Thames Meander Spring Marathon and ultra parkrun

Pre-Race Preparation - it took half an
hour to do my bow tie!

Pre-Race Party
My first marathon after deciding to focus on this distance was the Thames Meander marathon which starts at the YMCA Hawker Centre next to the river near Kingston.  The night before was Sandhurst Joggers' end of year Grand Ball, which was not necessarily the best preparation for a marathon, but the food was very tasty and the company excellent and to top it all I picked up an award for winning the club Handicap competition for the year.  I was good though and apart from a very small half glass of wine I stuck to water to drink and avoided any wild moves on the dance floor.

With the ball the night before, I had sorted out all my race kit and food the before going out and just had to get up at 6am for breakfast of porridge and a home made nutty energy bar.  I also downed a couple of glasses of beetroot juice left over from last week.  It's supposed to be full of nitrates which can help oxygen transport round the body but tastes awful (I don't like beetroot) and has the odd side effect of turning your wee pink.  I got picked up by Emma Lewis, who I have run Portsmouth and Milton Keynes marathons with, at 7:15 and we made it to race HQ by 8am, a full 2 hours before the marathon and plenty of time to get our race packs and have a cuppa.

A Warm-Up Run
Emma mentioned that there was a parkrun that started nearby, so we asked the race organisers about it and found that the parkrun finish line was at the same place as the marathon.  Usually I would be doing a marathon on a Sunday and a parkrun the day before is not an issue.  I might decide to save my legs and volunteer, but mostly I would both volunteer and run a very gentle and chatty parkrun.  Should I run a parkrun that finished just 30 minutes before the marathon start?  In the end I found a spare barcode in my race bag and the decision was made.

Kingston parkrun is a simple but pleasant out and back course along the Thames starting and finishing near the YMCA.  A field of 128 parkrunners was swelled by 10 or more slightly foolish parkrun addicts who were also running the half or full marathon.  We all got a cheer from the regular Kingston crowd and were off.  There was a kilted Scot along as entertainment to play bagpipes for the marathon runners who also played us out at the start of the parkrun.  I set off at a gentle jog trying to ignore any twinges around the knees, chatted to some of the local parkrunners at the back of the field and finished in a fairly sensible 28:45.

Thames Meander marathon route

By now it was 9:40 and with 20 minutes to the start of the main race I found Emma with my race bag and went to find the loos and sort out my gel belt.  Today's kit was SJ running vest, taped up nipples to avoid bloodying the vest, short leggings, toe socks and Brooks Ravenna 4 shoes.  These shoes are very comfortable with good forefoot cushioning and mild support.  They also have reasonable grip as
we were warned that there might be some muddy patches on the course. I tucked 6 Hi-Five gels in my belt and went to find the bag drop tent.

Teddington Lock - a scene of tragedy in the late 1960s

The Marathon
At the start I lined up at the back with Emma and decided to start the first few miles running with her. Emma was aiming for a 5 hour time which is about 11:30/mile pace, but I noticed that we were doing 10:20 pace over the first 2 miles.  Emma seemed to be fine with that and we chatted along, first upriver to Kingston Bridge, then turning back on ourselves past the start and at 3 miles passing Teddington Lock, which marks the extent of the tidal river Thames and was the scene of Monty Python's Fish Slapping Dance Sketch.  The last time I was here I lost my favourite blue teddy while walking along the weir; that was about 46 years ago!

Most of the route looks like this

At 3 miles the fast half marathon runners started to come by after they had started at 10:30.  After 4 miles I thought it would be better for both Emma and me if I pushed on and continued on at a comfortable 9:30 pace.  The weather had started off cool and sunny, but started to cloud over and get a bit breezy after an hour, but it stayed fine for the race.  The marathon is a simple out and back course  to Putney Bridge and back and I thought that it would be fairly urban.  Actually, most of the course feels like a canal towpath in the countryside with woods and parkland on both sides of the river.  For those who know Frimley Lodge parkrun or the Basingstoke canal in Surrey, the surface is very similar being mostly hard packed gravel with a stony texture.  There were also sections of tarmac path, concrete and cobbles for a bit of variety.

There are a few landmarks along the way to keep you interested such as the parkland around Ham House (4-5miles), Richmond Bridge (6miles), Kew Gardens (7-8miles), Leg of Mutton Nature Reserve (11.5miles), Craven Cottage (13.5miles) and Putney Bridge just before the turn around at just beyond 14 miles. It was around this point that we all started to have some problems with crowding on the course. For the last half mile before the turn, there were loads of rowers getting their boats out of the water and raised on to trailers after their regatta.  The road and footpath were packed with people either ambling about or trying to load each half of their Eight boat and I had to dodge and duck around to make progress.  I came through this area unscathed, but one runner I talked to after the race had a boat dropped on his head as he tried to pass and dropped to the floor stunned!  He said he was dizzy for a while but he managed to finish OK.

Thirsty Work
The congestion caused another problem as the marathon organisers were told to remove their aid station at Putney.  I had been making a stop at each aid station to have a gel, eat some of the amazingly tasty home made brownies and have a drink of squash, so I was looking forward to another break at the turn.  The aid stations were at 5, 8 and 11 miles (Barns Bridge) and there was supposed to be one at Putney just after 14 miles.  Without that there was a bit of a big gap from 11 to 18miles without a stop, so I had an extra long feed and drink at Barns Bridge.

A hefty medal to show for it

On the way back beyond Barns Bridge my legs and feet were starting to hurt from the cobbly ground and I found myself searching out the smoother path at the side of the track.  I also started to think "If I hadn't done the parkrun this morning I would be into my last 6 miles."  But to counter that, I also thought "I got to do a parkrun I haven't done before, got some bonus miles in and this isn't a target race, even got to do something a little bit ridiculous."  I'll also get to have a go at getting two course PBs later in the year!  I kept my spirits up in the usual way, having a chat with whoever I caught up with, however, that last 3 miles was quite tough and my pace dropped to slower than 10min miles with a bit of jog-walking.  The last couple of miles are along a winding path and you don't get a good view of the finish from any distance away.  Having done the parkrun, though, I knew what the run to the finish looked like with the finish coming into view with just 150m to go.

