Photos on Strava.
Things I learnt on this run
- I’ve lived in London for 13 years and only know 10% of it
- London is brutal, you can be running for miles on single track in woodland and then it spits you out on the side of a dual carriageway
- The most motivational message to receive on a long run is a delivery notification from Crosstown Donuts
- Some cafes in London still only accept cash
- People that run cafes that only accept cash are the nicest people in London and will give people doing stupid things water for free
- Social distancing is not a thing anymore, unless you’re queuing for Sainsbury’s
- After years of making jokes about needing a passport to go to South London, it finally got its own back by only going up hill
- Running really far does weird things to your body, mile 40-50 was some of the worst I’ve ever felt running, and mile 60-78 was some of the best
- I don’t shout out my coach enough, his name is Marcus Scotney and he is really incredible, we spend as much time talking about the mental aspect of running as the physical, and it’s those conversations I come back to on runs like this
- When you are going through a stressful time, running for 12hours is a great way to give yourself time to think and reflect, no distractions
- Navigating streets you don’t know is hard
- The best mantra is “I choose to let go of the pressure I put on myself”
- The second best mantra is “At the end there is donuts”
Some info about the run
- I did this one ‘self supported’ which means I carried everything other than water which I bought (or was gifted) along the way
- Nutrition was Maurten 320 drink, Water, Nuun Hydration, Tribe Infinity Energy Bars, Maurten Gel and Maurten Caf Gel. It worked.
- I wore excellent gear from Satisfy and District Vision.
- I went anti clockwise, starting from the Olympic Park.
- It was way more hilly than I thought it would be, and harder to navigate than expected.