'Why?' That was the response to what was probably a ridiculous statement; 'we're going to Lands End'. And it's a fair point. What makes Tony The Fridge run 40 marathons in 40 days? He set off 9 days ahead of us. As we rolled in to John O'Groats, you sensed the locals thinking, 'here we go again. Another circus has come to town'. We didn't feel that, we felt this was a unique project. Even after queueing on the start morning with other end to enders to have the photo with the sign pointing vaguely south, this was special.
People do these things for different reasons. Richard Whitehead is doing end to end for his own reasons. I've known him since he started marathon running back in 2005. The past two and a bit weeks I've been part of the crew on this project making sure he can deliver his own schedule of 40 marathons in 40 days. It's been an incredible period. Another one of those trips that at the start, you know untold stories and dramas are waiting to unfold, trip you up and spit you out the other end a different person from the one who started. Amazing. Its fair to say the ride hasn't be smooth.
Despite tried and tested prosthetics, some combination of sweltering heat, hills and I don't know what else has caused blisters like I've never seen him get before...and a call for the hand bike to be brought into play. Having both run with him on his legs and cycled with him on the hand bike, I can say the hand bike is no easy option. He drops me with ease, but also the chaperone who both has his own bike and does this for a living, he too has trouble keeping up. To keep this man going requires a team of people.
Each has their own expertise to bring to the party. Physio, Bike chaperone, Medic, Prosthetics (hello), Motorcycle outrider, Photographer, Team management. It sounds excessive, but it's pretty much a full on full time job for everyone. I can't really rationalise in written words, but I have come home exhausted. I will return to the crew later. And what of Running Around? Yes, I have shared some road miles. It's something I wanted to do, but actually it soon becomes apparent that personal aspirations of a trip like this are very much not on the agenda.
You run to keep him company, if needed. Each day of 26 miles is broken into 4 10k stages. This ensures longevity of the project, meaning that energy is saved for the next day...and the next...and so on. Each day is taken one at a time. A new day, another 26 miles. Occasionally, there will be a grand mileage total passed and miles left to run to put progress in perspective. But, as the saying goes, this is a marathon, not a sprint. A head game, as well as a physical one.
So as we pass through small towns and locals look on inquisitively, we tell them what we're doing.There is a range of responses. Little elderly ladies chuckle and offer encouraging words like 'oooh, you've got a way to go yet!' Some pretend they haven't seen you, others stare a stare that is initially engaging, then you need to look away in case they pull a knife out or something. Then out of the towns, there is just the open road and what banter any of us can come up with.
In recent days we've stopped counting road kill and became interested in random single gloves by the roadside. It's not been about the running. In fact, the running is almost the easy bit, away from the noise and hoo-haa at the beginning and end of the day. Then there have been the periods of digging deep, the chatter stops, the breathing heavy, regular drinks requests. Sometimes the crew are encouraging Rich, at other times it's Rich encouraging a public runner, maybe running a 5k or marathon distance for the first time.
But in recent days we had some very special experiences. Whether these be the stunning beauty of Northern Scotland, or the local people and their unyielding support, even those we have held up for mile after mile of traffic behind us, they only stop to add more delay, chat, cheer and stuff money in the charity can. Cafe owners offering free coffee, chip shops doing free meals for us, hotel waiting staff donating their tips, children offering baked items on the road side, cyclist going in the other direction turning around and riding with us for a few miles.
Or the X99 bus driver waving 4 times each day as he passed, Eddie Stobart wagons parping their horns, school children lining the streets as we pass, leather clad motorcyclists saluting, old boys running across the road in their slippers to stuff money in the tin. These are the things the turn your hot sweaty skin to goose pimply ice. There are 4 more weeks to go yet. More stories to unfold, more pain to endure and more fun to be had. It is, cheesy as it sounds...not about the destination, but the journey.