Emma sprinting her way to a sub-5 hour finish

I crossed the line in 4:23:26, got an impressive medal and made straight for the excellent cakes. Whoever thought of putting mint Aero balls in chocolate brownies and making biscuit coated fudge is a genius!  There were plenty of bananas and crisps and more squash to have for a good post run snack after which I got into dry clothes and came back out to wait for Emma.  I thought she would be coming in around 5:15 or a little later but she came round the final corner with 4:59 on the clock and managed a sprint to come in at 4:59:25 looking very comfortable. That was just as well, as she was running another marathon the next day in Wiltshire.

Afters
Splits for this race were a bit all over the place even though the course was pan flat. It shows where I was stopped at aid stations for a proper drink.

10:20 10:12 10:27 10:11 9:26 10:31 9:47 9:20 10:46 10:33 9:53 9:24 9:20 9:30 9:45 9:17 9:15
10:29 9:29 11:59 9:15 9:22 10:32 10:36 11:50 11:50 9:51

But this started with Kingston parkrun which went like this: 8:55 9:28 9:23 and a bit, which almost makes it an ultra marathon day.

I'm starting to recognise a few faces who turn up to marathons regularly, but Emma was the only person I knew in the marathon field of 297 runners.

There was a half marathon too and Sarah Boulter of Sandhurst Joggers finished in a new PB time of 2:14:24.  And this week's special mention goes to Karen Summerville who I saw when she was a mile away from the turn waving and smiling at me, though with a sore looking left arm. As she passed she said she had fallen and dislocated her shoulder.  She got a sling at the turn point marshals and managed to finish in 6:05:34, then went to hospital to find she had a broken shoulder. That's one tough lady!

I'll be doing this run again at the end of August and then again in November to complete the Thames Meander Triple Crown.  Next race is Fleet Half marathon on 22 March.

Surrey Half Marathon (Woking)

In Two Minds
I had entered Surrey Half last year just after the Guildford race when the price was at its lowest, basically being a sucker for a bargain, and not having any thought about how this might fit in with race plans later in the spring.  Having decided to do Brighton and probably London marathons on 12th and 26th April a half marathon could fit in as a pre-marathon race, but I really think of Fleet Half later in March as fulfilling this role.  However, my training plans at the end of January took a big hit when I came down with flu which caused a 10 day lay-off, left me much weakened and 4-5lbs lighter (a bonus, but not a diet I would recommend).  I ran Wokingham Half on 8th February and really struggled around in 1:56:47 almost collapsing over the line with a coughing fit.  It felt like quite a struggle to recover from that illness and I had to build back up slowly with a few medium distance runs a week at a gentle pace.

Having recently re-evaluated my long term running goals to focus on marathons and ultras, I entered the Thames Meander marathon the week after Surrey, followed by Fleet Half and then a 20 mile club training run the week after that!  March was looking very congested and I was thinking that I could do without another race, especially when realising that it keeps me away from the family for some part of every weekend in the month.  However, looking at my training, I had done a couple of near 40 mile weeks in early March followed by a recovery week.  With Surrey Half, the week prior to my next marathon would be back to 36 miles, a good volume for me and so a steady half marathon was looking like a good run.

Race Day
This year's Surrey Half Marathon was hosted by Woking after the inaugural race last year started and finished in Guildford.  I initially thought this would mean that the race would be held over the same course as last year and be an out and back to Guildford - effectively a reverse of last year.  Instead we got a completely new course starting and finishing at Woking Leisure Centre and running out of the town centre and looping round the countryside to the south of Woking.  The route includes three significant hills at about 6, 8 and 10 miles with some undulations in between.

Kit for the day was club vest (first vest only day of the year), short leggings (no chafing!), toe socks (no blisters!) and my newish Brooks Ghost 7 shoes.  I have done about 80 miles in 3 weeks in these shoes which are neutral and a wide fitting with good cushioning in the forefoot.  I think they suit my running style, but I think I need more support for a marathon, so won't be wearing them next week.

It was a 9am start for the race so I was up at 6am for a breakfast of porridge and beetroot juice (a mystifying choice as I hate beetroot) and I set off for Woking at just gone 7am arriving at the Leisure Centre after a 15 minute walk in cool sunshine at around 8am.  Unlike my last event I really did have everything packed and was wearing my Garmin when I arrived.

I had a mooch around the marquees and met Sarah Erskine who was there to Tweet the heck out of the race, then went up to the Leisure Centre cafe to wait in the warmth and see who else would turn up.  I met Lee Marshall, who was running and Hannah and Chris Gray, who were spectating.  As soon as the queue for the bag drop got noticeable inside the Leisure Centre I joined it and down in the sports hall, met Chris Szabo-Hemmings (SJ) for a quick chat before coming back up to the cafe.  By 8:45 the queue for the bag drop had grown enormously and stretched for 50m out of the Leisure Centre and through the main marquee.  I found James Ball (Cove/Frimley Flyers) and a few SJ runners in the queue and thought they wouldn't make the start on time.  I directed the SJ runners I could find round the back of the sports hall so they could get bags dropped and out to the start on time.  I think this will need a bit of sorting for the next time they run the race from here - and maybe sending people out round the back of the sports hall instead of through reception would give a better flow through the hall.

Start Line
Lining up behind the 1:50 pacers I asked them what a 1:50 pace was in min/mile and then dialled something slightly slower into the Garmin virtual runner.  I met SJ runners Chris Lambourne, Jackie Kent and Collette Callanan at the start and we started the shuffle forwards on time at 9am.  I'm sure I started forwards with the 1:50 pacers next to me, but by the time I had got across the start line they were already 100m away with Chris and the others also out of site.

I thought I would start out for a mile or so aiming for a 1:50:00 time (8:24/mile) and see how it felt, which turned out to be OK, so from then on I just occasionally took a look at my watch to make sure I wasn't getting too ahead of myself.  At about 2 miles I saw Robin Wakefield (Windle Valley) who I know as a Frimley Lodge parkrunner and caught up to him for a bit of a chat.  We were going at about the same pace and were in sight of each other for the next 8 or 9 miles with Robin passing me on the descents and me catching back up on the uphill sections.

