Last weekend the Westgates thought they’d been working too hard and decided to have a few days away. At least that’s how Richard saw it. In truth I had been planning accommodation, route and things to see and do for months. And one of those was the Banbury 15 mile road race. Before we got to that however there were a few thousand years of history to investigate starting with the 5000 year old white horse at Uffington. ( By strange coincidence the scene of a current murder enquiry). Thanks to the rain it was quite deserted when we were there. Then we moved on to a 3000 year old hill fort (similar to Maiden Castle). After that we found ourselves in Witney (David Cameron country) and also famous for manufacture of blankets in the past few centuries. Luckily for DC they have now all closed, or burned down providing a neat solution to infill housing problems.
Next day after an excellent breakfast in an equally good guest house we decided to stretch our legs in the direction of Blenheim Palace (18th century) following the Wychwood trail. This should only have taken a morning, but some people walk slower than others and with frequent stops we weren’t back until mid afternoon, so a bit too much time on feet. The rest of the afternoon was spent looking for a suitable and affordable place to eat; picturesque country pubs being hugely expensive. This took us past yet more ruins – 15th century this time.
The next day – Sunday was cloudy and cool, but warmed up later – excellent running weather. Richard had already decided he was going to continue with this year’s plan and run with me. That is, a few yards ahead so conveniently out of reach for conversation. The start and finish was in the park opposite Banbury leisure centre, and the route went in a northerly direction out of town, so after a couple of miles it was on pleasant country lanes, crossing over the Oxford canal at times. A few hills, including one that really sapped the energy from the legs at 11 miles. Then a return to town via the outward route and finally the welcome sight of the finish line. Here we were passed by a couple of runners wearing flip-flops. Apparently they always run in them although on this occasion one was suffering from a bleeding foot as well as damage to the footwear. After showers we checked the results and were relieved to find I was only 3rd in my age group (by quite a margin) and so didn’t have to wait for presentations. Of course we had to continue the historical quest and find Banbury Cross and a statue of a lady on a horse. Banbury doesn’t have a lot else going for it, couldn’t even find a shop open on Sunday selling Banbury cakes. May be the race organisers should give them out instead of fudge bars.
Another reason for choosing this race/location was that my ancestors were from this area, so on Monday we went searching for hovel type dwellings likely to have been inhabited by agricultural labourers, and to get to the villages went on the old Roman Road of Akeman Street. (I did say there was a lot of history). In Leafield a small village of 600+, we came across a church designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott who in his spare time also designed the Grand Hotel at St Pancras and the Albert Memorial. Richard likes looking round old churches and I was pleased to find the names of some relatives on the gravestones and one on the WW1 memorial. After all that you’ll be pleased/relieved to find we drove straight home for a rest.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Grizzly 2011 - Valley of the Bogs
The weather was absolutely perfect on Sunday for the 24th running of Axe Valley’s biggest and best event of the year, the infamous Grizzly. It only seems like a moment ago that I ran my first Grizzly, thinking that I had to do it at least once to see what all the fuss was about. This year was my 8th Grizzly and sadly may be the last, at least in its current format, as Race Director, Garry Perratt, has said that unless someone else takes on the organisation in future, he will be scaling it down.
A total of 1687 runners crossed the line in times varying from a little over two and a half hours to in excess of six but I think everyone would agree that they got their money’s worth. As usual the organisation was superb, a great and varied course with several new sections, cheery and helpful marshals leaving no doubt as to the direction to take, fantastic support and entertainment along the way and a selection of goodies to reward you when finally crossing the line. Not to mention the distinctive t-shirt, proudly worn by all Grizzly survivors.
As usual the race began with a loop along the beach, a strength sapping mile on the shingle which leaves you wondering how on earth your legs will cope with another 19 miles or so of fun – but it’s always a boost to run back over the start line before heading out onto the course “proper” with the shouts of the enthusiastic spectators to spur you on your way.
Martin and I started running together but as usual I got a bit carried away and found myself a little ahead of him as we headed across to Beer and up the hill to the coast path. A lovely flat section across the cliffs towards Branscombe and then a steep descent to Branscombe Mouth and the traditional river crossing, disappointingly only knee deep this year, but still breathtakingly cold.
After passing through the village of Branscombe we moved into uncharted territory for me as the route headed much further north than usual, and although parts seemed vaguely familiar, I had no idea where we were. I managed to pull away from a girl who had overtaken me at alarming speed on the downhill stretch to Branscombe and was delighted to find myself in second place in the ladies race, as confirmed by numerous friendly marshals along the way. I was confidently expecting Martin to charge pass me at any time but I resisted the temptation to look back in case it was interpreted as weakness on my part.
At about 9 and a half miles on a very rough, narrow downhill path disaster struck as I caught my right foot in a root and went over on my ankle. This was the same ankle which I sprained badly last year and it brought me back to a painful hobble. I semi-seriously contemplated stopping but I managed to convince myself that it was only pain and kept going – gradually the pain subsided but for the next couple of miles I slowed down a little and had to place my foot very carefully.
This gave Martin the opportunity to catch me, much to my disappointment as I thought I had dropped him, but although I was aware of him behind me at about 13 miles he didn’t pass me and I didn’t see him again.
The route seemed to loop round and round, the bogs came and went - not up to the usual standard of gloop, it has obviously been too dry recently – and I kept looking at the Garmin, seeing the miles racking up and wondering why we hadn’t got back to the Fountain Head pub yet, the point at which you know you are headed for home. I just couldn’t get my bearings and it was with immense relief that I finally reached the familiar track down to the pub – where the support is tremendous and the crowd and music give tired legs a huge boost. I think everyone, no matter the level of suffering, ran through there with a huge grin on their faces.
A steep and muddy climb followed up to the coast path and then a turn in the right direction, east back towards Seaton and the long downhill swoop into Branscombe, all morale boosting if you only didn’t know what still lay ahead. The half mile or so along the beach didn’t seem too bad this year and I passed several runners and caught a large bunch running together ahead of me before reaching the end and turning onto the Stairway to Heaven.
About halfway up I was overtaken by Claire, the Wells City Harrier who also beat me into third place at the Loch Ness marathon. She passed me very strongly and my legs just didn’t have anything left to make a contest of it. By the time I emerged onto the cliff top she was already a couple hundred yards ahead and as if that wasn’t bad enough the route then turned away from Seaton to do a loop inland before passing through the camp site and back down into Beer.
The remainder of the route is so familiar I think I could run it blindfold which was just as well as I had reached the stage where it was mind over matter to keep the legs turning over, the last stretch along the beach was a killer, I really just wanted to stop and lie down. Fortunately I managed not to give into that impulse and even wound up to a bit of a sprint finish, crossing the line in just under 3 hours and 3 minutes.
Martin had to put up with some heckling from Jon Perratt on the PA who greeted him into the finishing funnel by saying “I’m sorry to tell you that the wife has beaten you today” but he took it in good spirit as usual. The traditional dip in the sea followed to remove at least some of the mud and then we enjoyed strolling around in the sunshine and cheering many of our friends across the line.
The results appeared on the website this morning and I was delighted to find that I finished in the top 50 (49th) and much to my amazement I was first overall age graded! Martin finished in 68th place and 16th age graded, just under 4 minutes behind me. Not bad for a pair of oldies. My ankle is nicely swollen but I think will recover in time for the next race......................................
Monday, March 07, 2011
Bideford Half Marathon
Sunday 6th March saw the Westgates at Bideford for the half marathon. I (LW) had been looking forward to this as perusal of previous results showed a strange anomaly that I had run more marathons than halfs, so to put this right we confidently entered a few at the beginning of the year. Sadly in what is almost becoming a tradition Richard fell victim to ill-health in the weeks before the race and was recently only able to run round Hestercombe with me (rather than race it). This time he wasn’t even able to run at all, but enjoyed having the time to read his book for an hour before leaving the car to watch the winners cross the line.
My training hadn’t gone particularly well with only a few longer training runs so it was with some trepidation I found myself on the start line. Or, I should say several yards back from the start line as it took nearly a minute to get to it. The first half of the race is on a main road and follows the river inland for 7 miles and was undulating. A bit surprising as I thought rivers flowed downhill. After the 7 mile marker we crossed the river and turned on to the Tarka Trail. This tarmac path follows the line of a disused railway and is totally flat. Ideal for cyclists and runners who like fast times, but the terrain did look the same for the next 5 miles, broken only by a few bridges giving a change from one river bank to the other. After a long tunnel, another mile or so brought us within sight of the town of Bideford and not long then to the 12 mile marker. For most of the race I had been keeping in front or a Torbay runner who I thought might be in my age group. Having narrowly beaten the 2nd FV55 by TWO seconds at Hestercombe, I didn’t want the tables turned this time. Finally we reached the point where we left the Tarka trail and went back on the road, with countdown markers every 100m for the last 800m. A good way to get to the end of a race. It also took us across the old stone bridge and along the river front with lots of crowd support including RW with camera.
For those who like the stats, having finished in a chip time of 1:48:33 this was a PB for me, my last PB being 1:54 approx at Taunton in 2007. Sadly I needn’t have worried about beating fellow runners as I was 6th FV55 with prizes for the first 3 in each category.
My training hadn’t gone particularly well with only a few longer training runs so it was with some trepidation I found myself on the start line. Or, I should say several yards back from the start line as it took nearly a minute to get to it. The first half of the race is on a main road and follows the river inland for 7 miles and was undulating. A bit surprising as I thought rivers flowed downhill. After the 7 mile marker we crossed the river and turned on to the Tarka Trail. This tarmac path follows the line of a disused railway and is totally flat. Ideal for cyclists and runners who like fast times, but the terrain did look the same for the next 5 miles, broken only by a few bridges giving a change from one river bank to the other. After a long tunnel, another mile or so brought us within sight of the town of Bideford and not long then to the 12 mile marker. For most of the race I had been keeping in front or a Torbay runner who I thought might be in my age group. Having narrowly beaten the 2nd FV55 by TWO seconds at Hestercombe, I didn’t want the tables turned this time. Finally we reached the point where we left the Tarka trail and went back on the road, with countdown markers every 100m for the last 800m. A good way to get to the end of a race. It also took us across the old stone bridge and along the river front with lots of crowd support including RW with camera.
For those who like the stats, having finished in a chip time of 1:48:33 this was a PB for me, my last PB being 1:54 approx at Taunton in 2007. Sadly I needn’t have worried about beating fellow runners as I was 6th FV55 with prizes for the first 3 in each category.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Hestercombe Humdinger
This was our first visit to the Hestercombe Humdinger and although not our favoured off road terrain it was an enjoyable experience. Maiden Newton Runners were not exactly out in force, but there were enough of us there to be described as a group.
The race starts in front of Hestercombe House, a lovely setting and heads up the drive and through lanes at the foot of the Quantocks. Martin said afterwards that he clocked the first mile in 5.50 which he felt meant that he had gone off a little too fast. It's a good job he didn't glance back because I clocked my first mile in 5.53 which was not a little too fast but totally insane! After that we both settled down to a slightly more sensible and infinitely more sustainable pace.
This part of the race was a bit of a blast from the past for me - when I first began running again after the post school slothful years, my running friend lived just down the road from Hestercombe House and we often ran circuits from her house around these same lanes. In fact the Humdinger route passed by where she lived, although she has long since moved on (moved to France, mainly I think to avoid having to run with me any more, as my enthusiam for running increased her's dwindled. I still think it was a bit drastic emigrating, she could have just said "I don't want to run with you any more". I would have been a bit upset but I would have understood. Anyway back to the race..........)
A three mile loop took us back to Hestercombe House, where we once again ran up the drive but this time turning right. Lots of support here from spectators and the PA system before we tackled the first of the challenging climbs. I had managed to drop one of the girsl who caused my ridiculous cavalry charge of the first mile, but the other one had gained about 50 yards on me and remained stubbornly at that distance ahead for the rest of the race. I kept thinking I was gaining on her but each time it proved an optical illusion and in reality I just couldn't close the gap. At about 3 and a half miles I caught and overtook the one other female runner ahead of me, but at the same time was myself caught and overtaken by the girl who narrowly beat me at the Loch Ness marathon, and so I remained in 3rd place for the entire race. I could still see Martin up ahead and was hopeful that his legs had not recovered from last week's tough Four Trigs and that I may be able to catch him, but my last glimpse of him was at 5 miles and after that he disappeared from view.
A sharp downhill section into Kingston St Mary followed and then a left turn and another telling climb up "Humdinger" Hill - still tailing my female rival by the same distance and still working hard in the fruitless attempt to close the gap. The figure of 8 route around unfamiliar lanes had left me completely disorientated and I felt as if I was heading in the wrong direction now but summiting the last climb brought me back to Vollis Hill which we had climbed on our way out and which we could now swoop down knowing that the end was near. As I turned into the house and summoned up my remaining energy for the sprint down the drive I could see Martin waiting at the line - he finished in an execellent 15th place overall and a full 2 minutes ahead of me today. I crossed the line in 1.05.55, overall position 23rd.
