Shine - Years and Years

Where will you be?

Lyrics:- 'And it's you that I've been waiting to find' - Thornton, Turkmen, Goldsworthy, Ralph & Kurstin

Song Choice:- It's funny how training and life patterns seem to go hand-in-hand and if you use a simple training approach for either, for long enough, it can help you achieve your goals. Looking back at my July 2016, it was a pretty lean time when it came to achieving anything at all looking at my iWatch overview. I didn't move, stand or step at all on July 7th 2016 and things had only improved to 2,889 steps for 31st July - a year ago today.

What a difference 365 days can make...

Wind the clock forwards 365 days and you'll see that every day this month, I've consistently reached my goals in 'Calorie Expenditure' (Red) Exercise Time (Green) and Standing in at least 12 hours of the Day (Blue). Ok it's not an 'Extreme-superhuman-mega-distance-ultra-feat' to have achieved every day BUT it takes time, energy, determination and consistency to achieve your ultimate dreams and this has been a good start for me.

Being vigilant and not wanting to break the months target (you get a special icon on your iPhone and yes I know it's sad) has meant that my fitness over this July has certainly improved and I'm going to carry it on in August as I'm a million light years on from where I was in 2016 as you can see..

You see, technology can be a great tool if it's used positively and there's a lot more on offer than just seeing how far you've run or walked. However, it doesn't tell you how you feel or if you are doing too much or too little - but a visual picture of one's activities on an iPhone screen has certainly worked wonders for me.

It could work wonders for you too. Building a clear vision of your fitness and progress will determine a timeframe for success. Some of my runner's are now really benefiting from 12 months of building their speed, speed endurance and their pure durability. Another couple of years and a few more personal bests along the way and they'll be pushing for even bigger life challenges and achieving real greatness. 

It's a high contrast to some of the FB posts I've seen over the weekend from folk undertaking some of the toughest feats on the planet, who were clearly not prepared enough to even get close to completing their goal - what were they thinking. For others, some admitted they were pissed off, 'Just scraping in under the cut-off times' and I'm pleased they've finally woken up and smelt the roses as if you are looking to really achieve in this game, there's no short-cut to greatness, only to failure.

So, have a think to where you are going to be on 31st July 2018. What will you have achieved and how much nearer your goal will you be? And whether by then, you will have found yourself...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,607 Days' Alcohol Free - 455 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardiff, Wales

Chasin' the Feeling - The Biters

Lyrics:- 'But I keep looking for that one thing to get me loose, Set me free'.

Song Choice:- The Biters are a rock band from Georgia, Atlanta and are heavily influenced by Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and ACDC according to Wiki. This track is a real rocker and well worth a listen if you are looking for a good tune to run to. It sure has some balls and I wonder if you have too, if like me you are reflecting on your weekend, and preparing for another week at the coalface, hoping to make things happen. You know, Chasin' the Dream.

You see, we are all Chasin' something.

And if one of the things you're Chasin' is the Feeling' then I'm wondering what you are doing to find it and it's that sense of Feeling that I want to blog about today. For lots of people, they find it hard to know how far along their journey they actually are and without any data it's hard for them to determine their progress. For me that sense of 'Feeling' is a totally natural thing. So obvious, so black and white that there's no special  'Magic Eye' vision required to clearly see what we are, and what we not capable of at that particular moment in time. Knowing how hard to push and where one's limits are, is a real gift.

Sunday evening is always such an interesting time on FaceBook. As folk post their successes and failures to their hopefully supportive peer groups. Rarely do we see an 'If you were a lot slimmer, did some proper training and set your sights lower you might finish for once...' kinda replies when people drop out. What we do see is a lot of is 'You are a Warrior', 'You are still a Hero in my book' etc. comments that only lower general levels of preparation and expectation. Not going 100% is a national pastime it would appear.

In my experience, if you give something a full 100% and then some and if you do it for long enough you won't have to go Chasin' the Feeling, it will find YOU. You'll simply have all the confidence you'll need and whatever you are undertaking will be a real synch.

