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Phil Cottrell
51 Plays3 years ago
In episode number 42 of the UKSportsChat podcast I speak with Phil Cottrell.
Phil is the Digital Editor - Fundraising at Macmillan Cancer support. He is currently running 52 Half Marathons in 52 weeks fundraising for Macmillan.
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Transcript
Introduction to UK Sports Chat
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, how are you all? Welcome to episode number 42 of the UK Sports Chat podcast. I'm Joe Williams and today I am speaking with Phil Cottrell.
00:00:11
Speaker
Phil is the Digital Editor of Fundraising at Macmillan Cancer Support and is currently running 52 half marathons in 52 weeks fundraising for Macmillan. If you get a moment after listening, please do leave us a review.
How to Connect and Support
00:00:28
Speaker
It really helps with ratings and you can get in touch with us with any comments via our social media channels or on info at ukrunchat.co.uk.
00:00:38
Speaker
Hope you all enjoy this chat with Phil. Enjoy the lovely weather. We have set for the coming week. Stay safe, hydrated, wear sun cream and all that good stuff. And we'll see you on the next episode. Welcome Phil. Hi Joe, how's it going? Yeah, really well. Thank you. How are you?
00:00:58
Speaker
I'm very well, as we've just chatted off, I'm well, but still slightly disappointed about the England result. Yeah, we've just had a chat about that, it was disappointing. So for our English football fans on UK Run Chat, it was very disappointing.
00:01:15
Speaker
Maybe the Scotland and Welsh fans will be pleased. So thank you for coming on. As I said in the intro, you're part of the team at Macmillan.
Phil's Role in Digital Transformation
00:01:32
Speaker
Do you just want to give us an introduction to yourself and tell us about your role?
00:01:36
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So I started at Macmillan just over three years ago now as part of the digital team. So I came in initially as on the fundraising side. So digital editor looking after
00:01:52
Speaker
our content in fundraising, so whether or not that's all our products from coffee morning to the smallest running events. That role has sort of expanded a bit and now I sort of look on across all of our editorial platforms, so whether or not that's cancer information, our volunteers, or still on the fundraising side.
00:02:18
Speaker
Most recently we've been working on moving across all of our content and updating it through our digital transformation program. So the last sort of probably 18 months, two years has been spent updating all of our cancer information on the website and now moving through to donation and fundraising.
00:02:40
Speaker
Sprucing up our content, making stuff a lot easier to find, just making it more digitally friendly, digitally leading in the field, and just trying to get people to the right place as quick as they can, basically. Yeah, very important.
Running Journey During Lockdown
00:03:02
Speaker
So, like I said in the introduction, I've also alluded to your challenge. So go on, tell us about what you're up to. So, yeah. So basically, I guess it's probably easier to give you a bit of background and sort of start why I'm doing it. At the start of the first lockdown, I think sort of like a lot of people, I wasn't necessarily struggling with my mental health, but I was very aware of it. I was
00:03:30
Speaker
I was probably eating too much. I was drinking probably a little bit too much and spending too much time working and being in the house. So I made the decision, get my trainers on, get back out there, basically. And that was May, I think sort of around May last year.
00:03:53
Speaker
And then with no real clear goals as to what I was doing, apart from just running and feeling a bit better about myself, started working a little bit. So I carried on, ran my first half marathon ever in, I think midway through the June of last year. And then went on to do another 15 last year. Really enjoying it, just clearing my head. Most of them, I think, if not all, were just on my own.
00:04:24
Speaker
around my local area and just a reason to sort of get out, get away from the homeschooling, get away from the house itself and just clear my head and feel a bit better. So when you said you got your trainers back on, have you previously been a runner or was that new as part of lockdown?
Sports Background and Injury
00:04:47
Speaker
How have you been sporty prior to?
00:04:49
Speaker
So growing up and sort of school wise, I was always sporty. I had a racket in my hand, a ball at my feet, running, whatever it was, I just, I wanted to be outside doing sport, being active. And ran sort of a, let's say, probably a lower county level. So I was, I was okay. I was a bit useful from anything sort of from 400s upwards.
