Blog 1 of My Journey to 100(m) – Page 2 – Usingh Bolt

2014 – Part 4 Races 12 – 15

So, 11 races covered of 2014 and now we’re into the last 9 and as you’ll remember the original plan was 10 half marathons and 6 full marathons. This had increased to 20 races by July with a mixture of a lot of confidence gained from some good runs and 1 run that I class as one of my 5 best, the Manchester marathon 2014 and the 55-minute PB.

There was an issue with the way I had shoe-horned in the extra 4 races though. They were all autumn ones and it meant that races 11 to 20 were on successive weekends. No weekends off, the missus was not impressed unsurprisingly, and it meant mixing distances up with 6 halfs and 3 fulls still left to do.

So, with 1 weekend off after the Severn Bridge half this was the September list:

12	07/09/2014	GNR
13	14/09/2014	Northampton Half
14	21/09/2014	Bristol Half
15	28/09/2014	Nottingham Full

I did a 9 .5 mile run the weekend I had off and then a gentle 4 miler on the Thursday before the GNR. So, we begin with my favourite race. This would be the 3^rd year in a row of running this race and my 5^th overall. I would run another 4 in a row before injury delayed my 10^th one. That’s for another blog.

So, my GNR weekend is of course my favourite race weekend. Catch up with family. Meet old school friends and in recent years showing fellow runners from the Midlands the delights of the Northeast. I can’t remember if it was 2014 or 2015 that I started the tradition of visiting the Colligans for a good old catch up on the Saturday and to pick a supply of cupcakes! Rebecca and Kevin both went to the same school as me and a GNR weekend is not the same if we don’t have a catch up. Occasionally Claire ‘Legolas’ Mcgovern appears and 1 year Dawn ‘The Dish’ Melling! They are always there on race day handing out ice pops. Much needed as GNR gets warmer every year.

If I go up on the Friday, I’ll take in a Parkrun on the Saturday. 2014 was not a year I did this! I still wasn’t confident enough to run on successive days if I could help it. Which is a bit weird as I did run 2 half marathons on the same weekend as discussed in last weeks blog so a Parkrun at gentle pace should not have been an issue.

One thing I love doing with GNR is getting there as early as possible, there is an incredible buzz at that race as more and more runners arrive. In 2014 there was a real sense of anticipation amongst runners. It was the race in which the 1 millionth finisher at the GNR would cross the line. So, from the 1^st one in 1981, taking into account all the finishers, 2014 would see the millionth finisher cross the line.

Technicall 5 in a million! This was my 5th one!

There was no hint given as to what time or position that runner would be, but that finisher would win some prizes including a trip to New Zealand to see the half marathon that inspired Sir Brendan Foster to start the GNR. It wasn’t me. I think the person who it was came in about 15 to 20 minutes after me. The other buzz on race day was that a British runner was amongst the favourites to win the race. Something that had not happened for 29 years. Mo Farah as he was then, did not disappoint and won. And he won a few more after that as well.

My race went well. I had a plan, I stuck to the plan and finished quite strong by leaving something in the tank. I didn’t go overboard though as this was the 1^st of 9 weekends, so I knew to be sensible. Finally, I was using common sense in races. There was 1 lovely moment for me, which came at just after 12 miles as you run parallel to the North Sea towards the finish.

When I go to races, most people call me Usingh or if they’re being polite, Mr. Bolt! People that know me will call me Barry, Baz or Bazza. Or Barinder if they are fellow Sikhs. The GNR is the only race where I expect to hear shouts of Cheema, the name I was known by at school. If I hear that shouted, I look for someone I went to school with.

As I’m running along, I hear a partially breathless shout of Cheema. I glanced back to see a good friend from my secondary school days, David Molloy aka Moz. Back in school he was the best swimmer by some distance and that includes kids in years above us. No surprises, he’s an accomplished triathlete now. There were many Saturdays we spent playing snooker at Riley’s on Durham Road. Along with another David, Little. I call Moz an old git as he is a whole day older than me! Anyway, the selfie below could well be the first photo I took on the run in a race! Of course, he just ran on past without a care in the world, but it was good to see a familiar face, and running as well.

A good day’s work but the focus immediately turned to the week after and the Northampton Half. I did a rare 4-mile club run on the Tuesday night and that was it. From memory Northampton was a pleasant enough race. I’ve never looked it up again but that is just due to the number of other options in Autumn, but I would do it again. Parking was near the finish line and the start line was 10-to-15-minute walk away. I don’t remember the route as being too challenging, but I remember about a dozen of us running together from about mile 3 onwards with a sub 2:20 being our target. I came home in 2:19:27, so another good run and I felt like I had more to give. The group became spread out as some found it hard to keep the pace, but one guy stormed off with 3 miles to go! With a marathon 2 weeks away, this was a good workout.

Northampton Half Gave me the Year of my Birth as my Race Number

So, let’s move swiftly on to Bristol half the following week. No runs during the week. It was basically now race, and then recover, but no running at all in between. Bristol is another good run. It was a bit twisty and turny near the start and finish and there was a long stretch out that you came back along but I quite liked it as a run. Really good support and this was before the Great Run added it to their collection of races. Another solid race, finishing in 2:23:08. Given the tougher nature of this course it was a pleasing time. I did see a couple of runners I recognized from the Midlands but apart from a few Aldridge Running Club folks and a few from Parkrun I still didn’t have a load of running friends. This was of course changing.

So, September ended with the Robin Hood marathon. Like the Shakespeare marathon earlier in the year this would see the half and full start together and at about 11.5 miles they would split. I have family in Nottingham and 3 of them came to cheer me off at the start! That was unique for me and still is! Having someone I know at races is rare for me. Having someone at the finish, even rarer! I also caught up with Haroon Mota before this race as well. It was good to see there were other runners who were doing multiple races in a year. Now is seems normal to me.

Between my last marathon in May and this one my longest run was, yes you got it, the half marathons I’d been doing. I did no long run and maybe that is what was the root cause of the issues I had in this marathon and to a lesser degree at Leicester, 4 weeks later. The start of this race is quite nice. As is the finish. By the river Trent.

Whilst we were with the half marathon runners it felt good. Lots of banter but that difficulty of not knowing who was doing the full and who was doing the half. When the split came it was no surprise that most were doing the half. As we split off, we started a lonely stretch out to Pierrepoint, the home of the National Water Centre. This is where a lot of the best rower’s train. At about 16 miles, so before we reached this part, my knee started playing up. It gave me flashbacks to those first 2, even 3 London marathons! I decided not to try and push too hard but went into a very gentle pace. It was a warm day and thankfully we got a decent amount of shade as we ran to the Water Centre. Sadly, no shade as we started the run back to Nottingham along by the river. As the pain got worse, I focused on 2 smurfs! Yes, really. As I would find out when we finished, they were a married couple from near Derby running as Papa Smurf and his ‘hottie smurf!’ I kept behind them and used them to pace me where possible.

When they walked, I would just ease past, and we basically played leapfrog all the way to finish which kept us all going although I couldn’t resist a sprint finish against Papa Smurf despite the pain. I won. It was worth it! I came home in 6 hours and 3 minutes. Quicker than all my London marathons but my slowest one of 2014. Initially I was really down about it but then I realized I had got through; I had managed the pain and I had another marathon to focus on 1 week later! This would be my first-time running marathons on successive weekends so there was no time to be negative and dwell on Nottingham too much.

The most important thing was that I had got through this, despite some very bad pain and with the help of a couple of smurfs I’d made it to the finish. That was all that mattered, and I had 5 to go! I found my old Facebook post from a day after this race and I think, even for me, they are quite wise words! I’ll leave you with them and I’ll be back next week with the last part of the look at 2014.

Facebook Post – 29^th September 2014

“I don’t always see eye to eye with running. Some days it seems to hurt a lot more than others. But that doesn’t mean that I quit. No, I deal with it and keep on running because not everything that is good for you always feels good when you’re doing it. And when my legs say no more, my heart and mind say yes, more, you can do it. I finish what I started. And if it does get to the point that even my heart and mind quit, I’ll tell them Sandra Bullock or Halle Berry are at the finish line!!! If that doesn’t work nothing will!”

2014 – Part 3. Races 8 to 11

I’m going to crack on with the next 4 races of the 2014. All of these were half marathons. The beauty of running for me has been the ability to continuously try new things, mix things up run with other people and be inspired by the incredible efforts of others. Now I knew of people that had done races on consecutive days. Marathons, half’s even ultras but I wasn’t sure it was for me.

2014 saw me push many boundaries that I didn’t think I was capable of, or indeed that I had really thought about from 2006 to 2012 which I class as my fundraising running period. Thought probably sounds a bit strange considering a lot of challenges since, including 2014 which we’re covering now, were all around fundraising.

So please let me elaborate. 2006 through to 2012 was basically only train for a race, do the race and then completely stop running! Unless like in 2007 and 2009 it was a half marathon a few weeks before the man event; a full marathon. So, for me those years were pure and simple just running to fundraise. There was no particular enjoyment, especially as my times didn’t get better but for half marathons went the other way!

2013 was when I didn’t run for charity and concentrated solely on running to see if I could run quicker than I had before. Thankfully, the answer was yes! What if it hadn’t been? I believe that I would have probably carried on as an occasional runner and never dreamt of some of the challenges I have eventually done and since attempted; all bar one, successfully.

Where were we? The next 2 races were both on the same weekend. And they were very different to each other!

8	05/07/2014	Bham & Black Country Half (BBCHM)
9	06/07/2014	Edgehill Half Marathon
10	17/08/2014	Worcester City Half
11	24/08/2014	Severn Bridge Half

If you’re keeping up the races 8 and 9 were 2 weeks after the almost tropical conditions of Shrewsbury half. I did just 3 runs in that 2-week gap, 5.5 miles, 6.7 and a 4 miler. I wasn’t following any particular scientific method or even any sort of training plan but just listening to my body. Although sometimes if my body felt like it was good to run, I’d find a reason not to.

So, the BBCHM, also known locally, as the canal half. It was my first time doing a race on a Saturday and even though there is an extensive and beautiful canal network in the West Midlands including where I live, I’d never at that point ever ran by the canal. The race is pretty much all along the canals from near Wolverhampton train station to Brindley Place in the centre of Birmingham. In 2014, it came off the canal for about half a mile due to some work being done. There is also a tunnel you run through which is very disorienting!

If you’re not familiar with the race, it’s run in an almost time trial type way. The fastest runners get the earliest start and the runners in each wave go off in mini waves so that you spread along the canal and don’t have a few hundred people racing along! I really like it. It is a bit of Marmite race. You either like it or hate it. I have done it twice since. The only reason I’ve not done it more is due to lots of clashes with things happening in life.

