had that look of salvation on their faces.

I was chocking up with tears of admiration for my brother and the runners. It was very moving.

When Sean got back he was babbling incoherently from lack of sleep which brought some hilarity to the emotional finish. 

When we get back to the rented cottage Sean had a bacon butty and then slept for 7 hours and then got straight back into Fatherhood as if nothing had happened.

The next day he explained there was another race called the Lakeland 50 over the same course. Sensing we could be onto a good bonding experience he asked if i wanted to run it.

I said "No",  straight away. I hate running and I don’t like pain very much either. 


A year later after he

  • Ran the Lakeland 100 again
  • Completed the Bob Graham (The Bob Graham Round; the 66 mile, 27,000 ft circuit of 42 of the highest peaks in the English Lake District within 24 hours.) and 
  • Completed the Spine Race

He popped the question again...

I said yes straightaway without even thinking about it.


It was nice and sunny. I may have had a beer.  The Yes came straight away for a few reasons.


  1. I want to prove to myself i can do it
  2. I tell my kids they can do anything. So I should be able to run 50 miles
  3. I write about how to deliver projects successfully

 

That's what I tell myself....

 

But actually the main clincher for me was that my brother simplfied the challenge and made it sound do- able:

"As long as you can keep an average of 3 MPH you will do it in 24 hours". He said.

 

So I am going to treat this like a project.  I've been writing about it in my blog about how you can challenge yourself and make amazing projects by breaking it down, the massive, monster project into the little milestones. 

I want to follow my own advice and do something, which at first seems to be out of reach, like running 50 miles in 24 hours.

I haven't ran more than three or four miles since 1985, when I was ten, and I ran the Great North Run. That put me off running for life. I don't go to the gym. I've been to the gym twice in my life. I do swim half a mile a week and skateboard.  I do a bit of surfing now and then, but that's pretty inconsistent. I've been doing that for about 10 years, so I have got a basic fitness from that.

I'm going to blog about my progress. I am doing the blogging so that I can raise money for charity primarily.  I am blogging to put it out there in the public domain, as well, so that I make sure that I stick to my word.  

So, I hope you like my updates.

 

The next blog post about this undertaking will be about milestones and breaking it down into achievable goals.  First goal? To download Strava.

 

I am raising money for a charity called Epic Kidz, who provide small grants for volunteer groups organising sporting or recreational activities for children. If you would like to support this activity then please donate here.

 

You can read other posts on this subject here.

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Daniel O'Connor

Daniel O'Connor

I use my time and experience to contribute to the transition to a regenerative sustainable society for all.

Topics: Charity
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