London 'rejects' present...the 'Lambourn Marathon'
Undaunted athletes limber up
WHAT do you do when you when your entry to the London Marathon is rejected?
Six like-minded runners – all regulars at the village sports centre in Lambourn – made up for the disappointment by organising their own.
Jason Cooke, Sarah Johnstone, Natalie Ratcliffe, Kathryn Green, Marc Beales and sports centre manager Rose Metalli are going to spend eight hours non-stop rowing, cycling and running in a marathon event of their own at the Lambourn Centre.
Their huge effort will take place on London Marathon day, Sunday, April 26, and will raise money for Cancer Research.
They have set themselves a tough target; dividing into two teams, each team of three will collectively complete 100,000 metres on the rowing machine, 120 miles on the indoor cycle, and 45 miles on the treadmill.
Each team member will spend 20 minutes on each machine and continue rotating until they have completed eight row-cycle-run circuits. Their effort will start at 7am in the morning and they will finish eight hours later.
The idea was dreamt up by personal fitness trainer Jason Cooke, already a veteran of 14 marathons. He has devised a gruelling training schedule for the team, and they have been following it religiously since January.
Ms Johnstone said: “It could only possibly be Jason’s idea.
“We’ve been following the schedule since Christmas, and it’s been incredibly hard mentally as well as physically.”
Ms Metalli said: “I thought it would be good training for the Combe Gibbet to Overton 16-mile cross country event that I entered on March 29. Mentally I’m just trying to get my head around running for three hours and hoping I don’t ‘hit the wall’ after four hours.”
Mr Cooke said: “Usually when you attempt something you know you can do it, but this is the first challenge where I feel as though we’re stepping into the unknown, so for me it’s all about keeping everyone strong and positive.”
Ms Green said: “Marc and I had both planned to do the Reading Half Marathon – which we have now done – and were looking for something else to do afterwards. This challenge is a lot harder than we had in mind, but Jason can be very persuasive.”
Marc Beales agreed: “This challenge is a lot harder than anything we’ve done before. The hardest thing is getting enough sleep and food to ensure I’m fuelling myself properly for the longer training sessions – and I’m also trying to fit in two hours boxing a week, at Lambourn’s local boxing gym. We’re all motivated at the thought of raising money for a great cause.”
The team has set up a JustGiving charity fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/thegr8 endurance-tri and are also asking people to cheer them on in training as well as on their big day on April 26.
