Charnwood Marathon - Anna Finn reports

We hear from the indefatigable Anna Finn, who has gone back to her natural distance range after dabbling in 10ks for the sake of the next generation...

So, yesterday I completed the Charnwood Marathon. It was a cross country event and there were walkers doing it too (they left an hour before the runners). The route wasn't marked and we just had written instructions to follow, which I found hard as I'm a slow reader at the best of times. They were pretty detailed: "cross the stile, follow the track with a wall on the left, through the brown gate, across to the far right corner of the field..." - it's quite draining mentally to keep up the concentration to follow that for 26 miles! We also had orienteering-style cards that we had to clip at the checkpoints to show that we'd completed the whole route correctly. 

At least the terrain was mainly good, though my ankles feel a bit tender today after going over all the uneven surfaces. There were a gazillion stiles on the course, as well as some tough hills. The weather was all over the place, with wind, sun, wind, hail and wind. It took me just over 5 hours to finish.

I've attached a photo of me with my finishers certificate and badge.

... My next update will be mid week after the Paris Marathon, as we're spending a few days enjoying the city there (it coincides nicely with the schools/colleges holiday).

Allez allez Anna! - Ed

Draycote Water Marathon photos during race

Took a trip to one of my favoured landmarks, close enough to the main west coast railway to make it possible by bike. Rugby is about 7 miles or so away and there were no buses on this occasion so did not need to resort to the fold-up bike. Given the course was 5 and a bit laps around Draycote Water, I did not need to get there for the start and it was not possible on a Sunday morning. By the time I reached the northern edge, Anna was I presume about 3-4 miles into the event. The leaders had already started their 2nd lap. After catching a first photo of Anna, I leisurely rode around and took further snaps at different location. Overall I estimate that I cycled 35 miles that day. Caught up with Anna at the finish (showing no signs of fatigue) which was only brief given that Anna was also relying on the train and one was due with the aid of a taxi!

Reading Half Marathon report

Well, I had been hoping for a PB this year. I did Reading in '06 as my first ever race and I'm at least as fit now.
However. The rot set in on Monday morning when my electric bike suddenly decided it was going to be a normal (and rather heavy) cycle. I only commute for 7-8 miles a day, but tapering is not meant to include an extra half-hour of cycling for the last week!
Funnily enough therefore I was not feeling the normal spring in my step I get when tapering.
Then there was the time change. Getting up at what bloody well felt like 5:15 am to walk the dogs is not the ideal start to race day. It might have got even worse - as we arrived at Didcot station to find the 7:45 to Reading cancelled! - if I hadn't, as an afterthought, booked a place in the Yellow Carpark "just in case". Phew!

It still might have been OK... but when I stood on the start line without having my nads (metaphorically speaking!) frozen off, I thought, "this.does.not.bode.well". Now I have nothing against warm days. But as any runner knows, an unseasonal warm day is Just Not What You Want. Runner used to running at 15 degrees, race day 14 degrees, no problem. Runner trained in 10 degrees, race day 11 degrees, not so good... A perennial problem in races in the UK due to our "everything goes" weather system!

I set off gamely after the 1:55 pacemaker (the original plan had been to follow them and hopefully overtake in the last few miles) and tried to ignore the lower leg pains which plagued me for the first stretch. They will (I thought) probably go away: there are (I thought) good and bad patches in all long-distance races. They did go away, and there were good patches. But they weren't quite good enough and they weren't quite long enough and there weren't quite enough of them.

I took the gels, and the water (bottles! Hooray!) and despite having realised it wasn't a PB day, plugged on as best I could, determined not to lose heart and let the side down. The backup goal was "better than last year" (just under 1:59) and it was clear that if I pushed on, that was certainly attainable.

So wrapped in a fuzz of uninspiration (no, not a word) I chugged gamely on, staring down all three of the bleak dual carriageway, the hairpin stretch up and down Green Park, and the seemingly endless plod round the outside of the Mad Stad, in an "I know you are coming and you can't frighten me" way, and then charged down towards the finish line with an energy that, er, perhaps I should have drawn on earlier! 1:56, watch says. 2 mins outside PB - hey ho - but a good 2 mins faster than last year!

