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Woman's record bid: 63 marathons in 63 days


Still Waters

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A woman has completed her attempt to run 63 marathons in 63 days and hopes to have her achievement recognised as a world record.

Nikki Love, 50, from Leicester, started her feat at John O' Groats on 27 August and finished in Leicestershire's Swithland Wood on Saturday.

She hopes to have beaten the existing record of 60 consecutive marathon distances run by a woman.

The challenge has also raised money for the Huntingdon's Disease Association.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-41776849

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That is amazing.  Just, amazing.  I ran a 10K, ONCE.  I don't have a runner's build/body-type.  I couldn't punish my knees that way.  I have to say, she didn't look like I suspected she would.  I was imagining a tiny, elfin-type frame.  Amazing :yes:

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Some people will do anything to get out of doing the dishes..  :D

(j/k) I wonder how much irreversible wear and tear she is putting on her body for this record attempt?

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at what cost to her body... wowzers, that's incredible and harsh simultaneously.

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Kudos.  I know may people that ruined their knees by just jogging a few time a week, but running 63 days in a row???!!!!

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I have endless admiration for people who continue their workout regimen into old age. An 82-year-old man recently set the record for being the oldest thru-hiker to complete the 2200-mile Appalachian Trail! I hope and pray I have that kind of endurance in my senior years.

A high school friend still does Ironman Triathlons. We’re both 64 years old. He’s been an inspiration to me since high school days, when he started lifting weights and beating everyone in arm wrestling. He recently went on a 3-day backpacking trip. 

My goal is to be able to mow my own lawn when I’m 80. Maybe I need to raise the bar a bit.

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14 minutes ago, simplybill said:

That’s hilarious.

Ya can't go wrong with Red Green...

I'm also 64 and I use to be very active - up until I was 52... Now I can feel myself losing "wind" (stamina while running) and walking long distance is not as easy as it used to be... I keep meaning to start working out... but that sounds like so much work...

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52 minutes ago, Taun said:

Ya can't go wrong with Red Green...

I'm also 64 and I use to be very active - up until I was 52... Now I can feel myself losing "wind" (stamina while running) and walking long distance is not as easy as it used to be... I keep meaning to start working out... but that sounds like so much work...

Taun - I don’t do the heavy workouts anymore. I have 20-pound dumbbells, a sit-up board and a chin-up bar. Throughout the day, I’ll randomly do a set of chin-ups, curls, sit-ups, squats, and so on. It helps me stay toned without having to go to the gym three times a week. I try to target all the muscles and ligaments that I’ll need to mow my lawn when I’m 80. It sounds silly, but it seems like a more practical goal for me than running marathons. Also, I do a lot of walking. Running has always been too hard on my knees.

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3 minutes ago, simplybill said:

Taun - I don’t do the heavy workouts anymore. I have 20-pound dumbbells, a sit-up board and a chin-up bar. Throughout the day, I’ll randomly do a set of chin-ups, curls, sit-ups, squats, and so on. It helps me stay toned without having to go to the gym three times a week. I try to target all the muscles and ligaments that I’ll need to mow my lawn when I’m 80. It sounds silly, but it seems like a more practical goal for me than running marathons. Also, I do a lot of walking. Running has always been too hard on my knees.

Two words that I NEVER put together seriously in my life are "fun and "run"... Walking, on the other hand I have always enjoyed and I have always walked very quickly (It helps that I am tall and my stride eats up a lot of ground)... I never enjoyed weights, and while in the Army I exercised when we all did (PT)... I was just one of those guys that got enough exercise by walking (almost literally everywhere) - which was fortunate as I spent a lot of time in the Infantry... However now that I'm retired, I've gotten much more sedentary...

Funny story - Part of the Annual Army Fitness test was a 2 mile run... When my Reserve unit was deployed to Iraq in 2004 (I was 51) we replaced an Active Duty Airborne unit (Airborne units are ALWAYS running)... We had a meet and greet with the Airborne leaders (I was a Senior NCO) and their Commander announced that in the morning we were all going to have a "6 mile 'Fun-Run'"... He looked at me and saw that i had a Drill Sgt patch on... Thinking to make a point to his Senior NCO's he asked me "So Drill Sgt, how long does it take you to run 6 miles?"... I didn't even hesitate... "Three years sir!"... He looked like he was going to have a stroke, but his Senior NCOs all laughed and came up to shake my hand...