For the 'Just Enough Brigade', just enough is NEVER enough and if you are someone that never gives anything absolutely everything, then you'll always be Chasin' the Feeling rather than 'Living the Dream'... and doomed to 'Averageness'.

Have a think and ask yourself just how much more than 100% are you actually giving. It might speak volumes about you and your expectations...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,606 Days' Alcohol Free - 454 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Barry, Wales

Shut your eyes - Snow Patrol

Lyrics:- 'Shut your eyes and think of somewhere' - Simpson, Quinn, Lightbody, Connolly & Wilson

Song Choice:- The weekend in my world is always full of adventure and I'm lucky with my running adventures and with my work to visit some truly amazing places on this wonderful planet of ours.

The thing is, even some of my highlights are highlighted if you get my drift. There's just something magical about some of the places that's hard to describe. You see, they have their own unique frequency or chemistry that radiates positivity and warmth when you are there, or when you think about them.

I could easily list a hundred places, I mean Merzouga and Petra have both played a very important part in my life - so I love them. Further afield there's the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Empire State Building, both modern day wonders in my book. And another is Penarth Pier, where I went today. Built in 1898, with a later built Art Deco Pavilion, it's views out to the Severn Bridges and across the estuary are breathtaking especially when there's a blue sky in town.

Maybe these places around the globe are connected by some kind of magical Coleman 'Ley Lines' or by some other form of 'Voodoo Magic'. Maybe they feel special as I've enjoyed special life moments there. The best thing is if you are in need of some clarity in your life, then I suggest you go to one of your own special places and then take some time there, to think a few things over.

It's a real game changer I found over the years. Some of the events I've taken part in are truly special too and the Nottingham Marathon wasn't a coincidence for my #1,000th Marathon. It's the BEST road marathon IMO and I've had some fast times and great runs there, it's much better than London or New York and far less crowded. I'm starting to really look forward to the 24th September.

So while I'm waiting, maybe you can tell me where are your places are and why are they so special to you.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,606 Days' Alcohol Free - 454 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Penarth, Wales

If you want it - Take That

Lyrics:- 'Every day we get a little bit closer' - Barlow, Donald, Kursten & Owen

Song Choice:- One of the lesser know tracks perhaps from Take That's multi-platinum selling album 111. I've heard it a million times, because it follows on from my favourite Take That song of all time 'Let in the Sun'. It's a track that's grown on me over the past couple of years though and you might like it too.

The lyrics initially made me think about determination and desire - whereas now I think more about how things that might have been alien to our beliefs and daily routine, become super-important when we experience a shift in our direction, desire and ambition. 

If you believe what the internet says, the process for something to become a habit takes 66 days. Yep, do something for 9.5 weeks and it will become second nature. On the flip side though, it only takes 21 days to lose the new habit if you don't stick at it. No wonder there are so many failures when people take up new pastimes or regimes. After that first flush of inertia, the energy needed to maintain the drive wanes or seems less important and all is lost.

Progression is a real devil you see, and without some kind of visual change or positive data shift, the horizon doesn't feel like it's getting closer and we simply give up and make excuses for not finishing what we'd started.

After 28 days, my A2A Stepnell Guys should now firmly be into their stride creating new  habits and removing some old ones from their day-to-day lives. I'm really looking forward to seeing them next Tuesday so I can hear about the changes they've been making to their habits, in just a month. I hope that the weekend only pushes them further along that journey. to freedom.

Gary Barlow's right in that 'If you want it, you can get it'... only you've got to really want it in the first place.

Are you getting any closer?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,605 Days' Alcohol Free - 453 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardif, WAlesf

Mr Blue Sky - ELO

Lyrics:- 'Sun is shinin' in the sky, there ain't a cloud in sight' - Lynne

Song Choice:- Well when it come to anything 'Blue Sky' this always pops straight into my mind. Taken from the 1978 Double Multi-Platinum selling album, (which you could have bought in 'Blue Vinyl, that no doubt my friend Mark Wynn has in his record collection), it's well worth another listen as ELO were one of THE standout acts of the 70's and Mr Blue Sky , one of my favourite tracks.

