my year in brief

Well ... the end of another year and for me it was a year of three parts.

The first part was spent recovering from a broken bone in my foot - falling down a flight of steps at home is not a good idea.

The second (and best ...) part was training for, and taking part in, two long ultra distance races.  The first was the ULTRArace 100 mile event around the Cotswolds in England.  Really enjoyed this race in stunning scenery and good weather.  It was good to have Hugh Pearson (Otley AC clubmate) crewing for me and hopefully we'll be able to continue that relationship as his running and coaching experience is invaluable.  My report can be read here.

The second - and most important - race was the World 24 hour Championships which were held in Poland at the beginning of September.  The first 21 hours of that race were fantastic as I was on schedule for well over 240 km .. and feeling good too.  The atmosphere was terrific and the crewing was brilliant (thanks go to Eleanor Robinson, Richard Brown, Adrian Stott, Rory Coleman, Marco Consani and Andy Smith).  My brief report can be read here.

The third part of my running year began at 9:00am on Sunday 9 September.  Injury struck during that 24 hour race as it did for about 10% of the runners.  I've since learned that the IAU considered moving the race to a different part of the park because of the poor condition of the road surface and sharp corners.  This report by US runner Jonathan Savage explains ...

Although I seem to have now recovered from that badly sprained ankle I was also struck down by gout in late November and early December which delayed my return to running somewhat.  Thaings are now progressing nicely though and today's 20 minute run scored an encouraging 97.5 % although the abysmal weather made it very hard work.

That's a brief account of my running year but there has been other highlights too.  Most notably Keir successfully passing his A levels and getting into the university of his choice - Ulster - to read History.  That's been his plan for a few year's now and I'm pleased that it's come off for him.  I'm so proud of his achievements too.  He's worked hard for that and he deserves it ... I remember spending about an hour a day for three or four years helping him with speech therapy exercises.

And next year ... more races of course ... have fun and take care.

ULTRArace 100

This will be just a short, preliminary report - no doubt I'll gather my thoughts for a proper report in a week or two.

You know it takes me a while to get those things together.


A month or so before the race I set myself a target of 16h 30 and I was about 5 minutes ahead of this until about 59 miles when I needed an emergency toilet stop.  At about 69 miles I was sick three or four times.  When approaching the 80 mile checkpoint I tripped/fell and whilst dusting myself down, locating the pain, limping, etc I ran past the turn and continued for about three quarters of a mile before realising - this means I ran about 1.5 miles EXTRA this year.


Makes up for last year I suppose !!!


At 80 miles I was scheduled to finish in about 17h 20.


So I dug in deep and finished in 16h 41:16


Pleased with that for three reasons:


(1)  an hour quicker than last year
(2)  to run a very fast last 20 miles after those mishaps was very satisfying
(3)  UK Athletics wanted me to run sub 18 hours to prove my fitness ahead of September's World 24 hr Championships - just a bit of added pressure


Disappointed with only finishing second though.


Many thanks to Hugh Pearson for being a great crew person ... and to Rory and Jen for organising a fantastic race.  I only wish there were more events of this type in the UK.


And not forgetting those people who anonymously donated via PayPal using the link on the right.  I welcome your faith in me and hope that faith is beginning to be rewarded.

headaches ... and other race news

After my last long run (Wednesday) recovery was progressing nicely when, about 7 hours after I got back home, I developed a headache.  Didn't think much about it but it gradually got worse and despite some ibuprofen before going to bed my head still throbbed when I woke the next morning.

I couldn't face a 16 mile (26 km) run in the rain with a pounding head so I cancelled that idea and went straight for the coffee.  Magic ... within half an hour my headache disappeared.  That got me thinking about the cause ...

I have had similar headaches in the past after a long run and my theory is that as the long run was in the morning I didn't have my usual caffeine shot (or three, in my case).  I guess my body was telling me what was wrong and now that I've heard the message I'm going to try taking some caffeine tablets during my next long run.

That is planned for next Wednesday when Hugh and I will be trekking around the Yorkshire Dales for 44 miles (70 km) so we can learn about how best to develop the runner/crew relationship and put into practise what we learn in my next race ... ULTRArace 100.  Only 8 weeks to go.

Which reminds me ... the organisers of that race (Rory Coleman and Jen Salter) have another race on the go at the moment.  A 16 day stage race from John O'Groats to Land's End which saw 11 runners leave northern Scotland last Friday ... there are only two remaining now as the other 9 have succumbed to injury and/or severe wear and tear, etc.  I've not been much interested in stage races before but I must say that I'm enjoying reading the race blog and I'm seriously thinking about giving it a go in the next few years - if I can find the £2000 entry fee.

William Sichel is still running well in New York's bad weather but it looks like he'll have to settle for second place this time although there's still a long time to go in that 6 day race.  He's now into the final 20% of the race though and I wouldn't be too surprised if he does end up winning.

some ultra races

OK ... I know I haven't actually entered any races at the moment, and that will be corrected in the next week or so, but I have been making sure the heel and achilles injuries will stand up to running 100 miles or more non-stop.

Following some good training recently I'm now confident that the old legs can withstand the demands I'll be placing on them for the rest of this year.

Apart from the usual array of shorter races - mainly for speedwork, etc - the first important race will be the ULTRArace 100 mile in June.  I know I ran this last year but for a number of reasons I decided to go to Stratford-upon-Avon again (2011 race report here):

• I really enjoyed my time in the Cotswold's last year and hopefully the weather will be better
• last year's race worked very well as preparation for a 24 hr race in September
• after quite a serious injury last October, a 24 hr race this Spring may be a step too far
• Rory Coleman (race director) invited me back to "smash the course record" - that's a challenge worth pursuing
• after last year's mistake I feel I have a point to prove to myself

I'm also lucky to have Hugh Pearson crewing for me.  He's an experienced competitor in IronMan Triathlons and also the club's senior coach and junior co-ordinator, we've already been planning a long practise run and talking about nutrition, medical stuff and the logistics of crewing.  I'm very happy to be working with him.

Following that I hope to be running in the World & European 24 hr Championships in Katowiche, Poland.  This takes place on 8/9 September and I know I haven't been selected yet ... but I believe I will be in the team primarily because of my win in Perth (Sep 2010) but also because of my relative consistency.  The average of my best six 24 hour distances will probably be above the required 'team qualification standard' ... that's something I'm quite proud of actually.

After that - well I haven't decided yet but maybe Barcelona to make up for last year's disappointment of not being able to make it because of a clash of dates with Keir's visit to Rome University.  And then being injured anyway.

See here for the full list of planned races.

All in all ... I feel good right now.