I’d recommend this race. When you go off in your little group it can be quite competitive! You want to lead the way. It’s a race where you have to be honest about your expected finish time. You might want that early start, but it will be a real drain on you being constantly passed by those fleet footed runners. Although I always question if the sub-80-minute runners enjoy it! Or get their money’s worth! Knowing I had another race the next day, the plan was to stick to 12-minute miles. I came home in 2 hrs. 40 so pace wise, job done. A good mornings work. The great thing with a city centre finish on a Saturday was easy to find a place to eat and drink and easy to get home. A van brings kit bags from the start to finish, and it is a fine race with a lovely finish allowing everyone to chill out in at the end. From what I recall it was a warm day; not the heat of 2 weeks before, but still warm. As you would expect a pretty flat route.

Not so the Edgehill half. This half is no longer called this. It’s now known as the Compton Verney half after the stately home (now an art gallery) from which the race starts and finishes. You start and finish by the home and it is a great place to run. Much like Stratford a few weeks earlier it was all countryside running although there was one bit where we went through a village, and it seemed like all the people that lived there came out to cheer! There were only 188 runners, and the vast majority were very lean looking club runners. The photo below is still on the Compton Verney website. That’s me a few hundred metres in, at the back of the field. And that is where I would stay. The lady to my left finished about 14 seconds ahead of me. I had a sprint finish but not enough to close her down.

I used the same tactic as the day before. 12-minute miling. I’d been warned about a nasty hill at about 11.5 miles, and I was not ‘disappointed!’ I’m glad I was the final person to complete it in a way. It made me realise that it doesn’t matter where you finish or how long it took, the finish is always the priority. So, Usain Bolt may have gold medals galore, but I had acquired my first ‘wooden spoon.’ A few more have followed over the years! What impressed me the most on the day and even now looking back on it is my time. 2 hrs. 38 on a tougher route, a tad warmer and for me new territory in running on successive days. Running 2 days in a row wasn’t something I did a lot of even back then, so it was another good day’s work!

So, with that done, I had the longest break between runs. 6 weeks! In the remainder of July, I did a total of 35.5 miles spread over 8 runs, a Parkrun and then 2 weeks before my next half I did a 9 miler! I’m impressed with that. And then on the 17^th August feeling refreshed I rolled up for the Worcester City Half. Between the double half marathon and this race, I’d signed up for another 3 half marathons so that I would be doing 20 races and not 16. The last race was not going to Droitwich half on Nov 2^nd and not Birmingham half 2 weeks earlier. Not just that but I couldn’t do Snowdonia Trail marathon due to a non-running commitment, so I shoehorned in Leicester full 1 week after Birmingham!

So, Worcester city half represented that 10^th race of 10, the halfway mark. And it is the only race I have had to run naked! Behave yourselves! I got to the start, switched on my watch, and go a No Battery sign and it went off. Running apps weren’t a thing in 2014 or if they were, I didn’t use them or know about them. So, I was going to have to run this half on instinct and by listening to my body. It means I never knew what my mile splits were for that race but even if I say so myself the race went well, even if the omens were not good to begin with. I think the first half and full I did I had a simple Casio stopwatch so I didn’t know the distance but I knew how I was doing timewise.

When I rocked up at the start which was in the countryside there was no sign of the start and finish line! I thought I’d come to the wrong place initially but there were other runners milling about so I knew it was the right place. This version of Worcester City half is very different to the event that takes place on the first Sunday of September now. This early edition was very rural, undulating with a run through a stream or ford, not really sure! The version now, run by Steve Crams, Events of The North is a fantastic event. This was a good race in 2014, but there was just 1 toilet for the 200 plus runners!

Stood at the start line, cursing as I had no working watch to time myself, a lady stood next to me started chatting to me. Now this has become more and more common at races. People who follow me on social media, have met me at other races, seeing the name for the first time etc. In this instance the lady, Lorraine, was a fellow runner who did Walsall Arboretum Parkrun. She was there with her daughter Emma, and they were using it to as marathon preparation. Manchester 2015 as it turned out, so I was able to recommend it as a good race. I have kept in touch with both since and seen them at a few races and amazingly at 2 Manchester marathons saw them at the same point on the bridge into Altrincham on the 2-way stretch. The photo below taken by a friend of theirs shows us having a bit of a natter!

Chatting to Lorraine from Walsall Parkrun

I soon forgot about the no watch and as soon as the race started tried to find a rhythm. It was a strange feeling not being able to glance at a watch to ensure pace was OK and how far I had run but there was something quite therapeutic about listening to my body. Occasionally I’d up the pace and then ease off again when I realized it was a bit too quick. It was another lonely-ish rural run. I always had a runner in site and there was a good number of marshalls, but I was glad to finish. The bonus of this race was being given my official time as soon as I finish. 2:21:43. A pleasing time, given the up and down nature, more up it has to be said; and having had to run the race with no guide to time and pace. In fairness this was how runners of just 15 to 20 years prior would have done it. It was how I did 2 Junior Great North Runs. And it showed that the training was going well, I was in good shape, and I had become a lot better at judging pace based on how I was feeling as opposed to letting adrenaline propel me or allowing myself to almost compete against runners, I thought I could get the better of. As many will know, never look at another runner and make any assumptions on their running ability, history or strength.

So quickly onto race 11 which was just a week later. Between the 2 races I did just 1 run. Parkrun the day before! Looking at it, a sensible gentle pace. Race 11 was the Severn Bridge Half, and this was the inaugural running of this race. I’ve been lucky enough to do races celebrating major milestones. I’ve got a possibly unique record of having done the 40^th NY marathon, the 40^th GNR and the 40^th London marathon. You can chuck in the 40^th Kenilworth half as well! I took part in the GNR that saw the millionth finisher at that event. I’ve been lucky enough to do races that have drastically changed, usually for the better. The Worcester City Half, Oxford Half and Shrewsbury half.

Doing an inaugural face feels quite special. No one on the start line knows what to expect. Some runners were familiar with the area, but they didn’t know exactly what to expect. What was really good was that the race started on the Severn Bridge! Coming back, we had to use the footpath but starting on the bridge was quite cool. New York is the only other race I can think of where we started on a bridge. We had been promised a tough route with a hill that was going to be challenging. There were 3 hills prior to that, each with a helpful sign saying, “Not the hill you were warned about!”

That hill when it eventually came was tough! I decided halfway up, like many runners, to switch to walking to conserve energy. We had been promised an immediate downhill at the top and we weren’t disappointed. Having got my breathing under control I was then able to get straight back into a rhythm and finish quite strong. The finish was a bit tight but as an inaugural race it was pretty good. At the finish I saw a fellow ARC runner, Chris Sprules. Chris, alongside the legend Ron Reynolds and Jo Yarnall, was extremely helpful in my first 2 years at ARC of providing advice as I transitioned into multi race challenges and ultra-running. It was lovely to finish a race and see a friendly face.

Oh, the time? 2:21:58. Almost identical to the week before and on a much tougher route. I had a fully charged watch this time, don’t worry. This was a wonderful place to be in. Running 2 solid half marathons on successive weekends and feeling really good. And I needed to! Because I had a 1 week break and then 9 successive weekends of races. 6 more half’s and 3 fulls to do. The going was about to get tougher.

Next week I’ll go through the next 4 to 5 races before finishing off about the 2014 challenge in 2 weeks.

2014 – Part 2. Races 4 to 7

Hello there. This week I’m looking at races 4 to 7 of the 20 I did in 2014 for Macmillan’s. The 1^st 3 races as discussed in last week’s blog were all PB runs, 2 half marathons and then the 55-minute PB at Manchester marathon.

It was a really good start to the challenge, and it meant that for the remaining races I wasn’t going to worry about trying to run anymore PB’s. To have got my half down to 2:09 and full down to 5:03 had been really pleasing.

The next 4 races were:

4	27/04/2014	Stratford Full
5	04/05/2014	Sunderland Half
6	25/05/2014	Edinburgh Full
7	22/06/2014	Shrewsbury Half

Stratford half. It fell 3 weeks after Manchester marathon and for me this was the first major challenge of the year. How would I cope running a marathon 3 weeks after my last one? The positive for me was that the time at Manchester meant that I went into this very relaxed. I just had to be sensible, and I could definitely get my 2^nd fastest marathon time.

In the 3 weeks between Manchester and Stratford, also known as the Shakespeare marathon, I had to decide how much running to do. I didn’t think there was any value in doing a long run. After all a marathon 3 weeks before a marathon qualified as a long run, didn’t it? My first run after Manchester was on the Thursday evening; a 3-mile run just to see how the body reacted. Thankfully, it was OK.

In total I only did 5 runs between the 2 races totaling 23 miles! I didn’t see the value in doing anymore and I like to think it worked out in the end for me.

So, what are my memories of the Shakespeare marathon? I knew going into it that it would not be flat! I knew it was a lot of countryside running, so not big crowds and I also knew it was 2 laps so once I had done that first lap I would know how to approach the 2^nd lap especially any hills, of which there were a few.

Looking at some of my Facebook posts from before the race I did give myself a cheeky time target which I knew at the time I wouldn’t be able to do! The 2014 Shakespeare marathon fell close to the 450^th birth anniversary of the bard, so I thought I might attempt to run 4:50!

This was the first time I did a race where 2 distances started together. The half marathon and full marathon started together so for most of the 1^st lap there were lots of runners around and quite possibly I ran the first half quicker than planned due to those runners being there. The only way to identify a half marathon runner was to look at the colour of their running number. The issue with that is you had to get past them to see it!

The route was undulating, a word, I became very familiar with in 2014! A couple of tough climbs. One was one of those inclines that isn’t that steep, but it just keeps going up and up! The second was a sharp, steep climb and there was no downhill after it. It just flattened off.

At about 12 miles, to the best of my knowledge the full marathon runners peeled off to go towards the 2^nd lap, whilst the half runners carried onto the finish. This was where I lost a bit of the pace and possibly confidence in what time I could achieve. All of a sudden, the only runner I could see was about 400 to 500 meters ahead of me. I looked every so often and it was after 2 minutes I saw the next runner behind me.

This is the challenge of a race where the half and full go together. Invariably a lot more runners are doing the half so when they filter out you realise how lonely a run the second half of your marathon is going to be. As expected, there were not big crowds due to the rural nature, but the marshals were brilliant, and I had a laugh with a few of them. Conditions were good and when the sun came out it was easy to find shade to run in.

There was a nice touch at the end of the race. About 150 meters from the finish there was a little mobile building and whoever was in there looked up race numbers so that the person at the finish line shouted your name out as you crossed the finish line. People sometimes struggle with my first name, but this guy got it bang on and for good measure joked, “It’s the serious running Bolt; Usingh, the not so flying Sikh!” I had to smile. Quite the comment.