Anyway, back to the 'Blue Sky' thinking part and it's amazing just how many clouds come along when we are not paying attention and mess up the sun shining on our own little worlds. It's a right bugger when it does as if you are not careful and a bit of a proud 'Empire Builder' like myself, you find yourself having to ask for help.

How degrading eh? 

Well, it is if you are super-proud like me and the feeling of failure this time last year was overwhelming.

The funny thing is though, it's seen by others as being 'Human' and that you are 'Mortal' and 'Flawed' - folk like that. I learned a lot last year about asking for help. Wheelchair bound and out on a solo push, at the base of the hospital hill, it's amazing how folk are only too keen to push you up. Way on past any limits you might impose too, as they are only too pleased to help.

For me it was a lesson well learned and having help to blow away the clouds only leaves 'Blue Skies' I've found since then. Only taken 55 years - to be 'Welcomed to the Human Race'...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,604 Days' Alcohol Free - 452 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Sunny Cardiff

Human Racing - Nik Kershaw

Nik looking the part...

Lyrics:- 'Around and around we go' - Kershaw

Song Choice:- Remember Nik? Wasn't he in Duran Duran for a while? I'm sure he was. I know he was a teenage heartthrob until his fans found out he was married. He did write some good tunes though and Human Racing today highlights my thoughts perfectly on the subject of the Human 'Race'...

You see, we're all 'Racing' nowadays with little time to come up for air and consider our precarious lives on this revolving lump of spinning rock in the midst of time and space. 

The concept of space and time is rather mind-blowing but the wonder of how our world was created in a nano-second of time in an ever expanding space that one day will implode makes our day-to-day existence seem rather futile to say the least. In real terms, our whole life existence is a mere blink of an eye and it's kinda frightening what we do with the time we have living on it.

We all want to make our mark. A mark on the planet. To be known for doing or being something. Standing out from the crowd isn't easy and being a 'World Beater' a very rare commodity.

That's why it's strange to think we are all so different. We're not really. I mean looking in on our world, we would all be seen as one species, one breed. Yet why do we believe that we are all so different and have such diverse needs. We are all pretty much the same it's only that our drive is different.

99.99% of us have 206 bones, will have had 32 adult teeth at one time or another, walked, talked and learned to be a 'Human', as a species we are great at learning, at expanding our minds and pushing the boundaries way past their limits.

The strange thing I find is that we don't look after our 'Vehicle for Discovery', yes our Body very well at all. That's why daily fitness is so important to our longevity, as well as our need for greatness in whatever field we can find to make our mark. Those treadmill Guinness World Records I set in 1998 have been worth their weight in gold over the years. It took me four years and 116 marathons to get my mind, body and soul ready to know that when I stepped onto the treadmill, the five records I was chasing in that 24 hours were going to be a dead cert.

My point is, that if you set out to do something, make sure you do it.

My timing was just perfect and my driver at the time was thatI just wanted them more than anyone else. So my question is where are you making yours and who are you racing against?

Amen

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,603 Days' Alcohol Free - 451 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Sully, Cymru

Alaska - UK

Lyrics:- 'Close my eyes imagine somewhere' - Jobson

Song Choice:- I nearly chose Violiniski's shocking Clog Dance for today's blog but simply couldn't as it was so dreadful at the time. It drove me potty back in 1979. Instead I've chosen UK's Alaska from the same year featuring one of my own Violin heroes, (no not you Dan Mullin) but 'Eddie Jobson'.

I wanted a Violin based track to illustrate my thoughts on Malcolm Gladwell's theory that the key to success in any field, is simply a matter of practicing a specific task that can be accomplished with 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. 

