Sunglasses UPDATE: if you haven’t watched the video, this will make no sense yet - but the sunglasses have been found! Do not go diving for them, because they aren’t there anymore 😁
Only 5 minutes in and the tension is building like a well-written 80s thriller. The record-scratch freeze-frame intro, the multiple plot strands of foot pain and Garmin / Course marker discrepancy threatening the hero's journey. Love it when a plan (totally fails) to come together.
I f***ing love this channel, easily my favourite fitness related RUclipsr. You and Jen are so down to earth, it's refreshing to hear about the great and equally terrible moments of your training, with a hefty side of brilliant sarcasm:). Thanks for keeping it real!
You were one of my biggest inspirations for getting under 20 on a 5k. I thought, if he can do it I can do it, and it worked. 19:38 and now I have a passion for running. Thank you so much!
Wow that's an awesome display of mental strength to make the finish line, I was surprised you said you wouldn't try the race again, with a good training camp and 90 kg body weight you would be well within 14 hrs. Thanks for inspiring us 50 somethings Mark that was right up there with Rocky 3-4 training montage for motivation 👏
I ran 4km in 28 minutes yesterday. Final week of C25K. I've never been able to run before and have failed C25K three times. This time I'm nearly done but and loving it!.
C25K is a great running target, every time I fall off the wagon (which is too often to mention but less than the number of times I’ve got back on and that what counts!) it’s my go to target! Keep going and you’ve love setting that PB 5k!
A neck injury has all but stopped my heavy lifting career at 31 years old. I’ve felt lost and without anything to do to challenge myself physically. Found your channel recently after getting recommended the first 100k run and you’re an inspiration. Going to start my running journey and can’t wait!
Made me genuinely tear up there toward the end. “10 k left. Jen is there waiting for me”. meanwhile I’m pissed that I can’t play my ps5 couse I cut my finger.
So I gather you are above average in: height, 5K running, Hyrox competition, Ultra Running and many other things that I am unaware of. Shoot you even have an above average wife (talking about the Hyrox competition). But in all honesty you have an above average YT channel (I mean you are known as the YT Man). Your documentaries along with your humor, and video editing are both entertaining and motivating. When I run the next day after watching one of your videos, I tend to run... above average (for a nursing home).
How cool is it that those Dudes showed up with proper theme music and cheered you on. Good on them and Good on you Mark for putting yourself through another ultra marathon- without much training.
I had totally forgot about the adrenal shock when I finished my ultra until I watched this! I ran a very hot, very hilly 57km, I had bonked at halfway and took over twice as long on the second half. My last 1km felt great, ran the whole km, pain was gone. As soon as I crossed the line I felt sick. I barely made it 5 steps to the woman handing me a medal. I leant on a table for a few seconds before literally crawling to the nearest shady spot and crying.
oh boy the motivation you give me to run. I started a month and a half ago with the goal of being able to just run a 5k in october (its early august when im writing this), im 8 weeks into the journey and im hooked! but the first 3 or 4 weeks was so rough i didnt want to put the running shoes on just thinking about it, now i want to run everyday thanks to you. keep up the good work, Mark!
When fitness reaches psycho proportions: perform at-home surgery days before an extreme endurance race that you haven’t trained for, alter your running shoes, and ignore severe pain. That is serious metal. Much respect. Chafing is seriously excruciating when it is severe.
So true. I binned my trainers after I finished, never to do another..... Fast forward 10 months and stood on the start line about to do it all again! 🤣
25:15 When the right toe decided to join the party. LoL. True grit seeing it through to the end and I'll take that with me when I'm on my next pain run!
Another great watch, thanks. Interesting re. distance markers - I completed the Peak District Ultra Challenge 100km in the summer and actually did 114km and there's no way I walked 14km round the aid stations!!
As someone approaching 50 who's late in life to fitness I find your channel hugely motivational. Your pain is literally our gain. Keep it up your an absolute machine. 💪🏼
I've watched a *lot* of ultramarathon videos, and yours is the best at conveying the incredible pain you go through, and how frustrating and downright weird it is when your body fails on you. Congrats on the race and thanks for the great vid!
Another fab video Mark, you are always on point. I have been doing all this endurance nonsense stuff for 38 years now! Firstly a runner marathons, half marathons 10ks all sorts of stuff the for the last 30 a triathlete, and yes very often in the middle of whatever you're doing you think. Why the hell am I doing this stupid stuff! This endurance stuff hurts like hell at times. I have never won anything just doing it for the sheer hell of saying I did that went there and got the medal and the T-shirt. And the satisfaction of knowing that even without a win, you are still way above average for even completing the vast amount of training required, let alone actually finishing whatever it was you were doing. As most ordinary folk could not even begin to contemplate such feats. Great watch Mark.
Hey Mark, I REALLY love your content. I’m a road and ultra runner who is 5’7, 105kgs. I haven’t run a 100km, but my 50k time is 5 hours 17 minutes. I’m currently training for a marathon with hopes of sub 4 hours. I find as long as my training stays consistent, and my nutrition is absolutely on point, I avoid hitting walls. You are an absolute rockstar for this video.
The thought comes to mind, that you are -just ever so slightly - stubborn! ...and/or delusional towards the end of the "run". Putting on vaseline at the last rest area "nearly passing out" (from pain, I imagine)... and still intenting to pick up pace. SO inspiring, SO crazy, SO brave. Love it!
"Passing out, that would be inconvenient!" Great comment to make at that stage, it shows the brain was still working. Well done on an amazing performance. My longest run is 31.5 km, and that was enough for me.
