NEIL SMITH's      62 MILE CHALLENGE...

...is now complete in a total time of 7 hours, 17 minutes and 7 seconds.

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THANK YOU

I work with Gilly Williams....Gilly is Ben's mum.

Ben Williams was a warm hearted, talented and cheerful boy with a love of all sport and a particular passion for cricket. At the age of 14 he was found to have a heart arrhythmia, which resulted in him having to stop all forms of sport and physical activity.  He died five months later in February 2006 shortly after collapsing at school.  It was subsequently determined that he had a rare heart muscle disorder.

The Ben Williams Trust www.benwilliamstrust.org.uk provides funding to support children and young adults who are suffering from arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms), to help them and their families live as normal a life as possible. 

I am running the following races in 2010 (including my first ever half marathon) in support of Ben's trust and would really appreciate your support.

       Course                                 Distance         Date                                   Time

Frimley Lakeside Canal        8 miles         (24.1.10)                              58.20

Deciding to run this 8 mile race instead of the cancelled Stubbington 10k felt like a good idea until I turned out of the start to be faced with a long uphill road. It wasn't long before I was faced with 2 miles of woodland trails which was great fun and challenging- dodging branches, tree roots and muddy puddles only added to the enjoyment. Pavement returned at around the 3 mile mark and was a much needed change for the better. Following this, the 3 miles along the canalside was very nice and at 7 miles came the 'steep steps' we were promised, not too many but enough to drain the legs...The last mile was a nice downhill stretch on the road to the finish and a time of 58.20, comfortably inside the 1 hour taget I had set... My legs can confirm that it was a 'multi terrain' course and very different to running along the very flat seafront! Anyway, 8  miles down, 54 to go !!!  - Winchester 10k next: looking forward to running on the road even though the course is described as 'hilly'.

Winchester                               10k                 (21.2.10)                           43.10

Winchester or 'Hillchester' as it should be renamed is a lovely city to wander around. I have now found out it is not the best place to run around! The course started in a very muddy park with a very steep hill and from there we set off towards King's Worthy. There were a few steady inclines on the way but what goes up must come down and I took full advantage of the few downhill sections. 5-7k seemed to be one steady incline confirming the 'hilly' description but the end of the race was a nice downhill run back into the city, the football ground and the gathered crowds. I managed to keep a bit back for the sprint finish and the cameras but predictibly the kids had found the soft play area in the leisure centre next door and missed my pb of 43.10! I was delighted with the time especially on such a hilly course as my aim was sub 45 minutes...14 miles down 48 to go !! Hoping for a flatter race and maybe even a sub 43 time. (fingers crossed..)

Brooklands                               10k                (28.3.10)                           41.06

For those of you who aren't fans of motor sports and would have no reason to know (me included) - Brooklands is a motor circuit built in 1907 in Weybridge, Surrey by the wealthy landowner Hugh Locke. In the 1920's and 30's it was home to many landspeed records and became the place to be seen (Ascot of motorsports). It is also now home to the rather swanky Mercedes-Benz world and it's numerous F1 cars around the place inspired a speedy race. The course was a 2 lap circuit round the new, very flat racetrack with a short distance on the old circuit so there were no excuses (apart from the bad knee which I had been nursing for the last 2 weeks) It all started well with a 3.45min first km and the first 3.1 mile lap was completed in 20.10. The second lap was slightly slower but I was more than delighted with another pb of 41.06. Pictures at http://www.sportcam.net/CompetitorImage.aspx?ID=2168&General=No - check out those grimaces!! There were also pbs for my friends Ju and Si so it was a good, speedy day all round. Only 2 weeks til the next race and an attempt at sub 41mins - with the new amended aim of going somewhere near (preferably under) 40 minutes in London in May  -    So in total that's 20 miles down 42 to go...!

Frimley Park                             10k                (11.4.10)                           41.41

This race was organised by Frimley Park Hospital to help raise money for their heart unit appeal. Ironically, it was sponsored by the local fish and chip shop! what next? the Marlboro sponsored emphysema ward?

The start to the race was very narrow but I managed to get off to a first km time of 3.45mins which didn't last for too long as the hills started to kick in and I felt like I was running backwards. I managed to keep a steady pace throughout and was very pleased with a time of 41.41 on a quite challenging course - only 35 seconds off my pb. After crossing the finish line I used my remaining energies to stop myself from being sick and once I had got rid of the shakes headed off to the pub for a well deserved bottle of wine and a Sunday roast which did the trick. I have now ran the equivalent of a marathon - 26.6 miles in an average time of 6 mins 56 / mile which I am delighted with. Only 36 miles to go to complete the challenge !!

Looking forward now to the next race in London in 7 weeks and a family weekend in the big smoke - hopefully with a sub 41 or even sub 40 time to take home as a souvenir...

BUPA London                         10k                 (31.5.10)                          40.52

We arrived in London the day before the race for a spot of sightseeing and the weather was perfect for the promised trip on the London eye wth the children. A boat trip up to Greenwich for a wander round the market was next on the itinerary and after a tiring day a good night's sleep was very welcome. I  had been looking forward to this race for a while as it is the first big race I have entered and the course was right through central London taking in most of the sites along the way. I was also up against my brother, Darren,  for the first time and it gave us both the motivation we needed for a quick time and possible bragging rights...

