| Marathon of Britain facts: | - Dates 4-9 September 2005
- Distance: 175 miles (minimum)
- Duration: 6 stages over 6 days
- Race start - Malvern
- 2005 Competitors: 40
- Course Record: 32 hours 58 minutes - Jeremy Bragg - 2004
- Slowest Time: 85 hours 24 minutes - Lloyd Scott - 2003
- Water Consumed: 10,000 litres
- Event Crew: 30+
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9th September - Day 6 - Final Day 10 miles Kegworth to Nottingham Castle Mixed emotions today. No more sleeping bag… yippie, but sad that this fabulous event is about to finish, I am going to miss the camaraderie and company of a group of fabulously generous, positive and funny individuals, it is possible to cry with laughter and pain at the same time… but it is not great if you want to cover distance quickly! Completing the 10 miles was a formality today, there was no way that any of us would fail to complete it, even if it meant crawling on hands and knees….some did come close to having to do this though! The crowds reception as we ran over the finish line at Nottingham Castle made us feel like Olympians in a small way and gave me a buzz that I need again… so as of September 12th, training for the 2006 Britvic Marathon of Britain starts again. Prior to running the Marathon of Britain I was apprehensive as to whether I had the physical and mental ability to compete in the toughest multi day foot race in the world, but with a bit of training a large amount of determination you may be surprised as to what can be achieved. 8th September - Day 5 54 Miles Coombe Abbey to Kegworth Today started in the dark at 6am with a very easy running pace, being very conscious of the distance we have to cover today there was no point to starting off at a sprint.  | | Mark (second left) goes up the Malverns |
After 5 miles my feet and heals started to hurt when ever I took a walking break, bizarrely the only way of overcoming this pain is to keep running! This pain persists until the 20 mile mark and I had an opportunity to take a painkiller, which did not completely take the pain away but did take the edge off it and was able to pick up the speed for the next few miles… that is until pain returned. So far during the race I have been injury and blister free so I feel as though I am getting off lightly with just saw feet. It was huge relief to reach half distance, I now kept telling myself that it is all downhill from here, metaphorically anyway. 30 to 40 miles passed reasonably quickly – or at least without major concern, this is due to Steve who I had been running with for the past couple of days finding a new turn of speed and all I could focus on was keeping up with him. By dusk we were in Loughborough with only 11 miles to cover, only issue being it was dark and my night navigation skills are at best questionable and after 14 hours of running and suffering from the occasional sense of humour failure, I was in serious risk of sending myself back to Coombe Abbey. Thankfully no major navigation issues, we finish the 54 miles in 16 hours 46 minutes, absolutely exhausted, a little emotional and very appreciative of the large plate of Bangers and Mash that is served up as we arrive back. It has been the most extraordinary day, I am exhausted although feel a massive sense of achievement. I feel humbled at the determination of the 20 or so other runner still on the course, some of whom will not finish until Friday morning having spent over 26 hours on the road…..it is this utter determination to complete the race, even when they know they are coming in last that I admire. 7th September - Day 4 34 miles – Stratford Upon Avon to Coombe Abbey The day starts with a 6am wakeup call and a few aches in the legs, my achilles is a little saw but this goes after I start running. I am definitely starting to feel the effects of running almost 80 miles in 3 days, a little spaced out, tired and even the simplest of tasks are proving to be a little more of a challenge…I had three attempts at tying my shoe laces this morning before I was comfortable they were not to loose!!! The route today took us though Warwick to the 100 mile point at Kenilworth Castle, this was a big psychological goal, only 75 miles to complete although 54 of these are in one go tomorrow. I spent the rest of the day running with Suze and Steve and I needed their company, there were several moments when I had to dig deep and over come the pain barrier, their encouragement was just what I needed. I was possibly a little over cautious today making sure that I did not stress the body too much as tomorrows long run is ever present in the mind. I have never run such a distance in one attempt before and am a little apprehensive. I am not the only one though, everybody, even those who have run this event before a quietly cautious. The feeling in the camp is different tonight, there is less socialising as people are keen to get to bed as it is an early start for all, some will be starting at 4am and will take over 24 hours to complete the 54 miles. I