March/April 2016 Update

Just catching up with a quick Spring update as the next race hurtles towards me!

So what's being going on?

Flying the flag in front of the White Tower

Well since my last update at the end of February I have....

• Finished marathon 5 (Greece) of 28 -completed in 4.03hrs
• Raised £700 more for Invest In ME Research projects (now stands at £3157)
• Had my first published blog on Running Bug website
• Been asked to write a feature on the challenge for the Guardian's running section (pending publish)
• Run another 185 miles 
• Gathered another 70 new followers to the challenge

Very impressive statue of old Alex

Marathon #5 - Alexander The Great Marathon (Greece)

On April 3rd I managed to finish Greece's 2nd largest marathon, running into Thessaloniki besides the sea towards the famous White Tower.  Full race report here and pics here

Finish line smile/grimace

Looking back I can say it was a great start to the year, a lot of things could have gone wrong but fortunately I'd done just enough training (pretty much from scratch after a 2 month break) and got round without too many problems.  Thessaloniki is a great city, not as historic or picturesque obviously as Athens but some great sights and a nice weekend break.

As well as completing the race, the aim was to raise awareness about what it's like to have ME in Greece.  I'm pleased to say that my interview piece with Lefteris was easily the most read part of my website of the year so far and has been read/shared over 3000 times from over 15 different European countries. 

Over the last few weeks I've also had my first video diary out, introducing the challenge and attempting to answer some of the questions put to me on Facebook and Twitter.  Check it out here:

Look mum I'm on TV!

So with Greece done and 23 more countries left to visit it's time to move on to training for Stockholm (04.06.16) and with it a shift in tactics to introduce more hill training.

Staying focused

As I'm now in the 2nd year of the challenge with 5 down and still a heck of a long way to go, inevitably people are asking me if I'm getting bored or still feeling as motivated to complete this lengthy challenge.  The answer for me is that, if anything, I feel like I'm now beginning to find my running rhythm.  The first half of last year was about getting up to the level of fitness required to simply finish a race after so many years of a sedentary lifestyle.  I now have confidence in the plans that I create for each training race whereas before I was making it up and hoping for the best.  The turning point for me was the training for Dublin last September.  I really committed to the plan, eating/drinking properly and I got that lifelong ambition of a sub 4-hr marathon (just!).

Bling bling

I'm actually enjoying having 4 races this year and not 3.  That's 4 trips abroad, more people to meet and not long to stew on a poor race or to get that marathon buzz again.  I know there's a lot of people out there who don't think I'll complete all 28 and will give up at halfway or less, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed!  I'm not really one to start something and leave it unfinished.  By the end of August I'll be more than a quarter through the challenge, another mini-milestone.  I totally accept that it won't be until I get 20 races done that the papers and running mags will reply to my emails and requests for coverage (and a platform for ME sufferers).  That's OK, I'm here for the long-haul and part of the experience is the time spent learning about running from people I follow and in some very minor way, sharing the struggle of the people that I'm trying to help.

Stockholm elevation

I'm varying my training routes, terrain and elevation to keep things fresh.  I'm also writing blogs to try and reach communities of people outside the ME world; that's as much a challenge as the running itself.  Training is relentless but almost now the norm.  If people ask me if I'm free on a specific date to do something, my first thought is, am I running that day?  Friday nights are off limits -I need to run long on the weekend.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are tied up until 7.30pm as I run home from work.  Nothing gets in the way of training.  The consequences of not doing enough come race day are physically and mentally too awful to consider.  I'm not flying all that way to walk the course feeling low and like I've let everyone down.

Am I still focused?  Yep, I mean no, what was the original question?!

Next month

In my next update I want to talk a bit about RME -the Swedish ME Association (*Spoiler Alert* -they're doing some fantastic things for patients there) and also what it's like to have ME over there in Sweden.  I've got a long over-due back treatment coming up and the hardest month of my training to date as I get ready for Stockholm's infamous hilly bridges.  May will see me running on the beaches of The Gower, the lanes of rural Dorset and hopefully back on my favourite tow-path to Portishead.  Also my good buddy Ben Scott will be taking on Belfast Marathon (May 2nd) for Invest In ME -best of luck mate!

