36th Real, Berlin Marathon

- celebrating 20 years of Running Without Boundaries



The Training started with a 12 week training schedule at the end of June - in a heatwave. I have (un)fond memories of a 13 mile training run in Richmond Park which was supposed to include 5 miles at marathon pace. The only time I achieved anything like marathon pace was when I spotted a water fountain and managed to briefly unstick my parched tongue from the roof of my mouth. It got better (and colder, and wetter) and by the end of the 12 weeks I felt fit enough to start the 12 week programme and do it properly. If only we'd started at the end of April...........................

The Nutrition included trying to get down to "ideal" race weight and therefore meant cutting out all those delightful empty calories consumed at the pub. The ultimate sacrifice came with the last pint of beer enjoyed on 31st August - I really didn't think I could do it but the next one had to wait until 5.45 (German time) on 20th September. Was it worth it? Hell no!

The Preparation went well until I got a sore throat and temperature a fortnight before the race. Good races at the Beast and the September 5k increased my confidence but then I caught another cold a week later. How is that possible?!!

The Trip started badly with a nightmare journey from the airport to the hotel (involving an underground train which suddenly started going backwards returning us to where we had just come from!) and a very late night, followed by only 2 hours of sleep thanks to a group of teenagers running up and down the corridors, screaming and slamming doors until 4am and then getting up and starting their noisy behaviour again at 6am. Unable to leave the hotel from hell due to everywhere else in our price range being fully booked we invested in ear plugs and at least got some sleep the following evening. We spent way too much time on our feet on Friday and Saturday and on Saturday evening joined the rest of Yeovil Town RRC for a meal which was booked for 6.30pm. The food, which was mediocre to say the least, finally arrived at about 8.15pm foiling our plans for a very early night.

The Day started at 5.15pm. Having selected the hotel from hell due to it's proximity to the railway station, the trains weren't running every 10 minutes as normal due to "technical difficulties" which meant we had to catch a train at 6.24 which got us to the start at about 6.40 - giving us well over 2 hours to hang around before the race.

The Start saw the traditional team photo before we went our seperate ways to drop off bags, queue for loos and enter our respective starting pens. Martin and I were together in Pen D. Already it was a very hot, unseasonably hot for the time of year. A prompt start at 9am and it took us just over a minute to cross the line and a very slow start due to the crowds of people who had decided to start much nearer the front than they should have. Tim Hawkins from Yeovil finished in 144th place and a time of 2.37 and said he overtook about 500 people in the first couple of miles!

The Race saw Martin and I jogging the first mile well under target pace but as soon as we got going properly Martin cruised ahead and I began panicking about maintaining my sub 3.15 pace.
By 5km I was well on target despite the slow first mile and felt quite comfortable. However, I was not prepared for the crowds and found it very difficult to maintain even running. There were some bottlenecks where everyone slowed and I was continually having to dodge and weave to try and maintain the pace. The water stops were a complete scrum - drinks on one side only and in cups not bottles. I think I lost 20 - 30 seconds at each one, people were picking up a cup and then stopping to drink causing everyone else to pile in the back of them and underfoot was like a skating rink with discarded cups and water. On the other hand it was far too hot to risk missing any of the stops and each one became an energy sapping exercise in survival. I had studied the course in detail in advance and learnt about all the famous historical sites we would be passing by. I really tried to pay attention but I must be honest - I didn't see any of them. The race became a blur of constantly checking the average pace on my GPS, trying to maintain the pace and trying to stay hydrated in the increasing heat. At 25km I was still just under target pace but an upset stomach meant I had to dive into a portaloo and by the time I re-emerged I was off target and I never regained it. The last 2 miles my pace dropped right off and keeping going became increasingly hard. Turning the corner into Under der Linden Strasse I could see the Brandenburg Gate ahead and I knew the finish was just the other side - it was the only land mark I didn't miss! I crossed the finishing line in 3.16.23 and almost immediately found Martin on the other side, waiting for me under the guise of pretending to be sick so that the officials didn't move him on! I soon learnt that he too had not achieved his goal sub 3 hours and had finished in 3.08.10, also beaten by the crowds and heat.

The Post Mortem found that it wasn't our fault!!! Although we were both disappointed after all the training and preparation (did I mention the no alcohol?!) given the conditions we had to accept that it could have been a lot worse.

The Stats make me feel a lot better. I was 4th Yeovil runner home, 10th in my age group and 122nd lady overall out of 7060. Of our team mates 3 achieved PBs, all finished safely and unscathed and most were happy with the times they did.

The Highlights were the first pint of beer in 20 days, the second pint of beer in 20 days, patting Gebrselassie on the shoulder at the awards ceremony despite the best efforts of his bodyguards to keep the peasants at bay and finally, finally, managing to set off the metal detector at the airport on the way home with the pin in my leg after 4 years of trying!!

The Corfe Beast

Anxious not to repeat last month's near fiasco at Hove, we set three alarm clocks and managed to arrive at Corfe with an hour in which to prepare for our ordeal. This race has a reputation for being tough, with two extremely gruesome climbs. either one would be enough to ensure its reputation. Not to say that the rest of the race is easy. The first climb out of the valley is gruelling enough to reduce many to a walk. including myself, but not Dave Webb who had followed closely over the undulating first 2 miles, and as soon as I started walking was immediately past and away. Somehow I didn't notice him performing this manouvre, and for the rest of the race was expecting him to catch me up. I was finding it a real challenge to maintain a good pace, which I put down to starting a bit too quickly to avoid congestion at the first couple of footbridges and stiles.

The course wended its way south, reaching the coast at about 6 miles, at which point there was a brief opportunity to admire the wonderful view west from the 400 foot cliff before the path plunged about 300 feet at a 40% gradient then immediately recovered its altitude at what appeared to be an even steeper rate. As usual I gained several places with a recklessly fast descent, but gave up most of these on the way up, having to stop at least twice. The whole thing is a bit indistinct in my memory and seemed to last much longer than the 4 minutes that I timed on my watch. I can't remember feeling closer to total exhaustion since the MOB coast, but at least then I had the excuse that it was 28 degrees, I was carrying a 20lb pack, and had already run 20 miles. (my beloved reminds me that at many points during the worst of that experience she was carrying two 20 pound packs, as well as pushing and pulling as necessary to get me to the top). But this has already been reported at great length by the lady herself.

So, finally reaching the summit, the track levelled out and turned inland for a mile, allowing me to recover a few dregs of strength and a semblance of running form. The track then turned back to the coast, and the brutal climb to the top of the cliff looms, then is upon you. This starts with a relatively easy section before it becomes a straightforward grind of 169 (oh yes I counted them, and it didn't help take my mind off the pain) steps. At 100 I turned around and through the monochrome haze of my oxygen starvation I thought I spotted Phil's (or could it be Dave's?) grey (officially silver) shirt. This momentarily spurred me on, but I had to stop at least three more times before I reached the top step and staggered along the still climbing trail to the very peak of the cliff path. There it turned inland for the second and final time and I knew then it was pretty much downhill from there. It would be going too far to say that I could relax and enjoy this part because I was desperately tired but still expected to be reeled in by Dave or Phil, or possibly both. The one person I didn't expect to be right behind me was Lin...

Anyway I pushed on, reaching Corfe common and after a final few testing undulations (testulations?), the finish. Sprinting home to the encouragement of the spectators, some of whom seemed to know me by name, although I couldn't spare the energy to work out who they were, except... that looks like Dave? But how could it be? But it was! Over 5 minutes ahead of me, he had had a great race. He briefly had time to explain where he had got ahead of me before I spotted the familiar figure of our illustrious chairman, chasing a slim figure in a Yeovil shirt who I realised with delight was LIN! I could hardly believe it since she had been suffering from a nasty sore throat and other flu-like symptons and had considered not starting the race. What was even better was to hear that she was first lady. What a result!

Here she is collecting her prizes.

Lin's bit:

In the unlikely event that anyone is still awake.............. the Beast is one of the must-do events in our running calendar. It's a great race, very tough, very scenic. Therefore despite feeling like s**t, I knew I couldn't miss it for the second year in a row. And as you will already have guessed I'm quite glad I didn't. Only a few things to add to Martin's (I'm thinking rambling, he's saying comprehensive) report.

One: great support from Phil on the final few miles - he seemed more concerned that the second lady might overtake me than I was.

Two: having overtaken him on the first set of steps he would not have caught me up so easily later on if I hadn't been sick

Three: If I hadn't been sick I would have had a much closer snap at Martin's heels, maybe it's time for him to start looking over his shoulder again?

Four: Thanks to Jackie for bringing to my attention the bloke in the red lycra shorts which he appeared to be using to store a variety of garden produce.

