Well here we are, back at Brathay. Suddenly everything is very real. The first marathon starts *tomorrow*. Gulp!
It’s great to be back with the group — and it really doesn’t seem like 4 months have gone by since we were last here.
After a long drive up through the rain and wind, I am happy that this amazing event is finally kicking off. All that’s left to do now is get a good night’s sleep!
This morning’s visit to meet Class 4 in Otterton was the best possible thing I could have done to kick off Day Zero of the Brathay 10-in-10.
It is a huge psychological boost to see how these young students are excited about supporting me, my fellow runners, and Brathay Trust.
We spoke for an hour and a half, and it was not long enough – I think they will agree that we could easily have continued all day!
We did a vote to select their Team 13 t-shirt design; they had me do a trial run around their playground perimeter to test my running style (!); we took pictures with a local journalist; I showed them Vibram FiveFinger shoes and running medals and a foam roller and refuelling products; they told me about all their ideas to raise funds for Brathay; and they asked me a lot of questions about running – really good questions that I often ask myself! What will give you the courage to finish the 10-in-10? How will you deal with failure? Who inspires you? Will you change the pace or style of your running for each marathon?
I’m not going to tell you how I answered these questions (and all the others!), because at some point I expect to host a guest blog from Class 4 where they will give their own account of our meeting.
But I will tell you that they presented me with the most extraordinary card, which has a drawing of all the 10-in-10 runners and a collection of running mantras that they have come up with. This card will go up in our team headquarters here at Brathay, for me and my fellow runners to take inspiration from every morning at breakfast.
To the boys and girls of Class 4, I would like to say a heartfelt “thank you” for inviting me to join you this morning. You are the best team of supporters I could ask for! Your enthusiasm and your support will be fresh in my mind as I get out on the road tomorrow.
To everyone reading this blog, you can play your part to support Brathay Trust by contributing to my fund-raising page, at www.justgiving.com/robruns10in10. Even if your donation is small, it will be valuable, and appreciated. And you can help too by spreading the word to your friends and acquaintances!
Tucked away in a cute, typically English village near Exeter on the south coast of Devon, Otterton Primary School is a little gem of the British educational system.
As a topical project for 2012, Class 4 and their teacher Mrs Evans have been exploring the Olympic values of Pierre de Coubertin:
- respect — fair play; knowing one’s own limits; and taking care of one’s health and the environment;
- excellence — how to give the best of oneself, on the field of play or in life; taking part; and progressing according to one’s own objectives;
- friendship – how, through sport, to understand each other despite any differences;
- as well as the paralympic values of courage, determination, equality and inspiration.
The 13 students of Class 4 may be just 10-11 years old, but they never do anything half-heartedly. They have decided to organise a project around these themes. Each of them will individually raise funds for charity through a personal “Olympic enterprise” which could involve anything from washing cars to baking cup-cakes.
When Mrs Evans told Class 4 about my challenge to run 10 marathons in 10 days, they decided they would add a “relay marathon”, no less, to their Olympic values project. As part of their maths lesson, they measured the perimeter of their school playground, and calculated how many laps they would have to run in order to cover the marathon distance of 26.2 miles.
On 15th June, each student will take it in turn to run 2 laps at a time, sporting a Team 13 shirt. They expect to finish the complete distance in just over 3 hours. Yes, I am jealous of their speed!
Class 4 will be asking their families and friends for sponsorship to run this marathon. The funds they raise from this, and from the proceeds of their “Olympic enterprises”, will be donated to Brathay Trust.
These young children have displayed amazing autonomy and initiative. They have sorted out their own objectives, written and submitted their project plan to the school head for approval, and taken responsibility and ownership of their own project. Mrs Evans tells me that she has rarely seen them work so hard! I am sure that their enthusiasm will be matched only by their success.
Every penny of the funds raised by Class 4 will help Brathay Trust equip disadvantaged young people with the tools to regain their self-esteem and take charge of their own future. It is fitting, somehow, for Class 4 to be supporting their less fortunate peers.
I am honoured, and humbled, by the selfless and spontaneous support of Class 4. Their attitude and values will make for balanced, responsible adults later in life. We have much to learn from them, and I commend them as an example to follow.
If you would like to show your support for Class 4, and for the young people that Brathay helps, then please visit my fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/robruns10in10.
Thank you sincerely for your support.
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by how we perceive distances, amounts and numbers. Two things intrigue me. First, that our perception of large or small depends so much on context; and second, that most of us find it impossible to visualise numbers that are outside a certain range.