Thanks again for all your support!

Total Sponsorship Raised: £3157
Social Media Followers: 961
Miles Covered: 185
Average Temp: 8C
Lessons Learned: More hills Mike, more hills.

www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarations
Text IIME82 and £3 to 70070

Feb 2016 Update

So that's the end of a long chilly February, 85 miles in total, 1 annoying cold, 2 very frustrating injuries but I'm still here and optimistic I'll be ready for The Alexander The Great Marathon in Thessaloniki (Greece) on April 3rd.

The wall of vain

With just 105 miles to run before I get on the plane to Greece for the first marathon of four this year, I'm feeling pretty good.  The early half of February was a big frustrating combo of cold/flu and shin/calf issues which had me really worried.  I know from experience that there's no point showing up for a race without enough miles in your legs and there were a few days there where I thought it I was going to struggle to be ready. 

Cool Runnings

It's been cold, damp and very windy this month (as expected) but no snow luckily down in Bristol.  I like training in the cold generally so aside from 50 mph gusts at times it's not been too bad.  When it has been wet I really haven't felt like going out to begin with but once I get going, it's no big deal and quite refreshing.

My top tips on winter running:

• Layers are good, though don't go too overboard, when you get hot you'd wish you hadn't brought so much stuff along.
• Stretch more than you normally would before a warmer run.  It's easy to snap/pull something if you're not warmed up.
• Still take water.  Just because it's not hot doesn't mean you won't need to take on fluids.  If you don't it can cause calf/muscle problems.
• Try and find someone to run with, it'll help you get out of the door.
• Men, don't wear tights.  Come on, you look ridiculous, just run faster.
• Make sure you've got some decent tread on your shoes, take to grass if it's icy out.
• Don't panic, you'll warm up soon enough, once you're over the cold shock to your lungs and nipples.
• Remember how much you hate running in heat!

The pain game - (mis)diagnosing yourself

I've had consistent calf and shin pain since I started training but have managed by a process of elimination to suss out a couple of root causes and treatments.  First up, nasty shin pain (not quite shin splints).  Yes ice helped to a degree, but resting up when I fortunately picked up a heavy cold seemed to sort it out.  I missed 2 mid-week runs of 6 miles so no real damage done in the context of the total mileage.

Knee pain (both) also meant that I struggled to get up and down the stairs at work nevermind run.  What I discovered here was that by taking the bus to and from work the next day after a run in order to rest my legs was actually hindering my recovery.  I needed to start my walking commute again to stretch and keep myself moving/healing -makes sense really, I always try to do a good few hours walking after running a race and the same applies there.

Finally to the troublesome calf.  Not a problem I've previously had but probably putting this down to my body still adjusting to the mileage and the fact that I'm due a new pair of running shoes.  The answer this time wasn't ice, rest, compression but an Aloe Vera Heat Lotion that I tried.  The results were almost instant and before long I found myself hitting personal bests on my midweek runs.

Forever Aloe Heat Lotion (about £12), amazing stuff, warning; does sting a little to start with

New site: ME in Greece, Invest In ME and The Smells Of South Bristol

Mid-month my website was hacked and the useless bunch at Go Daddy couldn't get me back in so I had to change the .com to .eu -it's probably more fitting given the challenge in truth.

So you can now find me at www.mikeseumarathons.eu

I've also added a page on there which I'm in the process of building to summarise Invest In ME and the great work they do.  It's kind of under construction at the moment but can be found here: www.mikeseumarathons.eu/invest-in-me.html

During the month I also did a very silly short photo blog piece on what I run past on my midweek runs and the various smells I encounter.  Check it out here: The Smells Of South Bristol

Early on in the month I managed to interview Lefteris from Athens, who has ME for over 20 years.  You can read what he said here: What it's like to have ME in Greece -needless to say as with much of Europe that I've encountered so far, there's little understanding, research or support at the moment.

I've written off to Lefteris' GP who is said to have a keen interest in ME and am awaiting a reply.  With luck I can intro him to Invest In ME and they can share their experiences/resources.

