Tag: Ultra running

Five run fifty at fifty – fifty miles and beyond

9 February 2018

It didn’t take us long to get to the final stop of the day. The forty mile point was on Test Lane, near the old Redbridge bridge. We parked in the car park of The Anchor pub and waited. An icy wind was blowing up off the River Test and the sun was beginning to set. It was getting close to four o’clock. We shivered and pulled our coats around us. My hands and face were numb and I couldn’t remember when I’d last felt properly warm. Continue reading Five run fifty at fifty – fifty miles and beyond

Five run fifty at fifty – heading for half way

9 February 2018

We passed the runners with loud cheers and honking of the horn as they made their way through Netley Village.  Their next stop would be the Common just after eleven o’clock. We had two hours so we headed to the nearest Starbucks, on London Road. Sitting in the warm drinking coffee felt like heaven after all the standing around in the cold, even if there was a touch of guilt thinking about our runners still pounding the chilly pavements.  Continue reading Five run fifty at fifty – heading for half way

Five run fifty at fifty – the first ten

9 February 2018

Five thirty on a Friday morning and I’m trying to peel my gritty eyes open. The last couple of days have been a manic haze of preparation, mostly revolving around food and maps. This is the morning Commando and his friends, Rob, Rob, Ian and Luis run fifty miles to celebrate Rob’s fiftieth birthday. To say I can think of better ways to celebrate turning fifty would be an understatement. There is also a frisson of worry about Commando running such a long distance given the events of the past year. Continue reading Five run fifty at fifty – the first ten

Fifty miles

27 January 2018

On a normal Saturday morning I can usually be found hanging around on the Common while Commando runs parkrun. Sometimes I volunteer, sometimes I just go for a quiet wander. For three weeks in a row though I’ve been conspicuous in my absence and it’s all down to Commando’s friend Rob and a harebrained scheme to run fifty miles and raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Continue reading Fifty miles