Comrades Ultra Marathon

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

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

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

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!