We collected our t-shirts and then jogged back down the drive to meet the others - firstly Lesley, being paced by Richard today, and not far behind them, Charlie who we then ran in with - and a storming finish she had too, charging down the hill passing several other runners as she headed for the line, well ahead of Andy in a reversal of their finishing positions last time they both did this race.
It was a good day for MNR - picking up 1st MV55, 1stFV45, 1st FV55 and 3rd lady trophies - I was also reunited with my trail shoes which I had left behind at the Four Trigs last week and I'm pleased to report that even with a visit to my parents in nearby Wellington thrown in I managed to get home with all my possessions intact, nothing left anywhere it shouldn't have been, a small miracle indeed based on my recent form!
The race starts in front of Hestercombe House, a lovely setting and heads up the drive and through lanes at the foot of the Quantocks. Martin said afterwards that he clocked the first mile in 5.50 which he felt meant that he had gone off a little too fast. It's a good job he didn't glance back because I clocked my first mile in 5.53 which was not a little too fast but totally insane! After that we both settled down to a slightly more sensible and infinitely more sustainable pace.
This part of the race was a bit of a blast from the past for me - when I first began running again after the post school slothful years, my running friend lived just down the road from Hestercombe House and we often ran circuits from her house around these same lanes. In fact the Humdinger route passed by where she lived, although she has long since moved on (moved to France, mainly I think to avoid having to run with me any more, as my enthusiam for running increased her's dwindled. I still think it was a bit drastic emigrating, she could have just said "I don't want to run with you any more". I would have been a bit upset but I would have understood. Anyway back to the race..........)
A three mile loop took us back to Hestercombe House, where we once again ran up the drive but this time turning right. Lots of support here from spectators and the PA system before we tackled the first of the challenging climbs. I had managed to drop one of the girsl who caused my ridiculous cavalry charge of the first mile, but the other one had gained about 50 yards on me and remained stubbornly at that distance ahead for the rest of the race. I kept thinking I was gaining on her but each time it proved an optical illusion and in reality I just couldn't close the gap. At about 3 and a half miles I caught and overtook the one other female runner ahead of me, but at the same time was myself caught and overtaken by the girl who narrowly beat me at the Loch Ness marathon, and so I remained in 3rd place for the entire race. I could still see Martin up ahead and was hopeful that his legs had not recovered from last week's tough Four Trigs and that I may be able to catch him, but my last glimpse of him was at 5 miles and after that he disappeared from view.
A sharp downhill section into Kingston St Mary followed and then a left turn and another telling climb up "Humdinger" Hill - still tailing my female rival by the same distance and still working hard in the fruitless attempt to close the gap. The figure of 8 route around unfamiliar lanes had left me completely disorientated and I felt as if I was heading in the wrong direction now but summiting the last climb brought me back to Vollis Hill which we had climbed on our way out and which we could now swoop down knowing that the end was near. As I turned into the house and summoned up my remaining energy for the sprint down the drive I could see Martin waiting at the line - he finished in an execellent 15th place overall and a full 2 minutes ahead of me today. I crossed the line in 1.05.55, overall position 23rd.
We collected our t-shirts and then jogged back down the drive to meet the others - firstly Lesley, being paced by Richard today, and not far behind them, Charlie who we then ran in with - and a storming finish she had too, charging down the hill passing several other runners as she headed for the line, well ahead of Andy in a reversal of their finishing positions last time they both did this race.
It was a good day for MNR - picking up 1st MV55, 1stFV45, 1st FV55 and 3rd lady trophies - I was also reunited with my trail shoes which I had left behind at the Four Trigs last week and I'm pleased to report that even with a visit to my parents in nearby Wellington thrown in I managed to get home with all my possessions intact, nothing left anywhere it shouldn't have been, a small miracle indeed based on my recent form!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Blackdown Beast
After thoroughly enjoying last year's inaugural 16 mile romp through the Somerset/Devon borderlands, (with 3 pubs and a Cornish Pasty/Mulled-cider stop), this event has been on our calendar for many months. We set off at 8:30 sharp, theoretically only an hours drive away and starting at 10:00am, but expecting to need the extra half an hour to find our way to Dunkeswell from the nearest main road - even though it's less than 4 miles as the crow flies. We needed most of that time because despite having done the run last year, our memories of the route were vague, and the roads very windy, and potholy. We found some of the few roads that we missed trying to find the place last year, but unfortunately none of them led to our destination, so we ended up driving round to the far side of the village and approaching from the west. Next year we'll remember the map.
We finally arrived only 10 minutes before 10, just in time for the meeting briefing, or brief meeting before the start where we were told to expect mud, ice, rocks, and more mud, but thankfully not the herd of cows in a farmyard which we had to negotiate last year.
The other important information was that there were only 10 vegetarian pasties, which would have lent some urgency to our pace over the first leg of the course, except that because we were running with Garry (AKA LMRB), we were automatically at the head of the field. Luckily Garry was only "pootling" around so we were able to keep up - just, thanks to him opening most of the gates, and doing the map-reading. A local runner, Tony was running with us too, he is more used to chasing blobs of flour rather than drawing pins, but didn't seem to have much trouble keeping up, and maintaining a conversation.
The first leg was over 6 miles and the short break at Smeatharpe for pasty & mulled-cider was extremely welcome, especially inside a warm village hall where the temperature was several tens of degrees warmer, so the shock when we set off for the pub at Upottery was substantial. It took us a mile or two to really get going again, luckily not as hilly or muddy as the first section with several easy downhill tracks where we could relax a bit, and where Lin relaxed so much that she caught her toe on a stone and went flying. No serious damage, fortunately, she is pretty good at falling over!
The Sidmouth Arms gave us a warm welcome, although the landlady's first words were "you are all quite mad"!!! We couldn't really argue about that, she's right. Forced to choose between the Otter Ale, and Otter Bitter, I had a half of each. In a blind taste test I could just about tell the difference between them (by peeking), they are both good. Lin had a cup of coffee - oh well, it takes all sorts.
The next group of runners were hot on our heels, so we didn't stay long, although it was tempting to stay and enjoy the warmth, and maybe another drink, but the Luppitt Inn was beckoning, only 2.8 miles away, but separated from Upottery by a rather large hill.
I wish I had taken a picture of the fantastic view from the top of the hill above Luppitt, but I was too tired and cold to even try to get the camera out, and we weren't hanging about. It was down the precipice to the road, then halfway up one of the steeper hills in this part of Devon to definitely the smallest pub in the west country. We barely had time to down a half of Otter before the chasing group pitched up, and with still less than 10 runners in the bar, the place was full, and we left to make room for the others.
As we set off to enjoy the second and much steeper half of the hill, we were joined by renowned Honiton athlete, Heather Foundling-Hawker - having a nice easy morning's running as a break from her ultra training. She had just qualified for the GB 24 hour squad in an amazing effort where she had to run well over 200 miles in 4 days after her first attempt had failed due to adverse weather. (Link) She had some interesting stories to tell of the Ultra circuit which helped to make the last couple of miles back to Dunkeswell pass more easily. Soon we were running down into the village, and then up the final steepish hill to the Royal Oak (second most popular pub name in England).
Game over, but still some enjoyment to be had with a nice drink and a hearty meal of fish and chips in front of the fire, chatting with friends as they arrived back. A low key event, not a race, just great company and countryside - running at its best.
Many thanks to Nick, John, and the rest of the organising crew. We'll be back in 12 months for more mud and Mulled Cider.
Oh, and a plug for the Honiton Hippo. It be a good'un! Similar terrain, but a race, not a pub run. http://www.honitonrc.com/races/hippo/hippo.htm We would be doing it if we didn't have the Johnny Kipps on the same day. Its the old complaint, too many races, too little time.
Friday, January 07, 2011
New Year Festive Run
The year has begun well with a great turn out at the New Year Festive run. I should know by now that it's impossible to find out in advance who is coming - although we did get a text from Phil MacQuaid at about 10am saying "There's a gang on the way from Yeovil". Very enlightening - what is the definition of a "gang"? Presumably more than two, which would be a couple, but when does a gang stop being a gang and become a crowd? Ah the joys of catering - anyway fortunately there was enough champagne to go round!
Twenty of us set off from the Fox and Hounds, having discovered that there was no point rushing back because the pub was closed for a week. They had obviously been unable to discover the exact date of our run and decided to close for several days to be on the safe side!
We laboured up Kennel Lane, splitting at the top with the speedier legs heading across to the Wessex Ridgeway and the sensible people taking the most direct route across to Sydling. A re-group at the church in Sydling where we lost Jackie but gained Dave. Unfortunately we had started too promptly and run too fast and the Greyhound was yet to open so rather than loiter at their door we decided to press on. Our group shrank slightly as Andy decided to return to Cattistock and Richard Blackmore found the temptation of passing his front door too great to resist.
The rest of us tackled the climb up the other side of the valley, again splitting with Martin taking the faster legs on a detour, the rest of taking the slightly less arduous route. A leisurely pace took us across Eastfield Hill, down to Pond Bottom and then the only way was up and up and up.............
Finally reaching the ridge at the Turning Point we broke for refreshment - champagne, flapjacks, chocolate and a welcome chance to take a breather and enjoy the view. A group on horseback passed us -the riders enviously eyeing our refreshments, some of the runners coveting their horses!
An easy run along the ridge now with all the climbing behind us and then the descent to Stratton and finally a pub that was open - the Saxon! This was the point where the foolhardy were sorted from the sensible - after some real alcohol and a break from the weather which had decided to turn particularly damp and unpleasant, our gang was greatly diminished and just nine of us set off on the final leg. In fairness Charlie and Dave also continued on foot but had decided to get a head start on us. The rest of the group sensibly decided that enough was enough and the ever popular Mike found that he was everyone's best friend once it was discovered that his car was parked in Stratton!
Injury and illnesses were making it a bit of a struggle for some and the rain began in earnest. It was like making a long car journey with children in the back of the car "Are we nearly there yet?" being heard at regular intervals. The Chalk and Cheese was a welcome oasis of warmth and Mike and Di were waiting there as Jim finally gave in to his post flu symptoms and made the final leg by car. Richard also wisely decided that there was no point passing up his front door and so it was that only seven of us sloshed up the path by the river back to our starting point - where Mike and Di were again waiting to greet us with mince pies for everyone.
What a great way to start the New Year, despite the weather and thanks to everyone who came along and made the day such a success. A few pictures which Martin took are up on the MNR Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=202491522257
Twenty of us set off from the Fox and Hounds, having discovered that there was no point rushing back because the pub was closed for a week. They had obviously been unable to discover the exact date of our run and decided to close for several days to be on the safe side!
We laboured up Kennel Lane, splitting at the top with the speedier legs heading across to the Wessex Ridgeway and the sensible people taking the most direct route across to Sydling. A re-group at the church in Sydling where we lost Jackie but gained Dave. Unfortunately we had started too promptly and run too fast and the Greyhound was yet to open so rather than loiter at their door we decided to press on. Our group shrank slightly as Andy decided to return to Cattistock and Richard Blackmore found the temptation of passing his front door too great to resist.
The rest of us tackled the climb up the other side of the valley, again splitting with Martin taking the faster legs on a detour, the rest of taking the slightly less arduous route. A leisurely pace took us across Eastfield Hill, down to Pond Bottom and then the only way was up and up and up.............
Finally reaching the ridge at the Turning Point we broke for refreshment - champagne, flapjacks, chocolate and a welcome chance to take a breather and enjoy the view. A group on horseback passed us -the riders enviously eyeing our refreshments, some of the runners coveting their horses!
An easy run along the ridge now with all the climbing behind us and then the descent to Stratton and finally a pub that was open - the Saxon! This was the point where the foolhardy were sorted from the sensible - after some real alcohol and a break from the weather which had decided to turn particularly damp and unpleasant, our gang was greatly diminished and just nine of us set off on the final leg. In fairness Charlie and Dave also continued on foot but had decided to get a head start on us. The rest of the group sensibly decided that enough was enough and the ever popular Mike found that he was everyone's best friend once it was discovered that his car was parked in Stratton!
Injury and illnesses were making it a bit of a struggle for some and the rain began in earnest. It was like making a long car journey with children in the back of the car "Are we nearly there yet?" being heard at regular intervals. The Chalk and Cheese was a welcome oasis of warmth and Mike and Di were waiting there as Jim finally gave in to his post flu symptoms and made the final leg by car. Richard also wisely decided that there was no point passing up his front door and so it was that only seven of us sloshed up the path by the river back to our starting point - where Mike and Di were again waiting to greet us with mince pies for everyone.
What a great way to start the New Year, despite the weather and thanks to everyone who came along and made the day such a success. A few pictures which Martin took are up on the MNR Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=202491522257
Monday, December 20, 2010
Midwinter Dream
Never let it be said that we are fair weather runners, and to prove that point, Martin and I headed off down to Seaton last Saturday evening to join Axe Valley Runners on their annual Midwinter Dream. We met up with the other hard core runners at the Hook and Parrot at 6pm when the temperature was a balmy minus 4 or so and set off along the coast path towards Beer, seven (fool) hardy souls.
