Ever felt like you've hit the wall, and not just any wall, but The Wall, a brutal ultra-marathon in the North of England? That's where our guest, Reece, found himself, in the middle of an intense physical challenge.
Rhys, an inspiring runner, will take you through his journey from competing in his first marathon to tackling a gruelling 70 miles. As an average guy who mastered the extraordinary, Reece isn't shy about sharing his trials and triumphs, including his recent 5K PB all the way to his experience with the David Goggins' 4x4x48 challenge.
Reece opens up about a deeply personal struggle with addiction and how running became his lifeline. Listen to his compelling story of how he replaced alcohol addiction with running, and the impact of a supportive family on his journey to sobriety.
Running served as a catalyst to re-evaluate his perspective on wellness. He shares his insights on the mental and physical benefits of running and how it has changed his life.
Today, Rhys is an ultra-marathoner standing testament to the transformative power of running and the resilience of the human spirit. Listen in to find that spark that will push you to take on your own Wall.
Thanks for being part of our running community. Keep clocking those miles, keep pushing your limits, and above all, keep finding joy in the run. See you on the next episode of Maximum Mileage Running Podcast!
JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP! Your support here helps to keep making content and weekly podcast episodes... in return, you will have access to fantastic discounts through our numerous partners, plus we upload lots more content and chat to help you with your running!
Thanks to all our partners at Maximum Mileage who you can get huge discounts via the Maximum Mileage Facebook Group! :
You can find more resources including the blog or enquire about having one...
Ever felt like you've hit the wall, and not just any wall, but The Wall, a brutal ultra-marathon in the North of England? That's where our guest, Reece, found himself, in the middle of an intense physical challenge.
Rhys, an inspiring runner, will take you through his journey from competing in his first marathon to tackling a gruelling 70 miles. As an average guy who mastered the extraordinary, Reece isn't shy about sharing his trials and triumphs, including his recent 5K PB all the way to his experience with the David Goggins' 4x4x48 challenge.
Reece opens up about a deeply personal struggle with addiction and how running became his lifeline. Listen to his compelling story of how he replaced alcohol addiction with running, and the impact of a supportive family on his journey to sobriety.
Running served as a catalyst to re-evaluate his perspective on wellness. He shares his insights on the mental and physical benefits of running and how it has changed his life.
Today, Rhys is an ultra-marathoner standing testament to the transformative power of running and the resilience of the human spirit. Listen in to find that spark that will push you to take on your own Wall.
Thanks for being part of our running community. Keep clocking those miles, keep pushing your limits, and above all, keep finding joy in the run. See you on the next episode of Maximum Mileage Running Podcast!
JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP! Your support here helps to keep making content and weekly podcast episodes... in return, you will have access to fantastic discounts through our numerous partners, plus we upload lots more content and chat to help you with your running!
Thanks to all our partners at Maximum Mileage who you can get huge discounts via the Maximum Mileage Facebook Group! :
You can find more resources including the blog or enquire about having one...
Welcome back to the maximum mileage running podcast. Ladies and gents, today I have a guest whose story goes beyond the miles, the finish lines of the applause, and it deep. It dives deep into the transformative power of running and its potential to heal not just the body but the mind and soul too. My guest is a man who has faced the incredible challenges of 13 marathons in 13 days the Manchester Marathon, which I might have to ask you about because that's my A race for the spring. The Kielder Marathon, which I've coached some people to. And he's also done the grueling 70 miles from out and known as the wall. But beyond these are standing feats Rhys has. Rhys' journey into is an inspiration on a different level. So, rhys, it's nice to meet you. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm good, thanks, yeah, the tired and new baby just two weeks old, so congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, I'm great at the minute, just a bit tired. How are you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all good, thank you. Yeah, and I feel your pain. Is it your first baby? It's not your first baby, is it Third, third, oh God, you're going back in for a third.
Speaker 2:For a third run.
Speaker 1:I had it. Oh my God.
Speaker 2:That is definitely it, though.
