Fetcheveryone Member of the Month

pedroscalls asks: Congratulations on winning MoTM Bvo. My question is, if time and money was no object what race or route would you like to do?

Bvo says: Thank you so much Pedroscalls

It would have to be the New York Marathon. New York has a special place in our hearts as that is where I asked my wife to marry me. It would also be the 3rd of the big 6 marathons complete. I would love to do the remaining 3 (Chicago, Boston & Tokyo) but New York would be my next big marathon desire. I also imagine that the support for New York would be EPIC as the city is so tightly packed in, plus the stunning sights as you work your way around the city. I think it would be that kind of race where the pain etc. just disappears because you are so in awe of the race itself. I think I will add the last big 4 as my goals throughout my 40's as we have plenty of plans between now and my 40th birthday

Elsie Too asks: Congratulations:-)
What gave you the idea and or inspiration to take on your 5km a day challenge?

Bvo says: Thank you Elsie Too

In late 2019 I was chatting with my wife and was explaining how fed up I was with my weight & lack of fitness and I wanted to try and fall in love with running again. When we met in 2013 I was a very keen runner and had been losing weight and running really fast. In the subsequent years we had spent our time enjoying ourselves and not exercising very well. Unfortunately that eventually catches up with you. I hadn't been enjoying training for 10KM and larger races so I thought about what I do enjoy. That brought me to parkrun. I love parkrun as it is a distance that isn't too far and can be over in 30/40 minutes. In the past I have run longer races to raise money for charity but I wanted to do something just for me this time and I thought that 5KM a day was achievable because it was like 30 minutes commitment per day. I can honestly say I never expected to get this far. I assumed injury, laziness or hangover would get me or at least I would have walked some of them but so far so good

westmoors asks: Congratulations Bvo. If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?

Bvo says: Thank you westmoors

This is probably the hardest question and one I have spent most time thinking about! My hero is Jonny Wilkinson and I even wrote my dissertation about his kicking technique. However, I actually met him at a book signing and he signed my dissertation! It was amazing and I would love to meet him again. If I was a millionaire I would have paid to have a kicking session with him as that is my ultimate dream. However, I am going to pick someone I haven't met before and pick Lenny McClean. An unusual choice but I would love to sit and chat about all the things he experienced as the Guvnor of London. I read his autobiography and it is truly epic. The first time I was introduced to him was in Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels as he plays the character Barry the Baptist. I know that he has a criminal background but he had a code he lived by and was a gentle giant to those not in that world.

Being cheeky and choosing another one though .... If I could meet any movie/tv character (as in the actual character and not the actor) I would love to meet and have a few drinks with Barney Stinson (from How I met your mother) I just imagine it would be the greatest night out in histroy... or as he would put it... 'It would be Legen-------DARY'

GimmeMedals asks: Congratulations Bvo. What will you be doing on New Years Day when your challenge is over - will you run or not?

Bvo says: Thank you GimmeMedals

I honestly don't know what I will do. Running 5K has now become a habit so I don't know if my legs will be trying to push me out the door. I think I will probably rest though and may be plan my goals for 2021

I definitely think it will feel odd having a rest day though. To be honest I think Wifey will be the most relieved this challenge is over. I couldnt ask for more support from her but she has sacrificed having fun on certain days because I have had to go out and run so she may give me the stern face and order a rest day on the sofa to start 2021 ha ha

RRR-CAZ 🇬🇧 asks: Congratulations Bvo. If you were to be able to have a golden ticket for any sporting event what would you choose to watch ?

Bvo says: Thank you RRR-CAZ 🇬🇧

That's actually quite easy... The rugby world cup final. I would love to attend a rugby world cup final with England winning. If I could pick an event I could go back in history to watch (I won't pick the obvious 2003 world cup win for England) I would love to have a ticket to the 2008 Olympics to watch Usain Bolt smash 3 sprint world records. I remember watching it on TV over the few days and I haven't seen a single human doing anything more spectacular in my life. Truly Epic!

