Tell us more about your year of running …
I started on 20th June last year running a minimum of a mile a day for a year. It wasn’t very often I only ran the minimum. It was all recorded so people could see I was actually doing it – I ran two Ultra Marathons, Worcester Marathon , Leicester Marathon, numerous half marathons and ran Walk for Myton too in that time. Walk for Myton was my favourite event because of how supportive everyone was and it was very emotional. It wasn’t difficult to do, just squeezing in a mile. Most of the time I ran more than a mile.
Was there ever a time where you really didn’t want to run?
I went on a Stag weekend which was a bit difficult, when I was on holiday it was a bit of a pain but you get out and do it, and the day after doing the Ultra Marathon was really tough because my ankle was swollen. I hurt my knee part way through the Ultra – we strapped it up and I could carry on. But then all the pressure went to my ankle. I had to run through a broken river and had a 5,000 foot ascent so it was really tough. My feet were shredded the next day. I had to run with my wife supporting my injured side – I actually did more than a mile which probably wasn’t the best idea. In January I was running through St Nicholas Park in Warwick and I was flying; I was feeling really strong so thought I’d go for 10k and maybe get a PB. I got to the last mile in the park and I went over on my ankle. I carried on home but my ankle was really swollen after. If I wasn’t doing this challenge I would have stopped.
Did the weather put you off at all?
I struggled more in the heat. When it was cold or raining I wasn’t put off. The last week of the challenge was tough with the heatwave. I’m lucky because I work for myself so I could choose to run at the cooler times of day but on my last day I just wanted to get the last mile done as fast as possible and I couldn’t because there was no air, it was so hot. When it’s hot you don’t need much of an excuse to not run. The last week of my challenge was definitely the hardest part.
Did anyone run with you?
I’m part of Balsall Common Run Club so that would make up one of the runs in the week. My dog ran with me a few times but she gets bored of it quickly. My wife ran with me but she doesn’t like running, she’s a swimmer. She actually ran a seven day streak herself during my year. It wasn’t the running support that was most important from Jayne, it was her mental support. She was always totally understanding of my need to run every single day and never once moaned, even when it got totally in the way of everything. I don’t think she will ever know how important she is in everything I achieve. My main inspiration for running my streak was my PT and friend Paul Yeoman. He is currently into the 1400’s for consecutive days which is pretty incredible. In the last year he has helped me achieve the task physically and even become a better runner over the time. I’ve had great support.
Our legs are aching just thinking about the 1,716 miles Andy clocked up in 365 days! Well done and thank you very much Andy for supporting Myton!
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