A marathon is something many runners aspire to achieving in life, but 38 back-to-back is a whole new level of insanity. But Alice Sheldon has her reasons, and they’re pretty compelling.
I guess the first question we all want to know is why the hell did you decide to run 38 marathons in 38 days?!
I wanted to support a charity event being organised by Not One More Vet. This global charity works to prevent suicide in the veterinary profession. As a practising vet of 17 years and a health coach to the profession this is very close to my heart.
The annual event is called the Race Around The World Challenge. The aim is to encourage as many people as possible to add a little more movement into their lives but asking participants to log miles, steps, pool lengths etc from 1st Sept to 8th October. In order to help raise awareness and funds for the charity I pledged to run a marathon a day for the duration of the event.
I based most of my runs locally to fit around work and family but also spent several days visiting local practices and vet schools and nursing colleges around the UK.
What’s your background – are you an athlete or an experienced runner prior to this challenge?
I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors and keeping active. Over the last seven years I have become increasingly sucked into the world of ultramarathon running, along with my husband, Mike. It allows you to explore amazing wild places and challenge your mind as much as your body. I’ve competed in several 100 mile trail races, including the Ultra Tour Du Mont Blanc last August.
Bizarrely I had never actually run a specific marathon distance of 26.2 miles until day one of the challenge though.
How did you prepare for this epic endurance challenge?
I did a lot of strength work on my legs and core but I hadn’t actually run further than about 15 km in the six months leading up to the challenge. My sports physio always advises to go into a race as a “green banana” rather than a bashed up one, so I guess I was very much a green banana in this case!
Most of the preparation time was actually taken up with logistics; arranging childcare, overnight accommodation and routes for the different marathons. I had amazing support from family and friends, both old and new.
So much running with next to no recovery time must have been very hard on your body, how did you cope?
In truth I think it was harder on my mind than my body. Going to bed exhausted knowing that you had to do exactly the same again the next day, and the next, was incredibly tough.
This, on top of trying to keep up with social media posts and bits for local radio and TV, took up a lot of mental energy. Plus I suffered from “mum guilt” for not being able to be with my two daughters much (Matilda 13 years and Beatrix 9 years).
There was obviously some physical discomfort involved, but mercifully nothing serious and nothing that couldn’t be managed with frozen peas and a weekly sports massage.
At the beginning of the challenge, the weather was really hot so I managed a few ice baths which really helped. I wasn’t brave enough to take these on when the weather changed though, hot bubbles with epsom salts in were much more appealing!
I had some amazing friends who would bring family meals around which really helped and also eased my “mum guilt”.
What could you not have done without on your running adventure?
I had incredible support from so many people. My husband Mike was incredible and never doubted me or thought I was being “ridiculous”. He was always so calm and reassuring and sacrificed a lot of his own time and running training to support the challenge.
One of my friends Lyndsey sent me a voice note every morning cheering me on my way and it became such an important part of my day.
In terms of items I couldn’t have survived without – that would be my compression socks, frozen peas or seeded bagels!
What would you say were your highest and lowest moments?
I had way more highs than lows thankfully. The trip to Edinburgh Vet school was really special as this was the college my husband and I graduated from 20 years ago. The staff and students were so supportive of the challenge. Jasmin Paris, a legendary ultramarathon runner and long time heroine of ours kindly planned our marathon route and ran with us that day as she is a lecturing vet at the university. It was such a privilege to run with her and be able to share the experience with Mike and some other close running friends, Andy and Gilly.
The last marathon was also particularly special as we ran from one branch to another branch of the practice I used to work for and the one in which my husband is a partner of. We were joined by some wonderful friends and clients along the way and the staff put on a brilliant finish line reception which was very emotional. I crossed the line with my family and best friend surrounded by wonderful supporters of the charity.
As well as the big days, the understated days also had their great moments too. Running and walking with lovely local friends and getting wave after wave from passers by as word about the challenge started to get out.
I thought I would get more and more tired and slower and slower, but I actually got quicker and ran my fastest two marathons in the last three days of the challenge.
The low moments were usually on mondays after I’d travelled a long way to run. Slogging around on your own in the rain when you were extra tired felt really tough. I did cry a few times and the sheer overwhelming effort of just keeping on going.
What do you think you have achieved by completing this challenge?
I had three main aims when I started out.
- To raise awareness in the general public about the reality of the tragically high rates of suicide in the veterinary industry. In the UK veterinarians are 4 x more likely to take their own lives than any other profession. Few people know this. I wanted people to appreciate the potential struggles the profession endure so they can be mindful of this when they next take their pet in.
- I wanted to open more conversations about suicide and poor mental health in the veterinary industry. Traditionally the profession has swept these things under the carpet. Vets are often encouraged to keep on going no matter what, and there is not always an open and receptive space in which to air problems. By visiting different practices and training facilities I wanted to let people know about the support they can get from NOMV and create an ethos where talking about suicide is not tinged with stigma.
- By pledging a marathon distance a day I wanted to inspire others to do more movement. Exercise is crucial not just for our physical health but also our mental health. Obviously a marathon a day is extreme, but I wanted people to consider that if i could do this much, they could do just a little bit and that would be a great start.
I hope I have achieved these aims. I was lucky enough to have great support from local radio and TV which definitely helped too. I’ve made some wonderful connections with the charity and vet colleges and hope to be able to build on these to create more awareness and fundraising opportunities in the future.
You can follow Alice and her running adventures on Facebook or Instagram.
All images copyright of Alice Sheldon or Marketing Department of RDVC Edinburgh University.
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