20th November 2024 Miami North America

 North America 7^th 04:01:00

 

We collected our luggage and caught a taxi to our hotel hoping to check in and get a rest before the final marathon. By the time we were in our hotel room it was 0500 and I thought I may as well stay up, sort out and get to the start line for 0700. No where for breakfast was open soi we ended up at Starbucks at 0600 for coffee and some ropey oatmeal. We headed off to the start but there was a last-minute change so it had moved from 39^th to 53^rd street, after a bit of Uber confusion we arrived at just after 0700 but everyone else was late as well so the start was put back to 0800. There was a pretty big crowd and a real buzz at the start line as 65% of the runners were from the USA, lots of family and friends had come down for the grand finale, marathon number 7. 

The course was a cycle path and 10 laps of 4.2km. The temperature to start with was 28oC but quickly climbed to 36oC as the sun came up but the humidity was low so overheating dangers were much less significant. Aid stations were at the turnaround point and back at the start but in the heat it was still going to be a challenge to keep cool and running. We all raced off as the starter's horn sounded, pumped up by all the supporters there cheering us on. I felt pretty good despite the lack of sleep, in fact after feeling so terrible in Istanbul, I had felt good ever since. I seemed to be running with some of the runners that had established themselves in the speedy bracket and to date, my best placing was 9th and I was certainly ahead of that. It felt like I could now just run on feel and not hold back quite as much, the worst that could happen now was I blew up and had to walk it in.This was the lap of honour to pick up 777 and the final piece of bling to complete the collection.

I stuck to the usual plan, get 3 laps under my belt of continuous running to get some time in my back pocket then start the run/walk to get the sub 4 in the bag. All started out well but there wasn't much shade on the course so as the sun got up I started to feel hot.

I quickly slowed up at the aid stations to take on fluids and make sure I used the ice to help cool down as best I could. The zip started to ebb away as the heat took its toll and I wasn't gaining time on my target. All the 777 runners were in great form, offering out words of encouragement as we passed each other on the out and back but we were all suffering. 

Mutual misery seems to be a bonding experience, we could empathise with each other and what we were having to endure to get this final marathon done. 

Most people had feet that were swollen and blistered with various amount of tape on the legs to hold things together but this was the home run albeit a combination of running, jogging, staggering, walking or even limping. We were all going to finish this one no matter what it took.

By lap 7 it became apparent to me that I would have to push hard to get under 4 and at that point it just didn't seem that important, maybe because I had missed that goal on two of the previous marathons. I eased back and just enjoyed the crowds as in a weird sort of way, the sooner I finished the sooner the experience was going to end, it was a confusing emotion. Get on and finish so you can get out the heat and rest but don't rush and bring it all to an end.

By the time the last lap came around I was starting to properly over heat but with just 4km left, I pushed on to get the job done. 

Crossing the line for a final time was of course emotional and meeting my comrades who had also finished was fantastic, brothers in arms. We had shared so much over the last 7 days, we knew what it had taken to get to that final finish line. Complete strangers had become great friends, whilst we ostensibly had little in common, coming from different communities in different countries, the sort of person that embarks on an adventure such as this are a very small group. We were alike in many ways and post 777 the WhatsApp group was on fire with 'what next' to out tough what we had just completed. Plans were already in motion to meet at this or that event, there was almost a contest as to who could run a marathon soonest after completing this challenge.

So that's a wrap, am I back 100% physically, well not really but am I back 100% mentally, yes. I can sort to plan more adventures for 2025, not cycling as my balance is not good enough but if I a stay injury free then there's lots of running to be done! Some of my new friends below, Ger, Dan and Anne!

19th November 2024 Cartagena Colombia

 South America 9^th 04:48:14

 

Thats our plane, home to us and in a previous life the Rolling Stones!

Planning for the event I had looked at what the temperatures were likely to be at each location. Two stood out, Antarctica -15oC and Cartagena +30oC and as it turned out, number 6 was 37oC and over 75% humidity. The consequence of the humidity is that sweat doesn’t evaporate off the skin to keep you cool, it just sits there and helps you boil. If your core temperature gets away from you there is no way to cool back down, your race is over.

