runwildrunfree

It's all been happening !

2011-07-11T19:42:00.003+01:00

Wow! What a couple of weeks it has been. Sport and in particular endurance sport has been happening with some spectacular results !!

Last weekend we had Marino Vanhoenaker break the Ironman World record at Austria with a stunning 7:45:58. Yes, 7:45. We all thought, wow, that is going to be around for a while and then just 7 days later, Andreas Raelert goes sub 7:45 with an incredible 7:41:33 at Roth. Crazy crazy. To put this in perspective, his split times were 46:18 for the swim, 4:11 for the bike and then the marathon in 2:40:52.

Also at Roth, golden girl Chrissie Wellington once again confirmed complete and utter dominance in Ironman Triathlon. I strongly believe that 'Muppet' is one of the greatest endurance athletes ever and she is still young in her Triathlon career. She turned up at Roth, nailed the swim, nailed the bike and absolutely obliterated the run to get another win from the front and set another Ironman World record with 8:18:13. Her previous record was 8:19:13 on the same course. She actually finished 5th overall with some seriously good male Pros behind her. 'Macca' affectionately tweeted post race asking her to 'stop running so quick'. Her splits for the race are as follows: Swim 49:49, Bike 4:40:39 and the marathon in a quite incredible 2:44:35.

World records on the Ironman circuit also ran parallel with some stunning racing on the Ultra circuit. Last weekend we had Western States 100 and this weekend we had the ridiculously tough Hardrock 100. One notable name from both races was Nick Clark who within 14 days got 3rd place in both races. Incredible. How you can recover from a 100 and then run a super tough 100 so shortly afterwards and do well in both is beyond me.

The Western States race was won by Kilian Jornet. He rectified the mistakes from last year and fulfilled his promise and potential to win the 2011 edition.

The women's race turned into a close run thing and after a tough start, Ellie Greenwood worked her way up through the field, fight of a bear and take the race win. This is a super achievement for the UK born runner in her first venture into the 100 distance.

At Hardrock 100 the runners had to battle one of the toughest 100 routes out there! The course profile is like 'Jaws' dental profile.

With over 33,000 ft of gain and 33,000ft of loss and some 60,000+ of altitude change this course is just a monster. The highest point on the race is just over 14,000ft so altitude plays a major part of this race. Add to this navigation and you have a race of epic proportion. So tough is the course that the winning time difference between Western States and Hardrock is some 10 hours!! The race was won by Salomon sponsored runner Julian Chorier. Julian is a previous winner of the Grand Raid de la Reunion and so therefore I guess he was a hot tip for the race win. He is renowned for his preparation. His winning time was 25:17:21 and in second place was Dakota Jones some 2 hours back with 27:10:00.

The woman's race was won by Diana Finkel in 29:27:39, her 4th straight Hardrock title. A great run as this also placed her 5th overall.

So what's happening at runwildrunfree? Well post Comrades I had some downtime and a holiday. On returning home it was all about catching up with work and commitments. I slowly got myself back into training and I ran a flat 50k on a ridiculously hot UK day. Of course, the weather came from nowhere and runners dropped like flies. It was carnage. I actually cut my race short as I caught Niandi for the second time (short loop course) to find her wobbling in the road pouring water over her head. As I approached I asked if she was okay but I already new the answer. We ran together and then at the finish line we bailed. Never like pulling out of a race but it was definitely the correct think to do. It was only a couple of hours later after we showered that we realised how much sun we had got; red, White and brown zebras spring to mind.

My main priority now is getting some good training miles in and trying to get Hoka One One shoes selling from runwildrunfree.co.uk

As you know, I have been completely blown away by the Hoka range. The Bondi B is now my everyday shoe for road or light trail. If the trails get tough I then use the Mafate. What I am currently quite exited about is the Combo XT.

The Combo XT is a combination of the road Bondi B and the trail Mafate. I currently have a pair on it's way to me, so watch this space for a review. Exciting times.

Keep running!

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Hoka One One Bondi B and Mafate due mid July

2011-06-27T18:55:00.001+01:00

runwildrunfree are pleased to announce the arrival of its first complete shipment of Hoka One One run shoes in July.

We will be stocking the Mafate, Bondi B and Combo XT.

Initially we will stock two models of Mafate:

Unisex version

Male version

We will take orders for the female version if required. However, we have found the unisex and male versions to be the most popular.

The Mafate are identical across the range, the only variations are colour and obviously size. The female specific version only goes to a UK 8 and then you will need the unisex shoe. Sizing? We recommend going a half size larger than your current run shoe (unless it's a Hoka)

We will also be stocking the road version Hoka One One called the 'Bondi B'. This shoe has just taken 8th place at Western States 100 worn be the superb Dave Mackey. We will have the following in stock:

Unisex version

Male version

Female version

The Bondi B is the same shoe across the range but just in different colour ways. The female version only goes to size 8 UK and then you will need the unisex model. Sizing? We recommend one size larger than your current run shoe.

Shoe orders can be made at www.runwildrunfree.co.uk

We will be accepting payments via debit or credit card using the PayPal system. Our prices include postage via recorded delivery within the UK with a 48 hour delivery time (providing we have your size and requested model in stock)

Special orders will be processed immediately and in most scenarios we hope to be able to facilitate any special requests within a 5-7 day turnaround.

The new COMBO XT model will soon be able in the UK and we hope to receive a test pair soon. Please keep an eye on our blog for a review soon.

We look forward to hearing from you all.....

Keep running

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Hoka One One to arrive soon at runwildrunfree

2011-06-22T07:42:00.001+01:00

Hoka One One will soon be available from www.runwildrunfree.co.uk
We will be stocking the Bondi B road shoe (above) and the Mafate Trail shoe.

The new addition to the Hoka One One range, the Combo XT will soon be available and I will update with an ETA as and when I can. I have not yet tried the new shoe and I am looking forward to receiving a pair so that I can provide some feedback.

For those interested, it is Western States 100 this weekend and Hoka On One sponsored athlete, Dave Mackey, will be racing against the best ultra runners in the world.

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Post Comrades

2011-06-19T20:54:00.001+01:00

Three weeks ago Niandi and myself where in Durban tucking into some well earned food at 'Mug & Bean' after a successful Comrades. My first and Niandi's 13th. Yes, 13th. When I met Niandi in the International Area post race I asked her "why on earth have you done this race 13 times, it's a brute"

Some time later I have been able to look back and reflect and I think I now know. It's a special race! London Marathon but more than double the length with the attraction of that super tough course alternating year after year. Of course the lure of the elusive 'Green Number' is a big attraction.

However, for me, it is not 'just' the are. It is Africa and the people. My memories of the this years pre are start with the Zulu men, the atmosphere of the music at the start, the support en route, the race finish area, the 112 hour cut off and then a wonderful weeks holiday in the Drakensburg and Johannesburg area have left me wanting more. So, although Niandi said no more and I said maybe - it looks like we will be back in 2012 for the 'down' run and my 'back to back' and Niand's 14th. Can't wait!

As I mentioned we had a weeks holiday post the Comrades race. On the Monday we had a 'Champagne Breakfast'. A running friend, David Ross had kindly invited a group of us to his sisters for a post race chat, relax, drink ad eat. It was perfect. Thanks Dave and Family.

From here, Niandi and I travelled for a really wonderful night at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains. The place was just stunning. Seven individual cottages set in a remote place. Inside the furniture was all handmade and individual. We were the only guests so we had the manager look after us on a one to one level. He joined us for dinner with one of the gentlemen who had made some of the furniture, David. We had a great night of conversation and relaxation while two of the kitchen staff looked after our food needs. A really great night.

The next morning we awoke to a stunning sunrise and a sumptuous breakfast. Today we had a lonf=g journey to Johannesburg but not before a trip into the Drakensburg.

We drove to Giants Castle which is nestled in the mountains. We would have loved the opportunity to walk or even jog but time was against us. We looked around, relaxed with a coffee and a slice of really excellent lemon meringue pie and took some photos of the views.

We then hit the road for the trek to Johannesburg. It is quite a long way and we needed to head above Joburg to a place called Centurion. En route we stopped at the smallest church in the world. A tiny little place with a garden and tea room attached.

A a tea room! More coffee and cake; excellent.

We finally arrived at Niandi's mums about 7pm.. Glad for the journey to be over we settled to an evening of chat, food and wine. I was liking this post Comrades recovery.

We had five full days in the area and we had decided not to run. Niandi wanted time with her mum and had planned a trip to see her father, me, well I wanted to see some sights and get a feel 0f Africa.

I had a really great day at a Lion Park. Managed to play with some 6 month old cups and then go into the reserve to see the wildlife in its environment.

From here I went to 'Croc City'. I guess a bit of a naff name but it did what it said on the tin and I saw the brutes up close. These guys below are 60-70 years old.

A visit to the Vooneker Monument was really enlightening as this explained it great depth how the Boers had travelled up from the Cape and moved into different areas of South Africa. The Monument itself is an impressive structure with a stunning exhibition inside.

Our holiday came to an end far too quickly. With lover 500 snaps taken and as many memories, I can only touch on our experience. Certainly in 2012 I will be taking what I would consider to be a 'proper' camera instead of my 'snappy' so that I can record those moments in greater quality.

In the following two weeks both Niandi and I have returned to work and we got straight back into training. The first week or at least the first 5 days were simple - run twice a day with a minimum mileage of 8 miles and maximum mileage of 12 all at any easy pace. At the weekend we stretched our legs with a trail run, Niandi did 14 miles and I did 18. It was nice to be on trail again after the 54 miles of hilly roads in South Africa.

This week has been more of the same, however, one or two of the weekly runs have creeped to 10 miles and the weekend runs accumulated to about 22.

Next week we have a road 50k race in Gloucestershire. We both would have prepared a trail race but it will be nice to go and do a race - purely for 'fun'. Let's see what July brings!

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Hoka One One

2011-06-16T20:01:00.002+01:00

It seems only appropriate that I tap my fingers on the keyboard and give a review of the running shoes that I have been exalting for the last few months. Yes, Hoka One One take a bow.

I first saw the Hoka shoes in September 2010. I was in the South of France for a weeks holiday before heading over to Provence to do Millau 100k. Ironically it turned out that a trail race was going on during at the weekend with the finish literally outside my apartment. Well, it wasn't part of my plan but how could I not run.... Luckily they had 3 distances: a 22 k, a 40k and a 54k. I was sensible and chose the shorter distance, it was only 6 days to the Millau 100k afterall.

The race start was in a valley some 22k away in a place called Sospel. Somewhere I knew well from my cycling days. To be able to run over this beautiful hilly terrain was going to be a real treat. The 54k race started earlier in the morning and deeper in the valley. As we waited at the start the front runners from the long race came through... In the lead was a guy wearing bright blue platform running shoes; Hoka One One 'Mafate' trail shoes. I made a mental note of the visual look of the shoe and I thought that at some point I would look out for them.

A few months later I noted one or two articles and a 'buzz' about them. Particularly in the USA. Some top end runners such as Karl Meltzer and Dave Mackey started to use them. Not only did they love them but they boasted about the positive effects of the shoe. In particular comfort and less fatigue. Both reckoned they had at least 30% less fatigue and running back to back days was easy! Or should I say, easier.

In March I was in Paris for the Ecotrail de Paris. An 80km trail race that starts some 50 miles out of Paris. You basically run into Paris pretty much 90% off road on wonderful hilly forest trails and pathways. It's a race I love. Not only because it is in Paris but it is on trail and has what I consider to be the best finish line of any race, the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.

At the race start I noticed the Hoka's again. This time paying much more attention. To cut a long story short, I had an enjoyable race at the Ecotrail but unfortunately suffered bad leg pain. In particular the quads and calfs. With Paris Marathon a few weeks later and then London Marathon I decided it was time to test the Hoka's. A road version had come out called the Bondi B and reviews had been superb.

I arrived in Paris two days before the marathon, went to the Vieux Campeur in St Germain and purchased the Bondi B. Note!! I recommend at least one size up from your current running shoe for the Bondi B. The toe box is a little narrow and they definitely size small. For the Mafate the shoe has a wider fitting and I found just a half size bigger to be best.

After purchase I immediately put the Bondi B on and walked in them all day. What I immediately noticed was comfort. Never had anything on my feet so cushioned. I felt like Tigger; bouncy bouncy. The next day, Saturday, I went out for a 5k pre marathon run in the Hoka and then one day later I decided to take the plunge and use the Bondi B for Paris Marathon.

Paris was not a key race, it was just training for Comrades Ultra Marathon in May so I was happy to take a risk as this was potentially going to be my Comrades shoe. When the gun went off at the race start I bounced my way down the Champs Élysées. The cobbles were irradiated and I ran smoothly to the Place de la Concorde. The shoes quite simply were a revelation. I ran the marathon in the most comfort ever and found that I didn't change my running technique at all. In fact the shoes encouraged me to mid foot strike. At the end of the race I ran an easy 3:05 and had pretty much no leg pain. I was converted!

A week later I ran London Marathon in 3:15 with the same experience. The shoes definitely reduced fatigue, by how much it is difficult to say but I would estimate the 30-40% reduction comments by other runners are not unfair.

Post London I had a good 5 weeks training to Comrades. Each weekend I was doing back to back long runs and some 4 weeks out from Comrades I did two back to back 50ks. Again super quick recover and considerably less fatigue.

At he end of May I ran Comrades (my first) in 8:39. Not really the time I wanted but I was somewhat taken aback by the difficulty of the 'up' run. Nonetheless the Hoka's performed to perfection allowing me to run up hill well and reduce the impact and fatigue on the downs. Post Comrades I had considerably less leg soreness than I have had from other ultras and found that my 'doms' were minimal.

The Bondi B shoe

The Mafate Shoe

The Good:
Excellent comfort.
Good feel despite the thick sole (your foot actually sits within the sole).
The Bondi B excels on road and I have loved running on hard, rutted and rocky trails in them. They remove pretty much all the harshness from the trail and they hold your foot stable.
They last much longer than normal run shoes. I have 800 miles in mine and I think they could go on.
Definitely less fatigue when running.
Definitely less fatigue from one day to the next allowing you to either run more or run more back to back days.

The Bad:
Sizing is on the small side but once you know your size this isn't a problem. Go a size up for the Bondi B and a half size up for the Mafate.
They are expensive at £125 a pair BUT they have a 'select' market and when you look at the longevity, at 800 miles they last twice as long as conventional shoes.
I found them a little warm. The top is not as breathable as other brands.
The heel area can rub a little. I have had two pairs of Bondi B, one I had no problems with, the other rubbed at first but now is fine.
The sole wears very quickly. You notice a big difference after 120-150 miles but then they seem to get no worse. The sole is so thick it actually causes no issues.

Bondi B after 800+ miles

Mafate and Bondi B

The Mafate sole

In summary the Hoka One One in trail or road version has been a complete revelation to me. I have been using them for approximately 9 weeks and they are now the only shoe I use. Hoka are about to release a new shoe called the 'Combo XT' which will be a cross between the Mafate trail shoe and the Bondi B road shoe. I can't wait to try them!

I think the shoe will develop over the coming year. I can't see it changing much as for me the technology, comfort and feel is sound. I see adjustments being made to the fabric on the upper and maybe a change to the outer sole.

For other reading I recommend you check on You Tube for interesting videos, I also recommend you look at Karl Meltzers blog and Dave Mackeys blog. Both guys have won some very good races in 2011 wearing Bondi b's also Karl ran the 'Pony Express' in Hoka.

Mafate (black) and the Bondi B

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A memorable moment!

2011-06-15T08:04:00.001+01:00

This was a special moment! I am actually in the video on the left wearing a 'White peak'.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=aEcBK9WPZuQ

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Comrades 2011

2011-06-13T22:40:00.000+01:00

So, even an Icelandic Volcano couldn’t stop Niandi and myself making our trip to South Africa and the 86^th edition of the Comrades Ultra Marathon. However, 24 hours before our departure we were pretty worried. Scottish air space and been shut down and a certain American President decided to leave Ireland 24 hours early….. You can’t blame him for that though can you!

The threat of further disruption was a real worry. Our journey involved a flight from Manchester to Paris CDG, then a connecting flight from CDG to JoBurg followed by an internal SA flight from JoBurg to Durban. Because the ‘cloud’ was in the north of the UK, my emergency plan was to jump in the car, miss the Manchester flight and get over to Paris for the flight to JoBurg. As it happened on our departure day, Wednesday 25^th May, air space was declared clear for the UK. Phew….

I hadn’t quite appreciated how long our journey would take. Silly really as I booked the flights and it was obvious from the paperwork that we left the UK on Wednesday at around 1800 hrs and arrived in Durban at appx 1400 hrs the next day. We left our home midday, lunch stop en route, car park, transfer to airport, check in, kill time and then we were flying to Paris on schedule. The seat belt sign went off, quick drink, seat belt sign on and then before you know it we landed some 55 min later. Paris, it’s so close we should have run….

Our connecting flight from CDG was only at 23:20 so we had time for a relaxed dinner. When we arrived at the gate I was excited to see that we would be taking the Airbus A380. What a plane! Not only did we have a super plane for the journey but also it was probably only 50% full. This made the journey far more pleasurable. I actually managed to lift the armrests and make a bed; albeit a small one. But as Niandi keeps reminding me, “You are small” – at least in height anyway.

It would be nice to say that the flight was over in a flash but for all of you that have experienced long haul on the ‘red eye’ you know this is not the case. Broken sleep, dry atmosphere and despite being on one of the best planes in the world it was still pretty uncomfortable. On arrival at JoBurg, despite having checked our bags to ‘final destination’ we were told that we needed to collect our luggage and re check in for our internal SA flight to Durban. We had 2 hours so it shouldn’t be a problem. Luggage collected, quick jog to the transfer desk, check in, run to security making sure that we put our guns and knives in the relevant security boxes and before we knew it we where back in the air for the quick flight to Durban. Land, luggage, hire car and road…. Some 27 hours after leaving our home we arrived at our beachfront hotel in Durban. Our view was the Indian Ocean, blue skies and a wonderful South African winter heat!

No!

We had thunderstorms, torrential rain and an absolutely horrendous gale force wind. Niandi assured me that “this was most unusual’. Yeah right… a 55-mile ultra over a super hilly course with a 100mph head wind and torrential rain. Comrades may just well be the toughest ultra ever.

We unpacked, showered, rested for an hour or so and then headed to the Hilton Hotel for the International meet up. It is a casual affair in the hotel bar but well worth attending if you do the race in future years. I had planned to meet up with Marathon Talk friends, Martin Yelling and Tom Williams (plus partners and ruby Rose) and also meet other running friends such as Ian Sharman. A good friend of Niandis organized this running event, Might Mark Bloomfield plus Bruce Fordyce would be around for a natter.

Post the drinks Niandi and myself went to the revolving restaurant at the harbor. One of only 31 revolving restaurants in the world. It is a little run down inside but it serves good Italian food and the views are worth the trip. We had a lovely waitress called Princess. Niandi had a photo taken with her and we told her that we would send her a copy of the photo. She almost cried with happiness. Funny how such a simple gesture can make a persons day.

Despite a busy evening we managed to hit the sack before 10pm and slept like we hadn’t slept in weeks. We needed it. The race was less than 48 hours away.