Speaker 1:I mean this might be a bit TMI for some people, but one of the first things I did after my second child was born was I was straight on the phone to the GP. The doctor get me in for the snip.
Speaker 2:I tried to do that last week, so I had to wait until the baby was six months old, which I was. Is that what they said?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's shocking. That's shocking. I did it. Within three days I was on the phone and I think two weeks later I was in for my operation. Anyway, tmi and all that. So how is how is training going with the little one come along, what have you got? What have you got on the horizon and are you managing to get out and continue to run?
Speaker 2:So I've haven't really done anything for five weeks, up until last night. I got out and done the Newcastle Keyside 5K. Oh nice, I was wanting to drop out all day. My mindset when I don't do anything for quite a long time is I can get really lazy and I was exhausted yesterday and I really didn't want to do it. Ended up going still wasn't going to do it. So I just like chair people on and I'm going to do it. I've ended up getting a PB done 20, 27. Still quite get that sub 20, but I will get there.
Speaker 1:Well, if you're still getting PB's, hold you 30. Oh, you're a young pup. I mean, I'm still trying to get 5K PB's and I'm 41. So you know, 20, 27 is not slow and you are playing your time to get that sub 20. So good, nice, not a shabby place to be in after five weeks of no training.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I came 45th out of 444 as well. That was in the B race, but I'll take the 45th.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's not too bad at all. So, chris, thank you for coming on the podcast. I was. I was, I guess, struck by your story, because there are similarities to my own story. I've been battled my own mental health issues in the past and running has been a savior to me, so I am really keen to sort of hear a little bit more about your journey. So take us a little bit back to when you first started running, and what was that initial spark that got you to lace up your shoes?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think pretty much it was more sort of preseason for football. I've always been more football than anything, but so running was just kind of a way to get fit. And I suppose it wasn't really probably until about four or five years ago where I actually started running properly and I signed up for the Great North Run and it was truly horrendous. I think I said I would never run that far again in my life.
Speaker 1:I think I said that after the Brighton marathon in whatever year it was, it was my first marathon. I was like, oh, I've done park run a few times, now I can do, I can do a marathon. I said I'd never sign up for anything, ever again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly that. But yeah, I think after a few weeks past that kind of was there? No, actually I think I did enjoy it. Yeah, yeah, just from there I started saying up a few more different events. I actually think I signed up to Brighton marathon. That was going to be my first marathon, but it got cancelled with COVID, yeah. So I took a hat to take a pass on that one, and then I did eventually do my first marathon, which was Kilda, which probably wasn't the best one to do for my first. Which year did you do that?
Speaker 1:2021. 2021. Yeah, of course I had somebody running it that I was coaching in 2021. So, yeah, good day that day, good weather, and it was very pretty.
Speaker 2:The day before was torrential rain and that because that was the Duathlon. I was quite happy. We got very lucky with the weather, because I think that probably would have made us never run again if I had a gut stuck in that weather.
Speaker 1:I also had to battle that course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I hadn't trained properly for that at all, and it was close to breaking me. It was just too many hills.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, good stuff. So I mean you've taken on some big challenges recently, so talk to us about some of those, including the good old David Goggins one. He's not my kind of character, but I know a lot of people love him. I think in 10 years time we'll all be around a séance chucking his book on the fire at some point, but at the moment he's a popular man. So you did the 4x4x48?.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that was kind of. I had been planning it for a while. So I turned 30 in May and I wanted to do something bigger, a challenge than just a run. I wanted to do something on my own. So I decided that was going to be it, because I read his first book and I actually really enjoyed his first book, but not the second so much. So that was in the middle of my struggles as well and that was the moment which really changed my mindset. But it was hard.
Speaker 2:I'm definitely underestimated. I don't know why I underestimated it. You would think a David Goggins challenge. You think it's going to be brutally. He's not going to put his name next to something. That's easy. But, as I always do, underestimate things and get caught by it. But with two young kids as well, I guess probably not the best time to do it either. But and a pregnant partner. But it was the lack of sleep definitely over the whole challenge, from being up from 5am on the Tuesday, I didn't do my first run until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I had his sleep that night. I actually kind of failed the challenge because I missed the 12 o'clock run, but I did eight miles at four in the morning.