Getting an early jump shot in at 4 miles.

The first 2 miles was a run south through Woking's suburbs with a decent amount of support from the locals and the occasional band playing.  From about 2 miles to 11.5 miles the course is out in the countryside, woodland and farms and small villages with pubs popular with supporters.  One section of the course comes out onto the main A320 at about 3 miles to 5 miles on an out and back loop.  Not long after I got on to this section the elite and fast club runners started to pass by on the other side of the road with an almost 2 mile lead after only 35 minutes!  This section affected my pace quite a lot as I sped up when running opposite the fast guys, then after the turn, when the people I could see on the other side were slower, I slowed down myself. Time to get back on track.

Paige being shadowed by Monica of SJ.

The hills on the course were not that dramatic, lasting only 5 minutes or so for the bigger ones and it seemed easy to just flow along at a comfortable pace.  Not being stressed out by time pressures or hot weather meant I felt relaxed and I got to chatting with whoever I came up to, pulling people along with me for a few hundred metres at a time.  Around half way Collette Callanan came cruising up from behind for a chat. This was a bit of a shock as Collette is usually breezing along at sub 1:30:00 pace, but she was using this event as a training run trying to get used to the idea of running slowly and we stayed together for a few more miles.  "People back here are breathing hard and putting a good effort in!" she said. A bit of a revelation for someone usually at the pointy end of a race.  Actually slow runners work just as hard as the fast guys and they do it for much longer too, so it's worth staying behind and cheering in the bottom half of the field at the end.

Helpful support from Hannah on the way back into Woking
"Stop looking at this sign and keep running!"

As with any long race, with 6 miles to go I start to break the distance down into the smallest numbers possible and it starts with me calling out 2 parkruns to go, then 5 and 4 miles (counting on one hand now!) and then only 1 parkrun.  With 3 miles to go I still felt good and decided to pick up the pace a bit after climbing the final hill.  The run in to the finish felt really good, and seems mostly downhill or flat all the way in apart from one railway bridge and a little rise of a few metres with a few hundred metres to go.  At 12 miles I could see the 1:50 pacers just in front and caught up to them to thank them for doing a good job and they cheered me on as I ran past.  With 400m to go I passed Collette, with cheers from her ringing in my ears, and crossed the line in 1:48:15.

Past the finish line we got water, a Bounce ball of energy food, a banana, but no bag full of leaflets, which was just fine by me.  After getting changed and back out to the finish I met up with SJ and other runners who all seemed pleased with their morning's effort.

Afters

Me, James, Paige and Alex

That was my second fastest half marathon, just over 1 minute from a PB and felt really comfortable. Realising just how easy that run felt reminds me just how much my running has come on over the last year and gives me more confidence for the coming races.  Splits for this race were nice and even, even though I was doing a lot of chatting along the way:

8:21 8:18 8:21 8:19 8:26 8:16 8:19 8:26 8:26 8:24 8:15 7:53 7:28 1:02@6:21/m

Selected Sandhurst Joggers finishing times:
Erol Ali 01:34:02, Chris Lambourne 01:40:02, Jacqueline Kent 01:43:02, Philip Turner 01:44:41, Katie Harris 1:46:12, Chris Szabo-Hemmings 01:47:26, Matt Johnson 02:05:54, Kerstin Johnson 02:24:33, Monica Bannergee-Burbidge  02:33:16.

Others:
Robin Wakefield (Windle Valley) 1:51:55
James Ball (Cove/Frimley Fliers) 1:37:37
Alex Halfacre 1:37:39
Philip Clark 2:06:08
Paige Dixon 2:34:05

Special mention goes to James Ball and Alex Halfacre for, as James would put it "Smashing through 100 minutes!" for a new PB.

Well done everyone! It was a very good race, in good conditions with good support out on the course and lots of people posted very good times.

Thanks to Chris Gray for taking the photos.

Climbing Everest: The New Marathon Plan

Back Story
2013 London Marathon - I got a place via a draw for a club place after failing to get in via the main ballot in both 2012 and 2013.  Up until now I hadn't really thought seriously about doing a marathon and my ambition was to do just one and that had to be London.  Having done all the training and recovered (almost) from injury just 2 weeks before the race I suffered from foot and ankle injuries during the marathon and came in just outside my goal time of sub-4:30.  Later in 2013 I did the Farnham Pilgrim trail marathon and Portsmouth Coastal marathon, partly to prove to myself that I could get below that 4:30 time.

Now I knew I could do the distance, I decided to enter a few more in 2014 including the Winter Tanners (my first ultra at 30miles), Milton Keynes, Farnham Pilgrim, Abingdon and Portsmouth again.  This time the goal was to get below 4 hours, which I failed to do at Milton Keynes being beaten by the heat and cramps and managed at both Abingdon and Portsmouth.

How Far Can I Go?
That brought me up to 8 marathons and aside of maybe posting a time below 3:45, marathon ambitions had been done. But during 2014 I also did Endure 24 and the Thunder Run, both 24 hour events that I did as part of a team.  This got me thinking about how far I could go and so I entered Endure 24 for 2015 as a solo runner.  I also entered Brighton marathon while the price was lowest and had put my name in for the London marathon by the marshal's ballot.  That would mean 2 marathons in 2 weeks with the possibility of adding long runs the day after as training for Endure 24.  So marathons were now looking like training runs for my main goal of a long ultra in 2015.

Throughout 2014 I had been following the progress of two of our club runners Vicky Horne and Greg Ward as they tackled huge marathon goals. Vicky was aiming to do 52 marathons in the year and Greg just as many as he could fit in so he could reach 100 marathons in the shortest time (he managed 67 marathons in 2014 and did his 100th marathon in January this year).  What an achievement for both of them!

Climbing Everest
I was having a chat with Greg at Frimley parkrun late last year when he still had a few marathons to go for his 100, and he told me an interesting fact. There are more people who have climbed Mount Everest than have done 100 marathons. That pretty much sold it to me.  That is something momentous and difficult and yet something that I could do.

