Chronic conditions are not a life sentence.
Let’s show the world!
Project 65 is my way of showing that people will chronic health conditions can still achieve things athletically.
I’m running a half marathon (in a single run) every week from October 2023 all the way through to the end of December 2024. That’s 65 half marathons in 65 weeks!
The Rules:
1) Runs needed to be logged on Strava - come and join me there!
2) The run should be a minimum of 21.1km and should be completed in a single activity.
3) If a week has been missed, we have to be flexible with ourselves, then I need to catch the half marathon up in a later week. Yes - double half marathon week!!
4) This is for inspiration and fun. Really there are no rules, and it’s only for me to inspire others. That’s you!
5) This isn’t a competition or a race. It’s not a race with me, with you or even myself. I am proud of everyone getting out there and doing what they can. It’s symbolic, not serious.
I dreamt of being fit enough that I could put on my shoes and go out the door and run a half marathon. That was my North Star in my recovery, if you’ve got there David ‘you have made it’. Well now I’m there and alongside this challenge I plan to complete the Copenhagen and Stockholm marathons (42.2km) in 2024, only a month apart.
Secretly, I would love to try an ultra marathon in late 2024, and maybe even an Ironman 70.3 in 2025.
Completing my first half marathon.
Copenhagen September 2023.
The Background
About 9 months in my recovery journey people told me ‘you’re fitter than I am’. Whilst I appreciated the support, the reality was that I was still miles off the level of fitness I had before. I didn’t want to stop at average, I needed to keep going.
For the longest time, all I could do was daily walks. Sometimes not even that! Slowly, really slowly, I built up the endurance to walk longer and longer, to climb mountains again and eventually I got to the point where I no-longer worried about how far the day’s walk might be. It was bliss!!!
Once I had that base level of fitness, I started to ramp it up. I had set myself the goal of starting to run. I started running because I was struggling with nerve pain when I was cycling and I didn’t have my bicycles with me at the time. I started to jog very gently, in Spring 2023, and then I went on my first run along the coast. I lasted 800m. I tore my left achilles quite severely and I was off running for 3 months! A great start :)
But I did the rehab and I kept on walking and building that base. In the early Summer of 2023 I started running and, like everyone, I couldn’t run 5 or even 2km. I was actually pretty worried I just might not be a good runner. I had a lot of muscular problems from being sick and my body just wasn’t as strong as before. But I kept going.
Soon I was able to run 5km, then I was able to run 5km without stopping. Still a huge achievement for me. From that point on, it’s been a slow and steady increase up to half marathon distance. The first half marathon I did in September 2023, I couldn’t walk after it and spent 36 hours in bed. I had to find a way to keep doing it a sustainable level, and that led me to the idea of being able to do every week.
Is it the ultimate expression of athletic greatness? Of course not. But it’s important to me as a symbol of my health and wellness. I am so proud of myself in getting to this point and it feels amazing to get out there each week and make it happen.
If you’re keen to follow, check out my Strava below, or tag me in a run you’re doing on Instagram or Strava!
I usually run in nature, whenever I can. The cows are my friends!
This is my first sub-2 hour half marathon. 1:56:59. November 2023.
(please excuse the tongue, I was very tired!)
Climbing in Bornholm. 6a/b(?) on lead. It wasn’t my first lead again outdoors, but it was an extra special one for me. 2022
Cycling in Copenhagen - It felt amazing to be back on the bike! 2023
Summiting Bukhansan, Korea 2023