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| Well, how did I get here? |
I’ve been running marathons for nearly thirty years and I thought I’d try and explain some of the things I’ve learned along the way. I mean, you can’t run 1,178 marathons without learning a thing or two about yourself, can you?
So here goes…
Planning
I’m sure we are all aware of the sayings, ‘The Devil’s in the Detail’ and ‘Fail to Prepare - Prepare to Fail’. I’ve used them both many times over the years when explaining my ‘Preparation Process’ to my clients. For example, it’s changed so much, especially when planning and packing for the Marathon des Sables (MDS). I’ll freely admit that until meeting Mrs Coleman, my approach was rather ‘Gung-Ho’. Using her attention to detail on my more recent MDS races, I’ve packed more out of necessity rather than desire and that’s the key driver behind my 6.5Kg minimum allowed rucksack weight on race registration day.
And, If I were to run the 2004 kms from London to Lisbon again, in consecutive daily 50 km chunks, as I did in 2004, I’d be planning that one a bit differently too. The two Michelin Road Atlases with a route highlighted in pink marker, one for me and one for the crew, would now be planned to the nth degree with GPS pinpoint accuracy and we’d have an iPhone as the weapon of choice instead of two Nokia burner phones for comms. A Spot tracker would’ve been most welcome in the heart of Spain for instance when the crew lost me! In the Pre-Facebook and Twitter age, my daily updates were sent out to 100 pet email addresses minus images, rather than a daily ‘Live’ to tens of thousands as it would be today on Instagram perhaps.
Goals
Nowadays, I’d be described as, ‘Extremely Goal Driven’. It’s a phrase however that’s over-used in my opinion and it’s more of a business term, than a running one. I mean there’s seldom a ‘Personal Performance Review’ that doesn’t mention setting ‘Newer and Bigger Goals’ is there?
I prefer to be described as ‘Extremely Focused’. I once made a BBC Programme on the very subject. In my early years of running, people said I was bursting with ‘PMA’ (Positive Mental Attitude’) and that I had natural ‘NLP’ (Neuro Linguistic Programming). [The science that claims there is a there is a connection between neurological processes (neuro), language (linguistic) and behavioural patterns learned through experience (programming), and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life]. Both, far too complicated for me to comprehend.
You see, it was a lot simpler than that for me. I had a clear notion of what it was that I wanted to achieve and just got on with it. It was never a case of replacing ‘One Addiction with another’ and there was no need to understand the ‘Process’ or why it was so important to achieve it. To me that was wasted time and energy that I could use more wisely.
Failure isn’t an option
Of course, it isn’t. I mean who sets out to ‘Fail’. Yet folk are only too quick to throw in the towel when the going gets tough in my opinion. I’ve set out 1,178 times to cover 26.2 miles or more and have always finished. It could be said that I’ve worked within my ‘Comfort Zone’ and that I’ve been lucky to avoid problems on my various travels.
Sure, but on marathon #998 I fell, fractured my shoulder and had a deep wound on my knee but I still finished. Yes, it hurt like hell, I severely bruised my EGO but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of my planned #1000 at the Robin Hood Marathon, in Nottingham, the following month.
Being ‘Bombproof’ comes from the huge amount of training and commitment that I’ve invested over the years. It’s meant that I feel at one with my body and therefore know just what I am, and what I’m not capable of.
Don’t ask me to ‘Ironman’ as I can’t swim very well and certainly not for 2.4 miles in open water - I don’t want or need to. I’ve been in some dark places in races especially in some of the longer Ultras and Desert Races where it would have been far too easy to give in, but still toughed it out. The stakes have always been far too high and the negativity of a ‘DNF’ would be like ‘Kryptonite’ to my ‘Starter Completer’ brain.
New Levels of Pain
Pain’s an interesting one. The dictionary describes it as ‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage’. In reality it’s just an ‘Occupational Hazard’ and the Lance Armstrong ‘Pain is temporary - It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever’, quote doesn’t help that much when your feet are mashed.