We landed at 0700 and transferred to the race venue via a stop at the hotel to drop our bags. With all the faff, instead of starting in the early morning we actually never got going until 1000, just when the heat was rising. Then route was 10 laps of 4.2km and was kinda set up with some local guys acting as marshals and working the aid stations placed at both ends and one in the middle, effectively every 1km.

Thats a picture of Greg with one lung, Dan who at the age of 81 did 777 half marathons and Justin Spencer of Chaos and Kindness fame (?). 

It was a public cycle way by the seaport with a decent surface but only intermittent shade. I set off with the intention of keeping a lid on my body temperature, running easy, drinking at every aid station and putting ice under my cap and holding it in my hands. For every run I had been taking a gel every 30 minutes and importantly, a gram of salt every hour and here it was going to be critical in avoiding cramp. 

The first couple of laps ticked off nicely but we were approaching midday, and I could feel my body temperature rising but I stuck to the plan. I got to 24km and came to a standstill at an aid station as I was over heating, and it was getting away from me and close to the point of no return. I spent 5 or 6 minutes at the aid station drinking and trying to cool myself off with the ice.

I started to feel better so set off again as I was over half way, walking at first then back jogging but by the time I had completed another lap my head was spinning with the heat. There was nothing for it but to walk until I felt I had my body temperature properly under control and just take as long as it takes, after all, the goal was 777 and the time at the end of the day was nice but not critical.

It took me a full hour of walking to get in a better place and confident I could run the remainder of the number 6 from 34km to the end. I did heat up again but in less than an hour I was over the finish line and could just sit cool down properly. Out on the course there were people in all sorted of trouble, one or two just did the half and a couple had to be pulled of the course taken to hospital. I had been slow but I was still in the hunt for 777.  When I crossed the line I had to take a few minutes to collect myself, cool down and start rehydrating.

It was now mid-afternoon and we went back to the hotel. Some rooms had been rented for us to shower and get some rest ahead of travelling to Miami. I didn’t have the strength to go to a restaurant so ordered room service, ate on the room and napped until it was time to leave for the airport. We assembled at 1900 but didn’t leave until 2100, finally boarding the plane and taking off at midnight. It was a very short flight so instead of eating I went straight to sleep but not for long, we touched down in Miami at 0300.

18th November 2024 Istanbul Turkey - Europe

 Europe 10^th 03:55:05

We all felt much better when we rolled up to the start line for the European leg, if only because the last one had been so awful. The Istanbul marathon club house was the venue, hot showers, changing rooms, numbered table for personal nutrition and marshals out on the course. It was 6 laps of 7km, and the weather was dry and mid-teens – what not to like. All the courses had been more or less flat apart Antarctica which had a small hill into the cold wind which I guess made it feel worse than it really was.

I stuck to the plan and ran the first 2 laps continuously at 5min/km pace to give me the cushion to back off in the second half. The next two laps I ran 2km walked 1 min and the final two laps were run 1km walk 1 minute with a good margin of time in my pocket.

This allowed me to really hit the nutrition hard and make sure I finished fully fuelled up and to give the legs an easier ride, so they weren’t toast at the end. It was a plan to ensure I had the 4 hours in the bag and then start to put my body in a good position to tackle the next marathon. It was tempting to push the pace but after the prospect of 767 last night I just focussed on getting to the end in good shape.

By this time as a group, we were really starting to bond, nothing like shared misery to pull us closer together. The course was an out and back, so you saw everyone on every lap and all were giving thumbs up or a ‘well done’ or some other little acknowledgement of support. I crossed the finish line in good shape, popped medal number 5 around my neck then headed to get changed, have a shower and go to a nearby café to get some food. That’s now 555 and the body recovered and ready for the next one – how different things looked last night when I started number 4.

There was a lot of traffic to get back to the airport then the now predictable faff as someone forgot their passport or lost a bag etc etc. In fact one person hadn't made it to Australia as they hadn't bothered to get their visa ahead of time....they had a 667 for their trouble!