Hove Park Run Revisited

Better late than never, a brief report on our latest trip to West Sussex for the 9:00 am Saturday morning Hove Park Run.
We drove up on Friday night in our camper van to a secret location 8 miles north of Brighton. Why pay for a camp site when you can park overnight up a quiet lane for free? Settling down for an early night after eating on the way there meant that we didn't even bother to set the alarm clock, which turned out to be a big mistake when, at 8:34 precisely Lin checked her watch on waking, and less than 2 minutes later we were on our way to Hove, in full panic mode.
The last thing you want to do having driven 3 hours to a race is sleep through the start!
Thanks to an unusual absence of hay wagons and horse-boxes, we made it to Hove Park in record time, and even had a couple of minutes to attend to various necessities like warming up, before the race got under way, bang on time.

Unfortunately, my GPS watch didn't have time to lock on, so I was unable to check on my pace any time during the race, which felt a little disconcerting. I probably rely too much on the GPS, but this time, I didn't really need it to tell me that there was no way I would be able to keep up with the front runners. Unlike the previous Hove Park race, there were some seriously fast people there, and it was as much as I could do to maintain 6th place behind a group which steadily pulled away and out of sight, out of mind. After a while, I dropped back into 7th place and tucked in behind a guy who set the pace for the next 4k. I hung on grimly for the 2 laps until I sneakily overtook him just at the line for 6th place. All this time, I had very little idea what pace I was at, and, given the less than ideal start, was pleased to see that I had achieved a new Park Run PB of 18:09.
After handing in my number to the recorder, I jogged back a short way to see Lin finishing in a very good time, and also a Park-run PB (by over 30 seconds) of 19:58.

We jogged around another lap to cool down, and then had a very enjoyable breakfast at the park cafe surrounded by the other runners. Many thanks to the organisers of the Hove Park Run, there is something really special about the event, and we thought it was well worth the 6 hour round trip!
Next day a 17 mile Long training run in the New Forest turned into a 20 mile run , thanks to a bit of a cock up on the navigation front, but its all good experience!

Jurassic Coast 10K

To start in the traditional way – Saturday 22nd August saw a solitary Westgate at the Jurassic coast 10K. But first I had to get there. Since last year when I started driving again, journeys have been just to work in Wellington and back, a total distance of less than ten miles a day, apart from a few longer expeditions with Richard acting as driving instructor. (He obviously missed his calling in life). So it was on to the A and B roads and with a good memory for directions, (no garmins in my car), I arrived safely at Budleigh Salterton at 9.45am. Stretched my legs across the car park to be met by Dave C who had arrived even earlier. However with all this time to spare I managed to remember my number, change into appropriate clothes, do a token amount of warming up and find the start line by 11am.
The race starts by the beach huts on the seafront, heads past the vast car park and on to a trail by the river, which we followed for a short way inland before crossing a bridge and taking the coastal path. It’s the same route as the Exe to Axe but made a bit easier by knowing we didn’t have to do another 13 miles of increasingly hard hills. The path turns inland after two or three miles, still following tracks, some through some woods, before crossing another bridge and heading back down the river. Through another gate and onto the track we came out on and I knew we couldn’t be far from the finish. And just to confirm, there was a sign “300m to go”, then 200m, and 100m. At this point there were footsteps close behind, I could see the finish line, and I hate being overtaken on the line. So taking inspiration from all the athletics I’d been watching, I found some reserve energy and really sprinted those last few yards, preparing to hurl myself across the line if necessary. It paid off as you can see in the results: http://www.jurassiccoast10k.co.uk/2009Results.pdf. Dave C also had a good race with an equally close finish, but being some 10 minutes ahead of me I didn’t see it. Hopefully he might add a few words here.

Club Handicap 5k 13th August

The intrepid racers

The inaugral Club handicap 5k took place on Thursday evening in place of the usual pre-meeting run and the seven runners who took part all agreed that it should be the first of many.

Phil, having twisted his ankle whilst running round the Madness route the previous Saturday to make sure it was safe for the race, elected to multi task as starter, time keeper, marshal and sweeper.

Mike unfortunately drifted off during the pre race brief and neglected to listen to the route description. No-one really knows where he went or how far he ran (Mike included) but he seemed to enjoy it anyway.

Just getting everyone started posed a bit of a problem as all the start times had been calculated on the basis of a 7.10pm start - due to lingering for late comers this had to be put back. Some people also changed their minds about their proposed finish times causing the order to change and some people missed their exact start times due to our illustrious starter being too busy gossiping and losing track of the time. Some people missed their start due to over enthusiastic warm-ups and being half a mile away in the village when they should have been on the start line.

And so we set off, Di first, followed by the two Charlies, then Mike off on his magical mystery tour, myself, Dave and finally our speedy 5k expert, Martin. Dave passed me within about 50 yards and quickly disappeared from view. After that I didn't see anyone except Phil on his bike and eventually, nervous glances back proved what I had suspected, that Martin was hot on my heels. Despite a bit of a run in with an angry driver as I reached Maiden Newton I managed to keep ahead of Martin and once I turned into Chilfrome Lane and saw the finish line ahead, he was passing me over my dead body!!!

Charlie Spencer was the first "actual" runner home and Martin, despite finishing last, no surprise, recorded the fastest time. The handicapping wasn't too far out and all 7 runners finished within 3 minutes and 42 seconds.

Despite some teething problems with the time keeping!!! everyone agreed that this was a great idea of Phil's and that it should become a regular event during the summer months, hopefully some more of you will be inspired to join us next time out.

Mike attempts to explain where it all went wrong!

Summer Madness

Nicki Philp and husband Richard cross the finish line together....despite what the results say!

After last year's theme of "Monsoon Madness" it was a complete turn around this year with a lovely summer evening for the fifth running of the "quite" New Ten Madness. (Results now available at the following link: http://www.runnerswebuk.com/)

There was a great turn out with 140 oops, make that 141 runners completing the event and a very impressive performance by first runner home, Bertie Powell from Woodford Green in a time of 37.49. Hot on his heels was Nigel Rackham from Metros with John Broom from Holmfirth Harriers finishing in third place. After all this foreign success it was good to see Yeovil Town's Paul Rose cross the line in fourth place to take the first MV40 prize, although he did seem more concerned about the collection of his lardy cake and cucumber.

Dawn Broom, ex local lady, now defected "up north" put in an excellent run to lead the ladies home in 45.14 and right behind her (always chasing the ladies!) Pete Jakeman celebrated his first run as a V60 by being first V60 - good job we had a spare lardy cake since there wasn't an official prize for the category. Sarah Jordan Whittaker was second lady home and Julie Rayfield finished in third place and could also claim the prize for travelling furthest, being a member of Dubai Road Runners!

Once again there was great local support from Yeovil Town, Egdon Heath and Royal Manor of Portland, and following some bullying tactics at the Haselbury Trail race the previous week, it was good to welcome our first ever Langport runners to the event - worth the trip for Matt Hill who finished in an excellent 7th position.

Richard Rider led the Maiden Newten contingent home followed by Mike Ashworth, Charlie Spencer, Andy Staples, Jackie Webb, Olivia Newman-Spencer and Di Ashworth - all looking like they had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

As usual, the driving force behind the success of the event was Club Chairman, Phil England with support from his long suffering wife Jackie. Thanks must go to everyone who helped make the evening go so well, but without Phil there would be no Madness. So there you are, you know who to blame!



Under Phil's expert organisation everything ran like clock work and he even looked quite happy too!

Our friends from Yeovil Town Running Club made up a large part of the field and they made an impressive sight as they led the charge as the race started at 7pm.

Mike sprints for the finish line and if he looks that happy he obviously didn't try hard enough!

Charlie leads the Maiden Newton ladies home - as usual not a hair out of place - and no mud either!

Di looks pleased to see the finish line.

Brighton & Hove Park Run

Following another week of tough training for the Berlin marathon , Martin and I headed off for West Sussex last weekend for a little fun and relaxation - a 5k race and an 18 mile training run.

This was our second time at the Brighton and Hove Park Run - a 5k time trial held every Saturday throughout the year, brilliantly organised and free to enter. A pre race jog round the park confirmed that my legs were way too tired to be racing but reminding myself that it's all good training I joined Martin on the start line.

The race does two and a half loops of the park with a bit of a hill being run three times so my expectation was that I would not be able to match my last Yeovilton time. Last time here Martin paced me around the race but having seen the previous winning times and in view of his current form this time he was going with the leaders and I was on my own.