also think part of the reason for the different feeling in camp tonight is that although we have 2 days until the finish, people are aware that this brilliant event will soon be over, I have met some of the most fantastic individuals this week, Dan Brockhurst who is running the Marathon of Britain as part of his attempt to run 25 marathons in 25 days and raise funds for Action on Addiction and the National Deaf Children’s Society (www.run25.com) an amazing feet, particularly as he is running them faster than most the field. Big Dave who is 21 stone but completed over 600 marathons!! and Estianne from South Africa who runs with a prosthetic lower leg and a seasoned Ultra distance runner. An excellent event made memorable by those running on it. 6th September Day 3 33 miles Broadway to Stratford Upon Avon. Today started with a live interview with BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, I was considerably more nervous about this than running 175 miles! Consequentially I did not eat a great deal of breakfast which I was going to regret later. The first part of today's run was ideal, cool but sunny and over Dover’s Hill (apparently the site of the first Olympic Games in the 15th Century), through Chipping Campden, Mickleton and then along a very long chalk path into Stratford called the Greenway. At midday the sun and heat were reflecting back up off the path and I was quickly starting to bake, I later found out that every runner had struggled on this part of the run. The course then cruelly passed within a few meters of finish line before taking us on a 16 mile loop along the Stratford Canal and back to the race course finish. I found this by far the hardest day so far, a combination of the heat and long straight paths which do little to distract you from the lactic acid building up in the legs….so the massage we receive when we arrive at the finish line is very much appreciated. 5th September - Day 2 30 miles - Croome Landscape Park to Broadway Today the Marathon of Britain started in earnest, 30 miles from Croome Park to Broadway over 4 steep hills, Bredon, Alderton, Shenberrow and Broadway Hill. A double helping of porridge and sausages for breakfast to ensure that I have enough fuel to make it to check point 1 and then I can have the first of my Snickers bars. The day starts well although very humid and I make it to the top of Bredon in good time and feel confident. Now one of the challenges of the Marathon of Britain is that you have to navigate your own way using an OS map, this means that occasionally you are liable to make unplanned detours…. which is exactly what I did when coming down from Bredon, ending up on the other side of the hill 8km off route!!! It is in situations such as this that you learn about yourself ……I panicked!! I have never run 8km so quickly, sprinting across fields sending petrified sheep scattering and bounding over walls. In all, I think this excursion cost me an hour in time and could have been worse but thanks for the man who pointed out that I was running back towards the Malvern Hills! The rest of the day thankfully passed off without drama and made it to Broadway in reasonable time. If I take nothing else from this week, I will have passed through some of the most fantastic English countryside. If you ever get the chance to go to the top of either Bredon, Shenberrow or Broadway Hills, do so the views are fantastic, well worth the pain in getting to the top. So far feet are blister free and no aches….very pleasing. Sunday 4th September - 9:11pm - Day 1 We have finally started, after 6 months of training we are now doing the real
thing!! Yesterday we all arrived, feeling apprehensive of what lay ahead but keen to get started, I was please that I had not the only one who has been eager to crack on and get started. We all rose at 6:30am this morning for breakfast and to spend the last few minutes before the bus took us to Malvern checking, arranging the rucksack and then nervously rearranging it again until we were happy. It’s a trade off between carrying enough gear to get you through the week and weight of the rucksack. The gun went at 10am and we immediately started a 30 minute hike up the Malvern Hills before running along the top and making our way cross country to Upton Upon Severn and Croome Landscape Park. My instinct was to run my normal 16 mile race speed but I had to keep in mind that I still had another 160 miles to run by Friday, so I broke up the run with a number of walks. I felt good at the end of the run and the time reflected this, I now just need to
keep this positive feeling and use it when I really start to feel the strain later in the week. Tomorrow we rise at 6:30 am and negotiate 4 steep hills over a 30 mile distance before we reach Broadway. From the stories I have heard this evening from competitors who have run this race in the past, I need to be prepared for up to 9 hours of running and pushing myself to physical and mental limits. Great, now where it that positive feeling go! | 