Really enjoy watching your videos. Not even a runner, just love how open and accessible the videos are with a "warts and all" transparency to them, just comes across as more real and relatable than a lot of other content. Keep up the great work 🙂
Great work! As a runner, it would be cool to see you do this event again next year but with training. You could talk a lot about how the training has changed how you feel at certain points in the race ("last year I was dying, now I'm feeling fine..."), improved performance etc. I've heard training for events can help, but who knows 😁
I’m getting too old for that nonsense. 😂 There is an increasing risk of actual death with each passing year ……. Although, views are good so you never know 🤣
That was by far my favorite video of yours to include all the ones with Nixon. I really have no idea how you push yourself so hard. Congratulations on finishing, surviving, and the PB!
Distances on certified races refer to the shortest possible route (hitting the apex on corners) plus a little bit (10m in a 10k for example) to just make sure the course is at least the advertised distance - go wide on some corners, cut around some other runners, nip into the woods for a poo, and you'll soon find a mismatch between watch and markers on even a half marathon. Add in a couple of satellite blips and really a 2-3% difference in accuracy between a bloke on a calibrated bike and radio waves going to space and back isn't that bad. Probably feels pretty bad when you run it though. Well done. Saw you at 50k and you looked pretty strong still. Top 100 is very impressive.
My favourite so far, love how chipper you look at the start and then slowly watching the wheels come off! Incredible effort at the end to get yourself running. I think the positive reaction to the video comes from the the drama of your battle against human frailty or maybe it’s just enjoying watching you suffer ;)
The pure motivation when you sad your mind wasn't done and you started giving it all and not giving up to beat last year's time. Actual chills! That was a quick 40 mins of ups and downs. We'll done
Loved this. And glad you didn't try to cut the video to a shorter length. Well worth the whole 42 minutes. It's actually made me want to train for it next year. Never ran further than a marathon but seeing you do it has made me think I can too, so cheers. And well played. I think what you proved is it takes a base level of fitness and shit tonne of mental strength to complete something so barmy.
It's always good to know that I'm not the only one who does stupid sh*t to my body. But it's good inspiration to keep moving ahead, step by step, and get the job done. Good on you. Thanks Mark.
This week’s episode is sponsored by Vasoline, not Squarespace! What an inspirational 10k finish to your race!!! Thank you for continued powerful content!! 💪🏽💪🏽
Such an honest and self effacing video. I've only recently discovered your channel, and have been catching up on several of the videos. I can empathise with the pushing on through the bouts of negativity, pain and fatigue as I ran a few back in the 1980's. When things got really bad I'd ask myself " does this hurt as much as toothache? " and the answer was always " No ". As for distance, I once did a 100k in Solihull which consisted of 20 x 5K laps of a large housing estate which had a Sport Centre and running track. It was pre Garmin. I thought I was haveing a really bad one, when the lap recorders did a final check they realised they'd sent me round on an extra loop 😮
Quite possibly your best video yet! There was a real low point there where you were incredibly close to jacking it in, you do amazingly well to get through that and persevere, hopefully the calf, toes et al heal up soon.
Amazing tenacity! Good on ya for getting through it! I'm running the Chicago marathon in a few weeks, I will use your race as some inspiration.🏃♀🏃♀🏃♀🏃♀
My husband and I did “The wall” ratrace event in June, you should give that one a go! It’s 70 miles across haidrians wall. Oh yeah we didn’t train either. It’s amazing what your brain can force your body to do. Your hyrox training and general base fitness is enough to get you through 100k. Well done on beating your time 🥂👏
This was the most riveting watch. Strange as that sounds, with all the pain you were enduring. I felt with you all the way. Your ultra effort speaks volumes for your tenacity and grit. Well done Mark. Talk about the loneliness of the long distance runner! I remember reading of author Richard Askwith’s attempt on the Bob Graham round in the Lake District. It enveloped me in a kind of longing to experience it myself! Albeit a bit late in the day really for a bloke racing his first marathon aged 50, and his second the Beachy head marathon at 52. I opted for some smaller goals instead, namely a handful of fell races, and a run up and down Ben Nevis shortly before two hip replacements. For a bloke your height and weight, an ultra really is an endurance event, as your diminishing times over increasing distances testify. You should feel really proud for that 100 k, it really is an astonishing feat. Did you really do a rowing time trial the day before that ultra? Or did I dream that? You’re a star Mark! Nice going champ!
Awesome job. We were on holiday in the middle of the highlands with shitty internet so was very much looking forward to seeing this. I'm tempted to do the 50km next year. I started the training on holiday and ran my first half marathon distance. Just over 2 hours so happy with that.
Way to go Mark!! Good gutsy effort mate I've got my 2nd 100k in 4weeks (1st was 2019) same course 2nd half of training block has been affected by the flu, covid, Injury So don't know what to expect but can't wait to do battle with myself again!!
Hey Mark! I’m from Minnesota, but in London for a few months with university and rowing. I train along this stretch of the Thames every day. Training to be above average! Keep up the vids!
Can't help but be inspired watching this. I set a new PB on my park run after finding your channel. Now have my first half marathon at the weekend. Ultra next year 🤔
Huge congratulations Mark. Throughout the video and posts on instagram I honestly thought you must have pulled out mid way. I couldn’t believe you finished that. That was some David Goggings motivation there. Probably my favourite video you have done and I would love to see you train and prepare properly for next year and smash it without breaking a sweat.
This was incredibly inspirational and motivational. Well done Mr RUclips Guy. I'm going to start couch to 5k (again!) this October and hoping to do many park runs to up my cardio fitness. Keep up the good work, we all appreciate it for kicking our butts into gear too!
Fantastic video, one of your best. As a runner I can’t fathom how you can do this with so little miles. Personally I’ve felt the pain of getting caught in the moment. I ran my first ever marathon last year. Should have been 3.15 ish. But did the first half in 1.28. Ok until 20ish miles then in a world of pain. Finished in 3:36. Keep it up!
