Christopher Nutt

Chris Nutt is running a marathon

Fundraising for NSPCC
£407
raised of £450 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Event: 2010 Robin Hood Marathon, on 12 September 2010
Participants: Chris Nutt
NSPCC

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 216401 and SC037717
We are the only charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK

Story

Hello

Thank you for taking the time to visit my page.
I chose to run in the Robin Hood festival of running back in March. What happened was that I had just run the Reading half marathon and I got an email saying something like "Would you like to run in the Robin Hood festival of running marathon in September". My first thought was "No!". Then a day later I came crawling back to my email and thought "Yes. Yes I would actually. When is it? September! Oh well, that's forever away! Sign me up". Now it's July... darn.
I do like to run so I am looking forward to it. I've never run 26.2 miles before though so I am also a little bit nervous.
My goal is to raise an awful lot of cash for those good folks at the NSPCC. What they do is extremely important. Children deserve to be protected from those who are cruel to them through neglect, stupidity or just plain nastiness.
So please, please, please find it within yourselves to donate some of your hard earned to this extremely worthy cause. I, and the children, thank you.
If you happen to live in or around Nottingham why not come out to shout at me on the day itself. I won't hear you because I'll be wearing headphones so get it off your chest!
Training:
*On the 11th July I did a 10 mile run from my flat to Tower Bridge and back again. I felt good. I felt energised. I felt, well, sweaty to be perfectly honest. 2 days later I was stricken with flu. This may have been a direct consequence (or a nasty, nasty coincidence) as endurance running reduces the immune system for a spell but I thought I had taken enough precautions. I haven't run since (it's now 26th July) so my training has taken quite a knock. I did have a target of 4hrs in mind but I am now aiming to just finish. I have been able to do swimming though which has improved I am pleased to say!

*No updates for a while. Sorry about that. I know you're all checking this page daily for news! So, lots to go through. A few weeks ago I did a run from work back home which took about an hour and a half. It was a very different experience from my normal runs. For starters it was after a day's work! Then there was all the traffic and tourists. An hour and half isn't too bad for the 8 or so miles it is door to door. Then, on Saturday 28th August I ran for about 2 and a half hours which I think was roughly 15 miles. That hurt. This week I've been resting up but will do a HIIT session or 2 in the week with a swimming session at the weekend and a relatively long run.

*My marathon:
I awoke on the Sunday morning not fully comprehending what lay ahead of me. I had my breakfast and then went back to bed to watch a little bit of match of the day. The time was moving by much quicker than I expected, which is odd seeing as I'm sure it is supposed to be constant. Before long I was fully loaded with all my bits and off we went to the start. I arranged with my parents where we would meet after the event, avoiding the calamitous goings on after the Reading Half Marathon in March, and I went off to join the warm-up while my parents got themselves a good position for the start. I was highly amused by the discussions going on around me during the warm-up as people debated whether the person leading the exercises was a butch woman or an effeminate man. Then, I realised that I had not taken one of my water bottles from my bag which was now making it's way to the starting line with my parents. Thank goodness for the wonders of 21st century communication devices. After a few minutes of blind panic I had found my parents and retrieved the bottle.

I now made my way to my colour coded starting point doing a few stretches along the way and sucking on my first carbohydrate gel sachet of the day (and my first ever). I don't think I liked it. Before I knew it I was penned in with lots of people and we all started moving forward. I crossed the line, started my clock and waved to my parents as I passed.

The first signs that things were not as they should be occured within the first 2 miles. I felt what can only be described as a 'stitch' in my gut and a very slight pain in my left shin. Nevertheless I went onward. As I went round I began to feel better and found myself stuck behind people. I increased my speed to go around them. My initial tactic was to take a walking rest every 5 miles. At the 5 mile mark I felt perfectly fine so decided to keep going until the next water station. When this arrived, at 6.2 miles, I got clear of it and began walking. I'm still not sure if this was wise. Around 10 miles I ran past a man receiving medical assistance, this is never a pleasant sight. As I came up to the halfway point I began to feel my right knee getting sore. This knee has been a source of pain for most of my life, so I ignored it. However, something more disturbing was happening. My lower back was beginning to ache like somethnig I've never felt before, and I sincerely hope like nothing I'll ever feel again. I noticed a clock and it said 2 hours 15 minutes had elapsed. I was behind my previous half marathon time but on target for this marathon.

