Thats a wrap
I can never thank everyone enough for the help and support they gave, especially my lovely wife Amanda, she became a jack of all trades, PA, GOFER, PHYSIO you name it she did it.
Saturday Ran 121 KM (Total 121KM)
After a nervous nights broken sleep I was up early checking and double checking everything that had been double checked twice before. It had finally sunk in that what I was about to start didn’t really have an “easy” option and I explained once again to Amanda that this was going to hurt and that I mustn’t quit. Luckily she has seen me at my worst before now and knows that I’ll generally push on regardless.
We had a plan, it had wiggle room for when things went wrong and I felt as confident as I could going into it.
From the offset though, things had gone wrong, minor things that in the scheme of things wouldn’t have mattered but when combined together start to snowball and add extra pressure that really wasn’t needed. We had been put a room furthest from the gym that included a stair case, the chef wasn’t aware we were needing food, the treadmill didn’t connect to Strava or Garmin….
It was a case of knuckle down and get the job done. Amanda was starting what was to be an epic endurance event herself. Two marathons in and we had been given a new room key, this one, the planned room closest to the gym, (no more stairs for me for the rest of the week) This did however mean that during marathon three that Amanda had to make multiple trips moving our stuff from one room to another as well as checking on me, taking photos, recording evidence and trying to sort out some “real” food both for her and myself. A long old day for the both of us and at 00:20 Sunday morning I called it quits for the day, 35km done of the last marathon and 121km done over all. This was off my own target slightly but over the record so we went to bed aching and tired but still confident.
Sunday Ran 89.09 (Total 210.09 KM)
Sunday started with very stiff legs at 05:00, after breakfast and coffee it was time to get back on the “mill” day two was under way, I was aching a little to start but soon loosened off and gained momentum (at least in my legs) Something wasn’t right though, even now after much pondering I cannot put my finger on it, I was fighting nausea like I’ve never felt before. I do not know if it was motion sickness as some suggested, whether I was too hot or perhaps it was just a come down after the adrenalin dump from the day before, either way I was ill and it wasn’t pleasant. It got to a point where I had to ask Amanda to ensure I had a bucket next to the treadmill “just in case”. I tried to plough on and perhaps I should have but in the end I gave in and had a lie down. Amanda let me rest a little longer than I had wanted but the 30 min rest certainly perked me up and being told we had reinforcements coming helped even more. Time to #RunGrahamRun…
Then the treadmill had a malfunction, for whatever reason it had reset, before the staff could arrive to look at it was back up and running, I don’t know how much data I lost but I was assured that it would be recorded in the back ground (it wasn’t) I lost about 4km, I wasn’t happy. I had said to others before this and still maintain it, I can hold my head when the shit hits the fan. I just re started and carried on and let the staff worry about it. Amanda however was getting down, luckily Sharon the current record holder agreed to have a chat with her and calm her down whilst I did the runny stuff.
My first reinforcements arrived shortly after the incident, Nikki with her bottomless enthusiasm and Sharif with his cool, calm, let’s get this sorted demeanour arrived with a fan. That simple piece of kit was a life saver and certainly started me back up the slippery slope I’d started down. I think I’d actually hit my first “dip” a little earlier than expected but also not as deep. They had been out supporting other guys I know doing the VVLM which reminded me, a lot of my friends where outside in the very bad weather doing their own version of the VVLM whilst I was too hot, but also dry (the treadmill has its bonuses)
I knew another two friend’s where due to arrive after their own epic efforts and was excited to meet them again. They had both ran/waded through the crappy weather to reach distances that they had never before done, Paul with 51.3km and Jenni with a marathon. Unbelievable! They also came bearing smiles and gifts, two versions of motion sickness tablets, in case one made me drowsy. It turns out they had been gifted them by a pharmacist after hearing what I was doing (see notes at the end) Smiles were all around and I just wanted to stop for the night and sit and chat but that was never going to be on the cards and so ##RunGrahamRun continued, having friends nearby really helped.
My ankle had started hurting but there was nothing to do other than just carry on and hope it got no worse.