Afterwards I was accosted by fellow VRUK-er Isobel who (with the resilience of youth!) had come back from doing Bath just a fortnight ago to score a PB today. There may be a photo later. Even though meetup logistics for a race this size can be a bit of a 'mare, I do seem to be lucky enough to just bump into one or more fellow clubmembers in most races I do! I know some of the lads (most way, way faster than me!) were meeting up at John Morgan's place today and I hope they had a good time.

Isobel went off to find her Dad and I poddled off to cheer on the rest of the group of my running friends. The better half looked strong (looks may have been deceptive, as he said later, "the 2:05 pacer just sailed past me..:(" ).
My friend The Unluckiest Woman In The World (people who did Abingdon last year may remember the runner who came a cropper with a pot-hole at Mile 2...), who was just doing this as a training run, came past a bit later on, with - how can anyone be so unfortunate?! - blood streaming from one knee (apparently some chap had tripped over and, er, landed on her).

So. No PB - which I'd really hoped for - but, you know, actually it wasn't all bad...

Last year, I was not reaaallly fit. I buffed myself up with carbo-loading and grim determination and slogged it out for a sub-2. I remember at mile 12 a leg started to go in random directions, but I just told it to please try "forward" for another mile and then it could do what it liked. For weeks after, though, my legs just felt trashed - like old beans that are all string and nowt else. And also there were unpleasant tummy twinges (IBS yay). Things only really looked up when I bumped into Shazza at the finish line!

This year, there were many good things about this year's run.
1) not a hint of runner's trots! Not a single twinge. THANK ____!
2) Last year - possibly due to keeping an even pace in a slower group - crowding was quite a problem - lots of people to go round. This year, nada. Although the sheepish suspicion is that it might have been due to everyone overtaking me... it honestly didn't seem that way.
2) although being in the middle of marathon training, and therefore doing more distance and less speedwork, probably helped put the kibosh on the PB attempt, I have to say it does make for a nice strong sprint finish! 13 miles, pffft!
3) I feel absolutely fine - not trashed at all! (Good job too as have Oakley 20 in a week)
4) - best of all - got home and found NOTHING TO CLEAR UP! - walking the dogs at the crack of dawn had obviously both emptied and tired them (because seven-plus hours is a long time for anyone to go without, er, going). This is an indescribably wonderful thing and makes up entirely for the over-warm weather. We are talking dancing round the living room weeping with gratitude!

Hope to hear reports rolling in from the others now...! Results and photos are usually out mid-week. Looking forward to seeing how everyone else did. Thanks to Isobel we know the VRUK posse scored at least one PB - a good start!

Milton Keynes Half Marathon - 8/3/09

Only a few miles away makes it a cheap event and traveling easy despite the short cycle ride. It was expected to be a wind affected run but for the short ride to the Open University it was behind. At least 2000 were anticipated, probably more given that the Reading half did not clash this year. Traveling from my direction and especially in Milton Keynes there will be the cycle/pedestrian access routes. When I arrived around the back or in fact past the finish there were very few in sight. Headed straight for the sports pavilion, used for the summer 10K but for this event it is about the further point away on the campus from the meet-up point.

Walking around the perimeter road, suddenly the car parks and mass of runners appeared. Arriving at the Berrill Building it was very crowded and a slow process getting upstairs to left luggage area and getting out just as problematic with long queues for the toilets with only 15 minutes to go. Luckily I had used the almost deserted sports pavilion. Lining up at the main entrance, I was soon joined by Andy Jordan of the VC&AC. In a good position it did not take long to cross the start which was not preceded by any sort of announcement or gunshot.

The large 1-2 miles loop around to the other side of the university where I entered was not affected by the wind from where we soon picked up the summer 10K to Willen Lake. It was only when we reached the northern end (mile 5) and turned south that the wind became apparent, first a crosswind then a headwind. It was more behind us again as we ran towards the M1 junction 14 but turning south again we were mostly into the wind until mile 11. As you would expect it was a struggle into the wind and I was thinking at that time in terms of 1.40 but from mile 11 I picked up the pace and like last year ran faster from mile 12 helped by a downhill stretch and I guess a tailwind as we approach the university. Entering the perimeter road we only had 100 metres or so to go and could see that I had a chance of breaking 1.38 on gun time but just failed by 2 seconds.