We followed the route of the Grizzly across to Branscombe Mouth, even venturing down onto the beach for a short stretch and finding the shingle much easier than usual to run on as it was frozen solid! A sharp climb up the other side and then through the trees finally dropping down to our first welcome break at the Fountainhead pub - where we promptly divested ourselves of several layers of outer clothing and hung it round the glowing log fire. Fortunately, probably something to do with the inclement weather, there were very few other customers to object as we huddled round the fire for a few blissful minutes and enjoyed (I think) a lovely glass of cold beer.
It was oh so hard to leave the warmth and head back outside, turning inland now for another climb and knowing that we had five miles of running through the snow before the next break. The route was not so familiar now, lots of wood, lots of snow, a brief moment of bashing around in the undergrowth when even Garry managed to lose the path, finally emerging onto the road and arriving at the soup stop, a strategically parked car with flasks of steaming hot and very welcome leek and potato soup. Not quite so festive but infinitely more warming than beer!
The temperature seemed to be dropping and as we headed down to the river crossing near Colyton it was not a hard decision to detour to the bridge crossing rather than wading through the ford as we normally do. A nice flat section of easy running across snowy fields by the river and we were soon heading through the deserted streets of Colyton, the Kingfisher pub our destination and another brief break from the cold as we refuelled and defrosted.
It was getting late and even colder and we were all beginning to flag a bit so when a short cut was mentioned it wasn't long before Garry had a mutiny on his hands and all but he and one other runner abandoned ship and scurried towards Seaton in rat-like fashion. The last few miles were definitely a test of endurance as we slithered along slippery roads, our only thoughts now on warmth, food and rest. We finally arrived back around 10.30pm and taking leave of our companions headed for the camper van where we had foolishly decided to spend the night.
Firstly I couldn't get my shoes off because the laces were frozen solid and so were my fingers! After some very welcome Indian food, which barely touched the side, we settled in for the night but we couldn't get warm no matter how many layers we put on. Finally, after a few sleepless hours, we got up, scraped the ice off the inside of the windscreen and slithered back over the icy roads to the warmth and comfort of Sydling, arriving at about 3am when the whole dream felt like it had turned into a bit of a nightmare!
Apart from the cold it was a brilliant evening, a great route, great company and the snow certainly turned it into a special experience........but I'm really hoping for a better temperature next year!
We followed the route of the Grizzly across to Branscombe Mouth, even venturing down onto the beach for a short stretch and finding the shingle much easier than usual to run on as it was frozen solid! A sharp climb up the other side and then through the trees finally dropping down to our first welcome break at the Fountainhead pub - where we promptly divested ourselves of several layers of outer clothing and hung it round the glowing log fire. Fortunately, probably something to do with the inclement weather, there were very few other customers to object as we huddled round the fire for a few blissful minutes and enjoyed (I think) a lovely glass of cold beer.
It was oh so hard to leave the warmth and head back outside, turning inland now for another climb and knowing that we had five miles of running through the snow before the next break. The route was not so familiar now, lots of wood, lots of snow, a brief moment of bashing around in the undergrowth when even Garry managed to lose the path, finally emerging onto the road and arriving at the soup stop, a strategically parked car with flasks of steaming hot and very welcome leek and potato soup. Not quite so festive but infinitely more warming than beer!
The temperature seemed to be dropping and as we headed down to the river crossing near Colyton it was not a hard decision to detour to the bridge crossing rather than wading through the ford as we normally do. A nice flat section of easy running across snowy fields by the river and we were soon heading through the deserted streets of Colyton, the Kingfisher pub our destination and another brief break from the cold as we refuelled and defrosted.
It was getting late and even colder and we were all beginning to flag a bit so when a short cut was mentioned it wasn't long before Garry had a mutiny on his hands and all but he and one other runner abandoned ship and scurried towards Seaton in rat-like fashion. The last few miles were definitely a test of endurance as we slithered along slippery roads, our only thoughts now on warmth, food and rest. We finally arrived back around 10.30pm and taking leave of our companions headed for the camper van where we had foolishly decided to spend the night.
Firstly I couldn't get my shoes off because the laces were frozen solid and so were my fingers! After some very welcome Indian food, which barely touched the side, we settled in for the night but we couldn't get warm no matter how many layers we put on. Finally, after a few sleepless hours, we got up, scraped the ice off the inside of the windscreen and slithered back over the icy roads to the warmth and comfort of Sydling, arriving at about 3am when the whole dream felt like it had turned into a bit of a nightmare!
Apart from the cold it was a brilliant evening, a great route, great company and the snow certainly turned it into a special experience........but I'm really hoping for a better temperature next year!
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Reindeer Run
Following on from a week when we thought we may need some reindeer to provide transportation to the start of this race, we were very relieved that some kind of thaw occurred overnight and we could slither over to Otterton for the Reindeer Run without too much difficulty. And although it was still very cold it was positively balmy compared with the misery that was last week's Bicton Blister.
This is a fun off road 10k organised by Sidmouth Running Club and Martin and I had a serious title to defend - first married couple! - which prize saw us enjoying a free lunch at Otterton Mill last year so naturally we were keen to repeat the experience.
A 10am start is the single downside to this race but once the crack of dawn start is behind you the rest of the race is enjoyable (apart from the uphill start) and even more so this year with some minor route changes which were all improvements. Once the fun run split from the main race after the first km and I no longer had to worry about the two small boys zigzagging wildly about in front of me I could concentrate on trying to keep Martin in sight.
After turning off the road the route climbs up across some fields, drops back down near to the River Otter before heading back up hill across some more fields, a diversion from the usual route which took out all the serious opposition - all the leaders ran around the edge of the field instead of following the markers straight ahead and back down to the river. Fortunately the guy in front of me realised and went the right way - I would have followed him ether way - and as we dropped down a steep hill it was with some relief that I saw Martin still up ahead having chosen the correct route. For the rest of the race the front runners gradually caught us up and overtook us having completed an extra quarter mile or so.
Out onto the road and across the River Otter, a section of flat easy running on the road before turning back towards Otterton and another route change here as we were directed up a slight hill and across more fields, a pleasant diversion from the extremely muddy and difficult track normally taken. My favourite part of the race along the flat riverside path follows, marred only slightly by the knowledge that the river crossing lies ahead as you are directed under the road and through waist deep water. I hadn't realised how much I was dreading it until I arrived and found much to my delight, no water! Just some rather pleasant concrete, result! I had a sneaking suspicion that there might be a nasty surprise later on to compensate but fortunately the organisers weren't that devious!
On the home stretch now - a few more fields, another river crossing - by bridge! - then the last few fields and a steep downhill section to the finish. Martin finished in 11th place in 43.06 and I was first lady home in 18th place overall and 44.16 - much more respectable than last week's resounding defeat at Bicton. And much more importantly we regained our title and picked up another free lunch, although we hadn't realised that there was some serious competition this year in the shape of Lucy and Martin Owen - fortunately Martin was one of the front runners who took the scenic route, but I think we might just have beaten them anyway. However the challenge has been thrown down for next year when we might have to work a bit harder for it!
This is a fun off road 10k organised by Sidmouth Running Club and Martin and I had a serious title to defend - first married couple! - which prize saw us enjoying a free lunch at Otterton Mill last year so naturally we were keen to repeat the experience.
A 10am start is the single downside to this race but once the crack of dawn start is behind you the rest of the race is enjoyable (apart from the uphill start) and even more so this year with some minor route changes which were all improvements. Once the fun run split from the main race after the first km and I no longer had to worry about the two small boys zigzagging wildly about in front of me I could concentrate on trying to keep Martin in sight.
After turning off the road the route climbs up across some fields, drops back down near to the River Otter before heading back up hill across some more fields, a diversion from the usual route which took out all the serious opposition - all the leaders ran around the edge of the field instead of following the markers straight ahead and back down to the river. Fortunately the guy in front of me realised and went the right way - I would have followed him ether way - and as we dropped down a steep hill it was with some relief that I saw Martin still up ahead having chosen the correct route. For the rest of the race the front runners gradually caught us up and overtook us having completed an extra quarter mile or so.
Out onto the road and across the River Otter, a section of flat easy running on the road before turning back towards Otterton and another route change here as we were directed up a slight hill and across more fields, a pleasant diversion from the extremely muddy and difficult track normally taken. My favourite part of the race along the flat riverside path follows, marred only slightly by the knowledge that the river crossing lies ahead as you are directed under the road and through waist deep water. I hadn't realised how much I was dreading it until I arrived and found much to my delight, no water! Just some rather pleasant concrete, result! I had a sneaking suspicion that there might be a nasty surprise later on to compensate but fortunately the organisers weren't that devious!
On the home stretch now - a few more fields, another river crossing - by bridge! - then the last few fields and a steep downhill section to the finish. Martin finished in 11th place in 43.06 and I was first lady home in 18th place overall and 44.16 - much more respectable than last week's resounding defeat at Bicton. And much more importantly we regained our title and picked up another free lunch, although we hadn't realised that there was some serious competition this year in the shape of Lucy and Martin Owen - fortunately Martin was one of the front runners who took the scenic route, but I think we might just have beaten them anyway. However the challenge has been thrown down for next year when we might have to work a bit harder for it!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Exmoor Stagger Revisited
Last Sunday was a perfect morning for a jaunt across Exmoor and the conditions for our fourth running of the Exmoor Stagger, and my first visit since 2006, could not have been better. We gathered on the start line with the usual suspects from Maiden Newton (aka Richard and Lesley) amongst the 230 strong field of runners in the sort of good spirits that only a tough, hilly 16 mile race in bright autumn sunshine can inspire.
An entertaining briefing from an exuberant race director was followed by a short walk to the start line and at 11am sharp we were off at the start of the lung bursting ascent to the far distant Dunkery Beacon.
The route starts to climb almost immediately, then climbs some more, continues to climb for a bit further........you get the idea, it’s basically uphill! After the first couple of miles the race splits, the hardy Staggerers turn right for more torture and the lucky Stumblers turn left to cover the short distance back down to Minehead. This year Richard was amongst the Stumblers as he had decided that his stomach could not endure the real deal.
At this point I realised that I had been running past glorious views without actually noticing them, so I tried to appreciate the stunning vista of moors, forest and the distant sea. That lasted for about 2 seconds and then my focus returned to the task ahead. I was having a bit of a tussle with a female Bitton Road Runner but fortunately she was not as strong as me on the hills and soon fell back. This left me to concentrate on Richard Boulter from Yeovil who I decided must be beaten at all costs!!
A welcome stretch of downhill to the picturesque village of Wootton Courtenay followed and at this point a marshal called out to me “Well done, first lady” which I thought was a load of rubbish as I knew there was at least one speedy woman up ahead. After another three marshals had called out the same thing it occurred to me that they couldn’t all be wrong and that my speedy rival must be doing the Stumble. This gave my legs a burst of strength and there was another incentive – an occasional flash of a silver Maiden Newton vest up ahead. I knew Martin was worried that his recovery from the marathon had not been as swift as mine and that the Stagger is the sort of race where my chances of beating him are strongest and so it proved as I gradually reeled him in.
As we toiled up the final slopes of Dunkery Beacon Richard Boulter began to pull away from me, I caught and overtook Martin and was myself caught and overtaken by an unknown female. I concentrated on trying to put as much distance between myself and Martin as I could because I was sure that he would come crashing back past me on the long steep downhill stretch off the Beacon. I finally reached the summit and began the treacherous slippery descent and although I took it quite carefully I gained the lost ground back on Richard and stayed ahead of Martin.
On reaching the bottom there is a nice section of fairly level path round the side of a steep valley and on this part of the course, knowing that the bulk of the hard work was behind me, I finally passed Richard and managed to open up a lead on him. Unfortunately this meant that I had no-one to follow and I spent an anxious half mile or so hurtling down a muddy track with a distinct feeling that I had missed a turning and was heading in the wrong direction. It was with great relief that I came out onto a short stretch of road, saw both a marshal and the runner ahead of me as I came back into Wootton Courtenay.
As I turned off the road and began the infamous climb back up to the ridge above Minehead I saw my female rival walking up ahead and thought, perhaps I can catch her up if I just run up this hill. Nice idea but I only managed to run the first ten paces or so and then subsided into a plod like everyone else. I had completely forgotten how hard this part of the course is. I managed to overhaul one runner ahead of me but the girl had disappeared into the woods and I didn’t see her again until after the finish.
After finally reaching the top, a section of easy running on wide forest tracks follows before the descent back into Minehead. As I turned the final corner and saw the clock ahead I knew I was going to be slightly outside my previous best time here (2.17.04) but I was more than happy with my second place in the ladies race, a rare victory over Martin and my final time of 2.17.54. What a perfect day!
Martin came trotting down the road shortly afterwards looking like he’d been out for Sunday stroll and we beat a hasty retreat to the Race HQ in order to avoid the queues for the excellent and very reasonably priced refreshments. A bit of a wait for the presentation but another clean sweep by Maiden Newton Runners: Martin was 2nd V55 in the main race and Richard was 2nd V55 in the Stumble, Lesley picked up yet another V55 prize, beaten into second place only by the speedy Jenny Mills, and I was 2nd overall and 1st V45.