Another great video Mark! Spot on about how those waves of feeling good soon turn into the ‘why am I doing this’ thoughts, but like you’ve said, never say never again…..in fact what about taking on one of the other routes action challenge do and getting Jen to take part with you? She did smash that 32km race earlier in the year, so what’s another 68km (70km really with the route distance 😄)
Incredible effort, 'well done' doesn't quite cut it! Watching you focus on your pain, then seeing you tap into your mental strength, made me want to recommend 'The Chimp Paradox' if you've not read it already? It's taken my mental strength to another level, helps deal with those dark moments!
I agree. I suffered a breakdown a few years ago and was in a permanent state of fear. Since then, i refuse to be controlled by my negative thoughts. When i get them, i defy them and just push harder. I have walked three ultra’s (unable to run due to a prolapsed disc and loss off curvature to the lower back) and although I’m in a lot of pain, I stay in the same mindset from start to finish. I do not allow my subconscious (chimp) to control my thoughts. I also suffer from chaffing, which felt like a cactus between my cheeks.
Amazing video - running isn’t always about hitting the best times but sometimes it’s about the mental strength. Your videos drive us amateurs and motivate us to do better. Great run with great results 🤘 I’m signed up for my first ultra next year - your videos and mantra of being better than average helped motivate me to focus & to do better
Great job! This is more a demonstration of mental fortitude (or insanity) then physical fitness :) Regarding the cramps what I've seen quite often during long hiking trips, were similar symptoms caused by a deficit of either potassium, magnesium or calcium and most often it was the calcium. Now I never go hiking without a vial either for me or for people that I might find stranded by the side of the trail. Normally electrolyte drinks don't have anything more then sodium.
Great vid. Genuinely useful to follow along the actual run with commentary during it and looking back. It was an epic achievement getting that finished. I have my first marathon coming up in October and having struggled with training during the heatwave in the UK but also wanting to come in under 4 hours, I'm feeling like my event might go something like this.....although I won't be cutting the toe box out of my Asics anytime soon 😲
An amount of Vaseline that would normally get me on a register killed me 😂😂 In all serious this was a fantastic watch and HUGE respect to you for even going it once let alone again with no training! Incredible! Keep up the fine work Sir!
What a superb channel Mark. As a 52year old whose been pretty active I always need help maintaining discipline. You are nailing it. Keen to get your thoughts on maintaining mobility, recovery, stretching etc. Keep it rolling mate.
Really good video. Well done I can’t believe you could keep going with all that going on. On a side note you should make a Spotify playlist if all the cheesy 80s and rocky music you listen to while running or just exercising. Well done once again.
@@Kelly_Ben reasonably well in the end. Thanks for asking. Foot held up ok for the most part and set a time of 2:22. I was targeting 2:25 and be happy under 2:30 so I'd call it a win. Can't walk very good now through.
Probably one of the best breakdowns Ive seen of what to expect when the phys-maths meets reality! Brilliant video-and real incentive to get out and train-love the channel!
Congratulations!!! Incredible race and video. I absolutely love your videos, you embody my own philosophies, x10. I've gotten ho- hum about undertrained 50ks, and think I'll need to step it up to undertrained 50 milers next year. 😆 So many are saying they'd love to see you tackle it again fully trained, but not me. That would take too much time away from your other activities, and wouldn't inspire me as much. Once you heal up and the pain is a memory, I'd love to see you do a HALF trained 100k! 😆
Hi Mark, big fan of the channel. Last year I did my first half marathon. In my neck of the woods there arent many, I missed the first one (April) due to an injury. I signed up to the second one (November) but got a calf injury about 3 weeks out. So I faced the prospect of doing the half with not alot of training. When I was about a week out, I searched "half marathon no training" which led me to your first video on this race. Your message of a level of underlying fitness was hugely encouraging (even though it wasnt an ultra I was doing). I would like you to consider taking this challenge on again though. With this one you went into it with an injury, you have stressed in other videos the importance of foot care AND that running has enough challenges as it is ( that one may have been about underwear). I think that if you hadn't had those injuries then it wouldn't have been so hard this time around. Regardless, thanks for the vids and the inspiration. I'm definitely going to jump over to join your Patreon. Keep up the good work!
Wow, what a perfect example of how when the body is completely and utterly ruined, it is always your head that either makes you stop or forces you to keep going. When you said that you were going to run to Jen, I genuinely felt a bit emotional! Huge well done!
This is just fantastically crazy. I spent most of the video thinking of your poor butchered toe. Being like the Simpsons meme with the kid crying saying he has had enough. But your determination to get to the end was epic. But like many others have said. A video with proper training and smashing your time is needed.
Love this video which I have been waiting for! Huge kudos to you for getting through what was a right sufferfest and providing the rest of us with a lot of entertainment. One thing I did wonder about is whether you might have found it helpful to stop running earlier, maybe around 60k, and power walk the rest (apart from a finish sprint 😃). You should be able to cover between 6 and 7 km per hour by power walking and it expends much less energy. It’s a shame you are determined to never do an ultra again, because with some real training I am sure you could do well (and suffer less!)
What an incredible feat and fun video. What I am most impressed with is your discipline to keep filming yourself and verbalising your thoughts in real time. The longest run I went on was 70k and from 50k onwards I was a stoic animal that couldn't be disturbed. Just focused on myself and the mission. I love and dread these moments. The closest I come to true meditation or another state of mind. I couldn't imagine talking to a GoPro in these moments and even if I did I don't think it would make a terrible lot of sense for anyone who isn't going through the same thing.
Amazing video Mark! A great storyteller as well as a phenomenal athlete, the determination it took to get through that pain is incredible and something I’ll think about next time I’m wanting to walk on a long run. Congratulations and thank you for sharing
More great content Mark, love the storytelling. Thought it seemed to be going ok to 50k then it fell apart big time, huge respect to you for getting to the finish, top PMA.
@@MarkLewisfitness not going to lie and say I was slightly concerned at the amount of holes you now have in your trainers! Have recently moved to minimalist and loving my Altras don’t think I could bring myself to cut holes in them.
