Charity Run Re-Think

In my efforts to get fitter and turn the beer belly into a magnificent six pack for all to admire and be jealous of, I have found that I am extremely flat footed. 

Now in an earlier post I had postulated that I would like to run from here in West Yorkshire to Aberystwyth in Wales. I picked Aberystwyth because I figured my girlfriend at Uni there would be able to look after me and my tired body, and was a novel way to be able to get to see her. I wasn't going to run back, I would have taken the train!

However, as you have probably now worked out, my flat footed-ness has made me re-think that plan. I currently only do short very fast sprints, as opposed to my older routine of 15 minutes of steady running. My flat feet are giving me pretty bad shin splints which hurt quite bad when I'm running. So running the 180 miles to the west coast of Wales is a non starter.

Despite this set back, I still wish to do something. And something on the same scale. I was told that doing it on a bike was a far easier option, and I'm now considering that. I'm going start doing some fixed bike training at the gym to try and get used to longer rides, build up my stamina. Once I've done a bit of training, I'll assess what my strengths are and see if the bike ride option is a more realistic endeavor.

I would like to hear from anyone that has done any longish bike rides before, just to gauge their experience and get some much needed tips!

From Wakefield To Aberystwyth

I've been going to the gym recently and I'm starting to feel and look fitter...finally! Once you get me into something, I get into a routine and I'm usually able to stick to it. So I got to thinking today I should probably use this to my advantage and apply my preference to running to something worthwhile and beneficial to others.

So, I've thought about doing a charity run. It might sound a bit boring at first. Running is running. Nothing much spectacular about that, and I'm too much of a wuss to jump out of a plane or attach my legs to a bungee rope. So instead of doing a piddly half marathon or anything else similar, I thought I might expand my idea and do something a little bit ridiculous to say I've never done any long-distance running. Therefore, I'm thinking of doing a charity run from Wakefield to Aberystwyth!

According to Google Maps, it's 162 miles from home to Aberystwyth. It says it would take 2 days and 6 hours if I were to walk using the A487 as my route. Obviously I'm not going to walk. I'm thinking of spreading the run out to 27 miles per day, for six days, so just over a marathon a day for nearly a week. I think if I do roughly 5-6mph I could probably do it between 4-5 hours per day. I'm not a marathon runner, I'm not aiming for a quick time, long distance is my goal.

I'm currently undecided as to what charity to donate my proceedings to. I'm not aware of how to set this up, who to go to for help etc. So, I'm relying on you lot to help me out with this. Please let give me suggestions for charities, how much you would be prepared to donate and how to get this thing off the ground!

I'm pretty determined to do this. If I think I can get the support then this is something that is definitely going to happen.


Feedback very much needed on this one please!