Author: Archie Whitfield

09/01/2025

Today and tomorrow I was supposed to be doing a match day run to Ossett to watch Ossett United vs Bridlington Town, 2 teams that I used to play for before I started my running. However due to the snowy weather the match was cancelled the day before but I decided that I would still run the 56km to Leeds from Thirsk.

I started the day by driving back from Manchester to Thirsk, packing a bag with some snacks and water and setting off to Leeds at roughly 1pm. This decision probably wasn’t my best idea as this only gave me 4 hours of daylight and the road conditions were far from ideal. The first half marathon was going smoothly, blue skies and not too much snow on the ground however definitely not the surface that I am used to.

As the run went on the snow got deeper (roughly 4-5 inches deep) and the light began to fade but vibes were still good. After roughly 35km, I had reached Harrogate but my phone was about to die, at that point it felt like a good time to stop in a cafe to charge my phone and have a quick coffee. 30 minutes later, with both my own and my phones charge boosted I set off again with roughly 20km to go.

With the quality of roads and the size of the verge decreasing along with it now being completely dark things were starting to get a bit sketchy but we kept on plodding along. Again with 10km to go my phone needed another charge, however this time, I was on a country road in the middle of nowhere and there didn’t appear to be anywhere to charge it. Fortunately I came across a little pub called The New Inn where I was again able to charge my phone. From there it didn’t take too long until I was on the outskirts of Leeds and from this point on it definitely got easier. Despite my legs being pretty peppered by this point, more paths and street lights started to appear making the final 5km actually quite fun with the thought of some food and a pint driving me towards the finish.

As I had planned to run another 30km to Ossett the following day I made sure to run the distance still just back at home as the incentive of running to Ossett had gone with the game being cancelled.

A good insight into the day after day demand that April will bring.

Eyup all,

So back in September I moved to Manchester, I found myself a job as a chef in a restaurant called Mr Thomas’s Chop House and got myself a room in a house share. Life has been good here working, running and catching up with friends and family that live in and around Manchester. However is has definitely had its hectic periods especially around December time. Working 12 hour days, 5 days a week in the kitchen meant late night runs became the routine (by far prefer this than early morning runs). But eh we got through it.

After a busy month I was able to head home for a week over Christmas to catch up with friends and family, enjoying a few ‘Dave Peculiars’, 50:50 Old Peculiar and Apple Cider (its’s better than it may sound),  and to recover from a busy few weeks. Since then work has calmed down again and I have been able to focus more time and energy on training and planning for April.

Hello all,

It has been a little while since I last updated you so here is what I have been up to over the last few months.

April:

Starting where we left off at the start of May completing my first 100 mile week, running over 14 miles a day. An insight into the day after day long runs that I will be doing in April. A fun challenge and a good way to start the summer!

May/ June:

A couple weeks later I was on a trip to the USA, spending time with friends in New York, San Francisco and Hawaii, what an unbelievable few weeks it was! A few weeks consisting of sight seeing, adventuring, live gigs, live sport and plenty of eating and drinking. Of course a bit of running amongst the madness, including a marathon around New York, starting in Brooklyn and finishing in Central Park. I’ll be back!

New York City

San Francisco

Hawaii

July:

A busy month of work for Deer Shed Festival, setting up the site in the lead up, maintaining the site during the weekend of the festival and then taking it down the following week. A physically tiring month with manual work during the day followed by running on the evenings and on weekends. A fun few weeks working with a great group of people for a great festival. Plus some extra income was definitely needed after the weeks in America.

August:

At the start of August I appeared on BBC Radio Tees with Gary Philipson sharing my story and the challenge in April. Thank you Gary and Lindsay at Radio Tees it was great meeting you both and being on the show.

The rest of August consisted of a bit of work at the restaurant and back to a few longer runs, finishing the month with my brothers wedding. What a day!

September:

With 7 months to go until the start of the challenge, it was time to start my training programme with Jack from Optimal Endurance. Gradually increasing my workload each week and month until next April.

For the first 20 days of September I was in Portugal and Spain spending time with friends and starting my training programme. Whilst I was away I was slowly easing into the training programme and getting used to the different types of runs and the format. With this is mind I knew that when I returned home the running workload was going to ramp up, as well as work. Starting in the Algarve, then Barcelona, finally onto Marbella, lets just say I made sure to enjoy my trip!

October:

Here we are 6 months until the start of the 782 mile challenge, back in the UK, living in Manchester, cheffing full time and training starting to ramp up a notch, life is getting pretty busy but I am ready for whatever the next 6 months throws at me!

Week beginning: 15/04/2024

An exciting week this week, heading over to Liverpool for a couple days to visit friends and family as well as The Brain Charity.

A week consisting of slightly less training but a lovely few days in Liverpool. Now onto a big week of training next week, my first 100 mile week!