I sat through this entire video, intrigued, sympathetic, and congratulatory for The RUclips Guy’s accomplishment. The ending literally had me laughing out loud, as many of The RUclips Guy’s videos often do. I’d really like to see what you can do, Mark, if you were to prepare properly for such a race. I understand not wanting to subject yourself to this again, but I can’t help think you’d have a completely different experience with proper preparation. Nonetheless, I find this impressive and motivating. Thanks for the entertainment. Thanks for the content. Thanks for the inspiration.
well, now i want to run an ultramarathon one day too. thanks for motivating me Mark. Maybe we will see each other in 3 or 4 years :D. youre an amazing inspiration to keep on running in this hobby
Congratulations brother! Amazing journey, bts story, and run! Inspiring to any avid runner. Nothing better than having someone at the finish line know you as “The RUclips Man”! Love this! Keep on the daily discipline 😊🎃🙌🏻
On a serious note - well done pushing through. Personally I find perseverance and completion after a major set back just as inspiring as setting a great result. Pretty sure you have zero interest at this point but I'd love to see what you could do at something like the Leadville 100. I bet you could absolutely crush it if it was worth the training disruption to you.
Well done Mark👍🏻 i really enjoied watching you finish your second 100k run and you definitly inspierd me to sign up for one as well. Keep up the good work and thanks for the Inspiration P.s. I know the feeling of haluzinating then while serving in the Army we had a breakout exercise and marched literally through day and knight and by the second knight i thought my buddy was walking right next to me and i shouted get back in line because i didnt want to do any punishment miles but he was in another group so i shouted in the dark
Well done Mark! What an achievement! This video helped me get through part of the 11km on the treadmill tonight making me realise I had nothing to moan about!
Wow! I watched the video of your race last year (same race) and have, since then, been very inspired to start running longer distances. Not only thanks to you obviously, but a significant reason for that is you. This follow-up run was much awaited and, from a story-telling perspective, it was fantastic! Even more inspired now 🙂 But that part of you not doing this again; no, I don’t think so. Why don’t you just prepare for next year? Would love to follow a sub-14 race report next year! You can do it 🤟🏻 Just wanted to say thank you for all the inspiration 🙏🏻
Great job Mark! I just ran a 6-day race last week... had some issues and finished at 550 K... those 100 Ks are really just taste nuggets of whats to come - stay above average! :)
Superb Mark, well done. As someone pretty convinced it's my head holding back my running rather than my training and prep, it's refreshing to watch someone who's the opposite! 😂
Mark this is fantastic content. Obviously you can't run ultras every week, or maybe ever again but I was genuinely rooting for you whilst watching. The video had actually serious suspense. Well done on the video and well done on the race
Probably my favourite video so far would love to see you do it after a decent training block. I've my first ultra (50k) in 10 days great motivation missed 4 weeks training through injury but had a solid 5 weeks back not sure I'll be above average after injury but I'll be happy to beat the cut offs
Enjoy last year's one and this year one looking forward to next year's one Have been running a few about 6 months now at over 100kg and have done 25km in about 3.45 looking forward to one day trying a ultra
If finishing is your goal, go for it!! If you are fit enough to run 25k, you're for enough to finish 50k. Check out Goku Runner too, he's a big dude who also ran a couple untrained 100ks.
Congrats on staying alive😅. Glad you found your glasses and thanks for the inspiration. I look forward to my own ultra marathon , at the moment getting ready for my first half marathon. Great work RUclips Man !!
I have had to do a similar thing with my toe before. Had to carve some skin out which got all the way down to blood vessels then pull my nail out and cut it down until it wasn't intruding on my toe anymore. Definitely not advised but quicker than weeks of NHS assessments to say it's ingrown and it's not hurt since really
Sunglasses UPDATE: if you haven’t watched the video, this will make no sense yet - but the sunglasses have been found! Do not go diving for them, because they aren’t there anymore 😁
Best part of the video😂
I've felt that sadness too - more than once 😞
Hahahahahhahahahha they weighed the consequences lol!
Only 5 minutes in and the tension is building like a well-written 80s thriller. The record-scratch freeze-frame intro, the multiple plot strands of foot pain and Garmin / Course marker discrepancy threatening the hero's journey. Love it when a plan (totally fails) to come together.
I f***ing love this channel, easily my favourite fitness related RUclipsr. You and Jen are so down to earth, it's refreshing to hear about the great and equally terrible moments of your training, with a hefty side of brilliant sarcasm:). Thanks for keeping it real!
You were one of my biggest inspirations for getting under 20 on a 5k. I thought, if he can do it I can do it, and it worked. 19:38 and now I have a passion for running. Thank you so much!
That mf is ripped and fit. Just because he can do it, doesn't mean everyone else can 😂
Wow that's an awesome display of mental strength to make the finish line, I was surprised you said you wouldn't try the race again, with a good training camp and 90 kg body weight you would be well within 14 hrs. Thanks for inspiring us 50 somethings Mark that was right up there with Rocky 3-4 training montage for motivation 👏
Never say never 😂
@@MarkLewisfitness never ;)
NO PAIN!
It was the thought of having to do it a third time that got him to the end.
I ran 4km in 28 minutes yesterday. Final week of C25K. I've never been able to run before and have failed C25K three times. This time I'm nearly done but and loving it!.
C25K is a great running target, every time I fall off the wagon (which is too often to mention but less than the number of times I’ve got back on and that what counts!) it’s my go to target! Keep going and you’ve love setting that PB 5k!
You didn't FAIL C25K, you built up to success! Congrats on your 5k!! It's a great program, I've used it a few times myself!
40:50 "No I will not ever ever ever do it again" - Setting my reminder for next year this time ;)
A neck injury has all but stopped my heavy lifting career at 31 years old. I’ve felt lost and without anything to do to challenge myself physically.