The trip through the airport back to the plane was less eventful but still a fair amount of faff before we were back sat in our seats and onwards to South America. Given the lack of sleep over the last two days I opted to go straight to sleep on the plane for the 12-hour flight rather than eat first. Sleep and body fatigue was always going to be my undoing, not the running, so I always prioritised rest over food. Marathon 4 had shown that running at an easy pace without any food was doable and very much the way I had been training, fasted first thing in the morning.

17th November 2024 Istanbul Turkey - Asia

 Asia 15^th 04:12:09

 

The flight was meant to be a big opportunity to recover ahead of two tough marathons on Istanbul, taking a total of 18 hours including a fuel stop in Dubai. No sooner had we boarded the plane, the stomach cramps started. Maybe I had just eaten too much as I had planned to skip the meal at the start of the flight and just go straight to sleep. I was trying to prioritise sleep whenever I could as I knew this would be my undoing given that my recover from my brain injury was still about 85%. I had a scan a week before we flew to Cape Town and whilst the brain scan was all clear, the consultant said the body fatigue may never get back to its previous levels. 

Getting back on the plane was like coming home, we had the same seats, could leave things on there and we could just settle down straight away with the same crew on board.

My stomach never settled then nausea set in, a feeling that I was imminently going to throw up but not quite. The upshot was that I drank nothing, ate nothing and got virtually no sleep at all. As I lay there, I felt there was no way I could start never mind finish a marathon, just getting of the plane without being ill was going to be a struggle. I wondered to myself if it was almost the same thing if I did 6 marathons etc but clearly it wouldn’t be.  I sipped on electrolytes in an effort to stem the dehydration and we made our way through the airport. Baggage took almost two hours to collect and then we stood around waiting for the bus to transport us to the next marathon. Whilst standing there I managed to nibble away and eat a very plain sandwich, and it stayed down…. small victories.

By the time we got to quay side the 1900 start time was starting to slip. It was raining, cold and the course hadn’t been set up. The were three tents for us to huddle in and our luggage was piled up on the pavement in the rain. At 20:00 I knew it wasn’t good when I saw the organisers disappear up the quay side with a measuring wheel, clearly to sort a course out for us. We were on the riverbank of the Bosphorus, standing on the quay side with loads of local fishermen casting backwards and forwards with hooks at eye level.

In the end they managed to pull together a course of sorts, 1.055km out and back, so that’s 20 laps (although they said 21 initially) and the far end of the course was dark, so we needed to run with head torches, the pavement was broken concrete in places, little ramps and drop offs. We were cold and wet by this time, so we were just pleased to have a course and be able to get running. On the plus side as we been hanging around so long my stomach had settled; I still hadn’t eaten much but at least I could a reasonable chance of completing number 4.

We finally started at 22:00, heading off into the dark, trying to avoid the fishermen’s hooks as we ran by. On the first couple of laps, I made a mental note of the potholes and other hazards so that I could run with my head up a bit more although given it was very dark there was precious little to look at, even the few marshals that were there soon disappeared as midnight passed. I kept a steady pace and tried to drink when I could but no chance of holding down any gels, this was survival mode to stay in the 777 race, 767 doesn’t have the same ring about it. 

These were hard laps, and it was clear everyone was suffering from the conditions, and as I discovered later, the stomach bug was slowly making its way through the group. There was nothing about this that was good,

I just had to grind it out and get the job done and hopefully be better for the next one. I had no prospect of staying under 4 hours for this one, I was completely depleted so I just kept moving to get to the end. It was literally cross the line, get on the bus and then wait to be driven to the hotel.

Despite getting on the bus at 02:00 we didn’t actually leave until 03:00 and got to the hotel at 04:00. I had been dreading getting up for the planned 09:00 start as it meant such a short sleep and I had missed the sleep on the plane but they recognised what a bad place everyone was in so pushed the start time of number 5 back to midday. It felt like luxury, in a bed and 4 hours sleep followed by breakfast and ready to roll at 11:00

16th November 2024 Perth Australia

 Australia 12^th 03:46:20

The flight was just over 11 hours, and we were now on the aircraft that would fly us round the world for the rest of the trip. It was entirely fitted out for business class and the seats were almost completely flat which made it much easier to get some sleep. We arrived in Perth and I had managed to get about 7 hours sleep and some food, feeling much more refreshed and ready to go. We changed into our race kit on the plane as we were going straight from the airport to the venue for marathon number 3.