That Everest quote comes from Malcom Anderson's book The Messengers, where he interviewed over 100 people from around the world who have achieved 100 marathons. Finding out how many people have climbed Everest is relatively straight forward as the authorities in Nepal and Tibet issue climbing licences and keep records - it turns out that as of the 2014 spring climbing season 6358 people had reached the summit.  Malcom Anderson managed to trawl through the records of the 100 marathon clubs from around the world to get his answer.  I'll take his word for the total, but I could find out there are only just over 400 people from the UK who are members of the 100 Marathon Club.

Can I Do It?
That is an exclusive club and one I'd like to be a member of - they do a really nice club T-shirt after all and you even get a medal.  It's some commitment, but probably means swapping the 10k and half marathon events I do for marathons and training with the club some more (a great bonus).  It's got some cost to it, but not significantly more than I spend on race entries each year anyway, maybe about £3,000 over 4 to 5 years.  Some people will drink and smoke their way through more than that. Compare that to climbing Everest at about £10,000 and a month in Nepal, which would be awsome, of course, but which I couldn't afford.  Not many people get to fulfil a goal of some adventurous nature, but here's the thing - I'm a runner, not a mountaineer and it seems right that achieving something great should be through running.

So, the plan for this year and into next is looking like this:
11 January Winter Tanners (done)
08 March Surrey Half
14 March Thames Meander Spring
22 March Fleet half
29 March SJ Canal Run - 20 miles
12 April Brighton
23 April St George's Day
26 April London
17 May Richmond Park
13 June Endure 24 Solo
03 July    Elstead Marathon
29 August Thames Meander Summer
13 September Farnham Pilgrim
11 October Trionium Greensand (maybe)
18 October Abingdon
07 November Thames Meander Winter
27 November Agincourt 600th Anniversary
20 December Portsmouth Coastal
10 January 2016 Winter Tanners
14 February 2016 Punchbowl Marathon

That's 12 marathons and 4 ultras, which will take my marathon total up to 24.  A lot of these I have picked because they are reasonably local and I know people running at them.  All the 2015 runs are booked except Greensand (don't know how daft I'm feeling yet) and Abingdon (not open till March).  Most of these are relatively cheap at £30-£35 or under. Brighton is the exception at £50 to £70 depending on when you enter and getting to being one of the most expensive marathons in the UK; why I don't know.  At the other end of the price scale, however, you have the Surrey LDWA events, with the Tanners and Punchbowl probably the most fun outside of a parkrun that you can have for under a tenner.

What About You?
Considering whether this long-term long distance goal is possible for anyone to do, I think there is a difficult mental barrier to get over when considering doing a marathon - you ask yourself "Can I do the distance? and Will it hurt?" Basically the answer is YES to both, but the pain, or more properly discomfort, lasts for about 6 or 8 miles if you have managed to get through a suitable training plan, so if you can put up with that then you can at least get round.  If I get to the point of doing 1 or 2 marathons per month then "training" isn't so much about putting in long runs but shorter slow recovery runs and speed and conditioning to maintain form and fitness. That sounds like I'll get to do more of my favourite running, which is running with friends and leading the slow or medium pace groups on Sandhurst Joggers club runs a couple of times a week and, of course, running with the kids at parkrun.

No.1 on the Bucket List
As an afterthought to this post I was looking through the 100 Marathon Club listings for marathons outside the UK and I came across an Everest Marathon!  You trek about 40 miles over a 10 day period to get from Lukla in Nepal to Everest Base Camp at 5360m acclimatising as you go and then run(!?) the marathon back to Namche Bazaar (alt. 3450m) - it is mostly downhill after all.  Then you have a morning off before a "recovery" trek over the next day and half back to Lukla.  I think I might save that one for when my son Alfred is old enough to do a marathon - mid 50's is about right for a mid-life crisis, bucket list kind of event!

Mud, Sweat and Cheers - Club Cross Country

Get Your Vest on Mate!
Being in a running club like Sandhurst Joggers has loads of benefits and I am sure a lot of running clubs are like this too.  Not only do you get a load of organised club runs tailored for different abilities of runner from beginner to elite, your annual subscriptions go towards paying entry fees for club events like relay races and the winter cross country season.  Initially I joined SJ for the chance to occasionally train with other people and to get England Athletics affiliation and get £2 off race entry fees. But to really get my money's worth I realised that joining in club events was the way to go.

There are a lot of events that SJ enter teams for each year and as they are open to all members the club pays the entry fees. These include the Green Belt Relay, Bounders Relay, Runnymead Relays and the Thames Valley Cross Country League. That's at least 10 races a year that you can enter for free and all you have to give up is a finisher's medal, which is not much of a disappointment when you consider that these events are absolutely the best fun you can have with your trail shoes on.  

Thames Valley Cross Country
The Thames Valley Cross Country League is based around 7 or 8 races hosted by different teams within the league and held from October to February each year.  Each course is usually a mixture of hilly and muddy woodland trails and parkland and is about 5 miles in length. Male and female teams compete in the same race with the first 6 men and first 3 women from each club scoring points. All abilities take part and even if you don't score points for your club you can affect the result by getting ahead of scorers from other clubs. To promote club spirit, club colours have to be worn by any runner to score.

I have done only a few cross country runs in my time as an SJ member, something I really need to correct next year. Over the last two seasons I have managed to do just the Handy Cross and Bracknell Forest events as I have had Sundays filled with either other events (Portsmouth marathon, Winter Tanners ultra, son's birthday) or taking the kids to their own cross country league races.

Bracknell Forest Runners hold their round of the TVXC at Lightwater Country Park near the Bagshot junction of the M3.  The area is a mixture of pine, oak and birch woodland and open heathland.  The open high ground is sandy and gravelly paths and tracks with woodland paths covered in mushy wet composty soil and low lying paths of thick or sloppy mud.  It's a partly undulating and partly hilly course with some descents that you can really fly down, but where you have to be careful not to get caught out by technical sharp turns into very muddy sections at the bottom.  So, a good variety of all the things that make a classic cross country course.

