132.2 - 142.7 miles Sponsored by The Longdens and The Statons

A bit of an adventure run this afternoon. With my school closing due to snow I took advantage of the conditions and got myself out on the trails for 10.5 miles of cold, wet, sludgy fun! Not sure my legs appreciated the snow though as they quickly became quite heavy, but my knees certainly enjoyed the extra cushioning from the snow which my trail shoes lack.

Thanks to The Statons and The Longdens for their kind sponsorship of this run in aid of Hospice UK. I've reach £545.45 in sponsorship so far and hoping I can reach the £600 mark by the end of January.

If you would like to sponsor mile please pledge your support at www.virginmoneygiving.com/stevetrotter

123.2 - 132.2 miles - Sponsored by The Longdens

A 5:30am get up this morning and out the door for 5:50am for a 9 mile pyramid session. This involved gradually increasing my pace between miles 1 and 4, then gradual easing down from miles 5 to 9.  Although It was a tough run, particularly at that time of the morning, I managed to dig in and stayed within my target paces.

Thanks again to the Longdens who have kindly sponsored this run in support of Hospice UK

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here. www.virginmoneygiving.com/stevetrotter

Miles 108.2 - 123.2 Sponsored by Ivor H, The Follands, The Longdens

An early start this morning for my longest run since August last year. 15 steady miles which felt comfortable and controlled throughout at a pace of 8:30min/mile.  Due to my lack of head torch (I put it down somewhere!) I discarded my planned route and pounded my usual road route of  Treeton - Europa link - Meadowhall loop. Not the most inspiring scenery but, with Talk Ultra Podcast for company, the time drifted by fairly quickly.

Thanks to Ivor, The Follands and The Longdens for their kind sponsorship of this run.

So that's 41 miles for the week and 123.2 miles so far, still technically 13 miles behind schedule but certainly not worrying to much at this stage.

Fundraising has gone well again this week and I have now raised £425.45 of my £2015 target for Hospice UK. Thanks to the kind generosity of so many good friends.

If you would like to support the challenge and sponsor one or more of the 2015 miles please see my fundraising page at www.virginmoneygiving.com/stevetrotter. I also have paper sponsor forms if that is easier; just message me the amount you would like to pledge or ask me next time we see each other.

Roll on week 5!

Miles 100.2 - 108.2 Sponsored by Ivor H

A medium paced 8 miles tonight which felt pretty good throughout. I decided to push the pace a little, yet still keeping the running relaxed and as easy as possible. As my fitness has improved over the last few weeks my steady run pace has also started to increase. I'm still 20 seconds from my target 3hr15mins marathon pace in this steady state but there's plenty of time for this pace to come down as my fitness improves further still.

Thanks to Ivor for his kind sponsorship of this run in support of Hospice UK.

Can I run a mile for you?  See where your miles will take me.
Show you support at www.virginmoneygiving.com/stevetrotter

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On another, more geeky note, I thought my trusty Garmin Forerunner 305 had given up the ghost after tonight's run as it failed to load when plugged into the cradle. After a bit of Googling I tried the soft reset (holding mode and lap down for 10 seconds) and low and behold it started up as normal - even keeping tonight's run on it and allowing me up upload to Garmin!

91.2 - 100.2 miles - Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

Day 22

Here we are then...100 miles!

Slightly behind schedule but really pleased to have reached the three figure mark still in one piece. A steady 9 mile evening run tonight which felt great throughout.

The final run for Mark & Patrycja, thanks so much for your generous support. Ivor, your miles are up next!

82.2 - 91.2 miles - Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

DAY 20
An enjoyable 9 miles tonight with 4 miles in the middle getting close to target marathon pace. Podcast stopped half way but the discipline of running without earphones (as is the case when I race) won't have done me any harm.

My fitness is returning, slowly but surely!

69.1 - 82.2 Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

After a busy week and missing a couple of runs it was great to finally get out of the door and on my way for a long run. A steady 8:30/mile pace felt pretty comfortable, perhaps the legs were a little fresher. Many thanks to the Mecure hotel for helping me out with my unschedules stop at around mile 9. I won't go into detail but lets just say I 'nearly' learnt to empathise fully with Paula Radcliffe!

Thanks once again to Mark & Patrycja for their kind sponsorship of this run.

61.1 - 69.1 miles Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

One of those runs where I just wanted to let off some steam after a particularly stressful day. Donning my new head torch I set off into the darkness to find some trails. Lots of mud, closed footpaths meaning a detour through a boggy field, and plenty of mixed paced bursts made for a much more chilled Steve by the end.

Thanks again to Mark & Patrycja for their kind sponsorship for this run.

50.6 - 61.1 Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

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45.6 - 50.6 miles - Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

5 miles at a slightly faster pace tonight, although still not fit enough for any serious marathon pace runs. Still pretty windy, but not as bad as yesterday's run.

35.6 - 45.6 miles - Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

My 1st early run of the year and naturally struggled to get out of bed when my alarm went off at 5:00am.  Glad I did though and managed to get out by 5:30am.  Very windy conditions; a head wind for the first 5 miles.  The final 5 miles though I had the wind behind me which felt great.

Thanks again to Mark & Patrycja who have sponsored these miles in aid of Hospice UK.

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here. www.virginmoneygiving.com/stevetrotter

28.6 - 35.6 miles Sponsored by Mark and Patrycja

7 miles tonight with a pitiful attempt at covering the middle 5 miles at somewhere near 3hr15min marathon pace (Should be 7.26/mile). Clearly a lot of fitness to gain before the big day but plenty of miles left to run.

My fundraising total is starting to rise (£205.30) - a big thank you to those of you who have already sponsored me in support of Hospice UK.

Another run sponsored by Mark and Patrycja, only 64.4 more miles left for them!

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here.

Miles 15.5 - 28.6 Sponsored by Mark and Patrycja

A half marathon long run, the longest I've run since September. Kept the pace quite steady and felt pretty good throughout, although think I may suffer a little in the morning.

Thanks again  Mark and Patrycja who have sponsored  the miles in this run in support of Hospice UK.

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here.

Miles 11-15.5 Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

Faster paced tempo run tonight making it 15.5 miles for the week.

A massive thank you to Mark and Patrycja who have sponsored me the miles in this run in support of Hospice UK.

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here.

Miles 0 - 10 Sponsored by Mark & Patrycja

Very excited to have got my first run of 2015 under my belt. A steady 10 miles which saw me take my new head torch for spin and mixed it up between road running and trails.

A massive thank you to Mark and Patrycja who have sponsored me the miles in this run in support of Hospice UK.

Can I run a mile for you? For each £1 that is pledged I will run a mile in your honour (check out the Mile Sponsors' Roll of Honour and pledge your support here.

Happy New Year - The 2015 Challenge has started!