00:05:15
Speaker
But then sort of just gradually stopped being quite as active. I had a knee injury in sort of my early to mid 20s. It sort of stopped me doing anything for about a year. And then, sorry? What injury was it?
00:05:34
Speaker
I did my ACL and all the other CLs that are in there. My surgeon said it was the worst it's seen. It basically just cleared everything out. So not grand.
00:05:49
Speaker
Football, one of those. No one anywhere near me, just went over on my ankle and the knee decided to explode a bit. I've done the same football as well to ACL. Not all you've done, you've done the lot. Is it MCL? Is it PCL? He just said there's basically nothing left.
00:06:10
Speaker
But yes, and it's one of those that it's like, did I rehab it completely properly? Probably not. So it's taken sort of quite a long time to get to get that strength back. I still feel my hamstring because they took the
00:06:27
Speaker
tendered from the hamstring to stitch back into the knee so that that's had knock-on effects sort of over the years and it does mean that sort of running now i'm always wary of it so i overcompensate and then my right knee now ends up hurting so
00:06:43
Speaker
It's ongoing, but yeah. So after that, I'd say the last 10 years it's been off and on. I've been out there running a bit, but probably was doing 5K here and there, doing it for a couple of weeks and then giving up again. So this has been the first time that it's been
00:07:05
Speaker
Proper running, I'd say, for a long, long time. Consistent. Yeah, very consistent. Probably over the last year, a bit too much. And I've sort of been wary of that recently, where I've sort of knocked off a little bit in terms of distance. So you found...
00:07:29
Speaker
the love for it again and it almost because a lot of people do this and it almost takes over again because you know you want to get out every day or as often as you can and up your body completely addicted completely addicted to how it makes me feel I'm a bit competitive if you ask anyone who knows me a lot competitive with myself with others and it's I want to run further on one faster
00:07:58
Speaker
sometimes to my detriment.
52 Half Marathons Challenge
00:08:00
Speaker
But yeah, ultimately, so I'm running 52 half marathons this year. That's, that's the plan. I'm 41 in now after this weekend. And yeah, sorry. Go on. So why did you decide to do this?
00:08:19
Speaker
Yeah, so to be honest, it got to the point, sort of, it was over Christmas time and sort of thinking about, you know, New Year's plans and, uh,
00:08:30
Speaker
what am I going to do with running this year? And I just couldn't work out a challenge. So I just carried on sort of running the way I was until about April. And I was just like, you know what, I've never run an actual event. So I signed up for the Oxford half. And I thought,
00:08:50
Speaker
right not only sign up for it but let's let's raise a bit of money for for Macmillan as well. I know how much we need the money at the moment so it's just like if it's helping me and my mental health then let's try and do something a little bit bigger around it as well. Now my friends and family uh they know I talk about running all the time now so they know how much I'm doing and I just thought
00:09:16
Speaker
People might sponsor me a little bit for running the Oxford half, but really they know that's not for me a big challenge. So I thought, how can I make it a little bit bigger and actually test myself a little bit more? So I thought, yeah, one a week seems like the way to go without going. I know you've had Gary McKeon who's an absolute fundraising legend for Macmillan. So I'm not quite at the level of 110 marathons in 110 days, but
00:09:44
Speaker
For me, it felt like a stretch, but an achievable goal. Yeah, it's a big goal. That's half marathon a week for a year is a lot. And for those who haven't heard the Gary interview, you go back and have a listen to it. So Gary completed, I think, was it in May that he finished? He'd done 110 marathons in 110 days from Macmillan. And he'd actually done 100 in 100 days a few years before that as well. He's quite incredible.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's beyond my belief. I've run one full marathon just because I felt I had to last year and just to see how painful it really is. And it is just one of them for a week, two weeks after I wasn't feeling in a good way. And the idea of sort of waking up the next day and just going again and again and again, it's very, very impressive. Yeah, the whole mental side of it is,
00:10:44
Speaker
is what impresses me the most. It's, yeah, yeah. The determination to do something like that is incredible. So I think sort of him just at him doing the same group as well, sort of day after day, I just, I think that's the thing that I've struggled with quite a lot recently that I'm sort of running past the same things. I like, I like to mix up roots quite a lot just cause to keep it fresh. Yeah. And I know it's just like that. Yeah. That mental ability to just, right. Here we go again.
