First Welshman to cover the distance

I have now been informed that no other Welsh person has officially covered 10 Marathons in 10 days, so upon completion it will be an honour to put this right!!

Although i will not be wearing the England shirt on the last day for any amounts of money!

Harvey Nash take total through £6k

Sarn Terry specialises in professional services, software and high technology for Harvey Nash Executive Search. He and his team have always been really supportive of Charity work, especially when it means his brother in law (C'est Moi!) has to run an entire Marathon in an England top!!

In fact each and every year the team at Harvey Nash sleep out for Byte Night in support of NCH to raise money for young homeless people in the UK. So walking the walk is second nature to these guys!

You may have read earlier in the Blog that my good uncle offered £50 if i ran 1 mile in an England Rugby Top. Loving a challenge, we agreed that i would run the rest of the Marathon in the England top if Sarn could raise an additional £450, making the total £500!

So Armed with some T shirts, a Target of an additional £450 and a bitter memory of the Welsh second half magical performance in the 6 nations, he did it in 48 hrs!!

So Ladies and Gentlemen of Harvey Nash, I once again stand and salute you in total admiration.

And if anyone is reading this and are looking for a new direction career wise, at a senior level, you'll do well to drop in for a beer with Sarn and the team at Harvey Nash.


Footnote:

Harvey Nash, a leading Executive Search, IT Recruitment and IT outsourcing service provider, is committed to delivering the very best talent and IT solutions to a broad base of international clients.

The Group is a trusted advisor to some of the world's leading business, governments and institutions. Operating from 36 offices covering the USA, Europe and Asia, its talented professionals pursue the highest levels of integrity and quality in providing a unique portfolio of services: executive search, interim management, IT and finance recruitment and IT outsourcing

That was london

So, final preparations are now in hand for the 10 marathons in 10 days challenge.

All week after Paris I had mentally set myself a goal and one goal only for London. To run 4 - 4.30 for the 26 miles. Even in the pen i said to myself this is about time on your legs, steady start and enjoy.

The Gun goes off and in kicks "The Ego Devil". Instead of 9 minute 30 miles i was running 7 minute 20 miles, and it took 8 miles before "The sensible Fairy" got the better of "The Ego Devil" and i managed to pull the pace right back. I finished a wet and windy London Marathon in 3 hrs 42 minutes! Completely going against why I was there! But there is a lesson there somewhere, and in 3 weeks time i will be heading off on a challenge that will punish me dearly for any silly bravado!

Monday's gym session went well, with a 7 mile run and a 20 minute step session to get the legs clear of any build up. The funny thing is that my legs felt worse after that session than they did in the marathon!!

So next weekend I have a scheduled back to back 20 mile run and then that really is about it as far as the long miles are concerned. Taper time!

The sponsorship is getting ever closer to that £6000 mark, which would be absolutely fantastic. I honestly thought that £2000 would be a huge achievement, but to triple the target, well its really incredible. Just have to finish my end of the bargain now!!

One down - 11 to go!!

Having just returned from Paris, it seems training is back on track, albeit the run was a little quicker than anticipated.

May i first say a huge thank you to Asics and also Apex sports in paddington. Asics have kindly sponsored all the runners in the 10 in 10. With the injury i had they refered me to Apex sports in Paddington, who fitted me with 2 pairs of shoes after a Gait analysis and it proved to be simply brilliant!! The Gait analysis is free and they really do know what they are talking about. They are situated just behind Paddington station and ask for Gareth!! A good plug, but really refreshing to get good advice, so thanks guys!

So back to Paris. Whilst the idea was to run a slow 4.20 we ended up running 3.37! Paris is a very well organised marathon and for the size they really do make it simple! Bigger than london, there is only 1 start and its easy to get too. We knew it was fairly flat and therefore potentially quick, and fell into the trap of running it a little quicker than we wanted.

London this Sunday will be run a lot slower, with another long run scheduled for the Monday.

Sponsorship again has been very progressive, and now just short of the £5,500 mark. If you would like to donate please click here. The T shirts are now printed and many a happy donator is proudly donning them!!

Thanks to Steve to coming out to Paris and running the marathon with me, great support and a great friend, thanks pal!

A little mantra!!

last night a good friend of mine, Steve, whom I am running Paris with this weekend came over to run a 10 miler with me. His wife Sharon and family came over later and we sat down to a fine spaggy bol!! The subject soon came round to Paris marathon and in turn the 10 in 10.

Sharon asked me if i had ever thought that i may not be able to do the 10 in 10? I immediately answered no. I know that if i make the start line, i'll make the finish line. It was only this morning whilst on the train to London that i thought how arrogant that statement may have seemed.

But i never have thought that way about anything I have ever entered into sporting, family or business related for that matter. Yes, my tendon in my ankle is flared up like the lady sitting behind me shouting at people in the quiet carriage to turn their phones off! But, like they will probably ignore her, i will swim or cycle tonight and try and find a way of resting my way to recovery. If on the 9th of May I am standing on that start line, i will be there on the 18th coming the other way over the finish.

We get one crack at life, its about doing things to the best of our abilities. Being the best dad, husband, runner, friend, grass cutter, bed maker or whatever we turn our hand to. Just giving 100% of our ability and in our heart of hearts knowing we could not have given more.

2 years ago i entered and finished the Switzerland Ironman. But on the start line i remember my Father in law giving me advice that really stayed with me. It wasn't of the good luck variety; but "make sure when you cross that finish line you do it with no regrets". In other words, do not cross it thinking you could have run faster, swam faster or cycled harder, you give it everything you have got, and then and only then does the beer taste like it should!

So here is a mantra "make sure when you cross the finish line you do it with no regrets". That applies to your daily work, painting the side of the house, stacking the dishwasher, being a husband or a dad, and most certainly training for endurance events. Go on try it today, nail work, be a great friend, help those that need it, it'll make you feel fantastic!