We arrived at the race expo the next day to see a line of runners all waiting to register. Apparently it was taking over an hour to get to the front…. We bumped into Liz Yelling who had been getting coffee for Mart and Tom who like ‘perfect Brits’ were lining up in an orderly fashion. Niandi mentioned to Liz that International runners didn’t need to line up as we had our own registering point. Liz informed us that the computers had been down for a few hours and this why the wait was so long. Niandi wormed her way through the line and headed straight to the front…. I was now in that position thinking that we were being mischievous but also I didn’t want to question Niandi’s knowledge of the race; she has done it 12 times after all and 2011 was going to be the 13^th. At the front we saw a sign pointing right to ‘International Registration’ and of course no wait. Niandi gave me that ‘I told you so’ look and I then tried to contact Mart and Tom to inform them. For some reason I couldn’t get through on the mobile. We registered. I had a minor trauma in finding out that my number and timing chip was in Pietermaritzburg, the race finish. Apparently I must have ticked the wrong box on the entry form. No worries I was told, it would be sent down for collection later. We killed some time, chatted and drank Rooibos Tea. Some 30-40 min later Martin and Tom arrived. Those boys love a nice long queue.

The Comrades Expo surprised me. It was much larger than I expected. It was similar in size to say London or Paris Marathons. Having said that, Comrades is the biggest Ultra in the World so the expo should reflect that! We passed the ‘Newton’ stand; I stopped and then said to Niandi to look over her left shoulder. Niandi isn’t one for getting weak knees at seeing ‘celebrities’ but I am really pleased to have witnessed Niandi loose it completely and become a ‘groupie’ in the presence of Zola Budd. So funny to hear Niandi say, “I have followed your career for years and years, you are my heroine”. Funny. Very funny. It made Niandi’s day and I am so happy I was cheeky enough to ask for a photo.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and then in the evening we headed to the Runners World Pasta Party. We chose table 13 to coincide with Niandi’s 13^th run and met a great bunch of runners from the USA, Ireland, UK and Australia. It was a better than average pasta party with good food and a very funny comedian for entertainment. A good night.

Saturday came and we had less than 24 hours to go. An early morning 3 mile run to loosen off was made a little extra special with both Niandi and myself crossing paths with the Russian Twins. I stopped for a photo. Niandi did a ‘u’ turn and ran behind them trying to get in the photo; she failed!

I collected my number and chip at the expo. Always fatal, expos sap your energy and you see people aimlessly walking around for ages. Maybe they get comfort from the crowd and feeling part of atmosphere. Niandi wanted another quick look around…. Of course more stands and products will have appeared overnight; not! I wanted out and some calm and relaxation before tomorrows big day. We had a relaxed lunch, saw a few sights along the beachfront, ate pasta for dinner and then retired early in readiness for the 3am alarm that would awake us for the Comrades 2011 Ultra Marathon.

THE RACE

Prelude

The shrill of the alarm came and with it the realization of a long day ahead.

Niandi and myself had come prepared (as per usual) with instant porridge oats. Black coffee was made and then a very early breakfast was consumed. We needed to leave our room about 4:15 am to walk to the start so I lay back down and rested.

Race kit was put on and Vaseline was applied to all the areas that were prone to chaffing. I mean ALL areas. I was using a camel back for the race so that I could carry my chosen liquid and gels for the duration of the race. I like being in control and not leaving anything to chance. Had this been a trail ultra, the questions over using this system would not have been an issue but because this was a road ultra with excellent feed stations I did wonder if I was being over prepared.

We started our walk to the start. We walked along the beachfront and then took a right turn that would lead straight to City Hall on West Street. As we walked I became a little worried, this was a road that you wouldn’t normally walk down at 4:30am, however, we took comfort from seeing other runners. I was taking about the film ‘Zulu’ and the scene when thousands of Zulus arrived on a ridge banging shields and chanting at the British Soldiers at Rorkes Drift. Of course the film portrayed the battle of 1879 when 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded to British Soldiers. One of who was Michael Caine – I had never realized he was that old! Not a lot of people know that….

I digress. Just as I finished the story approximately 30 + Zulu men walked out of a local hostel to our left. Now I know this all sounds to good to be true and that I am ‘glossing’ for literary purposes but just as the 2^nd Battalion and the 24^th Warwickshire regiment of Foot had faced up to the Amazulu people I thought this was my time to get a VC for UK runners. Some 10 meters behind I suddenly heard a loud cry and then in unison the 30+ men made the most beautiful noise I have ever heard. Covered in goose bumps and with a tear in my eye we made our way to do battle ‘as one’ against the enemy – the 54 miles between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is a moment I will never forget. For me, this musical procession to the start has left a greater impression than the race itself. It was magic.

Fighting our way into our respective pens, Niandi and I separated company. We would see each other at the end of the day. Niandi was in pen C and I was gladly in pen A at the front of the race, some 15000+ runners behind.

The second goose bump moment arrived with the South African anthem:

God protect Africa
Raise high its glory

Hear our prayers
God bless us, her children

God, we ask You to protect our nation
Intervene and end all conflicts
Protect us, protect our nation,
our nation, South Africa — South Africa.

Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom
In South Africa our land.

The cockerel sounded and then we sang Shosholozza, a Ndebele folk song that originated in Zimbabwe. It is often referred to as South Africa’s second National Anthem.

Go forward

on those mountains

train from Zimbabwe

Go forward

You are running away

on those mountains

train from Zimbabwe

Tears continued to roll down my cheeks. It is quite an incredible moment as ‘Chariots of Fire’ starts and then the gun. We were off!

Durban to Pietermaritzburg – The UP run

With the gunshot we moved forward with a cheer. It was 5:30am and still dark. What lay ahead was unknown to me. The only thing I was sure of was that the course was approximately 54 miles, we would finish in ‘PM’ at an altitude of 650m and that I would encounter ‘The Big Five’ en route. By the ‘Big Five’ I mean hills and not animals.

If you look at the course profile, the UP run is basically UP from start to finish with the first 30k without rest. I decided to forget pace targets and run on feel. Get to approximately 18 miles and then see how I feel.

I was amazed in the first 5k how many runners from groups B, C, D, E and F came running past me. Was I being over cautious or did they all know something I didn’t. I stuck my ground and run comfortable.

Running up the Berea Road to the summit at Tollgate it soon became apparent that this was no ordinary course. A brief decent doesn’t give any rest because you have been climbing for so long, in fact, the quads take a battering and then we start to head UP once again to the first of the Big Five – Cowies Hill.

Cowies is about 14k from the start and feeling fresh I maintained my effort level just easing off the pace a little for the increased incline. Here I meet a friend from the UK, David Ross. We have a chat and he kindly invites me to his Sisters for a Comrades Champagne Breakfast the following day. Sounded perfect! This early on in the race I didn’t find Cowies too hard. It is considered moderately difficult. Around me many started to walk. I heard one guy saying aloud “1 minute walk and then start running again for 9 min and repeat, come on, stick to the plan”. I looked at him – Green Number (means he had run 10 or more Comrades). I take a note and think to myself that this guy is on a strategy that he knows works. It’s a wise move. Stick to a plan early on and pay the dividends at the end! I honestly feel that Cowies needs to be respected purely from the point of view that by the team you reach it you have been running UP constantly from the start.

Down Cowies and I let myself go a little and relax into the downhill. I was cautious not to nail the down hills as this would obviously only impact on the legs and in particular the quads later on. I had purposely changed my running shoes some two months before Comrades to a new brand of shoe called Hoka One One. These shoes designed in France have been a revolution to my running. They may not be the best looking shoes on the market but the technology and the feel while running has proven to be a real plus for me. On the ‘downs’ the Hokas helped reduce the impact and provide a secure and stable foot bed from which to push on from.

At this point in the race my Camelback was irritating me. Why? Well in all previous runs over the 4- 6months leading to Comrades I had been wearing either long sleeve tops or short sleeve tops. At Comrades I wore a vest and of course the lack of fabric under the arm left the skin exposed and allowed the shoulder strap to rub. Fortunately the superb feed stations on the course had regular ‘Vaseline’ points so I made use of them to reduce the problem.

At 22k Fields Hill made it’s presence known. It rises 213m over 3km and it is a warning before Botha’s Hill.

I was still feeling pretty god here. I stuck to ‘feel’ and took the hill within my stride taking short steps and keeping my breathing easy. It would be nice to say that after Fields Hill you get some rest but unfortunately not. This is what makes Comrades so tough. You literally seem to get no flat…. You are either going up or down. Hillcrest arrives and you then have another decent. Botha’s Hill was shorter at around 2.5k long but by the time you reach the top you are nearing the half waypoint and the course is beginning to take its toll.

Another issue was my gels! After 30k I was sick of them. I don’t know why, maybe I was under more stress on the course than I thought or maybe it was the temperatures slowly increasing. Either way, my ‘self sufficient’ plan was proving pointless as I started to take water from the feeds, I used the food available form the relevant stations and I replaced my electrolytes with ‘Salt Tabs’. I am a heavy sweater so 1 tablet every hour is essential on long and hot races.

From the summit of Botha’s Hill it is a short but steep decent. Here many runners are starting to walk down hill. Yes, walk downhill. It is a clear sign that Comrades punishes you.

Through Alverstone and suddenly we are being offered a rose to lie at ‘Arthurs Seat’. Arthur’s Seat is a niche cut into a wall. Apparently Arthur Newton, five times winner of Comrades used to sit here for a rest when out running. Comrade’s tradition says that if you leave the flower as a greeting to Mr. Newton you will have a good second half of the race. I wasn’t aware of this and I am pretty sure that I pissed Arthur off when I gave it to a very nice lady sat at the side of the road. Still, it made her and me smile.

I arrived at ‘Drummond’ in approximately 3:51 feeling tired but not jaded. I was on the home straight now or so I thought. Inchanga is the kick in the face immediately after half way and a stern reminder that the home straight comes with a lot of effort. I walk / run up this hill sticking to a formula that I often use in hilly trail races. I have no problem walking in any ultra when the need arises. In-fact, I often find that I get better times when using this strategy.

My pre race nutrition strategy was out of the window and I was craving solid food and not sweet, sticky gel. Biscuits and a chocolate/ nougat type sweet did the trick and I found this far more palatable for the remainder of the race. The water provided on the course is in sachet form and ice cold. Pepsi was on offer and although I would have loved a drink I knew that I had to wait to the latter stages before I started getting a ‘kick’ from the sugary stuff.

Crowd support throughout the race was superb and being recognized as an ‘International’ runner created even more support. “Welcome to our Country’ was a constant shout from the sidelines. Families would be cooking at the side of the road, drinking a few ‘tinnies’ and basically having a superb day out watching some 16,000 people suffer.

We passed the Ethembeni School for handicapped children. The children lined the road all of them either seated or in wheel chairs. Big white teeth shone brightly and they smiled and cheered as I ran past. It is a sobering moment. Any pain in the legs suddenly goes when you realize that you are doing something that none of these children can do. I ‘high fived’ as many as I could trying not to miss anyone out. A deep breath and I pushed on.

Why did I give that rose to that woman? Arthur was pissed off and he obviously decided that NOW was the time to turn the screw. The irony is that in terms of course profile the final 30k is more ‘runnable’. The problem is your legs are trashed from the previous 60k. Therefore you just have to grit your teeth and manage your effort as best you can. I was running the downs and at this stage mostly walking the ups with a jog and walk as required on the flats. It isn’t really how I had planned to do the race but you do what you can on the day and make the most of what you have. I was well aware that whatever tough time I was having that I was still in the first 10% of the field so I had nothing really to moan about…. Well, apart from the fact that my legs felt like they belonged to someone else!

I grabbed a Pepsi. Wow, cold and with an ice cube in it! How fantastic. I can’t explain that feeling of the cold and bubbles hitting the mouth and throat when both are dry and needing refreshment. It was so good I take another being careful not too let too much cold onto my stomach. I push on thinking that I only have just over a half marathon to go. A lady at the side of the road comes towards me with a tray of delights. I stop and get confused by the buffet on offer. I jokingly say that she has provided me with too much choice. I notice a slice of bread with a layer of peanut butter on top. Perfect I think. I take the tasty morsel, thank the lady and walk on inserting the snack into my mouth….

My dry, parched mouth!

Peanut butter sticks to the roof of my mouth, the bread sticks to my tongue and I spend a good minute doing some sort of mouth dance trying to release what should have been a pleasurable experience. Lesson learnt. Peanut butter and dry mouths definitely don’t go together.

Little Polly’s is ahead, not one of the Big Five but it may as well be at this stage. To be honest, speed bumps in the road are considered a formidable challenge when your legs are so road weary. Then ‘Polly Shorts’ arises in front at 80km. The last of the Big Five hills. At this point in the race it is a brute. I don’t attempt to run it. I set myself in my power walk and aim to get to the top as quickly as possible. This hill is often considered the make or break point even for the front-runners. It is about 2km in length (it felt much longer). Altitude here is 737m and while it is not the highest point on the course it doesn’t matter. A hill like this at 50 miles is tough. A woman at the top tells me it’s all-downhill from here… bloody liar! She may not have considered the following lumps as hills but I bloody did. The end was in sight. The crowds, the street parties, the feed stations all rallied to make the final 5 miles a great experience.

In the final mile I could see the light towers of the cricket oval. Boy was that a long last mile. The road narrowed, the barriers closed in and suddenly I was on grass. Entering the stadium I realized that every single person who made the oval that afternoon was a winner. It’s not about time; it’s the journey that counts. A 100m from the line my calf went into spasm and I had to stop and stretch it off before continuing to cross the line in 8:39:41 for a comfortable Bill Rowan medal.

I exited the finish shoot and made my way to the International tent to wait for other friends and of course Niandi. I sat with Ian Sharman, he had been hoping for a top 10 finish after a stunning 6:01 run in 2010. By his standards he had an ‘off’ day with a 6:25. Wish I could have an off day like that… Ian felt he was over trained. He had been trying to balance Comrades training with training for the Western States 100 in some 5 weeks after the South African race.

Watching the screens and seeing the joy and the pain on every runners face made me realize why this is called the ‘Ultimate Human Race’. It is London Marathon but over double the distance and over terrain that is brutal; stunning. Niandi finished pretty much dead on 10 hours and considering some pre race injury issues both Niandi and myself were very happy with the outcome. This left our good friends Tom & Martin out on the course. It soon became obvious that they were having issues. To be honest, trying to run an ultra in a group, even a small group of 2 of 3 causes big issues. The main problem is that you don’t only have your bad patches but you also have everyone else’s! Martin had some real problems early in the race with his stomach and also a recurring knee issue. In true ultra fashion the guys zipped up the man suits and gritted teeth together to finish in less than 11 hours. After crossing the line they both expressed how difficult and brutal they had found the course. They give a good account of the race via the Marathon Talk podcast available on iTunes or at : www.marathontalk.com

At the front of the field, first across the line was Stephen Muzhingi in a quite ridiculous 5:32:45. Of course the Russian twins, Elena & Oleysa Nurgalieva lead home the womens field in 6:24:11 but snapping at the heels was Kami Semick from the US less than 2 mins behind. Notably we had two British ladies, Ellie Greenwood and Lizzie Hawker in the top 10.

Post Race

The race over Niandi and myself escaped to the quiet of Durban and a hearty dinner. You must replace those calories…. and then compensate for the 2 or 3 meals you missed during the day.

On reflection, I ran the race to the best of my ability, I always do. The course surprised me and armed with knowledge of the race I would do some very specific training runs to adapt myself to the demands the Comrades course brings. I was told prior to this year’s race that you need to run Comrades to know how to run it. I would agree with that. Next year is the down run and therefore a whole new set of demands will be called upon in the race. I plan to go back and get my back-to-back medals and become a true Comrade. Of course that will then mean that I need to come back in 2014 and do the UP run again…. Well, I know the course now so surely I must be able to run quicker!

The holiday

The following seven days were spent on holiday. No running just relaxing and good times. It was my first visit to Africa and most definitely not my last. Pretty sure you don’t want to read about our visit to the Drakensberg Mountains, the smallest church in the world, the lion park, crocodile city or me asking Victor Matfield (Springbok vice captain) for his autograph. Have a look at he story in pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/SouthAfrica2011

Here is my Garmin Profile from the race: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91901987

Lakeland Trek

2011-05-17T13:17:00.001+01:00

I have been asked by a few people to re-post my Lakeland Trek blog, so, here goes....

THE LAKELAND TREK

Photos here:http://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/LakelandTrekAugust2010#

Day 1 Monday 23^rd August – Coniston to Wasdale

We left my mum’s at 0700 and arrived at Ambleside for breakfast just before 0900. It was a nice leisurely start to the day – coffee and teacakes to help provide energy for the trek ahead. I also wanted to go the ‘Climbers Shop’ to purchase some trek poles. My Raidlight lightweight poles had broken and from the previous recce I had already decided ‘poles’ were an essential item to help on the climbs and decent. It turned out that they didn’t have the poles i wanted; thank god! I ended up with a much better pair and poles that are much more specific for future events. The Leki ‘Traveller’ poles come with a run glove so that you can clip the pole in and out of the hand in a flash. They work brilliantly and I can’t recommend them enough. So, with my poles purchased we moved to Coniston, parked the car and started at about 1100am. This was our first mistake.... you need to start 0700 or 0800 at the latest. Why? Well, quite simply the terrain is so tough that moving quickly just is not possible, particularly when you have ‘full kit’ and 2 ltrs of water on you. Also the rain... oh the rain!

We jogged and speed walked to start with and then hit the first climb which lasted for a few K’s to a car park at Roadhead. Here we headed right to Walna Scar. The rain was coming down but temperatures were pretty mild. We crossed a bridge and then climbed a very stoney strenuous path to the summit of Walna Scar Pass (summit 2106m). We were above the cloud. Pretty darn impressive. We headed downhill, the terrain similar to the other side. Tough, gnarly, rocky and wet. We finally reached a road, turned left and arrived at Seathwaite Village Hall. This would be checkpoint 1 in the L100 with 6.4 miles covered. We looked at each other and both thought wow! This is one seriously tough race.

From the checkpoint we retraced to a small church, opposite was a pathway. We squeezed through the stile and then navigated through woodland, over a bridge and headed for Wallowbarrow. The rain was coming harder and the ground was just boggy. Our feet were permanently wet. Passing through a farmyard we turned right and headed through woods to go around Wallowbarrow Crag on a good path. We took a permissive path and then entered what turned out to be the real ‘low’ of the 4 day trek. A boggy, wet, miserable fell and plantation area signposted to Eskdale. This area was miserable. We had no clear path to follow, the rain was torrential and we were slowly going higher and higher into the cloud and colder temperatures. We finally moved out of the plantation to a rutted, rocky and extremely wet underfoot section. It was hard. So hard, it made Niandi cry (no joke). We were cold, wet and tired and only about 11 miles in to the day. We both look back now and laugh but it was a low point. We pushed on after a little pep talk and at the top we crossed a gulley and found some shelter from a tree. We donned waterproofs, hats and gloves. This worked. It refreshed us and gave us a reason to carry on. One main problem with this sort of trek is that we are carrying minimal kit. I mean minimal. We both had 2 tops, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of socks, over trousers, waterproof jacket and a pair of ‘skins’ compression tights to sleep in; that was it! One set of kit was now wet and I was thinking how on earth are we going to get this stuff dry.....

