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want to climb Kilimanjaro next year, and this
time last year I was all set on doing Everest!” he
says. Jamie interjects: “Trouble is, he’s having
this midlife crisis and he’s dragging me with
him!”
Jamie is clearly proud of the progress Dave has
made. “When he hit on the idea of doing this
he ran on the treadmill for three minutes and
collapsed! Now last Sunday he did 14 miles.”
Dave is worried though. He and Jamie are
about to tackle their first half-marathon, in
Reading, as a prelude to the big day in London.
“I keep looking at people’s finishing times, and
I get this fear that I come behind the slowest
person there. And a little man in my psyche
is saying you need to go faster!” He has set
himself a goal to finish the half-marathon in
two-and-a-half hours, but in setting the target
he’s given himself a new worry.
Jamie groans: “Instead of just running, Dave
analyses why things hurt.” Dave concedes this
point. “My initials are DR so I’m a doctor – I
have to look at everything!”
For London, he chose as his benchmark the
time achieved by Gordon Ramsay, around four
hours. “I thought he’s ugly and he swears a lot.
I can do that.” But since the realities of winter
training, energy-sapping viruses and painful
legs hit home he thinks five-and-a-half hours
is more realistic, while Jamie is aiming for
three-and-a-half hours.
They began their training back in April last
year, and followed the programme Asthma UK
had given them. But Jamie suffered a stress
fracture and a trapped nerve, so they have
adapted their regime, mainly using the gym and
only road running at weekends.
You can’t help marvelling at the difference
in the way uncle and nephew approach this
challenge. Dave ribs Jamie for using a sports
chiropodist; he has done his own research
to find the right shoe, using a w WBf