You have got to admire Wg Cdr Alfie Hall. On a bleak 1st January this year the intrepid officer started the steep climb to reaching his goal of one hundred ten kilometre runs in one hundred days all in the aid of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Foundation and the RAF Benevolent Fund.
Running (and sometimes walking) each session, Alfie notched up an impressive 1037 kilometres (664 miles) – averaging 6.22 minutes per kilometre over the whole distance.
So how does he feel now it is all over? “Relieved!” was the quick response back, but never one to sit on his laurels, the one-hundred-mile Ride London in May cycling from London to Essex and back is the next endurance feat.
The one hundred ten-kilometre runs was by far his biggest challenge to date. “It is harder than a marathon, which finishes and that is that. With the running spread over one hundred days, you still have to fit everything else around it, like a job and everyday life,” said Alfie.
So, what was his motivation to get up each day to do it? “In the early days it was new and exciting, despite the bitterly cold mornings. But I thought about those I was doing it for,” said the Wing Cdr. Each day a different name was emblazoned on his bib – a name taken from the role of honour of RAF veterans no longer with us. Especially poignant was the run he did in memory of his friend, the late WO Kev Sturdy. “My inspiration,” said a clearly emotional Alfie. “Our careers overlapped at times, and he was on my last squadron tour. He was strong, firm, fair and knowledgeable. I am doing it for him, and people like him. He loved the RAF and was an ambassador for it.”
Having an hour to himself with only his thoughts to keep him company was the most enjoyable part of the whole event. “You start to notice things at five o’clock in the morning when all is quiet, like the duckpond at Naphill and the deer!” And the least enjoyable? “The muscle and joint pain. I will run a ten kilometre tomorrow, but with the luxury of a rest day afterwards!” said the Wing Cdr with relief.
For those wanting to undertake such a mammoth challenge the advice is simple. “Training helps! You can’t train enough for something like this. It is relentless and you need stamina to do this day after day. A good pair of trainers also helps. Mine had hybrid soles and supported me for six hundred miles.”
Would he be crazy enough to do it again? “Yes!” was the firm reply. “Someone I knew did it every day for a year. But for me the convergence of life commitments and time to run would need to be right.”
For more information or to contribute to Wg Cdr Hall’s cause, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/team/RAuxAF100