I ran the first half of the marathon in 2:28, very similar to what I had done in Manchester 3 weeks earlier. I couldn’t maintain it however and I probably let the loneliness of the 2^nd half get to me, but I finished in 5 hrs. 30. As you can tell a tough 2^nd half which started at about the 16-mile mark. But you have to look at the positives. I’d got through a second marathon in just 3 weeks. It was my 2^nd fastest one. And it made me realise that I could do this. It was another confidence booster. My next marathon was at the end of May, and I had a half to run before then.

So, a week later another new half for me. Sunderland! Now as a Geordie not my favourite city in the world! But it gave a chance to be back in the North-East and to catch up with family and friends. I did no running after the previous week’s marathon! So, the half marathon was my first run post the marathon! It was a race, my recovery run and training for the next marathon all rolled into one!

I had a good run. This version of the Sunderland marathon involved finishing near the Stadium of Light and starting from it, but it was a decent route. I went in thinking 2:20 would be good and anything between 2:20 and 2:30 acceptable. I didn’t know how I would cope a week on from Stratford. As it turned out, better than expected. 2 hrs. 16 was my finishing time. After my PB’s in y last 4 halfs, the sequence was broken, but it was my 3^rd best half time. As it turned out I wouldn’t run a half marathon quicker than the first 3 of 2014 for the rest of the year; or as it turned out until 2017! That’s another blog for later.

So, a good half marathon and it was back to preparing for a full marathon which was 3 weeks away. Edinburgh. One I had done before, albeit in very hot conditions. Between Sunderland and Edinburgh, I did a total of 5 runs! The longest was 7 miles and in total I did 27 miles. I knew I needed to just keep ticking over but I didn’t want to do long miles. I didn’t think I needed to, and I think I was right!

So, Edinburgh. Just like 2009, I took a train up on the Saturday. This time I’d booked hotel off Princes St, for those that know the city well, with a view of the castle and less than a mile from the start line. I remember watching the Champions League final on the Saturday night. An all-Madrid final. Atletico looked like they were going to win until Sergio Ramos equalized in the last minute. Real went to win 4-1 after extra time. I was hoping for no extra time, but I was close to the start line, so it was no big deal.

The morning of the race, the weather was awful. Hammering it down, I couldn’t even see the castle, which the previous night had been lit up quite beautifully with a purple light. The 2014 Edinburgh marathon was one of the toughest I have ever done. Not for physical reasons. But emotionally. I woke up to the news that a cousin had passed away during the night. He had been ill in hospital and was only a couple of years older than me. It was still unexpected. The weather outside matched how I felt. But I had a race to run. I was 300 miles away from home (he lived in Birmingham) and it was important for me to run the race for the cause I was running for.

Two people helped me get through the race. The first was another runner who came up to me near the start as I was sheltering from the rain to say he knew of me, and he was running his first marathon. He’d come up from Sutton Coldfield and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. He is a really good marathon runner but an even better athlete as he does Ironman! Much respect Bobby Singh Badesha who it was good to chat to. Talking about running helped me on that morning.

The 2nd person is someone a lot of you will know. The inspiration that is Jo Yarnall. At the end of 2013 I had joined Aldridge Running Club and on club nights when race results were announced I kept hearing Jo’s name as she had ran yet another marathon! At this time, I didn’t know her that well, but we have since become very good friends as she has inspired me to really get into marathon running and ultras! We have done many many miles together. Parkruns, club runs, training runs and races.

One of my biggest inspirations, Jo Yarnall.

On a 2 way stretch I saw an ARC running top and it was Jo with one of her many running friends! We grabbed a quick picture and to my memory this was the first time since joining ARC that I had seen ARC colours at a race. Seeing her and the encouragement she gave me felt good. The rain had gone, the sun was out, there was wind, but it was better to run in. That changed about 2 miles from the finish when the rain came back. It was the most variable weather I had ran in, adding to the challenge and emotions. I came home in 5 hrs. 32 and I’m proud of that. Similar to Stratford but given my emotions and how at the start I didn’t want to be there, a good effort.

I saw Jo again at the finish and from then on, I followed her journey to her 100^th marathon with admiration. So many marathons in such a short time! Incredible. The next few days would be tough especially with Sukhwinders funeral a week later, but I look back on this race and it made me realise I had the mental toughness to get through anything. Whenever I’m finding it tough on a long run, I think about this race a lot. Waking up to the death of a family member is the hardest thing to cope with. Maybe I needed those miles, as tough as they were to cope with it. That’s why I think now I let my mind wander to so many things whilst out running.

Happy to finish after the toughest start to the day.

Up to this point 2014 was about 16 races but at the beginning of June I decided to enter another race, the Oxford half. Not sure why but it became a 17-race challenge!

To wrap up then, 4 weeks later it was the Shrewsbury half. What a scorching hot day. What a tough route that course was that year. Between the 2 races I got a couple of Parkruns in and did some club runs and felt good. Shrewsbury is a lovely place to run, but wow, a couple of the hills were very tough! I’ll admit to walking up the 2^nd half of one of them. Sometimes there is more value in walking than doing a slow shuffle up a hill. I finished in 2 hrs. 37, so way off the other halfs of that year.

As soon as I finished, and I’d got the goodie bag I headed straight for an ice cream van to get a Magnum ice cream! It was needed and had been hard earned. It was also the first race I’d ran in wearing sunglasses. It was really bright and quite a few runners didn’t finish. It was brutal but I coped with it, and I would run in hotter conditions a few years later.

So, there we have it for this week. Back next week with races 8 to 11. And another first for me. Two half marathons on successive days and I won something at one of them! Want to know what? Next week……

2014 – Races 1-3 of the 20

Let’s begin with the training for the 2014 challenge. Looking at the spreadsheet I started to keep back then I can honestly say I took this challenge pretty seriously. Running 20 races in 8 months, 6 fulls and 14 halfs, was no small matter. Especially for someone who really struggled with the fulls he had done; but had got better at the half marathon distance.

If you read last week’s blog, and if you haven’t go give it squizz, I shared a screenshot of the spreadsheet I started keeping from Nov 2013 onwards. I’ll be using that to get an an idea of how I approached the races.

The half marathons weren’t a major concern. I knew I could get round them but doing 6 full marathons; that was a huge concern given how 5 out of the 6 had been such a struggle that I had done. I had of course called it a day from marathon running in 2012 when I first ran as Usingh Bolt. I was under no illusions that the full marathons would be an issue. Maybe not the first one or the second but certainly the autumn ones would be a big gamble if I didn’t get the training right.

In November 2013, I did 96 miles and looking at the month I was using Parkrun as an all-out speed session. My times were getting faster over that distance on a Saturday morning. There were a lot of daily runs but the longest one was just under 9 miles. In December, there was a lot more of the same. 4 or 5 runs a week at different times with a focus on running as fast as possible at Parkrun and my longest run was just under 9 miles again. A total of 119 miles ran.

The first 3 races in 2014 were:

02/03/2014 Silverstone Half

23/03/2014 Coventry Half

06/04/2014 Manchester Full

So, my training for these first 2 months was OK. I was getting upto just about 9 miles so if my focus was only half marathons, then there was nothing to worry about. In Jan 2014 it was the same again. 122 miles ran but the longest run was just over 10 miles.

In February 2 things happened to make me realise how close I was to start the challenge and the hard work required. The first was the long run. I did a 15-mile run in under 3 hours which was a real boost to my confidence. My marathon PB was 5 hrs. 58 from New York 2009 and this long run awakened in me the dream I had of running a full marathon in between 5 hrs. 15 to 5hrs 30 which I though was possible for my first one in 2007.

That 15 mile was run was 3 weeks before Silverstone and in that 3-week period my longest run was just over 6.5 miles. Looking at it now I maybe could have squeezed in another 10 miler but I the logic was that the times weren’t that important for the races. I didn’t want them to take too long of course as after each race the focus had to be on recovery, but I was going to be as sensible as possible with my pace.

The second thing that made me realise how real the challenge was is in the picture below. I was featured on Page 3 of the Walsall Advertiser. Thankfully, they didn’t want me show of my moobs like Jabba! It mentions that my plan is 16 races in total which it was initially. I rounded it upto 20 as the challenge went on. I read that article now and think to myself a couple of porkies were told! I say that I have always enjoyed running in it! Now I know that’s not true and most of you do too. I love running now but it’s been a real labour of love to get to that feeling. The other porky was support from my family. My wife was, to a point, and then she realized she couldn’t make any weekend plans as I was always running! My mum still doesn’t get why I push myself so hard and at the time didn’t think I would get past race 4!

Seeing myself in the paper and I was on the banner on the front as well made it seem so real and quite daunting. However, I went into that first race on the 2^nd March at Silverstone with optimism. My last 3 half marathons had all gone well, and I could honestly say I had trained quite hard for this one.

It was my 3^rd Silverstone half and typical of the track in March, it was blustery with a threat of rain, but I got round in a new PB of 2:14:45. It was 3 PBs in a row at the half marathon and that 5 hrs. 30 or less at the full looked even more achievable.

With that belief in me, 10 days later I did the longest training run I had done upto that point. Even with the other marathons, I’d skimped on the training, but I went out and did a 20.2 mile run in 4 hrs. 21 and that really did boost my belief of running under 5 hrs. 30 if not quicker at the Manchester marathon.

Before that though was the small matter of Coventry half. Anyone who has entered races will know that one of the questions you get asked is “Do you have a story that the local media would be interested in as to why you’re running?” Or words to that affect. Up until 2014 I had never completed that box. Even when I was running for charity it never crossed my mind. Even when I was christened Usingh Bolt I still didn’t do it.

However, when entering the Coventry half, I thought why not complete the box? I got a call asking me if I’d be interested in being featured in the race booklet that would come with the race number. Nobody really does booklets now. It’s all done by email, but I agreed, did a short interview, and thought nothing of it.

When the race number arrived shortly after Silverstone, there I was in the booklet featured with 2 other runners. One of them has since become a good friend and our running paths have crossed many a time. The ‘marathon man’ as he has been dubbed, Haroon Mota. The guy is incredible. He has worked for 2 charities as a Fundraiser and has encouraged hundreds of runners, especially from the Asian community, to give running a go. In 2014 we met each other at 5 races to the best of my knowledge starting with a chat at the end of the Coventry half.

I went to Coventry confident of doing well, emboldened by my that successful 20-mile run. On the morning of the race, I met 4 runners I had encountered at a previous Birmingham half. At that race someone in my extended family ran with them but on this day he wasn’t there. A lot of us know them. My fellow ‘Jamaicans!’ The Wolverhampton Bobsled team. Another bunch of great runners and again we have become good friends over the years. Although the team has changed, I’m in touch with all of them and one day I will do a race in that sled!