Found your channel recently after getting recommended the first 100k run and you’re an inspiration. Going to start my running journey and can’t wait!
Made me genuinely tear up there toward the end. “10 k left. Jen is there waiting for me”. meanwhile I’m pissed that I can’t play my ps5 couse I cut my finger.
I get to 95k....and love you for life brother lol lol.... You're a legend mate 💪💪💪💪
So I gather you are above average in: height, 5K running, Hyrox competition, Ultra Running and many other things that I am unaware of. Shoot you even have an above average wife (talking about the Hyrox competition). But in all honesty you have an above average YT channel (I mean you are known as the YT Man). Your documentaries along with your humor, and video editing are both entertaining and motivating. When I run the next day after watching one of your videos, I tend to run... above average (for a nursing home).
How cool is it that those Dudes showed up with proper theme music and cheered you on. Good on them and Good on you Mark for putting yourself through another ultra marathon- without much training.
I had totally forgot about the adrenal shock when I finished my ultra until I watched this!
I ran a very hot, very hilly 57km, I had bonked at halfway and took over twice as long on the second half. My last 1km felt great, ran the whole km, pain was gone. As soon as I crossed the line I felt sick. I barely made it 5 steps to the woman handing me a medal. I leant on a table for a few seconds before literally crawling to the nearest shady spot and crying.
oh boy the motivation you give me to run. I started a month and a half ago with the goal of being able to just run a 5k in october (its early august when im writing this), im 8 weeks into the journey and im hooked! but the first 3 or 4 weeks was so rough i didnt want to put the running shoes on just thinking about it, now i want to run everyday thanks to you. keep up the good work, Mark!
When fitness reaches psycho proportions: perform at-home surgery days before an extreme endurance race that you haven’t trained for, alter your running shoes, and ignore severe pain.
That is serious metal. Much respect. Chafing is seriously excruciating when it is severe.
Illuminating watch! What an achievement. Myself and a friend just signed up for the 2nd half 50k in 2024. Got a long training path ahead of us.
Shoutout PJDN squad 👐
Great video Mark!!
😂The old “let’s do some maths” followed up with a “what could go wrong” is one of my favorites as well
Nothing like the “never again” craic post-ultra that gets conveniently forgotten about a couple weeks later 😂
Great work mate!
So true. I binned my trainers after I finished, never to do another..... Fast forward 10 months and stood on the start line about to do it all again! 🤣
25:15 When the right toe decided to join the party. LoL. True grit seeing it through to the end and I'll take that with me when I'm on my next pain run!
Another great watch, thanks. Interesting re. distance markers - I completed the Peak District Ultra Challenge 100km in the summer and actually did 114km and there's no way I walked 14km round the aid stations!!
As someone approaching 50 who's late in life to fitness I find your channel hugely motivational. Your pain is literally our gain. Keep it up your an absolute machine. 💪🏼
I've watched a *lot* of ultramarathon videos, and yours is the best at conveying the incredible pain you go through, and how frustrating and downright weird it is when your body fails on you. Congrats on the race and thanks for the great vid!
Another fab video Mark, you are always on point. I have been doing all this endurance nonsense stuff for 38 years now! Firstly a runner marathons, half marathons 10ks all sorts of stuff the for the last 30 a triathlete, and yes very often in the middle of whatever you're doing you think. Why the hell am I doing this stupid stuff! This endurance stuff hurts like hell at times. I have never won anything just doing it for the sheer hell of saying I did that went there and got the medal and the T-shirt. And the satisfaction of knowing that even without a win, you are still way above average for even completing the vast amount of training required, let alone actually finishing whatever it was you were doing. As most ordinary folk could not even begin to contemplate such feats. Great watch Mark.
Thanks David
Hey Mark, I REALLY love your content. I’m a road and ultra runner who is 5’7, 105kgs. I haven’t run a 100km, but my 50k time is 5 hours 17 minutes. I’m currently training for a marathon with hopes of sub 4 hours. I find as long as my training stays consistent, and my nutrition is absolutely on point, I avoid hitting walls.
You are an absolute rockstar for this video.
Can’t believe this was a 40 minute video it felt like the time flew by! Great content as always
The thought comes to mind, that you are -just ever so slightly - stubborn! ...and/or delusional towards the end of the "run".
Putting on vaseline at the last rest area "nearly passing out" (from pain, I imagine)... and still intenting to pick up pace.
SO inspiring, SO crazy, SO brave. Love it!
"Passing out, that would be inconvenient!" Great comment to make at that stage, it shows the brain was still working. Well done on an amazing performance. My longest run is 31.5 km, and that was enough for me.
Really enjoy watching your videos. Not even a runner, just love how open and accessible the videos are with a "warts and all" transparency to them, just comes across as more real and relatable than a lot of other content. Keep up the great work 🙂
Great work! As a runner, it would be cool to see you do this event again next year but with training. You could talk a lot about how the training has changed how you feel at certain points in the race ("last year I was dying, now I'm feeling fine..."), improved performance etc. I've heard training for events can help, but who knows 😁
Agreed, Nick.
Can't wait to see how you get on in the next ultra... hahah we all know it's not the end.
Congrats for pushing throughhh!!!!!!
I’m getting too old for that nonsense. 😂 There is an increasing risk of actual death with each passing year ……. Although, views are good so you never know 🤣
You should definitely do this again, but next time train specifically for it, and see if you can break the top 50! 🏃
He's 100% doing it again.
That was by far my favorite video of yours to include all the ones with Nixon. I really have no idea how you push yourself so hard. Congratulations on finishing, surviving, and the PB!
Mark: “20K in apart from everything hurting, we will talk about that later, everything is fine” 😆😆 the eternal optimist, I love it.