Regards
Peter

English National XC Champs - 21/2/09

The English National Cross Country Championships rotates between the three regions on an annual basis i.e. Southern, Northern and Midlands. In Winter 2008/9 it was held in the Southern region where it is normally held in London at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath. Entered in the men's championships for VRUK were myself and Dave Arnold otherwise we had members representing other clubs, Colin Braybrook (St Albans) and James Meldrum (Liverpool Harriers).

The Start / Finish area is close to the north London Overground railway line with Gospel Oak station a short distance away. I decided to use this route on this occasion and noticed passengers who just happened to be passing through the area were attracted by the event with thousands of runners and supporters in close proximity. Other runners including myself were leaving the train and at the time a race, the junior men's I presume was about to start. Unfortunately there was a late runner who should have been on the start line but was still at the station, making it known to other passengers as he stood in his vest ready to run. He tried to take a shortcut over a fence rather than the official exit but I noticed later that he had to join the rest of us which delayed him even further.

As expected there was the club's tented village near the top and to the right of Parliament Hill. It was very mild, a week after the severe winter spell had ended with the temperature around 14 degrees. Although it had been dry for some days, the course as expected would be muddy if not a swamp in places. Witnessed the build-up to the women's championship run over a traditional distance of 8K with the men's race over 12K. As usual the race start is very wide with posts erected to mark out the pens i.e. 1-10, 11-19, etc up to 300. We were also meant to enter the start area via a marquee although some arriving late jumped over the plastic mesh barrier.

Members of VRUK (me) were required to line up in the very last pen 291-300. With the runners spread out over a wide start, they were no more than 15 deep at any point. Given that it was a championship event, it was a fast start but one guy nearby soon tripped over the bumpy ground which would get a lot more difficult soon. The approach to the summit of Parliament Hill is very long, tiring and the gradient increases nearer the top. On this occasion it was also very muddy due to runners crossing from the tented club village. The first 1 to 1.5K of each of the two laps proved to be the hardest. Descending over Parliament Hill and arcing from right to left, the ground was treacherous if not a swamp, slowing the runners down to almost a walk. At the bottom we began to climb again but still in the treacherous conditions. The climb was not particularly long but combined with the conditions left me very tired but fortunately we descended again, more in a straight line to the next swamp and a shallow ditch. One runner appeared to have lost some personal possession as he search the mud with his hands.

After the ditch there was another long climb which was very muddy again which eventually eased. Finally the last tricky stretch with a diagonal ditch followed by a short sharp climb. The remainder of the lap was fairly standard XC apart from some muddy patches. The loop ends near the top of Parliament Hill from where start lap 2. Second time round, the difficult kilometre or so felt even harder otherwise given that the Southern regional event held in January was over 15K in more testing conditions, the last few kilometres here felt rather comfortable. As normal, the long downhill and flat straight to the finish line made it feel easier.

I was not sure if I still had my chip around my ankle as the flap came loose at the start but to my relief the remainder of the chip stayed tight. The recovery was fairly quick and the weather conditions made it feel spring like.

A long wait in the lido for the showers was uncomfortable standing on stone cold floor but luckily on this occasion for the first time that I recall here, the showers remained warm due I suspect to the women using facilities in the Harringay Athletic Stadium.

The championships move to Northern England in 2010.

Regards
Peter

Wimbledon 10k - Anna introduces new generation to joys of road racing

'Ultra'' Anna Finn has been introducing a new generation to the joys of road racing...

I did the Wimbledon 10K on Sunday with a group of sixth form students that I had trained for six weeks. We all had a great time and the students were chuffed with their medals. I didn't 'race' but moseyed round comfortably (my time was 54:24) - I didn't want to risk injury with a full schedule of longer runs approaching...

Peter Simpson was there putting in a very respectable pace (his time was 42:08) and we got a picture together, both proudly wearing our VRUK vests, taken after the run.

