A ROUTE 39 Academy PE teacher, Alex Boardman, has run 26.4 miles along a coastal footpath from Bude to Clovelly to enable wakeboarding to be included as an extended curricular option at the school.

After eight weeks of training, which saw him build up his distances from initial four to six mile runs to eventually over 14 miles and endure pain throughout his left knee, which he thought may hinder him, Alex was ready to start his monumental task on Monday, July 18 at 5.45am from Crooklets Beach.

With support systems in place to give him vital, energy and hydration at various stops, Alex knew of the difficulty facing him, especially after talking to experienced runners who informed that it’d take at least seven hours, three more than he was thinking.

However he was ready, and tells us in his own words how the day unfolded.

“When I woke up on Monday morning it was beautiful. There was barely a cloud in the sky and the sun was rising to my left. I had not trained for running this early in the morning so I was caught slightly off guard by the amount of dew on the grass, which made my feet very wet, very quickly.

“The plan was always to walk the steep valleys in order to conserve my energy to last the entire route. I ran the first seven miles by myself, which was fine as the terrain was not overly technical nor challenging.

“The major issue arose on mile four when that knee pain returned and forced me to limp down any descents. Although this was not a factor on time, it did make the remaining 22.4 miles rather painful. I met with my support team at Morwenstow Tea Rooms around 7.30 where I was joined by my great friend Ben Jarvis, to run the next eight miles to Hartland Quay.

“I knew that between Morwenstow and the top of Welcome was going to be very difficult as the valleys were very steep and the terrain was quite technical.

“Arriving at Hartland two hours later I was starting to feel rather fatigued so I stopped for around 30 minutes to change some very sweaty clothing and take on some much needed food. At this point I said goodbye to Ben who was replaced by another amazing friend, Steve Lloyd, who had agreed to complete the remaining eight miles.

“The next three miles were extremely painful. My knee was giving me some grief and the lactic acid was building up in my legs and arms.

“I have to say a huge thank you to the lady who was working in the little shop at Hartland Point car park, as I had consumed all my water by this point and with the heat pouring down on us I desperately needed a refill and the lady in the shop gave me a bottle of water to help me on my way. From here on-wards the terrain was relatively flat but it was the heat and general exhaustion that was slowing down our progress.

“A third and final stop at Beckland Farm gave us another opportunity to find some much needed shade and to refill our bottles before we descended in to the final valleys of the marathon. For those that know the area would appreciate that tackling Windbury Head and Mouthmill Beach on any normal day is very tough going.

“Once in Clovelly Estate and up Wrinkleberry Lane, I knew that the finish line was drawing near.

“As we passed the lower school I was delighted to be joined by my younger brother Bradley Olde who I asked to run with me for the final 300 metres to the finish line.

“As I was running up the final hill I could hear the cheering of young voices as the pathway was lined with the students and staff of our school. We arrived at the finish line at 1.40pm.

“It was an emotional time as not only had I completed this mammoth challenge but there was also a feeling of sadness as my focus for the past two months was over.”

Alex has raised £455 of the £900 needed to enable 15 students to enjoy six weeks of wakeboarding.

If you feel like you could help, and give the students the chance to do something they’re so passionate about, then please visit www.gofundme.com/coastalmarathon