Race feature: Run247 columnist Kirsty Reade takes a look ahead at the adidas Thunder Run 24hr - July 27th-28th 2013
We are huge fans of Marathon Talk at Run247 (in fact we declared them too handsome for podcasting in our interview in April), so when we heard that they were fielding a team at the adidas TR24 we jumped at the chance to feature their team. We will be following their progress over the 24 hours and will report back on how they get on but we’re delighted to bring you… team Marathon Talk!
Photos: Tom Williams & Martin Yelling at the at the Old Deer Park Richmond parkrun. Tony Audenshaw at the 2013 Virgin London Marathon
Obviously Martin Yelling and Tom Williams will be at the helm, zipping up their man suits or putting their man suits where their mouths are, or acting out some sort of metaphor involving man suits (you need to listen to the podcast more if you don’t get this reference). Joining them will be Tony Audenshaw, aka Tony’s Trials. They will be recording some audio for the show over the weekend and doing some compering so it’s a great opportunity to meet the people behind the podcast and to get involved in the fantastic community they’ve developed. I predict a lot of 26.2 t-shirts at Catton Park.
Marathon Talk ran a competition and picked some listeners at random to join them in their team of 8 at TR24. The lucky winners were:
Melissa Shaw
Melissa wanted to do it because it sounded like a good challenge and a fun weekend. She’s very lucky that she’s got a very supportive husband who has been looking after their kids to allow her to do the extra training. Melissa is currently training for the Chester marathon in October so she’s been doing long runs anyway and incorporating a 10k run in the week as a speed session, as well as cycling. She plans to take the first lap steady and take note of potential hazards to avoid on future laps, particularly in the dark.
Melissa is most worried about the camping and running on lack of sleep (though her 2 small children have trained her well for this!). But she’s excited about meeting the rest of the team, taking on the challenge and seeing how many laps they can do. She hopes to feel a real sense of achievement by seeing how far she can push her body.
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Simon Lewis:
Running ultras seems to have crept up on Simon. He blames Talk Ultra: ‘I had a vague idea of the world beyond marathon and had heard names like Killian Jornet and Anton Krupicka but my family and friends thought I was daft running a couple of marathons a year and knew nothing of ultra. But after listening to Talk Ultra, Marathon Talk's sister show, I learnt more and more and eventually signed up for my first 50 mile race.’ One thing followed another and before he knew it he found himself doing the South Downs Way 100, raising money for Trinity Hospice. So all his friends thought he was a bit mad anyway and they’re just surprised that he’s not doing TR24 solo.
But Simon wanted to do it as a team. In fact he’s just joined a running club (Clapham Chasers), which has helped reinvigorate his running. He wants to run fairly hard but consistently and he enjoys the running at night bit. Most of all he just wants to have a blast and try something new.
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Emily Schmidt:
Emily blames podcasts too: ‘Recently I have been listening to a few different podcasts about running 24hrs/100miles plus, and for some unexplained reason it has caught my attention to do it someday. The TR24 seems an ideal opportunity to have a go at running through the night with little/no sleep, so when I heard about the chance to be part of the MT team I didn’t have to think twice about entering. I explain my reasoning to others as I have explained here, and they still think I’m mad.’
Emily is also training for a marathon so is incorporating TR24 as her long run split into chunks. Her attitude is that it’s all about team work but on a personal level she’d like to enjoy each 10k as much as possible and to be consistent. She’s most worried about the weather, not relishing camping and gaps between runs if it’s cold, wet or hot, but she’s looking forward to trying a new experience and running off-road at night.
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Sophie Dack
I entered TR24 as I heard about the competition on Marathon Talk and fancied the challenge. I'm looking forward to racing in a team and at different times of the day.
I've completed many road half marathons and recently taken part in trail "The Hurt" series and Surrey Badger Half in preparation for TR24.
I ran my first full marathon this year completing VLM in 3hrs56mins and met Richard Branson at the finish line! I'm currently in training for the Bournemouth marathon in October.
I always run and train with my boyfriend, Tom, he will also be at TR24 but competing in an opposing team (Men's running mag!) nice bit of competition ;-)
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 Tim Senior:
Tim has run TR24 before, so knows what to expect, and his family has been really supportive. He entered the competition because, despite having run a number of big marathons in the intervening period, it remains his absolute favourite event
Tim got married recently (congratulations Tim and Mrs Tim!) and isn’t long back from honeymoon so he’s been tapering well for the event. He’s hoping there’s enough fitness left in the tank, or, as he puts it ‘as Martin and Tom would say, I will just have to zip up the mansuit and put myself in the hurtbox! ‘
Tim’s strategy is to get round each lap a bit quicker than he did last time and to stay consistent as the day progresses. He fears the tree stumps at night but he’s really looking forward to meeting his team mates and soaking up the atmosphere. He’s a big fan of Marathon Talk and he hopes to tap up Tom, Martin and Tony for advice on his goal of a sub 3 hour marathon. He wants to do well for the team and use it as a launch pad for his autumn training.
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Looking at team Marathon Talk I think they’re going to make an awesome team and do really well. If you’re at Catton Park this weekend please say hello and if you aren’t already downloading Marathon Talk every week then stop being a giant loser and do it now.
Next we bring you… team Liz Yelling!
For more information about the Thunder Run 24 hour check out the event website: www.tr24.co.uk
Kirsty Reade
I’d describe myself as borderline obsessed with running, racing, reading about running, and watching others run so hopefully I’m fairly typical of Run247’s visitors. I tend to do longer races, particularly off-road marathons and ultras, but am pretty much a fan of any distance. I'm passionate about helping runners of all levels to improve through running communities I'm involved in, such as Underground Ultra and Free Range Runners.
