Running 1000km (620 miles) this year for Charity

[acjy1985]

Dear All,
After consulting the required people I have been told I can make my plea on the Rumble Strip and it may also be of interest to GT5 users.
This year my wife and I plan to run 1000km for the benefit of two charities. This in itself is a challenge as we both work full time, but we are also trying to find interesting places to run. We are both motorsport fans and have been lucky enough to runs at three circuits already this year: Thruxton, Goodwood and Silverstone. Excitingly we have a couple of overseas trips planned (here is where the GT5 interest comes in) we will be heading to Spa-Francorchamps in early May for a run and then in September we will be running the 4hr layout of the Nurburgring, all 24,4km of it!
We are not just running circuits and will be doing other interesting runs and have already run over the Severn and Wye bridges from England into Wales and back. We are trying to keep the runs varied so that we can keep people interested in what we do and hopefully draw in new donations.
Anyway, to get to the point we are looking for people kind enough to donate to this. the charities are both UK based so it is possibly of more interest to UK users. We are asking £2, which is not much more than the cost of the paint DLC in GT5, or whatever you can give. Anybody can donate however I must point out that if you are from outside the UK your card issuer may add a charge(as it would if you used that card in the UK).
I know GTPlanet users are always happy to help people out so if you are kind enough to donate please stick "GTP" somewhere in your name.
The fundraising page can be found here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Challenge1000
The write ups can be found here http://runchallenge1000.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.
Thank you for your interest

UPDATE: Just a brief few words about our run at Thruxton http://runchallenge1000.blogspot.com/
UPDATE: We have a date set for our run at Spa now. It will be the 2nd May so expect some photos and a write up the following weekend!

UPDATE: The Nurburgring run has happened! Check the blog and I will post a proper update in the near future http://runchallenge1000.blogspot.com/

 

[Jordan]

Best of luck to your wife, acjy!

(And for those of you wondering, yes, he did ask permission to post this. )

 

[ZohsixGT5]

Very cool. I ran Road Atlanta in January. I'll check out the donation site when I get home.

 

[HumanDestroyah]

Very cool! Good luck to you and the Mrs..

 

[dhandeh]

Done!👍

Good Luck and post some pictures if possible.

 

[un4givn85]

good luck to you
and yea get some pictures if you can

 

[Schwartz]

Woah, wait. You are telling me that you are going to the Nurburgring specifically not to drive a car on it.

 

[acjy1985]

Pictures can be found on the blog site above, even managed to sneak onto the podiums at Thruxton and Silverstone and there will of course be pictures from Spa and the Nurburgring once we have run them.

Woah, wait. You are telling me that you are going to the Nurburgring specifically not to drive a car on it.

I have already driven it so thought it was time to do something different. I reckon we will notice the elevation changes more on foot

 

[acjy1985]

A bit of an update has been added, including going back in time to January when we ran Thruxton circuit in the UK.

 

[acjy1985]

Right, for all of you who play GT5 the new Time Trial 34 has brought me roundly back to our challenge for the year to run 1000km. The Time Trials are set at Spa and the Nurburgring and a week on Wednesday we will be heading to Belgium to run two or three laps of the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit. Then in September we will be heading to run the Nurburgring as well.
In 2008 we went to the Belgian Grand Prix so we know how hilly the circuit is and potentially wet and changeable the weather can be but it will be completely worth it. The thing I find hardest about running on a circuit is to not run the racing line as this is not the fastest route on foot! When we ran Silverstone I could not help coming out of Aintree corner and setting myself up on the right hand side of the Wellington Straight ready for Brooklands corner. I wear a GPS watch which plots where I have run and you can see the trace from our 3 laps of Silverstone here.

As you can see on the last lap we had to end in the pit lane but that meant we could take the opportunity to take first place on the podium. My wife is the small pink thing on the top step

I hope to get some photos whilst we are as Spa as well. It'd be nice to have a photo of us 'powering' through Eau Rouge or round Pouhon where we sat for the Grand Prix in 2008. It will be a great experience.

An interesting thing for me is the ability to see the traffic to my wife's blog. Visits from GTPlanet are only second to those visiting from the Money Giving site which is fantastic. I hope it means that there is some decent interest from GTPlanet members. All we need now are a few more donations to help reach the target. When and if you are feeling a bit flush or generous, please send a couple of pounds our way. For those of you who were expecting DLC in March, why not donate that sum to it? It is for a fantastic cause. For anyone who has queries or just wants a chat please feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to oblige.
Thanks for reading and checking in again!