Coventry half is for an ideal route. A city centre start and finish. Quite crowded at the start it kept me honest and at a sensible pace until things opened up and I got into a comfortable pace. In the middle of the course, you’re in the countryside and it is a bit up and down but from mile 9 onwards, if you’ve paced it right you can enjoy a fast last 4 miles. And I nailed it. I came in with another PB, 2:09:14. Over 5 minutes off my time at Silverstone 3 weeks earlier and the 4^th half in a row that I’d nailed a PB. Overall, I was 11 minutes quicker than GNR 2013, the 1^st of the 4 race PB sequence.

Now I could dream about a new marathon PB. Based on this time 5 hours was realistic, never mind, sub 5:30. Manchester was 2 weeks away. This race should have been the start of my taper. Did I taper? Well, it depends on your point of view I guess. After Coventry half and before Manchester I only did 1 more run! Looking back, that is a little outrageous, but I guess I just didn’t want to risk any sort of injury and I was still taking in how the first 2 races of the 20 had gone.

The 1 run I did was for 7 miles and that was it. Manchester marathon 2014 will always be one of my top 5 running moments. It was the first marathon I did where I crossed the line with a massive grin on my face! It was a dream run. My PB was from New York, 5 hrs. 58 in Nov 2009. I turned up on race day and those familiar with the race will be aware that the number of runners has really grown over the years. In 2014 the finish was on Sir Matt Busby Way next to the football stadium.

It was the first race I’d considered following an official pacer, but I was a bit apprehensive about doing it. I got chatting the 5-hour pacer, a chap called Gary Dixon. Gary, like many people, loved my running name and I have since seen him at countless races, most of them as an official pacer. I credit Gary with helping me break a PB 4 times, 3 at the full and once at the half. Manchester 2014 was one of them. Initially I didn’t run with him. He’d said it might suit me better to stay a bit further back, see how I felt and then look to keep him in sight. I ran a little bit within myself, which the split breakdown below shows.

As my confidence grew, I started to close in a bit. Not too quickly but I knew that as long as he was within sight, I was on for a good time. The split below shows that I ran a strong 4 miles and I found myself not too far behind him and then I just kept in his little group. As I’d expected I did start to tire but it was about mile 22 where I found myself drifting back from him. I didn’t care though because I was on for a big PB! Looking at that split it’s clear to see how much I dropped off. Time for the last 10k is almost identical to the 7 miles from halfway to 20 miles. The last 10K was slower than the first 10K but I didn’t care. Honestly. OK I wasn’t going to get sub 5 but I came in with a new PB. 5 PBs in a row! And I broke my marathon PB by almost 55 minutes. That’s 2 minutes a mile quicker than New York and 3 minutes a mile quicker than my London efforts!

Manchester 2014 Splits – A 55 minute PB!

That was worth a smile. All the way from mile 25 to the end!! The split makes for interesting reading, and I found it after a quick Google search. Got to love modern technology. I look it and think it was a race ran to a very nice plan. Solid start to get comfortable, pick up the pace and hand on for the last 6 miles once the Wall has been hit! Back in 2014 I was reliant on gels. Usually, 3 or 4 per full marathon but I didn’t use them in halfs. Nowadays I don’t bother with. That’s not to say they don’t help. But I’ve got myself to a point where if I get my pre-race meals and strategy right then I van get through a full.

Running Past the Official Macmillans Cheer Point

So, we come to the end of the firs t look at 2014 and it was a very good start to the challenge. I’m not sure why it took my 7^th attempt to get my marathon training and running on point. Most of us will agree that the first one, maybe the second one as well I could be forgiven for the mistake made. But 6 times? It boded well for the next lot of races and after the 3 PBs I decided I wasn’t going to focus on times. It had to be about getting around.

So, we will resume with race 4, another marathon. It was 3 weeks after Manchester, so the plan was to recover and then keep some miles ticking over.

Until next week and the next 4 races.

2014 – The first Multi-race Challenge

I know it’s been a few weeks! So, in my journey to 100m, which was never the intended challenge, we’ve reached the end of 2013. A year of 2 half marathons that went really well and actually made me believe that running was good for me. Maybe not marathons, but the half marathon was definitely a distance I was getting better at.

I’d sworn off marathons after London 2012 but 2014 would see me return to the distance, and in some style, I might add, as biased as I am! My initial plan for 2014 was the same as 2013. The GNR and Birmingham half with another half earlier in the year; at that point Silverstone was the obvious choice as I was familiar with it.

Then things changed. I got to reading about runners that did multiple runs in a short space of time e.g., 10 marathons in 10 days, a half marathon every day and more. These weren’t things I wanted to attempt, not then anyway! But I was intrigued by some of these efforts. I’d very much been of the belief that you did 2 marathons a year at most, as I did in 2009 but halfs could be run more frequently, especially if used to train for marathon; again, just like I did in 2009!

Having not run for charity since London 2012, I decided that I wanted to do something on a bigger scale for a charity in 2014. A number of friends at that time had been diagnosed with cancer and thankfully all recovered in time. Macmillan’s Cancer Support was a charity I heard a few of them talk about and so I decided to run for them in 2014. I tried for one of their London places but was unsuccessful, so it became a question of what challenge to do.

I was focused on it being a multiple race challenge. Something to really challenge me which looking back seems a bit bizarre given the challenges I’d had with marathons back then. Now I think someone put the idea in my head, but I’m inclined to think that it was to paraphrase Reeves and Mortimer “My idea!”

From Sept 2006 (1^st half) to Oct 2013 (last race at that point) I had completed 6 full marathons and 10 half marathons. A decent return in 7 years for a part time runner; I stopped running after each marathon after all and a good amount raised for charities. I decided trying to do the same number of races in 7 months would be a good challenge! Not sure why, but that was my first multiple race challenge. In 7 months, double the number of runs it had taken me 7 years to do!

So, I started looking for races to enter and initially the Coventry Half was due to be my first race and the Birmingham half the last of the 16 races. In terms of marathons, I decided to give Edinburgh another go but I had no place for London so had to find 5 other full marathons. I discovered there was loads to choose from, I just needed the right ones for me with a spread over the 8 months the challenge eventually got spread over.

The first half changed to Silverstone and in the end, Birmingham was not the final race of the challenge but the 18^th. I ended up with a rather low-key race to finish at. A few months in I decided at some point, possibly in May to round up the 16 races to 20! A nice round number and also it meant I’d not just double my race count.

This was in the days before Strava, so I started logging my runs on a spreadsheet! Below is a screenshot of November 2013, where I started my training. Basic details about each run! I was under no illusions that the sooner I started training the better. And I was a bit more confident about my running having broken my half PB twice in the last 2 races. My concern was the marathons. I’d only gone sub 6 once so I decided I had to just try and make the marathons as pain free for as much of the run as I could.

I’m not sure how it came about but I ended up wearing an afro for the first 2 races at Silverstone and Coventry and it became a regular thing at all the races. MacMillan’s sent it to me, and I thought for 1 race, why not? That said, I didn’t really need a green afro to stand out. The name, the long beard and the Usain shorts were enough, but it became a thing.

The list of 20 races ended up looking like this:

No DATE RACE

1 02/03/2014 Silverstone Half

2 23/03/2014 Coventry Half

3 06/04/2014 Manchester Full

4 27/04/2014 Stratford Full

5 04/05/2014 Sunderland Half

6 25/05/2014 Edinburgh Full

7 22/06/2014 Shrewsbury Half

8 05/07/2014 B’ham & Black Country Half

9 06/07/2014 Edgehill Half Marathon

10 17/08/2014 Worcester City Half

11 24/08/2014 Severn Bridge Half

12 07/09/2014 GNR

13 14/09/2014 Northampton Half

14 21/09/2014 Bristol Half

15 28/09/2014 Nottingham Full

16 05/10/2014 Chester Marathon

17 12/12/2014 Oxford Half

18 19/12/2014 Birmingham Half

19 26/12/2014 Leicester Full

20 02/11/2014 Droitwich Half

There were 4 races I had done before: GNR, Birmingham, Silverstone and Edinburgh. All the others were new to me. At the time and looking back I have to admit the scheduling of the races wasn’t ideal! However, it gave me a number of challenges that worked out for me carrying on as an endurance runner. Two half marathons on the same weekend in July. In 2017 I took this even further, but we’ll come to that; eventually. Races 12 to 20 were on successive weekends. 9 races in a row. That was probably not the way I should have done it, but that is how it panned out and apart from 1 of those races, it worked out OK for me. The 3^rd and final challenge were marathons on successive weekends. That was a risk, but I decided to go for it. I avoided too many summer races as I wasn’t at that time confident of running in hot weather, although Shrewsbury half that year was a scorcher!

Some of the races became ones I would revisit as I enjoyed them. Namely Manchester full, Coventry half and to a lesser degree Shrewsbury. Some of those races I have never done since! Some of them have changed a lot since I did them e.g., Oxford, others don’t exist like Nottingham full and some of them never appealed again.

How serious do I look!!! Only the 2nd race of 20!

So, it was going to be an interesting challenge. But I was focused on it. I didn’t have a training plan as such! I’d sworn off doing any stretches or warmups, but I could do this. Couldn’t I?

Back next week with the first instalment of 2014. Get ready for lots of photos of me wearing that afro!

The Turning Point Came – 2012 and 2013

Alreet! This blog has been an interesting one for to think about. Looking back on all my races so far in this blog series has been interesting but the 3 races covered in this blog were the turning point for me. So, we’re back in 2012, I’ve made by debut as Usingh Bolt at London Marathon and not for the first time I had decided to call it a day with marathon running. London 2012 was my 6^th full marathon and pretty good going for what was meant to be a 1-time thing.

The common thread with all these marathons was that they were painful, I was underprepared, but they were done for good causes. 4 London marathons, 1 Edinburgh and 1 New York. In fairness this time my ‘retirement’ from marathon running lasted 2 years!

Back to 2012. Scrolling through Facebook in June I saw a competition being run by BUPA, giving away 10 places for that years Great North Run. They were the main sponsors at the time, and this was in the days when competitions on social media, well mainly Facebook, was relatively new.

I clicked on the link to leave my personal details and left it at that. Two weeks later, I’ve just come off doing a night shift and I’m in bed on a weekday morning when I hear my phone vibrating just after 9am. Initially I was going to leave it but then decided to answer it and heard a very pleasant voice tell me I had won a place in the GNR. She confirmed my email address and told me to make sure I completed the link in the email to claim my place.

I fell asleep, woke up and then about 2 hours later remembered the call. Suffice to say it was a genuine call, trolling wasn’t really a thing at the time and that was me in the GNR 2012! It would be my 3^rd one, 2006 and 2010 being my other 2. 2006 had went to plan and I’d done a decent job of getting to within 2 minutes of my target time. 2010 had been tough and nothing to write home about. Birmingham Half in 2009 was probably the best race I had prior to GNR2012 and the 2 races I did in 2013. Birmingham half I surprised myself with my time, although on reflection it was 3 weeks before NY Marathon where I would finally crack 6 hours, so it needed to be a good one!

