
Stop the clock. 2003km.
Full Circle. 365 days ago I wrote the first entry in this blog; “The Night Before”. I’m not sure if I really thought that I would make it to today without missing a day’s running, but I have done.
I feel lucky for lots of reasons.
That I’ve stayed injury-free for a whole year (apart from a few days where I had to hobble round due to a dodgy knee). That I haven’t been ill all year (though I have a cold now, and even that is abating). That the weather has been with me – no snow, no ice, no hurricanes (though yesterday I caught the first ‘wisps’ of Storm Frank as it descended on northern England). That I’ve been able to get fitter than ever and even lose some weight that I didn’t even know I had to lose.
That I’ve achieved the running goals that I had – to do the Great North Run (and the day after!), to run a 5k in under 20 minutes (thanks Chris for that little bonus challenge), and that I made it to 2000km in the year. Two million metres.
That I’ve been supported by some incredibly generous people and raised a load of cash for Alzheimer’s Research UK. That I’ve been able to at least be in the position to try to raise awareness of the hell that is Alzheimer’s Disease.
That I knew Les Hurst (RIP) as the funny, vivacious, generous and wise man that he was before he was ill, and so can bear witness to the complete destruction of a person that this completely cruel affliction brings.
Mostly, that I have the love and support of my wife Sarah and our mad little bunnies Alexander and Rebecca, all of whom have at some point joined me on this marathon of marathons! I couldn’t have done this without you. Not even close.
So to today’s run on a bright and chilly Amsterdam morning. With a certain symmetry and closure in mind I decided to do the same run as I did on January 1st, which was right along the Prinsengracht to the Amstel and back. I did a final vlog when I got to the Amstel and when I got home I was greeted by the family who had made a “365 CONGRATULATIONS” banner!
Final scores on the doors, then.
2003.3km – 10370 minutes – 7.2 days
(of which, today: 6.15km, 33:41.)
The end.