 

[acjy1985]

Very disappointing news. On Thursday Spa changed their mind and we now cannot run on the circuit. This was the circuit I was most excited about running. However on a slightly more positive note, I contacted Circuit Zolder and they have been incredibly kind and stepped up to help us with the challenge. So, tomorrow morning(about this time I guess) we will be arriving at the Circuit Zolder for a run. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this circuit, it held the Belgian Grand Prix numerous times in the 70s and 80s. It is also unfortunately the circuit where the great Gilles Villeneuve was tragically killed when he collided with the back of another car during qualifying for the 1982 race. More recently, for those fans of Top Gear it is the circuit where Top Gear and D-Motor went head to head and where James May *cough cough* won the decider in the Aston Martin against the Porsche of Tim Schrick

 

[poolhaas]

Shame to hear Spa backing out but Zolder also has a nice layout. Some nice elevation changes too, not as much as Eau Rouge though
I've been on the Zolder track with a bike once. It's good fun, good luck with the fundraiser aswell 👍

 

[Slash]

Good luck dude!

 

[CMvan46]

Donated. Looks like your making good progress towards your goal. Best of luck with the runs and enjoy it. I'll never even see any of those tracks your running but what your doing is pretty great. Best of luck!

 

[acjy1985]

Donated. Looks like your making good progress towards your goal. Best of luck with the runs and enjoy it. I'll never even see any of those tracks your running but what your doing is pretty great. Best of luck!

Thank you so much for your donation. We'd love to run some circuits in Canada or the US as well but it would end up costing us more than we raise! One of the great things about Europe is that everything is relatively close and in the car the Belgium trip was just a long weekend.

 

[acjy1985]

Shame to hear Spa backing out but Zolder also has a nice layout. Some nice elevation changes too, not as much as Eau Rouge though
I've been on the Zolder track with a bike once. It's good fun, good luck with the fundraiser aswell 👍

I will be doing a bit of a write up when I get a chance tomorrow but I loved the layout of Zolder. It has the most character of any of the circuits we have run so far 👍 and the weather was amazing(for that day)

 

[acjy1985]

As promised, here comes a little write up. On 1st May we arrived to a warm welcome (both in terms of temperature and hospitality) at Zolder. The circuit was being prepared for last weekend's Clean Week 2020 so there were lots of electric cars about, including a GT5 favourite the Nissan Leaf.

The temperature was about 21°C which may not seem a lot, but as any racing fan knows the tarmac temperature is often considerably warmer than the air temperature. After being shown around a bit by the guy that met us, we took our standard position at the front of the grid.

Not knowing the layout of the circuit very well, we set off on our first lap. It is slightly downhill through the first few corners which then becomes a slight uphill as you run along the track parallel to the start/finish straight. You then reach a chicane which whilst easy on foot, must be fantastic in a car. After this is my favourite section of the whole circuit. you enter pine woodland and there is a long left hander that goes up a short but steep incline and then it drops away in the same fashion. This section leads straight into a double chicane (see photo) named after Gilles Villeneuve.

The track then takes another uphill which starts off steep but slowly flattens out as you head through the final few corners back to the start/finish.
We ran three laps in total which was a shade short of 12km. Not bad considering how warm it is and the fact we were up at 4am to leave the UK that morning, we ran at around 2pm.
Here is the GPS trace my watch provides for our run where you can clearly see the outline of the circuit., which is run in a clockwise direction.

A circuit run would not be complete without the winner taking the top spot on the podium

Thank you for reading this. If you would like to donate, please feel free http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Challenge1000 We have already received our first international donation from a GTPlanet user so thank you! If you'd like to read any other write ups please go here http://runchallenge1000.blogspot.com/

Our next confirmed circuit runs are at Rockingham(the UK one) in June and then the Nurburgring in September.

 

[acjy1985]

Time for another brief update. This coming Wednesday we will be heading to Rockingham in the UK for another circuit run. This one will be a bit interesting as part of the circuit is banked! We have very nearly reached 500km, so half way. We have had some great support from people worldwide. For UK runners, my wife featured in the 'Real Runners' section of last month's Runners World magazine. They got the facts a bit wrong but still it is something. We are doing more hill work in preparation for our Nurburgring run in September and a trip to Donington Park at the end of June will give us a nice run with lots of elevation changes. Check out the blog site to see the weather we enjoyed last week for our runs. It made a change from the cold that is for sure http://runchallenge1000.blogspot.com/

I will of course do a little write up and provide the GPS trace of the circuit once we have visited.