Sandhurst Joggers set up camp near the start

This year there had been quite a lot of rain leading up to the race and in the morning it was spitting with rain and cold.  I got to the venue around 10:20 having parked outside the park. After finding the start area, the SJ club flag and signing in with Claire Hobson, our XC Secretary, there was time to chat to a load of clubmates for a few minutes before stripping off to short shorts and club vest at the last moment before the off.  I had seen a few people that I wanted to keep in sight all being well when we got going.  However, I really wasn't sure about the "all being well" bit.  Having done a 7 hour, 30 mile event the previous week I was feeling a bit sore in my left knee (patella tendonitis?), right calf/ankle (Achilles tendonitis?) and top of right foot (extensor tendonitis?) so I probably should be resting and doing more treatment/rehab.  I thought I would see how I felt after a bit of a warm up and then start near the back and pick my way through the pack if I felt OK.

I wasn't wearing any special kit for this event, but went for my Salomon Fellraisers again as they have quickly become my favourite trail shoe in muddy conditions.  I think my right foot pain at the Tanners was due to my shoes getting tighter as the day wore on and my feet swelled and I should have loosened them off a bit.  So I started this race with slightly less tight shoes which immediately relieved the discomfort and I was feeling good at the start.  

The Race

At the pointy end of the race - lots of sharp elbows in evidence

Meanwhile at the other end, a lot more smiles. I'm at
the extreme left of this shot, right at the back

The course was a bit congested just after the start and we queued into the first corner, but I was quickly aware that I was feeling good and able to run up through some of the crowd on the first rise before turning left onto a grassy muddy trail and another narrow rise where we got held up again.  Out on the wider track I got past a few more people and at 1 mile we turned on to a long steep descent.  I have been practising descending fast in hill sprint sessions to improve leg speed, so I was able to fly down this hill before just managing to slow enough to make the sharp left at the bottom on to a very muddy track.  After the muddy section another long descent through trees and then into open ground was followed by a short bit of slippy boardwalk and then a kicker of a sandy hill.  After this the route follows a long, long gradual downlsope before getting into another wooded undulating section to bring us round for the end of the first lap.

Coming up the last major climb of the race, Sandhurst's
Graham Robinson had pulled out a clear lead for 1st place

I was feeling strong and was a bit surprised to see SJ runners Alan Kirby and John Tovell just ahead near Kelvin Gower (running for Windle Valley), as I thought they would be way ahead.  This gave me a bit of a lift as I find it's always good to have some club mates and friends to pace yourself against.  As I caught Kelvin at the end of the lap I thought I could hear him running along just behind me for the next uphill mile, so this spurred me on to keep the steady pace going.  I managed to catch Alan Kirby on a long descent, but got passed back on the next uphill section and this happened again and again over several hills.  I was saving myself on the uphills, especially the steeper sections, trying to get up the steepest parts by using a fast walking stride on a couple of the biggest hills.  I found that as I got to the crest I might have lost 5 or 10 paces on other runners but I could hit the next flat or down-slope at a much faster pace and catch up to and pass several more people ahead of me.

Over 10 minutes later here I am in a battle for 167th position!

I found myself thinking about race tactics as the last lap went on.  If I put a bit of extra effort in I could get past a few people on a wider track just before turning onto narrower sections where I couldn't get overtaken. Knowing I was in the last mile I told myself the person in front of me was the next person to catch and pass, not just someone to pace myself against and I managed to pass a few more people on the twisty wooded descent round to the bottom of the course.  The last few hundred metres to the finish were a lung busting effort but I cheered on the few tail runners I passed who were on their first lap before dragging myself over the finish line.

Results

I finished in position 167 in a time of 47:36 and there were scoring male runners from other clubs who finished behind me, so I could say that my efforts counted for something in the league. Compared to last year, when I had also done the Winter Tanners 30miles a week before, I felt much better and stronger at the finish and came away with another course PB by 4 minutes. Two races and two PBs and it's still only January.  Maybe if I had started in mid-pack instead of at the back I could have avoided some snags and done even better. I should have a bit more confidence in myself next time.

As soon as I finished the race and logged my finish position with Claire, I got another race tactic spot on and joined the queue for sandwiches and cake straight away. Later on the queue was huge! 

Bracknell Forest put on another great cross country event.  Sandhurst's Graham Robinson finished in 1st place, 40secs ahead of the next runner (in my head I look just like Graham does when I'm running the cross country, but somehow I'm 14 minutes slower! He must have longer legs than me.) Keeping it in the family, so to speak, Jenny Robinson was first home for Sandhurst in 5th place.  Sandhurst came 2nd mens, 3rd ladies and 2nd for the team overall to maintain our 2nd place in the league behind Reading Road Runners.  Just below us there were some changes and Windle Valley managed to overtake Bracknell Forest Runners into 3rd place in the rankings with one more race to go.

Thanks to Jane Bradley for the taking the photos.

Ultra Trail du Leith Hill - Winter Tanners 30mile

Winter Tanners - 11 January 2015
It's the second time I have done this event - I won't call it a race as there are no prizes for coming first - and I was hoping to finish this time in better shape than last year.  Last time I had also done Portsmouth Marathon just before Christmas and had not done much else other than parkrunning in between.  This time I had managed a sub 4 time at Portsmouth, did all the parkruns I could and fitted in a couple of 9 mile recovery(!?) runs in between.  Last year at Portsmouth I felt awful at 24 miles, though that was OK as there were only 2 to the finish, but at the Tanners I felt awful at 10 miles with 20 to go! This time I think I am in much better shape in terms of overall fitness than this time last year.

However, following on from Portsmouth Marathon 2014 I have also had some injury issues with some minor ankle niggles, tight quads leading to ITB and knee aches and a hint at an Achilles problem - December was a high mileage month.  However, with a lot of attention to stretching, foam rolling and even a first go at Bikram Yoga, I managed a 9 mile run without problems.  The final decision on whether to run or not was left to Saturday afternoon after another assessment and massage session at Reform and Renew Osteopathy.  Abby and I gave my legs the green light to go. Actually that's not quite true - I gave myself the green light to go and Abby kind of laughed.

