As I am currently unable to run due to a knee tendonitis issue, I decided to look for something else to challenge me. Us endurance athletes need that fix, right?

I came across a challenge of hitting the 100,000 steps in one-day goal after watching a VLOG on YouTube.

At the time, my current Most Steps in a Day record was 68,125 set back in 2017 in Las Vegas where I walked around the strip all day before running the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon in the evening.

This time, as I cannot run, I will have to walk all of those 100,000 steps. I worked out that I walk roughly 2,000 steps per mile. Meaning I was on for a 50 mile walk.

I calculated that I could walk 3 miles in an hour at 20 minute per mile pace. The hope was to walk a lot faster than that but to allow time for food/drink and toilet stops, I would probably average closer to 20 minute pace. So in other words a 16 hour 20 minute walk.

I set my alarm for 4am, ate breakfast and got going at 4:50am.

Fuelled by porridge and a coffee in hand, I went for it.

I had picked Thursday 26th November to do this, it was the driest day of my week of work but it was also the coldest. Not mega cold but at 1’c frosty at 5am it was certainly cold. Once the sun came up at 8am the fog came down which kept the temperature low. It wasn’t until the afternoon, once the fog had lifted that it got a little warmer, peaking at 7’c.

The first 5 miles were faster than my ultimate goal of a 20min average pace but only by a minute or two. I wasn’t too fused, it was early, I was tired and cold. I had to stop twice to tie my shoes and for some reason, holding the coffee cup in my hand was making my shoulder ache. I did wonder then if my shoulder is aching now after just 3 miles, is this a sign of things to come?

Once I drank the coffee and chucked the cup in my backpack the shoulder improved. The pace also improved as I got off the dark country lanes and made my way on to the busier but well-lit A34. My pace then picked up to 17 minute miles which was good. I was banking some extra time.

When the sun started to rise at 7:30am, I was treated to a lovely sunrise coming over the hills as the fog started to drop.

I went off-road for 4 mile walk along the Biddulph Valley Way trail. I figured I would get the most of out this walk and enjoy some better scenery than walking along busy roads.

Back on the road again, I was heading from Congleton into Biddulph. My plan had been to get to Sainsbury’s in Biddulph by 9am for the first toilet stop and stock up on some sugary treats for the trip.

From Sainsbury’s, I was going to walk through my hometown, where I spent the first 28 years of my life. So many memories walking around there, although a lot has changed in recent years.

I went past my first, middle and high school. Past my old house which still looks the same now, if only mum and dad were still there. I could have called in for a coffee and warm up.

When I got to Biddulph Moor, above the fog I was treated to this stunning view of the valley engulfed in the fog.

Next, I was going to head along Lodge Barn Road which was where my mum grew up and where I used to come and play on the hillside and the rocks as a kid. Then I headed down to Knypersley Pool, another place I came to as a kid. This first part of the walk more like a trip through memory lane, this made the time go quicker and avoid the boredom of walking around all day.

In the fog, Knypersley Pool looked very eerie. The was the occasional beam of sunlight coming through the trees as the fog rolled around.

I had been making good pace so I decided to get the GoPro out and get some arty shots of my walking through the trees. I had banked some good time so I felt this might make the blog look better, sacrifice for the cause.

Looking at that photo now, it was probably time wasted!

The real beauty and “money shots” were all around. That natural beauty.

and of course! the wildlife.

I did two laps of the pool at just over 4 miles but it was very wet and muddy. I was walking in my Adidas Ultraboost’s which I had run over 600 miles in and let’s just say, they weren’t offering the best grip. I was slipping a lot and as a result, the pace dropped to 19 minute pace around there.

Still averaging under 18 minutes, not a major concern.

I had clocked up 22 miles and 44,300 steps upon leaving Knypersley Pool. Not even halfway in the first 6 and a half hours. That was when it dawned on me, this was going to be a LOOOONNNGGGG day.

That was it for the scenic walking. From now on it was all on-road and through the towns of Stoke on Trent. My wife had asked me to head to Marks & Spencer to see whether they had a Christmas present for my sister-in-law.

I was going to walk to Chell, down to Tunstall and across to M&S, then to Hanley, Burslem back to Tunstall onto Kidsgrove and back home. Once back near home I would know how many steps/miles I would need to walk to round up to 100,000.

