Just a perfect day ....

I'm glad I spent it with you :)

That's perhaps a misleading title as I had an almost perfect week with the Mainly Marathons group across the South Western USA. I have to say the line from the song "Feed animals at the zoo" bought back some aid station memories of pancakes & hot dogs, obviously I am not suggesting the runners are animals ;) although come to think of it ?!!!! ;)

Where do I start reviewing my week ? the start would be the best point I guess ?

Day one of the 6 day Mainly Marathons series for me was actually day 3 in Bluff Utah & is a day that for so many reasons I will never forget. I would have loved to have done all six days of the series but couldn't abandon the 150 runners taking in part in my own Enigma Fireworks races over the weekend in the UK & I needed their entry fees to pay my own entry fees, plus flights, food & accommodation in America's worst motels. I spent a whole 24 hours travelling just to make the start line - Steve Martin & John Candy would have been proud of my travels. My Partner Sarah drove me 3 miles to the train station heading for central London, once their I headed for the Piccadilly line on the London underground that would almost an hour later deposit me at Heathrow Terminal 5 ahead of a 10 plus hour flight to Dallas - Fort Worth, a beer & Nachos in Big D's airport & I was heading for my gate & another flight this time to Durango Colorado where my friends had run on day 2 in Colorado. My stay in Colorado would be a very short one as "Mr Marathon" Nick Nicholson met me & the airport & quickly chauffeured me to Bluff Utah, my first impressions were simply "it's dark" our room card key was under the reception door mat, it was by this time 11pm local time, the time zones I had gone through had confused the hell out of me & all I really knew was I wouldn't be getting much sleep ahead of my Utah run.

I woke up an hour prior to the early race start & threw on my race kit before heading 2 or 3 miles down the road to the race start, i collected my number & started looking forward to my Titanium run, now for those outside the circle of running you are thinking "what's a Titanium run ?" a good & valid question which require explanation - The Marathon Maniacs is a global organisation, based in the USA with I would imagine a 75% US membership, I'm a small part of the other 25%. (there are just over 14,000 members at present) I became only the 315th person to make titanium level with the organistation. I chose the easiest way for it to be done by US residents which I would also suggest is also the toughest way to make that level for Non US residents. I ran marathons in 30 different states or countries in a 365 day period a journey (the other options are 52 marathons in 52 weeks & 20 different countries in that time frame too). My journey would start in Asia where I would run about 200 yards before reaching Europe running the Istanbul marathon, that journey would take in US states from Hawaii to Florida & Vermont to Washington as well as running closer to home in the UK, The Netherlands, Austria & Poland.

The Race Director Daniel made reference to this being my Titanium Run & then also bought up something I had forgotten, it was my birthday which had totally slipped my mind, I have had plenty of birthdays but would only have one Titanium day, I've even had more weddings than Titanium days so you can see how special Titanium was for me. My friends proceeded me embarrass me by singing happy birthday, wasn't quite Marilyn Monroe style but as I'm British they won't let me be their president either - their loss !!! It was now time to get down to some running & I felt quite strong setting off down towards the beautiful copper coloured canyon in the distance, the scenic was breathtaking as the sun came up, the Bluff bear Ears looked like Wile E Coyote's hide out & I could envisage him dislodging one of those very rocks in the direction of the Roadrunner below ( I would get to see my first Roadrunner but not until 3 days later in Nevada ). I faded by 20 miles & walked a few with some good friends i had met on previous Stateside trips - Road Kill Bill,Clyde,Ed, Ila & Trisha to name but a few. George on of the 3 amigos who run the show had selected Pink Floyd for our listening pleasure & had to chuckle as "Shine on your crazy diamond" was playing on one of my aid station visits. I eventually finished the 50km in just under 6 & a half hours even registering the win, to celebrate I went out & won the 5km race too - could it get any better ?

Day two took us to Flagstaff Arizona, a brand new state for me as I aim to run a marathon, 50km ultra & 5km in all 50 states. the temperature was colder than the UK as we started at minus 2 degrees celcius (around 31 degrees F I believe ?) I managed to run a slowish 2.6 mile first lap & was out of breath, it was at this point as i started to walk someone informed me that Flagstaff was 7000 feet about sea level, that & third miles !! The highest UK "mountain" is around 4,800 feet !! the plan was to run a 50km & a 5km but knowing I wo

uld need another trip to AZ for all my goals I bottled out at marathon in just over 7 hours, my second slowest ever at 26.2 miles,I had nothing to give. Having a beer at at Cafe / restaurant called "Altitudes" the night before should have been an obvious clue ?

Day three took us to the Casino City of Laughlin Nevada where our hotel was modeled on a paddle steamer & of course featured a Casino in the lobby & thankfully a Jacuzzi - the cheapest hotel i have ever stayed in at £17.66 (about $22 US) but certainly not the worst hotel that delight still awaited us ! The room was great apart from the lack of free Wifi. I had a better run along the Colorado River overlooking the Davis Dam & spent part of the day with Karen "Evil twin" Vollan who is nothing if not direct in her opinions, we shared some colourful miles highlighted by Karen chasing a Roadrunner in the hope it would fly & we would see it's plumage, I guess they are called ROADRUNNERS for a reason ?!

Day Four took us to America's worst hotel in Needles California, The Regency Inn & Conference center in Iowa & Chek in Colorodo were blown out of the water here, the sheets were stained, the curtain pole bent, The broken taps hung out of chipped tiling in the shower & the clientele wandering around outside were a little scary - I think the term "crack whore" might have had more than one mention ?!I got to meet a Facebook friend & share a few beers with Eddie Hahn & David Jones both interesting characters who make me look rather sane by comparison. Needles would mark another landmark in my running career as I would make it to 300 lifetime marathons / ultras & get my name on the coveted global rankings list. I'm not one for much emotion as it's just running a hobby & not life & death, but I can say the final half mile had me almost in tears, the course wasn't the most memorable & that's me being kind, My buddy Clyde celebrated with me out of the course with shots of Whisky, Clyde Shank is one of the most friendly & supportive guys you could ever wish to meet on the running scene, always encouraging whether folks are taking 3 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours etc ... you get the idea ! Next shots on me sir.