 

[poolhaas]

You're going to love the Nurburgring
I got lost inside the Nordschleife a few weeks ago, talk about elevation changes

 

[acjy1985]

You're going to love the Nurburgring
I got lost inside the Nordschleife a few weeks ago, talk about elevation changes

I think you could be right. I keep the below document saved to my desktop to remind me I need to keep practicing running up hills to get ready for this run. It is even mean enough to show the steepest gradients in each section. How is it fair that the steepest downhill is 11% but the steepest uphill is 16%?

You notice the altitude changes in a car, but it is going to be a whole new level of intimacy that we are going to experience! Pretty much 5km(3 miles) of just uphill from 8-13km(5-8 miles), gaining 300m(984ft) in altitude. Although because we start on the GP circuit Hohe Acht will actually fall more around the 16.5km(10.25 mile) mark.

 

[poolhaas]

I've only seen the first sector this time. This picture I took appears to be a 10% uphill (Quiddelbacher - Flugplatz), just to show you a small fraction of what you're up against The big one is hidden under the trees.

 

[acjy1985]

Well, as promised here comes the Rockingham write up. Rockingham is near Corby in Northamptonshire in the UK. It is, according to official merchandise, the fastest circuit in Europe (in a car that is). We arrived to a little bit of rain which is never a problem on a warm day. We had free reign of the circuit for just over an hour so we lined up on the grid in front of the main grandstand. Warmed up and ready to go we set off on our first lap of the international long circuit which is the one the BTCC runs on. This layout includes sections of the banked circuit and the rest of it is the infield. After taking on the first bit of banking, there was a slight mishap where we ventured through the first chicane which is part of the smaller circuits instead of keeping to the banking leading to the (actual) first corner, the 180° left hander. This mishap was however rewarded with being able to get a closer look at this sign

There are some great corner names here including Pif Paf and Tarzan and there is more elevation than I expected in the infield circuit. As with all televised events, the cameras flatten out the circuit so for our next run at Donington on the 29th which looks hilly on the TV I am expecting to have to put in a fair amount of effort.
In total we ran 3 laps of the International Circuit and then finished with a lap of the 'oval' banked circuit, 11.5km in total.
Here is the GPS trace from my watch. You can see the slight cock up in the bottom left of the circuit.

Here is the dry track at the start

For future reference banking is not comfortable to run on. Half way through our 'oval' lap the heavens opened and we got completely soaked, we could see the rain catching us between turns 1 and 2, then no sooner as we were through turn 2 it got us.
Here is the track between turns 3 and 4 of the oval. If you expand and look carefully there is a rainbow appearing.

I would have to say Rockingham would be a fantastic place to visit to watch some racing. There are only grandstands around corners 4 and 1 of the banked section and along the start/finish straight but from any grandstand you are able to see practically the whole circuit which is a bit of a rarity in the UK due to the lack of this type of circuit.

Of course, we have to finish with a celebration on the podium when we can find access.

Our next circuit run is scheduled for the 29th June at Donington. Please give a little at the link in my signature to help keep the motivation going. Also, if you follow the link to the blog you will be able to read all the runs we have done including those not at circuits.

 

[acjy1985]

Ok, just a little heads up. This Friday we will be heading to Donington Park in the UK. It holds amongst other things BTCC races, European Le Mans series, British Superbikes and British F3 and GT. This weekend the FIA British Truck Grand Prix arrives as well. Also, on a more global scale it is the scene of one of Ayrton Senna's most famous drives from 5th to 1st on the opening lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix.
There will of course be a write up once we have done this including photos and hopefully the GPS trace from my watch. The circuit is much hillier than any of the others we have run so far which will make an interesting challenge.
Time permitting we will also aim to visit the Grand Prix collection and to also get a photo of the famous Senna/Fangio statue.

Just a little note: the sponsorship has started to dry up a bit so any donation would be gratefully received.

 

[acjy1985]

As promised, we have a bit of a write up of the Donington run. We arrived there on Friday afternoon in the middle of a Toyota car launch. There were numerous GT86 cars blasting round the circuit using the short circuit for hot laps and the Melbourne Hairpin section for 'handling' i.e. donuts. I am sorry I didn't get a picture as I was driving, but somebody had clearly had an incident in one of the GT86 as the passenger side was caved in and had blue paint all down the side of it where it had most likely had an intimate relationship with a barrier.
Before we went on to the circuit we had a bit of time to kill so we ventured across to the Grand Prix Collection that is located within the circuit. The approach to the front door is quite nice as you pass a number of old petrol pumps and flags. Just before you get to the door you reach the Senna and Fangio statue. It features the two greats of F1 in a pose that almost looks like they could have at one point been stood on the podium together, despite the completely different racing gear. I do have a better photo but the file is much bigger.

