Running a Marathon in a Prison

Yes you read that title correctly. Back in November the Running Channel asked me to take part in a completely unique race with very little other information. I’ve come to the realisation that if they call, you say yes. So before I had really heard of any of the details I agreed not really knowing the full scale of the challenge I would be facing…

It wasn’t until about a few weeks before the race that I understood what I was going to be undertaking: A Marathon in a disused prison sounds bad enough but to complete the marathon distance it would consist of 78 laps of the prison with 131 narrow and uneven steps in each lap.

You can watch the video below to see what went down but one thing the video doesn’t do justice is the creepy aura that Shepton Mallet prison exudes on every floor. As the race took place on Remembrance Sunday we stopped at 11am for a minute silence, the shouting for us to stop running echoed through the prison long after the voices had ceased. It was that eery silence and the leg pain from those evil steps that will stay with me for many years to come.