This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. You can subscribe to my blog to find out how goes next Sunday. Let’s hope that no cold snap will appear from the west to recreate the conditions we faced for Heart of Gower. The weather has been wild for much of my two running challenges for this fundraiser. This way we can be out for longer and enjoy more of the beauty of the Gower peninsula. Of course, the route is extended from 26.2 miles to 35.8 miles. Our plan is to run clockwise, the opposite direction to how we ran Gower Marathon in November 2020. I have designed the route to be almost exclusively on trails. Gower ultramarathonĪ small band of runners will head out to circumvent Gower Peninsula on the morning of 28 March 2021. People still run, care enough to fundraise and reach out to connect with each others. Online challenges and virtual events abound. Whenever we are allowed, we arrange local runs in small groups. I have found many ways to engage with the creative and resilient running community, both locally and through social media. I miss those, but I am grateful everyday for my ability to run and for the beautiful trails I have access to. Race cancellations and postponements still continue. You can read more about this on the Reunite Families UK website. Some separations last more than a decade. Their heartbreaking journeys of separation are much longer than the longest ultramarathon. I learnt of the plight of thousands of other families. My family was torn apart by UK family immigration for 6 months from January 2020. This was where I could release the painful emotions and find strength to carry on, to keep searching for a way to move forward. At the worst of times that run was more of a trudge into the woods and then a pause. When my mental and emotional wellbeing was suffering severely, I hung on to the daily run to pull me through. Running most certainly remained in my weekly routine. My guess is that many became runners during this time, never to return to a life on the couch again. My guess and estimation is that those who run have realised more than ever just how beneficial this simple activity is. We can only guess at the value of running during these very challenging times.
The spring of 2020 saw the advent of no marathon season as a global pandemic caused our societies to be locked down. It took me 7 hours and 15 mins to cover the 54km and I considered it an excellent day out! I had finally found my version of sensible running. The summer of 2019 saw me run my first trail ultra marathon across the Brecon Beacons. Then followed Newport marathon in spring 2018 and London marathon in spring 2019. Snowdonia marathon followed in autumn 2017. However, something quite the opposite happened.
Now I can go back to more sensible running….and never again repeat this endeavour!” I had participated in a big city marathon, something that has become a phenomenon of our society. I thought, “Well, thank goodness, that’s done now. If was a blisteringly hot day in Rotterdam and I made a number of marathon debut mistakes. I ran my first marathon in the spring of 2017. That one is a Ultramarathon of ultramarathons, but more about that in another blog. Ultramarathon on Gower! A running challenge for March 2021 that will hopefully help me to prepare for the ultimate running challenge of the year.