Today RAK, tomorrow the world

I draw on many influences for my running. As mentioned in a previous blog, sportspeople who have overcome asthma are a big inspiration. There are also friends and family (when my mother was 10 she was hit in the head by a javelin, I daren't ever complain to her because nothing I've ever been a bit down about could compare to that).

There are also fictional characters. Forrest Gump is one famous example: he ran for three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours. Gump ran from coast to coast in the United States, but I am trying to go one better by running around the entire planet. That is 40,076km. Having started the challenge at the beginning of this year, I have just 39,936km to go.

So where have I been on my travels? Have I crossed over mountains, taken in the sights of rainforests or even braved Sheikh Zayed Road? I have, sadly, only seen my neighbourhood in Abu Dhabi.

I use a sensor that slots into my left trainer that records and tells me, via my ipod, how far I have run and how fast. It really has changed my running, previously I either had to use a treadmill or run for how long felt right. I've trained for half marathons by doing nothing more than running for an hour every other night around my block and increasing the time as the run approached.

The sensor is made by Nike (though I'm sure other brands are available) and now I can tailor my running to include short then long distances. Via Nike's website you can sign up for challenges, such as the mammoth task I have taken on that ensures I have motivation to keep running for years to come. In fact, the hardest thing about my training for the 6K I have to run in Ras al Khaimah is stopping myself going further in training as I want to make progress on my challenge. Right now the challenge feels a bit like the mortgage on a flat I own in the United Kingdom: I can see it clearly coming down, sometimes quickly, but it will be there for a good few years yet.

It appears that keeping records motivates people other than myself. Kara, a fellow member of Team National, has kept a log of how far she has run since buying a new pair of running trainers. She feels justifiably proud of the distance she has put in, she has nailed 40km in two weeks. She says the log has been a big encouragement for her, not to mention giving her a heads-up for when she needs to buy new trainers...

Setting long-term goals, like my round the world challenge or simply keeping track of how far you've done in a new pair of trainers, can make a huge difference to training. It pushes me to do the extra few hundred yards, I am sure it could do the same for anyone.