Day 10

Day 10 I woke extra early, this is a big day after all, plus my physio Michael pictured below after marathon 4 was feeling inspired, him and 2 other members of the physio team had decided to run the marathon route today. They had special permission to head off at 8am also to avoid the masses which was really nice for them. I'd given him some advice about pacing , as his normal pace was pretty fast and I didn't want him to blow a gasket.

I had my morning physio, unfortunately my achillies was now really sore and even difficult to walk on, so I had to have some tape applied to give it some extra support today which Adam the lead physio applied, it did feel a little better if I'm honest once this was in place. There was no way I wasn't running today anyway, it was not even a passing thought.

The logistics of this morning were a little different, we had to meet over the in the main hall at Brathay for 8:45am, we did the usual 1- 20 roll call, with the exception of Duncan and George we were all present, both Duncan and George had suffered injury and headed out at 7:15 am in order to be back for the presentations at 3:30pm , it was a shame we missed them in the morning, but it was more important we were all together for the presentation we felt. Aly gave us a final brief , told us how much she'd enjoyed the event, before saying 'enjoy today, you are the class of 2018 10in 10'ers, now go and enjoy!' even Chris Heaton said only, "go out there and enjoy today!" no other instructions. As we walked across the lawn to the start line we were met with what seemed like 100's of people all clapping us out..............it was quite a moment, quite a moment indeed. Once on the lawn we posed for pictures before forming a circle with our arms around one another, one last final few words from Rich Rex........it was a powerful moment as the crowd dropped to silence and only the voice of Rich Rex could be heard......a rally call, a war cry, an emotional moment, whatever you want to call it I'll never forget this moment. When the words finished a roar blasted out from all 18 runners and the gathered crowd, lets do it I thought, lets do it.

After hugs with Sarah , friends and family we were away, I'd kept Aly and Chris's words of 'go and enjoy today' in my mind, and it's what I did, one last lap of the lake, nothing silly pace wise just get it done. I'd almost forgotten about the pain in my right heal..almost as I pressed on to mile 13 and almost half way. The main marathon field set off an hour after us so I kept having the occasional look over my shoulder to see if the race leader was catching me, no sign yet. Running through the empty streets all along closed for the main run , it felt pretty special, just the odd person clapping and people manning the drinks stops clapping my as I ran by. Occasionally I heard my name mentioned over the radio as I passed support stations as they were of course tracking me, the plan being to assemble my family at the finish line. I'd run every one around the 3 hour 50 mark so far, which is about 1:20pm finish, I'm consistent if nothing else in running....so I knew when I would be back or though so...

As I pressed on the race leader from the main Marathon hadn't passed me, I felt an opportunity to come in before the main pack having set off an hour before, I lifted the pace as I headed past mile 18 towards Bowness, good support for a change as I passed across the harbour, the sun was out and 100's of people were stepping aside and clapping as I ran through the village, I caught a glimpse of Malc up ahead so I knew I was running well.

The final few miles were a blur as I passed ice cream mountain, I heard again my name on the walkie talkie , "Sean's just past Ice cream mountain, 5 miles out"! I held on to a higher pace all the way to Brathay, as I ran up the drive I was clapped up the hill before a before silence as I rounded the corner, once round the corner it was an amazing moment as I ran under the finish line to Sarah..........10 Marathons in 10 days done, I could not believe it ! And my fastest time yet 3 hours 44 mins,!