A concept of distance

So I'm running the London marathon for RNIB....

Yes, 26.2 miles is a long way...but it's not the day I'm worried about. It is the miles and miles of training to squeeze in between now and April 23rd.


Part of the reason I am putting myself through this is to raise money for the RNIB who offer advice and support to people who are blind or partially sighted. The work they do to help people come to terms with losing their sight, offering practical advice on day to day life and campaigning to raise awareness of common causes of sight loss is invaluable. Any money you can give to support this would be hugely appreciated via www.virginmoneygiving.com/jessford THANKYOU!


So why the blog? Well I've had friends who have run the marathon before and we've all seen the social media posts when the famous 20 mile training run inevitably has to be done when the weather looks like something from the Day After Tomorrow. Impressive and you finally 'get' what they've been putting themselves through in training.


But it's not just one training run. I've got a plan and it is hideous. At least 4 runs a week, sprints sessions, hills sessions, cross training, long run, short run, easy run, yoga, foam roller, strength and conditioning. And I thought to myself, wouldn't it be interesting to keep track of just how far I run in training?


Now I love a stat as much as the next person, but if I said to most non-runners, I've run 13 miles this week down from 18 miles the week before (I blame Halloween..) they'd defriend me if not immediately, for sure by April next year. But they also probably wouldn't have a concept of that distance. How far is 13 miles? I mean, it sounds a reasonable effort but can be hard to relate.


So to try and give it some context I thought I'd borrow an idea from a friend who recently did a tube map relay for charity, taking a leg each and running the London Underground. But is that achievable? How far is the Underground in total?! Well, it's 250 miles , including the bit all the way out to Amersham (shout out to zone 9!). And I can pretty categorically say, barring injury or stupidity, I will be running 250 miles between now (November 1st) and April 23rd and I thought what better way of injecting some variety into those runs than making a tube map attempt.


For now I'm starting with zones 1-3. I've got my friend Anna who is running the Brighton Marathon for four incredible charities (www.virginmoneygiving.com/annashields) joining me, particularly for the ropey bits of the District Line (you know where I mean) and we're starting this Sunday with the Jubilee line from Canada Water to Baker Street.


Keep reading for updates, to find out my favourite line from above the ground and to watch as our colour-in tube map gradually turns from monochrome.


Thanks for your support and for reading! 
Jess, Marathon Trainee x