The theory's been written about far too many times to mention, but if you are learning to play the violin, as my 12-year-old daughter Pearl is, it will be 2027 before we'll be able to take our ear defenders off and hear a 'Jobson-Like' performance. Even at Grade 8, I'm told, it will still sound like the painful screech of nails down a blackboard. Yikes!

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she'll enjoying the learning experience and becoming a more proficient player but like anything it will take time. Her success will rely her determination to succeed and endurance. Sounds kinda familiar eh?

You see, in my world, it takes a similar level of dedication and time. I wonder how folk believe they can become a world beater at any kind of endurance sport with less than 10,000 hours of practise and Gladwell's theory I believe stacks up. Yes, you can get very good in a short space of time but to become a world beater and bodily bombproof, well that's down to the simple equation of, You + Dedication over Setbacks + Injury.

I saw Danny Kay at the weekend, now there's a guy - a proper running machine at 75 years of age, completing his 683rd marathon - he's never experienced a DNF and is still running strong. We share the same running philosophy and he gave me some sound advice during the run. He took some beating too! 

Starting out I found speaking to the guys who've been there, got the T-Shirt and have done what ii is you want to do, is always the best approach. John Martin taught me all those lessons back in 1995, when I wasn't sure whether I wanted to take his advice. His prophesy and teaching came true though, give him his due, and his ideals and those of Coach Arthur Lydiard live on in my work.

If only I could apply it to playing the Violin...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,602 Days' Alcohol Free - 450 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caersydd, Cymru

Can I play with Madness - Iron Maiden

Lyrics:- 'Give me a sense of wonder' - Dickenson, Harris & Smith

Song Choice:- I've seen Maiden live and I can't say I was overly impressed so I'm currently exploring their back catalogue to see if I get their music a bit more and I'm enjoying some of their better know tracks. This got to #10 in 1988, and I mean, any song with 'Play' and 'Madness' in the title strikes me as being a perfect 'Blog-Song' accompaniment. This track from their platinum selling 1988 album 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' and is well worth another listen.

I thought about this track a lot as I 'Played with Madness' during yesterday's Bath Running Festival's Marathon - my 996th marathon outing and possibly one of the hardest and probably the wettest.

You see, I should have known better than to take on anything that's as super hilly as this one, during the middle of the 'British Summer'. All those reducing parkrun times and thoughts of returning to fitness had lured me into a 'False Sense of Awesomeness' you see. They were soon kicked into touch though as the heavens opened just before the start. It rained all day with one downpour being so heavy that the descents, especially off Solsbury Hill became ravines and extremely treacherous. It was easier to ski in places rather than try to walk or run.

I'm not bleating, however it did make me wonder though why they made the course so hard, especially the 14.5 miles in three hours cutoff which I beat by a mere 36 seconds - many didn't. Pushing hard to beat that meant that for the rest of the race I was in recovery mode.

I did run the last vertical mile to earning a couple of scalps, but it shows me that I'm still not as fit as I thought I was. Marathon #997 is a welcome lapping of the Enigma Lake where I'll hopefully get a better gauge of my recovery on the flat, and see my actual progress since my last outing there in February.

Am I downhearted, nah... Little Charlie is one this week and the year has flown by. I watched him come into the world from a wheelchair, so I only have a 'sense of wonder' at what I've achieved in less than 365 days. This time last year I would have done anything to be out running in the rain, let alone walking.

Grab life while you can folks and enjoy the week ahead... Maybe 'Play with Madness' a bit eh?

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,601 Days' Alcohol Free - 449 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Caersydd, Cymru

Solsbury Hill - Sir Peter of Gabriel

Not as Sunny today!!!

Lyrics:- 'I just had to trust imagination' - Gabriel

Song Choice:- If you run over Solsbury Hill on a marathon, it's only right to use it as a 'Blog-song' IMO.

Gabriel's first post Genesis hit from 1977 relates a spiritual experience he had on top of the hill about his thoughts about his departure from the band.

It's really about the gambles we take in life. You know when you take everything you've built, everything you've worked for and everything you created only to discard it in the hope of what you are striving for instead is the golden ticket.