I had not expected another surprise visitor though but in one came, after doing an ultra and debating on carrying on to 50 miles Kate arrived. Apparently I was “on her way” as she ventured home back up north. Whilst I was running a great chat ensued amongst us all and it was an extremely pleasant way to finish a gruelling day. I really can’t thank them enough for just being there or for the support they gave Amanda, allowing her a short respite and a bit of a nap.
Monday 86.02 (Total 296.21 KM)
I hate Mondays, I always have, and in fact The Boomtown Rats could have written that song just for me. I had expected that today would be the start of a major slump, days 3, 4 and 5 where always going to be the hardest I thought, my ankle was playing silly buggers and I wasn’t happy. I had also only done 90km the previous day and was now a fair bit off my target but the record was still achievable.
Jenni was still about and eager to keep her running daily status going, alas she had to make to with a different treadmill away from me as one of the gym staff had joined me for a run but she gracefully smashed out one of her heroic rest day 2kms on a seperate treadmill.
I was in for a nice surprise though, one of the gym staff is a muscular skeletal therapist and he came over once he knew what was going on. A slightly longer break whilst he figured what was wrong and some tape and I was good to go again. What a difference a bit of tape makes.
I was now, way behind time wise though; the target distance as well as the record where slipping away. Amanda was feeling the pressure and it was getting a bit much for both of us but ##RunGrahamRun, just keep clocking of the kms and what will be will be.
I had another lovely visitor on Monday evening, another from the No Drama Llama group, Bridget arrived after running at the weekend. It was great to finally meet her although I had a lot of running to do so chat was scarce unfortunately.
Tuesday 70.79 (Total 367.00 KM)
Waking up on Tuesday and doing some quick math I figured that the record was still achievable, it was going to be a slog but then it was never going to be easy, I’d figured 137km a day would do it, that would mean less sleep and a lot more running but after my ankle had been taped I felt good to go. Once the stiffness had eased off I got into a great rhythm, we had altered the plan slightly the day before and I was now doing slightly faster but shorter stints on the treadmill. I was eating real food in the breaks and felt great.
I had received endless support online and really though we had turned a corner, there’s a saying about counting chickens though….
I knew the reps for LifeFitness were coming at around lunch time but I wasn’t too bothered I was just getting into a groove, hit 10km rest a few moments then go again. At 11:30 ish the uncounted chickens hatched, I don’t know what happened but the outside of my already dodgy ankle went “ping”, it felt like I was walking on glass but I had no option to carry on going forwards. The reps arrived and tried taking photos of me running, I think they managed one or two but I was not in a happy place. I knew then that the record attempt was over, there weren’t any tears yet just a numbness that I’d failed, well and truly.
It’s a humbling experience to realise that you have messed up. That everything so far has pretty much been brought on by your own stupidity, naivety or similar. All through my training and whenever I’ve been on a treadmill it has always been set to at least 0.5% incline, for whatever stupid reason I decided that 880km was going to be hard enough and so up until late Monday night I had ran at 0%. I think it was this that caused my ankle to have issues as all through Tuesday when back up to 1% it felt great until it went awfully wrong.
The record was off, I needed fresh air. I used the lift. I walked outside. I rang my mum. I got my head straight.
So. I was here banging a drum about mental health, asking people to not quit, to reach out for help if they needed it, to keep on keeping on no matter how dark things were and after a chat with my mum, with Amanda and with Mal who had taped up my ankle, it was game on. I hadn’t come here to quit. Yes I had wanted the record but it was always a beacon to grab attention and I had been caught up in it, and rightly so I think but it was gone and I still had a job to do and a shed load of sponsor money to make right.
I then had the biggest surprise of the week, my best friend arrived Ian arrived with his wife Leanne. They were due to visit on Thursday but after seeing me on live stream decided I needed a boost today. They couldn’t have timed it any better.
Game face on, #RunGrahamRun
Wednesday 83.32 (Total 450.32 KM)
The record had gone, everyone that needed to know had been informed and all corporate support seemed to vanish. The gym staff however knew exactly what the score was and vowed to keep me going to the new target, 700km. I was still sorely lagging behind for even this but it gave me a new focus.
I also had another No Drama Llama visit me, Kerrie arrived with her never ending smile. I believe she was much more of a pick me up for Amanda than myself though as I just cracked on with the running thing and let them chat, it really was lovely of her to visit though.