Hardwick X-stream (Bucks) - 15/2/09

This event is only about 16 miles south of Milton Keynes (home) but due to the time of year a cycle journey can be far from ideal. It was my first attempt at cycling here but fortunately the thaw had started after a fortnight of ice or snow cover. For several miles of the cycle journey the fields were still covered in snow but the roads were clear. Nearer the venue and down into the Vale of Aylesbury, the snow was almost absent.

For eight years I had passed the village on the A413 on the way to work, usually given a lift but never ventured inside. The village hall was the meeting up point which was obviously used as a school given the tiny chairs. The course was held on Manor Farm on the edge of the village. At the briefing we were told that due to the height of the stream, one of the crossings was being aborted, reducing the course by about 1/3 mile to less than 6 miles. I was not sure how many crossings and ditches there were but the conditions were likely to be heavy.

I was soon finding the going tough after the long cycle ride. The course was mainly around the edge of fields but included some significant leaps over ditches and jumping into the stream not knowing the depth. The first was approaching two feet and the second maybe three feet. A guy was alongside me on the second crossing and used me to keep his balance. Once out of the stream it took some distance to release the water from shoes and get back to some normality.

Running uphill along the perimeter of fields was especially slow but luckily the last two miles were easier and more downhill. Given how slow I was running and tired I was feeling, I thought my time was going to be nearer an hour but was surprised it was only 46 minutes. As for clean-up, we only had a few taps in the village hall. The organisers Bearbrook Joggers provided much needed hot drinks and soup if nothing else suitable before the long return cycle journey. The last few miles were not normally difficult but I was feeling especially exhausted and with a mile to go sustained a puncture. Even walking was tiring but once home and after quickly refueling I seemed to recover.

Peter

Congratulations to Ed Banks

19th in the Silverstone Half last weekend & a new PB!

Exbury Gardens (New Forest) 10k

Sidney DeLara reports...
Nice sunny day, fast route with just a few mild undulations, taking in 500 meters of seafront, where those just gently jogging could enjoy the view of the Isle of Wight. Last Kilometer through ornamental gardens, anyone taking part in run allowed free entry to gardens after race. Managing to run a seasons best time, so the complete opposite of last weeks 10 mile nightmare.
Thought the 40:40 (3rd v50) looked more like the usual - Ed.

Attention Oxon/Berks runners - new 10k race plug

www.toadhall10k.com

Salisbury 10 - SDL

Regular blog readers will know our correspondent from 5 and 10k reports... however his first ten miler was a little more "educational" than planned.. Sidney DeLara reports:
Never done a 10 mile run before. Salisbury 10 mile road run, rural scenic and undulating ,was up one side of valley of the river Avon and back down other side.
 I got it wrong on this occassion, out to 5 mile marker in under 34 mins but really suffered on way back, just seemed to slow down more the further I ran, really horrible to have runner after runner go past me.
Hopefully no-one had recognized him from other races and thought, "Sid's got his pacing sorted, I'll just follow him!" - well, if they did, I guess they learned something too. Haven't we all had races like that, where our legs pass Mile N and go "Hey, shouldn't the race have ended now? Oh, ____!".

Bah! Mablethorpe Marathon CANCELLED for this year...

hey ho...

MABLETHORPE!! A call to action from our Morg

Morg sez....well... this!
As some of you will know, myself and Stewart Boulton ran in last years Mablethorpe marathon, and I don't know about him, but I got some favourable remarks about my veganism and fitness levels while there.
The event will be going ahead again this year
http://www.mablethorpefestivalofrunning.co.uk/

They have a half marathon, and a full marathon, and as it is a coastal holiday town
http://www.mablethorpe.info/
It would be perfect for lots of vegan runners to book a weekend away there, and take part in one of the races.

IF I can manage to get ready for it without my planter tendon causing me too many problems I want to run the full marathon again.
Come on folks, contact all the vegan runners you know, and lets turn up en mass at this event!!!