00:11:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. So what's your schedule then? Are you training in between these half marathons? Have you got a set day that you're doing them? What did your week look like? So this is the thing. So again, if you ask anyone, I don't do the right things.
00:11:41
Speaker
I don't have much of a schedule. I tried to a little bit. I do a little bit of speed training. I'll try and fit in a couple of 5Ks a week, if I can, just to work on that speed. But apart from that, it really is when I fancy it.
00:12:05
Speaker
If I'm feeling good, I'll go out. If I'm not now, I won't. I think April, I ran 13, which was too much. So I, yeah, it literally is. If I feel like it, I'm going to go out and run. So that was more than one every, every three days.
00:12:28
Speaker
Yeah and to be honest I felt good for most of April and it was it was one of those I think I'd taken a week off work as well so I was getting out in the week and it was just it was a nice sort of running holiday um but yeah I don't do the right things we've actually got um
00:12:46
Speaker
a brilliant lady at Macmillan who's one of our well-being champions Claire Graham and she's one of the top half marathon runners in the UK for her age group so I sat down and had a really good chat with her and she was talking about sort of putting together a schedule for me and you know we chatted nutrition we chatted stretching properly and and all the things that I know that I've got to do if I want to run faster yeah but
00:13:12
Speaker
To be honest, it goes back to the mental health thing for me. It started becoming, it felt like a bit of a job. The challenge became a bit too much and it wasn't having that sort of good feeling anymore. So I was just like, you know what, this year it's just about fun. It's about
00:13:37
Speaker
just enjoy trying to enjoy those runs a bit more rather than putting the pressure on of.
00:13:43
Speaker
trying to get quicker, trying to get too fast. It's like I think sort of maybe next year is going to be the one where I really try and sort of bring those times down a bit. So have you tried to run a specific time too far then at all or not? Is that what you have? So I ran 134 last year and sort of to run that close to an hour and a half, I think now that's the target. I do want to dip under an hour and a half and
00:14:09
Speaker
Hopefully, I'm thinking because I'm running five events over the next couple of months and I'm hoping with a couple of pace runners, they might be able to drag me over that or under that 90 minute barrier.
00:14:22
Speaker
Um, so that's, that's the goal in terms of pace, but I think sort of really it's to get out there and experience of running with other people. Um, something that I haven't done since, you know, events at school. So that's, that's really exciting at the moment because most of my runs are either solo or I've been going out with, um, I've been doing a lot of sort of trail stuff with my friend who mountain bikes. So it's nice to sort of get out with him and chase him down hills and wait for him at the top of them. Yeah.
00:14:52
Speaker
So these ones that you've done so far then, you're going out with no specific time. Are you wearing your earphones and listening to books and podcasts and music? Yeah, I can't listen to music. I just find it throws my pace off completely. But yeah, I will pop on a podcast or two and get them done. Any favourites? Any favourite podcasts?
00:15:21
Speaker
Uh, anything comedy wise, I love off menu, any sporting podcasts. I'm a big Arsenal fan. So I'm always sort of listening to an Arsenal podcast, something that I don't really need to concentrate too much on. And it's just in the background.
00:15:38
Speaker
But I do enjoy not sometimes as well and just trying to zone into the run rather than anything else. But I find with the longer runs, I just need something to sort of take my mind off it sometimes. Yeah, I understand that. So you've done 41. Yeah. You're doing five live events, did you just say?
