On Friday 18th May at 8pm I started running. I kept running through the night until finally, at 8am on Saturday 19th May - I stopped!
At this point, I had reached my target of running for 12 hours and had cleared over 50 miles!
If I am brutally honest, I was hoping to have covered a little closer to 60 miles, however this run was all about experimenting and seeing how far I have come since this crazy journey first began, so I can’t be too critical on myself.
The Plan
My plan was simple - run a 5 mile loop repeatedly for 12 hours and see how many miles I can cover in that time. I would have a number of friends and family join me for 1 hour slots and it would be the perfect opportunity to see if I am anywhere near where I need to be in preparation for my Lands End to John O’Groats run.
Easy!
The good bits
I found the first 40 miles surprisingly comfortable. I thought I would hit the elusive ‘wall’ well before this distance, but I just kept plodding along and generally felt good all the way.
I stopped for a couple of minutes every lap to re hydrate and fuel up with some snacks but I kept moving and kept racking up the miles.
I’m happy that all my training is paying off and I can actually cover a good distance before starting to tire slightly. (Always a bonus when you have an 874 mile run creeping up on you…)
I also found eating and drinking didn’t really impact my running too much. In fact, the drop in body temperature from stopping to eat affected me more than the actual eating itself.
Improvements to be made
I felt like the run had the potential to be as close to perfect as it could possibly be up until around 40 miles. Up until that point, I was comfortable, I was maintaining a reasonable pace, hills weren’t really bothering me and I was in good spirits.
Where it started to get a little more challenging was when I let myself get too hungry, so refueling was all I could think about and I had to stop for a lot longer to get myself ready to get back in the game. Fueling has always been my weakness when it comes to running (and fitness in general). I usually do not eat enough or eat the wrong thing at the wrong time which obviously impacts my performance.
I am very confident that if I can keep my timings and amount of fuel taken on in order, I can increase my performance substantially.
One other lesson I learnt is that pace is more important than I like to think. One of my early 5 mile loops was close to 15 minutes faster than the others. This must have had an impact on me later on in the run. If I maintained my pace all the way through (which is 100% possible) I have a lot more miles in me!
Overall
Overall, my 12 hour run was a success. I broke the 50 mile barrier, I am not too far away from being ready to run the length of the country and I enjoyed running through the night!
I have another 12 hour run planned for 2 weeks time. I will put everything I learnt into practice and I think there may be potential for a 60 mile barrier break through!
Support
If you want to support me by running with me in any of my runs or if you think you can help in some other way, the please get in touch.
Remember, every challenge I am doing, every training session, every run - it is all to raise awareness of testicular cancer. If you are able to donate even a small amount to the cause, it is truly appreciated.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lejogworldrecord