Over the years, I’ve learned to understand pain, manage it and mostly to try and avoid it. Getting to Lisbon from London running 50kms a day for 43 days has taught me a lot more about looking after my feet than reading the book ‘Fixing your feet’. It’s meant I’ve finished the MdS for years now using my own techniques - I learned the hard way, out there on the hard shoulder. They are far simpler than the ones described and more effective than the ones the ‘Feet Fixing Bible’ describes.
I swore after finishing the 145-mile Grand Union Canal Race with the sole of my left foot flapping off in 1998 that I’d never wear inappropriate trainers with really worn foot-beds or cheap supermarket socks ever again. That experience taught me a great deal.
Learn for Yourself
I had to when I started as I didn’t have any kit whatsoever for at least the first month of my running journey. I didn’t even time my runs and it was only just before my first half-marathon in April 1994 that I bought some running kit and went to a running store and bought some proper training shoes. Garmin and Strava didn’t exist, and I simply enjoyed the freedom that running brought me then and still brings me today.
I’ve learning the hard way and from my own mistakes rather than copying others.
Compression, Heel-Drop, Barefoot, etc. are purely man-made fads invented to part the ‘Keen-Runner’ from their hard-earned cash. Running should be more of an apprenticeship and to be a world-beater, takes many years not months. For me, it’s a lifetime’s work and yes, I’m still learning.
Achievements - A Place to Shine
If you are looking for a new platform to achieve then look no further. It was very much a blank canvas when I started researching athletic feats and ultra-long-distance running. My ‘detailed’ research was in fact the 1998 Guinness Book of Records and the November 1994 issue of Runner’s World. The former told me I was too slow and the latter told me that I’d actually missed the bus when it came to running ‘Ultras’. However, there were ‘Gaps’. Huge, gaping gaps – well in Treadmill Running and with folk running Multi-Day Desert Races from the UK and boy have I exploited them. Also, Meg-Day Marathon running hadn’t really been exploited and I enjoyed running the ‘Premier League Grounds’, ‘London2Lisbon’ and ‘Stoptober’ which provided a great platform to shine and built my running media profile.
Strengths & Weaknesses
I’m honest about my strengths as well as my weaknesses. I’m not Super-Human, and certainly never an Ironman, Sub-3-hour Marathon Man or Sub-40-minute 10km runner - I’m just me and I’m happy with who I am and what I’ve accomplished so far.
Life Rules
Running all those miles has given me an amazing ‘Time-Out’. A time to ‘Think’. A time to ‘Plan’ and time to ‘Process’ the world around me. It’s given me a simplistic set of ‘Life Rules’. A very simple ‘Black and White’ approach. I’m often misunderstood but I’ve already been in the hurt-locker and know how to avoid it. I’m just passing on the good news in simple honest terms. Looking in on other folk’s worlds every day in my professional career I see the same issues I had way back in 1993/4 when I’d reached my ‘Point-Zero’ and went out on that first 100 steps run to freedom and happiness. It’s out there for you too…
A New Perspective
Seeing life in 4K UHD Colour for the first time is an amazing experience. The clarity of vision and attention to detail bring a whole new dimension to one’s senses. I call it ‘Taking off the Life-Blinkers’, the ones that limit our expectations and cause regret in later years. There are races that managed to ‘Get Away’ for me.Spartathlon, Badwater, and yes, running the London Marathon every day for a year. (That’s the feat I’d really wish I’d done). But then it doesn’t matter as I’ve probably ticked more of my ‘Bucket List’ than most.
I know that my experiences have helped me overcome some huge life-issues especially when I was ill with ‘Guillain-Barré Syndrome’. Getting a cure for GBS is like asking for a shoe recommendation for the MDS. Everyone has an opinion and yet no one has the real answer, except me as I’ve been there and got the T-Shirt.
Conclusion
I’ve discovered a lot about life in the last 29 years. Regrets? Well I could have been faster. Yes, faster than my marathon PB of 3:24:21 but so much quicker to where I am in my knowledge today. A person with a better understanding both of myself and of other people. It’s taken a long time and thousands of miles to get here but I implore everyone to make the most out of their running. Be open to change, be the person you’ve always wanted to be and enjoy the whole process as much as I have.
There’s so much more to this than getting the medal…
1,178 Marathons - 276 Ultras - 9 GWR - 16 Marathon des Sables - 1 Life
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