The Plan
As part of their preparation for the Bournemouth Marathon, the A-Z team planned a training trip to the south coast. One of the team, who shall remain nameless, had decided that visualisation was an important part of preparation for such a challenge. Consequently, the A-Z team have now visited the Bournemouth Marathon course and seen for themselves that 26 miles is a bl***! long way. Not sure how that has helped but it did prove to be an eventful visit.
Captain Caroline realises that her biggest achievement will be to actually get the A-Z team to the start line of the Bournemouth Marathon in one piece. When faced with training in unfamiliar territory on the south coast, she wisely opted for the cautious approach. She volunteered to take the photos! They turned out to be considerably more impressive than the collective training effort.
The training
Full of youthful exuberance and enthusiasm, Kieran arrived at the Bournemouth seafront and embarked upon an extraordinary series of elaborate stretches and exercises. Strollers and their dogs were startled as the yoga poses morphed into bunny hops. Fortunately his bright pinkish red top and 6 foot 3 frame didn’t attract too much attention!
After a lengthy delay while the rest of the team finished laughing, training for the Bournemouth Marathon began with a gentle run along the beach. Caroline, with her new found interest in photography, then retreated to the prom with a massive camera. She then managed to expertly capture a series of undignified poses as the others struggled along the seafront.
The planned short session of interval runs along the prom proved too much for Kieran’s hamstring. Halfway through the second effort it ‘popped’. Not necessarily a technical term. However, it was enough to prevent him from doing any more running, resorting to limping and grimacing in equal measure. It was so painful that he did not fully recover until he was halfway through his second alcoholic drink later that evening.
Phil and Steve gamely continued running but with an increasing lack of interest, especially when they encountered the only hill on the course. Fortunately, just as they started to get tired, Caroline sprung out of nowhere with the camera and running was quickly abandoned before anything else went wrong.
The Charities
The Bournemouth Marathon is now under 3 weeks away and the training or lack of it is largely done. The team are well on their way to achieving their fundraising target of £1000 to be split between their 3 chosen charities, London Air Ambulance, Joining Jack and the Chartwell Cancer Trust. The team are keeping their fingers crossed for fine weather on the day and that Kieran’s hamstring recovers.
Then it’s only 26 miles and 365 yards to worry about!
Make a donation using Virgin Money
Visit our team page to support our charities