I've done it myself a few times with differing levels of success but have always thought that I've been better off for taking the gamble, rather than not.

There's nothing worse in my world than someone saying 'If only I'd... as of course they should have. Even if things don't turn out for the best, you'll always know if it was wirth the sacrifice and there's nearly always a second chance anyway.

So what's stopping you climbing your 'Solsbury Hill' today? And what are you most frightened of?

If it's the 'Fear of Failure', if it is, don't worry as you probably won't... if it's the 'Fear of Trying', climb your hill, take a good look around and then give it a go... what is there to lose eh? A bit of pride perhaps?

Come on - dive on in, the water's lovely especially in a British Summer - as it pi55ed it down today for nearly all 26.2 miles.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 996 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,600 Days' Alcohol Free - 448 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Bath, England

Match of the Day - Genesis

Winning more now than ever...

Lyrics:- 'The only way, to spend your Saturday' - Banks, Collins, Hackett & Rutherford

Song Choice:- Well it's not surprising that Steve Hackett left the band after recording this EP, and it's very rare that I pick a really DUFF track for my blog but this 1977 shocker from Genesis illustrates my thoughts perfectly going into the weekend on what might be a better way of spending your Saturday.

For instance, from the end of next year you'll be able to come Wales for free! Wales is such a cool place right now. You see, it's been announced today that we're scrapping the entry fee into God's Country over the two Severn Crossings to increase trade and tourism.

It's great news and I reckon I've personally paid for at least one of the bridges over the past few years with all of the crossings I've done - I'm not sure where the missing £167,000,000 will come from though that the tolls currently produce but maybe the Welsh Government is hoping that the tax on the extra income brought in by dropping the tolls will pay dividends? Hmm...I'm not sure either?

Anyway, back to 'Match of the Day' bit and the Severn Bridge toll is just a drop in the ocean against we spend as a nation watching other people play sport on a Saturday afternoon. The numbers are mind-blowing when you consider that you can actively take part in sport, as the BBC's #GetInspired campaign encourages for £0 - yep a bit fat zero at your local parkrun. Considering the BBC pay Gary Linekar £2,000,000 for his TV 'Anchorman' role, and if the reports are correct, Alan Shearer £450,000 for his 'Punditry' it's all seems a crazy way to spend the licence fee when the cash could be used in much more positive way.

Sadly, the modern-day game of football is a 'Network Marketing Dream'. Back in 1977, the above song's lyrics mention a player's transfer fee of being £440,000 - well that's less than a week's wages for Gareth Bale nowadays, and he's only one of many at the top of this particular money pyramid.

And who's funding it? Well that's the 'Football Fanatic'. The guy buying a season ticket at a Premier League Ground for 19 games a year at a mere £1,000. Add in a Sky subscription all the travel, home shirt, away shirt, casual third shirt and multiply that by a few hundred thousand similar fans and you can easily see how the cash stacks up.

I've nothing against the game and if it floats your boat, well that's fine by me. I'll freely admit that I love the World Cup and Euros but the weekends, are for living out your own sporting dreams and achieving your own personal goals rather than watch other people try and score theirs - I mean you are not even guaranteed a good match or even a result. At least with my approach you are in charge of your own destiny and enjoyment factor.

You can win your own 'Champions League' every year...

So enjoy the weekend 'Match of the Day' free for at least a couple more weekends and have a great Saturday especially if you are trying to smash out a new 5km PB.

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,598 Days' Alcohol Free - 446 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardydd, Cymru

All Stood Still - Ultraxox

New Romantic Cool? v 80's Nightmare

Lyrics:- 'The lights went out (The last fuse blew)

The clocks all stopped (It can't be true)

The program's wrong (What can we do?)

The printout's blocked (It relied on you)' - Ure

Song Choice:- Vienna has to be one of THE albums of the early 80's and has so many great tracks including Mr X, Western Promise and this one, All Stood Still as well as the incredibly well known title track Vienna, itself. I won't bash on about that only ever getting to #2 being held off the top spot by Joe Dolce's Shadapp you face, as we are all too familiar with that story (poor old Midge Ure never has lived that one down).

