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!

entering the last phase!

So as i sit here in Lanzarote, with a little cloud cover you may be glad to hear, i now enter what is really the last phase of training. As always training plans change and mine has considerably.

firstly due to my right ankle giving me a little trouble, so pulled the mileage back a little. Secondly due to getting a decent balance of family time and running time whilst on holiday. Finally taking advice from those that have done 10 in 10 and built a bigger taper into the training. Taper being the period we pull the training back to get a little rest in the legs prior to the event.

Red mountain allowed me to build a little hill training into the training runs in lanzarote, as the area i am in is pretty flat! But in general i ran between 10 - 12 miles, 4 times per week and then put a 20 mile run in at the weekend. Thus averaging around 60 miles per week , rather than the 70 - 80 i originally anticipated.

But going into this last 4 week phase of training i have Paris and London marathons next week and the week after respectively. With a long run the day after or before each marathon, and then a back to back 20 miler in week 3, i think,well i hope, i'll be ready to take on the 10!!

Sponsorship is going incredibly well, with all close friends,family and work colleagues coming up trumps, so thank you!! Also a big thanks to people i have not even met before, that are friends of friends,that have simply dug deep and sponsored me. Really, it is much appreciated.

So I am off to pack, to return to what seems like wind, rain and general poor weather, but i guess you can have too much of a good thing!!!

A second chance

Every Morning my eyes open shut
As the aches creak to the side of the bed
The darkness waits through the Glass
As I think of the reality ahead

As the cold air hits, the body turns left
Back on the morning run
A familiar face; four bends and a turn
Then the orange of the morning sun

Each Muscle wakes one by one
And some not until the hill
But as I climb and watch my breath
My thoughts remain ever still

Imagine a life with nowhere to turn
The friends you know are not
You burn a car or lie on your back
This is the life you’ve got….

The systems failed, whatever that is
For your life is not a dance
A 4 letter badge stamped on your heart
Your genies wish; A Chance..

I can’t believe we are in this mess
These children need our love
They walk our streets and know our names
But who wants to be a Dove?

I turn off the beach and head for home
Four hugs await me there
Two worlds collide to raise some hope
To change that vacant stare

Let’s give these children a second chance
We can all start again
The deal is simple, you dig deep
And I will run the ten!

2 weeks in the sun!

So momentum is picking up and now we only have 8 weeks to go before the kick off. Thats 6 weeks of good training and then a 2 week taper. A taper is when you pull back on the training and allow your legs to recover from all the training they have been subject to over the past few months.

Training is going well and I am flying out to Lanzarote tonight for a 2 week holiday where I can train, hopefully with the sun on my back!

A couple of questions people are asking I thought I would answer in the blog:

Where are the runs?

All the runs are in Windermere and it is the same course every day! So if you want to come up to Brathay - You have a choice spanning 10 days!! The last run however is the Brathay Windermere marathon and it should be a fabulous day out. There are still places available in the marathon and 8 weeks to go, just about enough time to train!! Come on lads!!

How many miles have you trained so far?

As I had not run properly for 14 months prior to this event this is quite an easy one to answer. I started training in January and to date have trained 572 miles! When you write it down and think I have to run 262 miles in the event it does not seem enough! Oh well, here's to luck, hope and dogged determination. But the training has been quite heavy as I came from a standing point, not rolling over from a marathon so I have had to build mileage quickly but steadily enough not to get injured.

Is it better to donate online?

Absolutely! If you donate online and you are a UK taxpayer then Brathay will get an additional 28p in the pound through Gift aid tax relief. So if you want to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/matthewevans and donate online - you can leave a message there too.

On a final note I must say a massive thank you to everone that has donated so far. My target of £2000 has very nearly doubled - which is what this challenge is about - Brathay and the fantastic work they do giving the Children of the UK a second chance......

Diolch

We have done it!! We have hit £2000 for Brathay! This was the initial target for each runner to raise. So I have now raised the bar to £3000!!

A few people have been asking to see the training schedule for the last 10 weeks. This is the schedule as it currently sits, but it does change all the time to fit in with work, family commitments etc. I am running in the Paris Marathon and London Marathon respectively, so that is the 2 x 26 mile runs w/c 31st March and 7th April.

I am struggling to work out the taper at the end of the training as my legs will need to rest. So I think I may well drop the mileage w/c 21st April, but I am still taking advice on this.

The training is getting hard now, late nights, alcohol, wrong food will all throw training to pieces so I am trying to be as disciplined as possible. Ran a very bad 20 on Saturday because i did not prepare correctly on Friday; so a valuable lesson learnt, which I guess is what training is for!

Thanks again for all your support and hopefully will try and get a video up on the blog later this week.

T shirt Design is in!

When we ran the 3 in 3 back in 2006, out T shirts went down an absolute storm, and we still see people wearing them now. They were designed by Tim Harvatt of Rockpool design www.rockpooldesign.co.uk . Once again he has pulled together a classic T shirt that I will send on to everyone that sponsors me over £50. Hang on! Mr Hurle pulled me up on this yesterday, being a lawyer he would! That's £50 or over...

It's simply my way of saying thank you. The upside being the 10 in 10 is pretty much up there in the endurance league so the T shirt will certainly impress down the local pub! Only 10 qualified this year and 7 last year, so the odds of getting caught out are pretty slim! But do your research first:-

• Its the same run every day
• Remember to talk about the mental battle over the physical pain
• You trained over 80 miles a week
• Never discuss Taper, Times, Nutrition or any detail
• Breath in at all times!!

So please be upstanding for the most creative designer, the greatest surfer, the best doughnut buyer, but also a great friend to the cause.....