Right, here goes…
I’m Wesley Lacey, this year I want to run 100 miles in a non-stop 40hr run around the Lake District.
Ok, so now that’s out of the way, I will start to go into the why’s, when’s, how’s and the what about’s. So, firstly, I thought you people may like to know why I am doing it… well its quite simple really. For the last three years while I have been living in Lancaster, I started again. I flushed my system clean, all those thoughts that get consciously and unconsciously, purposely or un-purposely, rammed into our brains from childhood. I left my beautiful fiancé on her train home and ran back to my house for the first time in this new city alone, further away from every single person I’d ever grown up with than I had ever been before… I knew no one and I didn’t know the city, I’d never been this far away from home before and this was epic. This was my home now. And as I sat there in my apartment, light dulling, I stared out through my window, parallel to a brick wall, all I could hear was silence… the pulse in my wrist, throbbing as I pondered my dazed out mind…
To cut an extremely long story short, in the upcoming months I realised many things. I wondered why, when I was a kid, why everything seemed glittery, shiny and colourful, I remembered the playground, the smell of the soft, black tarmac which cushioned our falls, the texture and heat whilst hoisting myself up on the rope. I remember grass dancing and tickling my face as I lay when the breeze blew… and I felt inspiration, I realised something. When I was a kid, I didn’t walk around thinking 24-7, I was present… the fact that I had this realisation spurred me on to discover (once again like a child) if I could rekindle this brightness.
It happened to me as I was walking through Concord park in Sheffield, and I was on my way to see my beautiful fiancé to be in the local shopping center, I decided then that I would look and feel, no trying, just do. So I cleared my mind and off I went, I was honestly hand on my heart shocked! I noticed the clouds and how amazing they looked that day, the heat on my neck and arm from the blazing sun, I noticed the sound of the gravel crunching between my feet and the sensation this made in my shoes…
It happened to me as I was walking through Concord park in Sheffield, and I was on my way to see my beautiful fiancé to be in the local shopping center, I decided then that I would look and feel, no trying, just do. So I cleared my mind and off I went, I was honestly hand on my heart shocked! I noticed the clouds and how amazing they looked that day, the heat on my neck and arm from the blazing sun, I noticed the sound of the gravel crunching between my feet and the sensation this made in my shoes…
Now if you have read this far, thank you, I understand that I am off subject here and when you read ‘I want to run 100 miles’ then read the last two paragraphs, you may kind of connect these two and go…”Run, a Romantic”, ah he’ll never do it” and when I tell you that I’m no ‘runner’, you will definitely feel the urge to sum up that I’m an inexperienced loony and have no chance ha-ha…
But I’m not going to write the blog to persuade any of you reading that I can do this, or fight any battles. I wish to learn and to accomplish such an extreme feat of endurance through proper training and nutrition, equipment and mental strength, I really believe I have a good shot at this and therefore have decided to commit myself fully to conquering this goal of mine.
What I do know, is that through doing such amazing things before, people crop up, little miracles appear everywhere, help comes from every direction when people see you are putting in your all (an not braggin’).
So…
What exactly will I be competing in?
The 100 because I felt that the 50 was definitely too achievable. I have very decent stamina and endurance for a regular guy, that I will agree. I have time on my side (age) and am bang next to the lakes. I have a motorbike which I can use to visit, I have camping stuff so I can set up and complete my own recce days. I have the internet to read and study and write myself strict training schedules accurately, the amount of knowledge on the internet we have access too compared to 20 years ago is phenomenal and therefore I will make proper use of this.
I didn’t want to do something I KNEW (unless an accident) that I could do. 50 miles and 6 months to practice just felt to doable.
The run I will be doing is immense, it will be happening on Friday 29th – Sunday 31st July 2011. It’s a long distance trail race taking place on public bridleways and footpaths all over the fells of the lake district. This will involve 6000m of ACENT.
So ok, finally before I go onto more in depth and realistic posts in my up- coming months, I’ll just let you know, that I am aware or any dangers, which I will go more into later and that it’s a definite failure without training. Another thing I know… it will cost.