Five marathons in 5 months before I turn fifty, well, that was the plan, it hasn’t exactly worked out like that but I have come close. Who would have thought it would be so tough to find five marathons in five months near Hong Kong. When I first thought up this this lofty goal (it has been called crazy by some), I talked about doing 50 marathons in my fiftieth year. My husband was surprised (understatement), but supportive, he did however mention very delicately that travelling Internationally for fifty marathons wouldn’t be cheap, and he wouldn’t be able to come with me for all of them. He had a good point, so I scaled my goal down to five marathons and tried my best to find local events. What I came up with is three 50km ultra marathons in Hong Kong, and two marathons internationally in four months.
- 21st January 50km Greenpower race on Hong Kong Island trails
- 18th Feburary – 50km MSIG race on Lantau island trails, HK
- 5th March – Bhutan marathon, Bhutan
- 11th March – 50km Trans Lantau race, Lantau Island HK
- 9th April – Paris marathon, Paris
I have been asked why I am not content to celebrate my 50th with a party like most people, so let me share with you my reasons. Firstly, I find it hard to believe I’m coming up to 50, I still feel like I’m in my 20’s, just with a lot more sense! I have plenty of energy and the thought of pushing myself outside my comfort zone fills me with excitement. I want to celebrate my age and my fitness and can’t think of a better way to do it. Secondly, I love a challenge, and doing this many long runs in a relatively short time span will push me physically and mentally. When my birthday comes around on the 21st May I will not only be celebrating reaching half a century but also the accomplishment of a goal…bring on the champagne!
The first run is coming up this weekend. It is a beautiful 50km course from one end of Hong Kong Island to the other. My only problem is that I have been suffering from a hamstring injury for the past few months and have only just started back running. (My almost 50-year-old body is betraying me!). I know the distance is probably too far for me to run at the moment, so I plan to complete it as best I can running and walking when necessary. My wonderful husband will be by my side; he is accompanying me on four of the five runs I have planned. I think he is secretly happy that I wont be as fit as I had hoped for the first one as it means we will do the run together, which is always nicer.
As most of you know, I am a big believer in setting goals and the start of the year is a great time to commit to something out of your normal routine. You will be amazed at what you can achieve just by committing to an outcome, don’t leave any room for doubt, as NIKE would say, “Just do it”. It also really helps you to stick to a goal if you tell people what you are aspiring to, which is one of the reasons I am sharing my goal with you in this blog. Telling people makes it real, and adds to the certainty of what you are about to achieve. I would go as far as to say it confirms in your mind the direction you are heading, which is very powerful.
If anyone would like to share their goals with me either in comment on this blog, or privately, I would be only too happy to support you along the way.
I will be writing about my experiences on each of my runs, and hopefully recording some of it on camera, if I can get my Go Pro working! After my marathons I plan to set a goal to become technology proficient instead of technology challenged. I have a feeling that will be harder than the runs!