I made the decision not to run for charity at GNR2012. As I had won the place, I felt like I could try to enjoy it a bit more and more importantly I could do another race as Usingh Bolt! It would be my first half after 2 years; I only did London marathon in 2011 and I started my training as soon as I knew I had got the place.

I remember I wore my orange Newcastle top that year with Usingh Bolt written on the back, so runners behind me couldn’t miss it! From memory I remember meeting a couple of my old school friends the night before for a meal in Low Fell in Gateshead. One of them was running her first half and it was good to have a catch up and it put me into a very relaxed mood for the next day.

The run went well. My target was to beat my time of 2:40:03 that I did my first GNR in. This would be my 8^th half and as it turned out I comfortably beat that time coming in, in 2:26:31. I didn’t realize it when I finished but it was only 30 seconds slower than my PB set at Birmingham half in 2009. It felt good. I’d trained well, I’d really focused on it, and I loved that day. A few school friends were out cheering and spotted me and mentioned it on Facebook.

A job well done I can honestly say that I felt a real runner high after that race. That’s not to take away from the previous races as they were all important to me. This meant more to me than the PB at Birmingham half in 2009. That race was building up to a marathon, so I needed it to go well and thankfully it did. But this GNR things clicked and after this GNR I kept a routine going of running 3 times a week. Not big distances. Just a few miles when I could so I maintained some decent running fitness.

After the GNR an still buzzing on a good run I paid to be a Grear Run member which meant for 3 years I had a guaranteed place in the GNR if I wanted it. I still had to pay for it but 2012 was the year I became hooked on the GNR and to a lesser degree at that point, running as a whole. I didn’t do Birmingham half 2012, I’m not sure why but in 2013 my focus was on GNR, and I did enter the Birmingham half for 2013.

It was also in 2013 that I found out that Walsall Arboretum had a Parkrun so that became a regular part of my running schedule in 2013 and helped me to keep the miles in my legs whilst meeting more fellow runners local to me. And I had people I could talk to about races! I’m going to cover Parkrun in my next blog as it was a big part of me becoming a regular runner and also introduced me to a fabulous running club which I eventually joined after months of dithering about it!

So, 2013, 2 half marathons and I went to the GNR determined that I could run under 2 hrs. 25. This was based on my Parkrun times and some 9 and 10 mile runs I did.

Again, I met up with a few friends the day before, took a trip down memory lane with visiting where I grew up, where I went to school and seeing family.

GNR 2013 went amazingly. My time was 2:20:03. I’d come in comfortably under the time I set myself. I was a bit critical of myself. 3 seconds over! Surely, I could have kicked a bit earlier? But I was so happy. Another very good run and having lots of banter with the name Usingh Bolt.

About 6 weeks later I went into the Birmingham half with just one target. It was my 10^th half marathon. Again, more than I had planned to do, but having run marathons half’s were OK in my book! My target was to beat my GNR time by at least 4 seconds! A sub 2:20 would do. The result? 2:18:03. Another PB and taking part in Parkrun, having runners to talk to before races and having more belief in myself had paid off. There had been some weight loss which helped of course but I’d finally found that hard work was needed but it felt so good to see that hard work pay off.

I’d finally realized that maintaining running as part of my lifestyle was a good thing. I’d always be in some sort of decent shape, and I wouldn’t need to train from scratch for every race which was pretty much what I had been doing since 2006. Taking up Parkrun had made a huge difference. Going down to the Arbo and running flat out, something I had never done, even in training had helped.

My plan for 2014 was basically the same 2 races again! I knew there were lots of other races that happened. Going to Parkrun and listening to club runners talk about all these other races made me realise there was a lot more to the running scene than I gave it credit for.

Now, I have no memory of who the following conversation took place with. I know it was a male runner, that it happened after a Parkrun in 2013 and we had a bit of a chuckle about the idea. I’m sure it was an older runner who had a lot of running experience because they were pretty confident that the idea, they gave me was possible with the right planning, training, focus, hardwork and belief.

I was asked how many races I had done, and I said that from 2006 upto 2013 I had done 6 full marathons and 10 half marathons. So basically, in less than 8 years I had done 16 races. As a serious non-runner before 2006, not a bad haul. Based on what I’ve done since, some would say a bit lacklustre, even lazy!

This fellow runner made a comment which I don’t remember exactly word for word that I should see if I could do the same number of races in less than 8 months! Now I was firmly of the belief at this time, as it’s what I had read (!!), that you should do marathons about 6 months apart. A spring one and an autumn one with a couple of half marathons thrown in. That’s what I had done in 2009 which was my ‘busiest’ year of running with 2 fulls and 2 halfs in an 8-month period.

Anyway, I had a bit of a laugh about how it would be daft to even attempt such a running challenge and was told that it wasn’t that unusual, and it was something I was more than capable of doing. I’ll be honest, I laughed it off but over the next few weeks I started reading about incredible running feats from around the world.

All of a sudden, the idea of 6 full and 10 half marathons in 8 months did not sound daft. It actually sounded feasible and something that I decided I was going to have a go at! So, my first running challenge of 2014, for Macmillans Cancer, came into being. I decided like all runners that I’d prefer a round number so 2014 the target was 14 half marathons and 6 full marathons! I added on 4 more halfs.

My knowledge of races was limited to ones I had done. GNR, Silverstone and Birmingham for half marathons and London, Edinburgh and New York for fulls. I didn’t have place in London 2014, and it was too late to get a charity place. NY was not an option, so Edinburgh became one of the 6 I decided to do. All 3 halfs mentioned above were definite, so I needed to find another 13!

But for 2014 I had a running challenge to focus on, I had a charity to run for to keep me focused and to help make a difference to and I had belief. The latter would be tested on many occasions in 2014.

There was 1 thing that really helped me get through 2014. I became a member of Aldridge Running Club and there I would meet and run with a woman who was and is a massive inspiration to me and who was doing a challenge on an even bigger scale than me at that time!

I’ll be back in 2 weeks with Let’s Talk About Parkrun, which as I mentioned I got into in 2013. I’ll be breaking 2014 down into segments as it was quite the rollercoaster!

The 1st race as Usingh Bolt.

Alrighty then. Earlier today I ran the Birmingham half marathon. I worked out it was my 51^st half as Usingh Bolt! In the week that I marked 10 years since my first run using this name. Great atmosphere today, absolutely loved it. And hopefully many more to come. I mentioned in my last blog that I was christened Usingh Bolt after posting a photo doing the lightning bolt pose on Facebook in 2011. An almost immediate and inspired comment from my cousin, Minda Singh, led to the name.

After the 2011 London marathon of which I genuinely have no memories, I knew I had a place in the 2012 London marathon thanks to the old system of getting a place at your 5^th ballot attempt if you had been unsuccessful on the 4 previous occasions. I believe it was the last year it was in place. After that, the ballot was open for a week, so the system was not feasible as ballot entries jumped into 6 figures!

My main decision for 2012 was whether I would do my 6th marathon and 4^th London for charity like all previous attempts or would I do it for ‘fun.’ I have never understood why some marathon runners were labelled as fun runners! A 5K fun run, yes. Even a 10K fun run I can accept. But a fun runner in a marathon? Bit of an oxymoron for me.

I decided running for charity was the best way to go. My main reason was that it was still the biggest motivator for me when running. It gave a degree of focus to my training, albeit that training had been poor for most of my marathons and helping to make a difference is one of the ideals I try to live by. Being in a position to pick a charity of my choice the decision was influenced by things happening close to me. So, I decided to run for Children with Cancer UK.

I’m not sure why, but I didn’t do the Birmingham half in 2011 so London 2011 was my only race that year and London 2012 would be my next race. I think family commitments meant I didn’t do Birmingham half which is a shame as I had done the first 2 and as my local race it was the one race, I was committed to doing annually.

I have no idea what my training plan for London 2012 was like. I had my Garmin watch, still the chunky Forerunner 305 square one! I didn’t download it to my laptop and of course Strava was not around. Or maybe it was but I certainly wasn’t aware of it.

Similar to London 2011, I booked my own hotel and travel. Train journey down on the Saturday morning. Straight over to the Excel arena, pick up my number, wonder around for a while and then home. I think I used to partake in the pasta party when it was a thing.

My first main memory of 2012 is from the expo. After you got your number, you could drop your running top off to be personalized and then collect it as you left the expo. I remember going over and asking for the charity vest to be personalized and I wrote down Usingh Bolt. The guy who was taking my details looked at what I had written down. He looked a bit bemused. Then he looked at me. Looked at what I had written and then looked at me again. And then he chuckled. A good-natured chuckle with a big grin on his face. He called out to another of the volunteers helping with the printing and showed it to them. And that person chuckled as well. He looked at me, gave me high 5 and said, “I like it, Usingh!”

This is the reaction I have got the most over the years. People who make the connection and have a chuckle and like me when I saw cousins’ comment on Facebook and think “That’s good/clever/funny/inspired/amusing” etc. Occasionally people don’t quite get it and that’s OK. I’ve heard other people explain it to friends with them when they’ve said “I don’t get it. Usingh?” The explanation is pretty on point. “He’s a Sikh. They have the name Singh. It’s a clever/funny play on the Bolt name.”

I’m not going to lie. I’ve had a bit of good fortune using this name. More on that in this blog. I’ve got coverage where maybe I wouldn’t if I wasn’t using the name. But more than for me, it works will for me and hopefully the many charities I have ran for. Getting print space in local newspapers, and now online, helps to raise awareness for the causes and I’m not going to lie it helps me a little bit with motivation and belief, especially as my challenges have got bigger and tougher.

So, vert handed in, I wondered around the expo. As in previous years I got a couple of running bands from the Lucozade stand. I felt like I could get 6 hours at London that year even though I had been nowhere near in 2011. As well as the 6-hour band I took the rather optimistic approach of getting the 5 hrs. 45 as well! I do remember in the past when we got the London magazine for the expo there would be a voucher for the Lucozade stand which for £10 saw you get a couple of bottles of Lucozade Sport, some of their jellybeans, flap jacks and energy bars. At this time, I was still very much of the belief that Lucozade Sport was the go-to drink. John Barnes did a great job in that advert from the 1990’s convincing me of this!!

There was one other highlight for me at the London expo that year. I met the legend that is Fauja Singh. As a Sikh runner (or should that be wannabe runner) at that time he was inspiration. Not just to Sikhs of course. But to many people, given his age and how he ran a marathon at the age of 100. I spent 20 minutes with him mostly, taking photos for many people that came up and asked for a picture with him. I remember him saying to me in Punjabi, “Young man, why are they making such a fuss of me. They are here to run. I’m here to run. I’m no-one special.” Just an amazing humble man. The one thing I forgot to do. Get my photo with him! Schoolboy error!

