The Final Countdown (dada da da...)

Picture by Teo

So, it is now less than 24 hours until the start the start of my first race back for over a year.  At 10 o’clock Saturday morning I will be on the start line of the Thames Path 100 in Richmond - 100 miles of running to be completed in less than 30 hours.  It is fair to say that I am a bit nervous. 

There is no time to change anything, and I am only left with the nagging doubts of – have I done enough?  Could I have trained more?  Could I have trained better?  With a busy time getting people ready for the London Marathon, there hasn’t been as much time to dedicate to my own training – especially the long runs.

I haven’t got a support crew following me the whole way this time either.  This will mean I will have to carry a bit more kit (especially given the weather forecasts) and also rely on what aid stations can provide a lot more.  The extra weight may only be an extra kilo or so, but after 24 hours in your rucksack it will feel like carrying an extra boulder.

With a run of this distance there is always the concern of injury.  Sadly the friend I signed up with and have run with before has had to pull out with an Achilles injury.  This was a bit of a blow – his incessant cheeriness and unshakable optimism really help the time and miles go by.  It may be because of this that I am now icing my ankles and feeling hyper aware of all the slight tensions and aches throughout my body.

The weather doesn’t seem to be on my side either.  Due to torrential rain there has been a dramatic course change which makes it a series of out and back loops rather than a point to point race.  This will also add an extra 2 or 3 miles on, which is not ideal on top of the first 100.  The weather also appears to be deteriorating by the minute and it looks like the night leg will probably be running through snow.

It seems an endless series of “what if’s ...” and mounting issues running through my head at the moment.  If I stopped for too long to think about it I am sure I would convince myself that it is doomed to failure and I could just have a nice sleep in, in a warm cosy bed.

But these nerves are just a natural part of the build up to any race.  Whether I succeed beyond my wildest hopes or fail to complete it, next week I will begin afresh looking to be better than I am today.  Ultimately I will go out and try and enjoy the whole thing and run it as best I can.

So the nerves mount, but I take comfort from the fact that I won’t be alone.  As the great Alberto Salazar once said:

“I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the start line we’re all cowards”

So I will head off to join the throng of cowards in Richmond on Saturday morning, and can’t wait to be back amongst them again.