Man runs entire Tour de France route
Man needed to average 30 miles per day; finishes three days ahead of schedule
Man needed to average 30 miles per day; finishes three days ahead of schedule
The Tour de France is a beast of a bike race. Over the course of 23 days, the riders climb through the Alps and Pyrenees mountain ranges, completing 21 stages and logging a total of 2,082 miles.
It바카라 게임 웹사이트s a heck of a course on a bike 바카라 게임 웹사이트 but what if you were to try to make the trek on foot?
It sounds crazy, but one British runner has done just that. On May 19, Peter Thompson, of Bournemouth, England, set out to run the exact entirety of the Tour바카라 게임 웹사이트s course. On Wednesday, after 68 days of running, he finished it successfully 바카라 게임 웹사이트 three days ahead of schedule. The cyclists finished their race on July 29.
Thompson is the second person to run the Tour바카라 게임 웹사이트s entire course. American runner became the first to do so in 2013.
Testing running boundaries isn바카라 게임 웹사이트t something new for Thompson. After scoring a 2:25 marathon PB, he hit a running block. He spent every second of his day obsessing over times, his training and what he was eating.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I stopped enjoying running,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thompson says. 바카라 게임 웹사이트I needed a break.바카라 게임 웹사이트
He decided it wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t so much that he needed to stop running, but that he needed to find a different direction for it 바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thompson wanted the focus to be less about times, and more about the pure joy of pounding the pavement every day.
So he devised his first challenge: running a marathon in every European country on consecutive days. Thompson ran a marathon every day for 44 days in each one of the 44 countries in Europe, and donated the $25,000 he raised for mental health support and awareness. He finished that challenge about a year ago.
Thompson enjoyed exploring Europe in such an atypical way, and was touched by all of the people he encountered who ran with and supported him throughout the journey. When the time came to come up with a next test, he immediately thought of the Tour.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I love the Tour de France,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thompson says. 바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트ve been following it the last four years. It바카라 게임 웹사이트s just an iconic event. I love the scenery that the route goes through, and I love the teamwork involved.바카라 게임 웹사이트
About six months out from the start of his Tour challenge, he began to prep. He slowly ramped up his mileage, until he was consistently running 80 to 90 miles a week. Because the course consists of crazy hills 바카라 게임 웹사이트 which he anticipated to be the hardest part of the challenge 바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thompson also included a lot of hill training and gym work to strengthen his legs.
His training paid off. He averaged about 30 miles a day, sometimes up to 35, at a 9- to 10-minute per mile pace. But getting used to that sheer number of miles was the hardest part.
바카라 게임 웹사이트You don바카라 게임 웹사이트t run 30 miles a day even when you train a lot,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Thompson says. 바카라 게임 웹사이트You have to adjust physically and mentally. Every day, I have the muscle soreness as if I바카라 게임 웹사이트ve just run a marathon, and I바카라 게임 웹사이트m really tired and hurting. I cannot think, I바카라 게임 웹사이트ve got X number of days left. Every day is a bonus. Every day I바카라 게임 웹사이트m out here is a blessing.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Each day, he woke up at 6 a.m., traveled to the start line and ran his 30 or so miles, stopping here and there for small water or food breaks provided by his girlfriend, who had traveled with him for the entirety of the challenge. Afterward, he iced his feet and legs, downed about 6,000 calories 바카라 게임 웹사이트 lots of pasta, Clif Bars, chocolate and brioche 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and headed to bed early to begin it all over again the next day. Sometimes that was in an actual bed, like at a hotel, a friend바카라 게임 웹사이트s place or a mobile home, but other times, it was at a campsite.
While the schedule was grueling, this doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t seem like it바카라 게임 웹사이트s going to be Thompson바카라 게임 웹사이트s last challenge. He doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t know what바카라 게임 웹사이트s on the docket next, but he바카라 게임 웹사이트s really enjoyed experiencing different countries, meeting different people and learning about himself.
He바카라 게임 웹사이트s also solidified his charity fund and mental health awareness program with a name: 바카라 게임 웹사이트Marathons for the Mind.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Through social media, he바카라 게임 웹사이트s been able to spread awareness not only for his Tour running challenge, but, perhaps even more importantly to him, his cause.
Throughout his journey, he had been posting pictures and videos of what he바카라 게임 웹사이트s doing and why he바카라 게임 웹사이트s doing it on his,, and, where he links to the and shares his goal of raising 20,000 pounds for mental health support and awareness 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that바카라 게임 웹사이트s one thousand more pounds than his last challenge raised. Thompson hopes this visibility will also help spark crucial conversations focusing on mental health.
As for his next journey? It바카라 게임 웹사이트s still too soon to tell, but we can be sure there will be a new challenge in his future soon 바카라 게임 웹사이트 we바카라 게임 웹사이트ll just have to wait and see what it is.