Abbey Road Studios, John Paul Jones, Robyn Hitchcock, Bruce Foxton, Al Murray twice , Radio 5 Live, Ukejam and 18 miles on the Greensand Way

As our weekend merged into one big event I thought I'd start this blog on the Friday night before the latest Greensand Way training run we just did on Sunday.

But before I start please please visit our charity giving website and donate

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Abbey Road Studios in London

We started our evening on Friday at Abbey Road Studios for the annual Sound and Vision evening to raise awareness for Cancer Research UK. We were very lucky to get tickets as our friend Penny performed that evening with Al Murray's band The T-34s.

Also on the evenings line up was Chris Difford who we sang 'Cool For Cats' along with him from the crowd and 'Biscotti' which comprised John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Robyn Hitchcock.

Dr G (my wife) with me, Robyn Hitchcock, John Paul Jones, Claire and Penny at Abbey Road Studios

We were lucky enough to get to meet John Paul Jones and Robyn Hitchcock afterwards in Studio 2 of Abbey Rd and we talked a bit without me cracking up into a gibbering mess ( I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan).

The evening was a great success and various one off pieces including a 'doodled' Damien Hurst print were auctioned off raising over a quarter of a million pounds for Cancer Research UK. Al Murray did a fantastic job auctioning off the pieces and co-compere Bob Harris from Radio 2 resided an air of cool calm over the night.

Claire and I discovered a new way of 'carb loading' for long distance running as we had 'more than 3 but less than 11' glasses of champagne and felt very little ill effects the next day. At the end of the evening we got to say thanks to 'Whispering Bob' Harris and sped off into the night to get home.

Dr G, Claire and Penny crossing the famous Abbey Rd crossing made famous by the Beatles

On the way back to the car we took the advantage of a lull in busy London Traffic to take the obligatory 'Abbey Rd ' photo as per the famous Beatles Album cover.

After a Saturday evening spent 'carb loading' with Real Ale in a pub in Guildford (where we bumped into Bruce Foxton of The Jam) we got up early Sunday morning and, instead of getting started on our Greensand Way run as soon as possible, jumped in the car with ukuleles and headed for London.

Claire and I outside the BBC TV Centre

We arrived at BBC TV Centre at 10am. I am lucky enough to be in a ukulele band called Ukejam (along with Claire, Penny and Dr G ). Ukejam meet up every other Monday night at the Royal Oak Pub in Guildford and cheat sheets and songbooks and ukes are provided for any newcomers. Find out more at http://www.ukejam.co.uk/ We had been invited to perform a Monkees tribute song on Al Murray's 7 Day Sunday show on Radio 5 Live.

Me at Radio 5 Live - beneath my cool exterior was a shiny layer of Lycra

As we were going straight on to a run after the show I opted to wear full compression running top and leggings under my jeans and shirt. I felt like a super hero who could burst out of his clothes at any moment and fight crime.....I also felt like a berk.

Shhhhhhhhhhh

We also met Jenny Eclair, Andy Zaltzman and Mark Steel on the show as well as the host Al Murray (who has played drums with Ukejam). You can listen to our performance towards the end here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cz3b4/7_Day_Sunday_04_03_2012/

Ukejam on Radio 5 Live

We sped off from the BBC very quickly after 12 and got some 'carb loading' done in Burger King to prepare us for our long run. We were racing the setting sun at 6pm.

'Carb 'Loading' at Westfield Shopping Centre

We got dropped off at the Windmill at Reigate Heath Golf Course with a planned run to take us back to my house if the weather and daylight allowed.

Lee and Claire at Reigate Heath Golf Course on the Greensand Way in Freezing conditions and snow

By the time we started running it was well after 2pm and it was snowing. The wind was blowing and we both started the run freezing cold. We were smart enough to save weight on our heavy packs by only bringing one pair of gloves and hat between us.

A wet crossing on the Greensand Way near Dorking

The rain was very heavy and we got absolutely soaked through the 4 or five layers we were wearing. I had on every piece of clothing I had brought with me and was still a bit cold, particularly on my hands. Everywhere was waterlogged and this was the one time I didn't wear my thick waterproof socks because of what I wore to the BEEB. We both had soaking wet feet.

