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 4: Tuesday 25th July 2023
Start time: 9.00am
Route: Denham flats – 10km course x4
Matt’s Diary Entry:
Day 4, marathon 4, and a course we did a couple of days ago, so I know it is nice and flat.
Recovery went well, and I stuck to the same plan. I got plenty of calories in with a true sportsman’s diet of pie and mash. As you can tell from my previous dinners, I don’t worry too much about what I eat, just wholesome carb-heavy meals. Having read plenty about the benefits of a vegan diet and the health benefits, I still can’t bring myself to do it.
Today’s run, I wanted to represent my 3 children, as such I wore Jake’s Ipswich Town shirt, Alf’s orange cap and Daisy’s Daisy Duck badge.
My legs felt really good today and got going really well. At some points today, the sun came out, and it got quite hot, although there was also plenty of cloud cover to cool things down.
I ran the first half well and just stuck with water, a shot block and a salt tablet. I listened to a couple of podcasts in the second half of the race about a North Korean spy and a fella who was in the Kray gang. At the last turnaround I dipped my cap in a bucket of ice water to cool down.
A good solid race in just under 4 hours. My legs are in good shape, although my feet felt a little tender towards the end.
I grabbed a coffee and some chocolate cake, had plenty of water and an ice pole to cool down, as well as a good stretch out.
Over halfway through the challenge now, still getting some more donations for WAY. Feeling positive, my legs are in good shape and looking forward to the last 3 marathons.
Zig Zag Running is doing a great job organising the whole event, with the support of some fantastic and very positive marshals.
I’m ready for another good dip in the Gipping and hopefully won’t pick up any water-based diseases.
See you 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.