Whilst “in the zone” and upping the speed of the treadmill to 12kph it decided to go belly up again, this time much more abruptly than last time, it pretty much did a dead stop. To say I was fuming was an understatement but as ever, emotions hidden and let the staff sort it. It took much longer to fix this time, to the point I had actually started the backup treadmill when they got the original going again. Why did it stop again? We don’t know, perhaps it was over heating??
A friend of a friend also arrived, a lovely lady named Charlotte, she is a physio and gave me a good once over. Berated me for not stretching enough and took charge, you’d never guess she was a cox for the men’s rowing team and Uni. It was her demeanour as I stepped off the treadmill for a break that really struck a chord though. Stretch! Sit! Rest! Go again! Something I will certainly add if I attempt it again, a focus when I am not focussing.
It was decided that perhaps running tights would help me, I’ve worn compression shorts and tights when fighting or training but rarely when running so in for a penny and all that. Another stupid mistake I’d not packed my compression tights! A phone call to the local running shop though and wow, they had one pair left, yes they could deliver them in the evening. What a thoroughly great chap Matt from Runners Retreat was. It was this kind of customer service that made me regret even more relying on the corporate side of things to promote the event, another lesson learned.
We also had more backup arrive, a guy I used to fight with way back when had volunteered to help out during the nights so that Amanda could rest. He had agreed to this when the record was still on but said he would still arrive and help regardless. I honestly don’t think we’ve met in person since last punching each other in the gym whilst laughing and smiling but those kind of friendships tend to last and it was nice to catch up briefly whilst running. He stayed the night, allowing Amanda a well-earned rest and kept me going to silly O’clock.
After my first evening massage and my new shiny running tights I felt like a new man and we were good to go, lets #RunGrahamRun.
Thursday 79.68 (Total 530.00 KM)
I had ran mostly “tapeless” on Wednesday and having the treadmill increased to 1.5% incline had really helped but I think I’d done too much damage previously for it not to raise its head again. Enter stage right another saviour. Ros a physio from the Abbey Clinic gave up some time to come and check me out and tape me up, she was like a breath of fresh air. We had a great chat whilst she stretched me out about various pain meds and other techniques such as breathing exercises etc. It’s an odd sensation to hand over everything that you are trying to achieve to another and believe in them 100% and yet she enabled that and more. A new taping system and we were off.
More Llamas descended that evening, Lizzie and Malcom arrived whilst Amanda was away doing whatever she was doing and I noticed them watching me run. Malcolm even came and ran a bit beside me on the other treadmill and I still hadn’t recognised them, perhaps it was because they were fully clothed in “real” clothes and not running gear or perhaps my head was just addled by then, either way it took an hr or so for me to say hello properly, yeah I felt like a right plonker….
Friday 70.02 (Total 600.02 KM) Amandas Birthday...
The new tape had twisted during the night so I had no option but to cut it off and carry on without, deep breaths were certainly needed but I tried to compartmentalise the pain as much as possible, I had a day left to go, 100km to run, normally not something I would frown at but today it would be a very, very tough call. I had a massage at about 10am, normally after a quick rub down by Mal or Jo I was good to go again, like a whole new man for at least an hour but not today. Today I didn’t want to get up. Today was supposed to be my victory lap. Today, Friday was the last full day and I had visualised it being the easiest, with the end in sight it should have been a breeze. Instead, it was a case of just hold on, we’ve all gone too far for me to quit, hang in there and it will soon be over.
I was expecting another visitor today from the Llamas but not three, another lovely surprise. Trish, Ngiao and Mark all arrived. Trish and Mark both ran alongside me for a while which was really nice. The love and support I had had from this group is unbelievable. From cards, gifts and even pizza arriving one evening. Something I will forever be grateful of and will never forget.
Ros arrived again with her little box of tricks and tried a new taping system, shortening my Achilles and calf to ease pressure but that was a no go from the start, it was great if I was running 18+kph but there was little hope for that to happen. Back to the other method with added reinforcement ET-voila I had a leg taped like a gladiator and was running well.
Nikki and Sharif arrived again as promised and I managed to run and chat with Nikki for quite some time, it’s really surprising how just chatting can take your mind of the pain and mundaneness of the treadmill. We had a great chat about her adventures about her new book and everything around ultra-running and just plain craziness. I’m sure Sharif managed to get Amanda to join in him in forming a Trade Union at some point, demanding equal rights for support crew or some such….