Distances on certified races refer to the shortest possible route (hitting the apex on corners) plus a little bit (10m in a 10k for example) to just make sure the course is at least the advertised distance - go wide on some corners, cut around some other runners, nip into the woods for a poo, and you'll soon find a mismatch between watch and markers on even a half marathon. Add in a couple of satellite blips and really a 2-3% difference in accuracy between a bloke on a calibrated bike and radio waves going to space and back isn't that bad.
Probably feels pretty bad when you run it though. Well done. Saw you at 50k and you looked pretty strong still. Top 100 is very impressive.
My favourite so far, love how chipper you look at the start and then slowly watching the wheels come off! Incredible effort at the end to get yourself running. I think the positive reaction to the video comes from the the drama of your battle against human frailty or maybe it’s just enjoying watching you suffer ;)
The pure motivation when you sad your mind wasn't done and you started giving it all and not giving up to beat last year's time. Actual chills! That was a quick 40 mins of ups and downs. We'll done
Wow, this is just amazing that you finished this. I wish you you a speedy recovery.
Loved this. And glad you didn't try to cut the video to a shorter length. Well worth the whole 42 minutes. It's actually made me want to train for it next year. Never ran further than a marathon but seeing you do it has made me think I can too, so cheers. And well played. I think what you proved is it takes a base level of fitness and shit tonne of mental strength to complete something so barmy.
Dude! I just completed my first 100km this past weekend. I feel ya man it's just crazy wild. I'm impressed you filmed through it
It's always good to know that I'm not the only one who does stupid sh*t to my body. But it's good inspiration to keep moving ahead, step by step, and get the job done. Good on you. Thanks Mark.
This week’s episode is sponsored by Vasoline, not Squarespace!
What an inspirational 10k finish to your race!!! Thank you for continued powerful content!! 💪🏽💪🏽
Such an honest and self effacing video. I've only recently discovered your channel, and have been catching up on several of the videos. I can empathise with the pushing on through the bouts of negativity, pain and fatigue as I ran a few back in the 1980's. When things got really bad I'd ask myself " does this hurt as much as toothache? " and the answer was always " No ".
As for distance, I once did a 100k in Solihull which consisted of 20 x 5K laps of a large housing estate which had a Sport Centre and running track. It was pre Garmin. I thought I was haveing a really bad one, when the lap recorders did a final check they realised they'd sent me round on an extra loop 😮
Great story, good description of the phases you went through, as an average ultra trail runner myself, i fully understand and sympathise.
Quite possibly your best video yet! There was a real low point there where you were incredibly close to jacking it in, you do amazingly well to get through that and persevere, hopefully the calf, toes et al heal up soon.
Amazing tenacity! Good on ya for getting through it! I'm running the Chicago marathon in a few weeks, I will use your race as some inspiration.🏃♀🏃♀🏃♀🏃♀
My husband and I did “The wall” ratrace event in June, you should give that one a go! It’s 70 miles across haidrians wall. Oh yeah we didn’t train either. It’s amazing what your brain can force your body to do. Your hyrox training and general base fitness is enough to get you through 100k. Well done on beating your time 🥂👏
This was the most riveting watch. Strange as that sounds, with all the pain you were enduring.
I felt with you all the way.
Your ultra effort speaks volumes for your tenacity and grit. Well done Mark.
Talk about the loneliness of the long distance runner!
I remember reading of author Richard Askwith’s attempt on the Bob Graham round in the Lake District. It enveloped me in a kind of longing to experience it myself! Albeit a bit late in the day really for a bloke racing his first marathon aged 50, and his second the Beachy head marathon at 52. I opted for some smaller goals instead, namely a handful of fell races, and a run up and down Ben Nevis shortly before two hip replacements.
For a bloke your height and weight, an ultra really is an endurance event, as your diminishing times over increasing distances testify.
You should feel really proud for that 100 k, it really is an astonishing feat.
Did you really do a rowing time trial the day before that ultra? Or did I dream that?
You’re a star Mark! Nice going champ!
"There is some swearing as things progress" : sums up my own running quite succinctly.
Amazing result, that distance is frankly terrifying.
Awesome job. We were on holiday in the middle of the highlands with shitty internet so was very much looking forward to seeing this. I'm tempted to do the 50km next year. I started the training on holiday and ran my first half marathon distance. Just over 2 hours so happy with that.
Way to go Mark!! Good gutsy effort mate
I've got my 2nd 100k in 4weeks (1st was 2019) same course
2nd half of training block has been affected by the flu, covid, Injury
So don't know what to expect but can't wait to do battle with myself again!!
Hey Mark! I’m from Minnesota, but in London for a few months with university and rowing. I train along this stretch of the Thames every day. Training to be above average! Keep up the vids!
That's climbing into the hurt locker and then rolling it into the pain cave, man. Huge respect from an equally heavy/bulky old bloke
This has to be one of the best channels on RUclips...always entertaining!
Can't help but be inspired watching this. I set a new PB on my park run after finding your channel. Now have my first half marathon at the weekend. Ultra next year 🤔
Huge congratulations Mark. Throughout the video and posts on instagram I honestly thought you must have pulled out mid way. I couldn’t believe you finished that. That was some David Goggings motivation there. Probably my favourite video you have done and I would love to see you train and prepare properly for next year and smash it without breaking a sweat.
This was incredibly inspirational and motivational. Well done Mr RUclips Guy. I'm going to start couch to 5k (again!) this October and hoping to do many park runs to up my cardio fitness. Keep up the good work, we all appreciate it for kicking our butts into gear too!
Fantastic video, one of your best.
As a runner I can’t fathom how you can do this with so little miles.
Personally I’ve felt the pain of getting caught in the moment. I ran my first ever marathon last year. Should have been 3.15 ish. But did the first half in 1.28. Ok until 20ish miles then in a world of pain. Finished in 3:36.
Keep it up!
