The Big Wave - Help make a difference

Surfs Up Dudes! ... The Big Wave is Coming!

Over the weekend of 11/12 October 2008, runners of all abilities from around the world will come together to run a half marathon or 5km distance in their local area as part of the 3rd annual Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon.

The sole purpose of the World Wide Half is to remove the barriers to camaraderie, with the intention that like minded athletes who harbour this passion for running, could share a single experience of competing in a world-wide event whilst running in their own area. This is a free, non-commercial event where everyone is invited to register, train and run in the spirit of friendship. More details of how to register free at http://www.worldwidehalf.com/

As you participate in this exciting event, you will truly feel that you are part of a community of friends all over the globe, who will support you, encourage you, and are sharing this experience with you.

In the UK the "a mile with me" podcast is also arranging "The Big Wave", which will be a unique opportunity for runners run their Worldwide Half or 5K together (if they choose) and also help to raise valuable funds for the Ellen MacArthur Trust.

At 10am on Saturday 11th October we are looking for runners for concurrent 13.1 mile stages along the entire south coast of the UK (500 miles). This distance from Lands End to Dover will thus be covered in less than 3 hours making it the worlds largest simultaneous half marathon !!

If you would like to take part in this event please email me chopper@amilewith.me.uk or leave a message on this site... its so mad and ambitious its our sworn duty to make it happen!

So ... if you have a heart and the desire to make things happen why not Think Global and Run Local .. and make a difference to the lives of children and young adults suffering with long term illnesses. If you cant be there in person then you can of course still help the trust by donating using the links on this site!

Mile 004 The Long Trek

Welcome to Mile 004 - The Long Trek.

Good news! ... I have shed 8lbs so far, so almost on target but a little way to go yet !!

This edition covers the Trailwalker event and some of the training runs we are doingYou will get an introduction to Team Pingu ,, why are they named after a cartoon penguin?- find out in the cast. Join us in the New Forest for a long run racing a few ponies!

Music from the show:
Walk Away by My Little RadioWalking the Universe by The PuffinsTides and Sandcastles by Hugh Campbell
Opening and closing themes from a Summers Day by amb26
All from www.music.podshow.com

For more information on Trailwalker UK www.oxfam.org.uk/Trailalker
For Trailwalker events worldwide http://www.oxfam.org/en/getinvolved/
For the Pheddipidations Worldwide Half Marathon www.worldwidehalf.com
To find out more about the Big Wave www.amilewith.me.uk

I welcome your feedback and audio comments at chopper@amilewith.me.uk
Thanks for listening!Steve Chopper.

4 Feet and "Ruining"!

Heres Chris's shoes before and after our run as featured in Mile-003. My socks ended up in the bin!

Until Saturday he had two pairs of identical running shoes - they dont look so identical now !!! .. but every cloud has a silver lining - he now has a designated on-road and off-road pair !!!

Mile-003-You Need Only be Human to Take Part!

Hi everybody and welcome to Mile-003 of the A Mile with Me podcast. This time we have a really packed edition featuring the Winchester 10k roadrace, training in boggy conditions for Trailwalker and some interviews with new runners.

The theme this time is Running and Poetry and we look at "Great North", a 1000 line poem by Andy Croft which brings us the atmosphere of the Great North Run, the largest 1/2 marathon race in the world. Andy was the poet in residence at the race for a few years and we talk to him in depth about the poem and the sorts of things that come into our heads as we run, whilst listening to a few excepts. You can also find out why my running partner Chris will be suing me for a new pair of training shoes!

We look at the history and architecture of Winchester and talk to some of the guys and girls from Fareham Crusaders running club.

Music this time (from as always the podsafe music network at www.music.podshow.com)
Drum Dub by Lion of Joppa Sound System

• Losing Time (Dub) by Satori
• Be the Change you want to see in the World by 37Hz
• Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John
• Gotta Keep on Movin' by Urban Clearway

Check out Andy Crofts books on www.Amazon.com

Winchester 10k and stuff

Hi everyone, I hope you are well!
Got round the Winchester 10k at the weekend successfully and recorded a few bits for Episode 3 of the podcast along the way - this is out at the end of the week and you can find out all about Winchester the ancient capital of Wessex and England. I know its really episode 2 as the first was a test trailer if you like, but it will be easier if I keep the episode numbers in line with the Mile-xxx references - or I will become very confused!!

Got round in 49 mins which wasnt too bad as stopped to change from recording to Nike+ on the Nano and started from the back. Start weight 2 weeks ago 95kgs, weight now 93kgs so largely to plan. Need to lose a another 8kgs try to get to my PB from about 4 years ago (41:07) and try and dip under 40 mins by the end of the year... you've got to dream right :o) !!!

a mile with me launched!

