The 3 Peaks

A glorious sunny day in the Yorkshire Dales was the setting for the first stage of my 'Up hill task' as me, Gav and 1,000 fell runners gathered to take on Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough - the 3 Peaks of Yorkshire.

Having been unable to recce the course due to bad weather and a dodgy knee, I didn't fully appreciate what I would be attempting but the long, rocky climb up to Pen-y-ghent made me realise that a few laps of Temple Newsam and Otley Chevin would in no way prepare me for what was to come.

After scrambling to the summit, it was straight back down again at break-neck pace until the path leveled out on to a fairly flat stage along to the next peak at Whernside. The first descent had taken it's toll on my knee and I had to apply the first blob of ibuprofen gel to numb the pain but at least I could now find some rhythm.

I made up some time and was happy to see my support team with refreshments at the spectacular Ribblehead viaduct and was feeling good until I saw what was next - the long, steep climb up the side of Whernside.

Walking gave way to climbing and by the time I scrambled to the top, I felt emotional and exhausted. The view though was absolutely stunning and almost worth the pain as I set off down the rocky path and along to Ingleborough.

Again I made up time on the flatter section between the peaks and was determined to get a decent time but on the final climb up I became really dehydrated and then started getting stomach cramps and feeling disorientated as I started the descent.

The last couple of miles felt longer than the whole of the race as I struggled to get to the finish. However, once the line was in sight and I heard the crowd cheer I mustered a sprint finish and was really pleased with my time of just under 4 hours and ten minutes.

The pleasure was soon replaced with pain as my stomach cramped up and I was sick from trying to drink too much water too quickly. After a brief sit down in the medical tent, I decided it was time to go home and was soon fast asleep in the back of the car as my Dad drove us home. It wasn't until I had a sandwich and some salty crisps at Booth's on the way back that I finally came round and started to feel human again.

I was then disappointed at feeling so ill at the finish as I didn't really get to enjoy it and missed sharing it with Gav and his family who had also come to watch. I also realised that I had taken it lightly and assumed my high fitness level would get me through which I suppose it did but at a greater cost than I anticipated.

Now a couple of days have passed and my stomach and legs have recovered, I am pleased overall and would consider giving it another go with a more focused training plan and better refueling plan.

I am also looking forward to the Leeds Half Marathon and the Yorkshireman which I know will be a lot less painful!

I must say another big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far at www.justgiving.com/uphilltask - I really appreciate it!

Checkpoint	Time of Day	Elapsed
Registration	09:16:59	-----
Pen-y-ghent	10:40:16	00:40:16
Ribblehead	11:44:12	01:44:12
Whernside	12:21:20	02:21:20
Hill Inn	12:46:43	02:46:43
Ingleborough	13:23:17	03:23:17
Finish	14:09:58	04:09:58

1 week to go

With one week to go until the 3 Peaks and still no recce of the course, me and Gav decided we'd better go and have a look this weekend. That was until my knee went running down a hill at Temple Newsam on Wednesday night, throwing a spanner in the works.

I feared for the worst on Thursday as it was painful and swollen and definitely not fit to run on. With some dodgy dance moves at the Drum awards on Thursday night, and a day of rest on Friday, I decided it wasn't a good idea to take on the 3 Peaks and risk making it worse so me and Jamie did a steady half-marathon on the road instead.

It was a glorious day (tops off!) and although I could feel the knee, I got through it and it feels fine today so I am much more confident it will be ready for Saturday's race.

The plan is to take it steady this week and taper down the training, just doing the odd short run before the big day. I also need to source a whistle and compass as apparently these are pre-rquisites for entry so I don't want to get disqualified before I even set off.

I also had a madcap idea of running the London marathon the next day but have found it is impossible to secure a place at such short notice, unless you run as someone else or sneak on the course with a dodgy number (so if anyone knows anyone who is looking to give up their place - let me know!)

Please check back next week for lots of 3 Peaks pictures and don't forget to sponsor me at www.justgiving.com/uphilltask and help raise money for MS research.

Chevin chase

With less than three weeks to go until the first stage of 'The Up Hill Task', the plan was to go up and recce the 3 Peaks over Easter to give myself an idea of what I'd gotten myself into.

Unfortunatley, with the early morning weather on Bank Holiday Monday being attrocious, I decided that three laps of Otley Chevin would be a safer option so went and clocked 20 miles in a respectable 2 hours 45 minutes, including time to take a few snaps (see right).