Another great video Mark! Spot on about how those waves of feeling good soon turn into the ‘why am I doing this’ thoughts, but like you’ve said, never say never again…..in fact what about taking on one of the other routes action challenge do and getting Jen to take part with you? She did smash that 32km race earlier in the year, so what’s another 68km (70km really with the route distance 😄)
Your welcome Mark! Ooh a potential prize? Acknowledged!
Incredible effort, 'well done' doesn't quite cut it! Watching you focus on your pain, then seeing you tap into your mental strength, made me want to recommend 'The Chimp Paradox' if you've not read it already? It's taken my mental strength to another level, helps deal with those dark moments!
Got it!!!!! My inner chimp took over 😂
I agree. I suffered a breakdown a few years ago and was in a permanent state of fear. Since then, i refuse to be controlled by my negative thoughts. When i get them, i defy them and just push harder. I have walked three ultra’s (unable to run due to a prolapsed disc and loss off curvature to the lower back) and although I’m in a lot of pain, I stay in the same mindset from start to finish. I do not allow my subconscious (chimp) to control my thoughts. I also suffer from chaffing, which felt like a cactus between my cheeks.
Amazing video - running isn’t always about hitting the best times but sometimes it’s about the mental strength. Your videos drive us amateurs and motivate us to do better. Great run with great results 🤘 I’m signed up for my first ultra next year - your videos and mantra of being better than average helped motivate me to focus & to do better
Great job! This is more a demonstration of mental fortitude (or insanity) then physical fitness :)
Regarding the cramps what I've seen quite often during long hiking trips, were similar symptoms caused by a deficit of either potassium, magnesium or calcium and most often it was the calcium. Now I never go hiking without a vial either for me or for people that I might find stranded by the side of the trail. Normally electrolyte drinks don't have anything more then sodium.
Great vid. Genuinely useful to follow along the actual run with commentary during it and looking back. It was an epic achievement getting that finished. I have my first marathon coming up in October and having struggled with training during the heatwave in the UK but also wanting to come in under 4 hours, I'm feeling like my event might go something like this.....although I won't be cutting the toe box out of my Asics anytime soon 😲
An amount of Vaseline that would normally get me on a register killed me 😂😂 In all serious this was a fantastic watch and HUGE respect to you for even going it once let alone again with no training! Incredible!
Keep up the fine work Sir!
I actually took a small bit and then when the guy looked away to do some first aid on somebody else, I grabbed a load more and ran off 😂
@@MarkLewisfitness ran off? You sure about that? 😄
@@mattdailey1702 hobbled away?
@@MarkLewisfitness Lol - no double dipping I hope !!
@@JibbaJabber They provided little wooden spatulas!!!
What a superb channel Mark. As a 52year old whose been pretty active I always need help maintaining discipline. You are nailing it. Keen to get your thoughts on maintaining mobility, recovery, stretching etc. Keep it rolling mate.
Mark, just came across your channel (not in that way) and loving it. This was my fav vid so far. Bloody awesome! You have a few more Sydney fans now 😊
Really good video. Well done I can’t believe you could keep going with all that going on. On a side note you should make a Spotify playlist if all the cheesy 80s and rocky music you listen to while running or just exercising. Well done once again.
Amazing effort!! You’re a brave man for displaying this to all of us while having a great sense of humour!!
Running my first half marathon Saturday. Right foot started bugging me Sunday and refusing to get better. I feel ya. Great work!
How'd it go!?
@@Kelly_Ben reasonably well in the end. Thanks for asking. Foot held up ok for the most part and set a time of 2:22. I was targeting 2:25 and be happy under 2:30 so I'd call it a win. Can't walk very good now through.
@@jonheizer That's incredible, congrats!! Time to sign up for another! 😆
Probably one of the best breakdowns Ive seen of what to expect when the phys-maths meets reality! Brilliant video-and real incentive to get out and train-love the channel!
Thanks Ryan 💪
Congratulations!!! Incredible race and video. I absolutely love your videos, you embody my own philosophies, x10. I've gotten ho- hum about undertrained 50ks, and think I'll need to step it up to undertrained 50 milers next year. 😆 So many are saying they'd love to see you tackle it again fully trained, but not me. That would take too much time away from your other activities, and wouldn't inspire me as much. Once you heal up and the pain is a memory, I'd love to see you do a HALF trained 100k! 😆
Hi Mark, big fan of the channel. Last year I did my first half marathon. In my neck of the woods there arent many, I missed the first one (April) due to an injury. I signed up to the second one (November) but got a calf injury about 3 weeks out. So I faced the prospect of doing the half with not alot of training.
When I was about a week out, I searched "half marathon no training" which led me to your first video on this race. Your message of a level of underlying fitness was hugely encouraging (even though it wasnt an ultra I was doing).
I would like you to consider taking this challenge on again though. With this one you went into it with an injury, you have stressed in other videos the importance of foot care AND that running has enough challenges as it is ( that one may have been about underwear). I think that if you hadn't had those injuries then it wouldn't have been so hard this time around.
Regardless, thanks for the vids and the inspiration. I'm definitely going to jump over to join your Patreon. Keep up the good work!
Wow, what a perfect example of how when the body is completely and utterly ruined, it is always your head that either makes you stop or forces you to keep going. When you said that you were going to run to Jen, I genuinely felt a bit emotional! Huge well done!
This is just fantastically crazy. I spent most of the video thinking of your poor butchered toe. Being like the Simpsons meme with the kid crying saying he has had enough. But your determination to get to the end was epic. But like many others have said. A video with proper training and smashing your time is needed.
Love this video which I have been waiting for! Huge kudos to you for getting through what was a right sufferfest and providing the rest of us with a lot of entertainment. One thing I did wonder about is whether you might have found it helpful to stop running earlier, maybe around 60k, and power walk the rest (apart from a finish sprint 😃). You should be able to cover between 6 and 7 km per hour by power walking and it expends much less energy. It’s a shame you are determined to never do an ultra again, because with some real training I am sure you could do well (and suffer less!)