Speaker 1:Oh well, okay, so you made it the four elsewhere, which in some respects is harder Because you've just done an eight mile run and now you've got to recover ready for the next four mile run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think at the time I was in a mindset where I felt like I was a failure in every aspect of my life. So then, when I failed the challenge technically by waking up with 10 to 14 in the morning, I was like I failed, I can't do it, I'm not going to continue. And I spent about 40 minutes just lying, not being able to move, because I was so fed up of how another thing I'd failed at. But I just got myself up. It was possibly the best run I've ever had in my life. It was so peaceful this day. Sunrise was just starting as I was leaving the house. It was unbelievable. Yeah, four-cut in the morning, you wouldn't think, but yeah, absolutely tremendous run. I managed to do everyone after that and it ended up being like when I finished the actual whole challenge itself, I was overcome with emotion. I was like if I can do that, I can do anything. Oh.
Speaker 2:I get emotional after the park run, don't worry. Yeah, honestly, my mindset had just completely changed. It was really unbelievable and, yeah, everything's been smooth sailing since, up until the lack of sleep now.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it was a challenge.
Speaker 2:It's definitely worthwhile giving it a go if you want something that is going to push you because the lack of sleep, even four miles. I was thinking, oh, it's only four miles, but actually four miles is longer.
Speaker 1:I think that's the thing with that challenge. And just for anybody who's listening that doesn't know what the hell we're talking about, just tell us what is the David Goggins 4x4x48?.
Speaker 2:So it's four miles every four hours for 48 hours. You've got to start the four miles, say, four o'clock in the afternoon and you run them on the four hours. So you can't like, because I was thinking when I first signed it, oh I do four miles at four o'clock, then I don't have to do eight miles to like quarter to 12 at night, but actually you've got to do them on the four hours. That's part of the challenge. But yeah, definitely me, definitely worthwhile.
Speaker 1:Do you have to start at 4pm?
Speaker 2:No, no, I think I think it usually starts at 8pm, but I think it just, it's just whenever you want to. So I think I set mine after my son had finished school. I went and picked him up from school, got home and then went out on my first run.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that means a big challenge. I've seen loads of people do it and, yeah, maybe not my kind of thing, but I know how transformative those kind of challenges can be. I think that's what ultra running has done for me is, as I've completed bigger challenges, it's just made me think. It made me realize that I can do hard things and I'm not. I don't have to go into these dark places that I've been into when I had my mental health battle. So just tell us a little bit more and, if you don't mind talking to a little bit, what have been some of those tough times that you've been through, because you've been through one, a really tough one, recently, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, of course I don't mind sharing that. So pretty much, november was pretty much the start, but it started a long time before that. So I was a chef up until I found out my first son was going to be born.
Speaker 1:So I worked in hospitality for 20 years. I know how hard that game is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah For the past 100 weeks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's the whole thing with when you finish work, be as I put on the pass for your finishing. You've done really well today for Pines there for you. You've had a really good day here. As for Pines for you, whatever sort of day, you had them Pines waiting for you and then you would have them Pines. Well, I had four Pines. Now, don't go downstairs, have a few more, have a few more. Sometimes it's five. Gotten them on. You're still in the casino and you're starting working an hour and a half.
Speaker 2:And when I stopped being a chef because I knew I couldn't be a dad while doing those sort of hours, that's when I just went into a contact center and I remember the first day of finishing work, the let go an hour early from training and would just move back from Bermuda not long before that and I was in my mom's kitchen just pacing back and forward. What do I do? It's three o'clock in the afternoon. I was lost. I was completely lost. We had feelings. So I went to the shop. I just got some cans. I'll have a few beers, since I've finished this early for once in my life and kind of that stuck. From that point going forward, it would say oh, I've had a really stressful day at work. Pop in the shop, get four cans. But then it went from four cans, then it would start to get eight cans, then it would be I'll get a crate on a Wednesday. That'll last us through the weekend. It'll last us two nights, one night, three nights.