We now took a rocky trail and made our way down the other side of the hill. We started to warm up as the rain eased. The terrain was still ridiculously difficult to navigate. The trekking poles proved an invaluable purchase as they provided that extra help and support to help keep us both upright. We arrived at Penny Hill Farm, took a permissive path and rejoined the main path. We now headed to Boot and had the wonderful site of a Pub. I needed to refill my bottles so it seemed the perfect excuse to grab a coffee, get warm, refuel and then push on. We didn’t hang around, maybe 20 min. Just around the corner was checkpoint 2 for the L100, a small Corn Mill.

From the Corn Mill we pushed uphill and headed over Eskdale Moor to Burnmoor Tarn. Again the ground was sodden and boggy with all the rain. Our feet were going to look like prunes. Heading NNE we followed a path to a wood. Wasdale was now in sight. We headed down the rutted, stoney path. Passed a climbers hut and arrived at Wasdale Campsite. It was now 1830. Our plan had been to reach Buttermere but this was another 6-7 miles away and with failing light, poor conditions we decided to call day 1 to an end. We were relieved. We were also relieved to find out that this campsite had a laundry room. Oh joy! We could get our clothes dry meaning that our following days were going to be far more comfortable.

The joys of trekking come when you have to pitch a tent in the rain, cook dehydrated food and hit the sleeping bag at 2100hrs.

Day 2 Tuesday 24^th August – Wasdale to Blencathra Centre (checkpoint 6)

We were so tired we slept like logs despite the wind and rain hitting the tent all night. We awoke at 0600 to make coffee and porridge. We packed up and was on the trail by 0700. Within 1 mile we had to cross a river. Our feet were soaked. We headed to Wasdale Head Inn (checkpoint 3) and proceeded for 200m, through a gate and then started to climb to Gatherstone Beck. We then joined Black Sail Pass and pushed on going constantly up.

The rain came and battered us. Needless to say the terrain was really tough and this was topped off at the top with hale stone. We tried to shelter but it was hopeless. It is so open. We headed down a rocky wet trail. You had to be real careful. Very technical and very wet. You could slip any minute. We finally reached the bottom and crossed the River Liza. We passed Black Sail YHA hut and then climbed again to Scarth Gap.

It wasn’t 0900am and we had already climbed 2437 feet. The sun came out and our trek down from the summit to Buttermere and the Lakeside path was a real treat. We arrived in Buttermere just in time for tea and toast and a refuel of our bottles.

Buttermere Village Hall was checkpoint 4 in the L100, from here we turned right past the Bridge Hotel and then right up Ghyll Wood. We now started to gain height again, the path here was much better under foot and it was far easier to keep a consistent pace. We continued to climb to the summit at Sail Pass. The sun was out and this section was really enjoyable. I made a slight navigational error which meant that we had to do a little rock climbing up a pretty much vertical wall to rejoin the appropriate path.

Niandi was not impressed. At the Col at Barrow Door we took a good path descending all the way down aiming for the right hand side of a small wood. We went through a gate, joined a tarmac road and followed until we arrived in the centre of Braithwaite. St Huthbert’s Church Hall was checkpoint no 5.

From Buttermere we had climbed another 2440ft so now a section of flat road was a welcome relief. I called in a camp site to fill my bottles on the edge of Braithwaite and then we ran along the A66 towards Keswick. It was funny to have cars and people around us. We followed the cycle path and then ran along an old railway track. Passing a Church we then negotiated a few road junctions to take a left up Spoony Green Lane and head towards Skiddaw. Now on the Cumbria Way we started to climb up once again and good paths. After 2km or so we reached a car park. We navigated left and then climbed up and around Whit Beck. The light started to fail even though it was late afternoon and the cloud started to come in. Rain?

We struggled along Lonsdale Crags, crossed a wooden bridge and then took the upper track heading to our end point for the day, Blencathra Centre (checkpoint 6). We had covered another 1548ft making the day total around 5500ft.

Our day didn’t end here though! The L100 route continues east towards Dalemain. I had already done this section and due to time constraints our plan was to head south and pick up the L100 route at Ambleside. I therefore navigated 2 or 3 miles to Burns farm Campsite, east of Keswick and directly south from the Blencathra Centre.

We arrived at the site, pitched the tent, showered and then settled to instant noodles, dried fruit and coffee. Bliss. Today had been quite a tough day. At some point in the morning I had either twisted or banged my left knee. Unfortunately the pain had just got worse during the day. I was a little worried of the implications. I put my ‘skins’ on, took some ibuprofen and hoped for the best.

Day 3 Wednesday 25^th August – Burns Farm (Keswick) to Ambleside

Wow, last night was chilly. Niandi slept with the following clothing on inside the sleeping bag: thermal long sleeve North Face top, Gore long sleeve run top, Gore Tex jacket, fleece hat, socks and skins tights. She still said it was cold..... Me, I just got cold..... Of course it rained in the night too.

We were up at 0600 again to porridge and coffee and then left at 0700. Today I was navigating to Ambleside. I had decided that if we got a good start and pushed on we could be in Grasmere for early afternoon and have a treat. A cream tea!

Leaving Burns arm we had a small section of road before following the path signs leading to Low Rigg. It was a lovely morning. Chilly but sunny. We got into climbing straight away and reached the summit pretty quickly. We descended and then took the path climbing up to High Rigg. Terrain underfoot was pretty good. Of course it was wet, boggy, rocky and muddy but we were now used to this. We expected no less.

The sun came over Staybarrow Dodd to the east and the light was fantastic. It illuminated the mountain ranges and showed us the beauty that is the English Lakes. Sheep kept popping up everywhere. They just wanted to be photographed.

From the summit we followed good paths to the south east corner. When we arrived at the road we had a small section to navigate before joining the pathway that goes around Thirlmere. This was a great section.

Good paths, great views and the sun on our backs. It felt like we were in Canada or the Alps.

Pine trees and Lakeland views. Halfway on the path we moved east, crossed the road and then picked up the forest path that runs parallel to the lake. A great section. We had thick forest to navigate through. Apparently this is a Red Squirrel reserve but we didn’t see any.

We now followed the trail that run parallel to the A591 crossing the main road to take the path on the west side of the road. Somehow I missed the official path and navigated south through boggy fields. It wasn’t a problem as we had the clear objective of Grasmere in-front of us. The main issue was the terrain. It was very very boggy. I decided with the help of my gps to move up the fells and rejoin the path.

It was at this point that Niandi stepped forward with her left leg and sunk straight to her waist. My initial laugh was soon stopped as I ran over to stop Niandi singing any further. Her shoe was starting to come off and I could see the panic. Walking poles stuck in the ground, Niandi took my hands and I pulled her out.... I was waiting for the outburst but it didn’t come.

It was actually about 10 mins later when I made her climb over another stone wall to reach the ‘official’ footpath. Back on track we arrived in Grasmere within 20 mins and as promised Niandi and myself had a fantastic cram tea. I can’t tell you how good a cream tea is when you have really earned it.

The break was welcome and we took the western path around Grasmere taking the lake path leading to the climb of Red Bank. This is a really steep climb but over good path and when reaching Loughrigg we had superb views over the whole of the Lakeland range.

We descended down and spent the night at a small campsite near Loughrigg Tarn. It was a simple site and unfortunately had no shower facilities. Thank goodness for ‘wet wipes’. No shower was compensated for with a pub less than 0.5 mile away. Oh the joys of some great pub food and a glass of wine.

Day 4 26^th August – Ambleside to Coniston

The coldest night of the week made for very broken sleep. Never good when you have to put clothes on to go to bed. We had no rain but we almost had a frost.

Our tent was covered in so much condensation and dew that it actually appeared as though it had rained. The sun was up and the day was obviously going to be the hottest so far. Porridge for brekkie again.

We started our day with a jacket on, over-trousers, hat and gloves. We walked on roads to the Skelwith Bridge Hotel and then joined the Cumbria Way footpath to Elterwater Village. This pathway was good underfoot and flat. It was easy to make a good pace and in comparison to the previous 3 days it was a walk in the park.

At the village we turned left and took the quarry road eventually joining a footpath on the right. We followed the path and arrived at Chapel Stile and checkpoint 13. It was now pretty warm. Finally we were able to strip down to shorts and top. Summer was here!

We re joined the Cumbria Way and headed through the Langdale Valley. This valley for many IS the Lake District. It is stunning landscape and on a day when god shines his light it looks fantastic. The path is good all the way to the Dungeon Ghyll campsite.

Turning left we took the steep zig zag path leading to the summit at Side Pike Pass. We crossed the road and then took the good trails around Blea Tarn to the south west corner. We were making good time and as I have said previously today was turning out to be easy.

From the tarn we had to navigate across a rough fell with no clear path. As per usual it was bogy. More wet feet ! On arriving at the top corner of the fell we joined the road and ran downhill to Fell Foot Farm. After a small section of road we navigated towards a small white cottage. This was an idyllic scene. The property is owned by the National Trust and is picture postcard material.

Taking the path we climbed up and I took the wrong path..... doh! I took the first right path instead of following the main path to the right. Gps once again proved a real help as this provided me with an exact location and confirmed my error. Having said that, it turned out to be a bonus. It added 2 miles to the day and we got to see a disused mine.

Back on track we moved along good paths to Tiberthwaite car park and checkpoint 14.

We now had approximately 4 miles left and today’s ‘easy’ day showed the kick in the tail. At this point in the L100 you will have now covered ironically 100 miles... yes I know. It’s a 100 mile race BUT it is actually 104. The climb up Tiberthwaite is tough, steep and technical. At this point in the race it must be so demoralising.

Onwards and upwards you cross a stream at the top and then have to navigate across open boggy fell with no clear path. If you were doing this at night it would be very confusing. By taking a SSW direction and just keeping going I finally picked up the main path to then take the tough rocky and technical descent back down Milners Bridge before taking easy roads back to Coniston.

Job done.

Conclusion

Firstly, the 100 mile Lakeland loop is a classic in the making. It is without doubt the toughest course I have ever encountered. Trekking it was a real challenge and very rewarding. To try and run/walk it within 40 hours is a completely different challenge. You have so much to take in to consideration. The course, navigation, weather and basically just having the strength and determination to just keep soldiering on is a challenge in itself. If you plan on doing the 50 or the 100 mile race without doubt take time to recce the route. It will prove invaluable. The road book provided for the race is superb but it is still easy to go wrong. I made a few mistakes, nothing drastic but better to do it in training and then on race day you can just keep moving forward on the correct path. It is also important to remember that you will be on the course at night. If you get the cold and wet weather we had with mist and darkness it could very well be terrifying without a sense of direction.

If you don’t fancy racing, split the course as we did and do it over 4/5 days or why not make the course 4 or 5 separate day trips. It’s a challenge that will prove extremely rewarding.

Kit Recommendations

I am going to recommend kit here that applies to a multi-day trek as I feel that you can edit the list so that you can exclude items that will not be needed for a race.

Rucksac – I chose a waterproof salomon XA running sac with a salomon chest pack. This was absolutely perfect. The waterproof main compartment kept all my kit dry. I didn’t use a camel back but chose to carry 3 x 500ml bottles in the chest pack. This helped balance the weight front and back and made me more comfortable. Also the front pack gave instant access to maps, gps and any other essential items.

Tent – Vaude Ultralite. This was brilliant. I looked at all options and tested many before making a purchase. This tent goes up in 2 mins and is free standing. It pitches with the ‘inner’ already attached and therefore in bad weather you stand a good chance to keep the living area dry. It packs small, is light (but not the lightest) and has plenty of room for two.

GPS – I used a Garmin Oregon with Lake District in 1:25,000 detail. The gps is perfect for finding out your exact location. Also, the race directors provide the full route as waypoints, so, if need be you can navigate the whole race via a handheld device/

Poles – I used Leki ‘Traveller’ poles. I consider these essential.

Sleeping Bag – It needs to pack small, be light and warm. Not an easy combination. I chose a model that did 2 of the 3. Unfortunately warm it wasn’t.... a change required.

Sleep Matt – I didn’t take a sleep matt due to weight but I would recommend one. I found the cold struck through the tent and this added to my cold nights. Thermalite do a range. They are not cheap (ppx £80) but I will get one for next time.

Cooker – Jetboil. The ultimate boiling facility. It packs small, all folds up to a neat package and gives you piping hot water in 2-3 mins.

Food – Light and dehydrated food is the best choice. It’s not cheap but works well for treks of this nature. I took fresh coffee in sealed bags and I had a nifty little device to provide filter coffee. We had instant oats in individual bags for breakfast. Just add hot water and away you go. For snacks I had energy bars, nuts, mixed fruit, cereal bars and other little treats to take while on the route and in the evening. I also had a tube of ‘electrolyte tablets’ to make sure I was hydrated all the time.

Clothing – Make sure you have a waterproof jacket and over trousers with taped seams. If you can afford Gore Tex – get them! I used lightweight long sleeve tops by North face (flight series) as they are a warm, light and extremely functional. I had normal run shorts and long tights made by ‘skins’ for the evening to help my legs recover. I had 2 pairs of socks. Would I take more clothes? Possibly yes. If you get soaking wet or cold you have little option with minimal kit. It is a balancing act.

Shoes – I used Brooks Cascadia Trail shoes. I have tried all the shoes on the market and for me these offered the best compromise. Good on the road, good on the trails and importantly comfortable all day.

Extras – I used a Garmin 310 gps to measure my runs and provide data. I had a Blackberry phone with me as this was ideal for emergency calls or any important emails. I had 2 luxury items – a wind up radio and a ‘power monkey’ solar charger. The solar charger gave my Garmin 310 autonomy over the 4 days and it also allowed me to re-charge my phone.

I could go on with all the other little bits such as folding bowls, cups, ‘sporks’ and all the other little nicks and nacks one can find in camping shops but I feel that finding these items yourself is all part of the fun.

Notes from the edge

2010-10-10T18:38:00.000+01:00

It's October and I am tired. It has been a long season and I am currently trying to re-focus the mind and body for Venice Marathon on the 24th.

Last week I was recovering from the 100km in Millau. I have to say, I have never felt so good after a 100k. I recovered very quickly and just 48hrs afterwards I was back to running twice a day. Of course I kept the distance down and the intensity easy, however, I did lengthen my runs at the weekend to 8 miles. In total I covered just over 40 miles.

This week I have put 'one more' endurance week in with 3 speed sessions. Again I have tried twice a day but I can feel my body is craving that 2 week rest.

I am very concious that although I have raced all year, Venice is really where I am going to put myself on the line and really push the pace. I have repeatedly said that for me Venice will be glory, a dnf or a time that goes beyond 3 hours!

Why one of the three options? Well, I have to push to see what I can achieve. I plan to be on the edge and when you are on the edge you can fall off. With luck over the next two weeks I can ease back, taper, rest and get mentally focused for the challenge that lies in Italy.

This challenge is not just mine. Niandi will be running after a tiring Millau. Since the race we have looked into several factors that would or could have affected Niandi's performance and we have conclusive results; low Iron! Niandi's levels are ridiculously low, so, we are looking at a series of treatments to get these levels at a required level for running. Richard Fluck is once again toeing the line and is desperate for that 'sub 4' after missing the target by seconds in Paris. Max Bonzo and his wife will also be joining us. Max lives in Spain but is Italian, so, we will be relying on him for all translations.

Future Targets

Apologies if I now get a little emotional. I often wonder how much I should include in a blog. For me, it is a form of therapy but also a way to discuss training, races and the implications they all have on my life.

It is important to remember though, that it is 'only running'. However, running is a massive part of my life and without it I don't think I would be the person I am. I have met so many friends, I met Niandi running, I have my coaching clients and all that they achieve and I also have the wonderful holidays and the locations that running takes me.

Earlier this year I should have gone to Comrades in South Africa. It was an important race for many reasons. It is Niandi's home race and one that she has done 12 times, her father loves the race and watches it but also her sister was running this year. If I haven't already mentioned, Manya (Niandi's Sister) ran this years Comrades in remission from breast cancer. Obviously Niandi wanted to run the race to support her. For me, I wanted to support Niandi but I also wanted to meet Manya and her family, also, I wanted to run the iconic ultra.

I remember watching the live feed for 12 hours and posting updates on Facebook. I was following other friends who were in the race, I was relieved when Niandi finished and then I was glued waiting for Manya. As it happened, Manya finished well inside the 12 hour cut off with over 30 mins to spare. Boy was it emotional.

For me, this is what running is about. It is about making decisions that not only make your life but define your life. For me, Manya was a star.

Post Comrades Manya complained of fatigue which is obviously understandable. We knew the race would fatigue her and we knew she would need to be careful with recovery. It turns out that Manya was increasingly having problems with breathing. Doctors assured her it was okay. Then we were informed in August it was fluid on the lung.

It turns out that the cancer has returned and unfortunately it has returned to the lungs.

I don't need to say more BUT I will be at Comrades in 2011. I may not be able to afford going but I will get to 'SA' one way or the other. I may even make it for the weekend but I will run the race and I will run it for Manya and for Breast Cancer. I may even run it dressed in a full pink outfit if somebody really wants to tempt me with a really generous donation. I have set up a donation page with Virgin. Your help would be more than appreciated:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=iancorless

Julie Deadman another 'PB'

Really enjoyed the Royal Parks today - London did us proud. 12,500 runners but the starting funnels worked well and it seemed most people stuck to where they had been allocated (apart from the one person from the plus 2 hours start that was walking at mile one!!).

Some parts are a bit tight through the parks but there were signs warning that the course was narrowing so time to think ahead and work out a route. Support was amazing all the way round and it does make a difference. The course does undulate a fair bit and there are a few changes of terrain. Felt really dodgy at about 4 miles when I had just taken my first gel and I think I swallowed too much water too quickly!!! I carried on and thankfully it passed, but I didn't have another gel then until 9 miles and only had a few more sips of water.Things started to get tough between miles 10 and 11, but I was expecting it and just a case of hanging on. Nothing like the sight of the Albert Hall coming into view in the autumn sunshine to give you a bit of inspiration!!! Plus, at that stage, I was starting to pass a lot of people, which is great in terms of motivation.

Really pleased to get the PB but I'm more satisfied with the even pacing right the way through the race, having had 2 "bad patches".

Have done the ice bath since I've come home to try and help recovery and my knee seems OK. It was a great sight watching everyone trying to get down the broken escalator at Knightsbridge tube station on the way back!!!!

All good stuff for Nice-Cannes in 5 weeks, just hoping the endurance will be there.........

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine,

Best wishes, Julie

SEIZE THE DAY

We all need to pay the bills, we all need to look after our families and one thing is for sure, we will all one day be gone..... I don't want to be morbid but having spent the last 2 years dealing with my Fathers early passing away and now Manya's illness, I want to make sure that we all live for today.... don't wait to do things. Don't get to a point in your life and say 'I wish I had.....? DO IT and do it as soon as you can; carpe diem

100km de Millau

2010-09-27T07:28:00.000+01:00

When you have an opportunity to sit back, relax and chill you realize how lucky you are.... I had this happen this weekend.