The Quadram Institute, Norwich - 2018: An ME Centre of Excellence

The Quadram Institute is the name of the new centre for food and health research to be located at the heart of the Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s largest single-site concentrations of research in food, health and environmental sciences. It is to be led by the current Director of the Institute of Food Research, Professor Ian Charles. He opened last year’s Invest in ME conference in London and was very supportive of the idea of a centre of excellence for ME to be within this new Institute. Building of the new £81.6m facility began in February, with an anticipated opening in 2018.

This is encouraging news for Invest in ME (now also known as Invest in ME Research) to establish a Centre of Excellence for ME, based at world-renowned Norwich Research Park. They set out to help raise funds for the biomedical research aimed at developing diagnostic tests and treatments for ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).

Mount Kilimajaro

Very best of luck to Amanda and Richard Kayes who head off to ascend Kilimanjaro for Invest In ME.  Look forward to seeing the photos!  Check them out here: Mount Kilimanjaro

I'll close it there for another month, thanks to everyone who sponsored me so far.  The total is on £2650 as I type, would be amazing to hit £3000 when I line up on the start line!

https://www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons/

Cheers all

Mike

Stats

Total Sponsorship Raised: £2650
Facebook Followers: 207 
Twitter Followers: 679
Miles covered: 85
Average temp: 3C
Lessons learned: Ice isn't always the answer, heat lotion is great for calves.

Jan 2016 Update

Hi everyone, quick update on how the start of the 2nd year of the challenge is going.

I've clocked up 76 miles for January (about 55 more than the previous month!) and it all ramps up from here as I get back on the horse for another year of running around Europe.  Every night I'm not running I'm doing weights, stretches and core work (45 mins) which I hope will make the races much easier.

Also just hit a sort of landmark since I started working on the challenge, I've hit 1000 miles!

Highlights of the first 1000 miles, approx 7000 to go!

Injured or not?

Unlike last year I've jumped straight into running 6 miles on Tues and Thurs nights home from work.  It's quite likely that this was a bad decision as I have struggled a bit throughout the month with as yet undiagnosed lower leg pains.  The weird thing is that I'm running without any pain at all, in fact I'm now running as well as last year at my peak.  But immediately after a run and overnight I get a warm, dull ache down both legs that no amount of foam-rolling or ice will rectify.

Hello ice, my old friend

I wondered if it was shin splints but having read up on it I'm not convinced.  Anyway, it's all in hand and I have a sports-massage next week.  If that doesn't sort it I'll have to head off to the doctors.  My latest guess is that it's a lot of tangled muscle fibres and the legacy of my run in Dublin last October, I've not had a massage since September so I'm optimistic that this will help sort it before the mileage goes up in Feb.

UK Marathon Chat and Website Additions

Every Tuesday from 8-9pm I've been passing on my limited marathon knowledge to others as part of #UKMarathonchat.  I've really enjoyed answering questions and learning more myself from more experienced runners.  They've been good sports and retweeted info about ME and my challenge to their followers (2800 and growing fast) and it's been good to hear about new ideas/products/reads and more from them.

It inspired me to add a couple of new pages to my site:

Running Gear - a summary of what I've acquired and use in races and where to get them

Running Reads - a so far small selection of great books that have helped me improve

Winter runs past the Clifton Suspension Bridge, much colder than it looks here!

Lessons learned from my first 1000 miles

•  Don't listen to anyone who says you can't/won't do it
•  Do listen to other runners. Read, ask questions, learn from your mistakes
•  Recovery is just as important as the run itself (ice, rest, foam rolling, massage)
•  I'm not built for speed but tell me the distance and I'll go run it
•  Run your own race, you'll catch everybody up in the latter stages
•  The race is a celebration that training is over (26.2 miles vs 300 miles)
•  Under 4 hrs in a marathon is possible even with a partially torn ACL
•  People in Europe are super-friendly (more so than a lot of the UK in fact!)
•  Decent running shoes are essential
•  Alcohol/junk food and running don't mix, running requires discipline 

Energy gels and mid-race nutrition

If you've ever tried energy gels you'll probably agree with me that they're a bit like sugary snot.  I'm not sure how much of their use is psychosomatic and I found from my last marathon that banana pieces and jelly babies were much more effective in 'wall' prevention and a big sugar crash.  Having read Christopher McDougall's 'Born To Run' which tracks the Tarahumara Indians (the ultra-running tribe from Mexico) I've cooked up a superfood called Pinole.