The Winter Tanners is run by the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) Surrey group and is a Challenge event meaning you can walk or run and you are given detailed written instructions to follow between checkpoints, of which there are 3 on the 30 mile route.  The route changes each year so you can't learn it and the written instructions are only published 6 days before the event, so any overly competitive people have little chance of scouting the route or putting out markers. So, no course markings and very little out on the course.  At the checkpoints there are refreshments (biscuits, cake, squash and water, tea and coffee at Checkpoint Charlie).  There isn't even a mass start, so no bunch of people to just follow. People get going anywhere between 7:30am and 10am with the aim of finishing before dark, but even that is not critical - if you finish after 7pm you can phone your finish time in to the organisers.  The other amazing thing is it is really cheap - £4 (members), £20 (non-members), but membership is only £13, so you could do the Tanners and the Punchbowl marathon as well, which is another LDWA event for the price of one half marathon.

Preparation
Preparation for this event is a bit more important than a regular marathon.  You can be out on course for many hours (last year 8:30) wading through mud, up steep hills, rough ground and out in almost all weather - they only cancel the event if it looks like the marshals can't make it out to the Checkpoints because of snow.  So the kit list needs to be a bit more extensive than just skimpy shorts and a vest.  I had planned to take my generic camelback with 1.5l water, a few gels, malt loaf, chocolate and, as I'm trying out ultra running food, a scotch egg.   My kit also included my new Ronhill showerproof jacket, a base layer and t-shirt, tights and calf guards, toe socks and Salomon Fellraisers (grippy but not waterproof) with Dirty Girl lycra gaters.

You don't have to feel like you are on a road to nowhere
with preparation like this!

In the days before the event I downloaded the route instructions and marked the route on to a blown
up version of the OS 1:25000 mapping.  I like to have this as a backup to the notes to help visualise the route and in case I get lost.

Race Day
I had my kit all sorted, or so I thought.  I was due to get a lift to the start with friends Hannah and Paige and I got to Hannah's house by motorbike at 6:45, to unload and sort myself out. I then managed to set aside my phone and wallet and left them on Hannah's kitchen table and to top things off, I also realised that I had forgotten to put on my Garmin watch. Oh well, I was just going to have to run this one naked!

After parking and getting race kit on we walked down to the start hut to register, this year using chipped cards to scan in at the checkpoints instead of just race numbers.  Hannah and Paige were going to do the 20mile course walking and I thought I should start as soon as possible to give myself a chance of getting through the 30 miles close to their time.  Just outside the hut I bumped into Martin Bushell, former event director at Alice Holt parkrun and now also an ultra runner.  We decided to run together which turned out to be a great stroke of luck for both of us.

Weather leading up to the day was mixed, very windy and with heavy rain, but the day itself was calm and fine, cold but with little frost on the ground.  We set off following a combination of Martin reading out the route notes and me filling in details of the lie of the land and distances to the next feature off the map.  We matched pace jogging along on the downhills, flats and gentle rises and walking up anything steep or very muddy.  We quietly sorted out a pace that suited both of us; what I'd call trotting, as we were mostly on bridleways.

At Checkpoint 1, Chadhurst Farm and the first of the
well stocked aid stations

The route this year started off roughly due south and into the low winter sun past Fetcham Downs and on to part of the North Downs Way to the east of Ranmore Common and the Denbies Wine Estate where the Bacchus marathon is run, then crossing the Pilgrim's Way passing Westcott to the first checkpoint at Chadhurst Farm at about 8 miles.

 From here the next mile was low lying and like all the low lying areas on the route, was really muddy. an apparently pleasant grassy field was pock marked with hoof marks filled with icy water followed by trails of slurry mud or sticky chalky clay great for adding pound to your feet.

Leith Hill Tower

However, this first muddy section soon gave way to the first big climb of the day and the approach to Leith Hill.  Here the trails headed up on sandy paths through deciduous and pine forests occasionally breaking out into the open with views across the wooded valleys.  It's here you really have to appreciate why you are slogging up a great big hill, stop just focussing on putting one foot in front of the other and take a moment to enjoy the countryside around you. Allow yourself a few seconds to take all this in, give yourself a little mental boost, another little reason to tell yourself "It's worth it" and carry on.

The woodland trail finally took a right turn and kicked up for the last push up to the top of Leith Hill, at 294m above sea level is the second highest point in south-east England.

From Leith Hill.  The stats may not be that spectacular, but the views were amazing. 

The route then headed west from Leith Hill dropping over 200m on to more low lying muddy trails before heading north just beyond the half way point and the on to the long, long climb up to Pitch Hill (257m) and the Hurt Wood.  The route gets within 500m of checkpoint 2 and then takes a cruel turn to climb and incredibly steep path, surely made by mountain goats with a sick sense of humour.  with lungs and legs crying in pain we came out to another spectacular view on Pitch Hill at the LDWA Founders' Memorial Toposcope

View east from the top of Pitch Hill

Checkpoint 2 at the Friends of Hurt Wood car park,
manned by keen ultra runners 

From the top it was a short few hundred metres to Checkpoint 2 at 17 miles which seemed to be manned not by LDWA members but ultra runners, as they spotted my Dirty Girl gaiters from a distance and had me and Martin down as fellow ultra runners in need of handfuls of fig rolls and jaffa cakes.

From the car park, another short climb had us at the top of a long gentle trot down through Hurt Wood and north to Peaslake and then up to Abinger Hammer just beyond 21miles.

On the walk up out of the village I went through a mental checklist of how my feet and joints were doing.  Feet were damp, but not sore, ankles OK, right Achilles OK also, left knee was a worry at the start and had been sore on some of the descents, but now was feeling good too.  Possibly this was due to my hips and pelvis being very sore and taking my mind off all the other aches.  Hip flexors and lower abs seem to be the bane of my life on long runs and today was no exception.  All other pains paled beside this constant ache that I had been suffering from about 15 miles.  However, the constant pain didn't change, didn't get worse and it was therefore easy to just tell myself this was something I could manage and just get on with it.  A steady "ultra jog" at about 10 to 11 minute miles was still possible with walking up hills.

We had a nice long jog along good gravel covered trails for a couple of miles and I felt like we made good progress on this section, before we headed north to re-cross the railway and get back up to the North Downs Way on a steeply climbing wooded path.  We were now within a mile of Checkpoint 3 and as we climbed up the valley side I could see the winding concrete track that was the approach to CP3 last year.  I thought of how bad I was feeling at this point last year compared to now, how much of the hill we had already climbed and how much I was looking forward to a hot cup of coffee at the checkpoint, and I was soon feeling good enough to jog along to the bottom of Steer's Field and the last little climb to the checkpoint.