Niandi and myself were fortunate to be in Provence for the 100km de Millau. This is very much ‘the’ 100km race to do in France. 2010 was the 39^th edition, so, not only is it the race to do it is also the one with a history.

Millau is situated appx 70km inland from Montpellier and so therefore very easy to get to for a weekend. I flew Ryanair and the flight cost me just £30. However, I did get stung on baggage, my fault, but ironically the extras I had to pay cost more than the flight; c’est la vie!

I had booked a hire car for the journey to Millau. Although only 70k, public transport to and from Millau is limited and when you consider the ease of travel, a £70 hire car is well worth the investment.

Kit for the race

Millau is in the ‘Aveyron’ and nestled in a valley. In September the temperatures vary considerably and I therefore say ‘be prepared’ if you travel here. Niandi had warned me that it can get chilly but typically I told her not to be silly.... it was Provence after all! Lesson learnt. It can get chilly. Our initial logic. A nice bed pre race and a nice bed post race. The logic of camping was that we enjoy it and it helps reduce costs, however, post race, cool winds and cold nights we decided a cheap hotel was a much better option. So, here I am writing the blog in a room instead of under canvas

Niand and our good friend, Amme Valero (Mizuno Trail Athlete)

The race is highly respected in France and has similar status to Comrades – not only in reputation but in profile. It is a road 100km over a hilly route. The race also incorporates a marathon and works on a figure of eight course.

Starting in the centre of Millau you head out on a 42km route to finish at race registration. Of course, the marathon runners stop here, the 100km runners carry on for another 38 miles; yes, 38 miles! Sounds a long way when you say it like that...

The Race

I have really mixed feelings about the race. This was Niandi’s race and the plan was for me to pace her to a PB. Her previous best on the course was a superb sub 10:30. Over the last 16 weeks Niandi had trained to a plan designed by me to help that extra zip required to beat that time. However on race day things did not click.... The previous night she had had a restless sleep and sweated heavily. Looking back she had probably lost key electrolytes and hydration. Also, she was suffering with stomach issues.

We started on plan and to be absolutely honest Niandi ran a superb marathon, finishing at race registration in 4:01; we were bang on target! At this point she told me she was pulling out... I was a little taken aback. She had run a great race and looked in control but she knows her body and she quite rightly new that she could not keep the pace.

This left a dilemma which we debated for 10 mins.... the clock ticked by and it was decided that I would run on leaving Niandi to continue running at a pace that she could handle. It was a tough call. I find this difficult because I was running for Niandi, but I had to accept that my running with her was actually putting too much pressure on her... so, of I went. Niandi made a very brave decision to re pin her number on and step back onto the course with just one and a half marathons to go..... yep! One and a half to go.... real guts. I know how deflated she was and to throw in the towel, re hydrate and relax was a really tempting option which she refused to accept. This for me signifies the ‘ultra’ runner, it is that ability to focus the mind and accept the pain. Is this good? I am not sure. Did she make the right decision? I am not sure. BUT and this is a big BUT, I know what it is like to bail from a race. That moment when you pull out seems the right thing to do, however, sometimes 10 mins later you can feel fine and then think why didn’t I carry on.... better to fail trying than not try I guess.

So, I had to re focus. I had the urge to go sub 10 hours which on this course is a good time. However, I had lost the best part of 15 mins debating with Niandi and to be honest my legs felt shot. The race I had done the previous weekend in Menton had left my quads battered. Yes it had only been 17k but I had raced full out on a tough, technical trail course.

I turned the iPod on, put the volume up and started on the journey. I never use an iPod when racing but I had thought that for a road 100k it may prove useful; it did! In fact it was a revelation. I had compiled a 2gb playlist of fast, rocky, electronic music to set a beat. A great mix of Gatecrasher, AC/DC, Faithless, jean Michel Jarre, Afro Celt Sound System and so on... the tunes just banged away and helped dictate a pace.

From 42k the course gets tough. It is basically an out and back to St Affrique over three tough climbs that you do ‘out’, turn at St Affrique and then repeat on the way back.

I need to mention here the one thing I HATED about this race. Runners are allowed ‘seconds’. You often get this in long trail races where a ‘second’ can join you usually around the 60 mile mark to help guide you to the finish. In this race, seconds were allowed from 7k and they were on bikes.... boy did it **ss me off. They were all over the place and just caused a distraction. I just don’t get it. Feed stations were every 5k and they were superbly stocked with water, electrolyte, coke and a whole selection of food and yet you who had runners with a cyclist next to them carrying the local supermarket. Aaaaagh !!!

Surely these races are about preparation, how you plan and control of your effort over the 100km route. I ran with a camelback with 2ltrs of electrolyte, I carried 12 gels and I supplemented en route via the feeds.... why can’t everyone else? It may be a French thing, I have seen it before. Earlier in the year I ran a marathon when seconds were allowed. Why for a marathon? Rant over.... needless to say it really got me wound up and maybe it contributed to me knocking out a decent pace.

Back to the race.

From the moment I was alone my legs eased and to be honest from mile 26 to 52 I was running pretty comfortable. In fact I don’t think my legs have ever felt so good. Yes they hurt, of course they did. I was running an ultra, but they hurt in a way that I could control. I was also using new compression by ‘compressport’ – I had calf and quad compression and after this race, I am a 100% convert. They worked superbly.

On the first climb up to the Viaduct de Millau, a superb piece of engineering – I put my head down and pushed. Runners here were starting to walk. Over the top I ran the downhill hard, maybe a little too hard as it can damage the quads. When the road flattened off I turned the volume up and tried to maintain 8:30 miles. Of course, 8:30 miles feel easy for me but you have to balance the distance, fatigue, hydration and energy. The second climb came and once again I eased my pace back and ran up passing more and more runners. This climb was a little like the climbs I cycled up in the Alps with switch back bends and short sharp gradients.

A sharp left and then a long decent to St Affrique. Again I pushed taking more and more places. This downhill battered the legs and actually thinking back, I preferred the uphill to the down.

We circumnavigated the town and then we had to go back the way we came. This was tough. The course was now in your head so I knew what lay ahead; pain.

To give an idea of my pacing and how I had controlled my effort, at the marathon timing point I was in 397^th place, at St Affrique I was in 142^nd place. All I needed to do now was push on.

The climb back up was tough and those leg and brain demons kept asking me to walk. I had to battle both and settled for a strategy of counting 500 strides running and 30 walking. It is really weird how the mind plays tricks... I was walking and my head said run, when I was running, my head said walk.

I saw Niandi coming the other way with the 12hr pacer. We stopped in the middle of the road, kissed, and she gave me a cross and chain for the onward journey; sweet.

The 75k feed came and I had my first ‘Coke’. I always like to wait until I feel I need it. The bubbles hit my throat and it re awakened my senses. I took a ham sandwich and cup of water and walked out of the feed. Better to be moving when eating and drinking than stood still! I ate the sandwich slowly, sipped the water and when all was gone pushed on.

I was now running with about 15 miles to go. The long downhill and back into the valley with the climb to the viaduct to come. My strategy was to take one more feed station and then not stop and push on and go for that sub 10.

At 52 miles my right quad went ‘ping’! I was stood at the side of the road hitting it and massaging. Within a few minutes it eased and re overtook all those that had gone past me. The bit was between my teeth. I had 8 miles to go and people on the other side were still heading out.... hats off to them. They were in for a long day and night. That is some real mental strength and motivation.

The climb to the viaduct came and again it was walk a little run, walk a little and run. Over the top I let myself go and thought to myself no point holding back now... my quads and calf’s were doing that little dance that they like to do; you know the one; are we gonna cramp or are we not?

I was back in Millau. 3k to go. 2k to go and then finally the longest 1k I have ever run. I turned right and entered the parc. I ran up the finishing straight and took the left turn to finish inside the registration building and cross the finish line. With 20m to go my right quad went ‘ping’, just in time for me to enter the finish chute at a walk. Finish time was 9:45 and 88^th overall. From 397^th at the marathon I had made over 300 places; happy with that!

Post race I sat with that vacant look everyone has. I drank about a litre of water and what must have been 10 glasses of Orangina. I got my bag from the store and then sat contemplating how I was going to bend down and take off my shoes and my compression clothing without going into some sort of ridiculous looking cramp spasm. An hour later I was back to normal. Clothes changed and back into 2010.

French races always have a very good post race meal offering for the runners; although Millau was not the best it was adequate. Warm soup and bread, rice and ham, yogurt and apple tart with lashings of water. You could even have a beer or wine if you really wanted to tip the dehydration balance.

So, my opening statement to this blog was “When you have an opportunity to sit back, relax and chill you realize how lucky you are....”

I had this opportunity to sit back and relax and watch runners of all shape, age and ability enter the finish shoot and meet and greet family as though they had not seen them for years! Elation, tears, happiness, personal triumphs had all been conquered. Time means nothing. The journey is what counts.

A young Dad crossed the line with his baby in his arms, two middle aged sons crossed the line with their Father; all three of them had run the race together.... the tears of the Father showed a true reflection of the spiritual journey the three of them had made. This journey was obviously not lost on the three wives who waited for the three heroes. Equally it wasn’t lost on me as I shed a tear at the joy it had brought them all. Racing is about a journey and as I have always said, only one person wins, so, why take part....

The 12hr pacer came in exactly on pace at just before 10pm. No Niandi. Of course each minute that ticked by felt like a lifetime. Eventually at 12:15 on the clock Niandi entered the chute. I was up and waited for her with open arms.

Brave lady. It took some effort to head back out on that course with only 26 miles covered and be prepared to fight the internal demons, a tough course and obvious fatigue. BUT she did it and I know now the day after that Niandi is happy that she soldiered on.... of course it took its toll. She is asleep in the hotel bed while I write this blog.

Still, we avoided the tent..... ;-)

http://www.100kmdemillau.com

post race treats at two superb restaurants, L'Estivale and Mangeoire

South of France

2010-09-19T17:45:00.001+01:00

I have been in the South of France this week. Yes, I realize you all think it's a jolly. To be honest, it has been a combination of things. Firstly and most importantly it was my Dads Birthday 0n the 18th and Menton was the place he loved.... so with that in mind, Mum wanted to be in Menton for 'his' day. When you keep in mind that we spread Dads ashes here you see the relevance. It therefore has been a trip with lots of emotion. Not a trip I would miss but one that can leave you feeling a little drained.

In addition I still have to work and write plans. Thank goodness for computers and wifi. It really doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have these things, your office can be any place in the world. Lets face it, I would prefer the South of France to anywhere....

Also it has allowed me time to get some warm weather training in before Niandi and myself tackle the 100km de Millau (in Provence) on the 25th. I am glad it has worked out this way as it has been really hot here and coming from the UK temperatures meant one or two days adapting.

I love Menton, as a family we have been coming to Menton for over 30 years. It is a little known jewel. It is the 'last' place in France as the Italian border is just at the end of the Promenade in Garavan. It therefore has a wonderful mix of French and Italian culture and of course, a nice mix of food.

Menton was a superb base in my cycling days as it gave me the option to cycle in the Maritime Alps. This I did year after year and many of those rides had my Dad along for company; special memories.

The French love food and in this area they have a wonderful passion for fresh produce and in particular seafood. The daily market is wonderful. You see such great characters who have a devotion to gastronomy that is without equal.

Of course I have a passion for food, not only as a photographer but as a 'customer'. Nothing gives me more pleasure than a lovely dinner in the warm September sun. It really is perfect.

Whilst here I have been running twice a day as I fine tweak my form to Millau and prepare for Venice Marathon. On Wednesday I was in a local trail/ running shop and the owner asked me if I was racing at the weekend? Of course my ears pricked up. Race? Yes he said, a trail race in the mountains...

I made a mental note and looked for posters around the town. Of course it was Saturday (day before the race) when I found a poster. The race started in Sospel some 18k away and on the other side of the mountains. I knew the area well as I had trained on these exact roads - Col de Braus, Col de Castillion, Col de Turini.... I decided it wouldn't be possible to race. Logistically it was too short notice and I had no transport.

I left my mum and headed back to the hotel to do some work. As I walked alng the beach I saw a marquee that was obviously sport related. Curiosity killed the cat and thank god it did... it turned out that this was race registration. Not only that, it was the race finish, literally 500m from the hotel.

I asked about transport and they told me that for 1 euro I could be transferred to the race start at 0900 on Sunday; sold!!! I was in.

They had three races: 53k, 29k and 17k. For once, sense took hold and Ientered the 17k. With one week to Millau I didn't want to exhaust myself. I knew the 17k would be tough anyway as the trails and mountains around this area are tough! Turned out to be the correct decision.

The bus arrived late. About 20 min late so I was worried about making the start. The other runners looked anxious too. It turned out not to be a problem. We arrived on time, quick briefing and we were off...

No warm up, straight into basically a 4/5 mile up hill run on very tough terrain. It was a walk/ jog strategy. The heat was up, heart rate was up and I was pouring with sweat. I had decided to give this race a 'go'. I had this idea that it was only 17k!! Yeah yeah.

I moved up the field and settled with 2 other guys. When we reached the top, one guy pulled away and I chased. From here it was really technical trail running over rocky, gnarly terrain. Thank god I had trail shoes. Road shoes were just not up to the job.

The views and the trail was superb. I was loving it. It felt great to be running on the spare of the moment on new trails and in glorious heat and sunshine.
Every now and then we had a check point that we had to 'dib in' with a transponder on our hands. It was quick stuff. When your running 17k you don't hang about. I was really pushing as you can see from my heart rate below.

When you compare heart rate to course profile, they don't match! You would expect HR to go down... not so. I was running so hard that basically you had no rest.

The trail battered your quads and feet (I recommend the 'Q' compression). Rocks, woods, ravines, some tarmac and then eventually we dropped under the auto route.
Menton and the sea was in sight now. We continued to drop and finally entered the Menton area via the old town.

Flying down the steps and pathways I reached the coast road, dropped to the beach front and crossed the line for 5th place - top work.

It was one seriously tough race and a real pleasure to race hard over a short course.

This coming week now is about a few short runs, recovery and getting ready for 100km of hilly hot roads in Provence.

This race is about Niandi, not me. I don't plan to 'race'. Realistically it would be great if we could go sub 10:30. We shall see, if Niandi has a good day and I can pace her well this is a realistic challenge. However, the course is tough.

Keep running....

UTMB and Swimming The CHANNEL

2010-09-06T12:21:00.000+01:00

After the excess of August, this last week has been pretty easy. I have run twice a day but no speed and no hills. My runs were steady miles between 7:30 and 8:30 pace. The only exception to this was Sunday when I headed out on local trails and ran for 16.5 miles in the sunshine. It was a nice run but my legs were not as fresh as I would have liked. Just a little ‘tiredness’ in my quads.

To be honest, more important things have happened this last week than me going out for a run.

Firstly it was the UTMB (Ultra Trail Mont Blanc). A mountainous trail over 100 miles that covers several countries. The race has only been going for 7/8 years but it has become ‘one to do’. Obviously it is very tough. You have the terrain to contend with, the distance, changes in weather and altitude. Tough! The race started on Friday evening, the 20^th. By the early hours of Saturday morning the race was stopped!! The organisation decided that conditions had become too dangerous and therefore made the decision to pull the plug on the race and get everybody back to safety. I had friends in the race who had covered appx 31k. Obviously gutted they returned to hotels. However, the organisation made some quick decisions and apparently notified UTMB entrants that they could start the shorter CCC race at 98km at 1000am. So, with no sleep, stress and obvious fatigue approximately 1,000 runners re started. It turned out to be a classic with a British winner in the male and female class – congratulations to Jez Bragg and Lizzie Hawker – stunning.

http://www.ultratrailmb.com/

Jezz Bragg - http://jezbragg.blogspot.com/

Lizzie Hawker - http://lizzyhawker.blogspot.com/

Secondly, my great friend David Granger after 2 years training arrived in Dover on Friday morning to swim the Channel. As you all know, I have done Ironman which entails a 3.8km swim. The Channel though is 21 miles and that is providing you take the shortest route. It is NOT for me. I will have a go at most things but not swimming for that length of time. What makes Dave’s challenge all the more special is that he is in remission from throat cancer. He found out about the illness in 2006/7 and came through the dark times to embrace endurance sport with a new lease of life. After only a few weeks of the ‘all clear’ he cycled the ‘whole’ of the Tour de France route with the Geoff Thomas Foundation. An absolutely awesome undertaking and one that he conquered in true style. Dave was featured in the TV documentary ‘The Wheel Heroes’ that charted the journey of the 3 week journey and urge you all to try and watch it. He achieved the nickname ‘Custard Man’. Why? Well after the throat cancer he basically couldn’t eat normal food. His throat was so sensitive that normal food was just not possible. He needed calories and custard was tasty, liquid and relatively easy to get down, so, this was the food of choice for the 3 week epic journey. Of course he supplemented with gels (provided by SIS) and he drank milk. But his main food was custard. This was featured in an article in The Times newspaper. Please see the link here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matt_dickinson/article2211157.ece

So as you can see, Dave is a motivated fella. In preparation he swam the Channel as relay in 2009 and the ‘team’ set a new world record for crossing the Channel. The time was appx 9.5 hours – quite stunning. The bit was between his teeth. Dave prepared meticulously and as you can imagine, he has been swimming every day, most days twice and all in open water without a wetsuit; brrrrrrr !

Friday 3^rd Sept was to be the day. He left at 0500 and by all accounts he was making great headway. He was well best halfway when he hit a current.

As you will see from the images I have provided below this current kept him away from the French Coastline. He was basically swimming parallel for hours just waiting for a change.

That change finally came in the evening and you will see from image two that he finally started to head back to land. He had been in the water 16.5 hours when finally his team pulled him from the water, agonisingly less than 1.5 miles from the French Coast.

WHAT A STAR! As Dave said, ‘the swim gods where against him’. He is right. I have no idea of the distance he swam but I am pretty damn sure it was more than 21 miles. He was in the water 16.5 hours. Yes, 16.5 hours!! I can’t imagine.... he will be back. He has already said so.

I don’t see Dave’s swim as a failure. I see it as a triumph. It is an inspirational story that will fuel others to take that step out of the door and put themselves on the line. You have all heard it before but this quote says far more than I ever could:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

August Mega Blog

2010-08-30T21:22:00.000+01:00

Wow, what a month. Really sorry for the lack of blog posts but time has just been a premium. It has been a really busy month and I therefore decided to incorporate the whole month as one blog, so, here goes:

W/c 9^th August

Niandi arrived at Liverpool airport last night and I am glad to say she is in the UK for the whole month. Paris shuts down in August so it’s great we can spend the time in the UK. Our plans include work, training, camping and family. On Monday we travelled to the Cotswolds, I had a few days work in and around Cheltenham, also, I needed to take my Mum and son, Josh to Tewkesbury for the week. Training this week was all about enjoyment and building time on our feet for Niandi’s target race at the 100km Millau on the 25^th September.