Week Beginning: 08/04/2024

Monday: Driving from Norwich to Leeds in the morning, left me plenty of time in the afternoon to go for a 22km run before grabbing some food in the evening with some friends.

Tuesday: Another day in Leeds, another 22km, this time stopping off at Elland Road, I wonder if this will be one of my stops next April. Catching the Arsenal (2)vs(2) Bayern Munich game in the evening (a match that felt to have taken more out of me than the run earlier in the day) .

Wednesday- Sunday: A day off on Wednesday, recovering from a busy few days in Norwich and Leeds followed by a 23km run on Thursday, Friday, Saturday back in the beautiful countryside. I finished the week by running twice on Sunday, a run either side of the Arsenal (0)vs(2) Aston Villa game (run 1: 15.18km, run 2: 8.03km). The 2nd run, to cool off after the loss, as much as for the training.

Topping off a 137km week, the first 100 mile (161km) week might not be too far off.

Week Beginning: 01/04/2024

A bit of a different week this week with no ‘event’ so to speak but still increasing weekly mileage within my day to day training.

Monday: Starting the week slow, no run on Monday after a day in Manchester on Easter Sunday, watching the Man City vs Arsenal, whilst of course staying hydrated, drinking water and orange juice!

Tuesday: Back to it, feeling fresh and ready for another big week, starting with a 18.90km run.

Wednesday: Following my 19km run, I went to meet Ged from The Brain Charity. It was great meeting him, chatting a bit more about my challenge and The Brain Charity, whilst getting a few photos potentially for their magazine. Thank you Ged and great to meet you.

Thursday: Still feeling pretty good, I decided to add another couple kilometres onto my daily run, running 23.53km.

Friday: Recovering well, I ran another 23.30km before making the drive down to Norwich to visit family and for a bit of training down there.

Saturday: A long run on the cards today, running the length of Marriott’s Way (an old railway line), starting in Aylsham and finishing in Norwich, 39.57km. A mostly firm, flat surface with no traffic to worry about was definitely appreciated for a change.

This concluded a 120km+ week, looking to increase that again this week. A new pair of running shoes definitely will be needed soon!

Week beginning 25/03

Monday – Thursday:

A slow start with a quick visit to see my Gran and an overnight stay with my brother, a little break to recover from The Manchester Ultra Loop last Saturday.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I was back to it with an 18.76km, 18.70km and 6.11km runs in preparation for Friday – another match day run from Thirsk to the LNER Community Stadium in York.

Friday: Match day run number 2: York City vs Chesterfield

York have been very supportive to my challenge with a page on their website and a post on their social media massively helping with spreading awareness of my challenge and my plans to run to the game the following day. A huge thank you.

The route that I took was 44.43km, despite being 33km shorter than last Saturday, it posed a different challenge as I had to maintain more concentration due to traffic and remembering the route!

Throughout the run I had a small support crew consisting of family and friends that met me at different spots throughout my run to help me refuel. Thank you Mum, Charles and Nicola.

As I ran the final stretch into York I passed several fans giving support and encouragement, even seeing some old teammates making their way to the stadium. This was a massive boost for the final few miles of the run.

To top it off York got a fantastic result, beating Chesterfield 2-1. What a match day to be involved in and a great game to watch.

Thank you to everyone at York City FC, it was great being back.

Saturday: 1 final run for the week (12km) to reach the 100km mark.

Last week was a big week. Starting with 3 long runs on Monday (35.83km), Tuesday (22.80km), Wednesday (20.71km), all leading up to The Ultra Loop on Saturday.

The Ultra Loop: Run as many 5km loops as you can within 8 hours.

Going into this challenge my plan was to set off at a 6minute/kilometre pace and to see where that would get me.

First 20km (4 loops): Off to a very relaxed start, running at a 6min/km pace, chatting to fellow runners and feeling good. The first 2 hours went very quickly.

40km (8 loops): Approaching a marathon and at the 4 hour mark, feeling good, listening to music and keeping to the planned speed. Could I go and run another 40km in the remaining 4 hours?

50km (10 loops): Legs are starting to get heavy but electrolytes, water, snacks and support from my family are keeping my energy levels and spirits up.

60km (12 loops): Running pace remaining at 6min/km however brief stops throughout the race to rehydrate and fuel up has now taken off about 10 minutes, leaving about 1 hour and 50 minutes left. Legs really starting to ache at this point, I knew that 80 km (16 loops) was going to be a bit of an ask but I knew 15km more was still very doable. Phone now dead, meant no music, this final 15km was going to be a real challenge mentally as well as physically.

70km (14 loops): 45 minutes to go, quick snack, and set off for what I knew was going to be my final lap, painful but I knew that this was it finishing 75km (15 laps) in 7 hours 51 minutes.

A great challenge to have as my first attempt at ultra running.

Next challenge: match day run, 29/03/2024, 27 miles, Thirsk to the York City vs Chesterfield match at the LNER Stadium in York.

Come back next week to hear about how that goes.