For me the race was a huge disappointment and really hard work, making me doubt that the marathon training is doing any good. However it was really exciting, having completed the half lap and plodding up the hill on the first full lap, to see Martin racing along the other side of the park....in 4th place!! As my race went from bad to worse, Martin's race went from great to fantastic! Plodding up the hill on the final loop I once again saw him sprinting along the bottom of the park....and he now appeared to be in 2nd place, although I couldn't be sure as the leaders were lapping the back markers.

I'm ashamed to admit that knowing my time was going to be poor I more or less gave up on the last half km and crossed the line in 6th place in the ladies race with a time that I'd prefer not to mention.

Meanwhile Maiden Newton's super sprinter had indeed finished the race in 2nd place in a time of 18.20 and was now lamenting that he hadn't tried a bit harder and come in first! He was only 6 seconds behind the winner who had a 20 year age advantage and could clearly have been beaten into 2nd place with a little more effort. I am so proud of him, just got to say that again - 2nd place out of 168 runners, fantastic!

The following day saw us out on the South Downs doing an 18 mile hilly training run across some fantastic countryside, and purely by coincidence we saw the start and finish of a 30 mile ultra which we didn't even know existed, the Downland Challenge....so no prizes for guessing what we will be doing on the last weekend of July in 2010!!

Blackdown Beauty

The Blackdown Beauty is a new event, "dreamed" up by Honiton Running Club which has five pubs, a cream tea, 18 miles of scenic off road running, including boggy bits....sound familiar? The only thing missing is the sea.



And they're off

We gathered at the Holman Clavel pub at Culmhead for a very civilised 11.45am start, each clutching our beautifully prepared map and instructions and prepared to search out the elusive white drawing pins which were marking the route. A small but eager group of Axe Valley Runners charged off in the lead through the woodland section which began our adventure. The path was steep, wet and stony, requiring careful navigation. It wasn't long before the leading hares missed a sharp right turn and Martin and I found ourselves in pole position on route to the first pub, the Queens Arms at Pitminster. Scenting the beer, we stepped up our leisurely pace to pretty much race pace in our eagerness to beat the queue of thirsty runners and were greeted by the landlady as we charged over the threshold with "Ah, the first runners are here!". A nice pint of Doom Bar was enjoyed whilst the other runners filtered in.


The first pint - always the best

We knew it wasn't a race but the alcohol hadn't yet blunted our competitive edge so we set off ahead of our fellow drinkers (runners?) with a trio of Dorset Doddlers, heading towards the Merry Harriers at Forches Corner. After a few fields of sociable running, including one encounter with a rather lively bull, Martin and I decided it was time to shake off the company lest they get to the bar before us. As most of the route involved a steady uphill climb, with some steep bits thrown in, it was quite hard work, but we were rewarded by an empty lane behind us. The last part of the route was through some lovely woodland and by the time we reached the top, fortunately, we had worked up quite a thirst. We were relaxing nonchalantly in the beer garden with a rather decent pint of Proper Job by the time the Doddlers and Axe Valley runners caught us up.


The second pint

After a brief interlude I managed to persuade Martin that he could wait until pub number three, the Half Moon at Clayhidon before having another drink and we set off again, this time unaccompanied. This stretch was a bit more complicated involving a very faintly defined path through some rather boggy bits and an interesting climb over a high wall into a field of pigs. At least it had the advantage of being flat and we were able to make good time, despite a rather shocking experience with what turned out to be an electric fence. We thought we may have been overtaken because there was clearly a short cut which could be taken by remaining on the road, but once again we found ourselves first at the bar, and just as we took refuge under the awning in the beer garden with a pint of Yellow Hammer, the skies opened and the first rain of the day came down. We could be forgiven for feeling a bit smug that we were under cover whilst our fellow runners were getting rather wet, but of course we felt no such thing and were more than glad when they began to arrive, even though the Doddlers came from the wrong direction due to some faulty navigation.


The third (and for some, fourth) pint

Martin decided that he needed to sample a pint of the local scrumpy and as the next stop was the cream tea, hence no urgency, we let the Doddlers leave ahead of us. We had a sneaking suspicion that they weren't really drinkers anyway........We finally set off, and on this stretch my intrepid map reader made his first mistake and we missed a left turn and added a half mile or so to what was already the longest leg of the run. By the time we had retraced our steps we were behind the AVR foursome and they were much too fast for us to keep up with. We also encountered an unhappy landowner on this section who was patrolling the footpath which crossed her land verbally attacking innocent runners. I fear I may have wound her up a bit (it's OK I had my Yeovil Town shirt on at this point so can't be accused of bringing MNRC into disrepute) and then left Martin trying to calm her down whilst I went in hot pursuit of AVR. I think she must have had an exhausting afternoon by the time everyone had passed her by.....

Soon we saw the welcome signpost directing us to Pear Tree Cottage at Stapley, and OK, they didn't have any beer but they did serve rather decent cream teas. A debate ensued about whether they were Somerset or Devon cream teas (jam on top) but no one could remember which was which and who cares anyway, either way they were seriously good!


Too much cream can seriously damage your ability to drink beer

We were lagging well behind now, but as with the cream teas, it didn't seem very important any more. For some reason my memory of the fifth leg is rather vague, I do remember a field with an awful lot of pigs in it, which we ran all the way around before we found the correct way out of - which seemed to upset the pigs a bit. In no time at all we were at the York Inn, Churchingford, where Martin managed to effortlessly down a pint of Summer Lightening. I confess to being a lightweight, the cream tea had gone straight to my head and I could only manage a half. I'm seriously ashamed of myself, I will do better next year.


The fourth or fifth pint?

All that remained was On Inn, another lovely stretch which involved Otterhead lakes and a field of extremely lively bullocks who were somewhat mystified by Martin's antics (as was I!) before a short section of road and the welcome sight of the Holman Clavel.

This was a great day out, full marks to Honiton for setting out a lovely route and excellent pubs and also negotiating an excellent meal deal at the final pub - fish and chips for a fiver. The only thing which could have been slightly better was the weather, but the running, the company and the beer were all top class and we will definitely be putting the date in our diary for next year.

Some more photos can be seen at: http://www.freewebs.com/maidennewtonrunningclub/apps/photos/album?albumid=6565929

Charmouth Challenge

Well done to everyone at the Charmouth Challenge on Saturday 4th July. Well done to Martin who I believe ran a PB on the course finishing 24th, but with a strong field in his age category he was only 4th MV50. Also well done for finding a free parking space in a side street – the credit crunch must be biting when 80p parking fee is out of reach!! Well done to the Ironman who cycled a prodigious distance to and from the race (perhaps he was also trying to avoid parking charges.) Well done Lin who was a close second in her age group, unfortunately only one prize per category. Well done Lesley who behaved impeccably resisting the temptation to bring the club into disrepute when two walkers wilfully strolled slowly two abreast in front of her on the narrow bridge near the finish. Well done Charlie who managed to change gender and appear as fourth male team member – see provisional results. Well done Andy who looked comfortable as he finished. Well done Dave C who at last had a slightly off day, allowing me a rare victory over him. Finally well done the organisers who were rewarded with a record entry.

Man v Horse

First words from Lesley: “I beat a Horse”!!!! Not just one, not two, but eight of the great hairy beasts, and they all had a complete set of legs! Careful consultation with race officials had me believing the horses would be tucked up in their stables by the time I limped over the line.

Here follows a rather more lengthy account from Richard of our weekend in Wales:

Saturday 13th June saw the Westgates at Llanwrtyd Wells for the 30th Man V Horse Marathon. I’ve been aware of this race for years but have never been tempted – I’m not keen on horses and it sounded a bit gimmicky; also at 22 miles it’s not a marathon. However Lesley seems to have taken control of our running diary and it was with considerable trepidation I found myself entered. Training has not gone too well this year and I had a week off work recently with a chest infection. My last long run was the Exe to Axe in April, where I recorded my first DNF, while Lesley finished fairly comfortably.

So on Friday, after a hectic day at work, and emergency plumbing work at home, we set off for Wales. Unfortunately for us Oasis were playing at the Millennium and the queues for the tolls stretched back for miles. At one point we though we would be too late for the free pasta party. With the M4 behind us things looked up and the scenery improved. However as I entered a roundabout an old fella in a beaten up old red car came flying down the road on my left, straight onto the roundabout, skimming past the front of my car like a meteor. Lesley, who had been looking at pigeons or something, looked up and screamed as the meteor threatened to extinguish two English life forms. She was so shaken she couldn’t speak for about five minutes, not a bad thing really – well done Taff!