Speaker 2:It kind of just got progressively worse from that point to the point where I kept messing up. I was letting people down. It's just fed up with everything that was happening. The final straw was the England game, the first one of the World Cup. So went the pub half 11, few pints. Was meant to be coming home after. I didn't come home after it. My son plays for Newcastle Academy. I was meant to be taking him to football. Well, going along Ended up saying I'll just pick us up after. So I ended up missing his football. And then I didn't end up coming home again when I said I was going to. So I just woke up. I felt terrible. I was just like right, I've had enough of this. So one of my friends said why don't you try a? Try a? Um, and I got a.
Speaker 1:Alcoholics Anonymous right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sorry, I got a lot of. I resonated with a lot of it and I Realized that was me. So it helped us realize I am an alcoholic. I need to get my stuff together because I've got two kids. I need to be a better dad, need to be a better partner, better son, everything. So when I stopped drinking, I'd done three weeks straight away and then I just drank.
Speaker 2:And then it become to the point where I was having a bit of time off, going back to drink, back to drink, back to drink, and the longer it was happening, the more I kept just going back to you're feeling again, you're feeling again, you're feeling again. Back to day one. And it just got to a point where the last time I did drink, which was February the 26th, I ended up on the train lines just around the corner from where I am now. Stood in the middle of the train tracks waiting for a train to come. Someone seen us walk out on the lines, the cold, because there's a crossing, so I'd went down where the crossing is Walk, started walking down the train track. So someone picked up the phone, call the operators and they managed to get the train stopped and that's when I came off the lines when I seen a train coming, but it was at a crawling pace so there was nothing I could. It was game over, really. There was nothing I could have done at that point.
Speaker 2:The next day I woke up and I just felt so bad and I struggled for a long time. After that I did Manchester Marathon in April and even though I hadn't been running, I was going to go for a sub four hour marathon and I got up to about miles 22, mile 23,. And I started dropping off the four hour pace trying to grab a drink and someone cut like a crosses. So I ended up having to go back over and by the time I'd done that, I just feel that way and I thought, and then I thought I could stop the go at the toilet and by the time I caught them up, by mile 24, 25-ish, I'd completely drained myself and I ended up finishing in four hours two minutes and I'd just seen that as a massive fail. My head just dropped. I was just back down in that hole where I had been really all those weeks ago. I managed to. I'd stayed sober and I have stayed sober. I'm coming up six months sober now.
Speaker 1:That's bottom.
Speaker 2:Thank you. But yeah, it was like felt back in that same place of where I kept picking up the drink. I just kept feeling I just couldn't shift it. And then a few weeks later I was when it was my 30th and I did the challenge. That's what I was saying about. By sleeping in. I'd failed and normally I would have just lay there and I would have been like, if I had stayed in that mood where I was, I would have just lay there and went right. I'm done. I've failed that challenge.
Speaker 2:Whereas I got up and I'd done 98 miles and I'd done everyone after that and there was still a long way to go, I'd only done two runs before that 12 o'clock one that I actually slept through, oh wow. So I'd done the four o'clock and eight o'clock run and I thought I'll try and get myself a couple of hours sleep. That didn't work. Yeah, that really was that whole light bulb switch moment where my whole perspective was like, right, just get up, just go and do it at miles. Now I'd been putting on Facebook and things like that, updating after every run.
