Running the river Danube
Run report by club member Andy Muir.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining up with my friend Kieran Alger (aka manvmiles) on his epic adventure of running the length of the river Danube from the sea in Romania to the source in Germany. That’s 2000 miles in 67 days, an average of running a marathon every day!!!
A good cause
Kieran is running all these miles on the Danube to raise money for impoverished children worldwide, so if you're inspired and have any spare pounds, you can donate here. Every penny counts.
Kieran is having a Kracking time!
Playing my part
I was concerned about my ability to run Kieran’s daily distances, so after dropping off the car 17 miles away overnight, I attempted to get a few hours sleep whilst parked in a car park next to the Danube. The sunrise was spectacular, but I needed to get the train back to Melk, only for it to be cancelled at the last moment. Benedict came to the rescue (a random act of kindness from a fellow traveller on the train who drove me to Melk). Then my part of Kieran's adventure together started.
Listening to Kieran's tales of the last 50 days made the miles seem to just fly by. The stunning scenery, the quietness of the cycle paths, the stillness of the river, and the miles were just eaten up, and before we knew it, we were back in Ybbs au der Donau.
Andy admiring the view across the Danube
After a brief coffee, cake and social media update, I relieved Kieran of his stinky backpack (imagine running for 50 days in the same running kit with limited washing....it had a unique aroma!!!) this was my first day almost done, whilst I went to find the car and hope it was where I left it, Kieran continued.
We caught up a few miles down the road, we ran again through forests, and we were treated to more stunning scenery, I ran a total of 24 miles (I really should have managed another 2.2 miles to have made it a whole marathon!!)
Andy (left) and Keiran at an epic viewpoint
Each morning involved a logistical challenge of getting the hire car ahead of us, I would be up and out at 5.30 am to drop off the car, bus back to the start and then go running. After three days of plodding, we finished in Aushach an der Donau via Linz.
Kieran's secret to getting his body going each day....30 min walk to start each day, an easy pace to start, get into a rhythm and run to feel.
It's the first time I've run 20+ miles on back-to-back days, but the scenery was stunning, we had a lot of laughs, and the miles flew by. I managed to cover 65 miles over three days/Kieran did 83!!!
It was a real insight into ultra running. If you want to get more insight into his crazy adventures, see amazing scenery or just marvel at a guy that had a bonkers dream, then you can find him on all socials, and there is a daily update on YouTube. He's up to 62 days of running, so only five days to go!!
There’s also a great update on the Runner’s World podcast.
If you ever want an inspirational place to run or to go on a cycling holiday, I could not recommend these places highly enough. From Bratislava in Slovakia, through Vienna to Passau in German, the paths are brilliant and well marked with plenty of places to stop. Adventure heaven!!
Andy, exhausted after running 63 miles in three days