Shame we were a bit pushed for time and we had to rush along the really scenic B4519 Upper Chapel to Garth road, through the Sennybridge Training area (military), trying to avoid suicidal sheep. By coincidence this is also the weekend of the Welsh Castles Relay and this road is part of the route with a finish at Drovers Arms and a start at the conservation centre. (Really thought you’d want to know that)!!

Arrived safely at the B&B and walked about 40ft to the hotel/pub for the pasta party. I opted for the vegetable chilli with rice, naan bread and baguette. Unfortunately the chilli was unbelievably spicy and I had to have extra rice to stop it burning my mouth. A bit of Guinness for good measure, an early night and I was ready for racing. Fit or not I had a race plan that would get me round in one piece and keep ahead of Lesley. I planned to run 30 minutes then walk 5 minutes, with a worst-case target time of 4 hours. On the day I stuck to this and had further walking bits when it was too steep, and even flat bits when I felt too tired and it worked as you will find out.

Racing always gets the adrenaline going and entering a race for the first time is even more exiting. Man v Horse is quite special as it is the largest horse race in the country – bigger than the Grand National! There are quite a few runners as well, some of whom opt to compete in a team of three as a relay run.

One of the best things about staying in B&B is the cooked breakfast; so on Saturday morning we were up early and ready to order by 7.30. Bearing in mind the race started at 11am I prudently decided not to eat too much. Having polished off a bowl of fresh fruit and yoghurt I nibbled at a round of toast and marmalade. I cut the cooked breakfast down to sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and baked beans washed down with a pot of black coffee. And just to finish off, another round of toast and fruit juice. It was a shame to miss the egg and fried bread but us runners have to make some sacrifices!

After breakfast we lounged about. The start was 20 feet from our front porch, so we were very relaxed. Lesley went off to see the horses as they paraded through the square to their assembly point, while I wondered why my shorts felt a bit tight.

I know I should have listened to the pre-race briefing especially as there were going to be over 40 horses charging through the countryside sometimes in very close proximity to the runners, call me difficult, but I just wanted to keep moving, warming up and stretching. All too soon we were off; well the front runners were. I decided to start off in very last place. In fact you can see my yellow and black running vest and headband behind everyone on YouTube. It was a good, gentle start on road and I went past Lesley after four minutes. I prayed that this was the last time I would see her before the finish. We were soon climbing and I was sweating badly in the hot sun. Groups of runners became walkers, why the hell do they have to walk three abreast yakking!? A very minor gripe because it soon thinned out and everyone could run comfortably at their own pace.

From now on the exact sequence of events is very mixed and blurred; I try and recall but the memory cells get confused with the Exmoor Stagger, the Quantock Beast, the Haytor Heller, the Mendip Muddle and especially Race the Train. With about 3000ft of climbing it’s quite challenging and you get some unique views as parts of the route go over private land. In fact Man v Horse has just about everything you could wish for except a pebble beach! I do remember that before too long we were up on some lovely open moor which was in fact a bog. I am proud to admit that in over 20 years of racing I have at last lost a shoe in a bog! It was a bit embarrassing as I had just finished one of my 5-minute recovery walks and had gone back past a whole row of runners when my left foot sank very deep in the mud and came out shoe-less!

The feel good factor of this race must have rubbed off on me as I actually found myself talking to other runners! There were even moments to talk to passing horse riders! Now anyone who knows me, knows how I am about as wary of horses as I am of dogs (one of my SWRR colleagues was kicked in the chest by a horse while out on the road and was injured for some time). However at Man v Horse the riders were very professional and the horses seemed at perfect ease with lots of runners about. It was about 40 minutes into the race that the riders and runners converged. I must say it was quite a sight – horses are quite large beasts close up and the sound of their hooves pounding the track was quite memorable. Imagine some of the steep gullies at Haytor and you get some idea of the kind of terrain that these beasts had to scramble up and down. These points were often the most narrow and yet there seemed to be no conflict between horse or runner. Horses passed literally within inches but somehow everything was OK. I must admit it felt good when I went past a few horses – some of which didn’t seem to go very fast downhill.

The relay changeover points, where there were crowds of noisy supporters, also acted as check points where individual runners handed in safety tags. The cheering definitely gave a boost and I was tempted to try and keep up with a “fresh” relay runner. However common sense kicked in and I kept to sensible pace with the five-minute walk recoveries. On one very narrow muddy path I heard horses bearing down on me at speed and with nowhere to go I just had to stop and turn sideways to let them past - they definitely weren’t stopping! Towards the end even the gentle undulations seemed like steep hills and walking and talking became order of the day. I could see I was well within my target of four hours and just wanted to finish in one piece. A few hundred yards from the finish there was the river crossing. I swear the River Irfon was at least 30 ft wide at this point and I thought I’d take it at a canter. Within seconds I was flat on my face underwater. Sitting up I felt a bit foolish and someone called out “I bet you meant to do that”. So I just sat there and started washing some of the mud off my legs! Lesley said the water was quite deep and came up to her shorts, but that’s not saying much. The rocks in the riverbed were covered in slime making it extremely “slippy”. Dave C would have had his health & safety clipboard out suggesting a less hazardous route using the nearby bridge. Having narrowly avoided being washed away in the torrent it was on to the finish paddock where a large, cheering crowd encouraged me to a show-off careering sprint to the line.

Fantastic. A few stretches then in to the tent for the free refreshments. After about half an hour Lesley finished looking fresh as a daisy, but she did have two small muddy spots on her vest! After relaxing in the sun for a while I started to feel very uncomfortable in the gut region and just made it to a toilet as last night’s hot, spicy vegetable chilli exploded – talk about ring burn. Feeling relieved we decided to make our way back to the B&B. However true to form my stomach now started feeling unsettled and I soon had another view of my recently eaten tomato sandwich.

The race went in a big circle finishing at the Victoria Wells Mountain Centre, about a mile outside the town. This centre has motel chalets and a swimming pool set in the countryside. Back at the B&B it was time to wash and rest then out for an early fish, chips, peas and salad pub meal with some more Guinness. To round the day off I thought we would have an early night but Lesley had other ideas. Towards the finish she saw what appeared to be a new handkerchief at the road side – waste not, want not – so we retraced about three miles of the route to retrieve this snot rag. We had a leisurely stroll across the bridge near where I had fallen earlier, and also saw donkeys in the mountain centre.

Well my loyal, patient but probably fast-dwindling band of bloggers I will hasten on and conclude our Man v Horse weekend. Sunday dawned with a shock. I had put on suntan lotion after donning my running vest – big mistake – the fierce sun had burned me through my vest leaving strap marks in reverse. Soon cheered up with a full breakfast and then a short journey back to the scenic road in the military training area. Lesley resumed her role as SWRR groupie following the Welsh Castles Relay. We parked up at the red-kite centre, and by chance met up with some familiar faces from Bitton Road Runners, including Ross who casually mentioned he was off soon to compete in the Austrian Ironman!! Shortly afterwards, oh joy of joy, the mighty SWRR club chairman then honoured me with his fingerprint in my Vaseline jar! He was optimistic mood as our A team were currently leading the vet section after day one. We saw leg 15 start, dashed back to see the finish of leg 14 at the Drovers arms, and then followed the leg 15 runners to Brecon, where we saw some great finishing including Andy Jones who was 5th. We also then saw some finishers at the end of leg 16.

You might think this was enough activity for a couple of old gits like us, but no, Lesley took us to the middle of nowhere, paid an extortionate £4 parking fee (why can’t outgoing motorists pass their tickets to incomers), and went to seek the largest cave mouth in Wales. This led on to a demanding trek with hundreds of steps, cut in steep gorges to see four famous waterfalls. The most impressive had a large curtain of water, with a narrow ledge which allowed you to walk behind the water. Then we went home.

For the record I finished in 3:31:24 and of 397 Riders, Runners and Relay Teams I was 201st. I beat 13 of the 40 Riders and 32 of the 103 Relay Teams. I was 116th out of 255 who ran the whole course.

Lesley finished in 4:00:38, beating 8 Riders and 12 Relay Teams. She was 180th of 255.

PS There’s a big money prize if a runner beats the first horse. Apparently a runner was first over the line but the organisers make a time allowance for the compulsory horse veterinary stop, and this pushed first man back to fourth. It seems this is always how it works but this info wasn’t included in the race pack.

PPS Llanwrtyd Wells is also home of the World Bog-Snorkelling championship and hosts other great events like a tribute festival to Screaming Lord Sutch.

Run in the Wild 10k

Race report by Dave Carnell

Sunday the 7th June saw the inaugural running of the ‘Run in the Wild’ race at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset.