Days 5,6 & 7 would take us to Las Vegas for the Jus Run 3 of a kind series in local parks on the outskirts of Sin City, I running form was returning to some extent & i would come home 2nd in the 50km on day one & 1st male on day 3. day 2 saw me do something i have never even considered attempting & probably won't do ever again, I ran two marathons in one day. This was a day that would require strategy, time management & a strong mental will power, I ran the morning marathon with the great Jus Run crew in mountain View park, I felt good but still decided to ease back to give me a chance to run the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas marathon at 4.30pm that night. I paced my second half as I had planned to finish 9 seconds inside 5.30 before Heading off to the Monte Carlo parking lot in downtown Las Vegas with Nick Nicholson, Nick would be attempting 2 in one day although taking it a step father he had completed the 50km in the morning.

The starts pens in Vegas weren't the most organised but we put our heads down from the entry point at pen 14 & weaved our way through the crowds to pen two to give us the most of the 5 hour cut off after the last person started & who do we bump in to ? Traviss running his 400th marathon, Rachel his partner & Georgina from the UK 100 Marathon club, we shared a few "war stories" about races & our travels before a wonderfully observed minutes silence for those murdered the previous month outside the Mandalay Bay & the National anthem which was well sung with a real passion. The gun sounded the flames flew up from the starting gantry & we were off. My plan was to do 9 ish minute miling until half way which would then allow me to walk with minimal running 15 minute miles to finish in 5.15, the first half went a little better than planned as we ran past the Vegas sign, past the Bellagio, Caesars Palace & headed towards the Stratosphere in the distance. Once over half way i still felt good. Mainly Race Director Daniel & his wife Samanatha spurred me on for a further mile before disappearing into the distance, shortly after Paul Addicott from the UK pulled up on my shoulder & amazingly I was able to hang with him for maybe 3/4 of a mile ? I was still clinging on to 10 minute miles at this point & wouldn't be forced to walk until 18 miles but was still able to keep every mile under 14 minutes & was now confident of beating the cut off & even started thinking of a sub 5 hour finish, the second half of the Vegas course is the most bizarre course i have ever run - gradually decreasing circles separated by steel barricades that covered the space of a football stadium but kept you in for around 5 miles !! the miles ticked away before a deja vu situation in the back lot of Circus circus this time the small loops were distinguished by more cones than you'll see on the M1 motorway (interstate) finally we escaped the madness & were in to the final couple of miles, with maybe a mile & half to go I saw Ollie Dawson & exchanged a high 5, Ollie was running his 100th marathon, just 50 yards behind him was Nick & I knew seeing me that he would come after me & so I moved that 14 min miling down to 8 minute miling in the hope I could hold him off & I managed to finishing just a minute ahead of him although looking at him post finish he had left it all out there in his pursuit of me, a few minutes later & we both welcomed home centurion Ollie. The next challenge was to carry a bottle of water, gatorade, chocolate milk & 2 bags of pretzels - this might have been a bigger challenge than 8 marathons (or ultras) in 7 days ? finally we obtained bags from the organisers although the term organiser seems to suggest this was organised, it wasn't !!

The best part of the fianl day was the finish line pizza & post race beers when it was over, it wasn't pretty but then neither am I !!

a huge thanks to all the race Directors, organisers, volunteers, spectators & fellow runners who made my week so memorable & rewarding.

Six states to complete now, see you all in Mississippi in April

Foxy has left the building !!

Almost heaven....

West Virginia, not quite sure I would describe the course that straddles the West Virginia / Virginia border as heavenly. It's a tough old course to do on back to back days when setting out on 9 ultras in 9 days as well as picking up the 7 states needed over 5km.

The course is rather undulating but at the same time interesting with a variety of viewpoints on the almost question mark shaped out & back course. There's a baseball stadium, trains, a tank & a Christmas light show already to go & all this against a beautiful backdrop of trees in all their Autumnal (Fall) glory. I got to meet so many old friends in the very place 3 years previously they had become new friends, Bluefield in 2014 was the very place I had gotten to meet new Mainly owners Jesse & Daniel, Ila, Trisha, Chuck, Clyde & so many more of the familiar faces that have become my American running family over the past 3 years. The day also bought a new friends as I met my room mate Greg & we instantly got on sharing many laughs & tales.

Two days in Bluefield & I was ready for a change of scenery, I'd driven across Tennessee in 2015 calling in at Gracelands, Sun Studios & Lynchburg (all for rather obvious reasons I would suggest !!), but I had never run in the State before so was looking forward to a new course in a new state & it was a lovely course through a park with a stream & a lake to look across. I struggled earlyion but recovered in the mid part, by 23 miles I could sense my buddy Nick was catching me up. He caught me & we had an 80 yard sprint for the finish line, his long legs were no match for my short stumpy ones & he did me by 3 yards. In hindsight a rather silly thing to do as I crawled around the remainder of the 50km distance in a rather poor time for me but I was pleased to bag another state, my 41st & confident my performances couldn't get worse - How wrong I was !!!

