3 City Challenge 2010 Report: Part 1 – A Marathon is just too Normal
Me (Robin) training
Running a marathon is just too normal for some people, after all thousands of people every month take part in those 26 mile events so if you want to do something truly different to test yourself, running a marathon when you are supposedly in the prime of your life and in good health might not be that much of a challenge. In April, inspiration hit me out of nowhere, 82 miles without stopping for sleep is the perfect answer to quench a desire for personal challenge. That’s approximately 3.15 marathons, but who’s counting? I send a quick text to a friend asking if he wants to come along for the ride and almost instantly, a reply comes back simply stating ‘why not?’ (Retrospectively, I might have answered that rhetorical question with a reply that took me over my monthly allowance). Blissfully unaware, we both got really excited and dubbed the event the ‘3 City Challenge’, found a worthy cause and set a date.
The plan was to start Clock Tower in Leicester, head over to the Bullring in Birmingham, then onto the Millennium Square in Coventry and finishing at the Walkers Stadium back in Leicester. The route was 82 miles in total (or 123km) and officially we booked ourselves to run an ultra-marathon. The fact that we’d both never taken part in any organised running event previously and generally had a dislike for casual running, didn’t even bother us.
Still in the pre-awareness stage, I booked 82 mini challenges to ensure focus and set ourselves a goal of completing the 82 miles within 24 hours.
Example training schedules advised us that we should be running for a few hours, 5 times a week as well as some cross training of some sorts. Life gets in the way though and both of us getting new jobs, my girlfriend turning into a fiancée and expecting a baby meant that spare time for training was at a minimum. Realistically, we probably did a few miles, 3 times a week.
We chose to raise money for the British Deaf Association – which was a very easy decision as we both have very close links to deafness. My mother and Jab’s cousin are both deaf, as well as many friends we have that are also deaf. The BDA fights for the rights of British Sign Language, a cause that we have both seen the benefits for.
Fast forward to Saturday 28th August 2010, 4 months after announcing the 3 City Challenge, the day has finally come. We’re excited, nervous and genuinely entering the unknown – the route is planned by Google Maps with walking directions that are in beta. We visit the shops to get some last minute gear (in fact Jabulani had to go to the sports shop at 4.30pm, just 30 minutes before we set off to get some last minute supplies).
What did we take with us?
> Video camera with 2 spare batteries
> Digital camera with 2 spare batteries
> Mobile phone with 2 spare batteries
> 2 bottles full of water each
> Quick energy gel packs
> Protein and energy bars
> Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
> Cash
> Printed map (in case GPS on phone failed)
> High visibility jackets
> Running gloves
> Head torch & a huge powerful torch (I’ve no idea why Jabu brought this, it was heavy!)
To read Part 2 of this report, click here.
Me (Robin) training
Running a marathon is just too normal for some people, after all thousands of people every month take part in those 26 mile events so if you want to do something truly different to test yourself, running a marathon when you are supposedly in the prime of your life and in good health might not be that much of a challenge. In April, inspiration hit me out of nowhere, 82 miles without stopping for sleep is the perfect answer to quench a desire for personal challenge. That’s approximately 3.15 marathons, but who’s counting? I send a quick text to a friend asking if he wants to come along for the ride and almost instantly, a reply comes back simply stating ‘why not?’ (Retrospectively, I might have answered that rhetorical question with a reply that took me over my monthly allowance). Blissfully unaware, we both got really excited and dubbed the event the ‘3 City Challenge’, found a worthy cause and set a date.
The plan was to start Clock Tower in Leicester, head over to the Bullring in Birmingham, then onto the Millennium Square in Coventry and finishing at the Walkers Stadium back in Leicester. The route was 82 miles in total (or 123km) and officially we booked ourselves to run an ultra-marathon. The fact that we’d both never taken part in any organised running event previously and generally had a dislike for casual running, didn’t even bother us.
Still in the pre-awareness stage, I booked 82 mini challenges to ensure focus and set ourselves a goal of completing the 82 miles within 24 hours.
Example training schedules advised us that we should be running for a few hours, 5 times a week as well as some cross training of some sorts. Life gets in the way though and both of us getting new jobs, my girlfriend turning into a fiancée and expecting a baby meant that spare time for training was at a minimum. Realistically, we probably did a few miles, 3 times a week.
We chose to raise money for the British Deaf Association – which was a very easy decision as we both have very close links to deafness. My mother and Jab’s cousin are both deaf, as well as many friends we have that are also deaf. The BDA fights for the rights of British Sign Language, a cause that we have both seen the benefits for.
Fast forward to Saturday 28th August 2010, 4 months after announcing the 3 City Challenge, the day has finally come. We’re excited, nervous and genuinely entering the unknown – the route is planned by Google Maps with walking directions that are in beta. We visit the shops to get some last minute gear (in fact Jabulani had to go to the sports shop at 4.30pm, just 30 minutes before we set off to get some last minute supplies).
What did we take with us?
> Video camera with 2 spare batteries
> Digital camera with 2 spare batteries
> Mobile phone with 2 spare batteries
> 2 bottles full of water each
> Quick energy gel packs
> Protein and energy bars
> Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
> Cash
> Printed map (in case GPS on phone failed)
> High visibility jackets
> Running gloves
> Head torch & a huge powerful torch (I’ve no idea why Jabu brought this, it was heavy!)
To read Part 2 of this report, click here.
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