Pinole cakes for the longer runs

Here's how to make it:

1. Dry out 2 corn cobs
2. Cook corn until brown
3. Add 1 tbsp of cinnamon
4. Stir in 2 tbsp of chia/hemp seeds
5. Throw in 1 tsp of salt
6. Add 3 tbsps of honey
7. Let it dry out in the fridge for a bit

I'll let you know what it's like as I'm trialling it on next weekend's long run!

Marathon 5/28: Thessaloniki (Alexander The Great, Sunday 3rd April 2016)

So I've been reaching out to any English speaking organisations in Greece for some help with finding media and ME charity contacts.  I've tried British Consulates, trade organisations, private medical companies, press desks and forums.  So far not too much to report but I have found someone who has agreed to help who has had ME for over 20 years (more info to come in the next update).

Easy I hear you say? Hmmm

I'm learning more about this marathon (good and bad).

Good:

• It's mostly downhill!
• The route itself looks quite picturesque in places (rolling countryside, ruins and architecture and beach/harbour at the end)
• There'll be plenty of room to run, less than 2000 runners.
• The weather is expected to be around 15-18C and more than likely wet.

Bad:

• I need to be on the bus to be dropped off at the start line at 5am, this will make it a little tricky planning my breakfast and more than likely a lot of hanging around before the race starts at 8am.
• 24 miles of virtually no crowd support.

Other news:

Running Stories: Just discovered this website, hoping to be featured (more info soon)

Invest In ME Annual Conference, May 3rd 2016: I'll be in Stockholm preparing to race when this takes place but great to hear that there could be a collection bucket and a bit of publicity on the day.

IIMEC11 - 11th Invest in ME Research International ME Conference 2016

That's it for this month, thanks all for your support and good wishes. Big shout to Tony Bradstock for posting this on facebook which had no fewer than 137 likes and 67 shares!

Cheers

Mike

Stats

Total Sponsorship Raised: £2549
Facebook Followers: 204 (eek, I've lost two)
Twitter Followers: 639
Miles covered: 76
Average temp: 4C
Lessons learned: Recovering properly is equally as important as the running itself

www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons

Nov/Dec Update

Happy Christmas from Lanzarote everyone!

I've been hibernating since the end of Oct and Dublin catching up on good (and bad) food, cidery delights and my former sedentary lifestyle.  I'll be starting to train again properly on Jan 3rd with 3 months to get ready for the next race, the Alexander The Great Marathon in Thessaloniki (Greece).

'Resting'

So I've been taking advantage of the big gap between marathons the last two months and giving my dodgy knee a bit of a break.  As I write I'm stuffing my face in my winter training camp (yeah right!) in Playa Blanca.  No races between Oct and March/April is a bit of a pain if I'm honest, it happens as most of Europe will be too cold/wet for the events to take place so they tend to prefer to put them in Spring and Autumn, presumably when the climate is more appealing to runners.  When you're keen to do 28 races as quickly as possible then this can be quite frustrating!

As it doesn't really take more than 3 months to train for a marathon it made sense to train down and rest up over the pre-Christmas break.  There's the inevitable parties, events and invites over this time and with Thessaloniki such a way ahead I knew it would be difficult to avoid situations where I'd be eating and drinking a fair bit.  The knee is fine, probably a bit weaker for the rest in all honesty and I've enjoyed piling on the pounds happy in the knowledge that they'll soon be falling off again.  With 4 races lined up next year as opposed to 3 this year, I'm aiming to get to a better weight to bring my times down and ease the pain of recovery.  If I can be as prepared and fit as I was for Dublin then I will feel ready to get through all 4 without incident.

Whilst I've enjoyed the rest and chance to eat pie and drink more, I find myself now excited about getting back down to it.  I've been out running 1-2 times a week (though not much more than 4-5 miles) and without much motivation and I've realised it's going to be a long hard road back to race fitness.  When I started the challenge last January I had a few short runs under my belt and I can probably say that I'm in a similar state of fitness to back then.  The only big difference is the running experience that I can now call upon when things get tough and painful.