Day 4 took us to North Carolina, a state that has witnessed both my greatest triumph & greatest tragedy, tragedy is perhaps a little dramatic ? In 2013 I set out to run my first US 100 miler, The Graveyard 100 along the Outer Banks of the Atlantic Ocean. A pulled groin ended that attempt & for 2 years the mental anguish of that DNF hurt far more than the pulled groin that had forced me to stop & hitch a ride with a young lady who's first name was my surname "Bayley" - what a bizarre coincidence, a year later I completed marathon distance with Mainly in Morganton finishing in second splitting those "pesky" brothers from Minnesota although that's not the triumph I am referring to, the triumph I am referring to was heading back to the Outer Banks in 2015 with a score to settle, I was on good form following a 3.26 at Little Rock the week before & a 3.14.59.7 the week before that to perfectly qualify for my home capital cities marathon with a whole 0.3 of a second to spare in Tokyo. Not only did I finish the 100 miler that I'd started 2 years previously I also managed to break 24 hours after confusing myself when my Garmin died & daylight saving began during the run - I'd calculated the hour difference the wrong way, these things happen when you are tired. This NC race would take place in a new & better venue in Fletcher.

Day 5 saw us run Seneca, last time on rthe course I was almost swimming, it was rather wet, this time the opposite as we experienced record temperatures, the 50km plus 5km distance each day was really beginning to take it's toll & I was dragging myself slowly round the courses by now but refusing to give up on my 50kms & 5kms, part of my motivation of the 5kms was the cost of plane tickets to come back for such a short distance.

Day 6 was a rather confusing course in Georgia & rather hilly but I had good company out there with a variety of people including Tre, who for some reason was wearing one of those collars that the put around dogs necks to stop them biting themselves after surgery, but she had it on the wrong way round !!. I took a Garmin but a calendar might have been a more appropriate piece of equipment as I had never spent so long in my life completing a 50km course. We had spent the night before in Macon & it seems they don't get many foreigners in Macon as I spent 10 mins as a celebrity or perhaps in more of a freak show as the Englishman - it was rather a Love Actually style moment but sadlty without Tara Reid :(

Day 7 took us to Alabama & Dave Jones who had treated me to many fine local ales the previous night kept me company for much of the day as I completed another new state & even struck a business deal while taking in the scenery which included an Alligator - working & running who says men can't multi task !!

The final two days would take us into Florida where it was rather warm to say to the least, having already run a 5km in Florida these would be rest days with "just" 50km per day to complete.

I finished 300.7 miles in 9 days to set a new Mainly marathons mileage record for a series & have now made it to 42 marathon states, 20 ultra states & 25 at 5km :) Next month if all goes to plan will see me hit Titanium level with Marathon Maniacs on Nov 7th (my birthday) in Utah - I will have completed the 30 states / countries in 365 days by running in Turkey, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, the UK & 25 different US states from Florida to Hawaii & Vermont to Utah, I will finish that week with my 44th State California & my 300th lifetime marathon / ultra what better way to celebrate than heading out to Vegas for 3 x 50km in 3 days & running only my second ever lifetime half marathon along the Vegas strip :)

Getting closer to my running retirement & taking up golf - Too old for this sh*t !!

A great vacation with lots of running, probably even more drinking & so much fun with friends old & new.

Gotta run (to the kettle for a cup of tea) !!

Foxy

Living in America ...

The title of the blog isn't just a fantastic song by Mr James Brown, it's a homage to my adopted second home. I've never lived in America although my youngest son holds a US Passport. The US of A has always been a country that has intrigued me, I have lost track of the number of times I have visited over the years & especially over the past 5 years.

My latest visit bought back so many memorable milestones, I lined up to start a marathon outside the Pendleton Round up,a Rodeo stadium I guess with huge grandstands towering over a fast flowing shallow river, maybe a creek is a more appropriate description ? this was to be day 2 of the Mainly Marathons North West series on Sept 3rd, the previous day I had dragged myself rounds the same course for 50km followed by a 5km race as a warm down !! Today was just to be the classic 26.2 mile distance that the Queen had kindly given us on 24th July 1908 leaving Windsor castle at 2.30pm that day heading for London's White City Stadium.

Sept 3rd is for me an historic day on that day in 1995 I first set foot on US soil, whilst not as dramatic as Christopher Colombus or my countrymen aboard the Mayflower it was a day that would change how I looked at life, the world & many different perspectives, It wasn't quite as dramatic as the movies but it was just as exciting. I had gotten married the day before & found myself on honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, SC, a place we had picked at Random on a map !! that first week on US soil saw Cal Ripken break Lou Gehrig's Iron man streak of consecutive baseball games & was inspirational just to watch on TV (that's the reason why i my baseball number when i played was number 8 & why when given a choice of race numbers to wear number 8 is my preference).

A few days later I found myself back in Washington state somewhere I had first visited 16 years earlier & historical part of the US for me. Back in Sept 2011 I headed out to stay in Seattle with a penfriend (remember those days when chatting to someone overseas was a once a month experience & a letter dropping on your doormat ?) just prior to my trip another penfriend had invited me to North Hollywood & with my Seattle penfriend having to work I though why not take in 3 days in the sunshine state ? Sept 10th took me down from SeaTac to Burbank airport to meet a lady possibly called Barbara,the fact that I'm struggling to remember her name shows just how memorable that experience was !!! I'm an easy going guy who gets on with most people I'm pretty laid back but we were polar opposites on just about every subject, i actually got the impression she was looking for a stereotypical British banker (I did work in Banking at the time) & also got the impression she was a bit of a goldigger looking for a moneybags British banker which I certainly wasn't.(i was single having split up from my first wife almost 2 years previously) That day we met was Sept 10th & I still remember watching Monday Night Football that night & Ed McCaffrey of the Broncos having his leg broken. the following day is possibly one of the most remembered days not just in US history but world history & we all know why. I found myself feeling alone, along way from home & wondering how I was going to get back to Seattle & indeed back to London ? the next couple of days were long solemn ones, Disney & Universal studios were closed & I was just trying to find a way home. The airports were closed, I tried booking a train & they were full so the evening of Wednesday 12th September saw me board a Greyhound bus & head North up Interstate 5 on a 33 hour Road trip arriving back in Seattle in the early hours of Friday 14th September. I got to see the bus stations of LA, Fresno, Stockton, Eugene, Portland, Tacoma & finally the old bus station in Seattle before it moved down to near the ballpark in 2014.

