Hi,

I was going to write about the TAC in detail but as I’m writing a book about it, you’ll have to wait for a little while…but I promise that it will be worth it,

Just over two weeks ago, I appeared on the BBC 1, One Show, the second night in a row that they had covered my Trans-American Challenge.  To be honest, I was extremely nervous about sitting on the couch next to Michael Palin and Alexander Armstrong. However, I needn’t have worried as both Michael and Alexander as well as all the guys at the BBC made me feel very welcome.  The feedback and reaction both in the Parkinson’s community and wider public has been quite astonishing and so far to date, almost £13,000 has been raised as a consequence.  I cannot thank everyone who donated but please be assured that I am extremely grateful to each and every one of you and humbled by the generosity shown. Thank you so much.

The TAC was truly epic and I am (I believe) the first person to traverse the USA using four different disciplines. I had hoped to use five but the US Parks Service at Liberty Island wouldn’t let me exit the water there. I was disappointed but to be honest, I was so shattered by the time I got to NYC that I might not have been able to complete the swim…so they may have actually done me a favour. Who knows eh?

Although, I crossed the USA, I did not do it alone. To achieve such an incredible distance I needed a experienced support team.  I feel that I had the best and huge thanks and appreciation are rightly due to a bunch of fantastic volunteers, thrown together at the last minute and who showed resilience, professionalism and camaraderie. However, it still didn’t prevent them for telling me off when I needed it!!! To all my support crew, I owe you a debt of gratitude for keeping me alive and making the TAC the adventure that it was:

Mark (Sharky) Howlett

Larry Watson

Sean Colman

David Lui

Janelle Craig

Bill Davies

Sam Fox and

Joe Coulson and Phil Holmes from the BBC (who also became honoree TAC crew!!!)

Thanks also to the families of all my crew for agreeing to them being away for such a long time.  Cheers to Bernard (Larry’s cousin, for giving us a place to crash before the start, the advice, bike rack and a hunting knife).

Massive thanks also to Duct Tape Docs, Dr. Wortley, Air Ambulance New Zealand, Virginia Beach Lifeguards, Bloc Bikes  (Lancaster CA), Nate at Wheat Ridge Cyclery (Denver, CO), the irrepressible Karl Wooley, the fabulous legal assistance provided by Messrs Husch Blackwell LLP, Cynergy PT, Russ Cox, Ian at Orca, the enthusiasm and belief of Peter Emina, Jer O’Mahony, Rob and Filipe at Athlete Service and not forgetting David Brown for getting my head in the game!!!!!

However, none of this would have happened without the belief and support of my sponsors (please see the sponsor page at www.alexflynn.co.uk for more info) but in particular:

Volkswagen (Volkswagen America) – for providing the fantastic Touaregs and your continued support! Your vehicles rock!

Orbea – for providing two SDi2 bikes (awesome does not come close to describe how good these bikes are). The bike clothing was amazing too!

Clorox – for funding the RV and fuel. You gave me and my crew a place to rest and great cleaning products to keep clean and infection free!

Saucony – for the best footwear and clothing to run Death Valley

OMM – for jackets and footwear that really work on the mountain!!!

BikeBox – for 2 bikeboxes and the warm bike kit! They work they’re great – use this company’s products.

Buff – the piece of kit that I will always have in my expedition kit!

Garmin – for GPS kit that really, really works and currently helping me calculate my route distance. Particularly the 910XT!

OpticNerve – eyewear that did the job brilliantly and looked cool. Thank you!

Activ-VIII – for providing physio treatment and getting me from massive injury to being able to undertake and complete the TAC!

And lastly, but definitely not least, the deVere Group – who financed the TAC.  You kickstarted the TAC into life with your belief and support. Without the deVere Group’s involvement the TAC would not have got off the ground. Thank you!!!

I could not raise the awareness of and funds for a cure for Parkinson’s that I have (to date) without the help, belief and assistance of my sponsors, who are also spreading the word too!  Please give them your support and visit their websites via my sponsor page http://www.alexflynn.co.uk/the-sponsors

There will be a full review of the kit I used including what worked and what was not so hot, so watch this space!

That’s it for now…I am going to go and make plans…if you’d like to catch up on the TAC coverage by the BBC, please go to the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpr13u7B-Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDpQfk19esU

Keep moving!

Hi all,

It’s that time of year again; the time of year when seasoned runners mix with first-time marathon virgins to run the 26.2 miles of the London Marathon. Why am I writing about this?  Well I went to the Marathon Expo in London yesterday and I got thinking about my first marathon and how so much has changed between then and now.