The only downside was the hideous bright orange T shirt on offer. What I always want to know is who decides what colour the race t-shirts will be, and who in their right mind would think that anyone would actually want a bright orange one? Fortunately I had my hands full with bottles of wine so I had to leave mine behind!
An entertaining briefing from an exuberant race director was followed by a short walk to the start line and at 11am sharp we were off at the start of the lung bursting ascent to the far distant Dunkery Beacon.
The route starts to climb almost immediately, then climbs some more, continues to climb for a bit further........you get the idea, it’s basically uphill! After the first couple of miles the race splits, the hardy Staggerers turn right for more torture and the lucky Stumblers turn left to cover the short distance back down to Minehead. This year Richard was amongst the Stumblers as he had decided that his stomach could not endure the real deal.
At this point I realised that I had been running past glorious views without actually noticing them, so I tried to appreciate the stunning vista of moors, forest and the distant sea. That lasted for about 2 seconds and then my focus returned to the task ahead. I was having a bit of a tussle with a female Bitton Road Runner but fortunately she was not as strong as me on the hills and soon fell back. This left me to concentrate on Richard Boulter from Yeovil who I decided must be beaten at all costs!!
A welcome stretch of downhill to the picturesque village of Wootton Courtenay followed and at this point a marshal called out to me “Well done, first lady” which I thought was a load of rubbish as I knew there was at least one speedy woman up ahead. After another three marshals had called out the same thing it occurred to me that they couldn’t all be wrong and that my speedy rival must be doing the Stumble. This gave my legs a burst of strength and there was another incentive – an occasional flash of a silver Maiden Newton vest up ahead. I knew Martin was worried that his recovery from the marathon had not been as swift as mine and that the Stagger is the sort of race where my chances of beating him are strongest and so it proved as I gradually reeled him in.
As we toiled up the final slopes of Dunkery Beacon Richard Boulter began to pull away from me, I caught and overtook Martin and was myself caught and overtaken by an unknown female. I concentrated on trying to put as much distance between myself and Martin as I could because I was sure that he would come crashing back past me on the long steep downhill stretch off the Beacon. I finally reached the summit and began the treacherous slippery descent and although I took it quite carefully I gained the lost ground back on Richard and stayed ahead of Martin.
On reaching the bottom there is a nice section of fairly level path round the side of a steep valley and on this part of the course, knowing that the bulk of the hard work was behind me, I finally passed Richard and managed to open up a lead on him. Unfortunately this meant that I had no-one to follow and I spent an anxious half mile or so hurtling down a muddy track with a distinct feeling that I had missed a turning and was heading in the wrong direction. It was with great relief that I came out onto a short stretch of road, saw both a marshal and the runner ahead of me as I came back into Wootton Courtenay.
As I turned off the road and began the infamous climb back up to the ridge above Minehead I saw my female rival walking up ahead and thought, perhaps I can catch her up if I just run up this hill. Nice idea but I only managed to run the first ten paces or so and then subsided into a plod like everyone else. I had completely forgotten how hard this part of the course is. I managed to overhaul one runner ahead of me but the girl had disappeared into the woods and I didn’t see her again until after the finish.
After finally reaching the top, a section of easy running on wide forest tracks follows before the descent back into Minehead. As I turned the final corner and saw the clock ahead I knew I was going to be slightly outside my previous best time here (2.17.04) but I was more than happy with my second place in the ladies race, a rare victory over Martin and my final time of 2.17.54. What a perfect day!
Martin came trotting down the road shortly afterwards looking like he’d been out for Sunday stroll and we beat a hasty retreat to the Race HQ in order to avoid the queues for the excellent and very reasonably priced refreshments. A bit of a wait for the presentation but another clean sweep by Maiden Newton Runners: Martin was 2nd V55 in the main race and Richard was 2nd V55 in the Stumble, Lesley picked up yet another V55 prize, beaten into second place only by the speedy Jenny Mills, and I was 2nd overall and 1st V45.
The only downside was the hideous bright orange T shirt on offer. What I always want to know is who decides what colour the race t-shirts will be, and who in their right mind would think that anyone would actually want a bright orange one? Fortunately I had my hands full with bottles of wine so I had to leave mine behind!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
A Cheeky Half - Cardiff
06.00 - It started with a shiver, as these things usually do. Although dark, there was movement in the house. The alarm on my digital watch finished sounding, and it was time to rise. I was kindly put-up by Ed, an old school friend in Bristol, who was running the Cardiff Half Marathon too, along with his sister, and her two friends. Wrestling like a feather weight in a sleeping bag, I managed to get myself off the camp bed to the light switch without tipping the whole thing over into a redundant cot. Quite an achievement and I took that as an omen for the day ahead.
After a continental breakfast, and plenty of bananas, 5 of us, plus the camp bed bundled into a Polo as the dawn broke. Warming up, the chat turned from jolly banter, revelations and excuses for slow race times to the car-parking strategy.
I kept quiet, because I had failed to squeeze out a No.2 during the reveille. Now this worried me because throughout my training, there came a point during longer runs where I had to guess whether I would make it home or not. On each occasion, the situation got the better of me, resulting in a dash for cover. This happened so often that it had become part of the training! Effectively, the body had been successfully conditioned to eject on the hour mark. And this worried me greatly.
After parking the car, grabbing bags, water bottles, and the blimnin’ camp bed, we joined the other runners and who were funnelling to the Start. 35 minutes to go and I concentrated hard.
The Start was well organised, with a festival-facility setup in the County Hall car park. Runners poured in behind us as Army cadets took our bags, admired the ‘retro’ camp bed, and pointed to the small city of thunder-boxes, which was the next destination.
Panic set in; it was cold, the queues were long and limbering, and the expectation to perform mounted, as I stood in one of the tens of queues. The clock was running down fast, the mind manifesting for the nth time, until I just could not take it anymore.... I bolted. There was no-way it was going to happen. The others would just have to make their own way to the Start. Yes, the warmth of County Hall was my destination! Now, there are some who are a little cynical about overheated, empty County Halls across the nation, but I was truly thankful.
Sprinting back across the car park, passing the odd superhero, I bumped into Ed by chance. A few minutes to go... We followed the rest, and even spotted 3 guys dressed as babies, braving it in just bonnets and nappies. This amused Ed. I said nothing, realising their genius!
We vaulted the barrier, congratulated ourselves on making it, and being so close to the Start as well. We then noticed the lack of fancy dress, and signs behind us saying ‘sub 1.30’. At least we could say we knew what I felt like to be a sub-1.30 runner, albeit briefly! The Start was suitably smooth, with a judder before the line as the mass fingered their stop-watches, and we were off. Jostling for a pace we were comfortable with, we said our farewells, and the lonely journey amongst 12000 others began.
Now, a few notes about this race if you are considering it. The route passes through the city centre into green parks in an anti-clockwise direction, then encircling the estuary of the river Taff at the barrage. It passes through residential areas, the attractive marina and sea-front thus avoiding tedious industrial areas. The sun was shining and crowds were out of their houses en mass to support, which included an astonishing number of handsomely tanned women (a truly sun kissed city!) This was going to be an enjoyable run.
Pace setting was tricky initially, because it was easy to miss the mile markers, on the left, at knee level. It was in the Park, where the path narrowed, when I spotted Mile 4 and was able to judge my pace. However, there were ‘pace-setter’ runners amongst us, identified by flags marking 1.30, 1.45, 2.00 etc. positions. These narrow sections were tight but okay in 1000 or so front runners, but got chaotic further back at water-points. The debris of 1000’s of half full water bottles caused runners to slide and trip.
That said, it was fantastically well organised, water-points at 3 mile intervals and crowds cheered us on through-out. It is also flat as a pancake, making it fast and one for PBs. However, I did see one runner ahead come a cropper on an unassuming ‘speed hump’ at Mile 11, where he slowly unravelled into a tired tumble. The Start/Finish approached remarkably quickly. Better ‘wind up the pace now and give it my’ all I thought, and then the muddled mind calculations began.
Premature congratulations on a remarkable time were quick dispelled as we ran passed the Start/Finish! Muggins hadn’t read the instructions properly, and my anger turned into envy as I looked on jealously at the collective relief displayed by the runners on our right, passing over the line. The feelings turned to hurt as we proceeded to run away, towards a distant switch-back beyond sight, every stride to then be repeated into blinding sun... the games the mind plays! But the after the switch-back, the Finish loomed large and quickly. Over the line, I stopped my watch and doubled over to see the time in some shade, clenching my fists. This caused an official to rush over to see if I was okay, and resulting in a near-miss as I punched my fists in celebration – a PB!
P.S. How short lived this was... the half marathon was 193m short!!! Can you believe it?!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Loch Ness Mark 2
We flew to Inverness on Thursday 30th and returned on Tuesday 3rd October. The trip is etched in the happy section of my memory – even the marathon bit. Everything went well, B&B, eating out, sightseeing, bus trips, a boat trip and miles of walking. Then the main reason for the trip was the 26.2. A record entry of about 2,500 was handled very well by the race director. It was quite a spectacle as a convoy of over 40 buses took us out to the middle of nowhere for the start. A bit like the Seaview but on a grander scale as motorcycle outriders blocked off side roads and held traffic back at roundabouts.
Lesley and I were upstairs on a traditional double-decker and it had to be the one without a toilet resulting in us making a pit stop in open countryside for a female runner who was over hydrated. She handled the huge round of applause with some dignity. As we approached the drop-off point it grew bleaker, windy and rather wet. There was a bit of a rush to sort out running gear (helly and gloves!), get the bags on the baggage bus and the find Lin and Martin in the crowd. Imagine 2,500 runners crammed onto a single track country road, with slightly boggy ground either side, trying to warm up or keep warm.
We knew Lin and Martin were going for fast times – maybe even prizes, so we pushed to the front and found them by the start line eyeing up the Ethiopians – a bit optimistic we thought, but it turned out to be a very good position. For some reason there was space at the front. Maybe because there were chip times the bulk of the runners hadn’t pushed too far forward. So there was room to stretch, run through the start and even jog next to the Ethiopians as they limbered up. However prizes were awarded on gun times so the front line was a good place to be.
Lesley and I were going to move back but a wall of runners behind us meant we were caught and had to start embarrassingly close to the leaders, quite an experience. It was a fast start – lots of downhill,( although other runners insisted it was more undulating than I remembered). Best case scenario – on a fast course with a tail wind I had hopes of 3:30 at 8 mins per mile. I knew that if I dropped to 9 min/mile or 3:56 Lesley would surely beat me (for the second time) a fact I couldn’t cope with.
I clocked the first 7 miles at about 52 mins, which if maintained would put me on about 3:15, obviously with a lack of training and a history of stomach problems that would be a miracle. Fortunately slightly more demanding undulations slowed the pace and I still felt very comfortable up to 11 miles. After a couple of poor miles I felt OK again and sped up until 16 miles. At this stage I was still about 4 mins under 3:30. Other runners were very friendly – seeing my SWRR-Exeter vest one local runner called out “welcome to the Highlands, nice to see you,” as he eased past. Someone from Coventry tried to engage in conversation as he used to live in Exeter, but at this stage being sociable was lower on the menu than normal!
At 18 miles one of the undulations turned into a small hill, but it hurt like a big hill. My pace was slowing and although the sky was brightening and the sun was out my spirits were getting a bit low. Negative thoughts began to nag, “why bother, just stop now, no more pain”. Funny how there’s always another voice that says “just keep going, you can finish”, and it’s always a real high crossing that finish line. The main fear of course was that Lesley would come steaming past leaving me in her wake. (She admitted later that if she had seen me injured, sick or dying ahead she would run alongside a big bloke so I wouldn’t see her). I did plod on – no walking- but by mile 24 my left knee was hurting and the last 1.2 miles took over 12 mins. I really needed the spectators help to keep running to the finish and was very pleased with 3:42:27. Lesley finished not far behind in 3:49:07 knocking a massive 9min 10 secs off her previous PB, although in the crowds I didn’t find her for another 90 mins.
I did spot Lin and martin already changed and heading for the prize giving! Both looked refreshed although Martin looked a bit different when he smiled – something to with a sticky energy bar and a dodgy tooth. Was he smiling on any of his race photos? Talking of which, look at the brilliant photos of Lin and a rival female sprinting to the finish after 26.2 miles! Well done to the Lascelles excellent planning – they even forsook their excellent campsite and parked overnight next to the registration in order to avoid any stress. Starting at the front was crucial as on chip time Lin was 4th, but on gun time she was 3rd making a huge difference to the prize awarded. I was obviously the most photogenic with 11 photos on the race website.
Post script from Lesley. I had a pretty good race and finished in a time I was very happy with. More stats: I was 48 mins at the 10K point – faster than I have finished some 10K races, and 1:50 at the half-marathon point which would have been a PB. One of us at least had time to look at the scenery, and although for the most mart it had to be glimpsed through the trees, now and then there were good views of the Loch and Urquhart Castle which we had visited two days earlier. Another good place was the village of Dores, where the inhabitants were out in good numbers to cheer us on. Up the hill at 18 miles and still going strong (apart from the right calf which I’d had to put tubigrip on at about 8 miles. Was glad to see the 20 mile marker, always feels like you can start to count down the miles from there. At 23 miles we were on the outskirts of Inverness and by my calculations I knew I should finish under 4 hours and possibly in 3:50 if I kept up the pace. The spectator support was growing from 24 miles, and it wasn’t long before the river and then the bridge were in sight. This was so welcome as it was only just over half a mile from the end of the bridge to the finish. Richard mentioned the photos – he looks so happy to be crossing the line. Although I was really glad I’d made it under 3:50, and I felt happy enough, the photos show a different expression.
