My Goggins Challenge 4x4x48
Running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours.
This will test my ability to run on tired legs and with little sleep, over two days and two nights. And also my ability to plan ahead, pace myself to minimise damage, address nutrition and hydration incrementally during the two days so I get enough energy, water and electrolytes, but I can still run without problems and I don’t create issues to my stomach and digestion.
All useful tests in preparation for a big ultra run in July.
For this event I’m fundraising for Misericordia — we are helping them buy necessary health kit like wheelchairs:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/raccolta-fondi-per-acquisto-ausili
It’s Friday 14 May 2021. It’s past 9am in London and everything is ready to start, in less than 1 hour.
I prepared all the running gear, energy bars, electrolytes and maps with the different 4-mile routes that I will use over the next 2 days.
My wardrobe for the weekend is this pile of t-shirts, rain jackets, hats, shorts and socks.
Many friends have been so kind to offer their company in one or more of the runs. This makes me feel so good — I can’t wait to see them! I hope I get to spend a bit of time with them after our runs — I have the fridge full of drinks and snacks!
And more importantly, the fundraising is going much, much better than expected. I can’t believe it, we are at 980 euros. And once (actually, if) I complete my challenge, I will match the total of all the donations and double up. So there’s more time to do better, for a great cause.
Unfortunately the weather is not going to be very nice over the weekend, with temperatures between 8 and 14'C, cloudy, and a lot of rain.
First run done!
My mind was constantly switching between “one done, eleven to go”, “enjoy the moment, don’t think about the runs to do” and “slow down, pace yourself”. I did enjoy this run. It wasn’t too cold, and I went through the nice green in Brenchley Gardens.
Second Run completed
It’s so much easier when someone runs with you! I met Ebe (Dulwich Runners co-chairman) at the entrance of Brenchley Gardens and we caught up on life and running, and why this challenge. It went very quickly and felt easy. It was nice to enjoy a beer with Ebe after the run!
I only ate an energy bar, but it’s quite a substantial one. I made them with (recipe for 14 bars, around 300 calories each):
- oats 280g
- sunflower seeds: 50g
- pumpkin seeds: 100g
- almonds: 60g
- walnuts: 60g
- dried fruit: 50g
- 2 bananas
- peanut butter: 75g
- oat milk: 200ml
- agave syrup: 50ml
- soya protein powder: 50ml
- chia seeds: 30g
- flaxseed: 30g
Mix oats, seeds and dried fruit in a bowl
Blend bananas, nuts and the rest on a blender/mixer
Stir the two together until you get a uniform mixture — it should be very gluey, or else add more syrup or honey
Prepare a tray with baking paper and spoon the mixture onto it for a height of about 3cm
Bake for 30 minutes in 180'C, checking regularly that it’s not burning.
I am full of adrenaline and can’t wait for the next run to happen, at 6pm. I know that later in the challenge things will feel very different, so I’m enjoying the excitement and the little anxiety that comes with it.
Third Run Complete
Chris N. from Dulwich Runners came to run with me and it was good to catch up with him and get to know each other better (when you only run interval training with your running mates you can’t spare many words — and they are all about running kit and races).
My legs still felt ok, but on the last couple of hills I started to feel some signs of tiredness.
We had a beer once we got back to my place.
Then I had a nice plate of pasta, showered and got changed for the next run. Now I’m ready to put my feet up for an hour or so, until it’s time to go again.
Fourth Run Done
Gower and Chris L. showed up a few minutes before 10. A quick chat and we started towards Peckham Rye and East Dulwich. It wasn’t too cold and we kept a good pace.
Chris had family commitments, but Gower stayed at my place for a chat and for a cocktail making lesson.
We talked about ultra running (we both plan to do one this summer), London marathon (he’s done 10, I’ve done 1) Marathon de Sable (that he is doing this autumn!) and cocktails of course. Whatever the name was of what he mixed, it was very good, and I hope it gives me an hour or so of sleep before my 2am run… Goodnight.
Fifth Run: Tough, but Done!
I managed to sleep about 1 hour between 00:30 and 1:30am. My legs felt heavy — I knew immediately this would be tougher. I went through the same course as the last one, but I had to take a couple of breaks to rest. The only people around were Uber drivers taking people home. And a crazy runner.
Then I convinced myself that I could take an earlier turn, but clearly it was wrong and when I got home I was about 400m short, so I had to take a little diversion. My mind is starting to be fatigued.