I think most people would agree that a marathon is long. (Anecdote. Many people ask me, “Are you doing a 10-mile marathon or a 20-mile one?” Breathing slowly to stay calm, I remind them gently that a marathon has to be 26.2 miles, or it’s not a marathon…)
Now my daily commute is just over 25 miles each way, close enough to marathon distance. It takes me about half an hour, which compared to most people’s commute is short to average. I certainly think it’s short. But I still think 25 miles is a long way to run. (Even so, I’ve considered running home from work one day when the days get longer…)
“OK,” I hear you say, “but when you commute, you’re in a car, you’re not running!” Alright then, what do you think about driving 25 miles and back to have dinner this evening? “Mehh, that’s too far…” Ha! So the short distance suddenly got longer — in your perception.
You get the point. It’s all about your frame of reference.
Frame of reference also comes into play when we try to understand extremely large and extremely small numbers (or distances, or quantities). Nuclear physicists routinely trade in extraordinary units like tera-electronvolts (TeV). An electron volt is the energy given to an electron by accelerating it through 1 volt of electric potential difference. And a tera-electronvolt is 1,000,000,000,000 electron volts. WHAT?? Don’t worry, I don’t understand either.
Try this though — a tera-electronvolt is the energy of a flying mosquito. Suddenly it becomes more manageable… the frame of reference is familiar! (But wait a minute – a mosquito is small. How can CERN smash subatomic particles and explore the origins of the universe… using the energy of just 8 flying mosquitoes? Bzzzzzzz…. I will never look at a mosquito the same way. Especially not if it’s approaching at the speed of light. A bite at that speed would just create too much anti-matter.)
Digression. If you’re interested in reading about advanced physics in terms that normal people can understand, you have to visit my friend Jon Butterworth who works on the Atlas experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He’s a serious physicist! But his blog has helped me understand a lot of stuff that was previously obscure. His prediction that the faster-than-light neutrinos were almost certainly due to experimental error was correct — if not for the right reason — but also, and more importantly, understandable by a non-physicist!
So, digression over, I come finally to the point of my article. At the training weekend for Brathay 10-in-10 back in January, the physical therapy support team gave an excellent presentation on what we should expect. Tucked away in the middle was this innocent statement:
“To complete the 10-in-10 you will have to run about half a million steps.”
This has echoed in my mind almost every day since then.
To start with I did not understand. I had no frame of reference to measure it by. Worse, I found it scary and hard to believe, so I did the calculation for myself.
- 10 marathons
- Finish time approximately 5 hours on average (barring major problems), or 300 minutes
- Stride cadence 160-180 steps per minute (yes, we step faster and shorter in minimalist running)
Result?
- lower range 10 x 300 x 160 = 480,000 steps
- upper range 10 x 300 x 180 = 540,000 steps
And if my finish times stretch out beyond 5 hours, well, I’ll be too tired to count. So just go ahead and calculate it for me, would you? Much obliged :)
Mind boggling. I don’t even know what half a million means. Do you? I mean, do you intuitively get what it means? I certainly don’t. Such a large number is not in our normal scale of understanding, and so we need a frame of reference.
The only way I can get my head around this concept is to visualise an enormous pile of pennies, and to say that every step I take during the 10-in-10 has a penny assigned to it. A pile like this would probably fill my living room.
Half a million pennies makes £5,000. And right there is my fund-raising goal for Brathay Trust.
If you’re reading this, I’d wager you have a few spare pennies that you wouldn’t miss. Me, I’m running half a million steps to help young people who may never know the luxuries that you and I enjoy. Please consider throwing a few pennies on the pile to support me — and them. Whatever way you look at it, the finishing line is a long way away. If nothing else, knowing that you have chipped in will help me take a few more steps towards my goal!
As many of you know, I have been running “minimalist” for over 2 years now — in other words, 75% of my running career.
“Minimalist” doesn’t mean I’m trying to be cool and trendy. Actually, it makes me a little marginal. I get plenty of strange looks and skeptical comments when people see me undertaking a marathon in shoes that look like foot gloves.
What minimalist means to me is that the human body is an extraordinary mechanism, a finely tuned orchestra of bones, joints, nerves, muscles and tendons. Regardless of how fit you are, your body is capable of working with maximum efficiency — if you will allow it to!
Your body will always strive to protect itself, and will do what is best for it under the conditions that you subject it to. This can sometimes lead to unexpected results. In the case of “normal” running shoes that are supposedly designed to “protect” and “support” the feet and lower legs, there is a growing wave of public opinion that says these shoes are in fact an impediment to ideal gait, stance and proprioception.