100km was way off the cards without probably causing some long lasting damage. I ran my 14th marathon and decided I needed a break. I was by that point emotionally drained, I couldn’t agree that the distance I had ran was quite crazy, I simply knew I’d missed the record, I’d missed my new target, in fairness I was an abject failure and I needed a moment. It was then that I remembered my why. I remembered the videos that my dad, despite suffering from terminal cancer had sent me of him walking to encourage me. I remembered the guy from the gym, let's call him Dave, who had often been seen watching me and had offered a “well done” here and there. We had chatted the night before and he had told me that thanks to seeing me keeping on going he was going to reach out too, he was in a bad place himself and had realised that he wanted help. It is that simple conversation that I never knew would happen, I always knew if I’d broken the record or how much I’d raised but never if the message to reach out if you need to had helped. Thursday evening I did, and so, head wobbled, back to the treadmill it was time for an almost final #RunGrahamRun.
Little did I know that Amanda had organised a Llamathon, she had grabbed everyone that we know and arranged for them to be watching the live stream as I hit 600km. over 100 people watching at one time, I think it peaked at 150+, it was overwhelming. That live stream actually reached over 26’000 people, something I hadn’t realised until I was home.
I hit 600km at 22:45 and decided enough was enough. I had proven what I could do and there was little point in breaking myself any more. I also wanted to run as the counter clicked towards 0 so that meant one last, final, early start and a park run on the treadmill.
Saturday Ran 5.44 (Total 605.46 KM)
05:00, go away alarm, I don’t care! It’s over.
05:30, bugger lets go….it’s only a park run, everyone can do a park run, #RunGrahamRun one last time. Jo turned up early to run alongside me for a little and Sharif arrived again dragging a still smiling if hungover and tired Nikki with him. What an ending, 5km came and went but the clock was still ticking, Amanda told me some crazy number she needed to have to all rounded off so in my enthusiasm I upped the speed, that didn’t last long. Just keep plodding and the timer counts down.
Eventually, 06:30, 168 hrs and 605.46 KMs since starting I think every possible emotion hit me like a tidal wave and I took a moment to compose myself. I sat, it was all over, Amanda handed me a beer and we rested. Chatting about an epic journey with some lovely friends before heading back to bed for a few hours.
The End
I never once under estimated how tough this would be on myself but I did underestimate the amount of help that is needed alongside it. As with any multi day ultra you need a team, it was more than unfair of me to rely on Amanda throughout but in my defence I did think we would have more support, that’s more a miscommunication than anything else. I can’t thank the team at Bisham enough for the help and support once it was all sorted.
We hear the term a learning curve, this was more a learning cliff and there are lessons I learnt almost daily, from stupid little things like run shorter runs and have food ready to the biggest of the all don’t run at 0% incline.
The fact I was so stupid with the treadmill will haunt me for a long time but it’s something learnt for next time. Apart from injury to my ankle up until Friday my legs felt mostly ok especially after a rub down.
I have tried to cover most of what happened here but if I have missed you out it is not intentional, it really was all of a blur.
In a very tiny way I am glad the record wasn't beaten, the two malfunctions led to a discrepancy between what I ran and what the "back end" showed...
Here is one video my dad sent me.
And I received this, from the chemist that supplied the motion sickness tablets, what a gent…
“Hello Team Graham, Hope all is well. I couldn’t help but say thank you for all you have done and wish you all the best in your attempt. As I’m writing this, I’ve just contemplated someone running three marathons in a day or 21 in 7 days. Unbelievable. My toothpicks (my legs) are numb at the very thought of it! A fitness enthusiast and a Pharmacist by profession, I’m intrigued by your ability and only got to know of your epic feat through 2 of your good friends who have requested some anti-sickness tablets for you. I find myself at the Tesco pharmacy in Buckingham on Sundays and today of all days, you have seriously given me something to tell my children about whilst we aim to run a marathon between us when I get back to Leicester in the evening. I wish you every success and if there is anything you need then please do not hesitate to contact me. I’m here for you in whatever capacity. Thanking you and the very best of luck Mr. Sanjay Solanki and family.”