Four days later and Richard is bounding around and has been out running. I’m still hobbling around like an extra from a zombie film – the calf muscles have just totally seized up and won’t work.
(I may not have beaten Richard but age-graded I was 71% and he was 65% !!!)
Lesley and I were upstairs on a traditional double-decker and it had to be the one without a toilet resulting in us making a pit stop in open countryside for a female runner who was over hydrated. She handled the huge round of applause with some dignity. As we approached the drop-off point it grew bleaker, windy and rather wet. There was a bit of a rush to sort out running gear (helly and gloves!), get the bags on the baggage bus and the find Lin and Martin in the crowd. Imagine 2,500 runners crammed onto a single track country road, with slightly boggy ground either side, trying to warm up or keep warm.
We knew Lin and Martin were going for fast times – maybe even prizes, so we pushed to the front and found them by the start line eyeing up the Ethiopians – a bit optimistic we thought, but it turned out to be a very good position. For some reason there was space at the front. Maybe because there were chip times the bulk of the runners hadn’t pushed too far forward. So there was room to stretch, run through the start and even jog next to the Ethiopians as they limbered up. However prizes were awarded on gun times so the front line was a good place to be.
Lesley and I were going to move back but a wall of runners behind us meant we were caught and had to start embarrassingly close to the leaders, quite an experience. It was a fast start – lots of downhill,( although other runners insisted it was more undulating than I remembered). Best case scenario – on a fast course with a tail wind I had hopes of 3:30 at 8 mins per mile. I knew that if I dropped to 9 min/mile or 3:56 Lesley would surely beat me (for the second time) a fact I couldn’t cope with.
I clocked the first 7 miles at about 52 mins, which if maintained would put me on about 3:15, obviously with a lack of training and a history of stomach problems that would be a miracle. Fortunately slightly more demanding undulations slowed the pace and I still felt very comfortable up to 11 miles. After a couple of poor miles I felt OK again and sped up until 16 miles. At this stage I was still about 4 mins under 3:30. Other runners were very friendly – seeing my SWRR-Exeter vest one local runner called out “welcome to the Highlands, nice to see you,” as he eased past. Someone from Coventry tried to engage in conversation as he used to live in Exeter, but at this stage being sociable was lower on the menu than normal!
At 18 miles one of the undulations turned into a small hill, but it hurt like a big hill. My pace was slowing and although the sky was brightening and the sun was out my spirits were getting a bit low. Negative thoughts began to nag, “why bother, just stop now, no more pain”. Funny how there’s always another voice that says “just keep going, you can finish”, and it’s always a real high crossing that finish line. The main fear of course was that Lesley would come steaming past leaving me in her wake. (She admitted later that if she had seen me injured, sick or dying ahead she would run alongside a big bloke so I wouldn’t see her). I did plod on – no walking- but by mile 24 my left knee was hurting and the last 1.2 miles took over 12 mins. I really needed the spectators help to keep running to the finish and was very pleased with 3:42:27. Lesley finished not far behind in 3:49:07 knocking a massive 9min 10 secs off her previous PB, although in the crowds I didn’t find her for another 90 mins.
I did spot Lin and martin already changed and heading for the prize giving! Both looked refreshed although Martin looked a bit different when he smiled – something to with a sticky energy bar and a dodgy tooth. Was he smiling on any of his race photos? Talking of which, look at the brilliant photos of Lin and a rival female sprinting to the finish after 26.2 miles! Well done to the Lascelles excellent planning – they even forsook their excellent campsite and parked overnight next to the registration in order to avoid any stress. Starting at the front was crucial as on chip time Lin was 4th, but on gun time she was 3rd making a huge difference to the prize awarded. I was obviously the most photogenic with 11 photos on the race website.
Post script from Lesley. I had a pretty good race and finished in a time I was very happy with. More stats: I was 48 mins at the 10K point – faster than I have finished some 10K races, and 1:50 at the half-marathon point which would have been a PB. One of us at least had time to look at the scenery, and although for the most mart it had to be glimpsed through the trees, now and then there were good views of the Loch and Urquhart Castle which we had visited two days earlier. Another good place was the village of Dores, where the inhabitants were out in good numbers to cheer us on. Up the hill at 18 miles and still going strong (apart from the right calf which I’d had to put tubigrip on at about 8 miles. Was glad to see the 20 mile marker, always feels like you can start to count down the miles from there. At 23 miles we were on the outskirts of Inverness and by my calculations I knew I should finish under 4 hours and possibly in 3:50 if I kept up the pace. The spectator support was growing from 24 miles, and it wasn’t long before the river and then the bridge were in sight. This was so welcome as it was only just over half a mile from the end of the bridge to the finish. Richard mentioned the photos – he looks so happy to be crossing the line. Although I was really glad I’d made it under 3:50, and I felt happy enough, the photos show a different expression.
Four days later and Richard is bounding around and has been out running. I’m still hobbling around like an extra from a zombie film – the calf muscles have just totally seized up and won’t work.
(I may not have beaten Richard but age-graded I was 71% and he was 65% !!!)
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Loch Ness Marathon
Martin said: I'm typing this in a bar in Ibiza doing some post-marathon recovery training, please forgive the spelling. I'm not sure why we chose the Loch Ness Marathon for our main Autumn race this year, but I'm really glad we did. Its a race whose organisation and "ambience" feels like a much bigger event, but it is small enough not to be overwhelming. I was really impressed by the race organisation, in fact I was impressed by the city of Inverness, and the highlands of Scotland. I think we'll have to return, maybe not to do this race again, but there must be loads of other things to do beside run a marathon. I've heard that they get snow there.I'll leave out the details of our trip up, and the rest of our stay in Scotland, and hit the high points of the race.
Here's Lin's bit which she will type in while I go to the bar for some mas cerveza.
Lin says: OK it took Martin 20 minutes to type that - whilst he's at the bar I'll bash out a few hundred words. What a great weekend! We had no idea when we entered that Richard and Lesley were also planning to do this event, and also Fred and Sue Fox from Yeovil. Having driven about 700 miles (via Durham) to get to Inverness we found ourselves camping next door to the Foxes - who invited us to "dinner" on Friday evening - no mean feat in a camper van!!. (Thanks to Fred and Sue for a great evening).
Our training may not have been perfect but our pre marathon preparation was spot on - we stayed off our feet, relaxed, carbo loaded and parked the van about 5 minutes from the bus pick up for the trip to the start.
Sunday morning was mild but a little damp around the edges. Martin has just arrived back with more beer, I feel my interest in typing a blog waning, so I may hand back to him for the next bit.
Martin said: We were driven to the start in style, a coach with a portaloo on board! pity it didn't flush, but you can't have everything - at least we were two of the first to discover it. On arrival at a remote location somewhere on the highlands we were deposited on a road with several thousand similarly deranged people from all over Scotland, the UK, and many exotic locales, such as Ethiopia and Somerset.
We managed to negotiate the path to the start and waited almost on the front line for the race to begin which it did, surprisingly given the apparent disorder, and a troop of highland pipers, spot on time. A very fast start made it impossible to keep to a target race pace, but after the initial drop, we settled into around 7 minute mile pace. Lin and I were running together, which was not planned, but she was feeling strong. I was worried that she might suffer for it later, but I didn't want to suggest that she slow down, and despite the numerous undulations, we were still pretty much on my scheduled pace for a sub-3-hours at about 8 miles when we hit the first of the big hills. The hill was not extreme by Dorset standards, but it was enough to slow the pace to a still respectable 7 minutes miles, but I was starting to realise that sub 3 was not going to be.
The rain by now was getting annoying, and I was starting to feel a bit tired, but otherwise it was going pretty well, and I was enjoying it, despite having only seen a very occasional glimpse of the much vaunted scenery of the famous loch between the trees. I think I'll have another beer now.................
Lin said: OK feel the need to condense this down a bit. Ran the first 12 miles with Martin, an unexpected bonus as his target time was 10 seconds per mile faster than mine. Feeling pretty good till 8 miles when the digestion started giving cause for concern. At 12 miles had to dive into the woods for a "Paula" with Martin yelling "don't go too far" to draw maximum attention to my dilemma. Horror!! Not the situation but TWO women got past me whilst I was indisposed not to mention my speedy husband disappearing into the distance. Soon overtook both the women which put me back into 5th place, however one of them subsequently overtook me and stayed 20m or so ahead of me until she was similarly afflicted and made her own foray into the woods!!
I had been worried that we had not done enough long runs but I felt really strong in the last 6 mies and overtook loads of people including two women who had evidently gone off too fast. At 23 miles I could see Martin ahead which really spurred me on and I was frantically trying to work out from the average pace on my GPS (7.04) what my likely finishing time would be. As we reached Inverness and Martin turned onto the bridge over the River Ness he looked back and we waved - I don't think he reaalised until that point that I was so close behind him. Need more beer - back to Himself for the finale.......
Martin concluded:- Yes, it was a shock, but a very pleasurable one to turn on the bridge and see Lin only a couple of hundred yards back, and with no other women between us, by my calculations she was in 3rd place, what a great performance. It helped the last mile to go less painfully, and I finished, amidst great support from the crowds lining the river bank path in 3:05:31 - a very respectable time, given the hills, although not enough to gain an over 50's prize.
At the finish, I stopped (obviously!), and turned to see Lin closing, with - oh no! - another women behind her, sprinting for the line. I gestured urgently for her to get a move on, and fortunately she had plenty left to respond with her own sprint and remain in 3rd position in the ladies race. Wow! I was so proud of her. I was also more than content with my race, which is easily my second fastest marathon time.
I think I could manage another Birra....
Lin said: OK I know "conclude" implies an end to the saga but I'm a woman and I have to have the last word. I had no idea the other woman was behind me but there was NO WAY anyone was overtaking me at that stage. I had plenty left to outsprint her to the finish but I was grateful to Martin for the warning that she was there. The stats: Finished in 3.05.53 - my second fastest marathon ever and 7 minutes faster than anything I have done since I broke my hip - starting to think maybe a sub 3 hour marathon is not such a wild fantasy after all. Third place also meant a cheque for £500 - result! Holiday paid for!!
And this is really the last word (from us) - as we left the finish line - Martin said (loudly) - "if you hadn't had to stop for a poo you would have been second" and the guy walking behind us said "Nice feedback!!" Well that was an expensive (£250!!!) pit stop!!!
Richard and Lesley will be adding their own race reports - watch this space.
Here's Lin's bit which she will type in while I go to the bar for some mas cerveza.
Lin says: OK it took Martin 20 minutes to type that - whilst he's at the bar I'll bash out a few hundred words. What a great weekend! We had no idea when we entered that Richard and Lesley were also planning to do this event, and also Fred and Sue Fox from Yeovil. Having driven about 700 miles (via Durham) to get to Inverness we found ourselves camping next door to the Foxes - who invited us to "dinner" on Friday evening - no mean feat in a camper van!!. (Thanks to Fred and Sue for a great evening).
Our training may not have been perfect but our pre marathon preparation was spot on - we stayed off our feet, relaxed, carbo loaded and parked the van about 5 minutes from the bus pick up for the trip to the start.
Sunday morning was mild but a little damp around the edges. Martin has just arrived back with more beer, I feel my interest in typing a blog waning, so I may hand back to him for the next bit.
Martin said: We were driven to the start in style, a coach with a portaloo on board! pity it didn't flush, but you can't have everything - at least we were two of the first to discover it. On arrival at a remote location somewhere on the highlands we were deposited on a road with several thousand similarly deranged people from all over Scotland, the UK, and many exotic locales, such as Ethiopia and Somerset.
We managed to negotiate the path to the start and waited almost on the front line for the race to begin which it did, surprisingly given the apparent disorder, and a troop of highland pipers, spot on time. A very fast start made it impossible to keep to a target race pace, but after the initial drop, we settled into around 7 minute mile pace. Lin and I were running together, which was not planned, but she was feeling strong. I was worried that she might suffer for it later, but I didn't want to suggest that she slow down, and despite the numerous undulations, we were still pretty much on my scheduled pace for a sub-3-hours at about 8 miles when we hit the first of the big hills. The hill was not extreme by Dorset standards, but it was enough to slow the pace to a still respectable 7 minutes miles, but I was starting to realise that sub 3 was not going to be.
The rain by now was getting annoying, and I was starting to feel a bit tired, but otherwise it was going pretty well, and I was enjoying it, despite having only seen a very occasional glimpse of the much vaunted scenery of the famous loch between the trees. I think I'll have another beer now.................