2015: The year in bling

I've realised that without a training plan or end goal (marathon), I am just not someone who can go out and run for fun.  It's not part of my lifestyle although for 10 months of the year it is an all-consuming quest.  Having looked forward to not running at the same frequency or intensity all year, I can say that the novelty has well and truly worn off.

My advice to kids, wannabe runners and those with more experience; never take time off, keep on going!

How I pick the races

I've had lots of requests from followers around Europe to come and run in their country soon so just wanted to highlight the rather complex selection process that I have at the moment.

Put simply:

• Each country in the EU has 1 marathon race at some point in the year
• Some countries only have 1 recognised race (i.e. Luxembourg, Malta etc) and some have 20+ (France, Germany, Italy etc)
• I like my wife Cat to try to make it to each race, I need her support and distraction and it's also nice for her to see me race and enjoy the city/country.  As she works in a school she can't simply take off a Friday or Monday and have a long weekend away with me.  Races need to be on her holidays (mid Feb, early April, early May, late May, end of July until early Sept and late Oct).
• Although some destinations can be reached via Bristol Airport, the vast majority involve a trip to Gatwick (3 hr drive) so that time, plus check-in etc means that flying out on Saturday needs to be early in the morning.  This is so that we can arrive the other end in enough time to register/pick up race number at the Expo the day before the race.  Annoyingly very few marathons let you do this on the race day itself.
• Races need to be spread out a little.  I need at least 4 weeks between races as my body needs a week post-marathon without running to recover and then 3 weeks to train again (though ideally a 2 month break is optimum).
• Of the races I do each year I ideally want to be able to meet people from the ME community at 1 or 2.  In some countries where there isn't an ME association or known support group (i.e. Greece) meeting people isn't possible, though in Sweden it will be.  4 races without any support or meets at the races is a little disheartening so the countries need to be picked carefully if I'm to thrive on the boost that those meetings give me.  I was lucky enough to meet at least someone at each of the 3 this year which was fantastic and gives the whole trip a purpose.
• I don't like massive races (20,000+) and I feel uneasy about foreign races below 500 participants.  I like having room to run and a bit of support.  
• Still with me??  The last one is that I don't want to be running anywhere in August where it could be 35C+ -I just can't run in that heat.

So there you have it, not an easy task but glad to say that 2016 and 2017 look relatively straightforward, after that things will get tricky!

PACE and retraction

So I've talked enough about me.  Let's talk about ME (sorry!)

You may or may not have been following but the last couple of months have been very eventful within the ME world.  There's been a widely celebrated critique of the bungled PACE trial by David Tuller with the help of ME patient and hard-working advocate Tom Kindlon.  PACE was a trial funded by taxpayers (£5m) published in 2012 that ultimately recommended CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and GET (Graded Exercise Therapy) as a treatment for doctors to prescribe for ME patients.  It's results were based on bad science and were manipulated by those who have made a career out of their insistence that ME is a psychological illness.

Following this a request was made by James Coyne for the data of the trial to be released.  This has been denied by King's College London for a variety of ridiculous reasons (one of which is to keep patients anonymity even though they have admitted to already releasing some of this data, another that the researchers on the trial might be threatened by patients) and as a result has destroyed their reputation and credibility by scientists worldwide.  The journal where the PACE trial was published (PLOS One) is now seeking legal advice as they only publish if data is openly available for review.

In short, if the data is released it is very likely to show the flaws in CBT and GET that most patients know first-hand as the treatment actually makes them much worse.  Bad science practice from such a high-profile and important trial and a retraction from the Lancet amongst others can only mean that new treatments and a shift in how ME is perceived ona  grand scale is inevitable.  Even some of the old-guard in the psychiatrist community with connections to the Medical Research Council appear to be shifting their standpoint in preparation for this. Very interesting.

To read Invest In ME's call for the retraction of the trial in the Lancet, please click here.

I'll be back in Jan with a reminder of my plans for 2016 and more info on the races, I've printed off the training plan and not long until I'm back out there.

For now though, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas break and thanks again for all your support in 2015.


