Not again I can hear many say. Yes November is when, for several years, I challenge myself to run every day of the month. I used to do this for the month of December. That was in line with a popular running challenge, the Marcothon. Recently I have changed to November. For no particular reason. (If you are a runner and interested in the development of my thinking then have a look at the related blogs at end of this post). However I have convinced myself of many reasons for running every day for a month. Distilling them, near the top of the list is…

The physical challenge braces the body for the northern hemisphere winter. After some experiments in increasing the daily distance I have settled on 10 km / day. It is, I feel, appropriate for me. Any more and it takes up too much time. It is also likely to cause injuries – it’s too much of an extra load. My normal running routine the rest of the year is 3, sometimes 4, times a week. 

For many years now I have done at least one endurance type challenge in the spring/ summer. Having an increased training load in November is good preparation for body and mind. 

Another reason is that of being outside in nature every day. I say ’in nature’ meaning that it is being on trails or mountains I prioritise. It’s easier on the feet and is altogether more enjoyable. Now living in the city avoiding pavements and roads can be challenging. Sometimes I have to compromise and do the canal towpath or riverside. Sadly in recent years instead of gravel paths they have nearly all now been tarmacked over. At least there is no car traffic. Travelling I try to mix in some mountain, trails and woods into the mix. Even in Glasgow city there are beautiful, outdoor scenes.

Getting daylight is important as the days get shorter. It is an important mood enhancer I find. Here in Scotland the weather is constantly changing and often unpredictable. Such variety is stimulating. Rain, hail, snow, frost, fog, blustery gales. Mix in a few occasional balmy days. Sometimes refreshing air with clear, blue skies when a storm blows everything away. All this makes for a memorable, certainly not dull, exposure to the outdoors!

There are also some lessons gleaned from this year. Some have echoes of previous experiences but some lessons need re-learning!

Try and keep up a steady distance each day. Most of my days this time around have been about 10km. Previous years I have played mental games with myself. Things like doing an easier 5km one day. Then having to do 15km the next day in order to keep up the 10km/ day average. The relative ease of time and effort with the 5km is overcome by the burden and time of doing 15k. The carrot (5km) is usually not worth the stick (15km) in my view. Both body and mind seem to respond best to a stable amount of effort. At least for a month!

Nov	Km run	Nov	Km run
1	6.43	16	13.19
2	21.30	17	6.02
3	5.34	18	11.01
4	10.31	19	10.16
5	7.12	20	10.06
6	10.04	21	9.51
7	10.55	22	10.02
8	6.14	23	10.06
9	16.17	24	10.01
10	6.93	25	10.15
11	10.03	26	10.01
12	11.12	27	7.10
13	9.80	28	9.03
14	10.60	29	9.50
15	9..19	30	14.14
		TOTAL (km)	301.04

The default time should be in the morning, before breakfast. That way the prospect of doing it is not with me throughout the day. The key in my mind to doing a month long endurance type thing is minimising how much you think about it. Yes it’s hard at this time of the year to get up in the dark and get outside. Important to get out of the house as soon after I get out of bed as possible. No ruminating. Invariably I will be blessed with birdsong but may also be rewarded with some lovely sunrises. 

Just do the distance, no matter how slow or sluggish. In fact this year I think this has helped keep me free from injury. It is possible to double training load for a while if I just take it easy. My average 10km was about 1 hr 22 mins. The days seem to have past when someone overtaking me would be a cue to up my pace. That temptation is seldom there nowadays!

Related blogs.
To Run or not to Run? (2023)

Modified Marcothon 2 (2022)

Modified Marcothon Madness (2021)

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