Let’s fast forward to race day. I was in the red start again and I felt quite relaxed. I had a plan in mind and this being my 4^th London marathon, although there was still a buzz to be there, I wasn’t as overawed, tense, nervous or as anxious as I had been in previous years. As I had done for every race upto this point, half or full, I had a bottle of Lucozade Sport in hand. One swig every mile until it an out.

I remember starting quite steadily and it’s the first year I have a clear memory of running past Woolwich Gurdwara, about 5K or so into the route. I had noticed the Gurdwara in 2007 and 2008 but had been on the wrong side of the road for them to see me. This time I ran on the right-hand side as we came round the roundabout so I could run past my fellow Sikhs. And it felt good. A couple of loud shouts in Punjabi to support me, some high 5 fives and I felt good.

I mentioned that the name has been a bit of a lucky charm for me earlier and maybe helped me get coverage I otherwise would not have. At about 12.7 miles this happened in a big way. How do I know the almost exact distance so well? 12.8 miles is hallway along Tower Bridge with the half marathon point being as runners come off the bridge. As always there was a massive buzz as we ran onto the bridge. It is an electrifying part of the course. I looked over to my left and saw 2 runners who had been standing, set off running. I realized that they had been talking to someone on the side of the bridge. Who was that someone? Only Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis!

I remember thinking I might as well do a run past and point at my name! This being 2012, the major sporting event in London was yet to come. The Olympics and the Paralympics. There were of course high hopes for many of the British stars taking part in the games and in Athletics there was a sharp focus on Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis, who bother delivered on that super Saturday along with Greg Rutherford. The other huge name in the games was of course, Usain Bolt. Of course, what London did not know was that another running Bolt was in London that year!

So, I approached her, caught her eye, and pointed to the name on my top. The reaction? What I mentioned earlier. A quick realization of the play on the name, a big smile and then she called me over and said, “We have to interview you.” I’m not quite clear on how the interview went. Of course, I mentioned the great man and of course Children with Cancer. Afterwards on Facebook I was tagged into many pictures people had taken as the interview was shown on the BBC. One such photo is below.

The Interview with Denise Lewis (not my only one)!

It gave my fundraising a bit of a boost and that was the big win. And getting the name out to a wider audience was pretty good. The second half of the race went by quite well. The 2012 marathon was not as painful as the other London marathons and that was because I followed the 6-hour wrist pacer as closely as I could. I do remember having to walk most of mile 23 as I was spent. But I managed to get going again and finished the race in 6:06:59. My 2^nd best marathon time and best time at London by 10 minutes. Also, the least painful. A job well done, for my last marathon!! As it turned out of course that is not true! I wouldn’t run a marathon again until 2014 and I wouldn’t do London again until 2017. I didn’t enter the ballot for 2013, I do remember that much. After that I did enter most ballots.

Would I race as Usingh Bolt again? It was meant to be a 1-time thing. As much as I had enjoyed fellow runners having a chuckle with me about it and hearing so many of the crowd read the name and shout support it was meant to be a one off. Never mind Usain Bolt at London 2012, Usingh got there first!

But later in 2012 something happened that potentially could be seen as the catalyst for the start of me really getting into running and it certainly started my love affair with the Great North Run. At the time Bupa were one of the main headline sponsors of the Great North Run. They ran a Facebook competition in about May, maybe June 2012 offering 10 people a chance to run in that years GNR. I entered it. Why not? It was free to do and all I had to do was put a comment on.

In July, I remember receiving a phone call telling me I was one of the winners! And that was how I came to run the GNR 2012. It wasn’t planned but it would be my 3^rd one and this time I would start making it a regular part of my run calendar.

Next week I’ll talk about it more as well as the 2 half marathons I did in 2013 and how my times improved, ending with a chance conversation that led to me deciding to do my first big running challenge, for me at least, in 2014.

Have a good week and please share this with others. Ordinary people really can achieve the impossible when they put their mind to it. Always happy to answer any question anyone has.

London Take 3 & My Christening!

Hi. First of all, apologies for the gap between blogs. I make it 4 weeks! That wasn’t the intention. But I liken this gap to me and marathons in my early days. Fully committed to begin with, lost a bit of focus and then back on it.

Hopefully there won’t be such a long gap between blogs again. I’m going to carry on with the My Journey to 100m this week. Traditionally this is London marathon week. This year it is in October again, but my Facebook memories have been filled with memories from past London marathons. Mainly all those from 2012 onwards.

So, a very quick recap. My last blog was about 2010 and my new approach to running at that time. No fulls, just 1 half a year, maybe 2. 2010 was my 2^nd GNR and 3^rd Birmingham half in a row. 2011 should have been the same again.

Before I dive into the London marathon 2011 which saw me come out of marathon retirement (!!) after 18 months I need to go back a bit to explain how I came to run for a charity called Neuroblastoma Society (now called Neuroblastoma UK).

At the back end of 2009, a few friends from the Northeast were sharing details about a young girl called Sophie Atay who had an aggressive form of cancer call Neuroblastoma. In order to get treatment that could have saved her life, her family needed to raise £500k to travel to New York for said treatment.

Her cause gained a lot of support when the singer Alexander Burke told Simon Cowell about her, and he made a considerable donation to the funding for Sophie. The family and friends raise almost £1m in the end but tragically, Sophie was too ill to make the journey and passed away in March 2010. The money raised was then used to support other families affected by Neuroblastoma – https://www.neuroblastoma.org.uk/.

I’m not clear on the exact details but charity had a couple of places available for the 2011 London marathon and through my friends in the north I managed to get one of the places available. Like many I was touched by Sophie and her family’s story, and I was keen to run in her memory.

So, the 2 half marathons in 2010 were the start of the prep for my 3^rd London marathon and 5^th overall. This time, after dipping under 6 hours at New York in 2009 I was confident of dipping under 6 hours at London.

I’d love to say that I started the hard training at the end of 2010, but the truth is I can’t remember! The 2011 London marathon is the one I have very little memory of. I have the one picture of me below in the training top for the charity, but that’s it. I chose not to run any half marathons before hand and as it turned out I didn’t do any in 2011 at all.

I know that unlike my first 2 London marathon I decided not to stay at the Holiday Inn by Heathrow Airport this time. The journey back there had been tough on both occasions, so I booked my own hotel near to Victoria Station. There were 2 really good reasons to do this. I could catch a train from there on marathon morning (for free, one of the perks of being a London marathon runner on raceday) and more importantly, it was a 10-minute walk from the finish line. Make that almost 20 when you’ve just ran a marathon!

It’s the one race I have very little memory of, particularly from the marathons I have done. I normally have some very clear memories of races but my finishing time of 6:23:59 which was similar to Edinburgh 2009 makes me think there must have been pain involved again! I didn’t do another race again until London 2012.

So, London marathon number 3 is just blank! No idea of how it went, what the weather was like, was it even paced (which I doubt); but it was a 5^th marathon medal and that was the important thing. I did whatever I had to do to get round and I ran in the memory of a young girl who was taken far too young.

Keeping this week’s blog short. I was going to cover London 2012 in this one but I’m going to save it all for next week. Before I finish though there was something that happened later in 2011 that has to be mentioned. I knew that I would be running London 2012 as soon as I entered the ballot in the week after the 2011 version. How? It was my 5^th entry in the ballot under the old scheme where entries were only open for 1 day, so at your 5^th attempt you were guaranteed a place. So, 2012 was a given for me. I entered the ballot knowing it was going to happen for me.

It’s possible looking back that the only reason I ran 2012 was because I knew I was going to get a sport. From 2013, the rule changed, and ballot entries were accepted for a week, so the 5^th entry rule was understandably canned.

Knowing I was running 2012 I had 2 options. Just run it with no need to run for a charity. Or pick a charity I wanted to run for and have no pressure of hitting a certain target as it was my own spot. I went for the latter. Running for a cause meant a lot to me. Anything to do something to help those less fortunate than me. I decided to run for Children with Cancer UK. After contacting them in early summer 2011, they sent a race vest to train in and I posed with it on in the photo below.

I struck a pose in 2011 and was christened with new running name!

I received a couple of likes and 1 comment from my cousin, Minda Singh. His 8 words made me chuckle and then saw me spend about 30 minutes scouring the web to see if anyone had already used the name he mentioned. After a lengthy search and only finding multiple hits for Usain Bolt and using bolt, I was christened with a running name! His comment? “Who do you think you are? Usingh Bolt?”

My twitter handle, which I had only just created was swiftly changed to this new name and I remember adding it in to my Facebook name. So that was it. Usingh Bolt became my running name, and the plan was that I would use it for London marathon 2012 and that would definitely be the last marathon for me! Only the 5^th time I had decided that!

I mentioned Facebook memories at the beginning. The 22^{nd of} April was the 10^th year since I made my race debut as Usingh Bolt and also the 15^th year since my first marathon. I got lucky when I ran the marathon in 2012, but we’ll come to that next week.

So, 2011, the completely forgotten marathon, bit like John Hurt’s Doctor Who. I know I ran it. I have the medal. I’m in the official results with the splits over each 10K. But I just can’t remember a darn thing about it. 2012 was a lot more memorable and subsequent races I do remember things about.

Next week will all be about the freshly monikered me! Usingh Bolt! I’m also running the Birmingham half on 1^st May for Children’s Cancer North. A link to my donation page is here, https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/usinghccn2022 and on the Intro page of my website.

2010 – 1 Half became 2.

Before I dive into 2010, I just want to take a moment to mention that I’ve completed my 49^th official full marathon today. It was at the Bedford Autodrome and run by Runthrough who put on some great races around the country. I mention this as at the end of the last blog I wrote about how I’d called it a day as far as marathons were concerned after the 2009 New York marathon. As many of you know that wasn’t the case!

Anyway, my original plan for 2010 was to run the Birmingham Half only. I could spend most of the year not running and sticking to playing football and a bit of badminton here and there. Then, 13 weeks before the half I planned to start my training and see if I could better my PB from the previous year’s event.

A solid enough plan and so there isn’t much I can say about the first part of 2010. Even though I’d sworn off marathons it didn’t stop me entering the ballot for London marathon! My view was it was the only marathon I’d make an exception for. I had no plans to go looking for any others whether at home or abroad.

Now, I’m not sure how it came about. I’m pretty sure I read a post on Facebook from an old school friend who still lived in the Northeast. They had an association with a charity called bibic – https://bibic.org.uk/

The below is a quick copy from their website of what they are all about:

“Bibic is a national charity based in Langport, Somerset. It delivers therapeutic programmes to children and young adults aged 6 months to 25 years with developmental and neurological difficulties. bibic sees them with or without diagnosis and supports a wide range of neurological and genetic conditions.”