Generally bright and ambient weather on the day helped ensure this was a well attended event and would have meant perfect conditions had it not rained heavily overnight. I’m afraid it was, as they say, “a bit slippy underfoot”, which was not entirely to this particular runners taste. Some might call me fussy but, hey, I can’t help liking it a bit grippier.

The start of the race was also a touch dastardly, being as it was right next to the Black Swan Pub (running away was always going to be hard) and then going immediately into a protracted climb to probably the highest point on the course – cruel indeed!

This affront to sensible running was only softened by the downhill sweep that followed this section and enabled this moaning narrator to regain lost ground on some fellow runners.

In fact, this theme of up and down, was true for most of the course, which although very scenic proved quite challenging. So much so that it delivered quite a close race between runners with different styles and fitness. So much so that I spent the last mile or so in a tight race with Richard W, with neither of us realising that we were in danger of being hauled in by Lin and Martin L who were in hot pursuit.

Happily for me the last kilometre to the finish was all down hill and I think Richard assumed I would be able to get ahead so didn’t contest the position with too much enthusiasm. Much to the good as I was knackered and the tank was well and truly dry.

All in all, a good race and one to recommend for the future.

Ninesprings

Maiden newton runners were out in force for this 9K event held by YTRRC in the Ninesprings park. a total of 7 MNR's line up for the start on what was a very warn morning, Di & Mike, Charlie, Andrew (full member after paying his sub to day), new boy Richard and the old timers Dave C and me.
After a race brief by Mr Chaffy explaining all the hazards we could come across on this two lap off road course which took for ever (big mistake giving him a microphone). Dave and I took off to close to the front and spent the first K trying to second guess each other race plan, having done this race last year I had a slight advantage over Dave knowing what was to come. I was planning to stick close and run at Dave's pace, but as with all my race plans they go out the window as soon as I cross the start line. taking advantage of Dave slowing on the second hill heading up towards the A37 for the first time I pulled away from him, being told by the Marshall on the road junction I was in 10 place I push on even more, gain a couple more places heading back in to the park. still worrying that Dave was going to come pass me at any time One lap over and heading back to the hills for the second time. At the top of the first climb I had glance back to see 3 runners a little way back, but none were in Crewkerne vests. that should have been the time to ease off, but with the thought of finishing in the first ten seem to push me on. the last 500metre's are all down hill, with one last look to ensure I was not going to be beaten to the finish line I managed to Sprint to finish in 8 place.

Collecting a well need drink I wait to cheer the rest of Team MNR over the finish line. I was soon joined by Dave, unfortunately I have forgotten the order of the next 2 was it Richard or Mick not sure, but then came Charlie Spencer looking like she had been for a stroll in the park, not a 9K race. She was followed by new member Andy and then Di, all back safe in just over the hour.

Dave and I were still hanging around when the results were announced (no we weren't hopping for a category award), not really listening to what was being said (Sorry Martin) we heard MNR being mentioned. Charlie Spencer had won first vet45, knowing the rest had left I collected the award for her (the only way I will ever collect one). unknown to me a Friend of a Friend of Charlies sister was at the event. several text messages later and Charlie was on the hunt for her well earned trophy (which involved a trip back to Yeovil), by this time it was being transported back to MN by push bike. Winner and trophy were reunited by the end of the afternoon.
Come on lets see if we can get in to double figures at race before the end of the year (not until after Martin has played his Joker)

Johnny Kipps Run 2009

Here are some words about the JK from the victorious Dave C.

After the miserable conditions for last weekend’s Wessex Relay, the bright morning supplied by the weather gods for the running of the Johnny Kipps was glorious. This, together with the dry and distinctly non-slippy state of the black stuff to which this route sticks, was just about perfect.

I had arrived early, an hour before the start with the idea of having a bit of a walk and jog to try and loosen up as I’d been feeling the effects from the previous weekend’s torture right up to the intervening Wednesday. Till then I’d been shambling about doing impressions of a rusty seized up robot, so my plan now was simply to have a fun run.

With about 20 minutes to go, I wandered back to the start to find it was still a lonely place with nobody else around. I was just thinking that either I’d got the wrong day, or I was going to have an incredibly easy race, when hordes of other runners started to arrive. So many, in fact, that it could have been a record turn out and included a number of very welcome participants from other clubs (Crewkerne, Yeovil, Southwest RR and The Kennel Club) foolishly lured to the venue by cunning tales of glory and biscuits.

At the start, this field of a dozen valiant souls set off at a modest pace with Chairman Phil and Martin Le Quick leading out. Listening in to their banter, I perceived I was causing some confusion by not adhering to tradition and haring off at a wholly unsustainable pace – darn it, now I had to make some kind of show.

After I pulled past the leading pair I could hear them behind counting out the gap and goading me to make more of an effort. Trying not to be distracted I didn’t look back but was sure I could hear them pounding along behind all the way to the top of the climb to the first turn where Jackie E was kindly staffing a water station.

I was very surprised not to have been caught by this time and once over the brow of the hill I decided to try a final burst of speed on the start of the downhill leg to give my pursuers what I imagined would be one last test before they inevitably overtook me.

This is when it got a little surreal. While down hill is my favourite and suits me better than some, on this occasion the gravitational assisted boost went well to begin with and then it just kept going and going and going, pretty much all the way to the finish – absolute magic!

Whatever I’d eaten or whatever I’d done to charge the batteries, I wish I knew as this felt like my best ever run. I was over the moon last year but this definitely took the biscuit.

Wessex Ridgeway Relay

What is it about Maiden Newton runners and early starts, I don't recall anything in the Chairman's job description that said you shall always do the first leg of any relay event. I am not a stranger to getting up early but 5.45am on a Sunday is a bit of a shock to the system, but then trying to convince Jackie that she had volunteered to take Dave & myself to the start so she needed to get up was the first of many challenges during the day.
6.15 am (spot on time) we arrived in Maiden Newton to find my Dave wandering the streets looking like he had been out all night. On getting in the car he started to list all his current ailments (which sounded like a list of reasons why he was going to slow me down). Again spot on time we arrived at the start (over the Wiltshire border without our passports). Up until this point it had been dry but as the race brief started so did the rain. After a count down from five all 20 runners went off at a stupidly fast pace as if they were doing a 5K, except the one that managed to drop his baton within the first 5mtrs (Yes me). After a short road section we turned on to a track taking us uphill on to open high ground, just right to feel the full force of what was now driving rain. The hill had slowed quite a few of our fellow runners down letting us gain a few places. Having not run this leg before I was completely dependent on Dave knowing the way, which he did. Not one hesitation over the whole first leg and no sign of the ailments he had been suffering from. As with the rest of the ridgeway it takes you though some wonderful countryside (would have been much better with out the rain).
Leg two which we had both run before has two of the toughest hills on the route. We had both tried to put them to the back of our minds during the first leg, but to our surprise we caught and overtook several other runners early in the leg. All was going well, then Dave started showing signs of an illness he had not mentioned - he started strange mumblings of "is this the way to Okeford Beacon, is this the way to Okeford Beacon" as I was putting all my effort in to keeping up with him I did not manage to question his actions which passed by the time we had reached the top of the first climb. After a fast descent towards Shilingstone followed by a few less than well maintained gates, we were faced with the steep climb to Okeford Beacon. As much as we tried not to our paces dropped to a walk, as I was trying to justify this by saying no one would run all the way up we were passed by a Wimbourne runner who wasn't even breaking into a sweat.
At the top knowing we were close to the change over the pace quickened (again I was being dragged along by this poor unfit runner). Once again spot on time for the change over, knowing our only escape from Okeford Beacon was Charlie's car (and he was not holding any keys). I was reluctant to release the baton before shouting "where are the keys?" as he started to disappear along the track I heard "in the ignition" - panic over.
Knowing there are plenty of other runners ready to recall their experience of the rest of the event I will leave it here, except tosay well done to all the rest of the MN runners who made this a great day out. I do have a little information on leg 12 but I am sure it will come out in the report of 11 & 12.


Legs 3 & 4 by Charlie

I didn’t need the snooze button on my alarm clock as the rain lashing against the window kept me from going back to sleep. Miraculously however it cleared up as Mike and I drove to the start of Leg 3 and eyed up the competition. Mike got chatting with a local (always a bad idea) out walking his dog who unlike us finely-honed athletes had obviously been on the cooking sherry as he questioned our (sorry Mike, that should be ‘my’) ability to run 10 miles.

Minutes later the silver singlets of Messrs. England & Webb came into view and we carried out what I thought was a pretty slick handover although Phil kept a firm grip of the baton until I had revealed the whereabouts of the car keys. Fortunately we had reccied the route so knew what to expect and where to go and Mike set off with me in pursuit. He kindly invited me to say if he was going too fast but didn’t realise that for the first ten minutes of any physical effort I am unable to communicate in anything other than sign language, and, not having eyes in the back of his head, took my silence to mean all was well.