It really was the miss of the decade, well in popular music terms anyway. 

However, the song's well worth the listen and as you'll see it's no wonder the 'Synth-Based New Romantic' style was somehow never going to last and by 1990 most of the 'New Romantics' were more 'Old Romantics'. Those that had survived, had become more mainstream and well into long-term music careers like Duran Duran and Simple Minds. For these bands, they'd gone from being rather awkward and geeky, to well polished performers who were more stadium sized bands rather than the Arthouse Club Acts, they'd started out as. 

Sadly Ultravox didn't make the cut. The changes? Well, they happened super-slowly and it's amazing how much some these performers had changed by the end of the decade.

Oh the point of all of this? Well it just got me thinking about how much we change and will change in each of the decades of our lives. It's something we don't see ourselves when we look into our bathroom mirrors each morning, as the change happens with the speed of a 'Stop Go Animation' at a ridiculously slow rate. Sometimes, it's only our friends and family who have the courage to announce our transformation from one stage to another.

Watch Matthew Perry's transformation over the ten series of 'Friends' to see how much one person can change and how lifestyle is reflected in how they look. It's amazing how we judge people by how they appear and especially how they are turned out. 

It happens every day, all day, everywhere you go, never forget that. We are all constantly being judged.

The image you project is a clear statement of who you really are and reflects your standards and ideals. It might be worth looking at your own reflection and see if it's changed since 2007, as the clocks haven't stopped and nothing stands still. Remember, whatever your lifestyle is now, will be reflected in how you look in 2027 and in your health.

It's well worth a thought...

Amen.

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,597 Days' Alcohol Free - 445 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardydd, Cymru

99 Red Balloons - Nena

Nena's world soon went POP...

Lyrics:- 'Panic bells, it's red alert' - McAlea

Song Choice:- Yikes when you go looking it's amazing what you can find out eh? A simple reference for a song with Balloon in the title revealed a different story from the one I remember from 1994 when Nena, and her hairy armpits, graced Top of the Pops with her UK one-hit-wonder (well in Top 40 terms anyway).

Wiki says of the song that drove me a bit potty at the time if I'm being honest says:-

The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but child's balloons, the pilots decide to put on a show and shoot them down. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the war ministers on each side bang the drums of conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a 99-year war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons, causing devastation on all sides without a victor. At the end, the singer walks through the devastated ruins and lets loose a balloon, watching it fly away.

Who'd have thought that...

Anyway, for the purposes of today's blog it's about what happens when just one of those Balloons goes pop. You see disappointment is such a corrosive thing. You see even the slightest blemish can send folks world into a complete tail-spin and can undo months and months of hard work in just a split second.

In my experience, people are always the biggest disappointment. The biggest bang of any Balloon that's ever been blown up is usually from someone not doing the right thing - Yet the person we get most disappointed with is OURSELVES.

I had a real setback recently, a real kick in the pants and yep, it would have been far too easy to give in and become a recluse into 'Climbing back on the Bicycle after a fall'. Trying to make sense and gather strength and resolve from the negativity that surrounded the experience took time.

I've always said it's not how you get knocked down, it's how you get up that counts. Time-after-time-after-time it's proved to be right. Yes it's a shame that we mess up, don't perform as we'd wished and things didn't pan out like we thought they would BUT there's always time to regroup, rethink and re-energise ourselves. Not necessarily to try harder but to make sure when things go POP the next time, we keep going and miss out the deflated stage that stops any forward progress.

Has your World gone POP or are you still trying hard to single handedly BLOW it up? Or is someone trying to BLOW it up for you?

Rory Coleman - 995 Marathons - 244 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables

9 Guinness World Records - 8,596 Days' Alcohol Free - 444 Days' post GBS

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir

Location: Cardydd, Cymru