Lin said: OK feel the need to condense this down a bit. Ran the first 12 miles with Martin, an unexpected bonus as his target time was 10 seconds per mile faster than mine. Feeling pretty good till 8 miles when the digestion started giving cause for concern. At 12 miles had to dive into the woods for a "Paula" with Martin yelling "don't go too far" to draw maximum attention to my dilemma. Horror!! Not the situation but TWO women got past me whilst I was indisposed not to mention my speedy husband disappearing into the distance. Soon overtook both the women which put me back into 5th place, however one of them subsequently overtook me and stayed 20m or so ahead of me until she was similarly afflicted and made her own foray into the woods!!
I had been worried that we had not done enough long runs but I felt really strong in the last 6 mies and overtook loads of people including two women who had evidently gone off too fast. At 23 miles I could see Martin ahead which really spurred me on and I was frantically trying to work out from the average pace on my GPS (7.04) what my likely finishing time would be. As we reached Inverness and Martin turned onto the bridge over the River Ness he looked back and we waved - I don't think he reaalised until that point that I was so close behind him. Need more beer - back to Himself for the finale.......
Martin concluded:- Yes, it was a shock, but a very pleasurable one to turn on the bridge and see Lin only a couple of hundred yards back, and with no other women between us, by my calculations she was in 3rd place, what a great performance. It helped the last mile to go less painfully, and I finished, amidst great support from the crowds lining the river bank path in 3:05:31 - a very respectable time, given the hills, although not enough to gain an over 50's prize.
At the finish, I stopped (obviously!), and turned to see Lin closing, with - oh no! - another women behind her, sprinting for the line. I gestured urgently for her to get a move on, and fortunately she had plenty left to respond with her own sprint and remain in 3rd position in the ladies race. Wow! I was so proud of her. I was also more than content with my race, which is easily my second fastest marathon time.
I think I could manage another Birra....
Lin said: OK I know "conclude" implies an end to the saga but I'm a woman and I have to have the last word. I had no idea the other woman was behind me but there was NO WAY anyone was overtaking me at that stage. I had plenty left to outsprint her to the finish but I was grateful to Martin for the warning that she was there. The stats: Finished in 3.05.53 - my second fastest marathon ever and 7 minutes faster than anything I have done since I broke my hip - starting to think maybe a sub 3 hour marathon is not such a wild fantasy after all. Third place also meant a cheque for £500 - result! Holiday paid for!!
And this is really the last word (from us) - as we left the finish line - Martin said (loudly) - "if you hadn't had to stop for a poo you would have been second" and the guy walking behind us said "Nice feedback!!" Well that was an expensive (£250!!!) pit stop!!!
Richard and Lesley will be adding their own race reports - watch this space.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Eastleigh Park Run
Last Friday night Martin and I travelled to Sussex for the Brighton & Hove Park run, where we both ran disappointing times (which we blamed on the two hard races we had done the previous weekends and too much marathon training in between). We still had a great weekend and enjoyed a fabulous long run on the South Downs on Sunday. If I didn't live in Dorset, Sussex would be high on my list of alternative places to live.
This Saturday we decided to try the newest and nearest Park run event at Eastleigh, as a final sharpener before the marathon next weekend. Our race was nearly over before it began as the alarm clock failed to go off at 6.40am - fortunately (or not) I woke up at 4 minutes to 7 and a mad scramble to leave the house by 7am as planned ensued. This saw me trying to put on compression socks (never an easy task) as Martin hurtled his car down the valley at top speed. Nothing like a good dose of early morning stress to improve your race prospects.
Despite the chaotic start we arrived in plenty of time at the Lakeside Country Park and began to warm up and attempt to work out where the course went. Any hopes we had of recording decent times were dashed as we realised that this 5k, unlike B&H, is run on a mixture of cinder tracks and grass with some tight turns, dips and rough ground - all of which has to be negotiated twice in this two lap race. There is also a steam railway running round the park and this has to be crossed three times - on each lap!
This was only the 21st running of the Eastleigh Park run and numbers were about half of the previous week's total. Even so we started right at the front in order to avoid bottlenecks on the first narrow section of the route. As we hurtled past bemused fishermen on the bank of the lake I was only a few places behind Martin but he soon pulled away from me, as we turned sharp right across the first stretch of grass and then another track through trees to the first railway crossing - which involved a nasty tight left then right turn. The next section was straight and fairly flat but on grass, followed by a short climb onto a grassy bank and the roughest part of the course with an awkward dip and fairly sharp right turn before arriving back at the start and embarking on lap two.
This Saturday we decided to try the newest and nearest Park run event at Eastleigh, as a final sharpener before the marathon next weekend. Our race was nearly over before it began as the alarm clock failed to go off at 6.40am - fortunately (or not) I woke up at 4 minutes to 7 and a mad scramble to leave the house by 7am as planned ensued. This saw me trying to put on compression socks (never an easy task) as Martin hurtled his car down the valley at top speed. Nothing like a good dose of early morning stress to improve your race prospects.
Despite the chaotic start we arrived in plenty of time at the Lakeside Country Park and began to warm up and attempt to work out where the course went. Any hopes we had of recording decent times were dashed as we realised that this 5k, unlike B&H, is run on a mixture of cinder tracks and grass with some tight turns, dips and rough ground - all of which has to be negotiated twice in this two lap race. There is also a steam railway running round the park and this has to be crossed three times - on each lap!
This was only the 21st running of the Eastleigh Park run and numbers were about half of the previous week's total. Even so we started right at the front in order to avoid bottlenecks on the first narrow section of the route. As we hurtled past bemused fishermen on the bank of the lake I was only a few places behind Martin but he soon pulled away from me, as we turned sharp right across the first stretch of grass and then another track through trees to the first railway crossing - which involved a nasty tight left then right turn. The next section was straight and fairly flat but on grass, followed by a short climb onto a grassy bank and the roughest part of the course with an awkward dip and fairly sharp right turn before arriving back at the start and embarking on lap two.Normally during a 5k I know exactly how well (or not) I'm doing by constant monitoring of the time, but even though there were km markers I didn't check my watch once during the race as I concentrated on where I was putting my feet and not tripping over any of the many hazards. It felt like I was running quite fast but I can never judge my pace so it was just head down and slog it out to the finish. I was very pleased therefore to find that on a much slower course I had actually beaten last week's time by 2 seconds and finished in 19.53. Martin had similarly improved last week's time by 9 seconds and finished in an impressive 6th place overall. I was 12th overall and first lady.
Although this is not a race you would do for a time it was very enjoyable and in a great setting, aided by the fact that it was a beautiful, bright, autumn morning. There is always a great atmosphere at Park runs, they're free, they're all over the country and they take place every Saturday morning. What more could you ask for?
On checking out the results later in the day we discovered that for the second week in a row we were 1st and 2nd overall on age graded results. I'm not sure that this is necessarily a good thing, it just makes me feel rather old!!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tales From The Back Of The Grid - The Great North Run by Eric
First a little background: after a long spell not running due to lower back muscular issues this is my first competitive run since the infamous Parrett Trail last October. Getting back up to speed over the summer was partially successful and I had reached a comfortable distance of 8 miles. The rest was in the lap of the Gods!
The morning of the race was calm, slightly misty and full of nervous tension. Through the night the north east was drenched in rain so I wasn’t quite hopeful of a dry race. I was running alongside my brother-in-law – a much more experienced long distance runner and after a hefty bowl of Scots Oats we made our way to our gate – which was second last nearly a kilometer from the start line!!
Why is it, that while getting ready at the start, all the other runners look so much better prepared than you? I certainly thought this until we walked the kilometer to our gate where there was a better balance of age differences, beer bellies and other ungainly physiques. I felt quite good and quite at home!
The wheel Chairs and the blind runners set off first followed by the women’s athletes. Then the men’s athletes were announced – it was good to see Gabrsellassie, it gave the whole race a little kudos and I know in my heart of hearts that I gave him a good run for his money! He only pipped me to the post, I mean, come on, 1hr and 44 mins difference – it ain’t that much!
After 32 mins since the pistol, we reached the start line and I pressed play on my iPod, completely ignoring and missing Ant & Dec!! Shame! The vibe was fantastic and it was odd how with so many people that we were actually running. The dual carriageway snaked its way through the campus of the University of Northumbria, over flyovers and through underpasses. With the initial flood of blood and sweat dealt with, we rounded the bend towards the Tyne Bridge – a really magical moment. The weather was dry and cool with strains of The Who’s Amazing Journey competing with the crowd noise as I spotted my family on the left just before the bridge. A quick high-five with my son – infinitely better than high-fiving one of those ‘celeb’ types – and we were on our way over the bridge. At this point Phil’s advice about road cambers popped into my head as I took to the central white lines over the bridge – a sport more commonly reserved for the local youth on a Friday or Saturday night after a few alcopops!
The mile markers were coming quite quickly and I had found a good rhythm and shortly after having listened to The Acid Queen, Mile 3 appeared. All was on target, I was half way through Tommy and I recall thinking during “Do You Think It's Alright?” that everything was better than alright!
The next stretch up to 10k went extremely well. What was unusual was that the runners hadn’t thinned out. We were still all bunched up running at the same pace – I guess the whole “gate” system and running with similar runners really works – although it was difficult to get a breeze as the day started to heat up.
A low point of this section was being overtaken by SpongeBob Square Pants – he must have been hot!!!! As we made our way through one of the many council estates, Pinball Wizard came and went. The local kids were busy playing with their new toys – discarded half empty plastic bottles of water, which they were squirting at us passing runners, with a few of the local yoof deciding to abandon squirting water in favour of actually throwing the bottles at the runners!!!! That certainly kept you running for a while!!!
The mile markers kept coming and going with a good regularity and as I reached the end of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” I crossed the 6mile point followed very closely by the 10k marker. I was bang on target and the song was apt:
“Listening to you,
I get the music.
Gazing at you,
I get the heat.
Following you,
I climb the mountains.
The next 5K went without controversy, but dodging over-excited children was still an ongoing torment! When I reached 8 miles I was feeling great and I knew that I was about to move out of my comfort zone. By then I had entered the Quadrophenia phase of the race and was still hopeful of finishing by the end of the 1st disc. Mile 9 came along and then mile 10 took a bit longer to appear. At this point, my knees were a bit red and feeling tired and at each drink station I was left squirting water on my knees to cool them down by myself as the local yoof had disappeared and had probably gone back to the safety of more homely pursuits like joy-riding or ram-raiding.
The pace was beginning to slow and my desire for the next drink station became slightly obsessive. There were 3 isotonic drink stations but there was no sugar and no calories in these drinks. Now forgive me for not being an experienced runner but surely the intake of glucose with all the calories it contains is a good thing? I was relying on a good old bottle of sugary sports drink – Kevlar juice or an equivalent. But no. It was a bottle of foul tasting mineral suspension which although topped up my levels, it didn’t provide me with that boost that was so desperately needed. But wait – what is that I see on the horizon? A jelly baby station? Am I delirious? Have I hit the wall so hard that I am imagining things? No, it’s a jelly baby station!! SUGAR! SUGAR! SUGAR!!! Gimme MORE!!!! After a small sugar rush I felt slightly better, though the knees were knackered!
Why is it, that while getting ready at the start, all the other runners look so much better prepared than you? I certainly thought this until we walked the kilometer to our gate where there was a better balance of age differences, beer bellies and other ungainly physiques. I felt quite good and quite at home!
Now as usual, I had musical accompaniment for the race. This time I had The Who to get me round. The aim was simple – get to the end of Tommy by 10k, then finish the race before the end of the 1st disc of Quadrophenia.
To get the crowd warmed up there was a fitness bloke on a cherry picker with a microphone giving us an aerobics workout. It was an amazing sight to see 54,000 people all doing the same thing – although the sound didn’t match up with the big screens closest to us as we were so far back!!!!
The wheel Chairs and the blind runners set off first followed by the women’s athletes. Then the men’s athletes were announced – it was good to see Gabrsellassie, it gave the whole race a little kudos and I know in my heart of hearts that I gave him a good run for his money! He only pipped me to the post, I mean, come on, 1hr and 44 mins difference – it ain’t that much!After the starting pistol it took ages for us to get moving. I thought that I was never going to catch up old Haile and my heart sank even further when the times came up for the women’s race as they approached mile 9!!!!
However, with the promise of being able to high-five Ant or Dec at the start line getting ever closer we gradually made our way forward. The Red Arrows put on brief display – followed by a notice on the big screens that there will be a full Red Arrow display at the finish at 1.15. It should have had disclaimer after that in brackets that said “Except for you fat boys at the back! You’ll never make it!”
(However, I did see some of the display – oops, spoilers!)
After 32 mins since the pistol, we reached the start line and I pressed play on my iPod, completely ignoring and missing Ant & Dec!! Shame! The vibe was fantastic and it was odd how with so many people that we were actually running. The dual carriageway snaked its way through the campus of the University of Northumbria, over flyovers and through underpasses. With the initial flood of blood and sweat dealt with, we rounded the bend towards the Tyne Bridge – a really magical moment. The weather was dry and cool with strains of The Who’s Amazing Journey competing with the crowd noise as I spotted my family on the left just before the bridge. A quick high-five with my son – infinitely better than high-fiving one of those ‘celeb’ types – and we were on our way over the bridge. At this point Phil’s advice about road cambers popped into my head as I took to the central white lines over the bridge – a sport more commonly reserved for the local youth on a Friday or Saturday night after a few alcopops!The mile markers were coming quite quickly and I had found a good rhythm and shortly after having listened to The Acid Queen, Mile 3 appeared. All was on target, I was half way through Tommy and I recall thinking during “Do You Think It's Alright?” that everything was better than alright!