On Thursday we headed into the heart of the Cotswolds to camp just outside Stow on the Wold. Two reasons for this, Niandi wanted to see this part of the UK and it also meant that we could run on the trails in and around the Gloucester Way. We decided to camp. Predictably we just got rained on... August! Yeah yeah

Our wet runs were followed by wet and windy nights in the tent. To be honest we didn’t mind. Providing it’s not too cold, camping in wind and rain is great. I love the sounds on the tent and in the trees as you are trying to relax and fall asleep. Of course logistically showering, running and wet run kit do not go that well together. Thank god we had the car with us. However, as we would realise, this was great practice for the Lakeland Trek later in the month. More on that later.

So we had several great runs. 8 miles, 12 miles and a 16 miler all on new trails and countryside. On our second run it was hilarious at the end. We were running through a field back to the camp site. We probably had about a mile to go.... suddenly two VERY big horses appeared. I ran past sheepishly, the horses looked distracted. However, as Niandi ran past, the second horse (the largest) took a fancy to her and thought it would be great to run alongside her. All I heard was ‘Iaaaaannnn!!’. I turned to see Niandi running along the edge of the field with this brute of a horse next to her. Safely out of the field we went over the gate and then re entered the final field. Halfway across I glanced left to see a bull... yes, a bull. Considering I was in red with red shoes, I didn’t hang around. This was followed with some great pub food in the evening. We had planned a long run on Saturday morning but awoke to torrential rain and storms. Later in the day we were heading to Birmingham so we decided to take a risk the weather would improve and run later in the day. It was a good move. We managed a nice easy run over 10k on the Canal System around Birmingham.

Our evening recce allowed us the opportunity to get in a good run of 12 miles the following morning along the Grand Union Canal. I must say though that we did party the night before at the ‘Jam House’. This is Jools Holland’s place. It’s a great venue for food and live music. We hit the sack about 2am and was on the path at 0730am. It was flat easy running but the weather played ball and we were treated to some sun and lovely scenery. All the locks, canal boats and wildlife made this a really great run.

First week done !

W/c 16^th August

We headed back up to Merseyside for this week staying at my Mums house. Again we had Josh with us as he is still on Summer Holiday. Our training mainly consisted of local trails and road running this week. We worked on endurance and speed. I had a couple of great sessions, in particular 8 miles in under 50 min. This was a great session for me as it was a really great indicator that my speed is starting to come in prep for Venice in October.

Niandi also worked on speed but obviously this was relative to the Millau target, so, her speed sessions were at Marathon Pace.

On Wednesday we decided on another camping trip to the Yorkshire Dales staying around Malham in what has to be one of the best camp site locations around. A superb camp site at Gorsdale Scar. A natural stone amphitheatre.

Thursday we awoke to rain! Nothing new here then.... we got on the trails early and had a great run over about 14 miles. Really love the runs over new terrain with an overnight camp. It seems to make everything make more sense. A journey! It is so easy to do and something that we have both decided to do more often. We all run our same loops over the same terrain or roads when actually if we just travelled a relatively short distance we can have a whole new experience.

We ran up some steep trails, around Roman ruins, around Malham Tarn and the re navigated over the ‘tops’ back to the camp site. It was a great run.

Photographs are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/YorkshireDales082010#

So for the end of the week we hit the local roads and trails, of course in the wet. It seems to be the August picture; rain rain rain. Topping up our mileage with double days, speed work and endurance we ended the week feeling really excited about the week ahead.

The week ahead? Well this was our planned overload week.... What did that involve? Read on.

W/c 23^rd August

We had planned to add some spice to our training for late August. When you train for ultra, time on your feet can sometimes become tiring and well, boring. As I have mentioned previously, for 2011 I am going to be involved in the Lakeland 100 and 50 mile races. I therefore decided I wanted to cover the entire course so that I not only could navigate the route but so that I could also understand what the event involved. The easiest way to do this is split the route and cover the distance over several days. I had already covered mile 50 to 81 and so our main intention for the week ahead was to cover the ‘missed’ bits.

The course is a loop which starts and finishes in Coniston. Our plan therefore was to speed trek with full kit – tent, sleeping bags, food, cooker, and clothes... basically everything we would need. I will go into detail re the kit later in the blog.

THE LAKELAND TREK

Photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/LakelandTrekAugust2010#

Day 1 Monday 23^rd August – Coniston to Wasdale

The joys of trekking come when you have to pitch a tent in the rain, cook dehydrated food and hit the sleeping bag at 2100hrs.

Day 2 Tuesday 24^th August – Wasdale to Blencathra Centre (checkpoint 6)

Day 3 Wednesday 25^th August – Burns Farm (Keswick) to Ambleside

Good paths, great views and the sun on our backs. It felt like we were in Canada or the Alps.

Day 4 26^th August – Ambleside to Coniston

The coldest night of the week made for very broken sleep. Never good when you have to put clothes on to go to bed. We had no rain but we almost had a frost.

Back on track we moved along good paths to Tiberthwaite car park and checkpoint 14.

Job done.

Conclusion

If you don’t fancy racing, split the course as we did and do it over 4/5 days or why not make the course 4 or 5 separate day trips. It’s a challenge that will prove extremely rewarding.

Kit Recommendations

I am going to recommend kit here that applies to a multi-day trek as I feel that you can edit the list so that you can exclude items that will not be needed for a race.

Poles – I used Leki ‘Traveller’ poles. I consider these essential.

Sleeping Bag – It needs to pack small, be light and warm. Not an easy combination. I chose a model that did 2 of the 3. Unfortunately warm it wasn’t.... a change required.

Cooker – Jetboil. The ultimate boiling facility. It packs small, all folds up to a neat package and gives you piping hot water in 2-3 mins.

POST LAKELAND

We arrived back at mums early on Thursday evening and devoured a Fish and Chip supper, a glass of wine or two and then settled into a lovely warm bed with a duvet – joy.

Friday was a rest day and on Saturday I went out and ran just over 4 miles to loosen up. It felt funny to be running without all this added weight. It was liberating.

Sunday 29^th August – Fleetwood Marathon

A big week needs a big ending and what better way to finish than with a marathon. Niandi and myself were up early at 0600am to our usual breakfast of porridge and coffee and then we headed north on the M6 to Fleetwood. Guess what? Gale force winds and torrential rain.... boy oh boy... no wonder the French think that it always rains n the UK.

Race start was 0930am and luckily the rain stopped. The wind did not however. I have never run a race in such strong winds. The Coast Guard was actually considering cancelling the race as we had to run along the Coastal Path next to the sea. In many places it was possible to be blown over. The sand swirled and filled your eyes, nose and mouth. It was tough.

We started with two small loops. On the second loop the marathon runners headed to Blackpool and the half marathon runners headed back to Fleetwood.

After being sand blasted for a few miles we ran parallel to the beach with a whopping tail wind. I felt great and ran at sub 6:30 pace. The turn was at Blackpool (mile 16). I was in 9^th place. Suddenly we had a head wind..... whoa... 6:30’s became 8 min miles and what a struggle. I was in a group with 4 other runners. We all pushed trying to keep pace but it was a mighty slog.

At mile 20 we turned back towards Blackpool and had a tail wind for approximately 0.5 mile. I decide to attack. But some space between me and the other 3 and then they would have to fight the wind to catch me. Still feeling great I just pushed as hard as I could.

I got another runner at mile 23 and at mile 24 I could see another guy in-front. By now i had picked up the pace to 7 min miles despite the wind. As i entered the finish I missed 3^rd place by 3-4 meters in 3:02:20. Boy was I pleased. This wasn’t even an ‘A’ race and I had run as though it was.

Niandi had a good run despite the conditions and stuck to the target of pacing herself to her Millau target for the end of September. Initially she was a little disappointed that she hadn’t run quicker, but when you take into account the days before and the wind, she had a great race and fulfilled the purpose of the week – overload.

I am back....

2010-08-08T20:11:00.000+01:00

It seems ages since I last blogged and I suppose it is. Actually it is only two Sundays.

I suppose I really don’t have much to report on myself. Training is going well. I am continually building my mileage and I used my holiday week in Spain to start running twice a day.... why start on holiday I hear you ask? Well simple really. I didn’t want to do long runs on holiday and therefore the option of two short runs worked well. I did a couple of 9 mile morning runs along the beach with Niandi, but on the whole I ran between 3-5 miles twice a day at an easy pace.

This worked really well. It meant I got extra sleep (we needed it). It also meant that I spent my time with Mum, the boy and Niandi. It was nice to kick back and take the pressure away from the need to run and train. As you can imagine, the lack of running was replaced with pool time, beach time, eating, drinking and basically late nights. So, now both Niandi and I need a holiday....

This week I have got back into hard training with a tough week. I have done long runs, tempo runs, short recovery runs, trail and road. One run in particular that went really well was a 12 mile run over a very tough undulating route with 3 climbs. I ran hard and went to max HR on all 3 hills covering the 12 miles in 1:23. It wasn’t the time that mattered but the fact I couldn’t have gone much harder over that terrain. The next day I could feel it so I was happy with my effort. Today, Sunday I ran 20 miles trail at 8min miles. It was one of those runs that when I went out I could have turned back after 4 miles, but I put my head down and pushed on. In the end it turned out to be a good end to a very tough week.

Niandi arrives in the UK tonight for 3 weeks which is great. We are going to train together and be specific for our run at the 100km de Millau in September. But first we have a massive week planned for the 23^rd August. Our plan is to run 180km in the Lake District over 4 days carrying all our kit, including tent and being self sufficient. Tentative plans are between a marathon and 35 miles per day and we will circumnavigate the whole of the Lakes taking in over 22,000 feet of very rough and tough wild terrain. It is going to be great fun. I hope the weather is kind.

After our 4^th day we will have two easy days and then run a road marathon on the Sunday in Fleetwood. Obviously we will just be running and not racing!

Clients have been racing and in particular Julie, Nick and Richard. Julie PB’d once again over a 5 mile circuit to get a 37 min time. Nick did sub 10 (9:54) at Ironman Roth and Richard Fluck knocked 10 mn off his half marathon time in his build up for Venice. I am always pleased with clients PB ing but Richard in particular provides great satisfaction. He is really committed to his run targets and work and family sometimes make his task difficult. It was only 4 weeks ago when he was completely fed up and un motivated. By removing targets and just getting him running, he got the LOVE back. The results are obvious with a 1:52 – brilliant!

Fireworks, Trails and World Records

2010-07-19T11:13:00.000+01:00

Another week has passed and more miles in the bank. This last week saw a similar total mileage as last week but with some added tempo work. Not ‘speed’ work, just tempo. The main reason for this is not to become too sluggish and get used to a really comfortable endurance pace. A key session of the week was Sunday. Last week I ran 23 miles in a real steady 3:40 – this was about time on the feet! However, the plan this week was to go out and run a similar distance but substantially quicker (not marathon pace). This I did over a muddy, hilly trail route in a constant drizzle. Although I covered approximately a mile less the time was 2:57, so, this was perfect.

The weekly schedule was as follows:

Monday – rest day

Tuesday – AM: 7.5 miles tempo. PM: 12 miles steady

Wednesday – 18.5 mile trail run

Thursday – 8 miles tempo

Friday – 13.2 miles tempo

Saturday – 8.2 miles ‘loco’ (getting faster and then a cool down)

Sunday – 22 miles trail

You will see that at the moment I am not doing double days (except Tuesday). The reason for this is to re-build and allow a little more rest. The individual days have been relatively high mileage or have had some pace and so therefore I have wanted to layer gradually. This coming week will see more double sessions. The following week I will drop volume, double session most days and alternate with tempo and easy runs ready to go into the next phase in August.

One particular run this last week was really great. On Wednesday, Bastille Day, a public holiday in France, we were confronted with some horrendous thunder storms. We therefore spent most of the day relaxing and itching to get out. Our patience was rewarded with a brilliant end to the day. So, at 5pm we headed out for a planned 16 mile run (this turned into 18.5). We headed out along the Seine and then up a steep little climb called the ‘Cote des Gare’ which lead to the Observatoire and stunning views over Paris.

The Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur clearly apparent on the horizon. From here we headed into the Foret de Meudon. The forest really is a running paradise and much of its trails get used in the ‘EcoTrail de Paris’. Heading out we then ran through some small villages to arrive at ‘Versaille’.

What a great way to go sightseeing; run! From here we re-joined the EcoTrail route and re navigated back towards Paris taking in more woodland trail and some beautiful towns. A nice run around a lake.

Through a park, back to Ville D’Avray and then we were back in the Parc de St Cloud to re trace to the Seine and make our way back to the apartment. Great run.

Always nice to run on new trails or re-run trails that you haven’t run on for some time.... we all fall into the trap of running the same routes week in and week out. If you really want to spice your training up, just head off and do something new. Maybe run a ‘usual’ route the opposite way, get a train somewhere and then run home (a favourite), nothing quite like the incentive of ‘having’ to reach home!

So it has been a good solid week of training. When you add to that some really great Parisian weather, firework displays, Bastille Day and of course some great weather, you realize what a great sport running is!

As I write this, Nick Weston and James Letley are competing at IRONMAN ROTH – I currently know that Nick has smashed his PB and just clocked a 9:54 – bloody great! That was our best case scenario for the race and Nick has come up with the goods. Well done. James was still out on course when I had to leave the transmission so I didn’t get an update. He was on for around 12:30 if he could keep his run pace but I know that James was in many ways dreading the run.... he will have finished though, I am sure!!!

Finally I need to mention Chrissie Wellington. Chrissie is our ‘elite’ Ironlady and once again she set Roth alight with not only a win but another IM world record – 8:19 !!!! Amazing. She was so quick that she would have got 6^th place in the men’s race.

Keep training – don’t wait for tomorrow for something you can do today!

Hot in Paris !

2010-07-12T09:22:00.001+01:00

This week has seen me and Niandi step up our training for our next challenges. Both of us have had a relatively easy few weeks; I was recovering from Marne et Gondoire Marathon and the Lakeland 50 recce, Niandi was primarily recovering from Comrades and Marne et Gondoire Marathon too.

So, the new targets – well we are planning a ‘killer’ week for the end of August. This will see us running 170k over 4 days on tough trails, climbing 22,000ft and carrying all our kit and food. It is what is called a ‘through hike’. We will be travelling light and moving fast. By ‘fast’ I mean we will be walk/ running – not strolling along. I have set out the distances so it simulates something like the MDS, so, 40k on the first day, 60k on the second, 45k on the third and then 35k on the last day. We will then have two days rest and go and run a road marathon (not for time) but to add some ‘tempo’ to what will have been a gruelling week. This is all in preparation for a 100km race some 4 weeks later; the ‘100km de Millau’. This is a road race over some tough undulating terrain in the South of France, so, it represents a real challenge. Niandi has run this race before but we hope to go this year and set a new PB. A month later we will then head to Venice for the marathon where I plan to thrash myself into the ground and set a new PB. So, method in the madness as you can see...

Anyway, back to this week! I have been in Paris all this week planning ahead for 2011 and the EcoTrail de Paris. What a week to be in Paris..... SO HOT! The temperatures have been extreme. Both Niandi and myself have run every day and we have cooked. Consistently in the 30’s but temperatures on Friday reached 45 apparently! Training wise it has been an ‘easy’ pace week but building on mileage. So how did the week look?

Monday – recovery 4 miles

Tuesday – 14 miles

Wednesday – 15.2 miles

Thursday – 9 miles (hill repeats)

Friday – rest

Saturday – 16 miles

Sunday – 23 miles

So, a really great mileage week and all run at a nice steady pace to help re establish the endurance base. Not much point in going into too much detail in regard to the runs but on Sunday I took out my camera and I thought it would make a nice photo story of the 23 miles covered, so, hear goes....

Sunday 11^th July 2010 – Paris, France

We set the alarm for 0600 with the plan to be out of the door and on the road at 0630. Temperatures once again were going to be ‘hot’ in Paris and considering we were heading out for potentially 4 hours it made sense to slowly adapt to the increasing heat from a nice cool start. We filled up our camel backs with electrolyte and headed out.

It was already warm, no, it was already hot! No rush today so the plan was to tick along at 9 min miles and just run nice and steady.

We ran along the Seine and headed to the Pont de Sevres, crossed the Seine and then ran along its banks heading towards Longchamp race course and the Bois de Boulogne. We had decided to run along the trails and around the Lakes of the Bois to build up some time and distance before re crossing the Seine and heading into the Parcs.

The Bois de Boulogne really is so special. It’s that touch of green and escapism within the centre of Paris. Of course, if you have run Paris Marathon, you will be familiar with the Bois as it leads you into the finish of the race. Early on a Sunday morning the Parc is quiet; rabbits crossed our path, we saw grey squirrels, red squirrels, all sorts of birds, ducklings on the lake and transsexuals in the bushes........ OMG !!!! I am open minded but I wasn’t quite prepared for this one! Women (or men changed to women) are everywhere AND they don’t wear much.... Big boobs, long legs and basically just dressed in underwear – so much for keeping my HR at 75%. Niandi was telling me the story of where all these ladies (men) come from. Apparently, Brazil.

I am so naive sometimes. “NO, she’s not a man” I would say and then Niandi would categorically confirm that he/ she was! At this point I started to feel a little queasy..... One or two of them were pretty good looking! Or was it the heat? Maybe it was dehydration... Tell you what, the miles ticked by for a while until our path was blocked by a motorbike. Of course, a motorbike in the middle of the trail can only mean one thing... so, the sensible thing would have been to put your head down, keep your eyes forward and keep running. Oh no! Not me... way too curious for that. One quick glance left to see a lady (or man) on both knees praying to the young motor-biker – it was Sunday after all!

Suddenly 10 miles were covered and were doing a lap of Longchamp and then crossing the Seine to head through the village of Saint Cloud and then enter the Parc de St Cloud.

The Parc de St Cloud is our local running ground. It has it all. Trails, pathways, stunning views and great architecture in the Style of Versailles. We ran a large loop covering elements of the ‘EcoTrail de Paris’ route. The temperature now was just getting hotter but the Parc does offer some natural shade. I was having a few nutritional issues; basically a slightly upset tummy meant that I wasn’t taking enough liquid in or energy. 19 miles came and I just needed some energy and liquid. We took a detour and called at a Boulangerie for the best can of cold Coke I have had in some time – nectar! The sugar, the coldness and that burn you get from the bubbly liquid was just what the throat needed. With a good dose of sugar inside us we headed back into the Parc, ran back down to the Seine and then finished our run off with a nice gentle jog through the Isle St Germain to finish off back in Issy les Moulineaux some 23 miles later.

Great run and a great day out....

MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE HERE:

http://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/July2010#

Julie Deadman

2010-07-10T11:35:00.001+01:00

Julie Deadman post Paris Marathon has really taken her short distance running to a new level over the last months. She has consistently placed highly and whilst juggling a house move and a busy work schedule. Well done Julie!

Norwich 5k - 2nd May - 21:59 (4th place overall, 1st in age group)

Liverpool Womens 5k - 9th May - 22:39 (3rd overall, 1st in age group)

BUPA London 10k - 31st May - 47:10 (17th in age group)

Chester 5k - 13th June - 22:04 (3rd place overall, 1st in age group)

Tatton Park 5k - 20th June - not timed as I always run this in memory of my parents (2nd place overall)

Reedham 10k - 27th June - 47:31 (2nd in age group)

Reedham 10k - 27th June

Great local race in Norfolk, with an interesting undulating course. The race attracts some of the best East Anglian club runners and City of Norwich AC bagged first 3 in the mens race and also first lady.

