Running the Breeze

Guest author Hannah Walker, my wife, has taken over the keyboard on this one for a different perspective on our Nepal Adventure. As usual, don't believe anything she says about me! Here I am standing on the start line of the 2019 Nepal Impact Half Marathon…. I won’t lie, I have SERIOUS imposter syndrome right now! Everyone around me is telling stories of runs past and how they got on, times I could only dream of at the moment are banded around with effortless enthusiasm…. Nerves had well and truly set in! What have I got myself into here?! I’m not a runner! Over a year ago, whilst discussing with my fiance at the time ideas for our honeymoon, Matt said “how do you feel about Nepal?” My mind instantly wandering to exploring the city, views of the mountains and eating my way around a country that has always fascinated me…. Suddenly I was brought back to earth with a thud at the word “marathon’. Erm… WHAT?! Wait?! I’m not a runner…. But after telling me more about...

Kathrine Switzer, the first woman  to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant once said “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon”, I would like to adapt that to “watch, or better yet run, an Impact Marathon”

" Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the colour of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran .” - Dean Karnazes

Distance running legend Emil Zatopek is quoted as saying “If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon” In 2013 I went from non-runner to completing a marathon, I have been running ever since. The marathon has already changed my life, it can’t do it again...can it?

Countdown to Nepal – 7 weeks Next race – Kielder Run-Bike-Run 16 days, Kielder Marathon - 17 days I have done training! Thanks for reading, see you next time! OK, a little more than that…  In my  last update , written from the only seat I could find in Dusseldorf airport next to a working power socket, I talked about how I had carefully crafted a plan then promptly ignored it as I allowed life to overtake me; spending more time in airports and hotels than at home. Well, since then I think it’s fair to say the situation has drastically improved. I am hesitant to say I was playing catch up with my training plan. “Catch-up” echoes of turning up at the bar an hour and a half after everyone else and immediately drinking two pints, a bottle of Apple VK and a shot of jägermeister before being able to enjoy the first normal drink of the night; all so that you can say you have caught up. Playing catch-up with a training plan and your drinking buddies have a lo...

Update 1: 17/09/2019 We have our first offical entry for Tame the Tyne! On a wet Thursday evening Adrian got us out of the blocks with a rapid time. He has set the bar pretty high but I know there are a few others out there ready to take him down! If you fancy getting yourself on the leader board take a look here for all the info you need to enter, and read the route description here! Official Leader Board The results below are all of the official entries ranked by score against the submitted reference times Position Name Club Time Score (%) 1 Adrian Hall Tyne Bridge H. 19:40 93.7 Live Strava Segment The live Strava segment shows all times for the segment. If your time is here but not in the table above then get in touch!

I'm guessing you are here because you have entered, or are thinking about entering " Tame the Tyne ". If you have entered, THANKS! Your support means a great deal to me and even more to the people of Nepal who you are helping! If you haven't entered yet, check out all the info below. I hope the route description inspires you to sign up and help out these great causes! Check out this page for more info:  https://runningthebreeze.blogspot.com/p/tame-tyne.html The best way to view the route is the Strava segment which you can find here: https://www.strava.com/segments/21295874 You can also see a sped up and slightly shaky video of the route here If after reading the description below, watching the video and studying the strava map you still aren't sure, get in touch here or comment below with your question and I will try my best to help. Start Line The start line is the row of bollards on the northern end of the Millennium bridge . P...

Countdown to Nepal – 17weeks Next race – Thunder run 24 hour relay (20th/21st July) A while back, when I had a generous 20 weeks to go before the Kieldermarathon weekend, where I plan to take on the run bike run and the marathon over the two days, I sat down to write my training plan. Here is my simple, but hopefully not flawed logic: I train for Kielder marathon following a fairly standard 18 week marathon training plan; Throw in a good helping of cross training on the bike (commuting, the occasional long ride), swap one or two of the long runs for Brick sessions (run-bike-run); Smash Kielder weekend like a boss then in the 4 weeks before departing for Nepal focus on recovery and sustaining fitness. Sounds simple and solid even if I do say so myself. Training plan I have written my training plan based around the excellent book from Matt Fitzgerald , “80/20 Running” (On amazon here but, as they say, available from all good bookshops, and probably...

I f you have read my " About the Author " section you will know that I started writing this blog because I enjoy running and I enjoy writing. This is true, but I did have an ulterior motive. Time for confession...