The Challenge

Arguably one of the most obvious entries into the Purple book and yet easily the most daunting so far. Sky diving is as easy as remembering not to bring an anvil with you on the journey down, finding a bridge is easy if you have any idea how to use a map and compass and even a half marathon is doable in jeans and trainers by a exercisaphobe with 2 weeks of training but the marathon demands more than this. Whereas every skydiver you talk to will tell you a sky dive changes their life, every marathon runner will tell you the marathon will dominate it. As the so far unspecified 'early October' date of the ballot draws ever near I'm starting to wander what I've let myself in for. People are recommending special shoes in 2 pairs so I can alternate them, special socks so I can hope to walk after each training session, rub downs (actually that doesn't sound so bad), ice baths after heavy training (that sure as hell does!) and even GPS watch things to track my progress so I can create graphs and the like. I've started by buying a 'how to run the marathon' book and DVD. Despite doing races before I'm playing it safe on the training as I reckon I'm pretty much back to square one i.e. anything more than a swift run up the stairs and I'm out of it. Because of that, I calculated how much time I'd need between the start of my training and the race itself on SUNDAY 17TH APRIL 2011. I write it in bold as it'll soon be imprinted in my mind like it's been chiselled in stone. After calculating this time my training needs to start... in October! This poses a problem on many fronts, here are some examples: -

1. I hate jogging anything more than 100 metres to catch a bus

2. I despise all exercise that doesn't involve laying up a basketball or doing moves with chinese names

3. I love my bed

4. I love my futon

5. Just in case there was any doubt, it wasn't added for comic relief - I HATE jogging.

So Therein lies the problem. I will have to spend half of my year, at some point during most of the days, jogging. To fuel my body accordingly I will have to cut my chocolate intake and start consuming more items called fruit and vegetables. I will more than likely lose the ability to walk for most of this time whilst convincing an already highly generous group of people to sponsor this attempt at madness after the epic effort shown before. My dad has decided to skip a year before giving the big 26 a go himself, instead wishing to give the Reading half marathon another shot first. This great feat of 13.1 miles will now be nothing more than part of my training plan. Come April I will snigger and beg for such slight acreage as I tackle the big one. Whereas the Reading Half Marathon was done purely for Al the Legend and only partially for my own gratification, this one's for me. I will move oceans to raise huge sums for my most amazing of uncles, who to this day continues to defy his lot, but the main reason I'm doing this is to prove to myself that I can do it. To train, work for and conquer the king of races will be by far the biggest test I've had yet. There's no blagging this one, turning up in jeans with a lucozade bottle and 2 weeks training isn't going to cut it this time. I've got 6 months to get my 6' 6", vastly under weight frame in a state ready to make it from Greenwich Park to The Mall without it killing me. Come Sunday 17th April 2011, I'll be ready.

Early October will see whether I'm officially in or out. Regardless of the result, by hook or by crook, mid April of next year will see me cross the line with my medal and goodie bag with freebie shower gel and multigrain bar.

Rossifer x