It does leave the question of when to get the recce in as, with Ben visiting at the weekend and a wedding on Saturday, there isn't much space or time in the calendar. It looks like I might just have to turn up on the day and give it a go!

Many thanks to everyone who sponsored me this week, the total is now nearly £300 which is fantastic.

Tempsey toil

With less than four weeks to go until the Three Peaks, me and Gav thought it was about time to put some serious training in.

Following a couple of laps of Otley Chevin last Sunday and a wet 10 miler to Garforth on Wednesday (see after picture - right), we planned a new circuit around Temple Newsam with plenty of hills to test the legs and stamina. 16 miles later, we were both pretty knackered (I needed an hour's kip in the afternoon to recover) but by the end of it we felt like we were on the right track (and only 7 miles short of 3 Peaks distance).

We also clocked the first half-marathon in 1 hour 45 minutes which, if we could keep the same pace in the Yorkshireman, would see us in the top 2 going on last year's results.

A big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far, we are already on over £120 plus gift aid in the first week!

Up Hill Task

It's been a while since my last post (nearly a year in fact!), so I thought it was about time I updated everyone on my next challenge.

On the 24th April, I will be running The Three Peaks Race, which traverses the famous Yorkshire Dales Mountains of Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside covering 24 miles including heights of 2,500 feet above sea level.

Then, on 9^th May I will attempt to run the Leeds Half marathon in under 90 minutes before taking on the Full Yorkshireman fell marathon on 12^th September with the aim of breaking into the top 5 pairs.

The reason I’m doing all this is to raise money for research into the causes and potential treatments for MS my sufferers. My brother Ben was diagnosed with MS nearly seven years ago now and has shown great strength and courage in dealing with the variety of unpredictable and debilitating symptoms that affect MS sufferers on a daily basis.

If you would like to make a donation, please visit: www.justgiving.com/uphilltask or see me for a sponsrship form.

I will be updating my blog regularly with training info pictures and the results of the races, so please pop back from time-to-time.

A BIG thank you!

I just wanted to sign off my 2009 marathon blog by saying a big thank you to everyone who helped and supported me along the way. That includes everyone who very generously sponsored me and helped to raise a grand total of £2,442 for the Leeds MS Society (the figure will be nearer £3,000 when all the Gift Aid is added on top).

I also want to say a thank you to Catherine and Brian in particular for putting us up for the weekend and treating us to a lovely thai meal on the Friday night and the MS Team on the day who organised the runner's reception and much-appreciated massage (see picture).

But the biggest thank you goes to Mum, Dad and Ben for supporting me every step of the way - I couldn't have done it without you!

P.S. I am already entered in the ballot for next year's race and will be trying to crack 3 hours if I get in (though I'm going to have a few months' rest first!)

Thanks again
Nick x

Week 16 - the perfect day

After 16 weeks and over 500 training miles, the big day finally arrived and it didn't disappoint. In fact, it exceeded all my expectations and I'm not exaggerating when I say it was probably the greatest experience of my life so far. To run 26 miles around the historic capital in glorious sunshine with 35,000 fellow runners and millions of Londoners shouting encouragement and cheering your name is something I will never forget. As one runner said to me after the finish, "it's like playing at Wembley stadium", which just about summed it up.

I started to get an idea of the sheer scale of the event and how well organised it is when we went to register at the Excel Arena on Friday afternoon. The rows of registration points resembled airport check-in desks where I was quickly processed and received my race number (41,388) and micro-chip timing device to attach to my trainers. We then went into the main hall which had stalls of every running gear manufacturer and sports nutrition company I'd ever heard of (and quite a few I hadn't).

After I'd had a good look round and filled up on free energy bar samples, I stocked up on carb gels and purchased a belt to carry them during the race which would prove to be a wise investment. On the way out I received a goody bag whose contents can only be described as random (can of London Pride, jar of cranberry sauce, lip balm!?) and was highly amused when my Dad managed to blag one and the attendant wished him good luck on Sunday to which he replied, "Thank you. I'll need it!"

We then drove down to my Mum's cousin's in Tunbridge Wells who had kindly offered to put us up for the weekend and even kinder, treated us to a gorgeous meal at their local Thai restaurant. Having read that I needed to eat an extra 100g of carbs per 10kg of body weight (about 800g for me) in the two days preceding the marathon to increase the amount of energy stored in the muscles (the process is called carb-loading), I ate as much rice and noodles as possible.

