I will be attempting to run 15 marathons in order to raise money for the Huntington's Disease Youth Organisation project [www.youtube.com] . Donations can be made at the justgiving address below!

Here's my justgiving page: [www.justgiving.com]

Take care,
Matt.

[www.hdyo.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2011 03:22PM by just1moreperson.

Here is a list of the marathons I'm targetting! All but one are in the UK, where I live I'll also be running a marathon in Minnesota the weekend before the HDSA convention. We'll see how it goes! Got 6 weeks until my first marathon and I need to do a LOT of training.

Duchy Marathon ? 13th March 2011
Cotswold Marathon ? 20th March 2011
Sussex Marathon ? 3rd April 2011
Great Welsh Marathon ? 10th April 2011
Rotary Shakespeare Marathon ? 8th May 2011
Orpington Marathon ? 14th May 2011
Brathay Windermere Marathon ? 22nd May 2011
South Downs Marathon ? 11th June 2011
Duluth Marathon, Minnesota ? 18th June 2011
Wolverhampton Marathon ? 4th September 2011
New Forest Marathon ? 25th September 2011
Chester Marathon ? 9th October 2011
Snowdonia Marathon ? 29th October 2011
Luton Marathon ? 20th November 2011
Leicester Marathon ? TBA

Take care,
Matt.

[www.hdyo.org]

GO MATT!!!

Awesome Matt!!!

Awesome! So have you always been a runner, or are you running for the first time? Have you done races before? What is your training program like? Are you planning to RUN the whole thing or run/walk? How do you plan to recover in between? Do you have a professional coach helping you?

If you have not run at this level before, I would urge you to at least get professionally-fit for running shoes; go to a running specialty store if you can find one; take in some old shoes if you have them so they can see the wear pattern; and also get some non-cotton wicking (anti-blister) socks.

I've just done one marathon (lots of halfs), which is why I'm itching for all the details. I'm sure Will and maybe others could give you any additional advice if you want it.

The toughest parts of marathon-training for me were time-management and injury-prevention (even in my 20's).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2011 09:31AM by smiling sara.

Sara,

Matty is an experienced marathoner and a delightful young man. I was privileged to meet him at the World Conference in Vancouver and the HDSA Annual Meeting in Raleigh last JUne.

Matty - I'll be donating and soliciting from other folks on my Facebook page. This is an awesome undertaking, but I'm sure you'll do fine. I would guess that it will get easier as you go along, since each race will also add to your training base.

You'll probably discover the best ways to recover as you get into it. Rest and nutrition between races will be keys to survival.

Will

Oh good! Then this undertaking may be "just the right level of" crazy/ambition, rather than just plain absolutely nuts. Still interested to know training details though, if you feel like sharing!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2011 10:57AM by smiling sara.

Will - We share the same thinking. I'm banking on the marathons themselves to boost my fitness and make me stronger for the marathons ahead. The problem is, although I did 4 marathons in 2009, I can count the number of times I went out for a run in 2010 on one hand. I had a knee injury which put me off trying to run. So I'm going into this challenge with no strength in my legs, they are weak! I did 7 miles last night and it hurt. I have 6 weeks before my first marathon and those 6 weeks are going to decide my fate with regards to the challenge. I have to get some decent long mile training sessions in before the marathon in order to give myself a chance. The first marathon is going to hurt no matter how well I train over the next 6 weeks. I won't have done enough training to run a marathon comfortably (if they can ever be ran comfortably). But my target is to try and get up to 18-20 miles in training, so I know my legs can get that far, then in the marathon I will have to fight for the last several miles and crawl my way to the finish. So the first marathon may well be the hardest all year.

Sara - As you see above, I'm not in great shape. I have 6 weeks to train for a marathon (then my 2nd marathon is the weekend after). My training schedule/plan is to get the long miles in. I've never been a fast runner, so I will just jog my way round the training sessions and slowly build up the miles. Hopefully I can manage an 18 mile session and perhaps a 20 if I can. I know from experience I don't have enough time to get enough training in, so I will have a real battle on my hands during my first and probably 2nd marathon. I'm accepting that fact and will have to grit my teeth to finish.

Got new shoes! Need some more socks! I have flat feet which doesn't help. When I ran 7 miles last night my feet got pins and needles and gradually went numb (it is quite painful). Ended up with a blister on the bottom of my foot. So next time I'll wear my soles and hopefully that will sort it out.

[www.hdyo.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2011 12:19PM by just1moreperson.

Matty,

I think any runner who has trained enough in the past to finish a marathon has a built-in base of endurance to draw upon. I wouldn't worry about not having a bunch of long runs. I had done only one 15 miler before my first. It wasn't pretty, but I finished.

Do you want me to hold off donating and posting on Facebook until you're sure you're going to be abe to start the first?

Will

People have donated already, which I appreciate, but I don't expect donations until I actually complete a marathon or two

Thanks Will! Appreciate the confidence boost.

[www.hdyo.org]

13 mile training run today! My longest run up until today was 7 miles (set that fabulous record last weekend) so I'm really pleased. It was a bit of a crawl at the end but the legs have 13 miles in them now, I can push on from here and go after 15 next weekend.

[www.hdyo.org]

Wow, to be young again @@ LOL good for you Matt

Well done you!!

Where`s the glasgow marathon Matt!!?

In Glasgow, Lou!

[www.hdyo.org]

I plodded round my first marathon in 5 hours 35 minutes! It was TOUGH and I gained about 5 new blisters while I was at it. Ran for 15 miles and then walked it in from there (11 miles). 2nd marathon next Sunday!

[www.hdyo.org]

Wow! Congrats! Running 15 miles is amazing...and then walking 11 on top of it to finish is outstanding. Good luck next week!

yea that is great!

Amazing, Matt!

GO!GO! GO!

Very inspiring Matt. I know plenty of people who RUN the whole way, and finish right around that time. I hope you are eating your protein for muscle recovery & taking care of those blisters.

Can't wait to hear more!