00:16:07
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm running Vitality half. I'm running London Landmarks on the 1st of August. That's the first one. Yeah. I'm doing Richmond as well, which should be really nice through Q. Yeah. Really excited for that one. Ealing and Oxford. I think that's, that's all of them. Cool. So you, you,
00:16:31
Speaker
You sound very relaxed when you talk about your running and you're saying that you don't do things like your nutrition but it feels like you've done the majority of these and now you're kind of honing into some events because you've got a little bit more time to complete the remaining
00:16:50
Speaker
remaining and have you got left sorry 11 is it yeah 11 left so to be I feel like I'm on on the home's direction now yeah very much and if I if I get to 52 and there's still a couple of more months to go then you know we'll probably do a few more yeah because I definitely don't want to stop now but it's
Weather Impact on Running
00:17:14
Speaker
Yeah i think sort of there's been my plan was but the weather was going to be so hot this summer but i wanted to get sort of the break the back of it early so i didn't have to be out running when it was too hot but you know if i look outside right now i think i think i'd be safe running in this weather.
00:17:32
Speaker
Yeah, although I think there's a heatwave forecast isn't there next week, so I think you might be right.
First Live Event Post-Lockdown
00:17:37
Speaker
It's going to be right next week. I'm not a big fan of running in the heat. I'd much rather be out there in the snow than the heat. Yeah, I'd prefer the rain and the cold personally. I think I'll find a deep winter morning. Love that. How are you feeling about taking part in a live event then, if you haven't done that before?
00:17:58
Speaker
a mixture of things, to be honest, I think sort of there's definitely a bit of nerves there. I know what I'm like, in terms of like I said, with my competitiveness, I hope I just don't go off miles an hour and burn out after the first couple of K. Yeah. Which is a real possibility, I think, but also just the excitement of
00:18:23
Speaker
being involved in something again, I think. I used to love going to the football and being part of a crowd. It's as simple as that sounds at the moment. Watching the football and other sport on TV and there being crowds of people together again, it feels very odd. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to feel until I'm there, I guess.
00:18:48
Speaker
But definitely looking forward to just being part of something. So have you had any injuries or setbacks over this last 12 months then? Because you've put a lot of...
00:19:03
Speaker
stress on your body to jump into what you've what you've done i suppose from from not yeah i think sort of less so the last sort of 12 months the thing that i sort of probably has stopped me in the past running more has been running in bad trainers trainers that aren't suited for me um again one of the things of not doing things right
00:19:25
Speaker
So those things sort of flaring up at me not listening to my body or people suggesting I should buy some new trainers, that sort of stopped me really running. Whereas the one thing I have been sensible about is regularly buying new trainers and trainers that I should be running in. And I think that that's gone a long way to preventing a lot of the injuries.
00:19:52
Speaker
I started playing football again not so long ago and obviously the running's been sort of fine. The second I played football, the groin went, the hamstring went, everything fell apart of it. So again, just listening to my body a little bit more and then not going to run a half marathon for a little while. Niggly stuff, to be honest.
00:20:19
Speaker
couple of mild ankle injuries. I had a weird cyst pop up on my foot, which was a bit strange, which seems to have now calmed down. But yeah, the knees are always sort of the ones for me that are gonna take a bit of a battering and I need to look after them. And I think it is just one of those that rather than just going out and running through the pain, which I'm,
00:20:49
Speaker
have been quite famous for recently. Listening to my body a bit, like you said, I've got time to complete this, so if things hurt, then there's no reason not to take a weekend off. Just being a little bit more sensible with things. I agree. I think you're going to get to the sub 90, I really do, because if you're already at 134 and you've
00:21:21
Speaker
Like you say, you've got no schedule or no structure. I think, you know, if you start adding in some speed sessions, you know, and being a little bit more structured, then I think you'll be beyond having a pace to pull you along. I think you'll be going sub 90, so best of luck with that. No, I do think so. And when I was chatting to Claire before, it's sort of that fear of making it
00:21:51
Speaker
making it everything in my life. It's just like, I think there's no reason why I can't run sub 90, but then, then where do I go with that? Like, I know what I'm like, cause then I want to go sub 85 and sub 80. And it's, it's making sure that, like I said, it's making sure that the enjoyment's still there and it's not just chasing times.