The next stretch up to 10k went extremely well. What was unusual was that the runners hadn’t thinned out. We were still all bunched up running at the same pace – I guess the whole “gate” system and running with similar runners really works – although it was difficult to get a breeze as the day started to heat up.
A low point of this section was being overtaken by SpongeBob Square Pants – he must have been hot!!!! As we made our way through one of the many council estates, Pinball Wizard came and went. The local kids were busy playing with their new toys – discarded half empty plastic bottles of water, which they were squirting at us passing runners, with a few of the local yoof deciding to abandon squirting water in favour of actually throwing the bottles at the runners!!!! That certainly kept you running for a while!!!
The mile markers kept coming and going with a good regularity and as I reached the end of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” I crossed the 6mile point followed very closely by the 10k marker. I was bang on target and the song was apt:
“Listening to you,
I get the music.
Gazing at you,
I get the heat.
Following you,
I climb the mountains.
I get excitement at your feet.”
The pace was beginning to slow and my desire for the next drink station became slightly obsessive. There were 3 isotonic drink stations but there was no sugar and no calories in these drinks. Now forgive me for not being an experienced runner but surely the intake of glucose with all the calories it contains is a good thing? I was relying on a good old bottle of sugary sports drink – Kevlar juice or an equivalent. But no. It was a bottle of foul tasting mineral suspension which although topped up my levels, it didn’t provide me with that boost that was so desperately needed. But wait – what is that I see on the horizon? A jelly baby station? Am I delirious? Have I hit the wall so hard that I am imagining things? No, it’s a jelly baby station!! SUGAR! SUGAR! SUGAR!!! Gimme MORE!!!! After a small sugar rush I felt slightly better, though the knees were knackered!
Shortly after the 10 mile mark I walked for the first time. Only 10 paces or so, then back to my running pace. But it signaled the beginning of the end. Walking was quite uncomfortable after running for so long but it became necessary. The halfway point of Quadrophenia came and went, so I adjusted my target to get to the finish line before the end of the cd – surely that was achievable? Miles 11 & 12 came and went quite slowly during which one kind resident was stood holding a tin of biscuits – SUGAR! SUGAR! SUGAR!!!! It was pain & pleasure – the biscuit (a custard cream) was nectar, however my mouth was so dry that it wasn’t until the next water station before I could accompany the dry biscuit with some liquid!
Then we headed down hill towards the sea at South Shields and then hell happened. The downhill stretch looked welcoming but just after turning onto the flat straight to the finish line - a kilometer away, my right knee stiffened and became intensely painful – on the outside edge. I knew it wasn’t muscular but that didn’t help me much. 800m to go and I was hobbling along the sea front as the rain started to pelt down in a heavy shower. Then there was a roar as the Red Arrows flew right over my head towards the finish line trailing red, white & blue. An uplifting sight to behold! I hadn’t missed the display after all! With buoyed spirits I tried running again – useless. I hobbled on eyeing the kerb suspiciously as if it were about to claim its next victim. I reach the 200m board. I try running again – success! I feel the pain begin to shift a little – enough for me to maintain a gentle jog to the finish line. Sadly Haile had gone. I thought he might have hung around for a while!!!! With the rain hammering down and foil cape donned like a bedraggled cat I eventually found my family and then set to task on the next race – how to get out of South Shields with 54000 others and get back to Dorset before work in the morning – but that’s another story!!!! 13.1 miles – I did it!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Highways & Skyways
Following on from the newly introduced Night Runner earlier this year, Axe Valley Runners have come up with yet another winning formula for an event, namely Highways and Skyways.
This is a self navigating “race” starting and finishing in Charmouth and taking in eight “tops” as it crosses stunning countryside and climbs a total of 760 metres with the bonus at the end of a choice whether to run a couple of miles along the beach or climb another 600 feet to follow the coast path.
About 50 runners assembled at the start on Sunday morning in brilliant September sunshine, and following a briefing from race director Garry Perratt, we set off up the cliff path (officially closed but still passable with a slight detour) on the start of our adventure. Martin and I had decided to run together to maximise our chances of staying on the right route and we did have the advantage of having completed a training run around the route with Garry earlier in the summer.
After climbing to Stonebarrow, crossing the outward route of the Charmouth Challenge and swooping down the other side we came to the first road crossing at Morecombelake, and then began the arduous climb up the other side. At this point we had a few other runners in our sights and one of them had also done the recce run with us so we didn’t have to worry too much about navigation initially.
However after a few miles we came to a section where we thought we had turned off the obvious path and climbed a steep field and at this point our little group split. One local runner was adamant that he knew the way and that we should continue straight on, a few of us followed him and it wasn’t until five minutes or so later that I realised that Martin had gone with the other group and disappeared from view. I was now faced with a dilemma as Martin had both the map and the route description and I wasn’t sure that I could maintain the pace that the rest of the group were running at. We climbed up the seemingly endless Coppet Hill, the fifth “top” and still there was no sign of Martin. Had he taken a short cut and got ahead of me or had he got lost and fallen behind? Much to my relief, a few moments later he appeared on the summit of the hill, and we regrouped and carried on.
We stayed together for the loop around Quarry Hill but then decided that we didn’t feel like killing ourselves in an attempt to keep up with the others and they gradually pulled away from us as we headed up Colmer’s Hill and then dropped down to re-cross the main road at Miles Cross. As we climbed up through the woods we caught the last glimpse of the others up ahead and then they disappeared, which was a shame as we then had a few navigational issues before re-emerging onto the coast path with the welcome sight of Thorncombe Beacon ahead.
There were no more route choices to make now and we could relax and enjoy the rest of the run, simply keeping the sea on our left - especially the long downhill stretch to Seatown – trying hard not to look ahead and watch the ants climbing Golden Cap ahead of us! All too soon we were those ants as we laboured up the fields and finally the steps to the highest coastal point in Dorset – stunning views all round but no time to stop and admire them as we plunged down the other side.
No choice necessary as we reached the bottom – we headed for the beach and the hazardous steps down to St Gabriel’s Mouth, although once we hit the shingle and tried to coax our legs back into a run we felt we may have made the wrong decision. We could see Charmouth ahead but it didn’t seem to be getting any closer and it was such a relief when we finally hit some hard sand, although that coincided with the appearance of the late holiday makers and fossil hunters meandering across our path. At last we reached the end of the beach and crossed the bridge where we overtook an Axe Valley Runner and headed for the finish side by side.
Now I haven’t mentioned this beforehand, but I did have to wait for Martin on several of the climbs (his excuse was that he hadn’t fully recovered from Corfe) so I felt entirely justified in waiting until we approached the finish and then throwing in a sneaky sprint finish to get over the line ahead of him.
All that remained was a delightful dip in the sea, positively balmy compared with our last plunge in Cornwall and the post race refreshments. We waited for the presentation as I had finished first lady but it turned out that there was only one prize for the overall winner. However Garry had decided to award the prize to the first age graded finisher and due to my advanced age that was me!
Garry is already planning next year’s event (and we can thoroughly recommend it) although he is keen that this doesn’t turn into another Grizzly. However it was mentioned that the first Grizzly, some 24 years ago, sported a field of just 30 runners, so who knows where Highways may lead?
This is a self navigating “race” starting and finishing in Charmouth and taking in eight “tops” as it crosses stunning countryside and climbs a total of 760 metres with the bonus at the end of a choice whether to run a couple of miles along the beach or climb another 600 feet to follow the coast path.
About 50 runners assembled at the start on Sunday morning in brilliant September sunshine, and following a briefing from race director Garry Perratt, we set off up the cliff path (officially closed but still passable with a slight detour) on the start of our adventure. Martin and I had decided to run together to maximise our chances of staying on the right route and we did have the advantage of having completed a training run around the route with Garry earlier in the summer.
After climbing to Stonebarrow, crossing the outward route of the Charmouth Challenge and swooping down the other side we came to the first road crossing at Morecombelake, and then began the arduous climb up the other side. At this point we had a few other runners in our sights and one of them had also done the recce run with us so we didn’t have to worry too much about navigation initially.
However after a few miles we came to a section where we thought we had turned off the obvious path and climbed a steep field and at this point our little group split. One local runner was adamant that he knew the way and that we should continue straight on, a few of us followed him and it wasn’t until five minutes or so later that I realised that Martin had gone with the other group and disappeared from view. I was now faced with a dilemma as Martin had both the map and the route description and I wasn’t sure that I could maintain the pace that the rest of the group were running at. We climbed up the seemingly endless Coppet Hill, the fifth “top” and still there was no sign of Martin. Had he taken a short cut and got ahead of me or had he got lost and fallen behind? Much to my relief, a few moments later he appeared on the summit of the hill, and we regrouped and carried on.
We stayed together for the loop around Quarry Hill but then decided that we didn’t feel like killing ourselves in an attempt to keep up with the others and they gradually pulled away from us as we headed up Colmer’s Hill and then dropped down to re-cross the main road at Miles Cross. As we climbed up through the woods we caught the last glimpse of the others up ahead and then they disappeared, which was a shame as we then had a few navigational issues before re-emerging onto the coast path with the welcome sight of Thorncombe Beacon ahead.
There were no more route choices to make now and we could relax and enjoy the rest of the run, simply keeping the sea on our left - especially the long downhill stretch to Seatown – trying hard not to look ahead and watch the ants climbing Golden Cap ahead of us! All too soon we were those ants as we laboured up the fields and finally the steps to the highest coastal point in Dorset – stunning views all round but no time to stop and admire them as we plunged down the other side.
No choice necessary as we reached the bottom – we headed for the beach and the hazardous steps down to St Gabriel’s Mouth, although once we hit the shingle and tried to coax our legs back into a run we felt we may have made the wrong decision. We could see Charmouth ahead but it didn’t seem to be getting any closer and it was such a relief when we finally hit some hard sand, although that coincided with the appearance of the late holiday makers and fossil hunters meandering across our path. At last we reached the end of the beach and crossed the bridge where we overtook an Axe Valley Runner and headed for the finish side by side.
Now I haven’t mentioned this beforehand, but I did have to wait for Martin on several of the climbs (his excuse was that he hadn’t fully recovered from Corfe) so I felt entirely justified in waiting until we approached the finish and then throwing in a sneaky sprint finish to get over the line ahead of him.
All that remained was a delightful dip in the sea, positively balmy compared with our last plunge in Cornwall and the post race refreshments. We waited for the presentation as I had finished first lady but it turned out that there was only one prize for the overall winner. However Garry had decided to award the prize to the first age graded finisher and due to my advanced age that was me!
Garry is already planning next year’s event (and we can thoroughly recommend it) although he is keen that this doesn’t turn into another Grizzly. However it was mentioned that the first Grizzly, some 24 years ago, sported a field of just 30 runners, so who knows where Highways may lead?
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Corfe Beast
On Sunday morning we headed down to Corfe Castle for one of our favourite races of the year – the Corfe Beast, run over a tough 12 mile plus multi terrain course with outstanding scenery and views, should you risk breaking your neck by taking time to glance at them.
Last year this race fell a fortnight before the Berlin marathon and this year it was a month before Loch Ness so it was always going to be a judge of how our training is going. Added to which last year, much to my surprise, I was the first lady home, so I had a title to defend – no pressure then!
In addition to Martin and myself, Dave Webb, and Richard and Lesley were also on the start line so Maiden Newton Runners were well represented. As usual our warm-up consisted of the half mile or so up onto the common to where the race starts and as usual we spent most of that half mile complaining about how tired we felt and how heavy our legs were and how we were just going to take it easy................
At 10.30am therefore we were at the front of the 500 or so assembled runners, eyeing up potential rivals and raring to go! I found myself hurtling down the hill at a ridiculous pace, but even so two female runners overtook me and I had to restrain myself from chasing after them at such an early stage in the race. After about half a mile Martin passed me which indicates just how unrealistic my starting pace was!
The first hill up to the top of the common brought everyone to their senses and slowed the pace to something appropriate for what lay ahead of us. After about a mile and a half I found myself overtaking the two ladies who had started off at such a scarily speedy pace, I could still see Martin just ahead of me and I felt fairly comfortable.
The route heads east to begin with and then turns towards the coast at the bottom of the first serious hill - a narrow and rough track up through the woods where progress is made by single file. Emerging from the trees into bright sunlight there are still a few uphill fields before the first road crossing is reached. At this point I clocked Martin exactly 20 seconds ahead of me. Did he know I was so close behind? What sort of run was he having? Could I possibly catch him? Resisting the urge to look back and check if there were any female runners behind me I concentrated on the gap between us and maintaining as fast a pace as I could.
On reaching the coast the path turns sharply right and seeing Martin glance back I waved at him - now at least he knew I was on his heels! Shortly afterwards we reached the first steep descent where a choice presents itself – hurtle down the slippery grass risking life and limb or join the queue skipping down the steps. And of course, what goes down must go back up so all too soon we were labouring up the seemingly endless line of steps up the other side.