As my heart rate settled down (which coincided with a gentle downhill bit) we got into our stride and admired the beautiful views over the vale to our right. Our pace was spot on at all the mile markers and the first section went well as we both recalled our first forays into running when going a mile was challenging enough. The going was not too bad until we got to about half way on Leg 3 when a river bed was un-leapable and wet shoes and socks ensued.

A few other teams overtook us but as I pointed out to Mike they were only doing one leg each, so it didn’t really count. At the handover we charged on through and on to Dorset Gap where it was a bit slippery and the paths difficult to get traction on. The ploughed fields were luckily not too sticky and before we knew it we were on the last long uphill just past the Plush road, and onto the springy turf of the ridge. Some of those who had overtaken me on the last hill had judged their effort well and were disappearing into the distance; another, however, was catchable and we set about reeling him in. Dodging teenagers with rucksacks on their Duke of Edinburgh scheme and pelting down the final treacherously slippery slope we caught him to cross the line on equal terms. Thanks to Mike for waiting and for holding open all the gates! It just shows what effect race conditions have as we did it ten minutes quicker than the recce run.


Legs 5 and 6 by Jackie (with Dave’s contributions in blue)

I woke up to the sound of rain lashing against the window and could see how windy it was. I immediately thought of poor Dave and Phil who would already be out there. (She’s right, we were already out there in the driving rain, but luckily we were cheered along by my strategy of singing, to the tune of ‘Amarillo’, ‘through the wind and rain, is this the way to Okeford Beacon’.) My altruistic thoughts quickly turned closer to home; in a couple of hours Amanda and I would be out there too!

By 11am though, the weather had calmed down somewhat to our great (but short lived) relief. After lightening the load behind the barn a couple of times, we took receipt of our batons from Mike and Charlie (not the Spencers) and set off up one of the many killer hills on these legs. The first leg went pretty well, in fact we were so fast that our ‘support crew’ were caught on the hop at Batcombe and didn’t manage to get our drinks out. As well as them arriving sooner than I expected, I was also thrown by the fact that some of the other runners never arrived, thanks to their dubious tactic of not running the extra half mile or so to the changeover. We got onto the flat straight stretch on top of the Ridgeway and it started to drizzle. Amanda said the fateful words “well, at least it’s not as bad as Dave and Phil had earlier”, when the heavens opened and the gales started. You wouldn’t have sent a dog out in it. There was no respite from the weather because we were on top of the hill, so it was heads down and get on with it. Amanda still claims the rain bruised her forehead.

At the end of the track Dave was waiting, but we were unable to move our hands to receive drinks. Matty and I thought we would run a little way to meet them, but we got soaked in no time; it must have been the one day of the year when there was a southerly wind, so it blew in their faces all the way. By this time my fingers looked like frozen chipolatas curled round that baton.

The rain and wind abated and the last bit, down the hill to Sydling was quite pleasant, if a little slippery. We managed to run all the way, until the final very steep hill out of Sydling to the A37; the handover point. Our Chairman came down the hill to encourage us on, so we managed to put on a last jog to the finish. We were elated. We’re told we did our leg (10.6 miles) in 1 hour 53 minutes.

Posted by Lesley

The day started with the usual pre-race nerves for me – “would we be there on time”, “would we have time to get the cars to the pre-arranged drop-off points”. And of course we had plenty of time to spare as the wind howled and the rain lashed down on the appropriately named Heartbreak Hill. However we must have done something right as it stopped raining soon after we started, although the next 11 plus miles seemed head on into the wind. A nice gentle downhill start to make up for the lack of warming up and the first of many appearances of our support crew as Lin, Martin, Phil, Dave and Richard were there to cheer us on through Maiden Newton. I hadn’t recce’d this bit so I was more than happy to follow Charlie as she set a fair pace through familiar territory. Then a long slog up a lane to somewhere. When Richard was recceing his bit the week before I was most envious of his tales of beautiful bluebell woods, so I was pleased that our leg also had some.

Some more fields – many more appearances from the supporters to open gates, point the way and offer encouragement (at the end of a sharp stick if Phil could find one). We now found ourselves on Leg 8, which I had managed to recce on my own, without getting lost, the week before. Confidence levels were rising as I recognised familiar gates, fields etc. There were certainly plenty of these in this section and although Richard and Dave had sensibly headed for the start of their leg, the other trio were still there. I’m sure Charlie won’t mind me saying the going was now getting tough as we’d been running for over one and a half hours by now.

As we approached the last field Lin cheered us on with the news that the runner in front was only a minute ahead (from three minutes a while back). However with only half a mile of road to the finish, and even a 100-yard sprint from Charlie we were unable to catch her, although she did look half dead when we saw her at the finish. We saw Richard and Dave running up and down and waiting for the batons as if it was an Olympic final, but we still didn’t manage a smooth handover. I sank gratefully into the car, and after some refreshment began the difficult bit. How to drive and navigate in unfamiliar lanes with a map in a polypocket on my lap, or mostly on the floor.


Richard’s bit

Dave and I had recce’d 95% of our two legs the previous weekend in excellent weather enjoying the views. On the day it was heads down and watch your footing. Sod’s law that within sight of the changeover I managed to go slightly wrong on the bit we hadn’t recce’d, (much to the amusement of club members). But fortunately we soon corrected ourselves as a runner close behind took the correct path.

Dave, my colleague and mighty holder of the Johnny Kipps Trophy 2008, had a cunning plan to get me going. It might seem like a small thing, but one of my pet hates is the alleged word “slippy”. Knowing this, every time there was the smallest worm-cast or rain droplets on blades of grass he called out in a health and safety style voice – “watch out Richard bit of a slippy hazard here”. Bugger the other teams, I was determined at some point to get ahead of Dave!

However all went well and we waited at gates for each other in true team spirit. In fact the whole event seemed to be run in a good spirit as a rival team member stopped and held a gate for us! In spite of Dave’s concerns about the SLIPPERY conditions, only two injuries were sustained; the first a stinging nettle got me during my second bush stop (pre-race) and the second when Lin walloped me round the head when I told her where I had been keeping our baton.



A brief view from a knackered runner (aka Dave Carnell)

LEG 9 MINTERN'S HILL TO SHEEPWASH LANE
Eye wateringly beautiful when checked out the previous weekend, but on race day in dull, dank and gusty conditions it was just hilly, slippy, more hilly, more slippy, yet more hilly and even more slippy with one tiny glorious stretch of the black stuff just before the start of leg 10.

LEG 10 SHEEPWASH LANE TO VENN CHAPEL
Slightly less slippy than the previous leg but the climb up to Pilsden was steeper than anything else and to add insult to injury the route goes down and then back up again – what kind of sadist thought that one up!
A little off route detour at the end was made in a deliberate effort to help a struggling competitor to feel rewarded by regaining the position he had lost to the speedy MNR duo.


.............And you all know I don't do brief! Legs 11 and 12 by Lin

A boozy and extremely late night is definitely not the best preparation for a race, but at least we had all day to recover - or so we thought. Actually leaping in and out of the car, opening all those gates, heckling and encouraging was absolutely exhausting. And finally we got to run.
A lovely fast downhill start swooping past the team who had cheekily taken a shortcut in full view of all spectators, to get ahead of Dave and Richard right at the finish of their two legs, and then the first of the gruelling climbs began. I was not filled with confidence when Martin started making remarks like "it's through that gate.....I think" right from the start! At least climbing the hills gave us a chance to anxiously check behind us - no sign of the two Wimborne teams who were hot on our heels.
As we began the climb up to the road crossing at Lambert's castle, the welcome and unexpected sight of another runner ahead lent speed to our weary legs. He didn't even put up a fight, just muttered "well done" as he plodded up the hill. The first leg flew past and in no time at all we were heading for the changeover point, which we reached in exactly 47 minutes - clearly a bit faster than Phil was expecting as we caught him in the car park with his shorts around his ankles and his shoes in knots! Having decided to run the last leg with us he wasn't exactly well prepared!!
The last leg started with a stretch of downhill road running and as Phil caught us up we turned into the fields for some more welcome downhill. The next clear memory is of seeing two more runners ahead of us and gradually reeling them in. We finally caught them at the A35 road crossing, after which Martin went down the other side like a seasoned fell runner with Phil and I floundering in his wake. We hurtled along muddy, slippery woodland paths trying to shake our pursuers off - they were clearly map reading as they went - and I knew Martin wanted to get out of their sight so that they had to revert to their maps instead of following us. Finally we drew clear of them, by which time I was in need of an oxygen tent, and Up Lyme was drawing ever nearer. One exciting gallop through a field of frisky cows who wanted to challenge our speed and we were so close to the finish that we relaxed our guard, took a wrong turning and made a scenic loop around the wrong side of the village, including climbing a lovely steep hill completely unnecessarily. A small domestic ensued - well he said he knew the way and he could have told me I was going the wrong way instead of just following me!
It was fantastic to see almost the whole of Team Maiden Newton x 2 at the end cheering us in, what a great team effort and a fantastic day out - despite the weather (which was positively balmy compared with 2006!).
Who would have thought a couple of years ago that we would have two teams competing in a 100km race?

