A Day on a Treadmill - Mark Cooper's 24 Hour Challenge

Some of you may recall that I spent a week last year in France supporting Mark Cooper as he ran from Amsterdam to Barcelona, the equivalent of 50 marathons, in 56 days.


Last Thursday, 28th July, Mark continued his epic running feats by attempting to break the world record distance, of 160 miles, on a treadmill over 24 hours. The event took place in the opulent surroundings of the Corinthian Club in Glasgow and commenced at 6pm.

I couldn’t believe the sight at 7:30pm, when I turned up to support him.  Rather than the relaxed runner that didn’t even break a sweat in the hills and heat of Southern France, here was someone working extremely hard with sweat pouring out of him.  There was no way that, even, Mark could maintain such a performance for 24 hours.  I couldn’t believe it when Mark advised me that he was running at 10 kilometres per hour and I was right not to, as it transpired that he was actually running at 10 miles per hour.  He had run 20 miles in 2 hours, the fastest he had ever run!  Knowing that this effort would have dire consequences, as time progressed, a normal person would have quit there and then but Mark is no normal person and instead of throwing in the towel, he placed it over the treadmill screen and continued on his courageous challenge.

Despite this set back, Mark was still in fine fettle when I popped in to see him on my way to work.  However by lunch time, I heard that he was really struggling and was in need of physical help.  I popped in to see him to discover that his right knee was clicking with every step that he made.  Thankfully Pamela Andrews was on her way and she administered some relief as we gave him words of encouragement.  Patched up he was back on the treadmill and somehow remained focused on the task ahead.  There were less than a handful of us supporting him at this stage but various people, including the fantastic Corinthian staff and local office workers would pop in during the afternoon to express their amazement at his endurance. 

I knew that his reappraised target was 120 miles but as the final hour approached, Mark managed to dig deep into his reserves and increase the pace. The number of supporters and media representatives increased during those last 60 minutes and by the time the clock counted down to 00:00:00, there was a great atmosphere in the room. To loud applause he finished his inspiring journey and was rewarded with an ice cool pint of Guinness.

He had run a total of 129.2 miles, nearly five full marathons or the distance from Glasgow to Sunderland in 24 hours! He had run though physical and psychological barriers that most of us couldn’t even begin to imagine and he deserves our utmost respect for doing so.

Well done Mark! 

Mark's Just Giving Page

My Photographs

Run in the Sun .... and the Evening News

You might recognise the photo above, which I took of Mark Cooper when we reached the French village of Champagne.  The photo was used in the newspaper reports of Mark's great achievement, of running 50 marathons in 56 days, by both the Sun and Edinburgh Evening News.  Although there was no credit for me as the photographer, I'm glad to have helped out.  Unlike some other amateur photographers that I could mention.

A Half and a Half

After including part of the Men’s Health 10k in my long run last week, I decided to go one better this week and include all of the Glasgow parkrun in my 13.1 mile training run. So it was up at 6:30 am to have a light breakfast before heading off to Pollok Park for an 8:05 start. My plan was simple: to run along the national cycle route (N7) at 8:30 min/miles for five miles, turn around and arrive at the start of the parkrun at 9:30am.


I set off heading in the opposite direction from the parkrun route and made my way through Pollok Park and along the banks of the White Cart Water. I saw a fish louping out of the river to catch a fly and thought how lucky we are in Scotland to have so much nature right on our door steps. I passed a few dog walkers as I made my way along the undulating cycle path. Good practice for the Girvan Half, I thought to myself. However, when I reached Hawkeshead Road I decided to give the forthcoming hills a miss and turned right towards Hawkeshead Station and the Glasgow Road. I met a couple of other runners running in the opposite direction just before Garmin revealed that I had completed five miles in exactly 42:30. A quick drink of Lucozade Sports and I headed back behind the other runners, before turning back onto the N7. It was a warm and humid morning and I was sweating loads but I thought about Mark Cooper and how the day before he had completed his 50th marathon in 56 days in 33 degrees Celsius, in an incredible time of 3:08.

As I neared the end of my ten miles, I could hear the familiar sound of Richard Leyton giving the usual pre race announcements at the start of the 79th Glasgow parkrun. For once, I wanted the announcements to drag out to allow me to get to the start line in time. However as I ran over the hill and around the corner I could see the runners just starting set off. I joined the other 249 runners as we ran down the hill, drinking the remainder of my sports drink before throwing my running belt under my car as I passed by it.

I found myself running along with Katie Smith but soon decided to slow down a bit and keep to my 8:30 min/mile pace. I had a wee chat with the injured Gordon McDonald and Graeme Aitken, who was having an easy run after his Men’s Health 10k and jogscotland 5k earlier in the week. I took advantage of my slower than usual run to thank the marshals, who’s volunteering allows the weekly, free, event to take place. With a kilometre to go, I decided to increase the pace a little and catch a few runners. On the final strait I had to work hard to hold off a challenge from Mark Hannah who had decided to chase after me when I passed him. I placed 106th with a time of 25:00 with Mark 107th with the same time. We congratulated each other before heading over to join the queue to hand in our race tokens and barcodes.

I had completed my long run of 13.1 miles in a time of 1:50:35 an average pace of 8:26 min/miles and had ran my 46th parkrun, getting one step closer to the 50 parkrun mark and the t-shirt which rewards it.