That Friday turned out to be memorable too, I went for a late brunch with my penfriend at a dinner up Near Green Lake in Seattle & by chance we bumped into a friend of hers in the parking lot who came back inside to chat, 3 years later that girl in the parking lot became my second wife & subsequently my second ex wife 11 years later.

My running always keeps bringing me back to the USA, I have spent time in all the US states except for Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri & Arizona (I have run in 40 of them).

This year has been a rather mad year for me in the US - it started out with the furthest West I have ever been on the beautiful Hawaiian Island of Kaua'i a part of the world I could only ever dream of visiting as a child watching Jack Lord repeat the Iconic line "Book 'em Dano" & a few years later watching a mustachioed fella roaring round in his bosses Red Ferrari - I'm sure i wasn't annoying doing my best ba ba ba ba ba ba to the ventures classic theme some from the 70's show for 2 weeks before flying out !! It was horrible there eating breakfast on the beach watching the sun come up with a cup of tea - honestly horrible !!!!

March took me out to run in 5 different states on the "Dustbowl" series & if you thought I was annoying humming the Hawaii 5-0 theme for weeks that was nothing compared to me belting out the Tony Christie classic as we would be flying in to Amarillo before marathons in Texas, Oklahoma (another cue for a song from my mothers favourite musical !) Kansas (where the songs in my head were a mix of Toto classics & Wayward Son both for obvious reasons !!) & on to Colorado, I had been to Colorado in 2013 in the hope of running the Boulder Vale marathon which was cancelled due to flooding, the upside was getting to see Peyton Manning in the flesh on Monday Night Football destroy the Raiders. The final day of the series took me to Clayton New Mexico & for my homework in preparation I had watched all 6 seasons of Breaking Bad over the course of the previous 5 weeks, every time I saw an old motor home (RV) a wry smile came across my face :)

May would see me tackle 7 marathons in 8 days starting in Vermont, the trip started in Boston in the pouring rain watching the local Celtics eliminated from the NBA playoff in Cheers, I got lost leaving the bar & ended up doing 2 miles of walking in the rain when my accommodation was a mere quarter of a mile away across Boston Common. The following day I headed out for a few miles along the waterfront before hitting Dunkin' Donuts on Boyslton street - perhaps the most iconic street in the marathon running world ? later that day my friend Donna picked me up & we took a leisurely drive up to Burlington Vermont taking in breweries on the way in MA, CT,NH & VT !! I awoke the following day to news that my son Owen had a seizure hours after arriving in Seattle with his mother, the next few hours were traumatic, i readied myself for the possibility of having to fly out West but thankfully the ambulance crew had got things under control & within 12 hours he was eating ice cream with grandpa showing no ill effects & it would seem a lack of sleep & dehydration was the cause. After a lovely run round Vermont ( a race I really would recommend) I headed back to Logan airport to fly to Chicago to meet my buddy Nick from the UK & head out for races in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin & Minnesota plus a surprising extra race my mate had found in North East Philadelphia before heading home for a glorious English summer (June was wonderful by UK standards 32 degrees which i reckon is about 90 F ?)

My next US trip was my most recent one taking me to the North West, the running for the most part was replaced by walking & talking with so many great folks i have met over the years - Dee Dee very kindly chauffeured me from race to hotel to bar - repeat x 5, 2am unable to sleep gotta love jetlag.

Four trips done taking in races in 19 different states, 24 races in total (I only ran 20 marathons last year) with 2 trips to go taking in 16 more races across 12 more states, typing that I have realised I will have run 40 marathons in the US in 2017, the most I have ever run in a year in total anywhere on the planet is 30 (I have 10 other races in Europe too this year) really not sure how those numbers got so out of control especially considering I didn't run in Feb & only ran once in July !!

Next stop "Almost heaven" West Virginia.

right now to try & sleep ?

Keep on Running

Foxy x

Tougher than the rest ?

I'm not one for blogging,I once was but then I guess I got lazy & didn't see the point ? as a friend of mine said about blogs "never has so much been written by so many & read by so few !" & he's right, so why am I blogging ? what's the purpose ? a good question given my opening statement. Why do people blog is it for attention ? sponsorship or maybe a personal therapy ? for me it's probably a bit of therapy, the chance to be honest with how I feel about what I'm doing & to justify that to myself.


The last week & a half I challenged myself to something physically tougher than I have ever done before, however the true challenge was within my head, a battle with myself to not given in,not to quit when it would have been so easy to do just that. Had I not hit my goals & comeback from the US having done what I set out to do the mental scarring would have been too much for me to bare, I have been there before.


In 2013 I went out to North Carolina to run the Graveyard 100 miler & I failed. I got to 72 miles & injured my groin forcing me to pull out, my first ever DNF in a race. I had failed for the first time & it really hurt me mentally. Two weeks later I completed a 100 miler back in the UK pulling my other groin but refusing to quit, three weeks later the groin was fixed but the mental anguish of that DNF stayed with me for 2 years until I went back & completed the event in 2015 just to heal me mentally.


The most recent challenge was something I had concocted in my head & in some respects I am not really sure why although as with many things in life money paid a part.(more race for the flight money !!) I enjoy running in case you hadn't noticed ? I need a challenge though I can't just run for the sake of running there has to be goals whether that be a number of miles in training, number of races, times etc ... there always has to be something. Sometimes that something really is too much ? Last week the challenge was to complete 5 x 50km races & 5 x 5km races plus a marathon. The races would take place across 6 different US States & why was I doing this ? a great question & the answer might seem a strange one but I was doing it to colour in a box on a virtual map. My mental maths also told me I had the chance to do something I had never done before & run 200 miles within one week.