Speaker 1:That makes it even harder, doesn't it? When there's that urge to quit, it's like no, I've been telling everybody I'm doing this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do it with all of them. So even like the 13 half marathons challenge I did, after every run I put a post on it saying how that run went, pictures, things like that. So I was doing the same after the four o'clock, done the same after the eight o'clock. I was like, oh, people are going to be seeing what's happening. There's no one o'clock in the morning. So then, yeah, got up, done it, put my post on, said I've missed it, I've kind of failed the challenge, but I'm just going to continue now anyways. And I was getting loads of comments you haven't failed, you've just done eight miles at once instead. And I was getting nice comments and it was like, right, okay, I might as well. Yeah, I will just keep going.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what I thought when you said well, I slept in for one, but then I got up and actually what I did was eight, and then I carried on the four. See, I don't see that as a failure. I think that's awesome because actually, like I say, running eight miles is quite different to running four miles, and then you've reduced the amount of recovery time that you've got and you've actually probably made it really even more difficult for yourself. So you know, I think the fact that you've taken your mindset away from where you were, even as recently as you know, february, where you've gone through that horrible time, where you find yourself still on a train track and for those people listening, I know what that feels like. But you know, mine wasn't a train track, mine was taking my seatbelt off and driving towards an oncoming car.
Speaker 1:That was my moment of madness, should we call it, Long time ago now. But you know, I think you're a few to go from that place in February to now, having done something like the 4x4 by 48 challenge and crossed over a little bump in the road in that challenge and go. Do you know what? No, I'm going to get up, I'm going to crack on, I'm going to do this, I'm going to finish it, and you did, you have done. I think that's a remarkable transformation a fairly short space of time. I think if you can keep hold of that as you go through the rest of your life, you know three kids now. That's a great place to be, and you talk about great places to be. You're not a chef anymore, are you?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:What has it?
Speaker 2:been now. So I've recently just I've been in payroll for the last five years. I went into a contact centre, basically got a little side job in the contact centre doing a bit of payroll, and I've now, on Monday, just started as payroll manager of a charity that looks after lots of other different charities payrolls.
Speaker 1:Very good, very good. Quite different from the 80 hours a week behind the pass.
Speaker 2:Yes, very different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's nobody incentivising you to do a good shift with beer, which is what I used to do when I used to run places. I used to incentivise the chef, so used to play a game with them. Right, I get a case of 24 beers and I'd say, for every mistake you guys make, I take away a beer. Yeah, oh yeah, every shift was the best shift ever because it was like no, all the beers are still in there.
Speaker 2:I can imagine that's it.
Speaker 1:But the thing is, I look back on that now and think that is actually a really shit thing to do to incentivise somebody with beer in that way.
Speaker 2:Like if you didn't do that though. So if there was one night where the general manager didn't give us beers, I would call him worse than shit, really, you know. I would call him worse than anything for not giving us them beers. It would be the worst person in the world over nothing really, but it's just a part and parcel of that job. It's sort of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is part and parcel of hospitality. To extend, Anybody listening who's in hospitality and I've got. I mean I actually coach somebody who works in hospitality. You know two people I coach work in hospitality. One is a chef. It is a great industry to be in. It took me all over the world, but it does come with a lot of hours and it's drawbacks and it is a bloody tough gig to be in. I've been said that all those feet, all that time on feet standing in the kitchen, not bad for ultra training, Exactly. So it certainly would have. Certainly would have set you off with it with a good, good base of strength in your legs ready for your ultra math and in devils, Definitely yeah. So when did you do? When did you do the wall?
Speaker 2:June last year.
Speaker 1:June last year. Right, okay, okay, I'll have you to get on Signed up again for next year. Oh nice.
Speaker 2:Nice Got a bit of unfinished business with it because I didn't manage to finish before it got dark. It was. It was brutal. Yeah, it's a tough one Any other way. It was really brutal. Hadn't done anything like it before. It was amazing, though, just to the views, everything that was. It was an amazing experience, but it was when I got to Hexham, which was 44 miles, in the feelings that I'd ever run before was a marathon and I had a marathon left to go from there. One of the guys from the running club who I run for, he met me at Hexham and, stupidly, I sat down. Oh, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:When I sat down the worst things you can do in ultra mountains is sit down.