They mentioned that the charity had a place going in the Great North Run for anyone interested in fundraising for them. I’d done the GNR in 2006 and never tried to get into it again, but the idea of going at it again really appealed to me. So, I reached out and managed to get the place adding that I was doing the Birmingham half as well therefore it would be a double header for the charity for me.

So, a bonus race for 2010. A chance to go home and to do the GNR with a bit more experience in my running feet.

Now I’m not clear about much of either of these 2 races if I’m honest. These 2 races and the 1 did in 2011; I seem to have a mental block with. The times I ran for both indicate that neither race went to plan, which I’ll come to. I’m trying to remember if my training was poor again that year and I’ll be honest it probably was. At that time, I didn’t really keep any records of my runs. I had the chunky Garmin Forerunner 305, but I very rarely downloaded any of my runs onto a PC.

From about 2014 or so I started logging everything in spreadsheets. I’ve had jobs where data analysis is a key part of the role and keeping a spreadsheet was a natural thing to do. I also used to write them down in a diary. Yes really! The diary didn’t contain any writings I kept or anything, although looking back, going all Adrian Mole would have been a benefit for these blogs. Even with Garmin Connect and Strava I still do those things.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes. The GNR first. So, like every GNR I have done bar the 2021 version due to the pandemic, I stayed with family when I went up. It was good to catch up but at this point my tradition of going to see my “number 1 fan, the cakemaker” Rebecca hadn’t started yet. That would come with my 4^th one, I think.

I remember on race morning getting a lift over the Tyne Bridge from my cousin Minda Singh. Remember the name, he made possibly the biggest contribution to change in attitude to running. Without running himself. However, we’ll come to that when I talk about 2011. He said 8 words that started something special. Intrigued? You’ll just have to wait.

Anyhow. The T-shirt I had to run in for bibic was a cotton one, not a technical one and having remembered the chafing of that first 2006 GNR I covered the old nips! From memory there was a little bit of rain in 2010 but not a lot. Nothing like the absolute downpour we had in 2006.

I should mention as I forgot it last week that I had moved on from that first pair of Saucony running shoes I’d used in 2008 and the first part of 2009. For Birmingham half and New York in 2009 I had switched to Adidas running trainers. Probably the Supernova, although I wouldn’t swear to it. But it started the long association of running in Adidas all the way to the end of 2019. A number of reasons for ditching them but that is a story for another time.

The first 10k of the race went well. This is based on me finding the results from 2010 online. I got to 10K in 73 minutes which would have put me close to my PB but not quite breaking it. However, it would see me come in under the 2hrs 40 of 2006. Just going to jump ahead to the finish and mention that my I finished in 2 hrs. 52. So not as slow as Silverstone but given how well I was at 10K the wheels really did fall off. I do remember walking up the last hill upto the Elvis impersonator! Top man. To have done the second part, 11k, in 1 hr. 40, there must have been a good deal of walking.

So, yet another run that didn’t go to plan. This was my 6^th half and only 3 had gone well. But an important piece of advice was given to me at the end of this race. It wasn’t the first time I heard it said but it’s something I live by now and sometimes say to other runners. Another runner saw me looking a bit despondent and I’m not going to lie probably heard me dropping a few F-bombs at myself! He told me that as a runner I should always be proud that I was getting out and running. A lot of people talked about how they could run a half and/or a full, but never did. And then I should look at the biggest positive. I finished. I crossed the start line and the journey to the finish line may have been tough, it may have been arduous, I may have wanted to give up; but I kept going and had earned that medal and goodie bag. And whatever else my heart desired. Chocolate. Normally chocolate was what I desired after a race. Not always a Blue Yorkie mind. Don’t know what this reference is about? That’s OK, keep reading every week. You’ll find our when we get to 2019!

Now at one point I’d have dismissed someone like this and just thought “Yeah, that’s easy for you so say.” He looked pretty fresh and like he could run another half. But his words really did make an impact. I’d beat myself up after all except the New York marathon and after 3 of my half marathons but I was overlooking an extremely important point. And that was despite the pain, oh my God, so much pain I’d stuck at every run and kept going. And the last pearl of wisdom he gave me was “You learn from every run you do. Whether it’s a training run, a race, a PB, your worst ever time. Always try to have a couple of things you can take away from each run.” Wise words. Everything we do in life teaches us something. About ourselves, about others. And I learnt that I was a stubborn git! Where others may have called it a day in the marathons I persevered. Yes, the fact I was running for charity did have an impact and make me stick with it. And those early experiences laid the foundations and platform for everything I did from 2014 onwards. The races I did from 2006 to 2013? I look at them now and class them as my learning experience. Almost experimental runs to decide if liked running and could stick with it. As I’ve said after every marathon, I swore off marathons and now all I can think about is when can I run another one again!

Back to 2010. There were 5 weeks between GNR and Birmingham half that year and I decided that Birmingham half couldn’t be any worse than GNR. I was right with that at least! Before that half, the London ballot results came out. And guess what? That’s right! I didn’t get in. There was probably relief on my part at that point given how poorly I had done at GNR. Anyway, Birmingham half came around and this time I didn’t see anyone I knew on the start line. I still didn’t know any runners in my personal circle! I was still completely against joining a club even though I was reading about the benefits of being with a club.

So, as I’ve mentioned before all my knowledge was gleaned from Runners World magazine. Although Facebook was becoming more a part of our lives by this time, Pages and Groups were still in their infancy. Remember how basic Facebook used to be? There was another week to the Birmingham half route of 2010 as I recall. It was still a Broad Street finish but I’m sure the start was moved to Summer Row. I could be wrong.

I do recall it being quite a pleasant day even though it was late October. At this time, it wasn’t part of the Great Run series, that would be a few years down the line. I remember walking past the Cadburys factory this time. In fact, I remember I walked up most of the hills and then ran everything else. Another race where I found it tough going but I’d ran for an amazing charity, albeit not as well known. But like all charities the work they do was so important, helping to change the lives of so many young people and helping their families and loved ones. I came in with a time of 2hrs 47, just under 5 minutes quicker than GNR.

My idea of just doing 1 half a year hadn’t been a roaring success but I remembered the wise words of a few weeks earlier and was happy to come away with another finish and another bit of bling. It’s all about the bling for me! The T-shirts I can pass on, but not the medals! So, mission accomplished. 2 halves instead of one. Another GNR done, albeit not very well.

And then before the year was out another opportunity came my way. I’ll go into more detail next week but another school friend of mine had been very active on Facebook trying to help raise funds for a young girl suffering from a rare and aggressive form of cancer. A charity was mentioned that was providing support to the family in question and then the carrot was well and truly dangled when the words “They have a couple of places in London Marathon 2011 available.” So, I contacted the charity, Neuroblastoma Society, and applied for a place. Again, this was a very spur of the moment decision. It was only 2 days later when they offered me a place that I started thinking of all the training involved and how I would make sure that this one would be better. It wouldn’t hurt as much as the first two. I’d come in under 6 hours just like New York.

So that was it. I was going to be running my 3^rd London marathon. My ‘retirement’ from marathons lasted all of 18 months by the time I stepped onto the start line at London 2011. Third time lucky. Less pain. More enjoyment. Better prepared. More confident. More belief. These would all lead to a much better London marathon experience at the 3^rd time of asking. Right? Well, you’ll find out in 2 weeks when I resume my Journey to 100m series. Next week I’ll do my 2^nd “Let’s talk About…” blog.

Until then, take care. Please do share this blog with others. If anything, I hope it shows that hard work, stubborn belief and a decent amount of pain does pay off eventually!!

2009 Part 2 – New York, New York

Hello and welcome to the 2^nd part of my look at 2009. The year I became ambitious and did 2 marathons in one year, approx. 5 months apart. In the last blog I covered Silverstone Half and Edinburgh and how Edinburgh was difficult due to the unexpected heat on the day.

After a few weeks off running after Edinburgh I decided I would run New York and Birmingham Half before it for British Heart Foundation again (BHF). Running for charity seemed to be keep me a bit more motivated and determined to see the races through.

On speaking to BHF I found out they had a small team already going to New York to run for them so I added my name to the list, and it meant that the night before the marathon I would meet them for pre-race meal and see some familiar faces from their fundraising team.

There was no GNR for me in 2009 again. At this point the one in 2006 looked like it would remain the one and only time that I ran the race. That of course had been the plan. Run it once and that was it. As we all know it is now the one race a year I have to run. It’s my favourite and always will be. It’s in my hometown and so iconic.

However, as I mentioned 2 weeks ago near to my adopted home a new half marathon, the Birmingham half was started and in 2009 it was back. A different route this time. No starting near the Alex. No undulating route into Brum. Starting in Birmingham City Centre and finishing on Broad Street. The year we would run past the Cadburys factory, through Canon Hill Park, around Edgbaston Cricket Ground, head into Harborne and go up ‘that’ hill before getting the chance for a big finish on Broad Street with a lot of people cheering us on. A lovely finish area leading into the NIA and collecting our bags and being able to use proper toilets!

From July I focused fully on marathon training. After the PB at Silverstone earlier in the year I was determined to get my time closer to 2 hrs. 30. My long run of 20 miles for New York took place 5 weeks before the marathon and 2 weeks before Birmingham half. It would prove to be excellent planning. At this point I should mention that it should have been 3 weeks before New York as per the plan I was following at the time, but the plan changed once Birmingham Half was added in.

Birmingham half was my 5^th half by this stage, and it was the first time I saw someone I knew in the start area. At this time, I still didn’t really know any runners. I wasn’t part of a club; I didn’t run with anyone, and my first Parkrun was still almost 4 years away. I met a friend and work colleague in the start area which was a pleasant surprise. He’s in the picture below with me. Let’s call him Steve! We had a quick chat and like me the year earlier, Steve had decided that the idea of having a half in the city he lived in was kind of cool. I’m pretty sure he asked me for tips, and I laughed! I didn’t feel I had the experience to really give advise. I do remember telling him that it was all about getting to the finish line, whatever it took. That was something I knew was decent advice.

The race itself went really well. I remember making a strong start, taking it easy on the hills, controlling my breathing and having a good strong finish from Five Ways all the way along Broad Street. My time of 2:26:01 was a new PB, over 7 minutes quicker than Silverstone and the sort of confidence booster I needed heading to New York. I didn’t get overconfident, but I remember thinking that maybe getting close to 6 hours at New York wasn’t a pipe dream now. The famous calculation of double your half time, add 20 to 30 minutes and you have your potential marathon time meant that breaking 6 hours shouldn’t be an issue. However, I knew and as you have read, my 3 marathons had not gone to plan thus far so I knew not to get carried away.

