Outdoor 24

So its January, its cold, its grey, its raining most of the time, and these are the reasons why I want to do a 24 hour run outside!

So on Saturday the 25th of January I will be celebrating Burns Night by running about (mainly) in  the dark and cold.  I will set off at 9am from Balmullo,  a small village in Fife, around  7 miles from  St Andrews and head east to the Fife Coastal Path for the next 65 miles.

But I won’t be alone, initially I was going to do this run solo, but after discussing the safety aspects of being out in the dark with no sleep for so long I am very happy to have Chris Turner (@Kwistaffa) join me for this mini adventure from the start. Chris who is no stranger to road cycling, will take on a new adventure of his own, jumping on a mountain bike and (slowly) riding a large section of the trail with me from 9am until about 3 or 4pm. We will follow the coastal trail all the way down to Leven where another great man Alistair Hunter (@allyhunter) will join the support crew. From here the boys will take it in turns cycling with me into the darkness and the small hours of the morning  while the other is enjoying the comfort of a support car.

The plan is to then get down to North Queensferry, cross the forth road bridge out towards linlithgow and turn  back towards Edinburgh, get on the canal towpath and run around a lot and await daylight returning before we triumphantly collapse at 9am Sunday morning.

I have no idea what mileage I will cover, the terrain and spending 16-17 hours in the dark will obviously reduce the miles I could run indoors on a treadmill. But it’s not about how many miles will be covered its purely for “fun”.  However this will be the longest I have run both in terms of mileage and time, previously I have run 40 and 47 miles so this will be quite a jump in distance.

I have also been running in constant pain for the last 2-3 months and have just been told that my hips are not properly aligned. My silly little left hip is rotated 2-3 millimeters backwards and this is causing problems with the sciatic nerve in my ride side affecting my lower back, hip, upper and lower leg, so again mileage is not the main concern, finishing is.

People always ask why? when they hear I’m doing something like this and I always answer for fun, but this isn’t always the reason (if you have to ask you don’t understand). Secondly people ask is it for charity? Generally people mean are you raising money for charity, but this can be hard to do, if like me you enjoy taking on lots of challenges across the year, you can’t keep asking people to donate. So I answer no but the reality of this run is it would not be possible without my connection to TACC (The Tartan Army Children’s Charity) and in turn my connection to Chris and Ally. Before my Jog4Hampden run I didn’t know either of these great men and now through the charity connection we are setting out on a mini adventure together this coming weekend as well as well as planning future events.  So if people want to donate to this or any charity just because I will be running for 24 hours most likely in the rain (it is Scotland after all) then these people are the real heroes. If by me doing something I enjoy and being able to highlight a great children’s charity then I’m more than happy to help.

Since news of the run got around it seems more people are happy to help promote a good cause. Andy Hain at Leslie Bike shop has given the trusty mountain bike riders a light that will be visible from space. This will be great for the dark sections of the trail. And It seems thanks to the generosity of Lee Murray, Chairman of East Fife FC, I shall be nipping onto the pitch at half time for some important half time duties! This will be a welcome break around the 40 mile mark and should give us all a good bit of banter.

Should probably have some haggis and a nip en route, it will be Burns Night after all #24HourHaggisRun

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it;

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

And sae let the Lord be thankitt