Speaker 2:Absolutely horrendous. I couldn't. I couldn't even walk after. It was that bad. I thought I was right, I tried to run, I couldn't run. So I was like, right, I just walk really fast. So I thought I was walking really fast. People were walking past us as if they were sprinting. Do I just like gone? I was like what's going on. I was like so from that point, I'm sitting there, I'm going. I'm never even going to make it past past the deadlines now because I'm walking that slow. So I start getting in my head loads of people walking past is going, are you okay? I was like yeah. And then three lads were walking past and they, right, you're all knocked on, they're all struggling about bad, aren't you? I went, yeah, they went right, come on, you're coming with us.
Speaker 2:So, they're walking and then they kept turning around Can you hurry up? We want to finish at some point tonight. Go quicker. I keep up the back. They're like, do you fancy running for a little bit? I'm like, okay, go on. So I run. I've kind of run a little longer and then they started to struggle as well and then we end up walking for quite a bit and then it started to get dark and I just remember this. It was just felt as if we're just under trees in the pitch black. It must have felt like hours and hours and hours, but really probably wasn't, it was probably a couple of hours. And the friend, my friend from the running club, he cycled to Hexham and he cycled from Hexham to the last pit stop, which was nine miles from the finish, and I just felt like we're getting no closer and if I wasn't with them I would have quit, because I was very close to quitting.
Speaker 1:That's the beauty of the ultramarathon world is there's such a great community in it and you can make friends with people literally there and then in the middle of a race.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they completely dragged us along. And then I got to. I was about 100 feet away from the last pit stop and I was still saying I can't do this, I can't. And then, my pitch black. I just seen this bike coming towards us and it just stopped instantly and it was my mate from the running club and he just looked at us and he just gave us the biggest cool and I was just completely froze, didn't know what to do.
Speaker 2:And you went for 100 yards away. Come get your water filled up, get a bite of it and see how you feel when we get there. Got there, someone came over, filled my water up what you're going to do. I went, come on, and he's like alongside us. And I just started running again. I don't know I got it. It was like I knew where I was and then got up the Scott's Road and it was when I got down the quay side I was like whoa, I can see the time bridge, see the Millennium Bridge. I'm nearly there. I've actually nearly made it. I did eight and a half minute miles for the last four miles.
Speaker 1:And such a common thing in ultra-Americans is this is well, it's the second wind and sometimes in an even longer, you know, 100 miles, 150, 200. It can be the second, third, fourth winds. Where there's a coach out there called Jason Coop and I quite like one of his catchphrases, and that's it. Ultra always gets worse. Yeah, never always gets worse. So you might think you're, you're in the weeds right now. It's not always going to keep getting worse. At some point it will get better, yeah. And that is one of those occasions where it's actually, do you know what? You know? I can see you could see a landmark and say, right, okay, actually I can, I can feel it, I can, I can see it.
Speaker 2:Let's, let's pick the pace up and you get the second wind, I don't know where definitely I think it's with being my first ultra, I definitely gave us the thought that I would do a bit of a wrecky on all the ones that I decided to do and not just go in blind, not knowing where I'm going and things, because feels if I had have done the, say, the last half of that ultra, I probably would have been a bit more positive about the whole thing, because where I was a little bit more, where the checkpoints were coming, things like that, so I went in far too blind. But, like I said you're before, that's the kind of way I live. I live, I go in and just sort of wing everything.
Speaker 1:So now you're now you're in a better place. Now you've done the race before You've done some other challenges. You know you've got. You've got yourself signed up to the wall, you've got unfinished business. What are you going to do differently this time to what you did before?
Speaker 2:Hopefully train. That, I see, hopefully depends on how the children allow that. But no, there's definitely I've been. My training was I've done a few marathons in a few, a few Sundays. Before that was pretty much it. But I want to get into doing back to back running morning, same evening, 10, like 10 mile, both running on tired legs, things like that, or then on an evening and then the next morning getting more into that sort of training. Yeah, I would definitely say, be more consistent. But the thing is now, if there's not drinking, I'm not as tired and groggy. I might be a little bit more tired at this moment, but I would drink on most nights. So then if I said I was getting up at five o'clock in the morning to run, I was never getting up in reality because I'm sitting oh yeah, but it sounded good if I said I was going to do it.