Once home I rememberd that I left some pasta in the fridge from the dinner, and I had it — oh it was so good. I also gulped a banana, and now it’s time for a quick shower and and then go and rest.
Run Number Six — Half Way Feels So Good
When the alarm went off, at 5:30, I was happy because I managed to sleep at least one hour and a half, but also because the night was over, and I was expecting my running club Women’s Captain, Kay, for my next run.
We started with perfect timing and went towards Mayow park for my next 4-mile route. It was raining a bit, but it wasn’t too cold, so not bad for running. My legs felt better than 4 hours earlier, and I didn’t need to take recovery breaks. I even managed to chat a bit.
I must have taken a wrong turn as we ended up running a bit longer than 4 miles, and so we decided to walk the last hill (another 6 of these runs ahead of me, so no need to overdo it).
Breakfast was ready — croissants, juice, coffee and fruit to share, as it’s a tradition from some of the weekend club runs. I must say, if you didn’t understand, I love my running club — so many inspiring people of all ages and abilities (mostly faster than me) so it’s always enriching and motivating experiences when we run together. For our captain Kay it must have been her slowest run in years, but she was still happy to support my challenge and make it easier and more manageable for me (and she had to wake up at a silly hour of the night to come and run!). Like all the other people who have run with me so far: it makes me feel very good.
Now back to my routine — hydrate, wash, get changed and ready for the start of Day 2, with my 10am run.
Run Number Seven — Three Coffees does it
There’s too many things to count during this challenge, that I kind of lost count of my coffees. I hadn’t had three coffees in a day since my times at ION, but it felt just right to keep me going.
Alex arrived at 9am and it was good to share a few memories of when we were colleagues. We had a coffee (as per above) and a bit of fruit, and we decided to go a bit earlier so he could be home at a reasonable time.
I wanted to show Alex a bit around the local area, but with a 4-mile loop there’s not much you can cover. So I decided to go through Dulwich Park and the Horniman’s museum, of course both unknown to someone from North London.
We took a short break in Dulwich Park and just walked around a little bit, then we restarted our run and it was ok, hills and everything.
When I hear that “now that you’ve done more than half, it’s all downhill” I always think of my ultra-trail runs, and the downhill parts are actually the worst ones, with your quads burning while trying to stop your fall.
Focus on the next objective, for most of the time, and every now and then zoom out to get the big picture. My mind is on the next run, at 2pm.
VDA — Val d’Aran by UTMB
With Alex we discussed a lot about my next ultra-trail run, in July, the Val d’Aran UTMB 162 km and 10,600m ascent in a beautiful valley in the Catalunian Pyrenees, and what this race entails, apart from enormous distance and elevation.
You run in a natural environment, away from populated areas, mostly in altitude, up to 2,600m.
You need to carry a massive amount of mandatory equipment, including layers of warm and rainproof clothing, hat, gloves, scarf, glasses, running poles, two lights with replacement batteries, emergency kit, enough food to use in between checkpoints (typically 3,000–4,000 calories) 1.5 litres of water, salts, backup battery to recharge phone and GPS and more… We are talking about 7–8 kg on your back.
Temperatures can range from below zero, at the top of mountains, often exposed to high winds, to 20'C or more in the valleys.
You have cut-off times at all checkpoints, and a final cut-off time of 48 hours to finish, which seems a lot, but it’s not, given the very technical steep and stony terrain and the elevation. And you have to consider the unpredictable, including small injuries, energy crisis, sickness, etc.
You can’t take food with you when you pass checkpoints, but you can only eat the food while in there, to avoid cases where runners take a lot of food and they don’t use it. This means that you need to balance between how much food you carry from the beginning with you (that you can eat on the way) and the time you want to spend at checkpoints, while eating the food you find in there. Eating too much all in one go can make you sick, so you end up eating little but very frequently, and you can only do it with your own food.
But… back to the task at hand. I won’t even go to this race if I first don’t finish my Goggins Challenge. So best to focus on this. Now food, shower, get changed, relax.
I’m thankful that Alex could come and be with me for this run. My next one should be with one of my sons — to be negotiated now.
Run Number Eight — German Traditions and Virtual Italy
This was the run with most support so far. Bruno agreed to run with me, and then Ebe also offered to join me with this run. And finally, Antonio, from Italy, suggested that he could run with me virtually, from Italy, starting at the same time and keeping more or less my expected pace.