I have some multi day marathon experience having completed the Brathay 10 in 10 (10 marathons in 10 days) on 6 Occasions, plus a handful of 7 in 7's, 5 in 5's etc..... even for me to go out & do 5 ultra marathons in 5 days & follow them up with 5kms was frankly a bit stupid.


On day one in Indiana I went out at a stupid pace, I wanted to see how my legs felt good after running a marathon in Vermont 48 hours earlier, flying in from Boston & finally reaching Portage, IN with just 5 hours sleep & the legs felt great, in fact they felt too good & went out at 7.30 mile pace which is 3.15 pace for a marathon (I haven't run a marathon in that sort if time for over 2 years & my closest in that period is 26 minutes slower, a whole minute per mile.) I worked hard, faded badly but hung on to win in 4.57. With 5 miles to go I decided against the 5km as I had done the hard part what was the point ? but after a 5 minute break I got out there & did it. An almost 3 hour drive then lay ahead for me to stiffen up on & I paid for that on day two in Illinois on a beautiful course in Fulton, IL.I had zero energy,I had woken up at 3am drank some water & left 30 minutes later for the start in the dark along the banks of the Mississippi, I struggled & almost quit the 50km but I'm just too stupid to quit at times as I know how much that would play with my mind so I battled on taking an additional 2 & a half hours but finally made it home & only avoided a last place finish catching another runner in the final mile, not that finishing last will ever be an issue for me as long as I can finish. The joy of finishing also came with the relief of not having to travel as the following day would see us cross the river to run on the other banks of the Mississippi overlooking the previous days course. Another tough day taking 2 minutes longer to complete the 50km but bouncing back to record the fastest 5km time of the day, a small victory before a 3.5 hour drive to Sparta, WI.


The course in Sparta was beautiful featuring covered bridges & a huge penny farthing statue (Sparta is known as the bicycle capital of the USA). It was a hot one & one of the ladies picked up heat stroke & she was from California !! I got through again & next it was on to Minnesota & my inspiration to perform better in MN was simply a logistical one to get to the airport to catch a plane.


I had made it I had run 5 x 50km & 5 x 5km in 5 days - total recorded distance including a Monday jog around Boston was 179 miles, I was so close, all I had to do was finish one marathon in Philadelphia & I would hit all my goals, after 34 miles a day the thought of "just" a marathon was an exciting one & I ran reasonably well (especially the first half) I met some great guys on the course & came in at 4.43 on the clock - job done.


Now a few of you out there are thinking how can that 6 days have been harder than running 10 days in a row ? firstly my 10 in 10 was based in one location, with massage provided day & night, running on GMT rather than a time zone that moved between 5 & 6 hours different to the one I am used to, that event also didn't include 4 flights including 2 transatlantic, stay

ing in the worst motels America has to offer & it didn't include 1000 miles sat in a car driving through 10 different states, it didn't involve early starts with no breakfast & not even coffee or tea to start the day, I lost 8 lbs & in the 30 hours I have been home I have been on a seefood diet - see food & eat it !!!


The experience leaves me with so many more questions.Why did I do it ? what do I do next ? & will whatever I do ever be enough for me ? but coloured in lots of squares on my map, I really need a hobby !!!


I do know the people I got to meet & the people I got to run with were instrumental in getting me round, So grateful for the support of so many people even just a "good Jawb" or "You got this" really helped when the going got tough.


Am I tougher than the rest ? No.


Am I more stupid ? maybe.