Mike

Stats

Total Sponsorship Raised:  £2526
Facebook Followers:  206
Twitter Followers:  564
Miles covered:  20(!)
Average temp:  12C
Lessons learned:  Don't stop running!

www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons

October Update

I'm done for my first year of the challenge!

3 of the 28 marathons completed and it's time for a couple of months rest before starting over again in January.

As I write I'm nearly recovered from Dublin Marathon (Oct 26th), one that I'll never forget as I managed to beat my PB and creep under 4 hours for the first time.  I also got to meet Michael & Carmel O'Reilly from the Irish ME Trust and talk about the treatments and real needs of Irish ME sufferers -click here for more info.

How did Dublin Marathon go?  Click here for my race report!

The only disappointment from the trip was the promised features from the Irish Independent and Irish Daily Mirror.  I've followed/chased all of these and so far I'm getting a bit of a wall of silence -something that I'm sure my ME followers can relate to in regard to being heard by doctors, government and the media.

Earlier on in the month I had some great runs along the towpath towards Portishead and out towards Nailsea.  Training through August and September was a little tough due to the heat but I think that it made a big difference come race day, along with the greater emphasis upon hill and interval training.  I had the odd knee niggles but nothing serious, more of a problem was a very heavy cold which caused me to miss my last two runs of training but I got well just in time.

Long Ashton -one of my most regular routes over the summer

What made the difference in Dublin?

Well, I reckon;

• Hill and interval training on the midweek runs
• Training at a higher temp than race day
• Uniterrupted training schedule 
• Better recovery emphasis (foam rolling, ice, stretching, calf sleeves)
• Greater intensity and focus on race day (plus morning race start)

   

What next?

Well I'll still be running twice a week to keep the legs strong and hopefully ensure that it's not such a long road back to fitness when I start up again in January.  In truth I'm not sure what time to be aiming for in the next one, I'm not sure I'm really capable of much better than 3.59 hrs but we'll see.

Whilst I certainly expect to be able to run the next 24 in less than 4.5 hrs (providing I train well), I'm not sure that beating a time is the greatest motivation now I've dipped under 4 hours.  I know there'll be some tough courses/conditions coming up and I have got an extra race in 2016 for my body to cope with, so taking it steady might be the way to go.

2016 races

Booked in so far are;

#5 - April 3rd - Alexander The Great Marathon - Thessaloniki (Greece)

#6 - June 4th - Stockholm Marathon - (Sweden)

#7 - Aug - possibly Solidarnosci Marathon (Gdansk, Poland)
#8 - Oct - possibly Toulouse Marathon (France)

I'm going to be powering down over the next two months so things will go quiet for a bit on Facebook, Twitter and there'll be a joint Nov/Dec blog here.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped me kick this challenge off in 2015.  It's come a long way already with nearly £2500 raised, 500 Twitter followers and 200 on Facebook.  I've learnt a lot about running this year and even more about ME from meeting some incredible people in Ireland, Finland and the Czech Rep.  Hopefully I've helped Invest In ME a little in their mission to unite research across Europe so far.

It's been an amazing experience so far and I can't wait for the 2016 races.  Catch up soon everyone.

www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons

September Update

Autumn! 9 months and over 850 miles run this year.  Just one more marathon (Dublin, Oct 26th) until my winter hibernation!  Weirdly the final mile at Dublin will coincide with my 1000th of the year, never thought that would happen when I came up with this idea last October!

It's been pretty warm out in September and training has gone well aside from the odd twinge.  I've been ice-ing my knees and calves almost every night which has meant that I've recovered well for the next run.  In my head it's been like every run is a football match and the time in between is training for the next performance.  Small compensation for not making it as a football player, my friends will point towards an 11 minute sunday league debut (and final appearance) where I was a substituted substitute.    Things are going well for Dublin so far.  I've intro'd myself to the Irish ME Trust who have been super-friendly helping to promote my visit there.  I've mailed off approaches to radio/paper contacts, hoping to get something back as the race approaches.  I was invited to an ME support group meeting but unfortunately we don't arrive until the Sunday afternoon.  It looks like I'm going to have a few people coming to cheer me on which will be fantastic, I'm also going to be joined in the race by my good mate Ben Scott who is completing the last of a very impressive 4 event challenge this year for Cancer Research UK.