26.2 miles is not to be sniffed at. It’s a hard distance and one which should not be undertaken lightly. The London Marathon was my first marathon race. I can recall the day in 2006 clearly as if it were yesterday. Things had not been easy for me leading up to the start line. Only 10 months earlier I had suffered an enormous crash on my mountain bike; separating my shoulder, breaking my rib cage and puncturing both my lungs. The last thing on my mind, as I sat there on the Ridgeway slowly becoming hypoxic, was any thought of running. In fact, the thing that took up most of my thoughts, as the morphine numbed my system, was the fact that I wanted to dance with the female paramedic who was trying to lead me across a field to the waiting helicopter that would whisk me away to the John Radcliffe Hospital, thus saving my life.  This was accompanied some eight month later, by me breaking my third metatarsal in a 10k training race the January before the London Marathon.  Things were not going right in my preparation for my first marathon!!

26.2 miles!  It was the furthest that I had ever thought about running and I was nervous. I was also cold!  I think that God was not happy with me urinating on the rose bushes in Greenwich Park (to be fair, I was not the only one and the queue was enormous) and the rain came down.  It was freezing and completely caught me off guard.  I should have brought a plastic bag/bin liner to wear prior to the race.  These are easy to remove and keep you warm and also they cost nothing like a jumper or coat.  But the rain was not meant to last and soon I was queueing up at the indicated point that I believed represented my finish time.  I think I chose four hours.

My foot had mended as much as it was ever going to by the start of the race and I was hopeful that I could make the distance.  The start of the race found me to be exceptionally calm as I stared ahead towards the line of people moving and pushing their way out of Greenwich Park; onto the closed roads of London.  The run seemed to pass in a blur, as I wound my way across Tower Bridge, turning right towards the Isle of Dogs.  However, I did note several things. The first was the enthusiasm of the crowd.  It was electric, addictive and also resonated happiness and support. I’d never experienced anything like it, which was handy because, passing the Cutty Sark, I sprained my left ankle which meant that the right leg became dominant. This would not have been a problem but for the fact that my right foot was the one that I had broken! By 15 miles I was in agony; every footfall felt like an iron nail being pushed into the foot repeatedly!

The lonely stretch from me was the Isle of Dogs.   I felt tired and in pain and also being psyched out by the elite runners already leaving the Isle of Dogs and heading towards the finishing line.  It was at this point that I met a fellow runner (also running for the Antony Nolan trust) whose name is Quentin Somerset and whom I still consider to be a good friend to this very day.  Quent motivated me to dig deeper into my resolve to finish this long-distance; and persevere I did.  I pushed myself across the cobbled streets and out of the Isle of Dogs and onto the Embankment. It was then I hit the wall.

My legs felt heavier than lead and my feet were a mass of pain; each footfall was now like walking on fire and to top it all I had run out of energy.  It was at this point that a passing runner threw a carbohydrate gel at me with the words, “Get it down you!”   The gel had the effect of rocket fuel. POW!  I’d never used one before but I was glad that I did!

Taking the gel was a good move. I felt back on form and soon the Houses of Parliament rose up before me with a wall of cheering people in front.   The route bore right and headed across Parliament Square. This was it!  I was 600 yards away from finishing.  I was shattered but my mind was fixed on the finish line as I followed the curve of the road around, again to the right, and onto the Royal Mall.  I wanted, desperately, to ease off as the foot was just unbearable.  However, I had had “ALEX” printed on the front of my race shirt and some good-looking girls were shouting out my name.  I pushed forward towards the line keen to not look feeble with my broken foot.  Just then another runner came up fast just behind my right shoulder; straining to get every ounce of energy utilised in getting himself across the line.   I don’t know what happened, but a voice in my head said, “Not today! You are not passing me today!”  I put my head down, ignored the pain and ran with every fibre in my foot screaming at me. I crossed the line in 4 hours and 25 min and stood still with hands on my hips breathing heavily.  I looked away from the crowds and at the line of people ahead of me having their timing chips removed and told myself that this was as far as I was ever going to run!

This Sunday, thousands will run through the streets of London and realise a dream; fulfilling the promise of all those hours and miles spent training to cross that finish line.  For some, this will be the furthest they will ever run.  For others, it may be the start of further adventures in running, as it was for me.  Who knows where running may take you….

Wishing all the very best of luck if you are taking part!!!

Keep moving!!