Back in 2010, after doing a lot of reading on the subject, I decided I could not pass judgment on this debate without trying minimalist shoes for myself. So I made the leap and found a new freedom in my running that I had not anticipated.
Two years later, I know for a fact that I will never again do any recreational or race running in so-called “normal” shoes. Indeed, if at some point I do transition away from the Vibrams that have given me such good service, it will most likely be to adopt full barefoot running!
But this is for the future. Right now I am facing the enormous challenge of running 262 miles in 10 days to support Brathay Trust, and as far as I know I will be the first person to complete an event like this in minimalist shoes(*). I know — all this proves is that I am marginally more crazy than my 17 companions. But only marginally…
(*) Of course I am happy to be the third or the three-hundredth, so feel free to set me straight in the comments if that’s the case!
This interview was recorded during the training weekend at Brathay in January 2012. Expect to see a few more videos from me, leading up to the event and during it as well!
One month? Really?? Yes, one month to go.
Just 30 days from now I will be settling into Race HQ at Brathay House near Ambleside. Running the last checks on my kit, loading up on carbs and protein, settling down for a good night’s sleep, and bracing myself for Day 1 of the Brathay 10-in-10, edition of 2012!
It is very, very hard to believe that nine months have gone by since I learned that my application for the event had been accepted. I know that time seems to pass quicker as we get older, but really? Nine months already??
Lots of people ask me “How’s your training going?”, and my answer at the moment is some variation of “slowly” or “backwards” or “with difficulty”. The fact is that life gets in the way. Between work, business travel, house moves and other major life events, it’s hard to make time for the mileage that I should be clocking right now.
My greatest fear at the moment is that I’ll just blow a gasket on day 6 or 7. Everything I do in the next few weeks will be designed to prevent this from happening.
Theoretically I am in good shape for the challenge, titanic though it may be. Two months ago I completed the Enigma Quadzilla in relatively good shape. That’s four marathons in four days… and several people have told me that this is a good indication of one’s ability to make it through the 10-in-10.
Unfortunately, since then my running mileage has dropped off. I’ve packed on a few unnecessary pounds, and right now I am champing at the bit after 10 days of enforced rest due to an annoying lung-lurking lurgy…
My plan now is to cover about 150 miles in the remaining month before the event, including (if possible) a 10-day series of back-to-back runs.
So there we are. The master training plan comes down to these last 30 nerve-wracking, adrenaline-charged days!
In a way I welcome the arrival of Day 1 of the event. It will be a huge release. For 10 days I will be able to focus 100% on my running and on my body.
On the fund-raising front the challenge is just as big.
My whole reason for attempting this crazy challenge is to raise £5,000 for Brathay Trust, which helps disadvantaged young people by equipping them to take charge of their own lives.
Many of you will have received messages from me already, asking you to help me accomplish this goal. I want to say a heartfelt “thank you” to those who have donated. Please help me again, if you will, by telling your friends about my challenge…
To those who may wonder why I am doing this, I encourage you to visit www.brathay.org.uk, where you will find stories of the vulnerable young people who have been helped by this amazing foundation. If you are not moved to run 262 miles for them I will understand. But if you can dip into your pocket and contribute the equivalent of a latte or two that would be great!
Less than 100 days now until I toe the start line for the first of 10 back-to-back marathons at Brathay. It’s time to start applying some serious focus!
This may well be the most extreme physical challenge I will ever undertake. I am determined to finish, but to accomplish this I must also treat the event with extreme respect.
Everything I do for the next three months has one overriding goal. I must get to that start line injury-free, yet with a fitness level that will carry me through 262 miles on one of the most difficult road courses in the UK.
This means that I need to be hitting 50 to 60 training miles per week on average, listening intently to my body at all times and dealing with niggles as soon as they crop up.
It means I have to unlearn my bad running habits, and incorporate all sorts of tedious and annoying stuff I never bother to do – stretching, leg-swings and core strengthening to name just a few.
And it means I have to grit my teeth and do some really unpleasant things, like ice baths and waxing and protein drinks, bleurgh. On the good side I get to have sports massages and learn unimaginable things about my anatomy…
The routine is often challenging, given long work days and regular business travel. But I have no choice, if I am to survive at Brathay. Fortunately though my physical fitness is slowly improving, and I am starting to feel more confident that I can handle the workload.
My training is structured around series of back-to-back runs. Currently I am on day 4 of a 10-day series – the last four days of which will be the Enigma Quadzilla, for a total of 145 miles in 10 days. More on that in another message.
