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The Road to Paris

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My story My name is Ed Spalding and I am the Bromsgrove 1st XV captain. We all find ourselves in a very challenging situation. First and foremost make sure you are staying safe in these unprecedented times. I have been a part of Bromsgrove Rugby Football club for 6 years and it has become a hugely important part of my life. These are incredibly difficult times for our club and lots of other rugby clubs all over the country. The immediate effect on BRFC is that we are unable to open for the foreseeable future which is going to have huge financial implications for the club. Therefore I have decided to start a cycling and running challenge to raise money for BRFC and our amazing NHS over the next 4 months. I will be aiming to cover the distance between BRFC's home ground Finstall Park and The Stade de France, the venue for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final. I will be starting my challenge on the 1st April, aiming to finish by the 1st August, the distance is 810 miles in total
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Day 67

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"The Road to Paris" is complete! Todays run of 12.15 miles from my flat in Worcester to Finstall Park, the home of Bromsgrove Rugby Club sees the end of my challenge. I have really enjoyed this journey, it has given me a goal, a focus and a motivation in a time where everything is uncertain. I have recieved amazing support from my girlfriend Kathleen, friends, family, work colleagues and everyone involved at BRFC. I am so appreciative and humbled by the level of support. My friend Will from Bristol came and surprised me at the finish outside the club which was incredible and a really awesome gesture! Over the last 67 days I have covered 811 miles, the distance from Finstall Park to the Stade de France in Paris and back again and I am incredibly proud of my achievement.I have achieved this through running or cycling every day which has been tough at times but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I never thought I would be running half marathons when this challenge started and i
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Day 66

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The last cycle of the challenge completed today, 13. 21 miles on the bike after a day at work. This leaves me just over 11 miles to go! Really enjoyed the cycling as part of this challenge, my bike has been absolutely awesome and gave my legs a bit of a break from all the running.  Tomorrow at 08:00am I leaving my flat to run the 12-13 miles to Finstall Park, BRFC's home. I am really looking forward to the run and the completion of my challenge. Thanks for all the amazing support, I really appreciate it and so does Bromsgrove Rugby Club and the NHS! All the best, Ed
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Day 65

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65th day of the challenge and the penultimate run completed. 6.22 miles in the rain which was good, this just leaves a cycle tomorrow and then the final run on Saturday morning. I am really looking forward to finishing the challenge and when it is done I am going to try and do some more rugby specific running sessions and some more weights sessions. Another day at school today which was good fun, I taught a variety of lessons to my 'pod' of 8 pupils, it feels great to be back in a routine and to do a full week at work for the first time in months! Cheers, Ed
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Day 64

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After a day at work today I ran 6.61miles around Northwick, Claines and Blackpole. It was really nice to not have to run in the heat and their was a bit of light drizzle which was refreshing, I am so close to finishing my challenge now, with just under 30 miles to go. My plan for the rest of this week is to do another 5-8 mile run tomorrow, roughly 10 miles on the bike on Friday and then the final distance to the club on Saturday morning. Cheers for all the support so far! Ed
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Day 63

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26.34 miles on the bike this evening after a day at work, meaning I have just 36 more miles to go to complete the challenge. As I have previously mentioned I am saving 12-13 miles for Saturday morning when I am going to run from my flat in Worcester to BRFC. Had a few issues with the gears on my bike today, they seemed to be struggling to get into the right place, I was heading out towards Kempsey and turned back because I didn't think they could handle it and I didn't want to break anything. However as I got back into Worcester they seemed to have sorted themselves out so I turned back and looped over the river and Upton and back to Worcester, a nice route! Almost there!
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Day 62

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Really easy 3.1 miles with KP this evening around the racecourse. Need to get a longer cycle in tomorrow afternoon to get the miles down in preparation for Saturday's final stage. I will be doing the majority of miles on my bike this week but I will still alternate between running and cycling each day. I was back in school today and welcomed back a 'pod' of Year 6 pupils that I will be teaching over the next sevens weeks. it was very strange to be back in school with more kids and logistically it is quite complicated but enjoyable none the less. Another round of golf followed my time in school today, played pretty well too, I've now caught the golf bug as well as the running bug! All the best, Ed
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Day 61

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Out on the bike again this morning and covered 16.07 miles. Had to fix a puncture before my ride as my tire was completely flat when I first looked this morning. Bit of a random route but was good to explore some different parts of Worcestershire.  It's another glorious day out there, the weather really has been amazing over this lockdown period which has made the cycling and running much easier, it wouldn't have been great in the rain! Back to work for me tomorrow as we welcome back 75 year 6 pupils, it will be good to see them again but will still be very strange being back in work full time. The school day has been set up differently with staggered start times, break time and lunchtimes and small pods of pupils designated to one teacher. I am playing golf again after work tomorrow too which I am really looking forward to. All the best, Ed
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