Ness asks: Congratulations, Bvo. Do you have any other plans for a different challenge after you’ve finished the ‘5k a day for a year’ challenge? Is 5k your favourite distance to run or do you prefer longer runs?

Bvo says: Thank you Ness

I have an idea of what I want to do next year Certainly nothing as big as this but I want to break the 48 minute 10KM mark again (probably at Lincoln as I had a really bad run in 2019 that really upset me and I want to vanquish that demon). I think I would like to run at least 5 x 10K's next year but will be Covid dependant.

I think 10K is my favourite distance. It is that perfect mix of a physical challenge but something I can aim to run quickly. I am usually most proud of myself when I do half's & full's but they take so long that there is often large parts I dont enjoy due to the physical pain and mental battles. 10K's are the right distance for me to push quickly but don't take so long I end up having a full argument with myself in my head ha ha. I have thoroughly enjoyed the 5k's though and deffo will keep pushing them in my training plan. I do want to add some weight based exercise next year as I have ONLY done runs this year

_Suze_ asks: Well done Bvo! If you could have the perfect post run recovery meal , cooked by anyone, anywhere in the world, what would it be?

Bvo says: Thank you SusiesueHarp

I hope you don't mind but I went with a full three course post recovery meal menu

Starter - I would have the Jack Daniels Glazed Chicken Strips from TGI Friday's.
Main Course - My mum's lasagne. It is truly epic
Pudding - Wifey's banoffee pie could solve wars, it is that good

If we are talking post run treats as well - DONUTS all day long!! as many as i can fit in my mouth!! ha ha!! Dunkin Donuts are may fave though

Raggedy runner asks: Congratulations - your running streak is amazing. There must be days when you don’t feel like it or the weather is crap. How do you talk yourself into ‘just do it’?

Bvo says: Thank You raggedy Runner

I have lot's of days when I feel like that to be honest, ha ha!! Days when I just want to lay down and rest my legs The weather at the start of the year was pretty bad and thankfully the early days of the challenge were easy because the short term goals were easy (reach 1 week, reach 1 month etc.) By March the fact that so many people were following the challenge and giving me such positive vibes everyday, had replaced the short term goals for motivation. There have been days when I really didnt want to go, and I mean REALLY didnt want to go. Pain, tiredness and just wanting to rest have all been things that have given me that feeling. Thankfully through all of it I have had my absolute rock by my side. Wifey has been the main motivator. She knows how important this is to me and when I have been close to sacking it off she has told me to go and when I got home met me with a smile, dealt with the grumpy attitude and kept the streak going. I can promise you all that without my Wife Id have failed this challenge a long time ago.

Velociraptor asks: Many congratulations, Bvo. It was only a matter of time! You went into your daily 5k challenge with a respectable running history behind you. What got you into running in the first place?

Bvo says: Thank you Velociraptor

I honestly cannot believe I won MOTM. There are so many amazing people on here and I have only been here a short time. For people to enjoy it enough to nominate and vote for me is truly humbling.

The answer to your question is lung disease. I lost my grandparents to emphysema when I was at university and then my aunty was diagnosed with it in 2008. In 2010 she had a double lung transplant and I wanted to find a way to raise some money for the hospital that had saved her life. I had always been in to sport and thought about running some races to raise money. I started training and did some 10K's in 2010 and then in 2012 I set myself a challenge to raise £2,000 by running 5 major races. London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Sheffield 10K and a couple of half marathons (Nottingham and Gateshead I recall) in the same year and I fell in love with it as a hobby. I was still playing rugby at this time but I was getting injured more & more but my running was getting better and better. I have used running as my primary exercise form ever since but had a love/hate relationship where i run a lot, then dont run much at all and then go back to it. I think the fact that it was the sport I was actually good at was why I loved it so much and doing this challenge has helped me fall in love with it again.

BarefootEm asks: Well done BVO! How have you kept yourself motivated to get outside every single day? And has it been harder or easier than you thought?