Officially an 'Anorak' on the Greensand Way in Dorking

As we ran into Dorking at the 6 mile mark, I was pleased to find a new Greensand Way sign to get a photo of, it was only a few minutes later that I realised my religious zeal for new Greensand Way signs and my literal attire meant I was officially a Greensand Way Anorak.

At the Temple at Nower on the Greensand Way doing some Trig Planking

We noticed a trig point we hadn't seen before on the Nower so took the opportunity to get some obligatory photos.

Face down, Arms straight, Legs out - Planking on the Greensand Way near Dorking

After the 'Pork Scratching Dust' incident of the last run we were pleased (but wet and freezing cold) when we found out (huddled under a bush) on our 5 minute food stop that doritos pass the 'running travel damage' test. These will now be a welcome savoury addition to our running supplies.

Cold hands but unbroken Doritos on the Greensand Way near Dorking (sheltering in a bush)

A Claire Silhouette at sunset at Leith Hill Tower on the Greensand Way

At the 'halfway mark' for a marathon 13.2 miles exactly we reached Leith Hill Tower just as the sun set (and the rain/snow stopped for an hour). It was eerie to be there at that time of day, after it being so busy the last time we were there we found it empty, with the food hatch closed and no one around.

Sawdust Hash Trail on Holmbury Hill on the Greensand Way

As the sun set and it got VERY DARK the snow returned. We cleverly saved weight on our running packs by only bringing 1 torch so at the 16 mile stage of the run we were not tired at all but very cold and wet, and worse, running in the dark was proving a challenge at best and a risk of injury at worse.

As we ran Claire noticed small piles of sawdust at various points on the run. When we got to Holmbury Hill we noticed a kicked through sawdust circle so we knew a Hash had been here recently.

We called it a day at the 18 mile mark at the Duke of Kent School. The plan was to run back to my house and do a full 26.2 miles but the darkness and conditions forced us to make a sensible decision and get a pick up via Dr G and her car full of warm coats and hats.

'Little Pecker' having a warm bath and a recovery shake

As I laid shivering in the bath warming up I thought about how great the encouraging tweets we got from our friends were in spurring us on today. Also Ive got a mental list of a few items we need by this weekend coming when we are doing our first 2 day running training with a camping stayover on the Greensand Way. We kick off the training weekend with another Ukejam gig at the Royal Oak with our band Genevieve and the Zut Alors on the Friday night.

It still hasn't totally sunk in that I met John Paul Jones..........The last thing he shouted back to us as his wife dragged him away was 'Zut Alors!'.

Maybe we can get him to join the band?

Claire's Running Soundtrack

I'm pretty sure my running soundtrack is the best. This is a really hard task, and I've got a feeling we might have to try this exercise again to pick some more tunes :)

Most of my songs have been chosen with running in mind, not necessarily just to listen to in the prescribed situations.

I tend to stick to fast energetic beats when I run. It's like doing that *listening to your mp3 player, walking around pretending you're in a music video* thing, but way bigger. Like you're in a chase scene of a movie, panting and adrenaline-filled, trying to get away from the bad guys.

Anyway here are my impeccable choices. Run to these and you'll get a PB. Fact*

*may not be a fact

Click the links to listen on YouTube to any of these tracks - or why not download them and make your own playlist?

1. A song to set off to at the start of our epic run.

The Prodigy: Climbatize

I haven't run with an mp3 player in for quite a while now, so this exercise has got me reliving my absolute favourite running tracks. I picked a few for this one, but it boils down to the original and best, Climbatize. Perfect tempo, perfect drums, perfect bass, perfect build, perfect drop, perfect atmosphere. Listen to this track and tell me your feet don't itch to be running fast and hard.

2. A song for running over scenic hills.

Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow

If you're not a fan of classical music, just give this one a try. It's only 6 mins long but has everything you need in an epic soundtrack piece. It's got happiness, intrigue, drama, clari and violin solos and a major chord ending (so it ends well!)

My rock 'n' roll credentials for this track is that we played it at Gatton Park residential music course in 2001 or 2 or 3...(band camp, basically) and I have a CD somewhere with me scraping away in the 2nd violins on it.

