September 01, 2022

GPS Training Podcast – number 76

52 minutes

This month I have a special guest Laura Briggs

Laura has just completed The Macmillan Way (23rd July) – 290 miles from Boston to Abbotsbury – run it in the fastest known time (6 days)

First of all Laura can you tell us a little bit about your previous running experience, what kind of running have you done in the past, and a little bit about yourself?

And why did you set yourself the challenge to run the McMillan Way in the Fastest Time?

Mo was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 40, and told the devastating news that she had only weeks to live.

That was back in 2017.

The cancer had aggressively spread from the breast to include the stomach, lungs, kidney, bowel, skin, bones and eye orbital and was categorised as a terminal stage 4 secondary cancer.

Her initial diagnosis was extended to a few months, with the onset of weekly chemotherapy. Six years on and amazing Mo is still undergoing palliative care treatment through Yeovil Hospital’s Macmillan Ward, and is still able to enjoy a decent quality of life with her wonderful husband Ben.

As most of you will know, I love running. I’ve always wanted to run a challenge for a really good reason, and I couldn’t really think of a better reason.

Mo can’t run right now – she can’t even walk up hills so well, but she still has a quality of life together with Ben, and that’s been made possible thanks to Macmillan Cancer Support.

So, while Mo can’t run, I can run for her. And I’m going to run The Macmillan Way – a 290-mile trail which runs from Boston in Lincolnshire, to Abbotsbury in Dorset.

I plan to run it in the fastest known time – which at the time of writing, I don’t think is even recorded. So I’ll take it as a first.

So you had the 23rd July in your diary to do this record attempt, what training where you doing building up to it?

Let’s go through this epic journey

– What time did you start?

– Big send off?

– Nervous, excited, apprehensive

– Number of miles ran per day?

– Did you run it all or walk sections?

– How much did you sleep?

– Navigating – Garmin GPSMAP 65s

.gpx file of route

1:1 Zoom with Andy

what did he cover with you ahead of the challenge

piecing together the .gpx files yourself, top of the class for doing this

– High point/ low point

At any point did you think I am not going to complete this?

What kept you motivated

What did you eat? Planned out meals?

If you did it again, what would you do differently

Many thanks, Laura for joining me on this special GPS Training podcast, if people want to find out more about your journey please visit – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/briggsy1

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By Jon Monks, GPS Training and reviews

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