Disclaimer: I have never been a Dictator or indeed ever married one, nor have I even been to the Philippines.

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Marcothon can be found on https://www.facebook.com/events/1666656160284783/
I had heard about this Marcothon thing over the last few years. Brother Bert Dempsey of Dysart had done it. And fair play. I thought he was utterly bonkers. I hoped to avoid it unless invited but my Running bug buddy Andy Gallacher was nice enough to invite me so I had to consider it. And he had to pull out due to injury so I would have been rude not to do it instead. What is the Marcothon you may be asking?

“The Marcothon rules are simple. Participants have to commit to run every day in December, including Christmas Day. The daily distance is a minimum of three miles or 25 minutes of non-stop running, whichever comes first. Marcothon is not a competition – it’s a personal challenge. When top Glasgow based Ultra runner Marco Consani was looking for the motivation to keep running through the winter, he set himself a new challenge and decided he would run every day in November. And he set himself a distance of at least three miles at a time. The following month, his wife Debbie followed suit and that December the Marcothon was born.”

This year sees the 7th so sounds like a good challenge to get myself back in shape again as long as I take it steadily and don’t go overboard. First run in the bag today, just over 6k in 30 minutes in the howling rain. And no ill effects. I shall keep you up to date. Do I expect to complete it? To be 100% honest I don’t but I would like to see how far I can get and try and better it next year.

I have managed a few runs over the last couple of weeks, and even made a club trail session on Sunday. Yes I was honking and off the pace, and I toiled through the swamps of the rollercoaster run in the torrential rain but it’s the first time I have had the nerve to mix it back up with real people again. That, and the last couple of home runs I have had haven’t quite been pain free, but there is a marked improvement. I had my first NHS physio appointment today and am fortunate to be in the capable hands of a fellow runner, Bellahouston’s Janine Dickie who thinks the stretching I have been doing is on the right path and has thrown another couple into the mix for me. She did ask me if I ran for Motherwell and if I had done the Polaroids, my name seemed familiar. Seems she is good friend of my Blue vested Polaroids and Lothian Runners nemesis Mhairi Inglis, so if I don’t come back as strong I think I know who I can blame….

My Imelda Marcos tendencies struck again last week when I saw a pair of Adidas Adios Boost 2 Haile’s on sale. Obviously I bought them. #Projectsub18 demanded them. I found some sort of justification that I can’t remember to clear them with Elaine, but then on Sunday I bought a pair of bargain Nike Pegasus 30s. Thankfully I got “expenses” for my recently published British Milers Club World Championships critique so I could justify them as well, sort of. I needed a t shirt to go with them of course, so I bought one, but who am I kidding? All gear and no idea, but I used to spend more than that on cigarettes on a weekly basis, so I’m at peace with it.

Final wee point is that I hope to run the Motherwell AC Xmas handicap time trial in under 2 weeks time. I am not running fast compared to how I was and fully expect to be last, by a great distance, and I don’t care. It will be fantastic just to be out there again. Any MAC Runners reading, please come along. Afterwards it’s onto the Electric bar for a couple for sherberts and the road runner of the year vote. Well worth coming along even just socially. The road runner of the year does not have to be the best runner, it can be if you want, but can be the person who has helped you, the person who has best epitomised the spirit of MAC, the unsung hero, the most improved, any reason – you decide- and privately.

Later blogpeeps, keep running for fun.