I'm blessed to have a few friends in this life as crazy as I am. My friend and partner-in-crime through so much of my journey to running ultra, is one such person. Graham decided to take on the same 50km I've just completed and conduct an experiment around a question and thought he had long regarded....
If you have completed an ultra marathon distance before, can you do so again... untrained?
He thought you could. I agreed with him... I just added that I believe he can... but that would suck like crazy after halfway and would be horrible and hard....
It turns out we were both correct.
So much of what I'm doing with this journey is in the mind. The body needs to know how to do this. You need to be aware of pacing to suit your route, climate, etc. And you need to get your fuelling in the right shape... But, above all that, you need to have the WILL to see it through when it really starts to hurt.
his will was strong.
Watching Graham on the GPS tracker for the last couple of hours of his walking, after I'd finished, was one of the most nail-biting spectator moments I've had. Talking to him on the phone in his last 8Km I knew where he was at. He was in no mood for conversation. Having been there, I could completely understand (and also have a little chuckle). It was also the most satisfying moment to watch him finish. I can't tell you how happy I was when he hobbled across the finish line.
I was deeply impressed. Walking 50Km, untrained for 10 months, and a bit heavier than when he did the same last year was hard. Really fucking hard. And miserable for the second half. But huge character was shown, along with his genuine humility and typical understatement.
He can now relax and chuckle at the mess I'm likely to be in when he supports me through my upcoming 100.
Bravo, Graham... Bravo.
...And here he is coming over the finish line...
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