00:22:13
Speaker
it is the balance completely and it's sort of something that I've really enjoyed doing the trail stuff because I know that there's not a PB on here so I can just enjoy the run and just run for the sake of it rather than trying to chip away at that time. Yeah it's been a really interesting chat this because I mean you've described
00:22:39
Speaker
Your story, so you used to run a lot when you were younger and you're at a good level and then children, family, work, lockdown comes and you drink a bit too much, you eat a bit too much. I mean, I was exactly the same, but now you're describing almost like a new runner's journey after you've had a serious injury and then you went to this new runner's journey where you wanted a challenge, but you're much more aware of your own
00:23:07
Speaker
mental health and family life and balance. And it's the same, I think it's the same challenges that so many of us go through. It is easy to get, I'm obsessed, but it is easy to get really, really focused on something, which is a good thing, but it can also, you know, if you're not consciously aware, it can be, it can be detrimental as well. So it's, yeah. Absolutely. And I think sort of, for me, it was throwing
Running for Mental Health
00:23:37
Speaker
all of my sort of mental health coping mechanisms into running and that can never be the right solution because when running becomes tough and you don't want to do it
00:23:51
Speaker
then it's no longer that thing that's supporting your mental health. It's becoming another barrier towards feeling healthy and fair. So it is finding that balance and using it in the right way for me and making sure that there are other things that you can use as coping mechanisms as well. Yeah. And if there's ever been a time
00:24:13
Speaker
for people that we need to go easy on ourselves. I think this lasts what we've been through, you know, globally. Imagine the time really, so it's really interesting to get your take on.
Fundraising for Macmillan
00:24:28
Speaker
Oh, 100%. And it is that reason why I'm doing it as well and remembering why I'm doing it. You know, Macmillan as a charity have suffered hugely because of COVID. You know, we're expecting to be 100 million down to put it into perspective due to the pandemic. So we need
00:24:52
Speaker
we need every penny more than ever. So if I can raise, initially I thought a couple of hundred quid would be great. I think I've just got over the thousand pound mark and hopefully by the end of the year, that'll be more. So it is just one of those things that
00:25:16
Speaker
keeping the reason why I've actually decided to do it in mind is key as well. And it really does help when you've got 5K left and you don't want to do it. When it is hard, when you're running up a hill, it does make it easier. It really does. Yeah, it's good. What do you want to do away from running, Phil? Got a favourite other hobby?
00:25:40
Speaker
Well, up until this weekend, football. But it's always been a big part of my life, whether or not it's watching or being out there. I coached my son's under sevens football team, which just got into it and it was sort of a headache that I could have done without and now it's sort of a headache that I couldn't live without. It's a big commitment, isn't it?
00:26:06
Speaker
It is a commitment but it's so rewarding sort of seeing the boys sort of improve and just enjoy it, just enjoy being out there and again sort of it's been so stop and start because of Covid that it's been a really hard year for them to sort of
00:26:24
Speaker
you know, being able to enjoy their football and it's so great that they're back out there now playing tournaments and just having fun. And that's the key with all of it. Seeing the sort of smiles on the faces is so rewarding. Apart from that, eating and watching Netflix, I think that was the thing, the first lockdown especially, I think, like,
00:26:53
Speaker
a lot of people I think I completed Netflix and yeah just sort of as much as possible just just enjoying sort of family time as well whatever that is days out and just enjoying uh yeah seeing my son grow up is that's that's the main thing for me and sort of
00:27:16
Speaker
He did tell me the other day that he was inspired by what I'm doing, which, you know, is massive. And he now wants to do a challenge sort of over the summer for Macmillan. So that sort of thing is more rewarding than anything else. Yeah, that's really good.
Connect and Fundraise
00:27:33
Speaker
Phil, are you on social media? Can people connect with you?
00:27:37
Speaker
I'm on, well, I've got a Twitter, which I'd never use. I'm a little bit more active on, on Instagram. Yeah. I think it's just Phil Cottrell. And obviously my, um,
00:27:56
Speaker
My Just Giving page is fundraising slash field dash cultural. If anyone feels so obliged to chip in and help. Yeah, brilliant. It's at Team Macmillan for the Macmillan team. We take part in events, isn't it? If anyone wants to interact on there. Thanks for coming on and having a chat to us. We love being partners with Macmillan and everything that the team there do. And I look forward to
00:28:26
Speaker
to see your sub 90 attempts when you go for it.