Longest run for 3 years!😱

[Sandraj39]

…which was the last time I ran the Great South Run, back in 2021!

Today, I took my inspiration from ‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook, who many of you will know ran the length of Africa. We were lucky enough to have him come to school yesterday, where he talked in assembly and completed a running challenge with the children. It was fab and the take away for me was a reminder to dream big and break that goal down in to chunks.

Clearly this is a lot easier when contemplating 6k loops of a quiet Surrey town, as opposed to 9,940 miles through challenging African terrain - a feat of endurance which took 352 days to complete and was equivalent to running 385 marathons back to back!

Anyway, back to my run…🤣 My goal was small but my determination was big!

As I said above, I used a 6k loop to chunk this run and it worked really well. I also tried out a couple of High5 energy Aqua gels along with a small soft flask of Tailwind, as I was aware I wasn’t really taking on enough carbs from the Tailwind (I just don’t drink enough of it).

The weather was perfect - cool and sunny - and I wore my Salomon hydration vest which worked really well.

The route is a little undulating in parts and one particular hill felt quite tough on lap three!😩 However, overall it was a positive run and the gels seemed to suit me, so I think I will use them for GSR. As I approached 16k, I realised I couldn’t remember the km equivalent of 10 miles(!) so I carried on running to 16.4k - just to be sure I had hit my target!👍

Clearly, I won’t be looking at a PB this year🤣 but I am so glad to be building up this endurance again and really want to go out there and enjoy the day next weekend.

Thanks for the inspiration Russ!🙂

[David_G Metric Marathon]

Wow, what a great effort Sandraj39 that sounds like an excellent run to me! 🏃‍♀️‍➡️👏👏

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Brilliant Sandraj39 , and what a wonderful thing to have Russ Cook come in. Talk about the ultimate inspiration for such a run! 👊

Sounds perfect, and you’re in amazing shape for the GSR. Very soon now, can’t wait! 😀

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

He was great - the adults were as excited as the children!🤣

[misswobble Marathon]

Wow! Lucky kids, and yourself! Sounds marvellous to have such a superman in school. I bet that was really interesting 😀

Congratulations on nailing that long run 👍🏃‍♀️ Always good to have it nailed 💪😀

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Thanks misswobble - yes, the kids were SO excited!🙂

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

I can imagine 🤗. What a treat 🙂

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Looking good to me Sandraj39 ! It is 16.1km by the way. 😂 and you will be over the finish line way before me.

It must have been a really interesting visit to your school. Did you get chance to talk running with him on your own?

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Ha ha! No, but there was more running talk than usual in the staff room at lunchtime, which is, of course a good think!🙂

Yes, 16.1 - I googled it when I got home!🙂

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Well done Sandra; you can come to the ball, with total confidence. Just brilliant !!🙂

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

🙏🙂

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Thats brilliant Sandra,you're totally on track now for GSR ! 💪🏃‍♀️👌⭐xxx

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to aliboo70]

I’m looking forward to aliboo70 !🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Wow, how wonderful to meet him. He is just amazing, so unassuming in many ways yet clearly remarkable on others.What a fantastic confidence building run that was for you; GSR here you come 😀

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

🤞🙂

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

Well done Sandra! You’re definitely ready for the GSR 👍🏃‍♀️

What a fab experience for the kids and the adults! Let’s hope he inspires many of the little ones.

[skysue16 Half Marathon]

What a wonderful visitor to have in school! Certainly an inspiration to young and older folk too 😊 Fantastic long run, very well done Sandra 👍

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

What a run, and how cool for everyone to have such a visitor, the children will always remember that.Looking forward to reading all the GSR reports, you are ready for that 😁

[Decker Ultramarathon]

Wow this is amazing to have someone like that to inspire the kids. And big kudos to you for hitting your target. You are definitely on track for GSR!