About me
I'm Doug Young. I'll be 44 at the time of the marathon. I live in Portsmouth with my wife Emma and our two little flowers Poppy (7) & Daisy (2).
I've always enjoyed sport but have only taken up running within the last couple of years. Long hours in the office and a young family mean that committing time to a team sport or a regular exercise class is difficult, but with running you can lace up and head out for some exercise whenever suits you..... Oh OK then, I don't always head outside to run. Sometimes it's a lot easier and cosier to hook up to Sky Sports and hit "go" on the treadmill at the gym.
So I'm not going into this as a complete running virgin. I ran my first distance race, The Great South Run, in 2007 posting a time of 1 hour 36 minutes. After a couple of years of recovery I ran it again in 2010 (also 1 hour 36 minutes) and this, on reflection, marked the point when I got into running. In spring 2011 I ran my first 1/2 marathon at Reading (1h:54m), did the London Duathlon in September (2h:05m) and followed up by smashing my previous best in The Great South Run with a 1h:20m in the autumn. So far in 2012, I've run Reading again (1h:47m) and took part in the inaugural Ealing Half Marathon posting 1h:46m. At the time of writing, after which my blog entries will take up the story, I am two weeks away from my fourth Great South Run and feeling very under-trained.
Talking of which, I should tell you about my training regime. In theory I run three times a week - two midweek shorter speed/strength sessions and a weekend long run - but life isn't always like that and I'll probably make only 2 of the 3 sessions. For the marathon I intend to follow a 16 week programme over which I'll ramp up the volume to get me there in the best shape possible. I'll aim to be out there (or on that treadmill) 4 times a week, but we'll just have to see how life gets in the way and what actually happens.
So that's me. I'm not an athlete but I'm a runner. I run because I enjoy it, I run because it reduces the amount of belly hanging over the belt, I run to provide an inspiring role model to my children and now I run to help others. Please support me.
I've always enjoyed sport but have only taken up running within the last couple of years. Long hours in the office and a young family mean that committing time to a team sport or a regular exercise class is difficult, but with running you can lace up and head out for some exercise whenever suits you..... Oh OK then, I don't always head outside to run. Sometimes it's a lot easier and cosier to hook up to Sky Sports and hit "go" on the treadmill at the gym.
So I'm not going into this as a complete running virgin. I ran my first distance race, The Great South Run, in 2007 posting a time of 1 hour 36 minutes. After a couple of years of recovery I ran it again in 2010 (also 1 hour 36 minutes) and this, on reflection, marked the point when I got into running. In spring 2011 I ran my first 1/2 marathon at Reading (1h:54m), did the London Duathlon in September (2h:05m) and followed up by smashing my previous best in The Great South Run with a 1h:20m in the autumn. So far in 2012, I've run Reading again (1h:47m) and took part in the inaugural Ealing Half Marathon posting 1h:46m. At the time of writing, after which my blog entries will take up the story, I am two weeks away from my fourth Great South Run and feeling very under-trained.
Talking of which, I should tell you about my training regime. In theory I run three times a week - two midweek shorter speed/strength sessions and a weekend long run - but life isn't always like that and I'll probably make only 2 of the 3 sessions. For the marathon I intend to follow a 16 week programme over which I'll ramp up the volume to get me there in the best shape possible. I'll aim to be out there (or on that treadmill) 4 times a week, but we'll just have to see how life gets in the way and what actually happens.
So that's me. I'm not an athlete but I'm a runner. I run because I enjoy it, I run because it reduces the amount of belly hanging over the belt, I run to provide an inspiring role model to my children and now I run to help others. Please support me.