Russell Turner | Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Farewell, Old Friend Jedburgh 10k Yorkshire 10 Mile 2025 Eight Years And Counting Lincoln Half Marathon Index

First Steps To Manchester

by Russell Turner - 15:41 on 16 November 2025

Mid November, training has begun for the Possible Manchester Marathon, and already the schedule is being tinkered with. Blame the weather forecast.

The ridiculously long lead-in is down to my experiment of stretching a 16-week, five-runs-a-week programme over a 10-day week, turning it into a 22-week programme. It’s not my idea; it’s a recognised wheeze for older/rubbish runners. The plan is to run every other day and walk for 30mins on the days between; bonus strength training may or may not happen. A few runs have been moved or swapped to accommodate gigs, trips and a couple of races; doubtless there’ll be more rearrangement to come.

But that’s not the aforementioned tinkering. Counting back from marathon day on April 19 gave me a start date of yesterday, beginning with a 30min steady run which I turned into an easy 10k so I could claim another Garmin badge. Today’s walk became the 30min run I didn’t do because snow, rain, strong wind and sub-zero temperatures are promised on Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Thursday morning. I prefer to be flexible. So the third run of Week 1 will be tomorrow. With luck I’ll be back on track by Friday.

Despite this being very much a possible marathon – time will tell if I have the motivation to do it – I’ve booked some accommodation (with free cancellation up to 14 days before the booking date). This seemed a wise move. The average price in central Manchester on marathon weekend is around £200 a night for a hotel or Airbnb, so the £155 for two nights I came across on booking.com was a bargain – suspiciously so until you factor in that it’s for a small apartment room with shared bathroom and kitchen. I can cope with that for two days, especially as it’s just minutes from the finish line and railway station (although there’s a two-mile walk to the start).

And if motivation and optimism improve, and the wallet can stand it, I can always spoil myself later with an upgrade, assuming there’s any room left at the inns.

Motor Update: I’m pleased to report that Big Blue (aka Great-grandson of Seat) and I are getting on well. His dashboard now makes sense, I can mostly change low gears smoothly, and the smartphone app will tell the local Seat dealer when I need its services (in 545 days or 16,299 miles at the last count). When did motoring become so hi-tech?

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