Fun Before Fifty Diaries: The Marathon Streak

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Having started this Fun Before Fifty (#FunBefore50 on socials!) campaign on Friday with the intention of a marathon triple of three in three days, I am delighted to have completed my fourth in four days today and I’m not planning on stopping at that! It’s the marathon streak, original and accidental, and who knows where and when it’s going to end??

Why stop at three they said?? 😂
Why stop at three they said?? 😂

Why stop at three?

When somebody said “why stop at 3”, I obviously thought they mean 3 o’clock in the afternoon! Of course, none of you believe that and probably know that I have a compulsion towards the ridiculous.

I qualify this by saying that this is not even remotely ridiculous in comparison to what certain of my friends have done, I’m notably referring to Gareth Allen and Michael Wiggins when I say this. They both enjoy the odd 250 mile run here and there!! At least I’ll be getting some sleep in between my runs.

There is a method in my madness on multiple levels.

  1. I am booked in to become a TiT (this stands for Ten in Ten … as in ten marathons in ten days) next March, so getting on a marathon streak beyond three days is really good practice for that
  2. I suddenly find myself on 57 marathons as of today… there’s just a small chance I might reach the 100 marathon milestone for my 50th birthday next June
  3. If I’m embarking on an epic fundraiser, what better way to start than epically stepping into the unknown

Frankly, most of you will see those justifications and quietly think to yourself that I am a mad man (I could say something awfully inappropriate here about my mental health diagnosis but won’t!!) and you’re probably not far from the truth… but I’m happy with my reasoning!

So how have we decided to streak?

It’s been a great start to the campaign, with each of the four events thoroughly enjoyed. The initial triple were all with the brilliant team at Phoenix Running. For me, Phoenix are everything that is good about running – they are inclusive, welcoming the novice and the experienced, the hare and tortoise, the highly serious, mildly eccentric and wildly insane. 

Their events take place largely along a stretch of the Thames Path in and around Walton-on-Thames. The beauty is in the fact that whether you run one lap of 5k or 8 laps to complete a marathon, you get the same medal and are treated as the same champion. I’ve made so many special bonds and friendships down that stretch.

Saturn Running seem to have a similar ethos and today was my first event with them. I mention Saturn here because I already knew on Friday that they were starting their own annual Ten-in-Ten series that day.

It was probably about 18 miles into Day One (on Friday), a time when the mind is definitely not to be trusted 😉, that I decided I was going to do at least one more day on top of the three.

I did a triple back in May 2021 although it was a really surreal experience coming in the days after the passing of my wonderful mother-in-law. It occurred to me, therefore, on Friday that a Quad seemed a great idea!

I think it was about 18 miles into a very breezy Saturday morning marathon that I decided that Five in Five seemed a great idea!! And about 18 miles into day three (Sunday), I decided that Seven in Seven was a super idea. The theme here is to try and not think after 18 miles of a marathon as you probably think very silly things!!!

This marathon streak was born of the 18 mile thought process!

The Marathon Streak So Far

I genuinely could not have envisaged the level of consistency I’ve shown during the four days so far, up to and including this morning. I’ve been running sensibly and within myself (with at least 60% of each run, other than Sunday, being in heart rate zone two. This is significant in that it promotes much better recovery.

It’s definitely been ‘four seasons in one day’ weather and the theme has definitely been the wind. Although it was Saturday when extremely high winds were forecasted, I’d actually finished running before they kicked in… the joy of a 7.30am “rock up and run” start. It was on Sunday when the wind was really challenging with half of each lap being run on an exposed stretch of the Thames Path into a headwind of circa 20mph.

That said, I’ve been able to maintain a really consistent rhythm and cadence, almost metronome like over the four days, and that shows in the results.

  • Phoenix Fun Friday (Day 1) – 3:41:04
  • Phoenix Titanic Run (Day 2) – 3:43:23
  • Phoenix Spitfire Challenge Run (Day 3) – 3:42:52
  • Saturn TiT Day 4 individual entry (Day 4) – 3:40:54
I confess, myself, to being mesmerised by that consistency although my aim is dial it down from tomorrow and aim closer to 3:50 or 3:55. And this begs the question of how many more?
Clockwise from Top Left - Day 1 (Fun Friday), Day 2 (Titanic), Day 4 (Saturn Tit), Day 3 (Spitfire)

How Long Will The Marathon Streak Last?

There’s something not quite right with that sub-heading but never mind! The answer is five or seven. The only way I do six is if I commit to seven but get injured on day six. As for going beyond that to TiT status, I am leaving that until March 2024. Some would argue that I have that status already but they would not be referring to marathon running!!

I am definitely going back to Runnymede tomorrow to join Saturn for Day 5. As I write this, I intend to do 7 days BUT I will listen to my body as there is a long and special campaign ahead.

I am very confident that my body will hold out for the next two days but I am, as I said, going to dial it down.

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