The idea is to teach my body some “active recovery” skills. This is a fancy term meaning that you run on tired, aching legs – scrap the rest day, and suck up the pain!
(On a more serious note – your brain supposedly learns how to recruit the muscle fibres that were not damaged in the previous days’ workouts, and your muscle usage progressively becomes more efficient. The challenge is to do this without overstepping the fine line that leads to injury…)
But after all that talk about training, my reality is that the challenge is 90% psychological at this point.
I am afraid. Failure is my greatest fear – it haunts me on a daily basis.
I know for a fact that there will be many moments during the 10-in-10 where failure will be the easiest and most tempting option. At some point it may even appear to be the only option. Those are the moments when I will need the sheer guts to turn my back on the support van, and slog through to that day’s finish line.
I don’t think I have ever been tested like this, and frankly I don’t know how I will deal with it when the moment comes. I am hoping though that by anticipating it, I may be better prepared. To paraphrase my 10-in-10 colleague Keith Luxon: “if you cannot fail, then it is not a challenge”.
At the end of the day though, I am not doing this for myself. I am doing it to play my small part in helping kids from deprived and abusive backgrounds to regain their confidence and self-esteem. In the moments when I want to throw in the towel, I will imagine the hardship they have to endure on a daily basis, and hopefully that will be enough to get me moving again.
You can play your part to help me by telling your friends about my challenge – they can visit my blog here at www.robertdallison.com, or sign up to receive my email newsletter at tinyletter.com/robruns10in10.
If you have not already made a donation, please consider doing so. Click here to visit my fundraising page for more details, www.justgiving.com/robruns10in10. No donation is too small, and I mean that literally!
It’s funny how the calendar can play tricks with one’s perception of time. Until just a few days ago, everything about Brathay 10 in 10 was qualified as “next year”. And because 2011 has been a year of major upheaval and adjustment (all very positive fortunately), things labelled “next year” have taken something of a back seat…
Until now, that is. All of a sudden, “next year” is right around the corner — and with it my crazy challenge of running 262 miles in 10 days.
In just two weeks from tonight I will be at the the Brathay training weekend, having dinner with my fellow 10 in 10 runners. And the next morning (Jan 14) I will be running my reconnaissance circuit of Lake Windermere. We only have limited running time (4½ hours) to complete the full marathon course. This is less than 40 minutes longer than my best marathon time, so I have little or no margin for manoeuvre, given that I am far from race-fit at the moment.
Suddenly it’s all become very real. Those 10-day training series with ever-increasing mileage? I can only squeeze in a limited number between now and May. And weekends (only 19 left) are now a precious resource, to be used wisely — including for family time, because I’ll be spending so many hours out on the road due to work and running…
But my training plan is taking shape nicely, with a scattering of events every month. Early February I will be running the Enigma Quadzilla — four marathons in four days — which will give me a taste for what lies in store. In March comes the Bath Half Marathon, by which time I will hopefully be fit enough to shoot for a sub-1:45 personal best. And last but not least, early April the Sussex Marathon will be a good dry run for Brathay, as apparently the course is hilly and challenging.
The challenge of Brathay 10 in 10 is just as intimidating as it has ever been. But I’m loving every minute of it, even if the adrenaline tends to buzz a little every time I think about it!
2011, you’ve been great. 2012, here I come. It’s time to crank it up!!
“Grit” was the word uppermost in my mind this morning as I drove to work through the first snow and icy roads of the winter.
I couldn’t help thinking, “that’s what I want for Christmas” — a massive dose of grit and determination, as I train for the Brathay 10 in 10 — ten marathons in ten days around Lake Windermere!
Actually, that’s not all I want. I also want you to help me attain my goal…
I am undertaking this crazy challenge to raise funds for Brathay Trust, the event organiser. Brathay Trust is a charity that supports and empowers young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, equipping them to take a constructive and fulfilling place in society, against all the odds. Click here to learn more about Brathay’s work.
My fund-raising target is £5,000, and I must reach £500 early in January.
My perfect Christmas gift would be if everyone I know could give a couple of pounds (or dollars, or euros) to help me reach this target.
Please check your back pockets to see what you can spare… And just as importantly, please take a few minutes and tell your friends about my running challenge and this very worthy fund-raising cause!
Thank you in advance for your generosity. Stay tuned to hear about my training, and to follow the event itself!
If you’re a UK tax-payer, Brathay will receive an extra 25% through Gift Aid. And if you’re not UK-based, you can still donate using a credit or debit card — your donation amount will be in pounds sterling, and your bank will convert the amount automatically.
Photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire
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