Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Upping The Distance

by Russell Turner - 15:17 on 01 May 2021

May is here, and by the end of the month – all being well – I’ll have completed my sixth marathon and set a new PB. Decent weather would help, of course. Rain, wind and cold deterred me (but not Matchgirl) yesterday, however I was out today for a short rehearsal of what I hope will be a new running distance record tomorrow.

A deliberate, structured run/walk (as opposed to run until exhausted, then totter) is a perfectly acceptable way to complete a marathon but it niggles me that my longest all-run distance is 14 miles, so the time has come to find out how much more there is in me.

Today, over the same flat roads I ran towards my half marathon triumph, I ran five miles at an average pace of 10:15 – exactly what I need for a sub-4:30 marathon. My heart was untroubled, legs strong, breathing steady, and my head said I should have no difficulty doing the same thing four times tomorrow and still be capable of more. We’ll see.

A good omen was delivered today by Mr Postman in the shape of the medal I’ve acquired to commemorate last week’s HM PB. If I can run 13.1 miles at 8:59 pace, surely I can run 20 at 10:15?

I’m undecided about which marathon medal I should set my sights on. The official Edinburgh race entry costs a whopping £30 – for a virtual race! The cheap and cheerful generic virtual marathon medal I fancied is sold out; others are too gaudy for my taste. I might settle for an official Edinburgh 5k entry (at £15) so I’ll have some EMF-branded bling to mark Marathon No 6. Then again, I might weaken and go for the full £30 option if I feel a very good time is on the cards.

“What does it matter?” you might ask. “It’s only a bit of tin (or whatever), probably mass-produced in China, that will hang on the back of the bedroom door and be forgotten.” Maybe, but each one marks a memory, or an achievement, or both. I’m proud of them all.

Add your comment

Your Name


Your Email (only if you are happy to have it on the site)


Your Comment - no HTML or weblinks


Enter this number in the box below and click Send - why?Unfortunately we have to do this to prevent the system being swamped by automated spam