As this was a half-marathon/marathon, those running the half turned toward the finishing line and the 3000 or so full marathon runners (aka nutters) kept going. This was quite demoralising. Before I had plenty people running with me, now I was running along the river by myself or in small packs of 2 or 3. It was a strange feeling as people applauded. As I went on, I looked behind me and saw not one person. "I can't be last" I thought to myself. This part of the race was very surreal. There was nobody cheering and I was worried I might get lost but fortunately the wonderful race marshalls were there to point the way. I ran with a group for a while which had a really motivating man covered with tattoos pulling us all along with him. Eventually, I seperated from this group. At mile 16 I saw a commotion in front of me and heard an ambulance behind me. I passed a poor girl who seemed to be having a fit. I was concerned but soon I would not be able to think about anything. My legs were so sore. My left leg was bad, it hurt to make any movement. My right leg was worse. It felt as if somebody had shoved a ruler or something under the muscle above my knee. Both my ankles were feeling weak and my lower back was so... I actually lack the words to describe it. I had passed my previous best distance. This was now all new. At mile 18 I was hobbling. I was also extraordinarily grumpy as I thought the marker had said 19 miles but it was 18. The worst was yet to come. As I approached the 19 mile marker I ran out into a water sports centre. I could see 3 miles of the course right there and my heart sank as I knew how far I had to go. I could also see the people 3 miles ahead of me. I hated them. I had to walk for a large section of this. This may have been an error. I think I began to cool down. As I approached 20 miles I began to feel my groin beginning to strain. Sure enough, my groin failed. I began to hobble badly. I stopped. I stretched. I began again. I let out a cry of pain. I sucked it in and ran. Then I had to walk again. A lady on a motorcycle asked if I was ok and wanted to know if I needed assistance. "I'm fine, just a bit of cramp I think. I'll walk it off".

The tattooed man from earlier ran past me and said "come on nearly there". I told him I'd catch him up. I used him as a pacemaker for a while and then ran along side him. He seemed surprised to see me.
"You did catch up then!"
"I was using you as a pacemaker!"
"I wish I had a pacemaker"
"I'll be yours for a bit, come on"
I led him out to the final few miles. I turned around and asked if he was ok to which he replied "Yes". Next time I turned around he was gone.

I was now running past the City Ground. I could see and hear the finish on the other side of the river but I could not see the bridge. I was angry at this. I was in so much pain. My lower back felt like bits had been cut out of it, my right leg felt like the muscle above the knee was falling away, my groin felt like it was being pulled away from me like a chicken leg and my ankles simply ached. I began to notice something odd. I felt fat. As somebody who used to be very fat this was not welcome, but was familiar. I felt pudgy and soft around my middle. I was confused. The only rational conclusion I could come up with at the time was muscle wastage.

With a massive effort I made my way to the bridge crossed and found myself near the end. A marshall said "Come on, you're nearly there now". "I'm going for a sprint finish" I replied. When I saw the finish line and heard someone shout "come on fella" I felt reinvigorated. I found myself picking up speed, taking long strides. I felt less pain. I was sprinting! I heard my Mum's voice. I heard the announcer drawing attention to my sprint. I was suddenly aware of all the pain again. Through gritted teeth and blowing cheeks I increased my speed until I reached the finsh line.

A lady gave me a bottle or water and said "Well done, how are you?"
"I'm quite well thank you very much, how are you?" I replied.

The Wednesday after:
As the aches and pains fade, my attentions turn forward. I considered going for a run, but I went for a walk instead. I will run a marathon again. I will do better! I have a half in a month, I have also signed up for the 2011 Reading half.
I don't feel as fat as I did toward the end any more. Muscles rebuild, they have the technology.

Share this story

Help Christopher Nutt

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the charity

NSPCC

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 216401 and SC037717
We’re the only charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK and Channel Islands. That’s why we help children who’ve been abused to rebuild their lives, we protect children at risk, and we find the best ways of preventing child abuse from ever happening.

Donation summary

Total raised
£407.00
+ £97.59 Gift Aid
Online donations
£407.00
Offline donations
£0.00

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.