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48 miles in 48 hours – electric storms – defining breaths

as i ran towards my family last sunday afternoon, it started to sink in that i had managed to run 48 miles in 48 hours, from friday 4pm, until sunday at midday, running through the night for two nights, through thunder and lightning and rain of biblical measure, and that physically and mentally i was still capable of doing some pretty fun stuff, type 2 fun obviously. 

i had completed the 4448 prior to my parkinsons diagnosis, but this time i did not know how i was going to perform.

i had set the date of the challenge to be the 5th of july, sometime before, but due to life in general, and a distinct lack of drive i was not in the best shape prior to the start of the challenge.

i had toyed with the idea of rescheduling the challenge, or just pulling out of it, due to my lack of training, but decided to forge on and see what i was able to do.

as the day approached, so my nerves started to jangle, i was worried i was gonna let myself and my family down, however, if i did, there would only be one person to blame, and the spotlight was going to be shining on this ambivert front and centre stage.

i recently learnt about ambiverts, who are a blend of introverts, someone who prefers to spend time alone, definitely me, and extroverts, which i become when trying to reach my goal, of spreading awareness of bigmoose or parkinsons, and i am still willing to speak in public, warts n’ all, and to film my whole 4448 journey, which could quite easily crash and burn, so i was setting myself up quite publicly, a high risk strategy indeed, but possibly an impetus to carry on come what may.

my intention was to have my trusty support team, i.e. tania and chloe, who, as well as feeding and encouraging me, would shoot social media footage which we could put on Instagram and try to stimulate interest.

i also intended to reference somebody, either in the parkinson’s community, or just generally in my life who would be my inspiration for each run, and i started with the michael j. fox foundation, who have so far raised over $2 billion, which they are using for research into curing parkinson’s.

my idea was to inspire myself as i set off for my 12 x 4 mile runs, and to encourage people to research the folk i was referencing, educating themselves to the amazing people there are within the parkinson’s community, and to see what is still possible, even with this disease.

michael j fox foundation

check out michael j foxes foundation here

another friend of mine, matt callanan had contacted me, and said he would join in the challenge, running at the same times as me and fundraising as well, which again, would give me encouragement if the going got tough.

it did.

get tough.

but not enough to stop me, my body has been restricted by parkies somewhat, but my mental resilience is still there, which was joyous to discover, and can only be a confidence boost, which is a win in itself.

i ran slow, but i always have, and the challenge of the 4448 is not about speed, it’s about the determination to force food down at unholy hours of the day and night, as you are burning just under 500 calories per run, and not enough fuel means the engine stops, and faithfully supported by chloe i crammed calories in like coal on a steam train, my peak intake topping over 1000 calories in a sitting.

as well as food, rest is really important, and the resilience to wake up, and to kit up, and to open the front door to an electric storm at 3.50am and to get back on it, it definitely isn’t a challenge for the fainthearted.

i ran with no music, no podcasts, no company, i wanted it to be as tough as it possibly could be, and as i look back and reflect, i am happy, and the confidence boost is palpable, and as i celebrated another lap of the sun yesterday i feel very content that even though life has thrown me a bit of a curve ball i am still having a crack at pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and as a friend of mine said i’m continuing to make lemonade.

now to finish this blog today, i am challenging myself on why i write it every week, why you read it, and it’s value, and as i sit here thinking, and the world wakes up, i think it’s probably for the same reason as i set out to do the 4448, and to be vulnerable by putting it on social media, it’s intention is to inspire, which sounds really cheesy, but if running 48 miles in 2 days, or writing the most random blog you probably read, inspires you or one other person to do something you wouldn’t have done, then it’s worth it, and the feedback from the 4448 has proved that already, so hopefully my scribings have a similar effect, and if they do please let me know, i love hearing from you.

and finally i will leave you today with this, we come into this world on an inhale, and we leave on an exhale, two very powerful defining breaths, but every breath we take is defining, use them wisely.

till next week,

blue skies,

jeff

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