If anyone is keen to meet, here's my itinerary for Dublin;

Sunday 25th October - Land at 2pm, need to check-in and find expo to get race number.  Will be free from 5pm

Monday 26th October (Race Day) - Any time after 2pm, will post my whereabouts on Facebook & Twitter but likely to be drinking Guinness somewhere!

Tuesday 27th October - Flying back early morning, unlikely to be able to meet.

I got some new running shoes this month, you will see me coming!

Asics Gel Pulse 7, with a nice discount from Easyrunner in Bristol

They should get me through Dublin and the training for my 5th race in April 2016.

Marathon #5 - Alexander The Great Marathon, Thessaloniki, April 3rd 2016

So I've been keen to book this one for a while but had to hold fire until Easyet released their next tranche of flights.  There's only a handful of marathons in Greece and I was keen to have Cat with me (she works in a school so fitting around school holidays is tricky) so we chose this one in Greece's 2nd largest city.  The race begins in Pella, the birthplace of Alexander The Great and travels upon 'the road of gods' towards the White Tower at Thessaloniki.  The course itself is said to be pretty quiet until the last 3-4 miles on a very straight undulating road taking in some pleasant countryside, it could get a bit dull out there but Thessaloniki looks like a really nice city.

     

Only 50 Euros to enter and you get a race shirt which is pretty good value.  Flights were quite cheap and I managed to find a very cheap deal for the Bristol Hotel (4*) near to the race start.  Training will start in January for that one and I get the luxury of a 3 month build up to get back up to fitness after a couple of months of working down after Dublin.  Only 8 weeks after that one until Stockholm though which puts more emphasis on a good long winter training programme.  I've got 2 more marathons to book for 2016 at the moment (will be 4 in total), will let you know more about the other 2 soon!

I had a good run with my buddy Josh around Long Ashton (11m) along with some solid weekend runs to Nailsea (15m) and Sheepway/Portishead (17m).  I don't know if I've necessarily improved over the last few months (my times are very similar to back in March) but I do now have the experience to know that if I'm struggling I can hang in there and things will get better in a few minutes.  I've definitely made better use of my midweek 6 mile runs, using one for hill training and one for speed/intervals, which have been rather brutal but essential after my experience in Helsinki.

                      

Normally in this bit I'd talk about something I've learnt from running this month but instead this month I'd like to just draw your attention to some more good work by Invest In ME

Within the next two weeks they will officially form the European ME Research Group with its inaugural meeting in London. Invest In ME have managed to bring together top researchers from seven European countries together to discuss research strategies for ME, EU funding opportunities and a collaborative approach to research.  These have resulted after their hugely successful colloquiums and conferences.  It's fair to say that the work this volunteer run charity are doing is truly amazing.  Their researchers have recently been over in Bergen, Norway to meet and consult with the scientists currently working on the already incredible Rituximab trial over there which yielded the exciting results I talked about before.

Whilst they've got 7 countries involved so far, I'm hoping that by running all over Europe we can attract the attention of others and highlight the need for some countries to maybe even form their own association as I pick up followers.  You can follow their progress through the links below:

Invest In ME - EMERG   Invest In ME Facebook   https://twitter.com/Invest_in_ME

Please also follow 'Let's Do It For ME' who are run by ME patients to help raise funds and awareness for the projects that Invest In ME are pursuing.

Let's Do It For ME  Let's Do It For ME Facebook

One of the biggest challenges they have is that when the media want a comment about ME and research they are directed to other larger ME charities who are doing very little in the research field.  I've learnt the truth about how these charities operate and spend donations as well as the links they have with the government and it's critical that we help raise the profile of Invest In ME -they're the ones with the researcher contacts, focus and urgency to find cures and treatments.

That's it for now, thanks again for your support, look forward to seeing some of you in Dublin in 3 weeks!

www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons
@MikesEUmaras
www.mikeseumarathons.com


Monthly Stats

Total Sponsorship Raised:  £2110
Facebook Followers:  182
Twitter Followers:  450
Miles covered: 102
Average temp:  17C
Lessons learned:  Ice every night, having tied icepacks to my legs all month have now got some proper ice wraps for my shins and knees and it's sure to work wonders.