Our exertions were rewarded with a flat and downhill section as the route turned inland for a while and passed another drink station before heading back to the coast and the second set of steps. I always mean to count the steps on both ascents and I always forget or lose count half way up. I really struggled up the second set and on finally reaching the top I was grateful for the strong tail wind which pushed me back into a shambling run. Only three miles or so to go now and as I turned inland back towards Corfe I could still see Martin up ahead but he had gained a lot of ground and any foolish hopes I had of catching him rapidly subsided.
At this point all the hard work is behind you and you have the long descent across the fields with many annoying little stiles and gates to negotiate and the tantalising view of the castle up ahead like a mirage – never seeming to get any closer no matter how hard you run towards it! One last sharp climb up onto the common, a real test of how much strength is left in your legs (not much!) and then along the road passing the starting line and the welcome sounds of other runners finishing. The final sprint for the line and at last the blessed relief of being able to stop running. I hadn’t looked at my watch all the way round but a quick glance now and I could not believe my eyes – 1.37.43 – over 5 minutes faster than last year and a Corfe PB beating even my pre broken hip best time of 2003!!
Martin has also run a PB finishing in 1.35.42 and Dave finished soon after me in 1.39.48. Richard crossed the line in 1.46.51 and joined us for a team (minus Lesley) photograph. Unfortunately the lunch demands of the official photographer’s offspring (Jackie Webb) meant that Lesley was missing from the photo as she finished just after the Webbs sensibly headed off to refuel. The rest of us waited in the rain which had held off for the race but not for the presentation and Maiden Newton Runners were twice in the prizes as Lesley picked up the first V55 bottle of bubbly. I was just grateful that Martin had decided to polish the cup before we returned it so we took a nice shiny trophy home with us!.
Last year this race fell a fortnight before the Berlin marathon and this year it was a month before Loch Ness so it was always going to be a judge of how our training is going. Added to which last year, much to my surprise, I was the first lady home, so I had a title to defend – no pressure then!
In addition to Martin and myself, Dave Webb, and Richard and Lesley were also on the start line so Maiden Newton Runners were well represented. As usual our warm-up consisted of the half mile or so up onto the common to where the race starts and as usual we spent most of that half mile complaining about how tired we felt and how heavy our legs were and how we were just going to take it easy................
At 10.30am therefore we were at the front of the 500 or so assembled runners, eyeing up potential rivals and raring to go! I found myself hurtling down the hill at a ridiculous pace, but even so two female runners overtook me and I had to restrain myself from chasing after them at such an early stage in the race. After about half a mile Martin passed me which indicates just how unrealistic my starting pace was!
The first hill up to the top of the common brought everyone to their senses and slowed the pace to something appropriate for what lay ahead of us. After about a mile and a half I found myself overtaking the two ladies who had started off at such a scarily speedy pace, I could still see Martin just ahead of me and I felt fairly comfortable.
The route heads east to begin with and then turns towards the coast at the bottom of the first serious hill - a narrow and rough track up through the woods where progress is made by single file. Emerging from the trees into bright sunlight there are still a few uphill fields before the first road crossing is reached. At this point I clocked Martin exactly 20 seconds ahead of me. Did he know I was so close behind? What sort of run was he having? Could I possibly catch him? Resisting the urge to look back and check if there were any female runners behind me I concentrated on the gap between us and maintaining as fast a pace as I could.
On reaching the coast the path turns sharply right and seeing Martin glance back I waved at him - now at least he knew I was on his heels! Shortly afterwards we reached the first steep descent where a choice presents itself – hurtle down the slippery grass risking life and limb or join the queue skipping down the steps. And of course, what goes down must go back up so all too soon we were labouring up the seemingly endless line of steps up the other side.
Our exertions were rewarded with a flat and downhill section as the route turned inland for a while and passed another drink station before heading back to the coast and the second set of steps. I always mean to count the steps on both ascents and I always forget or lose count half way up. I really struggled up the second set and on finally reaching the top I was grateful for the strong tail wind which pushed me back into a shambling run. Only three miles or so to go now and as I turned inland back towards Corfe I could still see Martin up ahead but he had gained a lot of ground and any foolish hopes I had of catching him rapidly subsided.
At this point all the hard work is behind you and you have the long descent across the fields with many annoying little stiles and gates to negotiate and the tantalising view of the castle up ahead like a mirage – never seeming to get any closer no matter how hard you run towards it! One last sharp climb up onto the common, a real test of how much strength is left in your legs (not much!) and then along the road passing the starting line and the welcome sounds of other runners finishing. The final sprint for the line and at last the blessed relief of being able to stop running. I hadn’t looked at my watch all the way round but a quick glance now and I could not believe my eyes – 1.37.43 – over 5 minutes faster than last year and a Corfe PB beating even my pre broken hip best time of 2003!!
Martin has also run a PB finishing in 1.35.42 and Dave finished soon after me in 1.39.48. Richard crossed the line in 1.46.51 and joined us for a team (minus Lesley) photograph. Unfortunately the lunch demands of the official photographer’s offspring (Jackie Webb) meant that Lesley was missing from the photo as she finished just after the Webbs sensibly headed off to refuel. The rest of us waited in the rain which had held off for the race but not for the presentation and Maiden Newton Runners were twice in the prizes as Lesley picked up the first V55 bottle of bubbly. I was just grateful that Martin had decided to polish the cup before we returned it so we took a nice shiny trophy home with us!.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Maiden "Newten" Madness
(Link to full results: http://www.yeoviltownrrc.com/Results/2010_maiden_newten_madness.pdf )
Photo Album on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242678&id=215547129244
The weather on Saturday morning was sadly reminiscent of 2008 when the race took place in a continual downpour but happily by mid morning the rain had ceased, the sky cleared and the sun even broke through once or twice. Although there was the constant threat of more rain it did hold off for the duration of the race.
Numbers were disappointingly lower than last year but those runners who did make the journey to Maiden Newton all seemed to enjoy the race and hopefully will return next year bringing their club mates with them. First runner home and first V40 was Tony Chutter of Bournemouth AC in a time of 40.40 with unattached runner Martin Hewlett hot on his heels in 40.57 to take second. In third place was Mark Pittaway of Royal Manor of Portland, a staunch supporter of the Madness over the last few years and always in the prizes. Mark took the second V40 prize home tonight.
In fourth place overall and collecting the first V50 prize, was Crewkerne Runner Clive Harwood, an excellent achievement considering that he is only a month short of his 60th birthday - a date eagerly awaited by all other local male vet 50's who may actually then get a chance to win a category prize! Maiden Newten Runner, Martin Lascelles, finished in 5th place and took the 2nd V50 prize. Another Crewkerne Runner, Simon Land was second senior home in 43.11 and 6th place overall.
Although there wasn't a V60 category, Yeovil's Pete Jakeman was the first 60 year old over the line, astonishingly managing to clock exactly the same time as last year - 45.26. Bet he can't do that a third year in a row but if he does I think a special award should be ready for him!
In the ladies race, Maiden Newton Runner's Lin Lascelles finished in first place in a time of 45.33 taking the first V40 prize with Dorset Doddler's Lynda Faulkner finishing a close second in 46.13 and taking second V40. The first senior lady home was Nicky Whitley of Egdon Health Harriers in 52.07 with Jacqui Pittaway of Royal Manor of Portland taking second in 56.09.
Both first and second V50 prizes went home with Egdon Heath Harriers - Gail Coverley (52.30) and Frances Anderson (54.18) respectively and indeed as far as the ladies race went it was a night when experience certainly counted with nine out of the first ten ladies all being vet runners.
Maiden Newton Runners is a small club and once again relied heavily on non running volunteers to help marshal and organise the event to it's usual high standard, largely thanks to Club Chairman Phil England who might have enjoyed a rest in the last week having competed successfully in an Ironman distance triathlon the preceeding weekend. Thanks also to Phil's long suffering wife, Jackie and the rest of his family who all get roped in to help out on the evening.
Photo Album on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242678&id=215547129244
The weather on Saturday morning was sadly reminiscent of 2008 when the race took place in a continual downpour but happily by mid morning the rain had ceased, the sky cleared and the sun even broke through once or twice. Although there was the constant threat of more rain it did hold off for the duration of the race.
Numbers were disappointingly lower than last year but those runners who did make the journey to Maiden Newton all seemed to enjoy the race and hopefully will return next year bringing their club mates with them. First runner home and first V40 was Tony Chutter of Bournemouth AC in a time of 40.40 with unattached runner Martin Hewlett hot on his heels in 40.57 to take second. In third place was Mark Pittaway of Royal Manor of Portland, a staunch supporter of the Madness over the last few years and always in the prizes. Mark took the second V40 prize home tonight.
In fourth place overall and collecting the first V50 prize, was Crewkerne Runner Clive Harwood, an excellent achievement considering that he is only a month short of his 60th birthday - a date eagerly awaited by all other local male vet 50's who may actually then get a chance to win a category prize! Maiden Newten Runner, Martin Lascelles, finished in 5th place and took the 2nd V50 prize. Another Crewkerne Runner, Simon Land was second senior home in 43.11 and 6th place overall.
Although there wasn't a V60 category, Yeovil's Pete Jakeman was the first 60 year old over the line, astonishingly managing to clock exactly the same time as last year - 45.26. Bet he can't do that a third year in a row but if he does I think a special award should be ready for him!
In the ladies race, Maiden Newton Runner's Lin Lascelles finished in first place in a time of 45.33 taking the first V40 prize with Dorset Doddler's Lynda Faulkner finishing a close second in 46.13 and taking second V40. The first senior lady home was Nicky Whitley of Egdon Health Harriers in 52.07 with Jacqui Pittaway of Royal Manor of Portland taking second in 56.09.
Both first and second V50 prizes went home with Egdon Heath Harriers - Gail Coverley (52.30) and Frances Anderson (54.18) respectively and indeed as far as the ladies race went it was a night when experience certainly counted with nine out of the first ten ladies all being vet runners.
Maiden Newton Runners is a small club and once again relied heavily on non running volunteers to help marshal and organise the event to it's usual high standard, largely thanks to Club Chairman Phil England who might have enjoyed a rest in the last week having competed successfully in an Ironman distance triathlon the preceeding weekend. Thanks also to Phil's long suffering wife, Jackie and the rest of his family who all get roped in to help out on the evening.
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| Andy Staples - Maiden Newton Runner |
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| Dan Cantrell - Maiden Newton Runner |
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| Egdon Heath Harriers were great supporters of the race as usual |
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Haytor Heller
Sat 17th July saw the Westgates at the 25th Haytor Heller. Unusually this year it was held on a Sat evening and what a lovely evening it was. The race starts halfway up the steep slope of Haytor and you really want to pace it gently at the start. I thought I had started conservatively but as I got to the top my sphincter was certainly giving me some cause for concern; a mishap at this early stage would surely have been most unpleasant. Anyway things soon passed, I mean got better and I was pleased to glide past Lin. Soon we were into some very enjoyable fast downhill where I just wanted to fly.
Further into the race and on the climbs I expected Lin to come back past but I didnt see her again untill the finish. During the very narrow downhill bendy bit through the tall gorse the runner in front went down like a sack of spuds but within a second like a wounded wildebeest he was up and running again before I could go past him; very impressive.
Everything seemed to go fast and before I knew it I had finished posting my 2nd best time. About 1 min later Lin came flying through the finish and didn't stop. The lady on the T shirt desk looked at me quizically and I shrugged my shoulders as Lin dissapeared into the distance. Maybe the race was too short for her and she fancied a couple of extra miles.(in fact as we subsequently learned she was having a Paula experience! (Ive heard it said a laxative the night before and immodium in the morning helps).
Back in the clubhouse I asked Martin if he had won anything; "Well yes actually 1st MV55." Martin asked Lin if she had won anything. "Well I think 1st FV45." Lin asked if I had won anything. "Well 2nd MV55 perchance." Turning to Lesley I enquired politely if she had won anything. Glowering under a mane of unruly hair "a PB but bugger all" she spat.
Further into the race and on the climbs I expected Lin to come back past but I didnt see her again untill the finish. During the very narrow downhill bendy bit through the tall gorse the runner in front went down like a sack of spuds but within a second like a wounded wildebeest he was up and running again before I could go past him; very impressive.
Everything seemed to go fast and before I knew it I had finished posting my 2nd best time. About 1 min later Lin came flying through the finish and didn't stop. The lady on the T shirt desk looked at me quizically and I shrugged my shoulders as Lin dissapeared into the distance. Maybe the race was too short for her and she fancied a couple of extra miles.(in fact as we subsequently learned she was having a Paula experience! (Ive heard it said a laxative the night before and immodium in the morning helps).
Back in the clubhouse I asked Martin if he had won anything; "Well yes actually 1st MV55." Martin asked Lin if she had won anything. "Well I think 1st FV45." Lin asked if I had won anything. "Well 2nd MV55 perchance." Turning to Lesley I enquired politely if she had won anything. Glowering under a mane of unruly hair "a PB but bugger all" she spat.
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