Just watching people milling around at the start was inspiring - you could see the quality of the field!!!

The race went off in 88 degrees of sunshine and the course did not have one shaded part! There is a stiff hill between 2 and 3k which caught a few out who had attacked it too hard in the early stages of the race. The course itself starts in sleepy Reedham which was invaded this year by 450 runners, taking in the villages of Limpenhoe and Freethorpe.

I loved the race and although I had misjudged the pace early on and gone too slowly, it was a great feeling to pass so many on the long drag up between 8.5 and 9k! I had a battle royal with another runner on the run in and completed the course in 47:31. I'm still chasing a 10k PB this yearm but given that most club runners were running about 5 minutes off their PB's, I was very pleased.

Definitely one for next year and the warmth and encouragement from other runners and spectators was great. I am lucky enough to have good friends in Norwich so visit the county frequently. I'll be back on 23rd July for the Worstead 5 miler.

The Week - June 27th

2010-06-27T17:56:00.000+01:00

Don't worry - no mention of Football here other than the fact that I won't mention football....

It has been a quiet week for me so the blog is going to be short and concise. The last two weeks left me jaded and in particular, 11,000 feet and 50k of trails in hot sun last weekend left me frazzled.

So, I had three days off. Ran a pacey 8 miles Wednesday, 8 miles Thursday and then had a BRUTAL massage on Friday. Boy oh boy did Mark nail my legs with some seriously painful trigger point massage.

Saturday I did a double day with another pacey 8 miles and then a steady 6 mile trail run in the evening. Sunday, today, I ran a half marathon at just under 8 min miles which felt pretty good. I went out early to avoid most of the heat... having said that, it was still hot!

For me, this week and this weekend was all about Western States 100 mile Trail Race. http://www.ws100.com/

This race is very much considered one of THE ultras to do in your lifetime. Of course, actually getting in the race is hard enough. Running it is torture. I had particular interest this year as Brit, Ian Sharman was taking part.

Ian is my 'hot tip' for an ultra star in the making. He has pace and a natural ability that many would die for.

Following on line he obviously started nice and steady. Two reasons I guess: respect for the race and also the field he was racing against. It was very much a 'who's who' of named ultra runners. In particular: Anton Krupicka, Kilian Jornet Burgada and Geoff Roes. As it turned out this was the top three but not in that order. Roes won in a ridiculous course record of 15:07 - YES, 15:07 for 100 fantastically tough trail miles..... my tip for the race, Krupicka came in 2nd and Burgada came in 3rd. I think many thought Burgada had a great overall chance but he had run 1000km just two weeks earlier.... not the ideal taper!! As it turned out, Ian Sharman came through the field and finished a superb 8th. H e has told me it was the HARDEST thing he has ever done and he said from mile 62 he felt awful.... that is a long way to feel awful!!

Race history:

In 1955, the late Wendell T. Robie with a party of five horsemen rode the Western States Trail from Squaw Valley to Auburn, proving that horses could still cover 100 miles in one day. Through his energy and vision, he subsequently founded the Western States Trail Foundation and organized the annual Western States Trail Ride, also known as the Tevis Cup "100 Miles - One Day" Ride.

Wendell Robie during an early Tevis Ride

In 1974, with the inspiration and encouragement of Drucilla Barner, 1st woman to win the Tevis Cup and Secretary of the WSTF, Tevis veteran Gordy Ainsleigh joined the horses of the Western States Trail Ride to see if he could complete the course on foot. Twenty-three hours and forty-two minutes later Gordy arrived in Auburn, proving that a runner could indeed traverse the rugged 100 miles in one day. Gordy's own account is HERE.

In 1975, a second runner, Ron Kelley, attempted the same feat, only to withdraw within two miles of the finish with ample time remaining. In 1976, Ken "Cowman" Shirk ran the 100 miles, finishing just 30 minutes over the 24-hour mark.

In 1977, 14 men from four states participated in the 1st official Western States Endurance Run, which was held in conjunction with the Tevis Cup Ride. Runners were monitored by Dr. Bob Lind at the three veterinary stops set up for the horses, and although the race organization transported the entrants gear, runners were responsible for producing all of their own supplies, except water. Three runners finished the course: Andy Gonzales, age 22, in the record-breaking time of 22:57, and Peter Mattei and Ralph Paffenbarger, ages 53 and 54, who tied in 28:36 (and the 30-hour award was born!).

Founding Runners, Gordy Ainsleigh and Cowman Shirk

In the fall of 1977, the Board of Directors for the Western States Endurance Run was formed as part of the Western States Trail Foundation. It was made up primarily of the handful of runners and riders who had helped monitor the progress of the 14 pioneers earlier that summer. The Run organization later became its own entity and is now known as the Western States Endurance Run Foundation.

1978 heralded a dramatic increase in both interest and participation in the Western States Run. Culminating a year-long effort by the inspired Gang of Four (Phil Gardner, Mo Livermore, Shannon Weil, and Curt Sproul) to create an independent event, the race took place in June, a month earlier than the Tevis Cup Ride. The event mushroomed to include 21 aid stations and six medical checks, thanks to an ever-growing corps of loyal volunteers and the support of the Placer County Sheriff 's Communications Reserve and the Search and Rescue Unit. 63 adventurers ran the race, and the first woman, Pat Smythe, finished in 29:34.

One hundred forty-three runners from 21 states and three foreign countries attempted the course in 1979.

BIKE for sale

2010-06-26T16:42:00.000+01:00

Scott Jurek

2010-06-23T18:50:00.000+01:00

Martin Yelling & Tom Williams contacted me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that finally they were going to do an 'ultra' special on Marathon Talk. Great news, obviously!

However they wanted some celeb interviews. I therefpre put my laptop and contact list to good use and although at this syage I can't disclose all the treat we have in store, I can confirm that the guys have just interviewed my hero: SCOTT JUREK.

I use the word 'hero' in a loose way as I know that Scott wouldn't feel comforatble with such 'devotion'. As you will hear in the podcast, Scott is not only one superb runner but he is a 'superb person'.

The MP3 can be downloaded here: http://cdn1.libsyn.com/marathontalk/Ep24b.mp3?nvb=20100623141644&nva=20100624142644&t=03010c5fceb477a8f1e8f

or here: http://www.marathontalk.com/

or go to iTunes and subscribe to the Podcast: Marathon Talk

Info on SCOTT:

Scott Jurek is a legend, here is a synopsis:

“You need to experience the low points to appreciate the high points” as Scott says. You need to get in that moment, something clicks and suddenly you become able to put one foot after the other. Inner strength, we all have it. Running for Scott is a way to express this.

Scott practices yoga and is a vegan. He says he is not flexible but he has often expressed his love for meditation and says that running also puts him in that state.

Did he loving running from an early age? No! He actually says he hated running. He ran in high school to get ready for Nordic Skiing.

Why become Vegan? He says that he has seen how food choices have affected other peoples lives. He therefore chose to become as simple as possible with his food choices. He has studied food and he makes significant diet changes to help performance and recovery. He is a spokes person for Vegan and plant based diets. He is extremely ecological and has no car. So his choices are life changing.

He featured prominently in the book ‘Born to Run’. The Copper Canyon is the backdrop to a story of Scott pitting himself against an indigenous tribe of ‘natural’ runners. Ever the human and ever the modest person, Scott raced and came second. It’s a book of fact, myth and legend. Read about Cabello Blanco and the story that has become very much a modern day bible for ‘runners’. The book has become certainly a vehicle for running ‘barefoot’ even though Scott does not run that way.

Scott talks of training and racing as a journey of exploration. Questioned on fame and publicity he responds “I run because I love it, it’s not about self promotion, it’s because I love it”. Quite simply he is a modest guy. “I do what I do, I follow my passions and I go for it. I grab onto life and I go for it”. Great words to run and train by.

Strip away the running and you are left with one ‘neat’ guy.

His mother had ‘MS’ and the passing away of his mother has had a major effect on his life. Running has not been a way to escape big questions but to find big answers. You have to continue learning and exploring. The moment you stop, you stop living.

He acknowledges that he is hypocritical. He has no car, he cycles, walks or uses public transport. However when travelling to races etc he needs to fly in many cases. This causes internal problems for him as he tries to balance his own ‘personal’ life balance.

He wants to inspire, he is connected to the sport, he will man a feed station at a race, he gives of his time generously.

Talking of the future he possibly plans to compete for another 3-4 years. He is currently writing a book and he has great ideas and plans for his future.

How does he take care of the people around him? He admits that the balance is difficult. He is crtical saying that he possibly gives too much. Sometimes he has to force himself to ‘unplug’. We only have one life, he has seen people leave life at a young age, so, don’t live life in the past, seize the moment and nurture relationships. He is proud that he hasn’t taken an easy path. Proud that he has survived the difficult moments. He takes experiences and he is proud that he has taken the path less travelled.

Palmares:

PB’s:

100m Trail – 15:36

100k road – 7:28

50 mile trail – 6:21

50 mile road – 5:50

50k Trail – 3:04

Road Marathon – 2:38

Half Marathon – 1:16:39

Career Highlights:

Western Sates 100 – legendary race. He holds the course record in 15:36!!! Yes – 15:36 for 100 very very difficult trail miles. He has won the race 7 times.

Badwater winner - 135 miles through Death Valley

Spartathlon – 153 miles from Athens to Sparta. 2006, 2007 and 2008 winner. Second fastest runner on the course behind the legendary Yannis Kouros.

Lakeland 50/100 recce

2010-06-20T17:32:00.000+01:00

This last week has been a really funny week. After last weekend’s hard marathon I have done no training. I have been out for a few runs but they have been purely to tick over and try to loosen up. I did a ridiculously slow and painful 2.5 miles on Monday, 3.5 miles on Tuesday, 6 miles on Wednesday, 3.8 miles on Thursday and then I had a rest on Friday. I always find it is better to run for consecutive days and then rest as this helps to shift the lactic.

After a long day on Friday I had to drive up from the South for an overnight stop at my Mums and then I was up at 0600 to travel to Ambleside to recce part of the Lakeland 50/100 route.

Plan was to meet at Ambleside, leave our cars and then a coach took myself and 60 other runners to Dalemain and the 50 mile point for the 100 route or the ‘start’ of the 50 route. The plan for the day was to make our way back to Ambleside in a self sufficient manner. This is a really important aspect of the ‘Lakeland’ route as navigation is key. When you also bear in mind that some of the race will be in the dark, familiarity will be extremely useful.

The course

Well, in simple words it is tough. Very tough. Worryingly the second half of the 100 route is easier than the first 50, so, if you are doing the 100, be prepared. This will be one serious undertaking. The race in the previous two editions has over a 70% failure rate. Having been on the course that is completely understandable. The ‘50’ however with a 24 hour cut off is much more manageable. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a really tough day out. But and this is an important ‘but’, it is possible to walk briskly or jog/walk and complete within the 24hr time limit. This is not so for the 100. The 100 has a 40hr cut off and therefore you will spend one complete night on the course.

You will see from the photographs the difficulty of the terrain underfoot. However, the photographs do not help with the profile and the severity. Simply, you batter your calf’s going up, you batter your quads coming down and between going up and down you batter your whole body. Your feet are twisted, pulled and angled all over the place. Blisters are potentially a real problem if you don’t have the right shoes or fit. Do not try road shoes. They will just not be up to the task.

Equipment wise you will without doubt need the following: Jacket, over-trousers, hat, gloves, compass, phone, maps, route book, gps (optional), whistle, food and a 2ltr bladder. The terrain is tough, exposed and dangerous. In good bright conditions the course is just magnificent, we had superb weather. In wind, rain and the dark it is without doubt brutal and frightening. At certain points on the course, mostly the high point, we were in 35mph winds. In bright skies and sun it was cold – add rain and night temperatures this potentially is light threatening. It is important to emphasize that this route/race should not be underestimated.

The recce

We had approximately 6 guides, me being one of them. We left Dalemain with a walk which then progressed to jog. The key element of the day was pace and finding your way. Navigation is not a strong point for me so this was a great learning curve for me. Marc and the Lakeland team really have put together a great package to help everyone, novices included, to navigate the route. We had a great ‘step by step’ road-book. This alone is perfect for navigation. In conjunction with a GPS this is the perfect way to navigate the route. In regard to GPS, waypoints are provided via download from the ‘Lakeland 100’ site, so, all you need to do is upload them and off you go....

The course is quite simply stunning. The initial miles in comparison to the rest of the course are easy. Rolling green fields and then a nice trail path around the River Eamont.

We crossed a bridge and through the village of Pooley Bridge and then a climb to Roehead. From here the terrain became harder.

Running past Barton Park we then ran across Barton Fell on a stunning trail with fabulous views of the lake to our right. Our first checkpoint came at Howton.

We had the long climb through Fusedale Beck to Gowk Hill.

We than ran across open windy fells at High Kop and then descended via Brampton Common to Haweswater Reservoir.

The trail around the reservoir was tough under foot but extremely beautiful.

Crossing the Rigg and then Dudderwick we had our second checkpoint at Mardale Head. Distance covered to this point was 19 miles and my quads were now feeling the previous week’s marathon. I knew from this point on that I was going to ease back and save my legs as best as I could.

The climb up Gatescarth Pass from Mardale is just tough. No other word for it. Steep, tough terrain and just hard. Your calf’s scream. The top provides no real relief as the ‘down’ on the other side is equally hard. It batters your feet and quads.

Sadgill at the bottom was a welcome sight before we then had to re climb through Tom’s Howe to Kentmere and the third check point.

At this point we were thinking not far to go to Ambleside – wrong! We had covered 25 miles and had 7 to go. The cups of coke and a good flapjack would hopefully help fuel the coming work. Out of Kentmere we hit Garburn Pass. With 25 miles in the legs this was tough. As per the previous Gatescarth Pass, the terrain was steep and harsh underfoot.

Finally at the top we jog/walked the decent to The Howe, crossed the road and then had a short hilly road section to Troubeck

Right at the Post Office and then some really nice forest trail through Skelghyll Wood.

We passed ‘Waterhead’ and with a look left we saw our parked cars.....

Within a mile or so we arrived at ‘Lakes Runner’ and the end of our recce – 32 miles covered.

Conclusion

I did this on sore legs – NOT RECOMMENDED! You need fresh quads and calf’s for this terrain, no doubt. Pace is crucial. Mentally you need to be focussed. Navigation is not difficult but you do need to be attentive at all times. The ‘road book’ is brilliant and should be referred to at all time. This in conjunction with the reassurance of a GPS is ideal. I used both and apart from one mistake I had no problems. You need to train on mixed, hard, rocky and tough terrain. Get your quads and your calf’s strong. Make sure you have good trail shoes that fit. Your feet get battered. The ‘50’ is a challenge that is achievable for everyone. The ‘100’ is a real challenge and should only be attempted if you are experienced. The 75% failure rate is significant in the ‘100’ – physically and mentally it is just a brute. I haven’t yet looked at the first 50 miles but Marc assures me that it is harder than the second 50, so, be warned. If possible I recommend a ‘recce’ of the whole route. If you don’t have time for that, I would try to work out where you think you will be for the ‘night section’ and recce that. To run in the dark on unknown terrain will be real difficult.

If you have entered the ‘50’ or the ‘100’ – good luck! It will be a tough day or two days out. You will be rewarded with stunning terrain, stunning scenery, brilliant organization and an experience to cherish. If it was easy, everyone would do it.....

Images : http://picasaweb.google.com/runwild.runfree.uk/Lakeland50100Recce#

Marne et Gondoire Marathon 2010

2010-06-14T12:34:00.000+01:00

Marne et Gondoire Marathon is one of those marathons that should be experienced. I took part last year on a last minute decision... I had been booked to coach on a workshop in London and I therefore had decided that running a marathon on the outskirts of Paris the next day was not a good idea. However, liking a challenge, I finished the workshop, drove to the coast, crossed on Eurotunnel, arrived in Paris at 0100am and then toed the line at 0900am for the 2009 Marne et Gondoire Marathon. Good idea? Mmmmm well difficult to say. As it turned out the course is really tough and we had the hottest day of the year. It was 30+ deg and I cooked. However, despite all this and an awful last few miles I managed to pull off a top 10 with a time of 3:20 ‘ish’.

The Chateau and grounds

This year I decided that with my Comrades plans compromised I would return to Marne and run hard. My last race was London’ at the end of April, so, after some recovery and a re-build I arrived in ‘Bussy Saint Martin’ with the prospect of a tough day ahead.

This race starts and finishes in the Parc de Rentilly approximately 10-15 minutes from Eurodisney, so, if you ever fancy a family weekend that includes a race, this is the one to choose. Organised by Michel Bach and his wife Sylvie they put on a day of activities like no other race. It is about experiences, catering for everyone and providing a whole day and night of entertainment.

Luckily the weather was perfect after two previous days of wet and stormy weather. Registration was from 0700 and the race started at 0900. The main event is the individual marathon but in addition you have relay races and a multitude of kid’s races. The course is tough. Starting and finishing in the Parc de Rentilly we ran in a clockwise direction taking in the regions of ‘ Marne’ and ‘Gondoire’. In total we run through 16 villages, each provide entertainment and compete against each other for the best ‘spectacle’. The course is a combination of parc, trails, stones, road, villages, climbing, tunnels and bridleways. In parts beautiful and in other areas quite desolate.

To run a race with the intention of trying to win provides a whole different level of pre-race stress. My form was good, 2:53 at Paris and 2:58 at London on tired legs confirmed this. In the last 4 weeks of training I had worked on speed, hills and less on endurance as I felt that I already had that in the bag.

Herve a local runner and friend of Niandi had arrived to race. He holds the course record in 2:55 so I knew that I was going to have a tough day. Having run over 3:20 last year and knowing the course I was seriously impresses with a sub 3 time.

A blind runner and guide

A minute before 0900 three sets on blind runners were released on to the course with guides. One of them, Didier, is a good friend. I have mentioned him before in previous posts: he is quite an inspiration.

relay team runners

At 0900 we were off. It is really important to get the pace sorted at the beginning as we had relay runners starting at the same time, so, it was fair to assume that anyone who flew off at 10k pace was actually running a 10k! I watched Herve and decided that he was the guy to judge my effort on. He accelerated very early and pulled away. Not too far but in sight. I stook with an obvious group who were judging and pacing quite well. I knew at this stage I was top 10 but it wasn’t possible to know exactly. We were 6:30 milling so I was a little concerned. Had I been ‘just’ running I would have eased off. This is when it dawned on me that ‘racing’ in a marathon is a completely different ball game. I was either on the pace or off it. So, I decided to be ‘on it’.

Going through 10k in 39 min was a little shock as we had taken in some big hills, we had been off road and we had been constantly going left and right. At this stage I was running with the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th placed runners. I was feeling pretty good and looking at the other runners you could tell that they had more concerns about me than I had about them. They all knew each other so couldn’t understand who and where this ‘dark horse’ had come from....

One unusual aspect of this race is that the front runners are allowed ‘seconds’. These seconds help the runner while on the course. They are on bicycles and carry gels, food and bottles. No such help for me. I had 6 gels on me and I had to rely on the feed stations for liquid. No complaints on the ‘feed’ points. They were regular and very well stocked.