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34 minutes ago, Taun said:

Thinking to make a point to his Senior NCO's he asked me "So Drill Sgt, how long does it take you to run 6 miles?"... I didn't even hesitate... "Three years sir!"... He looked like he was going to have a stroke, but his Senior NCOs all laughed and came up to shake my hand...

Lol, I can picture that scene. 

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As the legend goes: Pheidippides who ran to Athens to bring news of the Victory over the Persions at the battle of Marathon.  Arrived and exclaimed 'Nike!  Nike!  Joy to you!'  Collapsed on the spot and then with his dying breath repeated, "Joy to you!"... and died.

 

 

 

 

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I just remembered something I read a while ago:

"These people’s name, Raramuri, translates as “those who walk well.” A reserved people, they are in fact famous for their ability to run great distances. Wearing only thin sandals, some Raramuri are known to cross 100 to 200 miles in only a few days. They have carried on kickball races for 450 miles, running day and night in difficult terrain. Runners from these southern barrancas recently came to Colorado to participate in a 100-mile ultramarathon on rough trails over timberline mountains. When they arrived, they made sandals by stripping old car tires and nailing treads together with metal pegs. They won the race hands down."

From "House of Rain" by Craig Childs

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Hi guys,

I'm the lady in the article, Nicola Love's, partner and Support Team!

I just wanted to answer a few of the points you have raised in your comments here.  It really has been amazing what she has done.  I've been with her on most of the days, except when I've been at work, and watching her has been inspiring.  It hasn't been easy, and this was part of the challenge, but her determination and the reasons she was doing it got her through.  I've seen her on her good days and bad.  I've sometimes had to drag her out of bed, forced her to eat when she's been out running, and kept look out when nature has called at unsuspecting times!  She really has gone through so much, and it has been amazing to be part of it.

She shouldn't experience any long term issues from this, anymore than if she hadn't done it.  She has trained for this correctly, and used her Sports Therapist knowledge to monitor herself during the adventure to make sure that there weren't any issues.  I have trained with her as well, and recurring injuries that I used to get have not come back now that I follow her training principles.  Most injuries are preventable so long as you are aware of what you are doing, and of what you need to do to prepare correctly.

If anyone is interested, she was using about 4,000-5,000 calories a day, going through a pair of trainers every 2 weeks, taking between 6 and 8 hours a day, lost about 4kg in weight (got to check her final body metrics to confirm this), got some severe tan lines (even though we were in the UK!!), and no blisters ^_^

On 29/10/2017 at 6:14 PM, Taun said:

Some people will do anything to get out of doing the dishes..  :D

She was dreadful at doing them anyway, so I was glad that she started doing the marathons when she did :D

On 29/10/2017 at 6:35 PM, seanjo said:

So who made her hubby's dinner?

The same person that made it, and her's before...the "hubby", me!!  (not married but close enough!!!)

Nicola has broken the World Record for most marathon distances run on consecutive days by a woman (currently set at 60) but we do need to get this verified by Guinness, which is going to involve me sending lots of data to them.  There is a chance that it won't get verified by them, but does not detract from the fact that she has accomplished this amazing challenge, inspired people to do things they woulnd't normally do, and raised money for a small but worthy charity. :) The record was always just an added bonus if we could provide Guinness with all the require info.

Thanks for putting up with such a long post, and if you have got any questions just give me a shout!

Oh, and she loved that this article was on this site and in the Bizarre section!!!  And that Possum 911 clip had her in stitches!!!

Sharif

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11 minutes ago, Team 63 said:

Thanks for putting up with such a long post, and if you have got any questions just give me a shout!

Thank you for the great update, Sharif! I admire your devotion to a worthy cause. Please tell Nicole that her accomplishment is very inspiring!

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