Thank you all


Foxy x

Reflections

As the year draws to a close it's time to look back on some of the highs & the lows & look at what 2017 holds ? From a running perspective the year started in customary fashion with 200 plus training miles mainly through the streets of Newport Pagnell where I was temporarily residing whilst waiting to move into my own flat - damn banks & estate agents !! Whilst my training went well in January & February my racing didn't & I ran 2 sub standard marathons in Kent both over my usual 4 hours. I started sensing things weren't right with me physically in Feb - had I strained a muscle ? was it my appendix ? as with all runners I took the usual step of ignoring it & just turning up the ipod volume !! Don't try this at home kids ;-) March saw me homeless as my flat hadn't completed so I spent a month split between my then girlfriend & ex wife living out of a suitcase, it was a tough time of uncertainty but I was very grateful to both individuals for helping me out in my time of need. April saw things pick up & I headed out to the Freiburg marathon where I got back on track a little although had to battle for my sub 3.45 but with hard work comes the rewards, Two days before the London marathon & I finally got the keys to the all new Foxy Towers & set about creating a minimalist living environment, I don't really need much stuff so like to keep things simple & tidy. London was to be my fastest marathon of the year bringing home the bacon in 3.30.48 amazed after 16 miles to get that close to a sub 3.30 & that was down to bumping into Sarah King at about 20 miles - I worked with her mother for 15 years it's a small world, we crossed the line together. I now realised that something was wrong so took a trip to the hospital walk in centre (unable to get a doctor due to no proof of address whilst I waited for bills to drop through the door) - I found out I had a hernia problem & was advised to rest for a work & go to my doctors, yes I rested but without a doctor to go I had no choice but to get back out there running & 3 days after resuming training I managed to surprise myself with a 19.46 at the MK Rocket 5km which gave me a new found optimism as i headed to New England to tackle 7 marathons in 7 states in 7 days which started well with only my second ever marathon win as came over the line ahead of the field in Maine (my local state !) however the next 6 days weren't to be as straightforward, I managed to go sub 5 in Vermont but the other times started with 5's & 6's including a 6.57 in Connecticut - 7mins slower than i had run a tough off road 50km in 2012 in the same state !! later that month I struggled along the Thames for a couple of 5 ish hour marathons, the highlight of those events was seeing my middlest son Andrew complete his first half marathon gaining a shiny Top Gun medal - a film released 12 years before he was born !! In June at my 250th marathon I was able to dig out a 3.38 but mentally I was struggling, I had split with my girlfriend at the time & my fall back of running wasn't there for me either. Life though was about to change direction as I met a some new people & enjoyed a few drink & a few laughs, most were quite loud, i know i'm not exactly quiet but one girl that was, was a lovely girl with long brown hair & an amazing smile, as time moved on we got together & have enjoyed a wonderful few months since & long may that continue as we head into 2017. July saw me lose a very special person with the passing of Martin Campbell, Martin was our 10 in 10 cameraman, Camera dud was there for my greatest sporting moments & captured me at my very happiest whilst running, he also captured me blubbing sat on a roadside 6 days in one year with a ruptured MCL - more than a bloke with a camera he was such a warm & caring man with a sparkling sense of humour & a smile to light up a room - a very sad loss but with his outdoor spirit he's probably showing Bowie, Ali & Prince how the kite surf ?! RIP. Running ? oh yeah forgot about that - it kind of sucked but I battled away & saw some great places, I ran my first mile race in Anchorage & after entering the sub 6 minute cut off event I got home in 5.48 the following day I tackled the marathon there too for my 34th State surrounded by some fantastic people - My friends Chuck & Susan took me in to their home & showed me some of the most scenic landscapes I could ever imagine for which I was very grateful. September took me to Oslo with a slight improvement time wise 4.15. At the end of October I had a couple of cycle crashes twice in 6 days & the left side of my body still feels numb & scarred, battered I headed to North Wales where Snowdon seemed to get Hillier in October & I added an hour & one minute to my 3.38 the previous year, but I still had fun with so many great friends up in the Welsh mountains.October did however include a minor running landmark as I completed my 100th parkrun with my youngest Owen who is now on 37 with number 50 planned for 2017 & he even became a tourist taking in Buckingham when MK cancelled & also Linford Wood. My marathon year finished a month earlier than expected in Istanbul in November after Malaga was cancelled the following month. Istanbul manages to take a beautiful city & pack almost none of that into it's marathon course except for the first 3 miles & final half a mile - The race starts in Asia as you run across the bridge in to Europe & snake through the city centre before a 7 mile out & back along a 3 lane highway (was like running up & down the M1) before eventually finishing in front of the Blue Mosque, I spent my trip with 3 special friends Rich, Kaz & Efes ;-) Malaga was my chosen destination to finish off the running year & I had managed to drag my young lady over with the promise of beach side bars & sunshine,but with water flowing through flooded streets the event unsurprisingly was cancelled & a fantastic marathon drinking session replaced the on foot miles as 40 of us ended up taking over a bar & having an amazing day capped off by singing happy birthday to Team GB running legend Brian Mills. On the mileage front my training plans tells me I need 361 miles per week for the rest of the year to hit 2016 miles so think that might be beyond me & will now settle for 1300 however I am just short of 500 cycling miles. I should feel disappointed after 8 straight years of 100 miles per month but that streak ended & with it 7 straight years of 2000 plus miles, For now running is a fun part of my life & I I have lots to look forward to in 2017, I have a lovely girlfriend,a roof over my head, 3 wonderful boys & will kick off my running year in Hawaii. One final race tomorrow sees me & all 3 boys head out for the Willen Santa Dash 1.2 miles of lakeside fun. Many thanks to all the wonderful people who have played such an amazing part in my year, wouldn't have got there without you. Merry Christmas to one & all Foxy x 'm happy with that, it no longer is my life just a part of it.

With a Little help from my friends

On Saturday I stepped out on to a flooded Lake Windermere for 26.2 miles with team of 10 in 10 2015 runners - this Epic band of runners will tackle the UK's ultimate marathon challenge of 10 official road marathons in 10 days. To put that into context that's 262 miles which is exactly the distance as the crow flies from Buckingham Palace to Brathay Hall on the banks of England's largest lake, On April 26th I will run past the palace to hopefully complete the London marathon before then heading up to Windermere for a crack at the 10 in 10. I have run the Windermere marathon course a few times before, however not for 18 months & my memory must be going as I don't remember it being quite that tough.I knew it wasn't easy but maybe my advancing years means I'm not as fit as I used to be ? or maybe my memory is going as my age catches up on me ? I set off as part the "3 Amigos" with Paul Sutherland & Rich Rex with the hope of creeping under 4 hours & we shared a few laughs out there at Andy Townsend's expense, With plastic drinks boxes out on the course Andy would have been pleased to see the 3 of us had "good engines" & were indeed "box to box players". All was going well to plan but then EU working conditions "forced" us to stop at 14 miles for a cup of tea & a few jaffa cakes. 50 yards beyond our brew was the fist of 4 knee deep flooded sections. With no option we plowed on through laughing as we went. With 3 miles to go Andy Townsend got his revenge as my engine gave up & I was forced to walk but didn't give up as I kept the walking down to one minute for every mile & came in just a couple of minutes beyond Paul & Rich. The question is can I drag my aging body round a course that tough 10 days in a row ? That will be something I really have to think about ? I don't want to let anyone down, I know my friends, family, colleagues & sponsors have every faith in me, however I have to wonder do I have what it takes to go that far in so few days ? I ran 133 miles last month but have to do basically double that in less than a week & a half. I need to look beyond myself if I am to complete this challenge as the funds I'm hoping to raise are to help Brathay Trust raise valuable funds for their work with vulnerable young people around the country. These Children face bigger challenges than the one that stands in front of me. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated towards my fundraising.We are well over half way to the £5000 target & I'm really gonna try my best not to let you all down - thank you so much. If anyone wants to help me towards that goal I'd be so very grateful www.justgiving.com/foxyagain

I'm a bit emotional I'm afraid so gonna head to bed. Big hugs David "Foxy" Bayley.

