We have entered the Epilepsy Action Bradford 10K on Sunday 21st March 2010. However, inspired by Eddie Izzard's sport relief challenge, we decided to make this 10K a bit more difficult - hence the 10 day 100K challenge. We are going to start on 12 March and run a 10K every day, with the final 10K being the Bradford run.
Those of you that know us well will know that Epilepsy Action is a charity that is very close to our hearts, and we really appreciate any donations you make. However, given our inspiration, we are also going to make our own donation to Sport Relief
[Click "read more" for our day by day account of our 10Ks]
Thank you very much
Susie and Ian
Day 1; Friday 12 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Hornbeam Park - Starbeck; 52:00
Day 1 didn't go quite according to plan as Susie was late home from work and we had to run the course separately late on Friday evening. Still, at least the rain had stopped and we posted a good first time and we are on course for our total running time target of 9:10:00.
Day 2; Saturday 13 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Leeds Road - Harrogate - Starbeck; 58:05
This one was really tough, particularly as we ran on Saturday morning - less than 15 hours after the first run - and there was a bit of traffic around which made it hard to get into a rhythm. Cumulative running time of 1:50:05 - still on course for total running time target but only just!
Day 3; Sunday 14 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Hornbeam Park - Starbeck; 52:38
Felt a bit more comfortable today having had a bit more rest time between runs but we are nervous heading into the weekday runs as we will be running in the evenings when we will naturally be more tired and also it will be dark and cold. Cumulative running time of 2:42:43.
Day 4: Monday 15 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Leeds Road - Harrogate - Starbeck; 52:25
It was windy today and the first 4K uphill into a head wind was really hard work. Still, it did make it easier on the way back :-) Cumulative running time of 3:35:08
Day 5; Tuesday 16 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Hornbeam Park - Starbeck; 52:34
Today was absolute agony and the traffic was busy so we had to stop and start a lot. On the plus side, it was a clear day and not too cold. Cumulative running time of 4:27:42. And as Jon Bon Jovi (and our friend Becki) once said, "woah-oh, we're halfway there.....".
Day 6: Wednesday 17 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Leeds Road - Harrogate - Starbeck; 52:36
The muscle stiffness and soreness is really starting to build now and the joints are hurting. On top of that, Ian has a cold which is making it tough going. Having said that, our times have been really consistent (other than Saturday!!) and with only 2 more post-work runs to go and a cumulative running time of 5:20:18 we are looking good to beat our 9:10:00 target.
Day 7; Thursday 18 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Hornbeam Park - Starbeck; 56:20
And it had all been going so well.....Susie found today really hard and our pace was significantly slower than in recent days. Every step felt painful today and we are both feeling battered. Today was also the first day that we had to run in the rain (luckily only for the last 2K). Although it should be the last 10K that we'll have to run in the dark. Cumulative running time of 6:16:38. Less than 1/3 left to go but the finish line feels like a long way away as we write tonight. Hopefully running in a different location tomorrow will give us some extra energy.
Day 8; Friday 19 Mar; Laps of Cottingham (East Yorkshire); 50:30
Maybe it was the flat course, maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the change of location, maybe it was the lack of wind, maybe it was just because it was Friday and our last weeknight run - who knows but this was by far our fastest 10K of the challenge to date (could no 9 or 10 be better???). Susie didn't enjoy it much though as her body is rebelling against the constant battering that it is taking. We've almost run 2 whole marathons now - although taking 8 days to do it makes it sound less impressive! Cumulative running time back on target after a difficult day 7 at 7:07:08. And only 2*10K left to go.
Day 9: Saturday 20 Mar; Starbeck - Harrogate - Leeds Road - Harrogate - Starbeck; 53:16
Back to our usual hilly course and surprise, surprise day 8 looks like a fluke! We also got soaked today as it rained throughout our run (and there was no avoiding that today). Still, we've done well with the weather so far so we can't really complain about getting wet once. Ian's knees have started playing up though and he's finding it hard to run downhill which is a real nightmare on this course. Cumulative running time now stands at 8:00:24. So unless tomorrow goes completely pear shaped (and we aren't ruling that out) we should beat the 9:10:00 target that we originally set. However, being a little more ambitious we are now aiming for less than 9:00:00 which would be an average of 54 minutes per 10K and we'd both be rather pleased with that :-)
Day 10: Sunday 21 Mar; Bradford, Epilepsy Action 10K; 51:03
Well, that's it. We're done. Our last run was an early start (9am) which was tough on the legs as we'd only finished run no. 9 just over 17 hours earlier. The Bradford course isn't exactly mountainous but its not flat either so we were really pleased with our final 10K time. It was fantastic to have some company on this run and thanks particularly to Phil, Beks and Dean, good friends of ours who were also running it, for their support on the day. Thanks also to a number of other runners who made supportive comments along the route - it was much appreciated. As for the cumulative running time, the final total stands at 8:51:27 which is way below even our revised target. That's an average of 53:09 for each 10K. We are both thrilled to have completed the challenge and really pleased with our times but we are looking forward to a rest! On the donations front, as things stand when we add Susie's work's matched funding of £250 to the total raised to date we are not far off £2,000 which is really amazing. Many, many thanks to everyone for their generous support.
