52 Half Marathons in 52 weeks - completed

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At the beginning of the year I set myself a challenge to run 52 half marathons in the year - one per week. The aim was to give myself something that would stretch me, but wouldn't become all consuming. What I didn't take into account was that it is not the size of the challenge that is the problem, it is my obsessive nature.

Run like there's no tomorrow

As usual I failed to pace myself and went at it like a marathon newbie tearing away from the start line. Rather than the planned single 13.1 run per week I found myself seeking to do the distance every time I ran. Time for a 10k? Well that's half way to another one ticked off. 10 miles? Only a parkrun to get one closer to my goal.

The more obsessed I became, the more obsessed I became. At one point I did 10 in 10 days in order to boost the total. Through the teens, twenties and thirties I ran. The forties seemed to take longer, but then it was the final stretch and I hit 52 on 10th June, just 23 weeks into 2021.

Route planning

Despite the urgency with which I attacked the challenge I did make sure I was enjoying the journey and not just the destination. Finding 52 routes starting and finishing from your home takes some thought and creativity. I wanted to mix it up a bit and managed that fairly well - it helps living in a big city.

51 of them took place in London with one (my 50th) in Folkestone with the Bald Monkeys Running Club. The route in London took me in all directions. North to the Thames, on to Canary Wharf, the Lea Valley, Hackney and Brick Lane.. East to Eltham and Oxley Woods. West to Dulwich and Brockwell Parks, Peckham and Brixton. South to Beckenham, Crystal Palace and Bromley.

On occasion I ran further than the 13.1 miles. Anything over counted as one half, so a marathon only counted as one despite technically being twice the distance. Five of the 52 were full marathons and eight were ultra marathons (over 30 miles). These took me out as far as Richmond, Hampstead and Notting Hill. 

So what now? 

Many people have asked what I will do with the rest of the year. Well, I'd like to double the number of marathons - 26 x 26.2 in the year. Also there is the possibility of reaching 100 half marathons before the end of December...

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