That was amazing Mark and can't be lieve you finished! That was proper Goggins level grit. STAY HARD and thank you for inspiring us to do better.
What an incredible feat and fun video. What I am most impressed with is your discipline to keep filming yourself and verbalising your thoughts in real time. The longest run I went on was 70k and from 50k onwards I was a stoic animal that couldn't be disturbed. Just focused on myself and the mission. I love and dread these moments. The closest I come to true meditation or another state of mind. I couldn't imagine talking to a GoPro in these moments and even if I did I don't think it would make a terrible lot of sense for anyone who isn't going through the same thing.
It actually helps to take my mind off the pain when I am thinking what to say to camera. So it helps - sort of 🤣
When I did a 50k with no training for the hour or more I just gabbled to anyone and everyone although I am usually not a talker to strangers!
This exact thing happened to me too, during a 5K race.
Amazing video Mark! A great storyteller as well as a phenomenal athlete, the determination it took to get through that pain is incredible and something I’ll think about next time I’m wanting to walk on a long run. Congratulations and thank you for sharing
Brilliant, great story telling and epic effort.
Thanks. My storytelling is somewhat ahead of my running 🤣
More great content Mark, love the storytelling. Thought it seemed to be going ok to 50k then it fell apart big time, huge respect to you for getting to the finish, top PMA.
There was a definite degradation of performance after halfway 🤣
@@MarkLewisfitness not going to lie and say I was slightly concerned at the amount of holes you now have in your trainers! Have recently moved to minimalist and loving my Altras don’t think I could bring myself to cut holes in them.
I sat through this entire video, intrigued, sympathetic, and congratulatory for The RUclips Guy’s accomplishment. The ending literally had me laughing out loud, as many of The RUclips Guy’s videos often do.
I’d really like to see what you can do, Mark, if you were to prepare properly for such a race. I understand not wanting to subject yourself to this again, but I can’t help think you’d have a completely different experience with proper preparation. Nonetheless, I find this impressive and motivating. Thanks for the entertainment. Thanks for the content. Thanks for the inspiration.
well, now i want to run an ultramarathon one day too. thanks for motivating me Mark. Maybe we will see each other in 3 or 4 years :D. youre an amazing inspiration to keep on running in this hobby
Congratulations brother! Amazing journey, bts story, and run! Inspiring to any avid runner. Nothing better than having someone at the finish line know you as “The RUclips Man”! Love this! Keep on the daily discipline 😊🎃🙌🏻
On a serious note - well done pushing through. Personally I find perseverance and completion after a major set back just as inspiring as setting a great result. Pretty sure you have zero interest at this point but I'd love to see what you could do at something like the Leadville 100. I bet you could absolutely crush it if it was worth the training disruption to you.
Watching the pain was beautiful. Thank you for this inspiration.
Well done Mark👍🏻 i really enjoied watching you finish your second 100k run and you definitly inspierd me to sign up for one as well. Keep up the good work and thanks for the Inspiration
P.s. I know the feeling of haluzinating then while serving in the Army we had a breakout exercise and marched literally through day and knight and by the second knight i thought my buddy was walking right next to me and i shouted get back in line because i didnt want to do any punishment miles
but he was in another group so i shouted in the dark
Well done Mark! What an achievement! This video helped me get through part of the 11km on the treadmill tonight making me realise I had nothing to moan about!
Wow! I watched the video of your race last year (same race) and have, since then, been very inspired to start running longer distances. Not only thanks to you obviously, but a significant reason for that is you. This follow-up run was much awaited and, from a story-telling perspective, it was fantastic! Even more inspired now 🙂
But that part of you not doing this again; no, I don’t think so. Why don’t you just prepare for next year? Would love to follow a sub-14 race report next year! You can do it 🤟🏻
Just wanted to say thank you for all the inspiration 🙏🏻
Great job Mark! I just ran a 6-day race last week... had some issues and finished at 550 K... those 100 Ks are really just taste nuggets of whats to come - stay above average! :)
Totally agree with your comment about pain and. Confidence coming in waves
Great film, couldn’t stop watching. My lunch break is well past finished. Bravo
Sorry - my ultra run videos are always a bit long 😆
Thats some effort Mark. Think a lot of people wouldn't have started it so well done for getting through!
Superb Mark, well done. As someone pretty convinced it's my head holding back my running rather than my training and prep, it's refreshing to watch someone who's the opposite! 😂
Love the sarcasm throughout the video man. Glad I found this channel, new subscriber. Cheers
Mark this is fantastic content. Obviously you can't run ultras every week, or maybe ever again but I was genuinely rooting for you whilst watching. The video had actually serious suspense. Well done on the video and well done on the race
Probably my favourite video so far would love to see you do it after a decent training block. I've my first ultra (50k) in 10 days great motivation missed 4 weeks training through injury but had a solid 5 weeks back not sure I'll be above average after injury but I'll be happy to beat the cut offs
Best of luck!! You'll smash it!!
Enjoy last year's one and this year one looking forward to next year's one
Have been running a few about 6 months now at over 100kg and have done 25km in about 3.45 looking forward to one day trying a ultra
If finishing is your goal, go for it!! If you are fit enough to run 25k, you're for enough to finish 50k. Check out Goku Runner too, he's a big dude who also ran a couple untrained 100ks.
Congrats on staying alive😅. Glad you found your glasses and thanks for the inspiration. I look forward to my own ultra marathon , at the moment getting ready for my first half marathon.
Great work RUclips Man !!
I have had to do a similar thing with my toe before. Had to carve some skin out which got all the way down to blood vessels then pull my nail out and cut it down until it wasn't intruding on my toe anymore. Definitely not advised but quicker than weeks of NHS assessments to say it's ingrown and it's not hurt since really