Speaker 1:That's the thing I say all the time. Sayings you're going to do something and actually doing it are two very different things, Definitely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I lived a lot on seeing what we're all doing. Awesome, that's all. I use all these challenges as well as an excuse to drink. You know, I was didn't have anyone to tell us I couldn't drink after doing something like this, even though someone met us at the finish with four cans and still I had one sip and I had a hand and back that felt bad, bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, look for a guy with a 20, 27, 5k. It might not be an ultramarathon, but 5K is a marker that I use with my athletes to test, to see where their baseline pace is and how we can build on that, the different training zones, and that's a pretty decent pace without any I'll say any, without any properly structured training. So I would say look out for Reese Kelvert coming up behind you in your next ultramarathon, folks, because the boys got some pace, the boys got some pace. And if you can translate that into the long stuff, yeah, look out.
Speaker 2:That's the go. I don't just want to take part and come in the other back. I want to get more consistent with my training. I know it might not be sort of this year or next year with having three young kids, but it's definitely something within the next 10 years that it's going to become a lot more consistent and I will start getting competitive in these longer distance, because I've got a few written down there of races that I want to attempt over the next few years, like the Ben Nevis Ultra, the new one that's starting this year, the 13 Valies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've seen that advertiser. I don't know a huge amount about it yet, but I have seen that advertised.
Speaker 2:It's the first one. I think it's starting in October and if the baby didn't come, I think I possibly would have signed up for it on a whim again and just winged that one. I'm not sure that's something it can wing, but the racer stones and the copthorn races as well, and Lakeland 50 is something that's been on me list for a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, the copthorn is something a friend of mine has done and that's brutal. That's really tough Race to the Stones. I'm actually doing that myself in 2024. So after Manchester Marathon, that's one I'm going into. So I'll let you know how it goes. I've coached a couple of people to it. It's a great race. The Ridgeway is beautiful, it's not too hilly, it's playing about some downs, but it's not like anything. Certainly nothing like the Lakeland, which I'm actually on next week's recording. I've got Andy Berry on who was the winner of the Lakeland 100. Andy's coming on to tell us all about his and he's either man who's local to here or he's in County Durham.
Speaker 2:OK, yeah. I'll be watching that one and then get some tips on how I can win it in the next couple of years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, andy's becoming ultra running royalty and he's on the show next week, so I'll quiz him on what needs to be done. So look at the heads and actually I think a question I'd love to ask is you know, particularly for the people listening who might be struggling with things like addiction, mental health challenges and is either considering taking it running as an outlet, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 2:Definitely take up running the addiction. You need to replace your time that you would be spending doing that thing so far. For me, every night, I would finish work, sometimes, let the kids get to bed, sometimes not, and then I would start drinking. Sometimes I would force an argument with my partner so that I could drink properly, rather than it is slow, I read it. So when I did stop I was like this is when I would normally be drinking, watching Newcastle, that was something I would have a drink with every time. So I really did struggle watching Newcastle the first few times.
Speaker 2:But See, I would make it more about my son and what you've got to. There's going to be things you associate with that addiction and you need to do, need to replace it and you need to put your energy into something else. So for me that was running. And the good thing about running is when you do stop the benefits of stopping out drinking alcohol. I think pretty much everyone already knows that it is like really good, but I did actually see the benefits a lot and so when you do get that the positive out of Right, you can see yourself improving and say, oh yeah, this is a good thing. It's like the family as well, like life's been so much better for them.
Speaker 1:And yeah, how have they been to? You know they've stuck by you. You miss this guy obviously To this whole thing and even, you know, add another baby with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yeah, like it's been. It was really tough for her. She was pregnant and she had to deal with everything that was going on with me.