I was so happy with all this participation! We started at 2pm and went towards Ladywell Fields, I was curious about Ebe’s native Goettingen, so I asked him a couple of questions, and as usual he pleased us with the most amazing stories of princes, princesses, dramas, a wealth of German literature, traditions, history and geography. We stopped briefly on the pedestrian bridge across the railway and took a selfie. With Ladywell track behind us, reminder of other running challenges.
It was nice to have Bruno with us, in a rare moment when he is not taken by his busy student, friends and footballer’s life. And only a few months before he disappears somewhere far, for his university, so every moment counts.
Antonio (il mitico), meanwhile, was completing his virtual 4-miler in Italy, starting at the same time, and he sent me his selfie to prove it. A different landscape, maybe a bit warmer, but the same passion for running. It’s so cool!
When we got home we sat down with Ebe, had something to drink and eat, and continued to discuss about German traditions, including beer making and rye-bread making. This challenge has a deep cultural aspect too.
Now focus on the next runs. All is planned for the next 14 hours. 4 runs to go, of which one will be attempted in the dark of local woods, in the deep night, wearing headlamps.
Run Number Nine — Pain and Memories
My son Paolo agreed to come with me for this run, and this made me very happy. We left a few minutes after 6pm, and decided to go for a simple route around Peckham Rye Common. After a few minutes I started to feel some pain on the external part of my right foot, when it was coming in contact with the ground. I had to stop to assess the situation. I redid my laces less tight and changed foot strike to go more on the heel, which improved things a bit.
Paolo was tired after a session in the gym, in the morning, and I was starting to feel fatigued, so we had to stop a few times with the worst excuses: to take a selfie, to take some more sun in our face, to prepare for the uphill part and so on.
We made it in the end, but neither of us felt it was a good run. My main thought: it’s going to be a long night — I feel on the edge of a cliff in terms of energy, getting a bit sleepy, with pain in my foot, and we are still 12 hours from the finish. Ok, hold on, one step at a time. Motivation.
There’s many things that motivated me to undertake this challenge. I talked about the fundraising for Misericordia and the confidence I need to get to then see if I can go and run my 100-miles ultra-run.
One that only a few people know, is that exactly two years ago I lost two very important people. One of my best friends, Andrea Marchetti, and my mum. The memory of those days in 2019 still hurts a lot, but it is time to celebrate the life of these two amazing persons, and stop feeling the pain.
Andrea, you were a dreamer, and that’s how you lived your life, minute by minute and step by step, as if every moment was a special gift and it could be the last one. Our conversations about music, art, politics, life, travel, people, food, beauty, feelings were always incredibly profound. Sometimes even a long silence was full of meaning, especially in front of a glass of wine, or the seafront of your beloved Marina di Pisa. Marina, how deeply in love you were.
You had a big, big heart — not all the people you loved accepted that. You transmitted kindness, respect, trust. You are missed, but you taught so much to many of us. Thank you.
Mamma, you were the simplest and purest person of this planet. You devoted your life to others, to us three, your children, to dad. You always worked so hard and loved us so much. When you left us, I couldn’t believe it happened only a few weeks after dad died, and I found it profoundly unjust. You deserved a bit of quiet life after years of struggles.
But then it became clear — on your own it would have been too much. You wanted to go with him, to reunite, to form again that strong couple, that could argue now, and support each other one minute later. You never wanted anything more than just the bare minimum to live your life. You valued genuine, open, frank relationships. You were content with our happiness, and you lived with the anxiety that something could go wrong.
You were born in a large, simple countryside family that had to be out from sunrise to sunset every day to work on the fields and tend to the farm animals, just to have enough to eat. Today we would call it poverty — but you said you were happy with the little you had. And so you wanted us to appreciate and be greateful for what we had. An important lesson.
I miss you, but I also have you, your character, your spirit, in me, and this gives me peace.
Enough looking back. These amazing people would want to see me happy, and at the moment this means completing my challenge, rounding up the fundraising for Misericordia, and having a clear idea of whether I can go and try my Val d’Aran ultra-run in July.
So my next step, run number 10, is coming up at 10pm. I am expecting Chris L. and Grzegorz, two amazing runners from Dulwich Runners, who volunteered to support me on a Saturday night. This is just incredible. I need to be ready when they come.