Wye Valley Ultra

We heard last week from Ian Hodge who has done 30 miles near Ross-on-Wye...
Distance: 30 miles
Location: Ross-On-Wye
Time: 4:50 (ish, I think, I'll check if it's important)

This was the first event of the Vasque runfurther.com ultra series, so although a new event a reasonable turnout was to be expected. The route was to be an out-and-back along the river and into the Forest of Dean.
Not my favourite route type. Upon registration I was informed that a bridge that was to be used to cross the river had been declared unsafe the day before necessitating a change to the route. Now, rather than one out and back we'd do two, the same. Double wammy, I hate doing lapped courses, so my mood sank. Some others there that I knew contemplated alternatives, from differing routes to going back to hotels for fried breakfast and a lie in.

But come 9 am we were all there, and with a blast from an air horn off we plodded. Initially the route followed the river, then cut inland to take a road for 3 miles. After than a brief mile of woodland and then back to the river. At this point there was a chance to grab a cup of water before crossing the river for a 2.5 mile section before turning round and heading back. Then, the route as described, but in reverse.
Then, the same again. Not much else to say.

The marshals were great, no need for maps as the route was signed, but how I hated that bit of road. Four times. On the last occasion I seriously considered finding an alternative, even if it was a couple of miles longer.

My personal opinion is that a better alternative was surely possible, and that even the original route showed more concern for the organisers than for the competitors (I think they are more into triathlons or 5 k races). A new event, and one I don't think I'll be repeating in a hurry (if ever), even if the time was good (for me).
I think we all feel Ian's pain - those who don't, we admire your spirit of Zen calm...!

Berkie Half - another good result for Ed

We hear from Ed Banks (one of our speedy students)
Went back to my home town of Berkhamsted over the weekend to race the Berkhamsted Half Marathon, which I do every year. It was a lovely day for racing which just about made up for the gruelling hills - my legs still hurt as I write this on Tuesday! Anyway, I finished in a time of 1:19.41, the first time I've broken 80 minutes for this course. I finished 13th and was quite pleased with my run. Stratford 10k this weekend and Silverstone half the week after - preparation for the marathon is going well!
Well done Ed!

Cambridge Boundary Run Marathon - Anna Finn

We hear from Anna Finn, who says we won't be hearing from her for a "while" (a few weeks!)...

...as my next marathon will be either 28th March or 5th April - a bit of a rest should do me good! I am starting to feel a bit tired now... Oh, I forgot, I will be doing a 10K on the 22nd actually. Not planning to 'race' it though, just mosey round with some of my students who are doing it.

I did my fifth run of the year today, a marathon around Cambridge. It was ideal weather and the terrain was mostly good. I took some photos but they weren't so good - the one attached is the best of a bad bunch I'm afraid. (see Anna's photo which I *hope* I have attached - Ed)

It was called the Cambridge Boundary Run Marathon and it does what it says on the tin – a marathon around the edge of Cambridge - so mostly flat, mostly on nice trails, with only a few muddy areas and stiles to negotiate. I managed to fall over again and to get lost for just over half a mile. Nothing serious though. A pleasant day out, I finished in around 4 hours 13 minutes.

... I don't know about you, dear blog readers, but I feel strangely tired just reading this! :D Well done Anna - again!

Wilton House 10k (Salisbury) - top 10 for SDL

Sid DeLara has been flying the VRUK flag for healthy hearts
The British Heart Foundation regularly hold running events all over the UK. I was at one of their meets today Sunday March 1st . The Wilton House (near Salisbury) 5 and 10k Cross Country.
  These BHF events are ideal for running in  a Vegan Runner Vest. People are turning up more focused than usual on  health and 80% of participants opt for running in the free issued BHF T Shirt, also there are not many club vests on display.
 Nice  Sunday morning run around the scenic grounds of a big country house. Problem with a cross country where people choose either to run one lap for 5k or 2 laps for 10k is that it gets a bit confusing trying to work out how many runners are ahead of you in the 10k, with x country your field of vision becomes restricted at various points.
  With this event no results or official times were provided . So after finishing and talking to a few other runners who finished just in front of me , i was able to work out that i came in about 6th about a minute to a minute and a half behind the winner. So it seems at about 8k i was lying second but the acid test of the event was a big nasty hill at this point that had to be climbed twice and on lap 2 it definitely got the better of me.
Time: 44mins 20secs .
Overall Position: 6th