I trained hard for the next 2 weeks as I prepared to head to New York. As I mentioned in previous blogs, I entered New York on a whim. Just decided I was going to do it as running a marathon on my birthday in a city I had always wanted to visit seemed pretty cool. My wife decided she didn’t want to go. Well, that’s a lie. I didn’t ask her as bad as that sounds! I did promise her I would taker her there. Something I still have to deliver on, but I might take here there for my 50^th! Not hers! I can run the NY marathon on my 50^th!

So, I flew out to New York on the Wednesday from Heathrow. As luck would have it the chap next to me on the plane who was Scottish was also going out through the same company I had booked through, 2:09 events. We had a chat about running. Mainly he chatted about running in fairness. He was older than me and had run in many cool places around the world and he had done the 30^th NY marathon and wanted to add the 40^th one to the list.

We chatted for a short while and then we did that polite thing of immersing ourselves in the entertainment system and chatted again as we descended into JFK airport. I had the window seat and looked out and saw so many familiar sites. Things I had seen on TV and film.

I had a few issues getting through security, something I won’t go into. It was pretty annoying and was the only part of my time in NY that I didn’t enjoy. After being ‘interviewed’ by 3 different immigration staff I finally made my way out and was lucky that a rep from the company had waited for me. Unfortunately, as it was early evening, we had a long journey into New York but I didn’t let that bother me. I was staying in a hotel overlooking Times Square and I loved it.

On the Thursday I just did lots of the stuff tourists do. I did the bus tour of New York and went out to Ellis Island on the ferry but didn’t get off on the Statue of Liberty Island. Ellis Island was an experience. Anyone who has seen The Godfather Part 2 will be familiar with it. It was where immigrants into New York were processed for many years and where a young Vito Corleone was given that name! If you’ve seen the film, you know!

On the Friday it was off to the centre towards an area called Hells Kitchen if I remember correctly, to pick up my race number. It wasn’t as big as the London expo but there were more big brands there and it was great to be there. It had a real international feel to it. The hotel I was staying in had a few Brits in it, but mainly there were Germans and Italians with a smattering of French runners. And they all looked like runners. Me, not so much! They probably thought I was there to get business to open a call centre in India somewhere!

Anyhow, race number collected, and a frame ordered to show my finishing time and a 2^nd medal, as seen below, and off I went to find a place to eat. Hells Kitchen has some amazing restaurants and what did I do? I ignored restaurants from countries I had never eaten food from like Brazil, Vietnam, Caribbean and settled for? An Indian restaurant! To be fair the food was great. I had an amazing Paneer dish, and it was a mix of carbs and proteins.

That evening I went up the Empire State Building and then later that evening I met a friend from the UK who was out there with a friend who had turned 40. Or 50. I can’t remember. That friend? Steve!! As mentioned earlier. We went to an Italian restaurant they had booked, and it was good to have a meal with a few other people as opposed to Barry no mates for all other meals.

As I recall there was an option to do a 5K run on the Saturday in Central Park for all marathon participants. I decided not to. I hadn’t been to Central Park yet and I wanted my first experience of it to be when ran in as I finished the marathon. So, I had a lie in and did some more touristy stuff on the Saturday before heading to the Italian restaurant that BHF had a booked a private room in. It was good to see the fundraising team as well as Keith Anderson who I spoke about 2 weeks ago. An amazing man who turned his life round when he found running. So much so that at the age of 41 he ran the marathon for England at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. I remember leaving the restaurant for my short walk back my hotel and being stopped twice by strangers who wanted to take my photo! The first guy was a bit strange and barely spoke. I always wonder where that photo ended up. The second time was by a group of three students who had just been to India and loved seeing a Sikh walking in New York. I told them I was just an Englishman in New York. They didn’t get the reference! They were a lot more chatty and handed my twenty dollars each for my fundraising. This wouldn’t be the first-time random strangers handed me cash for my fundraising. But God bless them. It shows there are plenty of good people out there.

I got a decent night’s sleep. One issue with breakfast on marathon morning here was that there was no beans on toast available. I went for porridge and a quite a few pastries but avoided tea. I had read before my second London marathon that drinking tea and coffee was not beneficial. They acted as diuretics. For someone who starts every day with a cup of tea, not great. I watched all the European runners guzzling coffee and wondered how true the article I read was. How much of it was based on research? On reflection, probably very little as I now always have my regular cuppa on race day.

Coaches had been arranged to the start line. Again, I could have googled a few things about the race I have forgotten, but I want this to be from memory, social media posts, photos and videos. So. We got to the start area and the weather was identical to Britain in November. Oh, remember this was all on my birthday! My 34^th. And it was the 40^th New York marathon so it felt great to be there. I was in the last wave that was going to start so I went and stood in a massive field taking it all in. The start is on a bridge. The bridge has two levels and I had decided I was going to start on the lower level to protect myself from the wind.

Again, I watched in amazement at how much coffee was being drank. And bagels and pretzels were being eaten like they were going to out of fashion soon. I resisted. I had a supply of 6 sports gels. I also had 2 bananas I had pilfered from the hotel at morning breakfast.

So, let’s talk about a very vivid memory I have before the start. I’m wearing a BHF top with Barry written on it. I wouldn’t be christened Usingh Bolt for another 2 years. Another runner comes up to me. Starts talking to me as he was also from England. London, to be precise. We chatted about marathons, and he asked me about London. It turned out he was one of the team behind organizing London marathon. Not Hugh Brasher before you ask. I’ll be honest his name has long slipped out of my mind. But one part of his role was to run marathons around the world and see what they could take from them to improve London. It was a good chat and when I realized it was our start time, I felt relaxed. More relaxed than I had felt for any of the previous races, halfs or fulls.

I remember it being pretty windy but about 3 miles in the wind dropped and the sun started to sneak out. Not hot, not really warm but as the clouds disappeared the sun slowly started to emerge. I remember parts of the route. Massive long stretches where you could see for almost a mile ahead. I remember a runner taking a very bad fall. He was wearing glasses and hit the ground hard, almost headfirst. He was bleeding a fair bit so a couple of us stopped to steady him and then a couple of paramedics arrived to take care of him.

I remember seeing a fellow turbaned Sikh in the uniform of NYPD. We acknowledged each other and I felt good. It was a glorious run, not as well supported as London for big stretches but so much space to run in a race with over 45,000 runners. I remember we ran along another bridge. The Queensborough bridge maybe. Anyway, it led onto 5^th Avenue. And it was an incredible sensation. There were thousands of people at this point on either side, but 5^th Avenue is wide! It would have been easy to run in the middle of the road and not take in any of the atmosphere. I decided to run on the left and take in the cheers and encouragement. I had one moment when I almost panicked. A guy walked onto the route, pointed at me, with a beer in his hand and I always think he looked aggressive, but I probably have that wrong. He then gave me a big smile and said, “Mr. Singh, show me some love. You look awesome buddy.” Before I could say anything, I was trapped in a hug. I’m not a particular touchy-feely person. Or I wasn’t at that time. Nowadays sweaty hugs are in. He eventually let go and cheered me on and it was a moment that has always stayed with me.

I’d gotten to halfway in about 2 hrs. 40, so knowing that I would run the 2^nd half much slower I felt optimistic that sub 6 was on. But then again, this time was not too dissimilar to the halfway mark of my first London marathon, so I kept calm. Running along 5^th Avenue was amazing but it is a LONG stretch of road. It was never ending. It was along here that I started to flag a bit. Of course, the one good thing about a long stretch of road in a city like NY is that it is very flat.

I got to the 30K mark in about 4 hours, and I remember thinking that this was it. 12K to go, a sub 6 was now there for the taking. I got to the 40k mark in 5 hrs. 38 and I was really flagging now. It wasn’t my legs or feet that were the issue. They felt like they had more than enough to keep me going. It was a cool evening as the sun was setting but I was sweating buckets. I hadn’t sweated this much in the heat of Edinburgh. Linked to this was a real requirement to drink as much as possible. I remember grabbing a bottle of Gatorade, no Lucozade Sport out here, and downing it. I then grabbed a bottle of water and necked that. I didn’t know why I felt so thirsty. But I really felt like I was overheating. From about 38Km I ran with 2 girls that were over from Ireland.

We encouraged each other to keep going. We were all struggling for different reasons, but we kept pushing. Sub 6 was still on. Entering Central Park felt so magical. The sun was setting, the lights were on in the park and so many people were out cheering us on, even though we were in the last 2 or 3 thousand to finish. I remember the 3 of us holding hands as we crossed and then I lost track of where they went. I needed to hydrate so badly again!

And yes, 6 hours had been broken. Another PB in the space of 3 weeks. I felt so happy. I’d ran well and I had flagged but it wasn’t lack of training that got me this time, or the heat. Something had happened to me that meant I just wasn’t feeling so good the further I ran. On my return to England, I found out I had a chest infection which was what caused me to sweat so much. Instead of resting I had pushed my body to it’s limits, again. This time it was a happy ending. I was asked if I would be back to run again, and I remember saying that I had cracked 6 hours and that was it for me and marathons! I know that 5 hrs. 30 had been the dream in 2007 but cracking 6 hours had been so hard that it felt like a good place to call it quits with marathon running.

On the way back to the hotel I remember buying a slushy and another drink as I still felt so thirsty. I had a brilliant night’s sleep. More to do with the infection I reckon than the satisfaction of a race well ran. I’d marked my birthday by running a marathon and it would be the 4^th and final one of the 1 I had planned to run. The next day I remember popping into Macy’s to buy the wife something and then going into Borders bookshop and buying about 20 novels! Well at half the price, why not. There were other things I had wanted to do. I wanted to visit Madison Square Gardens, but I felt shattered and went back to the hotel and rested. On the Tuesday I flew back and slept all the way back. I don’t sleep on planes. But I just couldn’t stay awake. I remember driving back from Heathrow with 2 service stops and then getting home and collapsing into bed.

The next day knowing I was not in good shape I managed to get a doctor’s appointment and was told I had a chest infection and had probably had it before I ran the marathon! I didn’t care. Mission achieved. I’d cracked 6 hours; I wasn’t fussed about 5 hrs. 30. It felt like a bridge too far. So, I decided no more marathons for me. And in 2010 I didn’t do any. In fact, I stopped running after New York altogether. My only plan was to run Birmingham half in 2010. And I could train for that in 13 weeks and then that would be the end of it. As it turned out I did run 1 other race in 2010, another half. And a chance conversation after those races would then lead back to London again.

But that is for next week. At this moment in time, 4^th November 2009, I had quit marathon running and was going to be an occasional half runner. Running wasn’t for me I’d decided. It would be nice to do a half a year I thought but why do more than that. I’d done 4 fulls, I’d done 5 halfs and I’d got decent times. But of course, life always has other ideas and in fact running was meant for me. I’d just need another 3 to 4 years to realise it.

I hope you’ll continue on this journey with me as delve into the past and work to present day.

Thank you for reading.