Thanks for asking but yes, my feet are in good shape for the final run on Sunday.
I’m really looking forward to running with you and seeing you all there.
One of my feet is pictured here…I promise you the other one is ok too!
Have a restful day!
Jason
Jason is having a well earned rest day today. Before he went to put his feet up we caught up with him yesterday to ask him some of the questions you’ve been asking us.
Why did you decide to run 30 marathons in 35 days – was it because of Eddie Izzard?
Yes and No, I saw what he did and was amazed but knew of others who had attempted multiple-marathons before him! I remember hearing about this last year and thinking that I wanted to reach the target of £100,000 that I set myself at 17 before I turned 25, so myself and my friends decided that we would have to push the boat out with something special, and that quite simply is how the madness of 30 in 35 days started! At the time it seemed like a great idea, but with hindsight, we are all wise after the event!
How did you train for this?
As some people may know my day job is actually a Sports Lecturer at Richmond upon Thames College in Twickenham. My training consisted of running 12-14 miles a day. I trained from 4am-5:30am this involved running 6 miles, started work at 8:30am, finished at 6pm, and then completed 8 miles from 8pm-10pm, then this start all over again and was the case for 7 months.
Why are you starting each marathon at 3 a.m?
The suggestion to start at 3am was given to me by my work colleagues Richard Hicks and Diane Holden who were ‘horrified’ when I suggested starting at 10am. He quickly made me realise that with predestrians, hot weather and running through the heat during midday, this was a silly idea on my part. The sense behind running at this time was that at that time of night there was literally nobody on the road which allowed me to run uninteruppted, as well as avoiding the very real problem at the time of suggestion of incredibly intense heat. Funnily enough, the hottest summer since records began never really came, which suited me perfectly fine, as I do not like running in the heat; I am a useless and pitiful heat runner!
What route do you take?
During these marathons we have taken sereval marathon trails: (North Greenwich to Teddington, Teddington back to Putney), (Piccadilly Circus to Teddington, back to Piccadilly Circus), (Tower Bridge to Teddington, back to Clapham Junction). These were the routes that were taken, orginally it was only going to be one route, which was The Piccadilly route, but then as the challenge went on we came up with more marathon trails which were not too disimilar, and were easy to access transport wise in terms of getting to the starts points for 3am in the morning!
Are you on a special diet for the duration of the task and do you eat while you’re running?
To be honest, I have not really followed a specific diet, this has been partly due to me having a huge loss of appitite since commecing this marathon challenge, apart from a few occassions the stable diet has pretty much been jacket potatoes, piled heavily with cheese and tuna, with mayo of course! However, I would strongly advise to anyone planning to endulge in this madness to basically do what works for you, because no two people are the same, and different diets and approches work for different people/ athletes, in my opinion their is no ‘perfect diet’ only one that suits that person!
What the biggest thing that keeps you going?
Everybody concerned, from everyone at the two charities that work tirelessly day in, day out to effect postitive change in people’s lives, I think that these are incredibly selfless people, who are unsung heroes, but without them those in need would not be able to utilise the services provided for by these charities. I also think of hopw certain things happen in life which reaffirm my belief that there are some truly selfless wonderful people in this world, for example Mick Thorburn and David Tutin, who have gone above and beyond to really make this an amazing experience for all concerned! And the families and people that are affected in a positive way by what these two charities (The Shooting Stars Children’s Hospice and Shelter) do!
What do you think about when you’re running?
I think about my daughter Taylah, how far we have come since we started, all the people that are involved in putting this together and the final day, when we realise that we have been part of something very special. Oh yeah and then I think about all the work I have to do when I go back to College, it is very much back to the real world once this is all finished! Oh yeah, then I think of song of the day!
How do you recover after each marathon?
Ice baths, massage, warm baths, and believe it or not water aerobics! And then obviously sleep! A huge think that has aided my recovery in terms of reparing the legs for repitive activity has been the use of Compression Tights, provided for by Compress Yourself, I swear by these, they are absolutely amazing after 5 hours, but legs felt workable again!
Isn’t it really dangerous and bad for you?
To be honest, it is not a great idea as your body is not really made for a marathon, because of the long term affects/ disadvantages of that particular event. However, you can train your body to adapt to those affects. With regards to multi-marathons, it would be silly for me to suggest it is a good idea, however if you fancy finding out what your physical and mental limit is be my guess! It is definately a life-changing experience which I think is based on one’s mental strength.
Do you dream of running?
No never, ever, ever! I dream of what it would be like to meet my hero Jimi Hendrix, but that can’t happen because he was taken from me in 1970, 15 years before I was born!
What’s the one thing you’re looking forward to most when you have finished the 30?
I looking forward to spending time with my family and friends, and really just getting back into the swing of some sort of ‘normality’, my daughter is about to turn 3 so I am also looking forward to finding her a present! Most importantly, I am looking forward to giving the biggest round of thank yous for everyone that has put this together, quite frankly without these people and they know who they are, this would have just been a dream disconnected with reality.
I’m down in Kent today at my little brother’s graduation day. Well done!
Back later for training…it’s getting closer all the time.
Had a great piece of coverage on Marathon Guide – will post this up as soon as I can.
Keep running!
Jason
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