Joe Lowden Marathon Runner

Another phone call to my son, and he explained that due to my postural problems, my lungs had never had to cope with running so quickly and now that I had no restrictions my breathing capacity would take a little time to adapt to keep up with this new and improved running style. Unbelievably, this proved to be the case over the next two weeks when I clocked a time of 53:45.

This represented a huge decrease of four and a quarter minutes in just five weeks since being introduced to the mouthguard. And just as importantly, I experienced no knee or back pain during this five week period.These results have amazed me as an experienced runner, and I wonder if someone at 60 can achieve these gains, what would it do for a younger runner or even an Olympic athlete?

I cannot wait for this year’s Great North Run to compare my finish time to those of years gone by. If as expected my time is greatly improved then this development has literally turned the clock back for me as a runner and I suspect this will not be my last Great North Run after all!