Sudden change of life goal

stats of the week: run 8 km
stats of the week before: cycled 326 km

My Nove Colli experience which was in fact a quatro colli for me turned out to be a very special experience. Not only I had technical problems with the rented bike but after 100 K a torrential rain started and soaked the cyclists to their skin. I made it to a decent finish after 6:30 h only to disappear to my hotel room, have a hot shower and an immediate nap.

Back home my world has changed. My secret goal to become the oldest London Marathon finisher some time has to be cancelled and adjusted. The new target is to survive for another five years and set up a bucket list to realize within this period. A sudden and unexpected heart attack opens my eyes to a very different view of my little world. I will have to work on this for a while.

Official excuse

stats of the week: run 19 km, cycled 181 km, gym 2 h

Some flat cycling in the Netherlands to get fit for the Italian hills!

Next stop: Nove Colli, Cesenatico, that calls itself the "Queen of Gran Fondos". Some 13,000 cyclists gather in the home town of Marco Pantani to tackle 205 km and the famous 9 hills. For me, it is only 4 hills and 130 km. My excuse is that cyclists from 65 years on are not allowed to go for the long distance. However, with 180 km of training so far, I am not really prepared for a full Gran Fondo.

Fading age groupers

stats of the week: run 9 km, indoor cycled 2 h, gym 2 h

I studied the London Marathon results and figured out how the numbers of age group participants develope. The message is more than clear:

M50 2,536
M55 1,400
M60    764
M65    290
M70    160
M75      52
M80      15

This is just to confirm that I have to be very happy still to be part of the running community. My next target is to add another 5 years and to complete a quarter century of London Marathons. Every five years one has to be one of the surviving 50%.

Grateful at 66

stats of the week: rest! recovering!

(photo by Isaak)

I am so grateful for being able to run my 20th consecutive London Marathon at the age of  66! Already before race day I thought about donating based on my finish time. The faster the pace the higher the donation - some special kind of motivation.

I selected a well known charity that I have been supporting several times in recent years. Amani Childrens' Home in Moshi, Tanzania, does a gorgeous job to rescue kids from the streets around  Arusha and Moshi. They deserve any help any of you can afford however small the amount might be.

Amani Childrens' Home     German Friends of Amani