London Marathon 2009

Race Report by Charlie Bladon

Graciously favoured with Maiden Newton Running Club’s guaranteed place in the 2009 Flora London Marathon, my preparations started in mid-November with an increase in mileage to build up to a carefully crafted 16 week training plan beginning in early January. Clearly the people who write these schedules know what they are doing as it started with a rest day to get over the endless Christmas parties. Pretty soon though it got into the swing of things with ‘hill sessions’ (as if it wasn’t hilly enough around here), ‘threshold work’ (everything seemed to be at above my pain threshold), ‘long runs’ (did what they say on the tin) and ‘fartlek’ (a Swedish invention, involving pain again). Many cold mornings later the long-awaited taper period finally arrived, involving two weeks of drastically reduced mileage from a peak of about 45 a week, and much increased fuel – i.e. food – intake. Just as I was getting into the swing of it race day arrived.

Clearly word had got out about my superb preparation as defending champion and three time winner Martin Lel from Kenya withdrew the night before, obviously quaking in his shoes. I too was nervous as I made my way to the start, which resembled a massive music festival with runners converging on Blackheath from all directions. It took five minutes to cross the start line and already the sun had burnt off the early morning mist and it was obviously going to be very hot. Described once by my tactful tailor as someone who might prefer ‘a more generous fit’ I soon realised I was going to find it hard work, but the people of London were out in force all the way around, ten deep in places, to lend their very vocal support. In addition there was superb marshalling and water points every mile or so, and energy drinks every four miles. They put on extra drinks as it was so hot.

Much of the race (I use that word loosely) passed in a blur. The area around Cutty Sark (7 miles) was a disappointment – very narrow and everyone slowing to a walk, but Tower Bridge (12.5 miles) lived up to expectations and as it was practically the half way point was symbolic in several ways. Canary Wharf (17-18 miles) was impressive too and was the first time I had seen the area at close hand. I knew from the route map that after 20 miles it was a fairly straight run all the way to the finish along the river and by the time I passed that mile marker I was beginning to tire. However I was buoyed up as I overheard two of my fellow athletes, thin as beanpoles, and clearly experienced runners, telling each other how they hated the final six miles of marathons as they represented such pain. Just what I wanted to hear!

After about 22 miles Big Ben appeared in the distance, and stayed there for what seemed like an unsportingly long time – if anything it seemed to get further away, not nearer. Finally, the Palace of Westminster was reached, then Parliament Square and Birdcage Walk, by which point any pretence of reaching my target time had long since evaporated in the heat and I just wanted to finish. It was an almost surreal experience rounding the corner by Buckingham Palace and seeing the finish line, as I had on the television many times, and seeing myself on the big television screen. Sadly by that point the BBC had long since stopped transmitting and the following two hour Eastenders omnibus was almost finished, so no chance of being spotted live on air. Fortunately the official photographs were there to capture a redness of face hitherto believed impossible by medical experts.

The finish was a relief but the helpers magnificent. Pre race literature had advised keeping walking for a little and as the nearest open tube station was two miles away, that is what I did. By the time I arrived back at my lodgings in Kew an hour later I had to be helped up from my seat on the tube by an old lady as my legs had seized up, which remained the case for three days, during which time I entered next year’s race, so I suppose I must have enjoyed it!

Thank you to everyone at MNRC for their invaluable support and for subtly increasing the distances run every weekend – yes I did notice. Thank you also to everyone who sponsored me helping to raise over £2,000 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance – it’s not too late! www.justgiving.com/charliebladon

Arlington Court Canter

Whilst Charlie faced the ordeal of pounding the streets of London with the masses, Martin and I headed south west to canter round the leafy lanes of North Devon. The Arlington Court Canter (which I last did in 2003) is usually a 10k but in this, its 13th anniversary year, an extra loop had been included to bring the distance up to.........13k.

The gardens and grounds of the National Trust property, Arlington Court, make a stunning backdrop to this, almost entirely off road run. The race is started by the estate coachman, authentically attired, blowing his impressive coaching horn (or whatever they call them).

The start was a bit of a cavalry charge down the narrow manicured paths of the garden, but soon turned off into the parkland where there was plenty of room for the field to spread out. A loop round the bottom of the field where we had parked followed and then we headed out of the grounds and down a wide path into the woods. At the bottom we ran alongside a small lake and were then directed onto the “new” part of the course, which the organiser had kindly warned us was “vertical”!! Actually it wasn’t too bad as the path did zig-zag but it was still quite an impressive climb until we finally emerged from the trees to cross a couple of fields and then drop back down, almost precisely to the point by the lake where we had been diverted.

The remainder of the race followed the usual course, parts of which I remembered from previous visits, although there seemed to be a lot more uphill than I recalled. Most of the tracks were through woodland, although we did pass through a few fields en route too. We were expecting the race to be about 8 miles or slightly more, but as I neared what I thought from memory was the final stage of the race I still only had just over 6 miles on the Garmin. I was finding the whole race a bit of a struggle, we don’t do many short races these days and I had got a bit carried away at the start galloping madly in pursuit of Martin (who managed to disappear from my view before we even left the grounds!).

I finally made it to the top of the last hill and back into the grounds of Arlington Court for the finish along pleasant paths through the garden, swerving madly to miss meandering tourists who were clearly a bit bewildered to be confronted with rather a lot of sweaty runners. I managed a bit of a sprint for the line to finish in 59.51, total distance according to the Garmin 7.4 miles. I was quite pleased with that until I discovered that Martin had managed to beat me by just over 5 minutes! Despite this he had only managed 3rd Vet 50 in what was a very competitive field – the first V55 was actually fifth overall.

As for me, I literally aged 10 years overnight. On Saturday I was a happy Vet 35 but Sunday saw me on day 1 of being a V45. I can’t believe I’m that old!! No comments from the gallery please! I celebrated my birthday by picking up the first V45 prize, but actually having finished 4th lady overall I also beat the first V35 and first V40 which made me feel a lot better (but still very old!).

And Martin said: Not much more I can add really. There were easter eggs handed out at the finish which was nice, if a little incongruous. Alex chose to pass up the fun run in favour of doing his homework in the car, and didn't emerge till after the race was over to help me dispose of my easter egg.

Axe to Exe and back the hard way

The Exe to Axe is as scenic and challenging an event as you might expect. The first challenge being to get to the finish at 8:30AM to catch the bus to the start. Usually I rely on the organisational skills of my better half, but she was stricken with a mystery virus, and I was on my own, mate. Fortunately I made it with a few minutes to spare, and was able to save at least a fiver by parking on the seafront and not in the council carpark. The double decker bus provided a scenic drive to Exmouth's Foxhole cafe from whose carpark the race was to start at 10:00am. This gave ample time for the usual formalities as well as exchanging excuses in advance with the Westgates whose even lengthier report follows mine.

The first few miles were fast and undulating rather than hilly, and I was well-placed in contention with some local age-group rivals, as shown in this photo taken at Budleigh Salterton.

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But when the first real hill coming out of Ladram Bay was enough to force me to a walk I knew that I would really struggle with the much tougher hills to come in the second half of the course. Passing through Sidmouth on a welcome flat section I had lost ground, and lost even more on each of the series of brutal hills that followed. It was fun in a way though. One strange event happened on the way down into Branscombe I passed a rather portly couple whose female component, perhaps annoyed at having to keep to the side of the track for fear of being bowled over, yelled out to me as I passed, "you've gone the wrong way you prat!" Charming! I made a swift and dignified escape, wondering for a moment if I had somehow missed a subtlety of the route, but knowing that area well from numerous Grizzly races, I knew that I was on a route to the checkpoint. This I think is the point at which both Richard W, and Martin Chaffey dropped out, and I don't blame them for not wanting to continue up the steepest part of the course to the clifftop between Branscombe and Beer. The hill at Beer was nothing by comparison, and I soon negotiated it and descended to the sea-front at Seaton and the finish amid throngs enjoying the sun. Unfortunately it wasn't quite hot enough for any thongs...