Run Number 10 — Better Than Expected
Chris and Grzegorz were punctual and we started right on time. We went for the Brenchley Gardens and Brockley route already used on Friday, and it was still a bit busy with cars zooming past and pedestrians, but it was ok.
When I left I feared it would be a very tough one as I was feeling sleepy and tired, but as soon as we started I found some energy and it went reasonably well. I took a couple of short breaks after 3 and 5 km at crossroads, but otherwise we managed to chat and there was a happy, cheerful atmosphere.
When we got home the guys could stay for a beer, and it was nice to chat a bit more.
Now my normal routine kicks in: eat a bit, shower, get changed and try to rest a bit before the 2am run. This time we will start directly from the woods, me and Gower, to test our headlamps in proper darkness, which will be useful in our future races… it’s going to be interesting.
Run Number Eleven — A sense of calm and satisfaction
I went to rest, set the alarm for 1:30 and unlike last night, I felt calm and ready for the night. I slept about 1 hour in the end. I had some water, grabbed my headlamp and drove to the meeting point at the start of Cox Walk, the entrance to Sydenham Hill Wood.
With very cautious pace we went off into the woods, navigated the twisty paths and the gentle inclines, did a short loop, and on the second one we came out of the woods near the old railway tunnel, in Crescent Wood road. Then we went down the famous Hell Hill and back into Dulwich Wood for a final run back to the initial point of Cox Walk. The headlamps worked very well: the terrain is full of tree roots and often on a camber, but all was exposed very brightly.
I greeted Gower — I had a very good feeling, now I want to enjoy my next and final step of this challenge, and make sure I remember the feeling.
Back to my last round of routine steps, so I can try to rest a little bit before dawn.
Run Number Twelve — Catching the Sun by Memory Lane
My alarm went at 5:45am, I was already awake, breathing deeply, to find the right moment to stand up once again and make this last run happen. I was already wearing my kit. I just had a glass of water, I felt a bit dehydrated in this second day, despite drinking 5–6 liters of water per day (well, and a few beers, and one of what Gower prepared and named “CeccoTini cocktail”).
There was daylight, this I could tell from my bed, but as soon as I went out, I saw the sun shine at the horizon — it gave me a smile. For this last run I didn’t want to decide a route ahead of time, but I just wanted to savour it and do my 4-miles as it felt best, turn by turn, road by road. I started downhill towards Honor Oak Park and then turned south towards Mayow Park, I thought the park would be a nice destination, and ran all of Cranston Road, but at the end of this, instead of going right towards the park, I turned left — I wanted to go through my “memory lane”, and so I visited my old house in Northwood Road. That’s where we lived for over 15 years.
Then I climbed up the road to Blythe Hill: how many times have I pushed a buggy with a little one inside, towards the beautiful playground? Probably hundreds of times. It was so peaceful, no one around on this beautiful Sunday morning. For the first time I realised that it was Sunday. I started my challenge on Friday morning, two days ago, I was only a couple of miles away from completing it, and not in a rush at all to do it.
The beautiful green on the park was all for me. There was no wind and it felt warm (especially after running up the hill).
Time to head home and close this challenge. I had to decide which path to run downhill, to get closest to the 4 miles total.
This last run was a great time for reflection. To step back, make sense of many things and their meaning, being grateful for what I have around me, and try to take the most sensible decisions.
I am so grateful for:
- My Dulwich Runners club mates and my ex colleagues and good friends who gave away their time, sometimes at silly times of the day and night, to run with me during this challenge. They know how much easier it is to have someone to run with, to share thoughts, serious or fun, and find the right positive spirit. Ebe, Gower, Chris L, Chris N., Grzegorz, Kay, Alex, Antonio, thank you!
- My family, who were patient and supportive during these two days, accepted the messy schedule, and also (Bruno and Paolo) ran with me. Ok, they also pushed me on a mattress in the lower ground, so I wouldn’t wake them up during the night shifts, but that was understandable.
- All the people who donated to the Misericordia fundraiser. You are stars! If I haven’t done it yet, I will reach out to you to say thank you in person.
- My “Corporate Refugees” friends, including Ahmad (who introduced me to ultra-running and to David Goggins, so a lot of this is his fault), Mark and Lee, amazing people who never stop to teach me something new, and are first of all incredible human beings
- All the other friends and family who encouraged me, maybe with a message
Retrospective
I am happy with this challenge because of how it went, but especially because of how it tests you.
