Make the impossible possible — a personal story (part 4)
Mountains, parachuting, rock climbing and travelling; Epilepsy and Dyslexia — a story of experiences and challenges I overcame.
This is the final part of my 4 part story, for me the ultimate run of my life. After hiking and climbing in Russia and Turkey, running the London marathon and skydiving from 10,000 feet (30,048m) I took to pushing the boundaries on my running escapades — an ultra mountain marathon.
It was a wise man called Tony (my history teacher at secondary school) who said to me at the age of 14 back when we were hiking up a mountain in the middle of southern Siberia (see Part 1 for details) — “put one foot in front of the other and you will get there in the end”—a life-changing moment for my younger self that would be the cornerstone of everything I did.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did — Mark Twain
Much like Mark Twain suggested, I knew if I did not attempt an ultra mountain marathon, the “disappointment” in my 80s would be there. But how long would it take to train? What race would I do? What gear do I need? Do I have the time to train? I found from some searching an ultra in Keswick, Lake District, a 50km ultra mountain marathon with an ascent of 1,995m. Last time I trained for 2 years for the London marathon, this time I entered into the race 1 year ahead; the Date is set.
I initially looked at the UTMB (Ultra Tour Du Mont Blanc) a 100Km race with 10,000 participants and an elevation of 6,156m, however, due to their entry requirements I had to pull back on this to do a 50Km race, given my attitude towards challenges it was disappointing. Despite this, there is a shorter distance in the swiss Alps that I do have in my sights, merging mountains and running — for me a perfect combination.
For training for the Lake district 50km, I came across a book by Krissy Moeuhl, a top female ultramarathon runner with more than 100 races and 55 wins to her name. The book is called “Running Your First Ultra, customizable training plans for your first 50k to 100-mile race”. It covers different distances, and advice for training, preparation and what to take on the event; This became my bible for the next 12 months. The training plan started off easy and progressed to long runs of up to 25 miles. Having done the London marathon and numerous expeditions, I knew what to expect, or did I?
12 months passed, and I booked a B&B in Keswick. After travelling down the day before the start of the race I was greeted by the owners who showed me to my room, I explained that I was there for the 50km ultra race. I had a book with me by Lizzy Hawker called “Runner, a short story about a long run”. Lizzy Hawker is a British endurance athlete known as the “queen of the mountains”. She had won the UTMB an unprecedented 5 times and now is the director of the Ultra Tour Mont Rosa. She is someone that most if not all ultra runners look up to.
The owners of the B&B mentioned after seeing the book laid on the bed, that Lizzy Hawker wanted the room I stayed in but you took it right before she rang. That meant she was to be in the race! It also meant I took her room.
As the race started at 7 am I got up bright and early at 5:30 am, had a wonderful breakfast and headed down to the start line. Registered my entry and got my number pinned to my chest — now it sank in, dear god I was about to run 50km. The gun fired and the race was on. It started with a slightly cloudy sky and low wind — perfect conditions. Everyone of all abilities was pushing each other along, I started chatting to a runner (who is now a good friend of mine) who kept me going even when I was slowing her down from myself tripping up over the rocks. Due to my epilepsy when I get exceptionally tired I have uncontrollable and random twinges in my legs. By halfway, tired and a lack of energy, my legs started to twinge causing me to fall down on the ground bashing my knees on the rocks. Did it stop me? No, I was as always stubbornly determined to complete it. Having an energy drink and a homemade high-carb/protein snack while stopping for a few minutes at one of the numerous benches along the route where volunteers were giving out food and water, I was spurred on to continue.
Before I knew it I was over 3/4 of the way, stopping at a lakeside (see photo above) to rest for a few minutes I knew I was nearly there, but nearly meant another 10k (approximately 6 miles). My legs felt sore from running, jogging and falling, yet Tony’s phrase “put one foot in front of the other and you will get there in the end” was etched in my mind. Keep going, don’t stop, nearly there — I heard from the now friend of mine running with me. I could see the finish line dead ahead! 50km? Have I done it? I stumbled over the line and was elated and ecstatic — I was so pleased with myself thanking my friend for pushing me along.
This was now the greatest running race I had done thus far and of all challenges. If not the hardest both mentally and physically with my condition, it is at least on par with Kamchatka (See part 1) but, the 50Km UTMB is now on my mind, could I possibly accomplish such an ultra? My love of mountains and the sheer beauty that they entail mixed with an ultra race….I will get there, one day soon.
Never give up, no matter what, take note of Tony’s words “put[ting] one foot in front of the other” is quintessentially the best way to lead one's own life. Your challenge is your own personal challenge, it does not matter if it is a run of 3 miles or 100 miles, whether you are climbing 3 meters or climbing 3,000m what matters is that you attempt to make that first initial step to overcoming and achieving your own challenge — after all, every person's challenge is just as equal.
Know a challenge I should accomplish?
If you have any questions/comments on my experiences or wish to know more about something specific, (training, gear, or anything else) add a comment it will be a pleasure to respond — I will be posting other articles as often as I can.
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