When I got to Tunstall at 27 miles my back was starting to ache. I was surprised it hadn’t taken this long, to be honest. I always get backache when standing up or walking around for a long time. I had planned for this and brought some paracetamol with me.

I also dropped into Costa to get a coffee and hope that caffeine fix would give me a pick me up for the next hour or so.

The combo of paracetamol and caffeine kicked in. My back wasn’t too bad and the legs were firing on the walk to M&S.

It turned out that was a wasted journey, the Christmas present we were looking for had sold out so instead, I went over to Starbucks to get another caffeine fix.

As I mentioned earlier, this part of the walk was far from scenic.

The 4 miles after M&S, I was flying, all under 17 minutes. By this time I was averaging 17:47 per mile and well over an hour ahead of the 16hr 40min goal.

The next mile was when things started to get real and the challenge really started. I was 35 miles in and just under 70,000 steps. I had dropped under 2,000 steps per mile but was ahead of time which looked like it was going to mean walking further than 50 miles but under the 16hr 40mins.

In the video I had watched on YouTube when deciding to take on the 100k steps, Benni had said it wasn’t until 75,000 steps when it started to be a challenge and then got hard fast!

I was noticing the same although a little earlier. This was when the photos stopped and the pain kicked in.

My left calf was starting to cramp up.

To this point, I had only eaten a flapjack at 3 hours and at 6 hours plus a full bag of squishes. I had drunk the coffee at 5am a 500ml bottle of juice around Knypersley Pool and the Costa & Starbucks coffees. I hadn’t eaten or drank enough.

I decided to jump into Asda for a toilet stop and get a bag of salt & vinegar crisps. I thought the salt in the crisps, albeit a small amount, would help the cramping. I also got my last 750ml bottle out of my bag to drink along the way and ate my sandwiches.

I had meant to eat these at 2pm but had put it off to safe time stopping to eat. It was 4pm by the time I had my sandwiches.

The sun was setting now, the last 10 miles were going to be in the dark. One of the joys of attempting this challenge on one of the shortest days of the year.

I was concerned that the cramping might get worse or I would have to struggle through the last 15 miles with a cramped calf.

Thankfully, it did improve after eating and drinking but my legs were feeling heavy and tired now. The balls of my feet were on fire and my hips were aching.

The pace was slowing mile after mile. It was more of a hobble, my hips were aching and stepping up and down the curb, each time I crossed a road was a task in itself but once I hit 10 miles / 20,000 to go I knew I would do it. It would be uncomfortable but these challenges aren’t easy else everyone would have a 100k+ steps record.

I did the last 5 miles on a loop near home, this was in total darkness just like the start of the day. Just me and the head torch. There was something sweet about the silence of walking in the dark. It really helps to focus the mind and right then all my mind was trying to focus on was the pain built up over the last 13 hours.

All I was focusing on now was hitting 18 minute miles. That would get me home before 8pm and mean I get back in time to read a bedtime story to my little girl before she went to sleep.

I didn’t hit 18 minutes on any of those last 5 miles, it started off being 2 seconds over, then 10, then 25, then 65 but as I was slowing I started clocking up more steps per mile and ended up hitting 100,000 before 50 miles.

So there you have it. 100.325 steps taken in one day. Covering 49.71 miles in 14:55.23.

Got to say, I massively underestimated this challenge. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy task but I thought that with the 1,700 miles of running and 4,500 miles of cycling I have clocked up this year, I would have the base fitness to get through a day of walking.

Having not done any running or cycling in the past 6 my body was in for a shock today. Going from weeks of nothing to spending just shy of 15 hours on my feet.

Today, the day after, my feet are hurting, my left calf hurts and both of my hips ache. Getting up from the sofa and walking is a challenge. I have run marathons and Ironman triathlon and not had this much pain the day after. Of course, for those events, I trained for them and put in the work. This walk had no training. I just relied on past fitness and my mental strength to push through when it got tough.

I am pleased to have done it, also pleased that the knee stood up to the challenge and is not feeling any worse for it. Now I can get back resting and recovering so that I can hopefully get back to running again in the new year.