We arrived at the venue, and it turned out to be the Perth Marathon Club HQ and club house. It was great, lots of space and showers as we were going straight back to the plane after the run. The arch was put up, national flags out and we were lining up ready to go. A nice touch was a table with numbers on it for you to put your own nutrition, made it really simple to find my gels and bottles at the end of each lap which you actually passed in each direction. The course was 10 loops of 4.2km, smooth surface, traffic free bike path, gorgeous views, and some wind! A strong tail wind on the way out made the kms fly along but turning the other way into the wind was another matter. I got three laps under my belt without stopping then switched to take two walk breaks (one by the zip wire, one approaching the turn with the comedic marshals) on the 2kms into the wind, running when I had the wind pushing me along the other way.

I felt really good and just ran as my legs wanted and despite slowing down for nutrition and walk breaks it felt easy all the way to the end. I could have pushed for a quicker time but after all, there were still 4 marathons to go. Instead, I just took it all in as the sunny afternoon turned to a beautiful sunset and eventually the nighttime set in with the bright lights of the city offering another wonderful vista. By this time, we had got to know a few of the other athletes and the camaraderie was kicking in, every lap, shouting out encouragement or a simple thumbs up. 

I crossed the line with a little in reserve which meant I could crack straight on with shorting myself out to prepare for the next one.

 

The volunteers really made the day, giving support and cheers all day/night long. There were hot showers, towels and soap in the club house, pizzas and BBQ food ready to go, and a large place to stretch - perfect. We had everything we needed to recover before heading to the airport at midnight.

15th November 2024 Cape Town South Africa

 South Africa 12^th 03:53:09

As we left Antarctica two athletes were running around the aisles of the plane to get 200m in before we took off so they could bag their full marathon, and they made it! 

We landed at Cape Town airport at 0300 and were back at the hotel by 0400. We were up at 0700 and ready on the start line at 0745 ready for marathon number 2. The route was 6 x 7km laps up and down the promenade at Seapoint, a stretch I know well from previous visits. Aid stations were midway on the lap in both directions, so every 2km roughly. We had a little more time to hang out at the start line before we headed off so everyone was pumped and ready to crack on. The previous day I think everyone was just focussed on their own efforts to cope with the conditions and take in where we were but today it felt like we had more band width to come together as a group. 

The hooter sounded and we were off, and some ran in twos and threes, some on their own…. I was on my own as I very much wanted to do it at my pace and stop whenever I wanted to. The temperature was mid to high 20s so it was going to be critical not to get dehydrated again and to ensure I fully fuelled as I went, not just for this marathon but also to avoid a increasing deficit over the next 5 marathons, burning 6000 calories a day meant this was going to be an eating contest as well.

Given my goal to hit 4 hours for every marathon, if possible, it meant my run walk strategy would need to kick in later in the run, once I had enough time in hand to be sure I could still slow up but make the time. I resolved to run the first two laps at a comfortable pace then switch to run/walk. Some of the stronger and pro athletes were cracking around at a 3-hour pace but I stuck to my plan as it would be a long 7 days and for me the goal was to finish in one piece and not take pacing chances. Managing my general fatigue was central to be able to finish the challenge.

As the laps ticked off the temperature continued to rise towards 30oC, so I worked hard at aid stations to fuel up and take in fluids. On the promenade there were lots of people around to distract from the running, so time passed quickly and then I was on the last lap with a good amount of time in hand on 4 hours. They had set up the inflatable finish arch and flags making the end feel much more like an achievement, there was even a tape to break and hold aloft. Job done and the hotel was only 200m away. I had become dehydrated again despite my best efforts, so we went straight to get something to eat and drink then grab a shower and pack. We had to be ready to catch the bus to the airport at 1430 so no time for a nap and catch up on some of the missed sleep, just out the door and off to the airport.