Speaker 2:So, from when I said I was stopping drinking. She was pregnant at that stage, when you're that, and that was another reason why I did want to stop, and the whole time I did actually want to stop drinking it. Just I would have a bad day or something and I would end up turning back to the drink. And it was about I hate rock bottom and I knew I couldn't drink anymore. And that was the like turning moment for me. I could not physically drink because I couldn't be back in that place. I couldn't. I couldn't leave Charlotte with three Well, two kids, an unborn baby and no dad to help. I couldn't. I could leave my kids without a dad and then he never. And then he never got that moment of holding my son for the first time and that became the priority over being selfish and drinking myself to death. That's all I was doing. I'd put. I've lost two stones since. I'm about 12. Just over 12 stone now, quite happy with my weight. I looked horrendous when it was all on my belly because I was just bloated.
Speaker 1:So there's, there's so many benefits you get from stopping these things.
Speaker 2:I mean, I mean like a couple of groups of people who are in active addiction and stuff, and I do try and help them and talk to them, even like but not like my run trying to encourage them into running or get to the gym, getting boxing gym, find something. That's what run is to me and stick with it because it will help you. Yeah, yeah, change the mindset. I think that's a really, really, really good point actually.
Speaker 1:Just, you know, obviously we're running this is a running podcast but I would say to anybody, you know, it doesn't have to be running, it could be. You know, get in the gym, get on a bike, you know, get a Zumba, I don't know. You know, don't do something that makes you happy and gives you that endorphin boost, because that's what I get from running and you know it's a lot of fun I get from running and you know, talk about. You know, for me, yes, I had my addictions earlier in life, but for me it was about how running made me feel on a day-to-day basis. That completely changed my perspective on you know.
Speaker 1:Actually, you know, feeling like crap was normal, but it didn't need to be normal. Actually, feeling good could be normal. And you know, now I can tell if I haven't been. I mean, god, my rest days. I'm still one of these people who's like oh, my God, it's a rest day, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Yeah, but you know, my, my missus says all the time I can tell when you haven't been for a run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the last five weeks not running. So I had I did the 400 meter hurdles on the track and field events Right. But I got distracted before we started and I went with the wrong straight straightaway. So I went the first hill with the wrong leading foot and I don't, it was a I only. So that was my third attempt of doing the 400 meter hurdles and so I'd never actually been over my right leg first. I should never do it again, but that way I thought I'd snap my ankle. But I felt embarrassed so I was like I'm going to keep going, I'll see how it feels. I went back, went over the next hurdle for my left foot Say right, it feels okay. I think the adrenaline just completely hit us. And then when I came around to the home straight the first hurdle, kind of glanced at the stand that was on the side, went back over with my right foot, hit the hurdle, nearly went flat on my face. It's all right, I've managed to finish and I still won the race, so I was pretty happy.
Speaker 1:God, I'd rather do a hundred miler than a than the 400 meter hurdles. Fair play to you. Race has been really great having you on the show and so much of what you said just resonates with me. You know that life in hospitality and how you know those, those big hours can lead you to drinking too much and doing lots of things that we shouldn't be doing. But just from the mental health point of view and anybody anybody listening it's you know, running really is that tonic and it just helps in so many ways. So thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story.
Speaker 1:There's going to be lots of people that I know that will listen to this and I'll be getting texts. I can. I can see the text coming through now saying, wow, what a, what a turnaround. So keep it going. I look forward to seeing how you do it. The wall when is it? 15th June 15th, yeah, so plenty of time to get ready for it. Yeah, definitely, maybe that time in your diary. You know your kids, all your kids, are important, but it's as I, as I say all the time sort out your own parachute first, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll be getting that time in, even if it's going to just start running to work. Things like that run to work, run back from work and make make it my commute. It means there's no excuses then, is there?
Speaker 1:No, exactly Perfect. Thanks very much for having us. Yeah, no worries. Thank you so much for coming on. Ladies and gents, that is Reese Calvert. Look out for him. He's coming for you. He's a cookboy.