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as I say, not as I do, eh? But I’m in no position to be casting first stones about the place, so I encourage him to tell me more.

      ‘I was going okay until the last 100 metres and then I got cramp in my leg and came to a halt. A spectator helped me with a quick calf massage and believe it or not, I was warned for getting outside help!’

      So, was the spectator by any chance female?

      ‘Well, yes, actually, she was,’ Roger admits, with feigned innocence. ‘How did you know that?’

      Ah ha! So that’s why he’s run so many marathons!

      He laughs, reading my not-so-subtle smug smile all too well.

      ‘Unfortunately, of all the marathons I’ve run, that’s only ever happened the once!’

      Oh.

      So what, pray, made him decide to run 100 marathons?

      ‘It just happened over time. It took me four years to get into double figures,’ he replies, as if he can’t quite believe it himself. ‘Then you just get used to doing them. And who wants to do long training runs? Gradually all your friends become runners, so that’s what you talk about.’

      The statistics, however, are never far away.

      ‘Statistics definitely led me to the choice of where and when to do my 100th,’ he tells me with a commendable lack of embarrassment on his part. ‘I ran my 100th marathon at the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996. I actually ran my 100th 10-mile event, my 100th half marathon and my 100th marathon in consecutive races!’

      That was over 15 years ago, but Roger still sounds quite excited.

      ‘I like statistics, you get carried away,’ he explains.

      So it would seem.

      ‘I think it’s important for everyone to have goals to aim at,’ he goes on.

      Not least himself, it would seem for apart from the sequence running record, Roger is the only Brit to have run a marathon in all 50 American States as well as on all seven continents of the world, while within the 100 Club, he’s the only person to have run all the continents in the same year as well as the most northerly (Spitzbergen, North Pole) and the most southerly (Fin Del Mundo, Antarctica) marathons in the world.

      ‘People will always be chasing something or someone else’s record – it’s good for motivation. That’s why the 100 Club are always trying to think up new competitions!’ he adds, with a twinkle in his eyes.

      ‘What sort of competitions?’ I ask suspiciously, though I’ve no idea why I should be suspicious. I mean, it’s not as though I’m planning on entering any of them, is it?

      ‘Oh, things like who can run a marathon in the most countries; who can run the most northerly, southerly, easterly, westerly marathons and we’re currently doing one for a marathon run in the most number of counties in the UK, including Southern Ireland. That’s a potential of 103 counties,’ he informs me, easily spotting the geographical flaw only marginally less than the mathematical flaw in my otherwise incomparable intelligence.

      ‘Sometimes, though,’ he adds, a worried frown creasing his brow, ‘I do worry that encouraging people to run lots of marathons means you produce slower runners who run a lot of races, rather than people who run fast.

      ‘I mean, I honestly believe if I hadn’t been running 30–40 marathons a year when I was younger, I could have gone under 3 hours,’ (Roger’s personal best is 3 hours 02 seconds, at the age of 42). ‘It’s too late now, of course, but I don’t regret it,’ he insists, almost defiantly.

      ‘Running every week is not a good idea if you want to get your times down, as you get no rest so do little training and actually end up running/training less mileage than guys who race only a few times a year.’

      So, how much training does he do then?

      ‘Assuming I race on Sunday, I’m usually in the gym on Monday morning, quite early. I weight train most weekdays; this includes some light CV work. I also do a lot of stretching in the gym. Then normally I would run on the Tuesday evening, usually doing two 5–6 mile runs.’

      Presumably he recovers fairly quickly from his marathon efforts?

      ‘Yes, you could say I recover quickly. Getting out of a car, though, is another matter!’

      No good blaming that on marathons, Roger. I have the same problem: it’s called ‘ageing’.

      Roger gives me a look that acknowledges the veracity of this. ‘You know,’ he continues, ‘I used to think when I looked at the times of older runners that I would be winning titles all over the place by this age, but I realise now those people who won at an older age won because they were very good runners for their age.

      ‘My performances at 60+ within the age category are better than when I was in the 50+ age category, but I think this is more down to less people participating due to health, injuries, old age, etcetera rather than me getting that much better.’

      Talking of which, does he see a day when he will pack it all in?

      ‘I don’t know whether I’ll make that decision myself or whether it will be made for me through injury or illness, or some other unforeseen circumstance. You know, in the Club we have a husband and wife whereby the husband has run 400+ and the wife 200+, and the husband says one day he thinks he will just decide that he’s had enough and won’t run another one ever again but I’d don’t know that for myself yet.’

      So, if other people are giving up due to age, what will keep him going?

      ‘The Club,’ he says simply, ‘the friends I’ve made, the after-race camaraderie – comparing notes on the day’s race, that awful hill, previous races, those yet to come…’

      And is there anyone who inspires him?

      ‘Rob in my local club has been a great friend over the years, although he doesn’t do too many these days. We still go for a training run together most weeks.

      ‘Myself & Jack [Brooks – fellow 100 Club member] go on a lot of events and trips together, and of course there is the Basher versus Dasher stories…’ (humorous reports on the Club’s website reporting the latest in a long-running, light-hearted rivalry between the two – Roger ‘Basher’ Biggs and Jack ‘Dasher’ Brooks – at various races).

      ‘And then there’s Gina [Little – 100 Club], who picks up a trophy most weeks and doesn’t think she is competitive. Not much!

      ‘There’s also our two wheelchair athletes, Mike [Marten] and Jerry [Forde] and Blind Paul [Watts] – they’re always an inspiration to the rest of us. Various people from the Club run as Paul’s guide, as and when they are available,’ he tells me.

      So, does the Chairman have any advice to give to aspiring 100 Marathon Club members?

      ‘Don’t do too many doubles [two marathons in two days] and be very careful with shorter distance events. Shorter events can be very good training, but you hit the ground a lot harder. They’re probably okay normally but if you’re just building up the miles, the body is fatigued and then you hit it with some fast stuff.’

      What about lucky charms or superstitions?

      ‘No lucky charms, not me, although I do like to make sure I have a hankie with me.’

      Er, why?

      ‘It just seems a sensible thing to carry.’

      Now he sounds like my mother!

      ‘In case I get a sudden cold or need to wipe my brow or, er, other problems,’ he expands.

      Enough information, thank you!

      ‘As for superstitions, I never wear the race shirt before the race except for trying it on for size. I don’t usually

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