Matt Richardson | 7 marathons in 7 days | Race diaries 

A friend of OnVenture, Matt Richardson, will be taking on a massive endurance challenge starting on Saturday, 22nd July.

Matt will attempt to complete 7 marathons in 7 days at The Great Barrow Challenge. He is taking on the incredible feat to raise money and awareness for a fantastic charity called WAY Widowed and Young.

Matt will be sharing a daily blog with OnVenture following each of his marathons, giving great insight into endurance events, race preparation and recovery.

Day 3: Monday 24th July 2023
Start time: 9.00am 
Route: Clover – 13.1 loop x2

 

Matt’s Diary Entry:

Marathon 3 of 7. After day 2 Marathon, I stuck with the same recovery, as this seemed to go well, a river dip, followed by a massive sausage pasta, a good stretch out and plenty of rest and sleep.

Not a great night’s sleep as I woke up a few times, but still enough to see me through Marathon 3.

It was chucking it down on my 40-minute drive to Barrow, and from the weather forecast, I was predicting a wet and overcast day. As usual, I stuck with my usual pre-race nutrition and was proudly wearing ‘My Names Doddie’ running vest, which always gets me thinking about the great Doddie Wier, as well as Rob Burrow and one of my favourite Ipswich Town players of all time Marcus Stewart, 3 heroes from 3 of my favourite sports.

We started Marathon 3 at 09.00, and initially, my legs felt a bit sore but I felt fine after a couple of miles and got into my rhythm. I normally sit at one pace the whole race and typically do the first half Marathon at a similar time to the second. I very rarely wear a watch (although I am this week to record the 7 runs) as I have no interest in minutes per mile, my philosophy is that I am going to be running 26.2 miles, and I will get there when I get there.

It continued to rain the whole time, and it was a tough course with plenty of hills; however all I was thinking about was how much I was loving the running. The perfect conditions for me is raining on a hilly and challenging course.

I just stuck to water and a couple of salt tablets today as I did not feel as though I needed and food.

 

I got round in just over 4 hours and was met by my older brother and his family, who stopped by on their way to holiday to see me finish and get a few photos.

To be honest, I loved every second of today’s Marathon, my legs felt good, and it rained constantly, what more do you want (other than running a lot quicker).

Until tomorrow

Forever Blue

Matt

Matt is completing his 7-in-7 in aid of Widowed And Young (WAY) a fantastic charity and one that is extremely close to his and his family’s heart, so if you can spare a few pounds, please donate to Matt’s Justgiving page. We know that Matt is extremely grateful of all of your kind donations, and it will drive him forward on each of his 295,000 odd strides he takes during his 7 marathons.