As the Longest Day approached, I decided to see how far I could walk in 24 hours. My goal was two marathons (84.5km) but was subtly aiming for 100km. – a 100km just sounds better. #ego

At 36 years old and 107kg I’m no athlete, I am however a big fan of Alastair Humphrey and his 2013 coined term #MicroAdventures. Basically his idea was to find the most boring thing to do. Then do it. He figured that if he could ‘find adventure there’ then he could find it anywhere. He picked walking the M25 in the UK (London’s equivalent of Amsterdam’s A10) He then walked around the the edge (using the road as a guide, not literally on the hard shoulder) It took him and a mate 3 days to cover the 188km loaded with kit in snowy January. He loved it and so did I when I read his book. So much so that I thought I’d try it in Amsterdam. Some things however, not the people, are smaller over here and the A10 is circa 50km in circumferences. Doable in a day. The result on my first attempt was overwhelmingly positive. So much so that I’ve been walking 50km laps of the A10 every couple of weeks over the past 4/ 5 months. It’s a really interesting walk. What’s more it also ties neatly in to our family’s NY resolution to “each walk 1000miles in 2021′. Helpful tip – If you mix in a good audiobook then you’re golden. Pick a bad one and you may wonder what you’re doing. I mean who repeatedly walks 50km around the edge of a capital city out of choice? Maybe the same guy that tried to take local busses home to London from Cape Town SA.

A 50km walk is a good solid distance for a generally fit person to cover in a day, with no real training! I’ve now completed the loop with my GF and friends and have had no problems other than being utterly shattered at the end. However and as with most things in life; Things get significantly easier (at least mentally) the more times you do it. That said, I have never once felt as if I could do an 50km loop then simply turn around and go again. But I did want to see how far I could walk. I therefore set about tricking myself (if that’s even possible). The idea was to leave at sunrise at around 5:15am (a good 4 hours earlier than my normal departure time) for a slightly longer loop. I’d then be home for the hottest part of the day for a late lunch. Then, after resting for an 80/90mins, I’d repack my backpack with supplies and use the toilet before setting off again with a good part of the day /day light ahead. Telling myself that it’s just a later start for a slightly shorter loop.
Things didn’t exactly go to plan as I had a difficult and tiresome first lap. This was primarily due to the heat, some random blisters and general tiredness. But after my midway 50km (actually 56km) break, I set off for lap two. Fortunately some clouds had formed, thus making life that little bit easier. I was riding a second wind consisting of pasta, caffeine and liquid carbohydrates until around 80km. It was here, that as night fell that my energy dipped massively and I found myself stopping every couple of kms. Desperate to get home and walking at a snails pace, I made it back in in 23hr 05min total and covered 100.2km. #ultramarathon – it absolutely not for everyone but if you have any questions or want to know more let me know.