Checkpoint 3: Restoring ultra runners to human form for 37 years!  

Checkpoint 3 can be an emotional place with people so buoyed up by the restorative powers of hot tea and coffee, biscuits and fruit that it soon lifts their spirits.  The marshals are rightly praised for standing out in the cold for us all day and the mood among the runners and walkers is very positive with the realisation that the last of the big hills is behind us and there are less than 5 miles to the finish.

Tanner's hatch - it's where your Ultra journey really starts

Here I managed to get a call in to Hannah and Paige, who were about a mile away from CP3, before we set off to turn down into Ranmore Common and the jog down to Tanner's Hatch.

This is a significant point on the route as it is both the place where the founder members of the LDWA first met to set up the association and the point where a mere marathon runner turns into an ultra runner.

Beyond Tanner's Hatch another mile and a half of narrow trail and muddy field brought us back on to the gravel track we came out on and the last mile back to the finish, this time done at a steady if aching trot in glorious daylight, rather than last year's agonised limping walk in the dark.

Back at the hut by Leatherhead leisure centre, we checked in and awaited out finish certificates. Checking Martin's GPS watch, he told me that he had forgotten to start it until we were half a mile into the run.  We had finished in a time of just over 7 hours 20 minutes.

Martin checking out the quality of my mapping at CP1.
The field behind him was where the mud really started.

This was almost confirmed by the time keepers who rather generously took an additional hour off my time - they were trying to do a lot of mental arithmetic under pressure!  Still, I'll guess at an official time of 7:25 which I am very pleased with as it takes 65 minutes off the time I did last year.  I think it was just as muddy and there were even more hills this time.

Hannah and Paige came in about 1:30 behind me, just over 8:30 for walking the 20 mile route including stopping for lunch.

Thanks to Martin Bushell for the company along the way and to the LDWA organisers and marshals for making this such a great event.

Portsmouth Marathon

Portsmouth Marathon on 21st December this year was my 8th marathon and my second time at this one.  It's mostly flat and you would have thought fast, but you have to factor in how busy it is, the single track paths, the sections of muddy or shingle beach to negotiate, the cold windy wet weather and.... AND... the mulled wine at the water stops!

Last year it was lashing with rain at the start and there were wet and muddy puddles along much of the route, but apart from that it was quite pleasant.  OK it was windy but the sun was shining for much of the time and the out and back course meant you got to see lots of runners and friends on the Hayling Island section.  There was the issue for some of having to wade knee deep through the sea at 24 miles where the tide had covered the beach, but a bit of bulldog spirit saw us through.  This year problems with the tide coming in have been solved by changing the route to avoid having to cross the last beach on the return to the Esplanenade.

Not Training Again?
Preparation for this race had not been focussed on distance as I had another objective which was to do well in the last club handicap run of the year.  You can read about that here.  That club handicap run went really well, so it was well worth training for, but it only left me time for a couple of 15 mile long runs and medium club runs in the 2 weeks before Portsmouth.  In terms of overall fitness I thought I was in pretty good shape, maybe about the same level as I was going in to Abingdon, which was 2 months ago in mid-October.  My only worry was that I had been suffering with sore and stiff calves recently, partly as a result of not being able to do any foam rolling as I had had a hand injury.  Anyway, I thought I ought to give a PB a try and just see what happened, so my plan going into the race was to go out at 8:30min/mile pace aiming for a 3:45 time.

Race Prep
The day before I thought I was doing really well having done Frimley Lodge parkrun with the family, running with Elinor in a gentle 28 minutes, then having a nice big breakfast at the cafe, finishing off the Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, baking flapjack and sorting out my race bag before having an early dinner.

There were due to be 11 or 12 Sandhurst Joggers going down to Portsmouth and I had a lift with Chris Lambourne and Emma Lewis with a pick up time of 6:15.  I slept OK but struggled out of bed at 5:45 and didn't quite manage to finish my porridge before Chris and Emma arrived.  We were already on the M3 before I realised I hadn't put my contact lenses in.  That was a real problem for me because I hate running in glasses, getting steamed up or rained on and not being able to see.  Fortunately after digging through my bag I managed to find a spare set and after finishing off a large piece of flapjack I was back to feeling positive about the race.

We managed to get parked close to the Pyramid Centre by Southsea with over an hour to go before the 8:45 start time, got our race numbers met up with some folks from the club (Max and Sacha Woods and Leon Hicks) and Kelvin from Cove Joggers. I went to find the loos, but unfortunately the organisers had not managed to provide loos with toilet paper!  This was sorted out eventually, but that's another thing to remember to put in the race bag along with spare contact lenses.  Whilst waiting in the queue for the loos I saw another couple of Sandhurst runners, Vicky Horne and Tina Acock, heading off to get an early start.

A little before the 8:45 start we gathered outside the Pyramid Centre on the Esplanade and were led down to Southsea Pier and the new start line by a pipe band (yes, bagpipes).  The weather was chilly and windy but not that cold, so I had decided to run in a t-shirt with my Sandhurst Joggers vest on top , a cap and gloves but bare arms.  I also took 6 Hi-Five gels and a few blocks of dark chocolate in my marathon belt.

Off We Go!
As soon as we got to to the pier, I looked ahead and saw that people had already started running, though I hadn't heard any gun or hooter.  I had already got my watch set up for the 8:30/mile pace and hit the Go button as I went over the timing mats.  The strong breeze was at our backs as we set off down the Esplanade and it was easy to get straight on to pace.  After 2 miles the first beach section caused a bit of a delay as we queued up to get down a narrow path.  This bit of beach was slow going as we were picking our way through seaweed and muddy patches and I was trying to keep my feet dry to avoid possible blisters.

Vicky and Tina on Hayling Island*

Going up the west side of Langstone Harbour was reasonably sheltered and the first 4 miles flew by.  At 5 miles I caught up with Vicky and Tina and gave Vicky a friendly butt-slap as I passed (payback for her stinging encouragement at the last aid station on Surrey Half earlier in the year).  Just beyond 5 miles you get to run alongside the main A27, a busy noisy road and my least favourite part of the
course.  Still, if you look to the right the views across the harbour are very nice.

