James Canter

Week 4 23.2 miles to go

Day 22 & 23 no running, but hamstring feeling good. Strong winds and rain from Storm Austen.

Day 24 was Bicester Parkrun (3.1 miles). Not a Rex route, but a Thame Runners event. Thankfully the weather eased following Storm Austen and it was a dry run with light drizzle starting afterwards. I didn’t realise this was the final week for the summer route and thus under foot was slippery in places. I should have run in different shoes and had to be cautious after feeling a slight strain of my left hamstring. Still, a good run!

Day 25. It would be remiss of me not to visit Coombe Hill for a morning run in my quest; the woods here were Rex’s favourite by far. To build in a long run, the route was combined with the Beacon Hill and Chequers loop we also often did taking this effort to 10.4 miles. With stunning views across the Chilterns and significant elevation changes, it made for good training for the Marlow half-marathon next week-end. I had the pleasure of another club mate for this run as well as their 4 legged friend, the beautiful Treacle, which was rather fitting. 10 miles to go!

Day 26 for an evening run with Thame Runners around Thame (5.7 miles). Closing in on the challenge now, just 4 miles to go.

Day 28: Orchard loop to Upton and around Dinton featuring the Parish Field and the Cricket Field (6.1 miles). The later part of this became a favourite of Rex’s because of the beautiful Heidi, a white German Shepherd he absolute adored and chased her while she played fetch. On days Heidi was late or did not come he would pine for her by constantly turning to see the gate into the cricket field. We made many friends in the village with this walk and generally by walking Rex around the village. Rex loved Border Collie’s; I think he knew he was like them (he was a cross) and he was always over the moon to see Ben in particular. They had a mutual affection for one another which was delightful.

Week Three - 22.7 miles, 76.8 miles so far

Day 15 saw the return to a favourite of Rex’s with an evening orchard loop (3.9 miles).

Day 16 no running

Day 17: parkrun at Rushmere country park (3.1 miles). A favourite wood of Rex’s in later years with beautiful trail paths, a convenient cafe at halfway to recharge with some water and treats plus delicious breakfast options and tea from the cafe. The parkrun covered some sections we used to walk.

Day 18 was a long run (11.2 miles) with Thame Runners from Thame and out to Kingsey, Aston Sandford, Dinton and Haddenham! Fabulous weather. Minor left hamstring twinge at the end. One to watch.

Day 19 & 20 saw no running as I opted to limit impact on my hamstring.

Day 21 was hill training covering 4.3 miles with a focus on form and being mindful of my hamstring, which felt good in the main.

Week Two - 28.3 miles, 54.1 miles to date

Day 9 was a short final morning run along the coastline (3.1 miles) in cooler temperatures watching the sun rise across the bay, beautiful!

For Day 10, I ventured over to Wendover Woods for the Parkrun (3.1 miles). Rex loved the woods; the shade, trees, wildlife and other dogs made it such an interesting place to walk.

Day 11 was an early morning long trail run with Thame Runners over 9.9 miles from Bledlow. An absolutely stunningly picturesque route, if very hilly! 

Day 12: An evening run (5.2 miles) around Thame with Thame Runners.

After a rest day, Day 14 was an intense speed training with Thame Runners covering 7 miles as follows.

Warm-up

Then 2 reps of:

1x long loop (1km), 90s rec

2x medium loop (870m), 90s rec

2x small loop (500m), 90s rec

Cool down

I am now over half-way (distance wise) and am confident of completing the challenge! Roll on Week Three.

Week One - 25.8 miles

Why?

Sadly we said goodbye to Rex at the end of August. This challenge seemed a good way to celebrate all the memories we shared by revisiting and running some of the many walks we shared over the years.

I kicked off the week with one of the first ‘getting to know you’ routes we took Rex on; a  2.3 mile loop with a mix of surfaces and areas where we could extend his lead and build on recall and confidence with him. It was a great route to meet other dog owners in the village; Rex always liked to say hello! In the evening I covered 3.1 miles during a hill training session with the Thame Runners running club, as I plan to follow this challenge by running the Marlow half-marathon on 1st November which is hilly - hills have never been one of my strengths!

Day 2 was an evening loop over 6.3 miles; one we often used on weekends through a couple of local villages. We often finished at the Seven Stars, Dinton; Steph always made a fuss of Rex and he loved the treats! In his later years, we would also recharge at The Crown, Cuddington, a handy midway point.

Day 3: another weekday favourite of Rex’s to the orchard in Haddenham (3.9 miles). The cycle path is a popular route for dog walkers in the morning and the fields offer a great view of the sun rise across the Chilterns. Today was cloudy, but I share a picture in my gallery from a walk with Rex.

No running on Day 4, followed by a new coastal path route of 6.8 miles on Day 5 which was very picturesque and where I unexpectedly came across a pair of large rabbits!

Day 6 I followed the coastal path again, but ran one way (3.35 miles). This took me ahead on mileage as planned because I needed to build a buffer for two reasons:

• I knew I would not be able to run for the next 2 days
• my desire to have a few rest days at the end of the month before the half-marathon