The race was very well organised. The assembly area was in Green Park and we wandered past Buckingham Palace towards the start area in Bird Cage Walk. I was in the 4th wave to set off with my brother in the wave before me so I knew I had 2 minute gap to make up to catch him! I got a good start and the crowds certainly helped over the 1st km which I ran in 3.47mins. I happened to be running at the same pace alongside former Olympian Iwan Thomas MBE which spurred me on and it meant there were always people cheering him on.

The course was fairly flat overall and the gathered crowds and music along the Embankment made it very enjoyable. At the 2km marker I hit the back end of the wave before me and now had added pressures to start worrying about...like weaving my way through Smurfs, various fruits and superheroes which added to the enjoyment. Before I knew it I was at the half way stage and pleasing 5km split of 20.20mins.

More Smurf dodging followed (I didn't realise there were so many of them!) as I headed back along Embankment towards the finish. At around the 8km marker I decided to up the pace a bit which was all too much for Iwan as I showed him a clean pair of heels! My watch read 37.00 minutes at 9Km and I knew that a 3minute final kilometre sprint to break 40 minutes was out of the question so concentrated on beating my pb of 41.06.

As I was running up towards Trafalgar Square I saw Darren in the distance which was the extra incentive I needed for the final push. Turning left, through Admiralty arch into The Mall, the finishing line was a welcome sight. I started to sprint at the '400m to go' sign and as Chariots of Fire played in the background, I quickly rememebered that 400metres is a long way to sprint but kept going to achieve a new personal best of 40.52 knocking 14 seconds off my previous best. Good news for Darren too who took nearly a minute off his pb which now stands at 43.34.

I finished 231st out of over 13,000 entries so was delighted overall...

That's 32.8 miles down - only 30 to go so more than half way ... It's my first ever half marathon next so really looking forward to that. I'm not pinning myself down on a target time as it's the week after our all inclusive family holiday... ...

Seaford             half marathon      (15.8.10)           1hr 31mins 52 secs    

After last week's all inclusive holiday in Sicily, I was slightly nervous about this one...

We arrived in Alfriston on the Friday afternoon for a weekend of camping and sporting action. (My brother) Darren was racing in his first classic triathlon on the Saturday, I had entered my first half marathon on the Sunday and it was the children's first camping experience so we were all looking forward  to an exciting weekend...

We managed to put the tent up in the (light) rain before the heavy showers we were promised arrived and settled into our weekend's accomodation. The excitement was all too much for the kids and a sleepless night followed which was not a good start as sleep deprivation and a triathlon don't go together too well. Despite this,  Darren stormed around the swim and smashed his best time for the bike and despite an understandably weary 10k finished in a fantastic time of 2hrs 39. A half marathon seemed like a non event after such an effort..

No camping trip would be right without a bbq and having bought enough food to feed an army we ploughed on. I knew a pre race diet of sausages was not the best preparation but chose to ignore this advice and stocked up anyway. Sunday morning arrived and with a better night's sleep I headed down to Seaford for the start of my race.

The course was a 4 lap, very flat route along the seafront. There was also a 10k and 5k race going on at the same time so I tried to get a good start. I started at a steady pace and really enjoyed the first half of the race thanks to the cheers from my support team, the time flew by and before I knew it I had done 2 laps in 45 minutes.

I managed to pick up the pace for the 3rd lap but tiredness (or maybe the bbq excess?) kicked in on the last lap and it was a case of just getting to the end as quickly as possible. I pulled out some kind of dash for the line (not quite a sprint finish!) and finished in 11th place in a more than respectable 1hr 31mins 52secs which is not too bad for my first attempt at this distance.

Thoughts of 'that was tough, I'm not going to do that again in a hurry' quickly turned to 'I could have done another couple of laps easily' and 'I can't wait for the next one to try and break 1hr.30' ...so it can't have been too bad.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable camping / sporting weekend and the kids can't wait to go camping again. I have now completed 46 miles of my challenge with only 16 to go. Next up is the Dunsfold 10k this Sunday so not much time to rest ! 

Dunsfold                                   10k                 (22.8.10)          42.00

Dunsfold Park is the track used in Top Gear and recently witnessed Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz do battle in reasonably priced cars. In reality, it's not very glamorous, just a very big airfield which is not too inspiring, especially when it's raining so 2 laps seemed like a long way.

This race had been moved to the evening and I wasn't sure whether it was that, the fact I arrived only 5 minutes before the start or that I still felt weary from last weekend's camping / half marathon adventure that made me feel sluggish on the start line.

I managed the first circuit in 20.20 which was okay and slowed a little to cross the line in 42.00. A bit disappointed overall with the time and that I ran out of steam a bit on the second lap but as I had been training for the longer races I was fairly happy to finish in 27th place (out of 214).

That's now 7 races and 52 miles down with only the 10 miles of the Great South Run left in October to complete my challenge.

Great South Run                10 miles            (24.10.10)

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Thank You....!!

Neil.

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