Crossing on to Hayling Island at 9 miles you are very exposed and the wind was almost whipping my cap off, but it wasn't long before we got on to the Hayling Billy Trail down to the turn around near half way.  Last year I didn't quite manage to get to 10 miles before the leaders appeared coming the other way, but this year I was comfortably past the 10 mile marker when I saw the leader come cruising past with a smile on his face and almost a 6 mile lead on me!  In the mile before the turn I saw Lisa Hale and then Chris Lambourne and then on my way back between miles 13 and 15 most of the rest of the SJ team (Sacha, Leon, Emma, Vicky and Tina and Lance King).  It was great seeing all the guys and a good mental boost too.

Hoever, it was about this time that I started to hit problems.  I was doing well up to about 14 miles staying between about 8:20/mile and 8:50/mile depending on the terrain (beaches or muddy paths slowing me a bit), but from 14 miles my left knee began to hurt with what I thought was an ITB problem.  It felt just like at the Pilgrim back in September when that knee pain caused me to walk most of the last 4 miles and I couldn't run downhill.  I struggled on slowing from 8:40/mile to 9:30/mile.

Cruising along at about 12 miles*

This was really getting me down and I was thinking that if it got any worse I was probably going to have to stop.  If I ended up slowing below 10min miles there was a risk with the wind chill that I would get very cold.  However, at around 19 miles I went through a mental check of how I was feeling and realised that my knee actually wasn't hurting much and in fact it only hurt a bit when I was running on a side slope.  Once I had figured this out I felt a lot more positive and I knew I was going to finish.

The cold windy weather was having its toll though and with the muddy slippy paths and shingle beach section I wasn't setting a fast pace.  I was stopping at each aid station to get squash and jaffa cakes and the odd shot of mulled wine and whereas last year my pace might have dropped beyond 11 minute miles, this time I managed to keep knocking out the miles no slower than 9:30.  I needed to keep it going like this to keep warm.  I was also thinking "The faster you go now, the sooner it will be finished!"

Emma, Greg Ward and Ed Mills near the finish*

At 23 miles, we got to the new diversion to avoid the now tide flooded last beach section.  This was a run along some quiet back streets and through Bransbury Park before coming back to the Esplanade with 2 miles to go.  The last 2 miles seemed to go on forever, battling into the cold wind.  I was looking out for the Pyramid Centre but couldn't see it with a mile to go; the pier was in the way.  As soon as I had passed the pier, though, I could see the blue pyramid roof mercifully only a few hundred metres away with crowds of people forming a tunnel of noise for the last 100m.

I hadn't looked at my watch for the last 4 or 5 miles so it was great to see I had finished in 3:54:28.  My second sub-4 hour time and only 2 minutes away from a PB having overcome some quite challenging conditions.  All in all a very good result.

Splits for this marathon were a bit all over the place:

8:21 9:01 8:21 8:29 8:36 8:25 8:39 8:37 8:48 8:47 8:32 8:42 8:52 8:44 9:08 9:29 9:18 9:19 9:29 8:52 9:06 9:26 9:12 9:14 9:28 9:25 2:07

Afters

All the SJ and Cove runners got home safely - Well done all.

Max Woods 03:33:28; Lisa Hale 03:34:16; Stuart Overhill 03:51:10; Chris Lambourn 03:53:15; Richard Boese 03:54:28; Sacha Kendall Woods 04:25:12; Leon Hicks 04:42:32; Lance King 05:14:52; Greg ward 5:21:17; Emma Lewis 05:22:21; Tina Acock 06:50:17; Vicky Horne 06:50:17.

Kelvin Gower 04:35:11 (comfortably making his Comrades Marathon qualifying time)

Post race recovery was found in the very decent Crown and Cushion near Minley Barracks.  The Thai curry chicken and pint of Spitfire went down a treat.

Now I'm looking forward to the Christmas parkrun season with the family (including wife Julia's 50th run) and possibly another attempt at the Winter Tanners 30 mile challenge event in early January.

*Thanks to Janet Foran for the race photos.

The Handicap Cup

I had a really good run at the December running of the Sandhurst Joggers Club Handicap.  This year was one where I wanted to make an effort to join in a lot more club events and I have managed to do 10 of the handicaps this year after never having done them before.  The course runs around the hilly side of Crowthorne - two laps making four miles, two BIG hills, two short steep hills and some descents to fly down – it’s a good challenging run to do at speed. 

Going into the last run, I was top of the points leader board (based on points from best 7 runs) having managed to steadily improve my PB from 33mins to 29:12 over the year.  However, there were at least two people in with a very good chance of overtaking me in the last event, Steve Sims and Gabriel Bassett.  Unfortunately Gabby couldn't make it on the night, though Steve was going to be there and I needed to be at least 3 places ahead of Steve to hang on to the lead.

Tactics?  Like every time I have run this time trial it's just a case of going as fast as possible and the only tactic I have is to try and make the two laps as even as possible. I thought Steve was going to go for a sub 28min time, so needed a 20sec PB.  To beat that I would have to go for a 30sec PB and hope 2 people placed in between us.  That meant aiming for about 28:45 and just over 7:11/mile pace.  

So I set the Garmin pacer up for that and once under way checked my watch on the first 400m to get used to the effort needed to maintain that pace.  I tried to keep that same effort going up the hills make up time on the descents and also try and keep someone ahead of me in site, but I was really gasping going over the last hill.  I hadn’t looked at my watch since the start, but I felt that I must have a lot of time to make up over the last half mile, so really pushed hard all the way home. I finished in 28:42, beating my handicap time by 32secs and feeling like I could not have gone any quicker.

The results looked like this:

That was a tight race and in the end there was only 4 seconds between 5th and 8th places in the results, but I just did enough to hang on to the overall first place position.  

It has been a really good year of running for me.  I have managed to improve at all distances I have run and have really tried to learn about training and what I can do to get faster.  Being able to test myself on our club handicap route has been really rewarding and coming away with the win in the overall competition was a great feeling.  

Now to get back down to sea level and Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon.