A slight downhill stretch between a forest and running on the moors. As I glanced down at my Fitbit, it ticked past 2.23 miles and I was done. Six months and one week after I started, I had completed eight hundred and seventy four miles and ran the equivalent distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats – literally the length of Britain.
After running a half marathon distance last Sunday, that had left me with less than twelve miles to go this week to get the virtual race done. Under normal circumstances, I could easily have done that in two runs during the week, particularly after I ran more than six miles on Wednesday night.
But rather than finish it on Thursday on my own when I went out again, I only ran three miles that night. Why? I wanted to finish the race off running with a friend.
One of the reasons I chose to do what is known as the LeJog race (Lejog = Land’s End to John O’Groats) was that I entered at the same time as my friend Susan. We both began the journey in September, when the Covid situation in the UK was less of an issue and we ran together, normally once a week, up until Christmas.
“This has been really difficult”
Then as the situation deteriorated, I made the decision – as I am asthmatic – to run on my own. Since then, I have ran solo for the last two hundred and fifty miles or so of the endurance event. This has been really difficult and yes, I realise this was my own choice. But the weather through January and a fair chunk of February has not been kind. Wind, rain, sleet, snow and freezing, icy conditions have all stood in our way, along with, of course, the occasional nice day. Compared to previous winters where I have done marathon training, the conditions this year have been, by far, the most challenging.
Thankfully the Covid situation is now stabilising so a couple of weeks ago I told my friends I would like to start running with them again. So to mark my first run with anyone this year, Susan and I ran together to complete my final couple of miles as part of a 5k run in the Saturday sunshine. To run with someone else again made it all the more special, and I hope to run with more friends soon.
Running together really made me realise – once again – how much I have missed this element of running; going with a friend. So much so that I will be honest, when I looked at my watch and saw the distance we had done, I did not quite believe it. Not because it was far, but because we seemed to have got there so quickly. We were just chatting away and the distance ticked by without me realising it. Running with others really takes you out of the moment. It is a very different feeling to running on your own.
It will still be some time before we can run together with more than just one other person, and probably longer still before group running can return with the JogScotland group of which I am a member and then things like parkrun and event races. But our run together really highlighted one of the unexpected joys I have discovered from running – the friendships you can create and how that shared experience of running really helps with motivation and just the sheer enjoyment of a run.
“A couple of bits of advice”
The run was tracked through an online system from the event organisers, so after every run I would upload my distance and be able to track my progress. A couple of bits of advice to anyone doing it. Firstly, do not become obsessed with looking at where you are on the map. It is a seriously long way and I felt I would never, ever get out of Cornwall! And secondly, do not think when you get into Scotland that you are almost done. Scotland is a lot longer than you think so you still have some significant mileage left to do.
There are more than twelve hundred people doing the event and you have a year to complete the distance, so for me to get it done in just more than six months is really the most pleasing thing about it. I finished in 195th place according to the tracker, so there are still a lot of people making their way up from the south-west corner of England.
In recognition of the achievement, I have received a finisher’s certificate and will get a medal and a t-shirt in due course. Not going to lie, I do like these physical manifestations of the effort that has gone into it, but that was not the main motivation for doing it. It was about posing myself another challenge, one that required a huge amount of stamina and perseverance to get me through. The greatest thing I have discovered with running; running builds resilience.
I re-arranged my medal hangers this week and put all my marathon medals together on the same one (I think they deserve a special place) and there is one hook free, so this is where I will place my medal when I get it.
After one challenge finishes, the question is always, “what’s next?”. Susan reminded me that it is seven months until she runs the London Marathon, so seven months and a week until I face the challenge of the Manchester Marathon. That is still a long way off though, but I have a couple of virtual races lined up for May.
For the moment, I want to enjoy the weather hopefully continuing to improve and run with no pressure for a bit, just for the enjoyment and hopefully with a few more friends. Susan herself still has a few miles to go to complete her LeJog journey, so if all goes well then I can be there when she reaches the final few miles of her own challenge. Eight hundred and seventy four miles. Land’s End to John O’Groats. Done.
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