My assumptions were:
This will test my ability to run on tired legs and with little sleep, over two days and two nights. And also my ability to plan ahead, pace myself to minimise damage, address nutrition and hydration incrementally during the two days so I get enough energy, water and electrolytes, but I can still run without problems and I don’t create issues to my stomach and digestion.
How it went:
Running on tired legs and with little sleep
- This was pretty obvious already from the first night. After you’ve run 16 miles during the day, your body wants to have a good sleep, and you’re not allowing this to happen.
- You keep loading up in adrenaline, which doesn’t make you rest. I tried to rest during the day, but not sleep, and to sleep or nap a bit during the night hours. I slept a total of 5 hours, in 4 “naps”, over the 2 nights.
- I found the first night tougher than the second, perhaps because I was much more stressed. I felt very sleepy after 6pm on the second day, like I could fall asleep in a second if I just sat down.
- There’s no doubt that a coninuous 48-mile effort would be much tougher, but even doing 4 miles at a time and not allowing your body to recover properly, will pile up a lot of fatigue and muscle damage that over time will catch up with you.
- I only had one case of pain on my right foot, but relacing the shoe and then changing shoes for the subsequent runs did the trick and the pain didn’t come back
Plan ahead
- I think I had a reasonable plan for running courses, food, hydration, shower, running kit and also for posting to social media
- The courses were mostly reasonable, although at times, during the day, traffic and other people made it a bit difficult to move around
- Only a couple of times my plan went out of the window because with a tired mind I took the wrong turn, or I was too tired to stick to the plan and just did some random course. Small things like these have the potential to create a lot of stress
- I didn’t plan for people to run with — this was a massive mistake. Luckily, thanks to the initiative and generosity of many friends, this eventually happened anyway. It would have been so much more difficult without other people keeping me on my toes
Pace myself
- Pacing went much better than I thought. I was a bit faster than I expected in a few initial runs (with the help of other people) but it didn’t reflect in additional fatigue.
- I would have expected to get to the second night and have to walk long stretches, due to leg pain and lack of energy, but also due to mental fatigue. This didn’t happen, and my pace dropped only marginally. I’m very happy about this
Nutrition and Hydration
- This is an area for improvement. I prepared my energy bars, which were good and provided balanced nutrients, but you need a much wider selection of food, and I needed external support to get pasta and other stuff ready. I also resorted to random snacks far too many times
- I ate some food and drank plenty of water during all the gaps between runs, especially right after a run
- From the afternoon of the second day I realised that I wasn’t digesting very well, and I had to reduce food input to avoid clogging my system. This probably played against me on more than one run, when I felt energy depleted
- I think I need more food variety, including fruit and vegetables to make my body function better
- I ended up eating over 9,000 calories in two days, made of energy bars (around 3,500 calories), pasta (around 1,500 calories), random snacks and croissants (difficult to count, but I reckon around 2,000 calories), yogurts, bananas, other fruit, drinks for another 2,000 calories or so.
- I had 5–6 litres of water per day, about half of which with electrolytes. Yet, I realised that I was slowly dehydrating (color of pee getting darker) while not losing any weight
- I have the impression that during prolonged efforts my body retains water, which is stored away and not used for normal functions. I observed this pattern many times from half marathons to longer distances.
Conclusions
I take a lot of positives from this challenge.
First of all, the fundraising has gone incredibly well — we got to 1,468 euros!
You are all amazing people. Later on today, as promised, I will make my own donation, matching the donations already done. I expect Misericordia to make good use of these funds, and I will post an update as soon as I have the details.
Also, importantly, I feel ready to try the VDA ultra-trail in July. I know it’s still a long shot, but I will try to improve my fitness and remain injury free over the next 7 weeks, so I can toe the line in Vielha on the 9 July. Getting to the start line with some confidence in the preparation done will be 50% of the work.
The Goggins Challenge made me feel stronger, but at the same time I feel humbled by how much more there will be to test in the race ahead of me — massive elevation, more than double distance, weight to carry, continuous effort, remote and hazardous environment, reduced oxygen levels…
I started to build up my distance and get the necessary qualification points for this race in 2016, with my first ultra, so I’d love to have the opportunity to try and give my best in this tough 100-miler.
But for now, I’m enjoying the feeling of having completed this challenge.
Thank you for reading this far — this is the end of this blog.