I had volunteered to do a report on the event for the parkrun website and chatted with some of the other runners to get their views on the event, before heading to the Burrell Café for a well deserved coffee and jam scone. Of course I would much prefer to have had a bacon roll but unfortunately, to ensure that they don’t have any left un-purchased the chef has removed them from the menu!! After the usual light hearted banter and serious running conversations it was hope for an ice cold bath, a hot brunch and a siesta before heading back to Pollok Park for the Bellahouston Harriers’ Barbeque, where I had the good fortune of winning a bottle of malt whisky. A half marathon to start the day with and a whiskey to round it off nicely.

Glasgow parkrun 79 results

HM Consul General in Barcelona Agrees to Welcome Mark Cooper

I asked Mark Cooper if there was anything that I could do to support him when I returned to Scotland after running with him through France. He asked me if there was any chance of getting some form of recognition from the British Government at the end of his 50th marathon, so I contacted the British Consulate in Barcelona to see if this could be arranged.



This is part of the response which I received:

What he has undertaken to complete is amazing and I'd be very happy to meet him when he arrives in Barcelona this coming Friday. From what I understand it is scheduled to be about 15.00 in Plaza Catalunya? What are the arrangements for the arrival?

If publicity is helpful then I can contact The Times correspondent who lives here in Barcelona plus one or two other press contacts that we have.

Kind regards,

Andrew

ANDREW GWATKIN
HM Consul General
British Consulate General Barcelona
Avda Diagonal 477, 13th Floor. 08036 Barcelona.

email: andrew.gwatkin@fco.gov.uk ; tel: 0034 93 3666 210 ; cell phone: 0034 649 895 375 ; ftn: 8362 2210 ; fax: 0034 93 3666 221

url: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk
“Promoting British Interests in Spain, with Commitment, Consistency and Confidence.”


Mark is quite a humble and unassuming guy but he does deserve all the recognition and publicity that he can get for undertaken such a fantastic challenge. I’m so pleased with the positive response from the Consul General, it kind of makes one proud to be British.

Burgundy Bound

I’m off to France today to support Mark Cooper in his epic challenge of running 50 marathons in 56 days.  Mark left Amsterdam four weeks ago and has now run 25 of the 50 runs, on his way to Barcelona. 

I’m flying out to Lyon and then heading to the delightful town of Tournous, on the River Saône, in the south-east corner of Burgundy.  I’m looking forward to supporting Mark, getting some running in myself, seeing some of France and enjoying some of their renowned food and wine over the next seven days.

Kilmarnock Standard Cooper Mention

I managed to get a wee bit of publicity for Mark Cooper's epic challenge in this week's Kilmarnock Standard, when  Lizzie Struthers reported:

Harrier Ian Goudie, of Stewarton, will be acting as a support to Mark Copper who is running a 1,300-mile ultra endurance run through Europe this month. Mark, of Edinburgh, is running the equivalent of 50 marathons in 56 days in aid of the charity Headway Group.
Ian, 52, will keep Mark, 27, supplied with snacks, water and motivation as well as run alongside him during the French leg, week five, of the trip.

PM Support for Fifty Marathon Challenge

The Prime Minister has taken time out of his busy schedule to support Mark Cooper in his challenge to run 50 marathons in 56 days. Gordon and Sarah Brown sent Mark a personal letter two weeks ago telling him that they and indeed the country is behind Mark for the challenge ahead. Mark is well chuffed and I’m delighted to receive this support.

Run with Mark

I'll be Running with Mark

Mark Cooper, a 27 year old Edinburgher will on the 1st of May begin a 1,300 mile ultra endurance run through the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain. The trip will take him about eight weeks to complete and will consist of roughly 50 marathons in 56 days.

Mark is running the challenge in memory of his mother, Sheila, who passed away in 1997 from a brain haemorrhage and is aiming to raise £25,000 for the Headway Group charity.  I've also had a number of friends die prematurely from brain haemorrhages, not least of all my good pal Jimmy Cochrane who died at the age of 49.

I’ve never met Mark, in fact I’ve never even spoken with him but when I noticed on Facebook that he needed someone to support him on the fifth week of his journey I decided to step in and lend a hand. As it happens, that part of the journey will be through France and I’ve always wanted to spend more time travelling through the land of culinary traditions and fine wine.

I will be Mark's only support for the week and my tasks will include ensuring that he has somewhere to eat and rest. Either ensuring that hotels and restaurants are booked or putting up the tent and cooking lunch, dinner and breakfast. I’ll make sure that he sets off in the morning in time and then pack up and drive ahead to the next stop. I’ll keep him supplied with snacks, water and motivation.  Of course, if possible, I’ll be hoping to spend some of the time running along with him, providing support and encouragement.

I’ll be flying out to Paris Beauvais from Prestwick on Friday 28 May at 16:15 and back to Edinburgh from Lyon on Saturday 5 June arriving at 17:15.

Mark will be running along Paul Benjasminse's cycle route from Amsterdam to Barcelona as the basis for the challenge. It promises to be an adventure for all concerned.  In the meantime I had better refresh my French language skills.

Run With Mark

Mark's Just Giving Page

http://twitter.com/runwithmark