From Across the pond

I'm really not sure if I should bother blogging as I know hardly anyone reads them, but sometimes I like putting my thoughts down for me so I can look back & remember things as the memory starts to fade in my advancing years. It's just before 9am on a wet Tuesday in middle England & I'm in bed, I was up at 6.45 to help sort out my little fella for school & I'm so tired & the house is empty apart from the cats so decided on an early siesta. I have so much to do but so little get up & go to do it. I will get some work done later & I will drag myself out for a run - my longest run in the past 5 days is 5km, I'm still running every day but wondering why & what the value is of doing so, are the targets I have set myself really worth chasing ? does it really matter ? There are times I wish I wasn't so motivated to hit so many training milestones, but without goals I'd just quit. Why am I tired ? why am I in bed ? I have some great excuses honestly !!! One of which isn't that I'm in bed with Miss World & champagne George Best style !! I'm jetlagged after flying home from Atlanta over night on Thursday night / Friday morning. The first half of October was great with so many highlights, but like a rollercoaster after the continual ups come the less than joyous downs - not that Rollercoasters work that way perhaps the opposite way with the downs the thrilling part. The month started with a trip to the Portuguese capital & the chance to run with so many other English runners & socialise over a few beers whilst enjoying the fact that I had rounded off my countries count to 20, I do like round numbers so will have to do something about those 11 Capital Cities I have now run in. I do get a bit anal about numbers at times. The trip was helped logistically by my "rent a local" friend Tiago. He spends so much time in the UK but this was my first visit to him home country & I really enjoyed it. Whilst logistically the race start was a bit of a nightmare,8 miles in a cab & 40 mins on a train (bizarrely a girl chose to sit on the floor with her head 2 inches from my crotch ?!! why ????). A lack of portaloos (honey buckets) meant I left the facilities with 30 seconds to spare although the race thankfully started 2 mins late allowing me to weave through 2000 of the near 10,000 runners out there. I got to the start line 2 mins after the gun about to press start on my Garmin & it had gone into power save mode :( do i wait for a GPS signal allowing the 2000 runners to pass me & weave through them knowing my time but slowing me down or do i just go ? I decided to go, it took around 2 mins for me to get a signal & must have covered maybe 400 yards. Once I had a signal I decided to go wth the game plan of running sub 7.30 min miles the first half & allowing for 8.30's in the second half for a sub 3.30 finish, I still had to calculate in the bit at the beginning. The first half pace proved tough but I stayed on it & didn't fall away as much as anticipated, some rough maths using the timing clocks on the KM markers had me thinking I could maybe break 3.25 ? I crossed the line & stopped my watch in 3.23 amazingly with a distance of 26.31 miles (many of my friends were close to 26.5 miles) & I'd run a reasonably tight line 26.31 would be fine but of course I had to add my starting section. I grabbed a beer with some of my fellow countrymen & headed back to see my mate Karen who was supporting on the course 200 metres from the end & accompanied by a case of beer we cheered in ever single runner in the half & full marathons. We cheered 100 marathon club members, Marathons Maniacs, Swedes, Brazilians, Estonians, Poles everyone as lets race it we are all one race, one religion, one breed we are all runners & this is our church. A brief day & a half stop in the UK to unpack, wash clothes & repack before heading for yet another airport (4 different airports in 3 different countries could be a record for me ? ) late Thursday evening & Michael & myself crawled into the Holiday Inn at the airport in Atlanta after a long flight & 2 mini bus rides, time for sleep before an 8 hour drive through the Carolinas to the Bluefield on the West Virginia / Virginia border. The next 5 days would see us tackle 5 marathons across 5 states as we worked our way back to Atlanta. Day one & the Heavens opened 10 minutes before the race started, this was to set the tone for the days ahead, With 7 sub 3.30 marathons in 2014 & just 2 races beyond this series I decided to go with my usual plan of a hard first half & time in the bank for the second as i chased a round 10 sub 3.30's & in the process my 50th lifetime sub 3.45. All was going well until 18 miles & i lead the race by over quarter of a mile at one point. Having never won a marathon my mind started getting ahead of me & I started thinking of how cool a win would be, I should have been focussing on running a marathon, at 18 miles the wheels fell off & I was forced to walk in places until I was finally swept up by Jesse & Daniel two brothers from Minnesota (dubbed the "Fargo boys" by Michael as he had been watching the TV series of the same name). Both Michael & another guy called David (also from Minnesota - is the stare so bad that everyone wants to get out ?!!!) past me too & I settled for 5th spot but at least i could add another run to my list of Sub 4 marathons. Day two was a day i was dreading. The day two course would be the same as the day one course due to the fact that the course crossed the state line. I knew what was coming & that didn't help mentally,the course was littered with multiple short sharp climbs nothing major but with the 12 laps course they were just relentless & were grinding me down, the first 6 miles was good the final 20 less so. I really didn't have much fun & barely broke 5 hours, but the beer afterwards went down well, before we hit the road South to Morganton, NC. I went into day three with a much more positive outlook, I had a mission a desire & thankfully a new unknown course to tackle. North Carolina was my nemesis state. I had started 199 races of marathon distance or longer & finished 198, the one blot on that copy book was the Graveyard 100 along the the Outer Banks of the state. I made it to 72 miles but like a well hit fly ball it was long but I didn't hit it over the green monster. I had a point to prove, not that there is any comparison between a marathon & a 100 miler. I went out conservativley with the goal of running under 9 minutes per mile & many were closer to 8.30 minutes per mile. I just kept ticking off the miles one by one & I was done finishing second behind Jesse.I actually didn't realise that his brother was a lap down so I finished a pleasing second but this was about some kind of redemption, a return to the times I am capable of in a state that had given me the most heartbreak in my running career (I'll never forget the feeling of failure whilst sat on the steps of a bank at 11pm in Kitty Hawk shivering with a pulled groin in 2013.) Now the question was with all I had put in physically & emotionally in Morganton what would SC hold for me ? Thinking it couldn't be wetter than the first 3 days I proved emphatically wrong, we were warned of lightning strikes & just over an hour into the race the heavy rain became torrential & within 30 mins there were 6 inch deep rivers running across the course. After a solid first 4 miles I just gave up mentally but luckily found some wonderful folks to tag along with & enjoy the ride. I ran with Tim, the Bladerunner, Tim had one leg & an Oscar Pistorius style blade (thankfully his similarity with the South African ended there as I