The morning chill had gone and the ambient temperature was hotting up, just like the race. We went through half in 1:36. The course between 10k and 20k was very tough and this reflected in the pace. Still feeling good I pushed on. I had a guy with me called Eric Michaud, I didn’t know him but he knew the course and he was a good runner. At 15 miles he attacked and I went. Suddenly Cyrille Bachelard and one runner from the ‘Torcy’ run club could no longer keep up.

As we ran to ‘Lesches’ this gave us an opportunity to view who was racing and the gaps. Herve was about 3 miutes ahead being chased by Eric and then me. I was told I was 4^th place so obviously we had a runner who was way out in front... it turns out this guy ran 2:45!!! I can’t believe that time on that course.

So, the race was on. I was keeping pace but Eric was pulling away a little. Not much I could do, I was running as hard as my legs would let me. At 40k I went of course... bloody nightmare. I missed a marker on the trail and ran up a hill instead of going right. I realized relatively quickly but I had lost 1-2 mins. When back on track I knew that 3^rd was no longer possible so I pushed on for 4^th crossing the line in 3:01. I was over the moon with the time and the place. I could not have run any harder and I am convinced if that effort had been at London or Paris Marathon I would have PB’d. I was wrecked! When the results came it turned out that me going ‘of course’ allowed another guy to slip in front of me and thus pushing me back to 5^th. He beat me by an annoying 17 seconds. Had that had been for 3^rd place I would have been gutted, as it happens, 4^th or 5^th was no real consequence.

Niandi running two weeks after a great run at Comrades had felt good over the first 20k but said she faded over the latter stages. She came in for 84^th place but importantly had 3^rd lady, so, a great result.

It is important to remember that so many entrants take part in this marathon for fun. I was going to say 'just for fun' but I think we all take part just for fun. What I mean to say is for the enjoyment and not for competition. Michel and Sylvie each year create a theme. This year it was 'Tropical'.

Post race is when the 'real' fun starts.

Live bands on stage.

Entertainment.

A picnic.

Chatting and meeting with friends.

The awards.

And then everyone drinks and parties into the night.

Michel and Sylvie put on a fantastic race. A race that is a real joy, a race with no compromise; great running, great fun, great friends, great atmosphere and entertainment for all. It has the planning and a location worthy of a major event.

Think about this race for 2011, you will not be disappointed.

The Week 6th June

2010-06-07T22:57:00.000+01:00

This last week has been fun! It was half term for the schools so I had a wonderful week with my son. Three days were spent in the English Lakes with my mum. We had the most perfect weather... I have spent many a day, weekend or week in this magical place with very cold and wet conditions, so, to get three stunning days was a real treat. We stayed in Grasmere. Ideal for getting around, tea shops and basically chilling out. Running was superb. I had some superb runs on trails around Grasmere Lake, Rydal Water and Ambleside. Perfect!

Training for me was my last week of my adaptation phase. After London Marathon I had some rest, tweaked my training and then re targeted towards some new targets. Next week, the 13th, I run the Marne et Gondoire Marathon. This is organized by a friend and it really is a superb race. A tough marathon as it is a mix of terrain, hills, flat and multiple villages.

The weekend after, the 19th & 20th I have a marathon both days. I am covering the second half of the Lakeland 100 route as a 'reccie'. So, Saturday we will start from the 50 mile checkpoint and run to the 75 mile checkpoint. Sunday we will start at 75 and run to the finish in Coniston and the 100mile checkpoint. Both days will be tough as the terrain in this part of the world is very hilly, rough and potentially dangerous.

One key point of the Lakeland 100 and 50 mile events is navigation. I have therefore been learning how to use memory map, plot routes, load waypoints and use a Garmin for navigation. It has been a real test but I am pleased to say that I have worked my way through it all. It has actually been very rewarding. Using this software and learning the functions of GPS navigation is something that I have wanted to do for a while but I have struggled to find the time. Nothing like an 'event' to get ones head in gear. So I now have an Oregon 450 to guide me on my way and Memory Map software on my PC to view, plot and print maps.

On bank holiday Monday James Watkins ran Chester Marathon and ran a superb race to PB with a 3:04. Super motivated, James has already entered for a late season marathon and a crack at that sub 4 target he desperately wants. Also, we are looking at entering and training for an ultra in the build up to a new marathon PB. Maybe Boddington 50 on July 31st.

One person worth a mention is Jennie Muston. Jennie joined our Lanza training camp and has recently been coached by Liz Yelling. Jennie also ran Chester and won the Ladies race outright with a new PB time of a few seconds just over 3 hours. Great run !!

So a short but fulfilled week. Next week I will have a race report and hopefully some interesting pictures from the Marne et Gondoire Marathon. I am also hoping to interview a French ultra runner called 'Didier'. He is a good friend of Niandi's and a real inspiration, not merely because of his running exploits but because he is also blind.

Comrades Ultra Marathon

2010-05-31T08:50:00.000+01:00

Believe it or not, I have just spent 12 hours pretty much glued to a computer. No, not work but the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. This year saw the 85^th edition of the race and I should have been on the start line... its tough not being at a race that you really wanted to be at. But this year, the Comrades had greater meaning. It is Nimadi’s ‘home’ race and I therefore wanted to be in her home, with her and her family. Also, Manya, Niandi’s sister was running the race; so what I hear you say, but Manya is in remission from Cancer and therefore the true spirit of ‘Comrades’ would shine in her desire to cross the finish line.

I have to say, that I am not a watcher but a doer! You know exactly what I mean don’t you... I would so much prefer to be in the agony. However, I have had an epiphany and a real revelation. This year the Comrades Organization provided a live stream of the race, so I was able to watch all the action unfold in this iconic race. And what a race! I was glued to my seat. Never have I enjoyed watching a race so much. I provided constant real time updates to my Facebook page so others could follow. I monitored friends and of course Niandi and Manya in real time via the athlete tracking. It was an emotional and draining day. At one point Niandi hadn’t come through a check point when I had expected and I therefore started to stress only to be reassured at some point later when a time popped up. Following Manya was even more stressful. Her run was about making that 12 hour cut off. In the end she did it with time to spare in 11:40 but boy did I chew my nails down screaming at the computer and live feeds wishing her along. I shed a few tears and I don’t mind admitting it. Niandi crossed the line and I cried, Manya crossed the line and I cried. Racing does this to me because I know what it takes, the commitment required and the emotions one goes through. This race for Niandi was her 12^th Comrades, absolutely stunning. I am so proud of her!

Cat Archer who I used to coach until about a month ago had a great first Comrades and came in with a time of 8:33. Angie Sadler did 7:50 and David Ross did 8:02.

As it happens, it turned out to be a stunning day and stunning race. The men really pushed with a changing lead but last year’s winner came good in the latter stages and Stephen Muzhingi from Zimbabwe won in 5:29:01. It was quite inspirational watching a real fluid effortless action after running such a long way.

In the ladies race as per usual, the race was won by one of the Russian twins. This year Elena crossed the line a second faster than Oleysa in 6:11:04. Notably we had Kami Smeck from America take 4^th and Lizzy Hawker from the UK take 6^th. I need to mention here in the ‘top’ results one very special guy – Ian Sharman. Ian is from the UK and is well known on the ultra run scene. He now lives in America. We had been chatting about this year’s Comrades and after a 4^th overall at the EcoTrail, 2 stunning back to back marathons, a top 10 at Miwok 100 and a great race at Two Oceans he was hoping to go sub ‘6’ at Comrades. On the day he ran 6:01 and placed 24^th overall. Make a note of his name. He is still in his 20’s and he will be taking Gold (top 10) in future years.

The Route:

Polly Shortts

The start in Pietermaritzburg is in the center of town outside the picturesque red brick City Hall at an altitude of approximately 650m. After an initial gentle downhill from the start some moderate climbing is experienced to the top of the notorious Polly Shortts some 7km from the start, which now offers no problem at all to fresh legs. A short but fairly steep climb to Ashburton follows and then the easy descent of Little Pollys to Mpusheni. Often overlooked, but nevertheless an energy-sapper is the 7km ascent which follows to the highest point on the course at Umlaas Road. This is 18km into the race.

Inchanga

From the highest point to the foot of Inchanga the route is undulating and offers fairly comfortable running. At Mayets Superette the 2km climb to the top of Inchanga begins. While fairly long, the gradient is not very severe and is usually negotiated relatively easily by most runners. The standard marathon mark is at the top. It is the decent to the halfway mark in Drummond which runners should be wary of. It is this steep downhill and camber of the road, which heralds the start of jarring damage to legs. After the passing through the halfway, the course follows a steady climb, with Alverstone offering a difficult challenge, to the top of Bothas Hill.

Bothas Hill

What Inchanga began, Bothas continues, with 2,5km of downhill racing severely stressing the leg muscles. The severity of this descent cannot be over emphasized. The effects of this hill are usually only felt and appreciated later in the day. After this jarring downhill the short sharp ascent into Hillcrest can also be taxing.

Fields Hill

From Hillcrest, Fields Hill is reached after 10km of comfortable terrain during which quivering legs can gain some respite and recover to a degree. However, this is offset by another 3km of really punishing downhill which reduces legs to jelly again. Physio stations are much in demand from here on. After reaching the bottom of this seemingly never ending down, Pinetown flats should come as welcome relief, but this 3,3km stretch can often reduce runners to walk.

Cowies Hill

In comparison to the other hills, Cowies is not so awesome but combined with the recent decent of Fields and the flat section of Pinetown, the 1km climb up Cowies is quite formidable. The of course the 1.5km down the other side merely puts the finishing touches to the preceding 20km or so. From here to the finish there are numerous little down hills, the notable one being from the top of 45th Cutting to Mayville, which all add to the leg-weary runners woes.

Race History:

Arguably the greatest ultra marathon in the world where athletes come from all over the world to combine muscle and sinew and mental strength to conquer the approx 90 kilometres between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the event owes its beginnings to the vision of one man, World War I veteran Vic Clapham.

With the outbreak of the Great War 1914-1918, Vic Clapham signed up with the 8th South African Infantry, and fought and marched 1700 miles of the eastern savannahs of Africa in pursuit of Glen Paul Von Lettow-Vorbecks askari battalions.

The pain, agonies, death and hardships of his comrades which he witnessed during those awful days left a lasting impression on the battle-hardened soldier, especially the camaraderie engendered among the men in overcoming these privations. Thus when peace was declared in 1918, Clapham felt that all those who had fallen in this catastrophic war should be remembered and honoured in a unique way, where an individual’s physical frailties could be put to the test and overcome. Remembering the searing heat and thirst of the parched field through which he had campaigned, he settled on the idea of a marathon and he approached the athletic authorities of the day to sound their views.

Clapham asked for permission to stage a 56 mile race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban under the name of the Comrades Marathon and for it to become a living memorial to the spirit of the soldiers of the Great War This was strenuously resisted by the League, but Clapham persisted maintaining that if a sedentary living person could be taken off the street given a rifle and 60lb pack and marched all over Africa then surely a fit and able athlete could complete the distance. Applications in 1919 and 1920 were refused but in 1921 the League relented and gave permission and 1 for expenses, which was refundable.

The first Comrades Marathon took place on 24th May 1921, Empire Day, starting outside the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg with 34 runners. It has continued since then every year with the exception of the war years 1941-1945, with the direction alternating each year between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the so called up & down runs.

Entry for 2011 opens on the 1^st September 2010. My entry is now carried over for 2011. Without a doubt I will be on the start, no matter what !!

The Week - 23rd May

2010-05-23T17:02:00.000+01:00

Well this week, or should I say the end of the week has been about hot, hot, hot!!! Funny isn’t it. We all moan about how cold and miserable it is and then suddenly “it’s too hot!”. To be honest, running in these temperatures has been a shock to the system for many... feel sorry for all those folks at Edinburgh Marathon who will certainly have had to adjust pacing and hydration strategies.

My training is back on track. I have been really pushing myself with tempo running, intervals and lots of hills. All the speed and hill work has left me somewhat jaded. It certainly stresses the system.

Yesterday I went out early and ran 18 miles at 7:30 pace with no liquid. It was a little ‘test’. Not one that I recommend anyone else to take.... I was doing this for a reason. As you will all be aware I am a ‘heavy sweater’ and I also struggle with muscle spasms/ cramp. Many think that dehydration and a loss of electrolyte contributes to cramp, however, there is no definite proof of this! So, on a really hot morning I set out on a hilly 18 mile route running at a steady pace with no liquid. My only concession was 2 x SIS GO gels. I was running fasted (no breakfast) so I need to make sure I had some energy to finish the session.

Results? - No cramp and no muscle stress.

The only ‘problem’ I encountered was some dizziness at mile 17. This obviously was dehydration. I expected that and to be honest considering the heat and my sweat rate, I was surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

For me, this test was really important. It conforms for me that if I want to run well either at pace or over long distances, I need my muscles to be as fresh as possible.

On a race note, this weekend I would have been heading out to South Africa with Niandi. This trip was a ‘double’ trip. It would have given me the opportunity to run the iconic ‘Comrades Ultra Marathon’ but importantly it would have allowed me to see Niandi’s ‘home’ and obviously meet her family. This was meant to be ‘our’ trip! Sometimes you just have to make the choice ‘not’ to do something... in this case it has been a really tough choice but the current economic situation in the UK just doesn’t allow me the luxury to be in SA. So, Niandi leaves Paris at 11pm tonight on the red-eye to Joburg without me. Needless to say I am a little upset... next time eh!!

Clients are very much in training at the moment. Many (too many) have been hit by this very tough cold bug. It has been a really bad bug meaning that rest is the only option. Always a tough call for us sporty types. However, without the rest the virus will never go, so, be patient.... This coming weekend is a bank holiday. Julie Deadman is racing a 10k, James Watkins will be running Chester Marathon and Cat Archer will be running Comrades. Good luck and best wishes to all ;-)

Finally, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I have been playing around with running shoes. I mentioned the ‘Nike Lunar’ range. These shoes I have to say have been a revelation.... they are extremely interesting from many aspects. Firstly, weight! They are the lightest shoes I have tried. Secondly, cushioning is superb offering a ‘springy’ return with every stride. Thirdly, dynamic support suits runners with either a neutral, over or under pronation gait. The ‘Lunarfoam’ adapts to your run style. Fourthly, the range is extensive and because it uses the same technology it is easy to have training, tempo and race shoes in the same ‘style’. Got to say I LOVE EM !! before you ask, NO, I am not sponsored by NIKE. Just thought I would pass on the revelation.

Have a great week and in particular I send out a BIG HUG and BIG BEST WISHES to Niandi, her sister and her family for the coming Comrades Marathon. It will be an eventful and memorable day. I will be with you in thoughts and on the internet – all my love ;-)

The Week - May 9th

2010-05-10T15:21:00.000+01:00

Last week I discussed at great length the problems I was having with my Garmin 310. It was giving me the wrong readings and it basically meant I was out by about 10 secs per mile....problem has been solved!

I dropped my 310 on Saturday, broke the screen and it is now ~#@c*ed. Sorted. Looks like I will be using my Garmin F60 with calibrated foot pod for a while.

This last week has been recovery once again, however, I did rack up a planned 70 miles. I know, I can hear you say ‘recovery’; 70 miles.... however, the pace was easy and the runs have all been about loosening myself up and working on elements to make my running better in the future.

A couple of key elements have emerged: firstly, my fitness and secondly, my shoe choice.

Fitness

My recovery two weeks has allowed me to assess progress in the first quarter of the year. Firstly two back to back marathons at sub 3 pace and a PB of 2:53 confirmed I had got things right. What was interesting is the variety and quantity of events undertaken to get to this point. Only a few weeks before the Paris Marathon PB, I had run an 80km Ultra. Prior to this I had run several other marathons and another ultra. For me, it really does confirm that good marathon performances can come off the back of volume. The elites very rarely run beyond marathon distance as they say the chance of injury increases, however, they do run 100+ miles every week and in the case of one or two, in particular Brit Lemoncello, he runs 150+ miles... I wonder if over distance running in conjunction with threshold, intervals and hills would push the marathon time faster? I would love to look into it! For me, a noticeable point has been fitness, resting HR and recovery. All have improved and I have found my ‘easy’ runs at below 75% mhr to be in the 130 bpm zone. This long term is a positive note as I move up my effort to the higher heart rates I should be running quicker for the same effort. Roll on Venice.

Shoes

I am a big fan of Adidas and my shoe choice has always been ‘Glides’ for everyday, ‘Bostons’ for tempo and then I have used one of the slimmed down flats for half marathon or marathon. However, although the current 2010 Adidas shoes have the same name, they have changed the shoes. The Glide now feels a heavier less flexible shoe, The Boston (which I love) feels a little more cushioned. I have therefore started doing nearly all my runs in the Boston. Normally a shoe I would only use for certain sessions or racing. But the shoe feels great, comfortable and cushioned. It may mean I need to review my ‘racing’ shoe choice?

Another thing I am doing is making my feet stronger. I have been doing this for a long time... I use a shoe called a ‘Vivo’. It offers no support and basically just adds a protection layer to the sole to avoid damage. http://www.terraplana.com/sparta-p-1573.html?colour=57

Maybe this is one reason why the new Glide feels cumbersome? Don’t get me wrong, the Glide is still a good shoe but I will only use it on really long stuff. I have also been using Nike ‘Lunarglide’ and ‘Lunarracer’. Both these shoes offer cushioning but offer a greater feel with the ‘floor’. This is something I really like.... I am not sure of the hype about space technology etc, but they are great shoes!.

Recovery time has also meant some ‘chill’ time. I kicked back a little and enjoyed a few extra glasses of wine. I had a couple of indulgent meals, one in particular was a lovely gift from Niandi. And I took in a couple of concerts. Well, the same concert; twice! Believe it or not, the leather clad, 7” heel wearing, face painted rock band, KISS. I took Josh, my son to the Birmingham gig and I took my Mum to Manchester. Absolutely superb entertainment! I have been a far from way back when.... I know they are tongue in cheek, but hey, they are superb entertainment.

Clients are currently training or recovering with one exception. Julie Deadman has returned from injury at Paris Marathon to run two superb 5k’s. Getting 4^th overall in the first and then 3^rd overall in the third. I am sure she may very well add a comment to this page to give you all an update. Great work Julie !!!

If you have any news, information or something you would like to share, lets hear from you. Have a great week.

Ian

Recovery Time

2010-05-04T13:36:00.000+01:00

I am in one of those funny phases of training. In many ways I am not training but recovering. The first 4 months of the year have been pretty hectic in terms of racing, training, travel and accumulated mileage.

I had always planned to build my training to the EcoTrail de Paris on March 20^th. Although I wasn’t going to run this event at full tilt, I wanted to be in good shape for it. You can’t go into 50 mile races not feeling good.... however; my priority was to run well at Paris Marathon some 3 weeks after the EcoTrail. I found in 2009 that all the endurance that is accumulated in training for a 50 transfer’s really well o a fast marathon.

We know that speed work, threshold and race pace running contributes to a good performance. Ironically though for me, I find that running longer gets me in great shape for marathons. Even to the point that I run marathons regularly at a slower pace to contribute to this level endurance.

