So... a little over two months ago I ticked off an item from my bucket list, being to run an ultra marathon. Of the options available to me I really liked the idea of a 100km event and you can read about that here.
The issue I had once it was over was I found myself with time on my hands. I no longer needed to go out for a run three times a week, clocking up 30, 40, 50 miles in training. No longer needing to go to the gym every week to build up my leg strength, back strength, general all-over-body strength.
About a week after we got back from the Isle of Wight we were lying in bed and Rosie said to me "You're bored, aren't you? You're thinking what to do next." And I was, but what?
Before COVID was a thing I'd started doing an A to Z of Park Run and thanks to COVID it is still very much a work in progress. From that challenge Rosie very thoughtfully came up with the idea of doing a similar thing but with marathons. Because doing one marathon would be a bucket list item on its own so why not do 25 more??
And from that came the idea of 26 x 26 by '26. 26 miles, 26 times, by 2026. I thought it best to put a timeframe on it otherwise I could still be going well into my 50s and that is not what I want (he says now).
The problem with such a challenge is you can't just start it and hope for the best, you have to plan most of it to make sure it's achievable before you cross that first start line. A couple of weeks of planning and I think I've got plenty of options so it appears to be on!
Not only that but it's started! There isn't enough time to work through the list alphabetically so I'm starting with the first one I could find that was on a free weekend which is the Farnham Pilgrim Marathon. That's under the belt (I'll write it up another time) so it's 1 down, 25 to go. I'm sure they'll fly by.
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