exitted an on course bathroom still alive !) Not one to shy away from the obvious questions I asked how he's lost the leg & recounted his story as a crazy kid on a motorcycle having a harsh disagreement with a garbage truck in his youth, but he had a wonderful sense of humour as he told me of his rehab & hot nurses speeding up his recovery. After a lap with Tim I ran a bit with Steve Boone, a smart guy from Texas (some would argue smart & Texas don't belong in the same sentence !! LOL !!) Steve is the head honcho of the US 50 states club for those who have completed a marathon in all 50 states, by this point I had dragged myself through halfway with no idea of how long I was taking & for once I really didn't care I was getting to know some fantastic folks. Steve had wondered why I was running with him when there were so many pretty girls on the course & you know what he had a point !!!! There was the lovely blondes Nicole & Chavet, Maria from Portugal who ironically had a British boyfriend Saul team GB member number 3, Christina the lovely sports therapist from New York, Patricia who had dressed as Miss America with stars & stripes everywhere & Emily from Georgia. It was Emily that drew the short straw & got stuck with me !! we had a few laughs & I learned a whole new language & I'm now fluent in "South Georgian Y'all ;) I actually thought we must be on the same lap but with 200 yards to go Emily sped up to finish or to get away from me ? probably the latter ? The clock said 4.45 & so I though can I run around 8 in miles for about 1.8 miles ? I thought why not give it a go so off I went like a greyhound (The dog rather than the shiny bus that stops everywhere & banned me getting on with beer back in May !!) I even ran the hills but I got in under 5 hours so a small success. It was now time to have Georgia on my mind as we headed towards Helen, GA. I' really not sure if i loved it's Oktoberfest feel with German/ Alpine housing or found it rather manufactured & fake however I did appreciate the entrepreneurs who had put the place on the tourist map & made a few bucks along the way I'm sure ? The change of scenery was a welcome one too. We checked into our lodge at the Unicoi state park before showering & heading for dinner in a great roadhouse style bar & grill. The group dinners had been a great part if the 5 days & between 20 & 30 had come out to dine together & share "war stories" of races & travels, dreams & goals & the odd beverage. I had experimented with some great local ales over the course of the trip plus a Mojito (I think that had to google how to make one in SC it took so long ?!) as well as managing to work my way through an 18 pack of sodas (or Bud Light as it says on the label) I did have to recount my Monty Python joke, please forgive the language Q :"what does having sex in a kayak with a hole in it have in common with American beer ? A : They are both F***ing close to water !! Day 5 dawned & guess what ? it wasn't raining, however the 4 days prior had taken it's toll on the planned route so a rain route was enforced as we headed out on a soggy grass course & it was like school cross country but much warmer & without Mr Giles yelling "get a bloody move on Bayley" Patricia,Christina & myself had decided day 5 would be Superhero day - I thought it was rather appropriate given that the London Marathon rejection magazine featured Ironman on the cover & 5 marathons in 5 days in running terms is a pretty heroic undertaking - not many folks do 5 marathons in a lifetime & even less do it in under a week. There were 4 of us as batman / batgirl, Robin, Christina as Iron(wo)man, Patricia as Wonder Woman, Kevin was Spiderman, Ila & Edna were Wonder Woman too. I did debate with Tim Michael Keaton style that "I'm Batman" before admitting he was the better Michael Keaton so settled for being Val Kilmer (despite some folks in the UK suggesting that at my age I should be Adam West !!!) Karen my Enigma Running PA/RD & Driver had very kindly bought me a snug fitting Batman compression top which was very kind of her but still not sure I measured up as well as the Iceman. Today was all about having fun & we did, everyone was supportive of each other from those at the front of the pack, to those at the back. For every "Good Jawb" I got I returned the sentiment with a shout of "top Drawer" or "Splendid" & did discuss reclaiming the land for the Queen before deciding we didn't need anymore uncivilised savages as we'd retained Scotland the month before - LOL !!! With a lap to go I found myself in the same situation as the day before, I had run with another pretty girl - Patricia this time the unfortunate recipient for my company for a handful of miles & found I need to accelerate to get under 5 hours so i did. With 200 yards to finish i couldn't help but shed a tear, Why ? for a variety of reasons, I had met some great folks, had a wonderful holiday, finished a tough 5 days in awful weather & I had made it to 200 marathons in total, but maybe the biggest reason was the relief that it was over ? Chris handed me a bottle of Full Nelson Pale Ale from Virginia to balance my body with the Bud Light in my other hand as we chatted & waited for more of our buddies to finish. Patricia finished in tears too & we hugged, I know it had taken alot out of her & i also knew how proud she was of what she had achieved & indeed what we all had achieved. Chavet twisted my arm to join her & a handful of others to Fireball ? I had no idea what this was or what I had agreed to do ? was I going to be set on fire & left in the woods ? thankfully not, it turns out it's a cinnamon whisky & we were doing shots of it, who was I to argue ?!! Clint the race director very kindly presented me with a plaque & a note to commemorate my 200th marathon & i wa pleased to get a second 100 done to prove the first 100 weren't just lucky !! Anyway enough of my ramblings, I'm sure most of you got bored before this point & went out for coffee ?! A most memorable week :) keep on running Foxy