The week after EcoTrail I recovered and then ran a hard 18 miler 7 days later. This was actually a speed session for me as the middle 12 miles were at 6:40 pace. I then recovered again and started to add very specific mile repeats at faster than target marathon pace. I know, I know... you can’t expect to pull out speed work in just two weeks and hope that it works in a marathon. However, for me, this does work and certainly running Paris in 2:53 confirmed this. However secretly I wanted 2:49.

So taking an objective look I had to decide why I missed the pace. One mistake I made was relying on my Garmin for pace. I love my gadgets and I find the ‘on the go’ information of modern devices superb. During Paris I ran almost perfectly at 6:28 pace so I couldn’t understand how with approx 3 miles to go I was going to miss my objective. Ironically this information also coincided with my legs fading over the last two miles. Hence the 2:53 and not a 2:49.

Paris really did blast my legs and with London just two weeks later I had 4 days down time followed with some easy running and then some short pacier sessions. London in my ‘plan’ was going to be ‘just’ a marathon in prep for ‘Comrades’ in South Africa at the end of May. However, best laid plans needed to be changed and due to a whole series of events, my participation at Comrades was over 90% certainly not going to happen. I therefore decided to give London ‘a go’. I knew deep down that the chances of running at the required pace so soon after Paris was unlikely, but what did I have to lose.

AS my London blog tells you, I ran hard, ‘on pace’ until basically I faded. Crossing the line in 2:58 though was really pleasing. Yes I didn’t get 2:49 but I had run two sub 3’s within 14 days and I was only 4 mins apart between the two.

What did I learn? Two really key things... no, three things:

1: A sub 2:49 is in me, no problem.

2: My Garmin was out by about 10 secs per mile – crucial

3: I need to be specific if I want to PB the marathon.

With the above info I have spent the last week or so recovering and planning ahead. Running has been short and very easy. I have run slower than 8 min miles and kept my HR below 75% at all times. I have also been a little worried re my abductor/ groin. The pain that slowed me in London was from this area and not the legs... worryingly this was the same pain I had in 2009 before my hernia Op. Now of course it may just be fatigue and/or a strain but I am worried that I may have re irritated the hernia!? Running since London has caused some pain in this area despite the easy pace; mmmm.

On a plus side I went to my local running track and ran a load of tests with my Garmin or should I say ‘Garmins’. I have pretty much exclusively used the new 310xt for the last 6 months however this calibration problem really bugged me. I uploaded all the new software updates, reset the GPS and then went the track and ran a mile at 7:30 pace. It was about 80 meters out (10 secs). So I felt a little smug that my suspicion from Paris was confirmed.

I then ran a mile using the Garmin F60 with foot pod. This was out by about 100m BUT importantly I could re calibrate it. This I did and then I ran 3 miles – on at 7:30’s, one at 7’s and one at 6:30’s. It was spot on give or take a meter; perfect!

I then re ran the above with the 310xt. Every single time it was 80 meters short of a mile; annoying.

So, looks like I will now use both Garmins. The F60 will hopefully give me a more accurate pace, the 310 will give me all the lovely GPS data, maps etc that come with this great device. I know it all sounds anal but if data is what makes you tick, you will understand exactly the angle i am coming from. To be honest it is no problem as I used the F6o as a watch anyway. The Garmin foot pod is tiny and unlike the Polar S1 footpod is just not noticeable when on a shoe.

So, with all these issues solved I can now start to get on with training next week in a proper fashion. I have several objectives ahead. I need to re look at May with Comrades removed from the plan but I am looking forward to the Marne et Gondoire on June 13^th.

Finally, with an accurate Garmin I am going to start preparing for a new PB at Venice on October 24^th. To be honest, I am excited!

London Marathon 2010

2010-04-26T12:09:00.000+01:00

What a stunning weekend in London. Summer arrived, the city looked amazing and I was lucky enough to have my mum and son with me for a 3 day trip to the ‘smoke’.

It was a ‘treat’ weekend really. Zest the runwild runfree travel partner had put a London package together and I therefore decided to join them and for once let someone else do the organisation. Got to say I was really glad I made that choice. Zest had put a brilliant two night package together staying at the 4 star Plaza Riverside on the Embankment just opposite the Houses of Parliament and in walking distance of the marathon finish. My son thought he was in heave. In actual fact, his opening words were, ‘Dad, you can’t afford this hotel’. He was right. I certainly would not have been staying here had Zest not put the deal together. It was a nice touch that added to the weekend. I race lots and because of that accommodation is usually functional and affordable. To have a little luxury every now and again does us all good.

Friday I headed to the expo while mum and Josh did a few touristy things. Expo was excellent. It had the same format but Virgin had really opened up the space and made it really functional and relaxing. I had lunch with Martin & Liz, saw Paula Radcliffe, met Tom Williams (the other half of marathon talk) and I basically did the rounds in the expo... usual stuff; chat and make contacts. It is quite a draining place. I worked on the Adidas stand last year for 4 days. It was harder than the marathon. I love the buzz but after 4 hours I left to get some space and recover.

Heading into Covent Garden I met the family, went to a wine bar for a relaxing drink and then went for a lovely meal at ‘Cafe des Amis’ – a favourite restaurant with some great memories.

Saturday arrived and with it the sun. The weather was getting hotter! Just in time for the marathon. I wasn’t personally worried but I was thinking of all those first timers who had just spent the last 4-6 months in the worst and coldest winter for 30 years suddenly being confronted with 22 degrees, blue skies and a nice warm day.... Potentially it was going to be a tough day for runners and the VLM staff. Of course spectators were rubbing hands together. Outside, drink in the hand; it was going to be a lovely day to watch some 37,000 grovel.

I did the perfect pre marathon day prep by walking about 8 miles. Hyde Park, Green Park, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Soho, Covent Garden and then finally back along the Embankment. You see all the sights....

Darth Vader

Elvis

Rapunzel.......

.....

It was such a lovely day. We did a little shopping, few cafe stops relaxed lunch. It was just so nice.

Back at the hotel we met up with the Zest group for drinks. I did a ‘pre marathon’ talk and then we had a pasta party. The Zest group had some great stories. Plenty of first timers, some running for charity, others running for a time. It was nice to chat and mingle.

Race morning soon came with a 6am breakfast. We had a minibus booked to take us to the start. The mini bus was a real benefit of the Zest package as it just removes that hassle on race morning. Nothing worse than being stressed to get to a race start...

We arrived Greenwich with plenty of time to spare. I was really well prepared with a throw away tracksuit, jumper, waterproof jacket and rain cape. Thank god I was.... the predicted 22 deg turned to cloud and then rain. I just don’t understand it. Runners spend 6 months preparing for the ‘big day’ and then think they can stand around, outside in April with just a vest and running shorts on; doh!! I can’t tell you how many people probably ruined the race before it even started.

I was in pen 1 on the red start. Absolutely ideal! I walked up 15 min before the start, stood on the front, removed my warm clothes 5 min before the start and then was off... perfect! Main problem came just before 3 miles when the two other starts join us. Suddenly people everywhere but to be honest I wasn’t really held up. Certainly from 10 miles I had clear roads.

So, the race!

Paris was two weeks ago! I PB’d with a 2:53 three weeks after a 50 mile ultra. So, what was the plan for London? Initially I entered London because I can! I have ‘good for age so I therefore I am guaranteed a slot. This slot needs to be taken usually around September time, so, in 2009 I took the slot with the intention of running or not running. When I planned 2010 running diary, ‘Comrades’ was going to be a primary target. I therefore decided to train hard up to Ecotrail (March 20^th), recover and go for a PB at Paris (April 11^th) and then run London as training two weeks later. A perfect plan.

Problem was in the last 3-4 weeks it was looking unlikely I would make Comrades. Therefore London left me with another opportunity to test myself. We all know, to run two hard marathons within two weeks and do well is unlikely, however, post Paris I took 4 days off, got massage, ran easy and I thought, let’s give it a go.....

From the start I was running well. I felt great and really focussed. I was prepared to hurt. Target was sub 2:50 and that means under 6:30 miles. I learnt at Paris that my GPS is slightly out and in some ways had I known this in France I may have gone a little quicker... I therefore decided to ignore the GPS and just count the miles; 1 mile in 6:30, 2 miles in 13:00, 3 miles in 19:30 and so on.

Early on I was motoring and I got ahead by 30-40 secs.

5k in 19:44

10k in 39:41

15k in 1:00:14

20k in 1:20:56

Half Marathon in 1:25:22

At this point I was feeling okay BUT I could feel the fatigue. Not so much in my quads but unfortunately in my abductors; a consequence of my hernia OP. This pain was a little too early and I realized that the chances of holding on would be unlikely.

25k in 1:41:30

30k in 2:02:45

T this point I was still on for 2:50. I had gone through the initial 10k in 39:41. If I could repeat it I would be in for a PB.

Great in theory but I knew it wasn’t possible. The Paris fatigue had hit and if I carried on I may very well be out of the race.... I eased back and decided to run into the finish. It was a painful 10k and thank god I do Ultra’s. It is times like this when you’re hurting and you have to keep gong that mental strength counts. I wasn’t worried about not getting the PB. It was a long shot and I knew it.... however, I did think it would be nice to do two sub 3’s within two weeks!

35k 2:24:55

Providing the wheels didn’t come off completely I was going to do it. Gritted my teeth. I got pulled on by the crowds and when the final 4 miles cam I just put my head down and kept pushing. The crowds really do lift you.... amazing support.

I crossed the line in 2:58:01 – why didn’t I try a bit harder and go for sub 2:58 – that 2 seconds is annoying!!.

A great race. I loved the day and the experience and insight it gave me. I feel really proud to have run 2 hard marathons in two weeks,PB’d in one, failed in the other knowing that I laid it on the line... it actually could have gone very wrong but my training pulled me through. I am now super focussed on Venice in October. You will see a change in me from Mid August. I am going to dedicate myself on one specific race and then nail it.... Venice for me is now a real objective and the thought of running fast and hard really excites me.

As a foot note (pun intended) I still feel that London is not a great course. It has its moments but in comparison to Paris it is not a ‘beautiful’ race. What it is is a spectacle. The crowd support is immense!!! Hundreds of thousands of people line the whole route with a carnival atmosphere. I actually felt nauseas at some points the noise levels were so loud. Virgin put on a great race and I think in the build up to 2012 you will see this race develop even more. I have a ‘good for Age’ for next year so I may very well be back...........

It is important to mention here Laura Mackay who ran London (her first). When I started coaching Laura she just wanted a finish. As I said in the previous blog, Laura has really dedicated herself to the cause and I knew she had a great race in her. She didn’t disappoint crossing the line with a 4:04. Brilliant time and effort! She is a little upset she didn’t drop below 4! But London is a difficult place to go for time when you are in the time bracket... the race is so busy. Laura did say afterward that she definitely lost time in the masses. She will be back, smaller race and a new PB. Laura, if you read this, how about a report!?

Onwards – what’s next?

VLM REPORT

More than 36,000 runners finished the London Marathon today, the first ever to be sponsored by Virgin.

By 7pm in the evening, 36,549 had crossed the finish line in The Mall after Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, had set a record 36,984 on their way from Greenwich, the largest field ever in the 30^th year of the event. Another record number, 37,527, had registered to run by close of play on Saturday from more than 51,000 accepted applicants.

At the end of 26.2 miles it was the Tsegaye Kebede who led them home, the Ethiopian becoming the first non-Kenyan to win the men's race since his compatriot Gezahegne Abera triumphed in 1993. Last year's runner-up, Kebede turned silver to gold as he crossed the line in 2:05:19, just nine seconds outside the course record and the third fastest ever since the London Marathon started in 1981.

Kebede, crossed the line with more than a minute to spare over Emmanuel Mutai as the Kenyan finished second in 2:06:23, while the evergreen Moroccan Jaouad Gharib was third for the second year in a row in 2:06:55. Important to mention Brit ‘Lemoncello’ in his first marathon clocked 2:13:40 for a great 8^th place.

Liliya Shobukhova became the first Russian to win the elite women's race as she produced a commanding performance to smash her personal best by more than two minutes in 2:22:00. Inga Abitova made it great day for Russia when she was second in 2:22:19 with Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia third in 2:22:38, both also inside their previous lifetime bests.

The defending champions, Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko, both dropped out with injuries, while Britain's Mara Yamauchi finished 10th in 2:26:16, the trials of her much-publicised six-day journey to London taking its toll.

Two London first-timers, Josh Cassidy and Wakako Tsuchida, took the wheelchair titles. Cassidy became the first Canadian since Daniel Wesley in 1992 to win the men's race, while Tsuchida was the first ever Japanese winner of the women's.

British favourites, David Weir and Shelly Woods, both suffered punctures in the final stages and were third and sixth respectively.

Among the masses of personal triumphs on a day of changing weather conditions were a record 18 Guinness World Record breakers, including the tallest giraffe at 5:55:11; the fastest baby, the actor Tony Audenshaw, in 3:13:30; and the fastest TV character (a dalek) in 4:01:40.

As usual, many turned out in fancy dress and many thousands more ran to raise money for hundreds of charities. There was one Royal winner, in Princess Beatrice, who crossed the line in 5:13:03 as part of a 34-person human caterpillar, claiming a Guinness World Record for the most linked runners to run a marathon.

The chain also included Sam and Holly Branson, Sir Richard's children. Sir Richard himself crossed the line 5:02:24 surrounded by his team of celebrities.

The youngest men to finish were James Bruton and Ed Hall, who both celebrated their 18^th birthdays on race day. Bruton clocked 4:59:05 and Hall 4:31:23. The youngest woman was Sarah Jane McKelvey at 18 years and 10 days. She finished in 6:24:04.

The oldest man was Jerzy Kolodziej, aged 86, who finished in 6:35:00, while the oldest women, Irene Clarke, aged 83 crossed the line in 8:13:23.

6,341 runners received medical attention during the day (as did 174 members of the public around the course); 47 were taken to hospital.

The ballot to enter the 2011 Virgin London Marathon opens online at 9.00am on 4 May. Go towww.virginlondonmarathon.com.

Thoughts on running

2010-04-20T11:38:00.000+01:00

It’s a late blog and I apologize. Having said that, I never said I would do a weekly blog.... however, it would appear that once you get in the habit of posting on a Sunday night, everyone expects it!

Last Sunday was Paris Marathon and for me the bulk of this last week has been taken up with recovery. I didn’t run for five days as my legs were quite literally trashed. A completely different type of trashed in comparison to when I ran the 50 mile EcoTrail. Post the Ultra my legs were weary and lifeless. With a few easy runs, two massages and some well planned speed work they came back to life with new vigour as my PB at Paris shows. But post Paris my legs hurt!! The type of hurt that you know has caused damage. I knew I needed to ease back, sit down, relax and accept that if I wanted to run London Marathon on the 25^th April I had to do nothing. Sometimes the best training really id rest. If you think logically, London was two weeks after Paris, so, I couldn’t get fitter. All I would do with training is basically add to the fatigue that was already in my body.

On Saturday I felt refreshed. Five days rest and my legs felt normal. I went out for an easy 5 mile trail run. It took about two miles to get the ‘feel’ back. My ITB was still a little tight causing some pulling around the knee and my Quads, although recovered still had some tenderness. Sunday was a different day. My legs were back and my morning 6 mile trail was followed with a 10k in the evening on the road with a little pace added. The rest had paid off.

Yesterday, Monday , was my massage day. To be honest I was looking forward to the massage. I needed Mark to get deep in my quads, hamstrings, ITB and freshen me up for Sunday and VLM. Needless to say it was a bloody painful hour on the table. I always leave feeling jelly legged and dehydrated, Monday was no exception. I ran in the evening, another 5 mile trail with 6:30 tempo added. Mark had done a great job.

So the week ahead has the UK’s biggest marathon and of course, one of the biggest Marathons in the world. I think 2010 will be a significant year for London as I strongly feel that Virgin will add a new dimension to the race. Also we are in the build up for the Olympics. It is an important time for all involved. I will be running, at the moment I am undecided on my strategy. I achieved my target at Paris and to try and do that again within two weeks is probably optimistic. However, my planned trip to South Africa to run Comrades Ultra on Mat 30^th now looks in doubt due to finances, so, I am tempted to give London a blast and see what happens.... I will no more on Thursday/ Friday when I can ascertain how my legs feel.

Taking part in London is Laura Mackay who has really trained hard for this event. She has been a super client to train as she has quite religiously gone out and done the sessions. She has moaned, called me cruel but she has done them. Laura will reap the benefits of that training come Sunday. Best of luck Laura!

Post Paris Richard Fluck has had to analyze his race and break it apart. Although he once again ran another PB he missed his sub 4 target by an agonising 6 seconds.... 6 seconds I know!! It’s tough. How did you rationalize six seconds in an event that takes 240 minutes or more importantly 14,400 seconds. I know as does Richard that those six seconds are nothing.... certainly nothing in terms of the whole event BUT when you need those six seconds to achieve a time, they can be a world away. As Richard recovers post Paris we now look forward and plan to a new PB. This time that time will be 3:59 and something seconds... In actual fact, do not be surprised if we have a 3:57 or 3:58. Richard is more than capeable.

You may have read this quote before, it is a favourite of mine and I like to use it for myself, my coaching clients and basically as a motivational quote. Remember that running enhances your life. It is such a positive addition to your lifestyle and for all those couch potatoes who think you are mad, copy and paste this and send it to them:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, tat the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Remember though that running is an enhancement of your life. You need to keep it in perspective and you need to balance it. As a runner your sport is a past time, a hobby or an escape. Don’t loose sight of this. I am always keen to bring out the best in all my coaching clients but that is done bearing in mind what other commitments you or they have. Compromise is required on both sides. Sometimes you will need to run at an awkward time, you may need to run long, you may need to run twice a day. If that is the case keep sight of this and make sure that you give the time back to those you love and care about.

Time for inspiration!

Niandi has a very good friend in Paris called ‘Didier’. Didier has just returned from his 16^th Marathon des Sables. For those who do not know, the ‘MDS’ is a six day foot race in the Sahara covering appx 156 miles in scorching heat carrying all your own kit in a rucksack. The only provisions supplied by the organization are a tent for the night (shared) and a water allowance. Stunning you think.... 16 editions of the MDS!! WOW. What is extra special is Didier is blind..... I get goose bumps just writing about him. I can’t imagine the frustration, the suffering and the commitment required to do sport at this level and without sight. Look at the photo below. This is an image taken from this years MDS. Apparently his feet were in a mess but he continued to the end; awesome.

Didier embraces life and he manages his disability by running. He has completed endless events. The list is too long to even mention. Hundreds of marathons, endless Ultras... he was even at The EcoTrail doing the 80km before heading out to the Sahara. In the coming weeks I am going to interview him and I will add an MP3 to the blog so that you can all hear from this amazing guy.

So, why mention Didier?

Well what I want to emphasize is the importance of taking part. Didier will never be the quickest because of his lack of sight. In actual fact, he has more reasons NOT to run.... Lets face it, if you couldn’t see would you want to run?

No, Didier runs for the love, the taking part, the passion and the enhancement it brings to his life. Without running, Didier would not be whole.

So, if you are ever in doubt WHY you run, think of Didier and think; WHY NOT!