Fun Before Fifty Diaries: Ten Marathons in Ten Days

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Ten marathons in ten days, this is surely where I joke about a chocolate bar with peanuts and caramel. But this was about running the iconic 26.2 miles on ten consecutive mornings, achieving the fabled TiT (ten in ten) moniker. Whether it was intended or otherwise, it turned out to be quite a week (plus three days!) and in this latest Fun Before Fifty Diary, I’ll give you a quick overview.

That's an awful lot of heavy metal!

Just having fun

In my previous ‘diary entry‘ last week, I alluded to the accidental streak, to the fact that I’d started with plans ONLY to do a triple. 

As I read those words, I realise quite how preposterous they sound!! There is a total absurdity, for most people, in doing one marathon let alone deciding to do three in three days.

Therefore, when you “accidentally” continue to add to that tally, it’s no wonder that people look in with a mixture of awe, wonder and pure utter confusion. Perhaps I should add ridicule to that list of descriptors!

However, within the running community, multi-day challenges are definitely a thing and, whilst nobody would take them lightly, they are not the sole domain of the highly tuned athlete.

The team at Phoenix Running describe it much better than I ever could.

We believe it’s all about encouraging and enabling runners to achieve things that perhaps they once thought were impossible, whether that’s your first 5km, 5 mile or 50 km run, we’ll support you to success. We realise that for many the thought of running one half-marathon or marathon can seem like an insurmountable goal, so to run multiple-marathons is just downright absurd. Or is it? Small steps lead to bigger things and everyone starts at the beginning. Who knows where the journey may take you?

I’ve witnessed TiTs up close on many occasions (I need to rephrase that don’t I?) – please remember that TiT = Ten in Ten! When I did my previous triple in 2021, it was during the Phoenix Ten in Ten event so I had the joy of being the fresh one who turned up when others were on their last legs!

But even then, it was clear that everyone was having fun. And with every passing day of this adventure, that’s what I was doing; having so much fun out there and it really showed.

So here is my look back at a fabulous ten days, the unintentional TiT and, all joking aside, one of the best and fun achievements of my life.

Day 1 - Phoenix Fun Friday

This was a really nice and low key start to what was meant to be 3 marathons in 3 days. All of the events consist of multiple laps, the Walton events usually consisting of 8 x 3.3 mile laps (1.65 miles out and back) from a race station based outside the Weir Hotel in Walton-on-Thames.

In this regard, they are all very flat* and along the Thames Path, so a mixture of gravel and trail.

* we’ll get the asterisk out of the way quickly… for the Westbound course from The Weir, it is all flat apart the famous Walton footbridge!

You always see familiar faces out at Phoenix Running events, and the lap format means you see everyone at least once every lap – if you don’t there’s a problem!

It was an overcast morning with a bit of drizzle, but fairly humid. With a very wet and windy weekend forecasted (this was Friday), this was one to make the most of!

I felt pretty easy throughout. I set out with a view of 3:45 as a sensible pace, so just over 8 and a half minutes per mile. Through the first 5 or 6 laps, I was on or around this, and then just eased through the gears on lap 7 and 8 to come home in a comfortable 3:41:04.

Between you and me, I’d decided on around lap 6 that I’d extend from the original triple to a 5 in 5 days. I’d wanted to do a 5 in 5 in 2021 but didn’t due to a family bereavement, and this felt a good time based on fitness and circumstances of not working at the moment.

Day 2 - Phoenix Titanic Run

The weather forecast was frightening, that’s all you can say! There were forecasts of gusts around 40mph and lots of rain.

I made a conscious decision (these events have flexible starts so you can start when you arrive) to get to Walton as early as possible so I could get as much running in before the weather turned. That would be a good decision!!

It turned out that the weather was, in the main, fine. The eastbound course is another out and back in the direction of Hampton Court from The Weir. You go out past Sunbury Lock for the 1.65 miles out before turning back; it is more sheltered than the “footbridge route” which helps in windy conditions.

There was a biblical downpour around lap 6 but I have to admit that I found it quite refreshing. The wind picked up noticeably only on the last 2 laps.

There was a super atmosphere out there, as always with Phoenix Events, with a mood of celebration as there were milestones being celebrated, in this case one of the runners celebrating her 100th half-marathon.

Again, I felt really good and cruised home to a comfortable 3:43:23, following very much the same pacing strategy as the day previous.

Two down, three to go, feeling great!

Day 3 - Phoenix Spitfire Challenge

I’d say this was one of two challenging days. The wind had not dissipated from the previous night and, despite, the bright and glorious sunshine, this made it challenging.

