Sunday 10 August 2014

All Change


I realise I haven’t blogged for a bit, and it’s down to one reason. I’m embarrassed.

After hyping up JOGLE for 20 months and delaying it from Jun to Aug, bullshitting about impossible timings and generally winging it with zero experience, I now have to tell everyone that has sponsored and supported me that I’m delaying it again to 2016.

For a combination of reasons.. knee injuries, unwillingness to battle with the traffic, dislike of road running & enjoyment of Social runs.. I’ve changed this year’s goals to completing some shorter but tougher runs, roughly titled the Pennance Race Series:

 
Social, not solo..
First up next week is the SVP100, a race I did last year and recce’d a few weeks ago as a Social. A great race, lovely countryside and excellently organised.

The week after is the T184, a  3-day self-supported run along the 184 miles of the Thames. It does sound a fair distance but the 80h time limit means we only have to cover 53 miles per day, so it’s a good introduction to multi-day run/walking with a 20lb pack. Which will come in handy for later.

A large part of the plan this year has been to qualify for Spartathlon 2015, and the Self Transcendence 24h in September gives me an opportunity to do this.
OK it’s going to be boring as hell running 450 x 400m laps, but it’s a great chance to make the 180k (111.8 miles) needed. And it might be good prep for..  

The Piece Of String in Nov. Once again I’ve decided to put my sanity in the hands of James Adams and just run until he says stop. Last year it was the fluorescent Idiot’s top. This year I’m planning on being a bit more visible.


Dodgy geezers
Talking about sanity, a long time ago I signed up for The Hill as a bet. I still haven’t (technically) completed a 100-miler so my entry is on hold pending my actually finishing something long-ish, so hopefully I can get through one of the above then relax and enjoy only running 12% of the laps I’ll have done on the 24h.

Finally to round off the Sackcloth & Ashes Series… The Spine. After turning down Chris Edmonds’ 36 separate requests to join him and several other Stringers on this, I finally crumbled and filled in the form. Now I just need to learn how to navigate and get myself some kit that will stop me turning into a human icicle on a Yorkshire hillside at 2am.

So once all that lot is complete, the 2015 JOGLE plan is to go for an off-road route linking up the major trails of the West Highland Way, Pennine Way, Offa’s Dyke and SW Coast Path, take around 4 weeks and see the sights*. 


*subject to change at my indiscretion, injury level & input from The Mrs.

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