Bvo says: Thank you BarefootEm

At the start it was just about achieving those short term goals but as the challenge has gone on other things have kept me going, in particular you bunch of fetchie smashers. On the days I really don't want to go out I imagine having to type that the challenge is over and that is more than enough motivation to go out as I don't want to let anyone down, especially myself. Wifey is absolutely the biggest motivator though. She knows when I am struggling and she has sacrificed a lot to support me in this challenge. On days when I have been grumpy and don't want to go she has taken me to doddington hall in the rain just so I am not alone so there is plenty of motivation but I couldnt do it without her. On the whole it has been easier than I thought but I knew there would be days when I didn't want to do it, I never imagined just how dark those feelings would get. I suppose the answer is both Majority of it easier but the hard days have been so much harder than I thought they would be.

Angus Clydesdale asks: Well done. What is bvo, and why is it your handle?

Bvo says: Thank you Angus Clydesdale

Ha ha ha, I knew this one would come up. Wifey was laughing about this the other night, she said 'What are you going to say if someone asks you why BVO?'. About an hour later your question appeared, ha ha.

I really wish it was something interesting but unfortunately it isn't. When I left university my first job was working for Vodafone in their corporate customer department. Corporate customers order massive amounts of product in bulk. There were 2 lads already in the team and I was the third one and so my work nickname became BVO3 - it stands for Bulk Volume Order. My nickname is Badger and my Wife only refers to me as Badger but when I signed up for Fetch there was already a Badger here so I just used the handle of my email address BVO. I really wish it was more interesting but sadly not ha ha

Tikka asks: Thrilled skinny with your win, so well deserved.

Now that you’ve experienced training at both ends of the spectrum – 5K and marathon – on balance, which would you say you prefer: running every day for a shorter distance; or running several days a week interspersed with rest days but doing more miles on some of those runs?

Bvo says: Thank you Tikka, a very special thank you as well as I think you nominated me for 6 straight months it is very much appreciated and gives me such a fantastic confidence boost

Thats a tough question actually. I have enjoyed the 5k's because it is a nice time for fitness and breaks up the day. When I have trained for the longer runs I haven't enjoyed the actual training but I think on balance I prefer the longer race because of the feeling of achievement it gives me inside and all the support on race days but I enjoy training at shorter distances. I think when I do more longer distance stuff next year I will keep the shorter distances in my plan for enjoyment and have 1 longer run each week to help acclimatise the body I have enjoyed this challenge a lot more than I thought though

Alice the Camel asks: Congratulations young man! Chuffed for you! I’d like to know if you’ve always been sporty - were you in any school teams? How did you discover your talent for distance running?

Bvo says: Thank you Alice the Camel

I have always been sporty. My dad was in the air force and played in the RAF football teams before he got a nasty injury. Then he became the manager and my brothers have always been sporty. My brother Kevin had a choice to be a pro golfer or pro footballer when he was 16 but ultimately turned down both chances as he didnt want the hassle that goes with potentially doing that. When I was 13 I went to boarding school in Surrey while my parents moved to Berlin and I got to play in every sport team you can imagine. I was captain of the football team, i played rugby, I was in the athletics team, played badminton and table tennis and was part of a hockey team that did some amazing things in years 10 & 11. By the time I left school for college my true love of rugby had come out. I was never any good at rugby (well other than kicking for goal) but I loved it. I enjoyed the training, the games (even when i was injured and when we lost) and I enjoyed the family that you become part of. One of my proudest achievements was being asked to be 2nd team captain of my local rugby team in Southwell. As I mentioned earlier I started running to raise money for charity but in 2013 I joined a running club because injury had forced me to stop playing rugby ( I still coached but couldn't play anymore). When I joined it was a way to lose weight and meet people but as I ran more I got faster and faster. It was the first sport I had ever done where I actually felt pretty good at it. I ran 15 races between August and December and every single race I finished with a PB. I even won runner of the year and I only joined them in late July. It didnt matter if it was 10k's, Half's or Full marathon's I always finished with a PB and it was an epic feeling. It was just filling a gap in my life until I met Wifey in December 2013 and then I no longer needed running. It was time to get fat and be happy and the rest is history really