We were on the footbridge route which meant that for the 1.65 mile out of every lap, we were running directly into a 20+mph wind. Although having that wind at our backs on the way in, it didn’t make it any easier.

There were less of us in the Sunday event but the later start (train couldn’t get me to Walton before 8.30am), there was definitely more traffic to navigate on the Thames Path, in the form of humans, canines and bikes!

The first task of the day was to pick up a fallen runner who took quite a nasty tumble on her first lap. Beyond that, an apparent lack of managing my water intake pre-race (i.e. bladder control) meant a very stop start first few laps.

It was great to hear the voice of my wife on lap 4 who had braved the elements to ride her bike from our Battersea home down to Walton.

Again, I felt easy in my running but won’t deny that I was really glad to get this one out of the way.

By the time I finished, it was warm, windy and a packed towpath, so this introvert was pleased to leave the scene with a comfortable 3:42:52, continuing the very consistent pacing.

Day 4 - Saturn TiT Day 4

Monday!! A new day, a new week, a new venue. I knew of Saturn Running but had never run one of their events.

We’d done a reccy in the car on the Saturday evening as we were visiting friends in Old Windsor. That said, it was still slightly to my surprise that I found myself walking through a field between Egham and Runnymede to reach the start line at Runnymede Pleasure Ground.

The ethos is similar to Phoenix Running… you rock up and run, you leave your ego at home, you respect other runners and the local community, you have a lot of fun.

The route is a 4.37 mile loop which you run six times – it initially takes you out in the direction of Old Windsor before looping back in the direction of Staines. You don’t leave the River… if you do, something is wrong!!!

As soon as I arrived, I saw familiar faces from Phoenix Events, noticeably the legend that is Tony Stevenson who was running 10 ultramarathons in 10 days! There was a real camaraderie here, in so much, that this was Day 4 of Saturn’s annual Ten in Ten event, so many of the runners were aiming for that landmark and had already been together for 3 days.

In bright sunshine, I again felt very comfortable pacing towards that 3:45 target but picking up the pace when feeling strong in the last few laps.

It was about halfway through this run that I decided I’d extend the streak from 5 in 5 to go for 7 marathons in 7 days. I got the sense that I’d enjoy the Saturn events and that my body was strong enough to go that distance. I was never going beyond that as my wife and I had plans for the following Sunday! Or so I thought.

Either way, a very comfortable 3:40:54 on a sunlit morning before walking back across the field to Egham Station!

Day 5 - Saturn TiT Day 5​

It was back to Runnymede for Day 5 and another very enjoyable morning.

Knowing that I was aiming for 7 days, this was the beginning of the home stretch for me.

It was dry, mainly sunny with some overcast conditions… if you were playing cricket, ideal conditions for swing bowling!!!

Although it was only my second day over at Saturn, I was again made to feel very welcome and that was a constant theme of the week. I did have to nudge myself that it was also my fifth day on the bounce on the basis that I felt so strong but also on the basis that the rest of the guys had been together through those five days whereas I’d started with my Walton triple.

I’d worked out my fuelling strategy for six laps now which was water at the end of every lap, with half an OTE anytime bar at the end of laps 2 to 5. It definitely seemed to be working well for me!

As fit as I was still feeling, I definitely didn’t expect to run 3:35:04 but felt very comfortable doing so. The recurring theme of the ten days was constantly spending over 80% of each run in heart rate zone 2 which is why I was able to recover so efficiently.

Make no mistake, the massage gun was by now an effective part of my evening schedule and Compeed was an ally for one of my big toes but you’d expect that. Overall, with two days left, I felt great.

Day 6 - Saturn TiT Day 6

For day 6, it was a trip to Staines rather than Egham, from Clapham Junction. Saturn’s Staines route is another 4.37 mile lap along the Thames Path which you do six times.

By now, I was fully part of the group so to speak and had made a number of new friends in addition to the many familiar faces.

It was another nice morning, mix of cloud and sunshine. In the main, on a middle of the week day, the towpath was fairly quiet although there was always a steady flow of walkers, runners, cyclists and mutts.

The 2.2 (or just about) miles encompass more “asphalt” than any of the other routes, in addition to gravel, trail and one field. I find it always takes me a few laps to feel comfortable on a new course but once I did, it was business as usual.

Again, somehow, I felt really good. As per the whole week, I had my eye on 3:45 pace but also just listened to my body. Even in “zone 2”, I was comfortable maintaining a page which brought me home in 3:36:43.

I’d say the Staines course is definitely the quickest of the lot I encountered but also expected this to be my only run there in the week. With six down, there was just one glory run left the following day.