Picture the sunny day, the rolling hills, the streams and animals and stiles and bits going on...maybe stop for a jelly baby...the path gets a bit treacherous, maybe a steep uphill part (as Lee would call "a plateau")... maybe someone falls over... just imagine all that. Getting to the top of the hill around 3 minutes into the piece. Then savour that view, with this blasting in your ears. I want to cry just thinking about it!

3. A pick me up song when your blood sugar is low and your knees are weak and you have a few miles to go.

Anyone who knows me will know I spend much of my time doing anything having a go at myself. If I'm failing and weak and need to push on through, I'll probably shout at myself to keep going. I'm a bit thick like that, but it gets the message through.

To emphasise this, I need a song that tells me exactly what the fuck to do. For this reason, I've chosen Maximo Park: Apply Some Pressure. For the same reason, I'm putting the Mark Ronson feat. Paul Smith version in too (I sometimes prefer the tempo, and anything with extra horns in is a-ok by me).

Because, dear reader, what happens when you lose everything? You just start again. Start all over again.

4. A song for entering a 'local' pub , suspicious of us.

Prodigy: Invaders Must Die

Don't hate me for another Prodigy track so soon. I love this one too. It's epic to run to. I imagine entering the pub at the beginning of this one and then all hell breaking loose like in some sort of zombie film, stools and chairs flying everywhere, fighting the weird zombie locals because they're trying to eat our brains and all we want is some pork scratchings and maybe half a shandy.

Anyway. There it is, and it's a great one to run to. Run from the baddies!

5. A danger / peril song

System of a Down: Mr Jack

I love System of a Down. I grew up with them. I could have chosen a couple by them for this - possibly Peephole, but I think the build and climax (fnar) of this one fits the brief. Lots of people slated this album (SOAD's 3rd, Steal This Album) because it was all half-finished, unconnected worked-up demos, but I love it. And this track is ace.

6. A crazy times funny times silly times song.

I am a big fan of silly music. This is a tough choice. We could go multilingually silly... Nino Ferrer: Le Telefon

We could go for brain-shootingly badly musically silly... Blackout Crew: Put A Donk On It (with sign-language lady too)

But then I want a more ska silly song. So I decided on a song that you can't even fucking find on YouTube, the band last logged into their MySpace in 2009, but I don't care. This is Bison, they were amazing when they existed, and this is their song about getting more booze after an all-nighter, called Saturday Big Shop. (I'm sorry, MySpace music player sucks but please listen anyway, or find it on Spotify) - make sure you listen all the way to the end!

(If the link doesn't work for you, a suitable substitute would be Zen Baseballbat: Brown Cows of Elocution)

7. Something from a film or dvd or story that inspires you.

Dropkick Murphys: I'm Shipping Up To Boston

I don't watch many films (what if I don't like them? then I've wasted my time watching something I don't even like. Shit.) anyway. I have seen a few, actually. One of my absolute favourites is The Departed, which is set in Boston, and they use this Dropkick Murphys track which sounds great. Inspires me? Maybe not directly, but the goosebumps speak for themselves.

(honourable mention for Dropkick Murphys - Rocky Road To Dublin please, too.)

8. A mellow song to fall asleep to after a hard days running.

Incubus: Aqueous Transmission

This one is basically a no-brainer. It's mellow and lush and full of happy memories.

9. A song to run into Haslemere and finish the run to

The Temper Trap: Sweet Disposition

We need something euphoric. We need something epic. We need a song that'll make us run, and cry, and push ourselves to the last step. This song is another goosebumps one. With undulating vocal lines and the very appropriate lyrics:

"Just stay there, cause I'll be comin' over

and while our blood's still young
it's so young,
it runs
And we won't stop 'til it's over
Won't stop to surrender..."

You can't go wrong.

10. A retrospective song looking back on the whole run

Jamie T: Sticks and Stones

I absolutely love this song. It's got a great beat, it's about being young and ridiculous and it sounds epic. I can see a little montage film cut to this of us doing the run. To me, the lyrics say everything about stuff being hard sometimes, but getting through is easier with your mates around you.

Those are my choices - let me know what you thought; what would you have picked?

The Greensand Way 2012 crew - posing as if we were a pop group