14th November 2024 Wolfs Fang Antarctica

 Antarctica 11^th 03:56:40

I hardly slept a wink as I went over and over the kit list and what lay ahead. Most of the marathons were either warm, hot or hotter but we were expecting -10oC to -20oC depending on the wind chill. I had bought a special set of kit out for this one, based largely on experience of running in sub-zero temperatures on ice and snow in Tignes. At 04:30 we were on the bus to the airport, just with hand luggage and largely dressed ready to run. There was a lot of nervous chatter as we contemplated the day ahead and the most exciting of all the locations for our marathons. We boarded the plane and took off south heading for the ice cap and marathon 1, day 1, continent 1, 5.5 hours flying time. The plan was to land on the ice runway and within 15 minutes to be lined up ready to start. We had 8 hours on the ice and then needed to be in the air and heading back to Cape Town.

There was a full race briefing before we landed, 4 laps of 10.5km with aid stations every 5km. The organisers said that running in normal trainers would be fine but to be sure we had plenty of layers to fight off the cold temperatures. I wasn’t 100% sure about regular trainers but I opted to start with them and keep my trail shoes in reserve, but I certainly would not be needing the spikes I had brought. 

We were picked up from the plane on skidoos and taken to a cabin to drop our bags and do any last might adjustments to our clothing. We then walked around to the starting line.

The company running the camp and event was called White Desert and for good reason, the air was incredibly dry, and we needed to wear factor 50 due to sun glare off the ice.

Showtime! We are off and immediately the ground turns to soft snow and the shoes are slippery under foot. After a few hundred metres we make a turn to run up the left-hand side of the runway, its uphill and into a slight wind and you can tell we are at over 1000m above sea level. It’s a tough opening 3km and doesn’t bode well for my target time. Whilst I was keen not to set time goals, in my head I wanted to complete all 7 marathons in under 4 hours, if possible: just felt like a neat round number and would be running rather than jogging. Anyway, back to the ice and snow and we are going downhill now, and the ground is firmer under foot. I opted not to listen to any music but to allow myself to take in the environment and not miss a thing for the short time we were there. 

 

By the 5km mark I was starting to overheat so I took off my wind breaker as the winds were light and planned to drop it at the hut at the completion of the first lap. Lap 1 ticked off and I headed into the hut, dropped my wind breaker, swapped my gloves for a thinner pair and changed into my trail shoes. As I headed out, I instantly felt more comfortable and settled into a nice rhythm. I had run lap 1 continuously to get up to temperature but now I switched to run 2km walk / 1 minute or at least that was the broad template. When the going was slow, I used the walk break but when it was downhill for example, I kept the momentum and didn’t walk. I also tried to time the walk break to coincide with the aid stations so I could walk and 100% take what I wanted before jogging on. At the end of lap 2 I had built a little time buffer for the sub 4 hours which meant my pace required was no longer 5:43 min/km but over 6 min/km. 

I started out on lap 3, up the hill into the wind again but on the way back down I looked up and around to take in the rocky out crops, sheets of glistening ice heading off into the distance and the landscape speckled with runners making their way around the tundra. I had a bit of a scare when I tried to ask for energy drink and couldn’t get the words out – either the brain was struggling or my face was frozen, luckily after some practise it was the latter.

The rest of the run went without incident, just stick to the plan and knock it out but look up and take it all in. By the last lap I was dehydrated and felt pretty exhausted, starting to zone out a little.

I approached the finish line and was taken by surprise as emotions surged up inside me. I took a moment to think of all that had supported me in my recovery. This was actually the finish line for the last 6 months, coming from being completely disabled, not able to walk across the room and now running a marathon in the harshest of conditions. It was real evidence that I could get at least some way back to my old self, although maybe not 100%. Taking on 777 was my way of testing what could be possible if I worked hard and now, I could see it was realistic to start planning and dreaming of more adventures. I had turned the corner; the next 6 marathons were for fun!