a few things I've found

This post will just be a round up of a few things I've found recently on the web.


First of all ULTRAmarathonRunning.com has a link to a very interesting race (for me at least ...).  It's called Hell On The Humber and basically it's a 12hr race with a difference.  The difference is that each 4 mile road loop crosses the Humber Bridge twice ... and the race starts at 7.00pm.

Now, the Humber Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering, with a centre span of 1,410 metres (4,626 ft) and a total length of 2,220 metres (7,283 ft), it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world for 16 years from when it opened in 1981.  The towers, although both vertical, are not parallel, being 36 millimetres (1.4 in) farther apart at the top than the bottom as a result of the curvature of the earth.  It remains the longest bridge in the world that one can cross on foot or by bicycle.  The bridge opened to traffic on 24 June 1981.  It was opened officially by The Queen on 17 July 1981.


I remember, in the dim and distant past, a ten mile race which was held on 27 September 1981.  The race also crossed the bridge twice, starting and finishing in the car park at the northern end.  The race was won by Roger Hackney with 49:51 (he's now a doctor in Leeds, I believe).  Other top names running included Graham Ellis (50:22), Kim McDonald (51:05), Ray Smedley (51:19), David Topham (51:38 - I used to race against him in my school days, where is he now ?) ... and is E.M.Adams now known as Eleanor Robinson ?  She was third woman with 63:07.


There was another 10 mile race the following year but I was unlucky because on both occasions I had been in hospital for a while over the summer and couldn't compete - so I ran in the fun runs instead:  4.3 miles in 1981 and 5 miles in 1982.

Full details of the 12 hour race can be found here.  Unfortunately I won't be taking part as it's too close to the Commonwealth Championships.


Second find is a blog by Steve Magness which has some very good scientific stuff about running and training.  There's nothing that I've seen that's specific to ultra distances but plenty that can be interpolated for our use.  A very good site.


Finally - because I'm running out of time - the DUV website, in German, has started including age graded times/distances with their results.  Full details here.  They have also provided a link at the bottom of the page to the actual tables they've started to use.  I'll also be using that table for all age graded stuff appearing on this site as it is the 2010 edition whereas the one I have been using is the 2006 version.  Just don't ask me to change all my previous results tough.

nutritional ranking !!!!

In my last post I mentioned the official IAU World Rankings and the fact that if every race was included (not just those with an IAU label) the list would be slightly different.

This German website included all those other races and shows that for 2010 my unofficial ranking rose to 37 from 44 in 2009.  Very pleased with that but I know there's still a lot more to come.

Also ... there's a very good post on Andy DuBois blog about nutrition and ultra running.  I'm not sure where my thoughts lie regarding this one.  I recognise the need to metabolise fats efficiently during a race ... but how to train the body to do that, and is it worth the effort anyway ?

lots of stuff in this post ...

A few bits and pieces to get though in this post ...

The official world rankings have been issued on the IAU website.  The performances on their list only include those set at officially labelled races, ie those with doping control and a proven accuracy regarding course measurement.

My name appears at number 30 on the list which I'm very pleased about.  Over 80% of the performances ranked above mine were set at last year's world championships which goes to show just how high the quality of that race was.  I'm sure that a few people will have runner farther than me in an unlabelled 24 hr race though so my 'actual' world ranking will be a bit lower than 30.  Fuller details will be on the German DUV website ... I don't have time to check it out right now though (apologies for that).

At the moment I'm reading a very good biography of acclaimed ultra runner Arthur Newton.  The book is called Tea With Mr Newton and was written by Rob Hadgraft ... and published by Desert Island Books.

The book is very readable, even for someone without much interest in running, and the author obviously loves the subject of long distance running.  I look forward to reading shortly his other biographies of some of the great distance runners of yesteryear (even though their races were a bit short for me):  Deerfoot, Walter George and Alf Shrubb.

Recently I've been looking at this ultra running website and found a few great articles about training and nutrition.  I've certainly found them helpful and plan to incorporate one or two of the author's ideas into my own training and racing.

There is a great line in one of the pieces by Sunny Blende, MS, sports nutritionist:
" An ultramarathon is an eating and drinking contest, with a little exercise and scenery thrown in."

I would certainly agree with that. In a single day in Perth last September I drank over 7.4 litres (13 pints) and consumed a total of over 5800 kcal made up of 95g protein, 1211g carbohydrates and 55g fat.

Finally I feel the need to briefly report that one of Keir's friends from primary school was hit by a car on 31 December in Otley and killed.  Keir is still quite shocked by what happened but our thoughts go out to the 16 year old's parents at this sad time.  A link to the story in the local newspaper is here.

news ... news ... news ...

Just three short news items today:

(1)  The Planet Ultramarathon website has an interesting post about solo running and the logistics of keeping records of those feats.  After my Run to London last year my main thought would be that some people do those kind of things just for fun.  They may be interested in the record aspect of it but do not want to get tied down with all the red tape and/or paperwork and/or other requirements that may be needed to absolutely prove they did what they claim to have done.

It is a good idea to have a body recognising these achievements though.

(2)  The German website (DUV) has been uploading lots of ultra race results lately.  Some of them going back to the 1970's.  This website is proving to be a great repository of results and provides a brilliant statistical service for the last six years over a wide range of distances and times.  Well done to Jurgen, Bertram and Andreas.

Good to see Alan Young at number thirteen in the British 24 hour rankings for 2010.

(3)  William Sichel has uploaded loads of podcasts, many of which were filmed with the Athens 1000 mile race in mind.  They contain an amazing amount of information and show just how meticulous ultra runners have to be with their preparation and racing.  Amazing stuff which is well worth a look.

rankings

Sorry about not posting for a while ... not had a lot to say recently.

I've decided though that I could informally and unofficially include my Run To London in the yearly 48 hr rankings produced by the DUV website.

I ran approximately 218 miles/350.836k in 45 hours on the roads between Otley and London.  According to the DUV website 350.836k would rank me at number 7 in the world if it had been a 48 hr race.

Please note that this is unofficial.  The Run To London was not a race and shouldn't be included although I was aiming for a decent time.

The actual figures can be seen on the Rankings page.