Day 7 - Phoenix Ricky Races

Another day, the final frontier!! And another new venue! I’ve never been to Rickmansworth but was met by bright sunshine when I stepped off the Metropolitan Line at about 7.30am.

Around 30 minutes later, I found myself at the start line with a couple of other runners being briefed on the route by Rik, the chief at Phoenix Running and one of the best guys you could wish to meet.

Around 8 minutes later, I found myself approaching the main road … this definitely meant I’d taken a wrong turn given that the complete loop was meant to be in Rickmansworth Aquadrome, a beautiful venue akin to a country park.

Fortunately, I was not alone and we were quickly put back on course by one of the other runners who was local to the area. I should, at this point, say that this route follows the Phoenix model of 8 laps of 3.3 miles but it’s not an out and back per sé, although it is a loop ending back at the same start and finish.

As I completed the first lap, I noticed that I’d done only 2.98 miles which seemed impossible given that I’d actually run around 0.4 miles over when I got lost. However, some of the signage on course had been “tampered” with which meant I (and others) took a wrong turn on the second half of the lap.

Being ever honest, I pointed this out to Rick and with permission went back and covered 0.4 miles out and back from the start to ensure I started lap 2 with the required 3.3 miles complete. By now, we had been told that the signs were fixed and this was very much the case! (thanks Rik and Beryl for your hard work there)

Given what I said about taking a few laps to acclimatise to new courses and, therefore, after getting “lost” early, it really took me about 4 laps to get my head into this run. Whilst that could be seen as a negative, the positive is that I was half-way through the run without even really thinking about it!

The route itself, is stunning and I can’t wait to run there again. The route laps around the lake of the Aquadrome which was busy with families but easy to find space to run.

As this was my last day, I was happy to push a little harder on the last few laps. In glorious sunshine, I again found myself in that comfortable zone 2 even when picking up the pace to finish in 3:37:39.

A very nice finish to an incredible journey of seven marathons in seven days, something I never thought myself capable of doing, especially in the times and with the consistency I managed.

I gleefully treated myself to a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha on the way back to the station before smiling my way back to London. What a journey, we’d deal with tomorrow when tomorrow came.

Day 8 - Saturn TiT Day 8

So let’s engage in some verbal arithmetic… yes, that is a deliberate oxymoron! Seven is a round number… that may or not be oxymoron, is strictly speaking incorrect, but you’ll get what I mean!

Basically, seven is a week and a week of marathons every day is a phenomenal achievement of which I was so proud. I knew I could do 8 or 9, but I couldn’t do 10. I’d booked tickets for the athletics at the Olympic Stadium on the Sunday (Day 10) about a year previous and it was a special day out for Claire and I. In addition, there were train strikes and engineering works over the weekend so the logistics were an impossibility.

This was until about 7pm on the evening of Day 7 (Thursday night) by which stage Claire (my wife) was adamant I was doing the TiT. Her reasoning…

  1. You’ve always wanted to do it (she was right although I’d never admit it)
  2. She could go to the athletics with someone else (oh cheers, although I suspect her close mate was great company on the day!)
  3. Do it NOW while I’m fit and healthy, there’s no guarantee I will be when the time comes around for my scheduled TiT next March
  4. Do it NOW while I’m not working and don’t have to use up annual leave

It’s difficult to argue with any of that reasoning. Once she offered me a lift for Saturday and I figured out a contrived journey to get to Staines on Sunday, it was time to commit!

Three in Three Days … done it
Five in Five Days … done it
Seven in Seven Days … done it
Ten in Ten Days … let’s get it done!!!

What amused me was that nobody was surprised when I showed up at Runnymede on Day 8!! Runners know each other well.

At this point, I remember my great pals, Michael and Gareth, both saying that you feel stronger as the week (10 days) goes on. Mentally you feel you’re getting to the end, physically, your body is somehow acclimatising to what you’re putting it through.

I don’t want to sound smug but my body still felt great and that meant I mentally felt great.

It was another mix of sun and cloud on the Runnymede course, and as with the previous Friday, a horrible weekend forecast.

For this day, it was actually changed to 5 laps with an additional distance added on to each lap from the usual Runnymede course. This meant a footbridge… what is it about race directors and footbridges!

Again, I felt great, and it was great being back among the Saturn group on their TiT journeys.

Tony and Kat, I knew already, but was now forming great friendships with the likes of Dom, Josey, Steph and so many others. The lovely Hayley had completed her 5 in 5 earlier in the week so was no longer with us.

I really did plan to slow it down, aiming more at 3:50 than 3:45… but I felt strong again and was very comfortable finishing in 3:38:14.

So 8 down, goodbye to Runnymede and a Staines double-header for the weekend to that date with destiny.