August Update

This month I successfully ran my 3rd marathon of the 28 marathon challenge, Helsinki in Finland!

It was a hot and hilly one, the hardest yet but the race and trip itself felt like a big success in helping to raise awareness and money for ME research projects via Invest In ME.  I completed the race in 4hrs 30 mins and despite not finishing with a great time it was a fantastic day (click here for race report).

I met with Christel Rimaila, Paula Aarnio and Mintti Raassina from the Finnish CFS/ME Association, all were very welcoming and gave me a good insight into what it's like there for ME patients (click here for info).  Thanks too to Nadja and her friend for making signs and coming to support me!  We had some great donations and messages from the Finnish supporters, things do look like they're starting to improve slowly there although I know the government's current stance on ME is frustratingly backwards and misguided (like in many countries I'll visit).

                                             

Helsinki has some fantastic lakes and islands with a lively city centre and very friendly people -I'd definitely recommend a summer city break there! (click here for pics of my trip!)

Sponsorship Update

As I type we've just ticked over £2K raised for Invest In ME so they can fund their research projects!  That's really great given the challenge is less than 1 year old.  The idea from here is to try and reach as many new people as possible so there'll be a big drive on Twitter and Facebook to spread the word in time for the next race in Dublin.

I've come up with a basic flyer to help reach corporate sponsors to help me try to cover some of the logistical costs (below).  

I'm offering a spot on the front page of my website as well as logos, regular posts and mentions on all social media and any press/media that I'm offered.  Just £100 a year from a handful of sponsors could be the difference to me getting the challenge finished quicker.  As the challenge progresses I'm expecting greater coverage from local TV, media and the running world so there could be some decent exposure for anyone who'd like to be a part of it.

If you know of any company that would be interested please ask them to drop me a message through my contact page -I have a letter drafted outlining the challenge, sponsorship benefits etc, if you would like a copy to send on to your MD or HR contact please drop me an email.

Training for Dublin

I'm a week into my Dublin Marathon training and it's going OK so far after a slow start.  I've only got 25 runs before race day, not long to get ready.  You must be ready though from the other marathons I hear you say?!  Well although it's all valuable mileage, it doesn't quite work like that.  I need to wipe the slate clean, re-focus and build again slowly.  I'm also going to introduce more hill work and interval speed training to make sure that I perform better at the next one.  I want to be a bit leaner and mentally stronger for the next one as it's my last one until April -that's a long time to stew on a disappointing race.

So far I've done a 20 mile week (week 1) which has encompassed a really good hot and hilly run in Hay On Wye.  I went out with Nick for the run and took it nice and steady.  I'd fallen out of a canoe on the river Wye scraping and bruising my knees and shins earlier in the day so was glad it didn't affect it too much!

Sweden

Whilst I wait for Easyjet's flights to come out so I can book my 5th marathon (likely to be either Thessaloniki, Greece or Linz, Austria), I've signed up for Stockholm on June 4th!  It's a big race with over 30,000 runners and I know that we'll be well supported by the Swedish ME Association.  

Other Endurance Challenges

A quick shout out to the following who I'm following regularly on social media and continue to inspire my challenge.  Have a look at their amazing events!

2015 miles in 2015 for ME - Chris Croshaw is running for 4 ME charities

Mike Shepherd - Mike conquered the North Pole Marathon for Invest In ME and has more challenges to come

Running At The Front - Nick Butter from Bristol is running 3000 km in 2015 for BHF, VICTA & Cancer Research

401 Challenge - Ben Smith from Bristol is running 401 marathons in 401 days for Stonewall and Kidscape

Marathon Man UK - Rob Young has run 370 marathons in 1 year, new challenges announced regularly

53 Marathons - Amy Hughes ran 53 marathons in 53 days last year and continues to set new challenges

Owain Thomas (Yolo7dayUltra) - Owain runs for Ochre cancer charity on for a friend who has terminal cancer

By the end of next month I hope to have booked my first race of 2016 and secured some corporate sponsorship.  I'm also hoping to have made contact with the Irish ME Association and gathered some followers there.  I'll also be very heavily into my Dublin training plan, busy times!

Thanks again for all your support!

Mike