Hardmoors 110, go Harder or go Home!
Posted on 4th August 2020 at 21:35
Last Year I pushed myself and managed to complete an 80 mile run across the Wolds way.
Because I’m stupid and I’ve forgotten how much it hurt, I’ve decided to challenge myself again, this time another level up.
On Saturday 22nd August I’ll be attempting to run the Cleveland way, a one-hundred-and-ten-mile skip, hop and bimble across the North Yorkshire coastline and North York Moors.
Starting in Filey, I’ll be running across the coast to Scarborough, Robin Hoods Bay, Whitby, Staithes, Runswick Bay and Saltburn, then after about 60 miles the real fun begins as I turn and head inland towards the steep rocky Cleveland hills before eventually finishing up in Helmsley. I’ll have thirty-six hours to complete this task.
There are various aspects of this challenge to prepare for, for one thing, it’s entirely possible I’ll be running in high temperatures, at risk of sun burn, heat stroke, dehydration, heat exhaustion and just being incredibly worn out and tired really quickly. It’s also entirely feasible, given that it’s British weather, that I’ll be facing strong winds, harsh rain and slippery terrain as I run up and down hills. Potentially I’ll be facing both these things within the same run.
Another challenge will be the route itself, potentially I’ll be getting swarmed and bitten by midges, I might also have my legs grazed with stinging nettles and thistles and other fauna on some of the overgrown paths, this could potentially be a very uncomfortable run!
And then of course we have the elevation gain, over the course of a hundred and ten miles there is a total height of seventeen thousand and fifty seven feet to climb (five thousand two hundred metres or three and a quarter miles of ascent), and of course, because the team at Hardmoors are especially sadistic, most of this climb comes after already running sixty miles! Quite likely this is why they’ve chosen to run the route from Filey to Helmsley instead of the traditional other way round.
Training has so far gone well, for a few months I wasn’t entirely sure if this event would be going ahead or not, most of the Ultra runs have been cancelled, which played a little with my motivation, I’ve still put some mileage in, but probably haven’t prepared as well as I would have done had this thing been a dead cert to go ahead from when I first put in my entry in April.
Nutrition and general discipline has been pretty far removed from ideal, like many people during this lockdown I’ve probably drank and ate more than I should have done, to the extent that I put on about ½ stone, and even whilst running every day and working out, it took a while to shed that timber.
Nevertheless I feel like I am on track to put in a decent performance, and am excited about taking part and testing myself to see what I’m capable of, which might seem a bit weird to most people!
Once again, I’ll be running for two fantastic Charities (you can sponsor me here!)
The excellent folks at Humber Rescue who are on standby all day, every day of the year to help out those in need on the Humber. Our call outs can range from boats run aground to people in serious trouble in the water, and at all times we aim to be geared up and ashore within 15 minutes of getting that text, in many cases the volunteers leave their jobs, or walk out of family gatherings in order to provide this help. As an organisation we have no paid staff, and all donations go towards the upkeep of our Boathouse, equipment, and training.
The Royal Marines charity helps both serving and non-serving Royal Marines (and other military personnel) and their families to adapt to the challenges that they might face. They are also on hand to help the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in serving this country.
Every year thousands of ex servicemen commit suicide, many struggle to cope with adapting to Civvy street and many are suffering with PTSD after witnessing the reality of carnage in wartime operations. Yet still there are even more service and ex service personal suffering alcohol and drug addiction, homelessness, unable to get a job and feeling like the country they served has deserted them. The Royal Marines charity aims to tackle these issues head on, with the same spirit and determination as all soldiers on the front line have installed upon them.
To sponsor me please go to my just giving page here, thanks.
Support
Once again, I’d like to thank the amazing Adam Bugby for agreeing to be my support crew for this event. Adam and I met at a “fighting crime through the medium of dance” workshop, we immediately hit it off and formed a superhero team which eventually brought down our arch enemy Dr. Mcfizzyspunk who was just about to hold the UN to ransom with a weather generating machine. Shortly after this it all got a bit too commercial and we decided to part ways and go into our respective careers, me as a Personal Trainer, and he as a Goat herder in Tibet.
Joining my support team for the first time will be Will Taylor, will is a friend and client of mine who forged an impressive transformation through hard work and dedication just a year after starting with me. Now he works as a classical violinist in a swanky Viennese McDonald’s Fast Food restaurant.
This is no doubt going to be my toughest challenge to date, I hope you’ll join me for the live feed (details coming soon) and will sponsor the great causes I’ll be running for.
Please click here to sponsor me, the more money I raise the more inspired I’ll be to keep pushing myself!!
Final Note: in line with safety precautions around Covid 19 various changes have been made to how these races are usually ran, we'll be setting of in small groups in different intervals, we'll have no indoor locations at any point during the route, and contact with race marshals, other racers and the general public are all going to be minimized. Sensible measures can make a big difference to allowing things to get back to at lease some level of normality.
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Tagged as: Fitness Hull, Nutrition, Personal Trainer Hull, Personal Trainer North Ferriby, Weight loss, Weight loss Hull
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