There are loads of F1 cars here from those driven by Alberto Ascari and before, right up to nearly modern day machines. I think the newest was a 2008 Red Bull. There is also a large collection of McLarens, a number of Williams including those driven by Hill and Mansell with their famous 0 and 5 numbers and there is also a large Vanwall collection.

Right, on to the run. We were ready to start at about 17:45 and it was dry and reasonably warm but very windy.

Donington is situated right at the end of the runway of East Midlands airport and as the planes were taking off you could see they were very sideways due to the cross wind. We set off in the knowledge that Donington was hilly which it looks on the TV but at every other circuit we have run out it is obvious that the TV flattens out the circuit a bit. So with this in mind we were well prepared for the hill. Out of the first corner, Redgate which is actually tighter than it looks explaining why there is so much first corner excitement here there is a long downhill through Hollywood and Craner curves down to the Old Hairpin which despite the name is a fast right hander(in a car anyway). Then you start the climb uphill under Starkey's Bridge all the way up to McLeans. This was my favourite section, in part due to the massive Spark Plug on the right hand side.

There is then a slight drop after McLeans before a short sharp climb up to Coppice. You always hear that Coppice is a blind corner but it was not until you get up to it that you realise it is actually that blind. At a driver's head height I can only imagine how difficult this corner is to somebody visiting for the first time. Then it is down the straight which must be very bumpy in a car. For the first two laps we took a left at the end of the straight and through the chicane and down to the Melbourne Hairpin and back round to the start line. The second two laps we ran the shorter circuit to ensure we had run both layouts. During these last two laps, some of the Truck GP drivers were out exploring the track on rollerblades, bikes and mopeds.
I have my GPS trace here as always. In total we ran 14.3km and have now reached over 600km of the 1000km total.

The next day the British Truck Grand Prix was on track so we took the opportunity to visit the podium whilst it was dressed for an FIA sanctioned event.

Thanks for having a read. We would be grateful if you'd click the link in my signature and have a read of the blog of other runs. We would also really appreciate it if you could give a couple of quid to help keep the total raised above the number of kms run.
Our next planned circuit run is the Nurburgring Nordschleife on 1st September so we are going to have to get some solid distance and hill work in place. There will of course be a write up of that one!

 

[MarcoM]

I just donated a little bit for the good cause. Great stuff you're doing. And good luck on the Nordschleife. I already think it's steep walk, let alone running

 

[Shoe67]

I am a hardcore distance track runner. I put on 240miles of running in 4 weeks during this spring. I blew out my knee and now I can barely walk until November of December according to my doctors.

 

[MarcoM]

There you go, even doctors admit that sports are no good

Get well.

 

[acjy1985]

I am a hardcore distance track runner. I put on 240miles of running in 4 weeks during this spring. I blew out my knee and now I can barely walk until November of December according to my doctors.

Sorry to hear this. We have been taking it slow and steady in the hope we will prevent any lasting damage like this mixing up roads and trail runs each week. With the horrible weather we have had here the trails are very soft underfoot which helps cushion any impact. Fingers crossed we won't get any injuries. My wife had a bit of a dodgy knee for a while but this seems to have steadied a bit. I got my foot caught in a metal gate when I was running and cut my ankle pretty nicely. The wound I have stops millimetres from my Achilles so I was quite lucky. When I did it I thought it had gone and that was it and just laid on the ground for a while. I then got my shoe off to have a look(of course) and to then hobble about a bit but I was able to finish the last couple of miles. I still have a scar but it doesn't really give me any grief now.
Anyway, I hope your recovery goes much quicker than expected Shoe.

 

[Shoe67]

Thank you guys. Ive been doing 3 days a week physical therapy to get back to running. Only thing is that I will be missing my races that I put nearly $300 to run in this summer between all of them. It happens, but thank you all and u will try to get better 👍

 

[acjy1985]

Well, this Saturday 1st September it happens. 24,4km of the Nurburgring on foot. Thank you so much to the GTPlanet members who have already donated. We are almost 800km into the 1000km challenge so going really well. The money trickling in is helping to keep the motivation up.
Please click the link in my signature to read what we have done so far and to donate. I promise you every little helps. Once we are back there will of course be a blog to read on how the run went and I will also try to get something on here with photos.
Your generosity has really made a difference to the total raised so please keep it coming 👍

For those of you in the UK we even got a bit of a mention on the MSN Cars website http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/woman-to-run-1000km-on-racetracks