I had a brief traditional dip in the sea, but it was too cold to stay in for long, and I waited around only long enough to see fellow Yeovil member Pete Jakeman finish before returning to Dorset.

And now Lesley takes up the story.

Richard's pre-race preparations consisted of spending most of the day rendering the sides of the pond with cement. However this was preceded with other totally unnecessary jobs like cleaning out the fireplace so he didn't even start until midday. He then worked all day without a break, until I finally convinced him at 6pm that with only 5 or 6 sides done, he wasn't going to be finished before dark, not to mention washing up and eating after. I was torn between thinking if he doesn't do it then I get longer in bed as he can drive me straight to Exmouth, and not wanting to waste the race entry. So it was the early start and the last minute dash to find a parking spot on the seafront to avoid the car park fee.
Race went well for me at the start, plenty of company and remembered to conserve some energy. Spotted the approach to the 1st/4th trig, and eventually a mad dash down the grassy slope into Sidmouth. Although this meant I had overtaken all the people I had been following and I hoped I'd be able to find my way out of Sidmouth and back onto the coastal path. In the end it was actually well sign-posted.

Hard work on the next section up and down all those steps, and more memories of the 4 trigs race as I passed the next trig. Runners were getting very sparse by now, but made it to Branscombe without getting too badly lost (broken signpost + walker with map). There I was met by the unfortunate sight of Richard laid out on the ground next to the drinks station. He was done in. Had a brief discussion about how to retrieve him, he didn't think he could walk to the finish but thought he could make it to Beer Car Park.

So I decided to push on to the finish and go back and pick him up. That's when my problems started. "follow the coastal path signs" they said. So with no directions and no runners ahead I set off, and followed the CP sign all the way along the cliff path until it met the path that comes up from the shingle beach with the top of the cliff towering above. Getting seriously tired by now, but kept trudging upwards until nearly at the top when i met some walkers who said "all the other runners came over the top, you've done it the hard way". You can imagine how I felt. I must have lost a lot of time as even at my exhausted crawl I was still passing slower runners. it was only the fact that the finish was literally in sight that kept me going.

Even at the last half mile there was an arrow that was halfway between straight on and right and I was standing and staring at it in my confused state until a walker pointed me in the direction of the road. I was so glad to see the finish line, and yes, it was rather sudden. Next I went to the lorry to collect the bags and only Richard's was there. Panic until someone told me they'd taken the rest to the finish line. I felt like I did after the London Marathon, when I had to make it from the finish line to the meeting place weighed down with bags etc. Car seemed to be miles along the seafront. The spare key set off the alarm - twice, so I didn't dare go to the boot to get the food out. What I didn't realise in my confused state that the proper car key was in the kitbag. Then I couldn't get the key to start the car and was contemplating calling out the AA. But I didn't have a mobile phone, so with both hands, gritted teeth and desperation I finally got it to turn. Made it to Beer Car Park and found Richard still laid out on the ground. He was too sick to drive, or give directions so spent some time driving around in circles before getting on the road home. I was eventually overcome by hunger so we stopped for food and Richard had recovered sufficiently by then to insist on driving the rest of the way.

It was the same as the marathon sickness but it's the first time it has struck after so few miles. I didn't have a watch so asked the time from the next finisher, who replied 2:12. Realised that she meant the time of day, so she'll be disappointed to be 2 minutes slower. I was happy with anything under 4:20 after talking to people on the coach. Not sure how much time I lost, but I was ahead of a Westbury Harrier after leaving Sidmouth. And there was a Sidmouth runner not far ahead.

Not sure I'd want to do it again, Felt as tired yesterday evening as I did after Dartmoor.

Tiptoeing past the tulips at the 25th Teignbridge Ten

Sunday 29th March saw the Westgates running the 25th Teignbridge Ten. Sometimes it really hits home how lucky we are; a beautiful sunny spring morning managed to transform what some might regard as a boring looped road race past quarries and houses into a cheerful canter, passing trees laden with blossom and ringing with birdsong.

Having not trained for 8 days I decided to start off in last place and just run within myself enjoying the event. The first three miles I went past lots of runners before I saw John Perratt ahead. Caught him up by mile 4 and ran with him for a while, exchanging places over the next few miles. I think I averaged about 7.5 min/mile to mile 8 then feeling slightly guilty about not trying hard enough finished on two 7-minute miles.

So a wonderful day, friendly marshals, good organisation, facilities etc. as a bonus Lesley picked up a prize for 2nd FV50 and myself one as 6th member of the 2nd male team (SWRR). Lesley thinks she might put the winnings towards a pair of spikes for the track!

Club Champion graces the Arena

Wednesday 18th March saw the Westgates at the last race in the Exeter Winter 3K series. Excellent organisation by Pete Ferlie of Ironbridge Runner brings together a junior one-mile race followed by the 3K which is split into five separate races graded to your predicted finish time. The event takes place on the floodlit track at Exeter Arena, the spiritual home of the mighty SWRR. Turning up to register can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated because Wednesday night is also SWRR club night and with over 100 of the aforementioned runners milling around before dispersing for their evening road-running sessions it can be a bit noisy.

Talking of the uninitiated, Lesley bravely decided to make her 3K debut. Terrified at getting the pace wrong and finishing last, she opted for group E, the slowest group. She couldn’t have picked a more perfect spring evening, no breeze and clear cool air. This race was considerably shorter than anything she had done before and she was worried that it would be over before she had even warmed up!

During the junior mile race we did many warm up laps together and she insisted that she always raced carrying a drinks bottle. I think this was pushing eccentricity to an extreme with a real possibility of bringing Maiden Newton into disrepute so I confiscated her bottle. The call went out for the group to make their way over to the start. I went one way and Lesley the other. She insisted the start was where the lap counter and timekeepers were and dug her stubborn heels in. However the irrefutable logic that a 3K race over 7.5 laps couldn’t possibly start and finish on the same line eventually persuaded her to follow me to the far side of the track. It was getting a bit cooler now and I had to really insist she keep moving to keep warm; unfortunately she knew three of the runners in the group and wanted to stand chatting.

The runners lined up and on a signal were off. A sharp cry of “wait for me” broke the night air and the race was stopped. No, it wasn’t Lesley but another lady, a bit slow getting her jacket off. (Lucky for her the race was restarted and she won the series over-60 prize). I suppose technically it wasn’t a false start – a real rarity for a 3K – rather a restart. Lesley set off near the rear of the group of 14. There were seven youngsters under 15, two ladies over 60, two men over 50, 2 ladies over 50 and the winner – a lady over 45.

Lesley soon started moving through the field and was looking quite comfortable. She probably ran further than the rest, as for a couple of laps she seemed to be in lanes 2, 3 or even 4 as she went wide overtaking runners. With a lap to go she was still in second position but the lady ahead kept a clear lead. In fact Lesley needed some encouragement to push on, as a young Honiton lad wasn’t far behind. With some effort she held on to second place in 13:46.

I was seeded in race C – predicted time of 12.00. Things went to plan; I started at the back, nice and steady for a lap then moving up a bit. I finished in 11:58, ninth out of 22, very happy. Mike will be interested to note that John Perratt did 12:25 and won the first male over 70 for the series. Full results are on the Ironbridge Runner website. Lesley says never again but I bet she will.

Street Winter 5k Series

A short race so a correspondingly short race report. Martin and I drove to Street on Wednesday evening for the sixth and final race in the series.

The Street series is less well supported than the Summer series at Yeovilton but it’s great fun charging round the streets of Street – five times – and we have done them all this year. We approached the final one with some trepidation having survived 20 miles of bogs, beach and cliffs at the Grizzly just three days earlier.

The start of this race is terrifying – the road is quite narrow, it’s downhill, it has speed bumps and everyone is trying to get to the first corner as quickly as possible to avoid getting stuck as the path narrows. Consequently it’s a mad charge with no room to see where you are putting your feet and I’m always grateful to survive it unscathed.

We obviously didn’t try hard enough at the Grizzly because we both had a good race, Martin clocked an excellent 18.18 and I ran my best time for the Series – 20.47. Alternatively it could be that we are finally returning to some semblance of fitness.

The main reason for this race report is to advertise what a superstar Maiden Newton Running Club has in its midst – Martin came home as first Vet 50 in 5 out of 6 of the races, which obviously also meant that he won the vet 50 prize for the overall series. Not only that, he finished in a fantastic 7th place overall in this final race. I’m so proud of him!

The next challenge will be at Yeovilton and the first race of the summer series is at 7.15pm on Wednesday 8th April when hopefully some other Maiden Newton runners will take up the challenge.