On Saturday morning I went for my last training jog before arranging to meet my old Uni house mate Toddy who had managed to wangle two free tickets for the Premier League clash between Fulham and Stoke. The weather was glorious again and although the quality of the game and home support was pretty underwhelming (not that I'm a bitter Leeds fan or anything) it was an enjoyable experience and nice to catch up with an old friend. I then went back to base to load up on pasta and get an early night before the big race.

After much deliberation over the train timetable, we decided that the 6.50 am train from High Broom (the local station) to London Bridge was the safest option for getting me to the start line in plenty of time which meant a 5.30 am start to get ready and eat my porridge and crumpets. The ticket machine at the station was out-of-order which was a stroke of luck as I got chatting to another runner on the train who said that they let runners travel free on the day of the race. The train gradually filled up with more and more runners until we reached London Bridge where I changed for Greenwich and followed the precession up to Greenwich Park to the red start area.

The weather was already glorious and I was regretting not packing any sun cream as I milled around the waiting area, enjoying my last energy bar and free Lucozade whilst soaking up the atmosphere. At 9.10 we we're directed to our start pens and luckily I was in number four which was quite near the front (there were nine pens in total with runners as far as the horizon as you looked down the hill) and at 9.30 we were ushered forward in preparation for the 9.45 start.

We got away really smoothly and I passed under the start clock about two minutes after the official start but set my watch and distance monitor to get an accurate measurement. After a bit of traffic at the start I settled into my target rhythm of five minute per km and for the first ten or twelve miles I just enjoyed the carnival atmosphere and the crowds of people who cheered and shouted support from the pavement.

With music systems pumping out from every pub, people hanging out of windows or stood on rooftops to get the best vantage point, every community came out to show their support and enjoy the day. From brass bands to steel bands playing, kids high-fiving runners and giving out sweets along the pavement and smiling spectators reading the name on your vest and shouting encouragement, it was a truly amazing experience that I will never forget.

I felt pretty comfortable during the middle of the race and kept stocking up on carbs with a gel every half an hour plus Lucozade and water from the frequent drink stations as we crossed Tower Bridge for the first time, again lined with thousands of cheering spectators. I was now on the look out for my Mum and Dad who were going to try and catch me at around mile 15 and 19 at Canary Wharf. I kept the pace going but was starting to think I had missed them when I came round the corner for the exit of Canary Wharf and there they were at the MS Society cheering point all going crazy. It gave me a massive boost and I was quite emotional but pulled myself together and began to focus on the final part of the race.

My legs were getting pretty heavy at this point but my energy levels were good so I thought the quicker you can run these last seven miles, the sooner you will be at the finish line and the better your time will be. Again, the support from the crowd was amazing so I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could. These were the painful miles I had trained for and I was determined not to pull up and register as fast a time as possible. With three miles to go I could see I was under my 3:30 target so I kept pushing and after what felt like an eternity, I turned the final corner into the Mall and saw the clock at 3:19 so I accelerated for the line.

After handing in my time-chip and receiving my medal I felt shattered and disorientated. I made my way to the meeting area and someone from the MS Society team kindly walked me down to MS Society runners reception which was in a grand building overlooking the park. I had a much-welcome massage and met up with my Mum and Dad who had really enjoyed the race and sat down for a much needed drink and sandwich. We then walked (or hobbled) across London with the marathon still in full swing to get the train to Dartford and collect the car for the journey back to Leeds.

We got back about 9 and I enjoyed a pizza and glass of wine whilst looking on the London Marathon website for my official time of 3:17.43 which I am really please with for my first marathon. They also have your split times and pace graph on their which showed that I ran the first half in 1:40 and the second in 1:37, only a minute slower than my half-marathon time from last September. I suppose the next target will be getting to the three hour mark but I need a good rest before then!

There are so many people I need to thank I will publish a separate post later in the week along with a final fund-raising total when hopefully my legs will have recovered too!

20th - 26th April
Mon: Rest

Tues: AM: gym 1 hrs

Wed: AM: gym 1.5 hrs (6 km steady)

Thurs: AM: gym 1.5 hrs (6 km steady)

Fri: Rest

Sat: 20 minutes steady warm up (4 km)

Sun: Marathon Day! 3 hours 17 minutes and 48 seconds (42 km)

Weekly total: 58 km - final total: 855 km