In this show you can join me for a couple of lunchtime runs away from the office and down to the beach. On a windy day you can also join our team during our training for the Trailwalker event. More details about this in future episodes.

Find out a little more about the area in which we live and run and also about setting some SMARTER goals for your activities. Avoid letting the mind “demons” in as we “Search for your Zen” courtesy of the band Mangomad and race the final sprint with me to the sounds of Federico Fasce and his instrumental track “Speed Limit”

The opening and closing sequences use the track “Summers Day” by amb26.
These great songs and some of the others we will feature are supplied under creative commons licence, courtesy of the podsafe podshow network at www.music.podshow.com
Please send in your audio clips or emails about your favourite miles to chopper@amilewith.me.uk and we will get YOU on the show!

Podcast coming soon!

A nice run down to the beach and back yesterday from the office - around 6 miles. The weather has been great for the time of year, about 11 degrees C, bright skies and little wind, was the perfect running weather. Made a couple of recordings for the podcast which will be here very soon. A few things to tie up and then will post Edition 1 at the end of next week.
It will be available here and on iTunes - search "amilewithme". I'm looking for your favourite mile - is it a place you regularly run, or a mile you did in a race where you felt a particular buzz. Through the cast Im looking to find out the places that people are passionate about.
"Without Emotion there is no Motion"

A Brief Session in a Gale

The team for Trailwalker met up for the first time last Sunday. More of Trailwalker in a later entry but essentially you need a team of four who are willing to do something quite mad! We had a run along the seafront in gale force conditions, so the order of the day was slow but steady. Saturday did a just under 2 hour dreadmill session covering a half marathon distance, Sunday was a bit more refined at about 10k, nice and steady in just over an hour battling the severe winds. The sun was out and it was about 5 degrees Celsius so not bad at all - and we all felt refreshed for sure. Recorded some basic intros for the podcast which is coming on slowly but steady with other commitments!

Introductions

What is a mile? Its not simply a measure of distance, it truly transcends that definition.
A mile exists in its own space and in the minds of everyone. It can seem a long way as in "going the extra mile" and "miles away", but for the long distance runner it is like atoms are to the universe, the basic building blocks of our world. We use it to define how far or how fast we can go and whatever distance we run, its a multiple of a mile. A mile is thus both the reality of distance and a concept of progress and ambition for us.

So what is "a mile with me" about? Firstly inspired by some of the great running podcasts out there I thought it would be good fun to experiment with a show that will hopefully add to that existing body of content. These all help us through the famed "loneliness of a long distance runner"!

I also need to lose about 10Kg (22lbs) so this blog and the podcast will (hopefully!) follow that progress. I'm training for some great events during 2008, so the show will also cover that and listeners will get to hear about some activities and places that they may not know too much about. We'll talk with the organisers and the competitors and find out about the location itself - a type of travelogue.

With a mile having a place in the collective consciousness there are two additional elements that will be part of the show, and are the reason its called a mile with me.

Firstly I want the show to have an element of inspiration to help us on those long outings, so as part of each episode I plan to interview a person who has achieved something specific. By running a gentle mile with them, through the chat we can find out about their inspirations, goals and some tips.

Secondly, with the idea of a mile in mind, I want YOU to send in email and/or audio clip talking about your favourite mile of this planet. It will be great to hear about the mile that is special to you, whether it be a mile at a point in time (e.g. that last mile of your latest PR!) or a place you like to run, a course or a location that has a special resonance for any reason. By hearing these we will truly be sharing our miles together worldwide - quite literally keeping the world running !

Whilst we're doing this I also thought it would be great to try and raise some money for charity and hope that you will be able to help me in this! It would be great along with collecting miles and experiences to try and also use this collective effort for a good cause. More about this in future postings, but my objective will be to raise a $ for every mile around the world.

So the idea is now out there and its up to us to embrace it and make it grow. I hope you will enjoy the first "a mile with me" podcast when its posted shortly and send in your own miles. Each mile will help our global community on their long runs. With the charity aspect we can hopefully help others - for whom the leisure and sport we enjoy is a luxury they cant afford.

Thanks for listening and welcome to "a mile with me"

Starting the Blog

This is the first post. Please see my website at www.amilewith.me.uk The first podcast will be available shortly. This is an experiment, producing an audio accompaniment to long distance runs whilst sharing other people's inspirations. I hope you enjoy it when it's published!