Day 9 - Saturn TiT Day 9

The first action upon hearing the alarm clock at 6am on Saturday morning was to look out of the window. It was chucking it down and it was windy!! That didn’t change over the course of the next hour or so!

I’m hugely grateful to Claire for driving me over there given the rail strikes – she took her bike with her and managed to escape the rain for periods to have a nice bike ride.

This was the toughest day by far for me. Although it didn’t feel as if I was working too much harder, it turns out that I spent only 60% or so in heart rate zone 2, with a lot more time working harder in zone 3.

Being a Saturday, the towpath was inevitably busier but the key challenge was that the Staines Regatta was ongoing and we had to run right through the competitor village, spectators etc.

As a bonus, however, the rain did cede although it was breezy. In fact, it was about 3 minutes after I stepped over the finishing line that the heavens opened as biblically as they had the previous Saturday down the Thames in Walton.

I think the whole combination of weather, of knowing the sacrifice Claire had made, of being inevitably fatigued, and of navigating the busy course all made this a tougher day at the office.

That said, it was still hugely enjoyable, and I still felt very comfortable coming home in 3:37:35.

Just one more day to get home, massage, rest, eat and come back and get it done. I was already proud but definitely beginning to feel the excitement building for the first time.

Day 10 - Saturn TiT Day 10

The day started well!! With rail engineering works, it was always a mission to get there and I wasn’t having Claire drive over two days running… especially as she had athletics to get to in Stratford.

Upon coming out of Hounslow Station, there was another Saturn runner just about to get into her pre-ordered cab! That definitely saved me lots of time, anxiety and effort getting there!

It also meant that I set off at 7:59am whereas I’d actually not expected to start until around 9am. The advantage of this was simple… get miles in before the towpath got busy in terms of usual Sunday ‘traffic’ and the second day of the regatta.

As it was, I wasn’t going to hold back. Now that doesn’t mean I was going to go flat out as per a major road marathon but I certainly didn’t need to save anything for the next day.

On a beautifully sunny but breezy morning (crosswind which neither really helped or hindered other than the last few laps when the out was seemingly into a headwind), I felt as if I was on the first day. My body felt great, my mind felt great, I was smiling out there and having fun.

Unusually, I even ran a lap with another runner. I’d seen Brian out on the Runnymede course and when he joined me on lap 4, I was (in my introverted way) happy of the company.

Even as the towpath got busier, I just ticked each mile off with a smile. Look, of course, you’re tired. Marathons aren’t meant to be easy and to run ten in ten days should be unnatural. But this is why I’d put in the 110 mile weeks at the end of June and backed up 15 miler after 15 miler. Mentally, physically, and every other ally, I was ready… and yes, only ready for three days I thought but it turned out for much more.

It was great to see so many familiar faces who came down to run on Day 10, people like Amy, Nuala, Lee. And it was, of course, just brilliant to see the other intrepid TiT chasers counting down the laps to their own goals. I’m in awe of every single one of you.

For me, the last lap was a moment of zen. My mind and body were just perfectly connected and I was able to appreciate a moment and achievement that most simply won’t.

The key is to remain humble, to know that running is a God given gift, one which I nearly destroyed trying to run through injury leading to a year out with a serious achilles problem in 2022.

And that is why this is so special. I’m fitter mentally and physically than ever at the age of 49, and proving that the mind and body can achieve so much more than we limit ourselves to.

A time of 3:31:39 was by far the quickest of the week but, unlike Saturday, was back with the majority in ‘zone 2’, in this case an amazing 90%. It was one of those never to be forgotten days up there with my favourite.

Thank you's

Not going down the Oscar route but this doesn’t happen without incredible support.

To my wife, Claire, you literally made this happen. We’d be celebrating 7 in 7 days otherwise. For your patience, encouragement, and love, I’m in awe.

To Rik and the crew at Phoenix. You are everything that is great about running and I always love running with you. I’d never have contemplated challenges like this without your encouragement.

To George, Charlotte and the team at Saturn. You are similarly an absolutely wonderful representation of the running community. Thanks for making me so welcome from day one (well actually Day 4!!!). Will be seeing a lot more of you and really excited about that.

To my other runners. Thank you with all my heart for the smiles, waves, high fives and encouragement. I love running with you. You also bring out a very different part of my persona. I am a naturally deep introvert for whom running is my reflection time on my own… there are laps when I’m head down and not responsive, but in the main I am a different person around you.

To all who have so generously donated, I am so grateful for your kindness which is truly transforming lives.

My biggest thanks to God almighty. Every time I lace up, I run as an act of worship with my eyes fixed on the biggest prize of all, Jesus Christ.

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