The 26th of November 2016 was a pretty special day. That day;
We woke at 5:45am, in a scout tent, in the rolling mist before sunrise, at an altitude of 1900m. We clambered, bleary eyed, into our running gear in the light of a single solar lantern, shadows looming across the chilly tent as we hunted for socks, electrolyte tablets, and all the other bits and pieces which had escaped from our neatly laid out clothing piles. At the mess hall there was porridge, bananas, eggs and toast. We ate as much as we could manage, and watched the sunrise over Kathmandu valley. We filled water bottles, went for last-chance-wees and then walked *down* the hill to the UN parade ground that was to be the start & finish line.
It took us over 7.5 hours to complete the race (official times still pending), which whilst it meant we weren't running quickly, it posed a challenge in itself as constant exercise for that length of time is massively depleting, and we weren't really fuelled or supplied well enough for it. And for those of you who think 7.5 hours is slow (which it is, I'm not going to argue that!), to give you a little perspective, the winner of the race took 4 hours and he can run a 'normal' marathon in something like 2.5 hours. Anyway, slow or not, I was still absolutely over the moon to have completed the marathon. It felt like an absolutely epic achievement. It was even more special to me though because my husband James ran beside me all the way, and we crossed the line hand in hand - a wedding anniversary we shall never forget! Here we are celebrating with a beer: And that was just the first 26.2 miles of my 1000 mile challenge! I hope the next 973.8 miles are a little easier!
If you think that challenge deserves a little celebration, then perhaps you would like to sponsor me. The minimum amount on Just Giving is only £2, so maybe skip a beer or a coffee once this week and donate to Global Action Nepal to celebrate with me instead: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Chloe1000
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AuthorChloe is running 1000 miles to raise money for Global Action Nepal. She's also an engineer and a Mum. Archives
August 2017
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