Harrogate League

Last night's fourth Harrogate League race was a bit strange.  It was a 4.8 mile trail race hosted by Nidd Valley Road Runners at Harrogate Hockey Club.

It was perfectly normal until about 10 minutes before the start when all the runners were walked to the start area.  OK so far ... until we realised that the narrow path we had spent five minutes walking along was actually part of the course.  The first part.  This was made all the worse by the realisation that I was now at the wrong end of the massed runners.  I wasn't the only one who, for the first 400m or so, was faced with a wall of slower runners on a narrow path.

And then came the bollard at the end of this path followed by a few sharp twists and turns until we got onto the course proper which was basically a disused railway line which had been transformed into a very pleasant public footpath northwards to the River Nidd.

The final four and a quarter miles along these paths (quite narrow in places) saw me passing loads of other runners from all clubs.  Not a single soul passed me though and towards the end I even passed Simon Anderson who was obviously having a hard time of it.  He should be at least a minute quicker than me on this course.

Overall I was extremely pleased with my run which shows that I have now recovered from the Brive race (and the Bradford Millennium Way Relay last weekend).

It was good to see Julian Mawson there after his recent health scare and major operation.  He was still recovering and I'm sure most people there were made aware, for a short while at least, of our own mortality.  Julian isn't yet 40 years old so hopefully he'll make a speedy and strong recovery.

Bradford Millennium Way Relay

Took part in the Bradford Millennium Way Relay today.  It's a five stage race with two runners from each team on each stage - running in pairs.  Otley AC team organiser Colin Best paired me with Hugh Pearson on the final stage from Ilkley to Bingley via Rocky Valley, Burley Moor, Weecher Reservoir, Shipley Glen and the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Approximately 11 miles in total - the longest of any stage.  Hugh and I arrived at the start to be met by Colin with the news that the stage four runners would be expected in about 15 minutes.  No rush then ... get changed, pin number to vest, have a pee ...

Actually Edward and Huw were later than expected but Hugh (confusing, I know) set off at a gallop.  Definitely quicker than I would have done had I been running solo.  The first four miles or so included lots of climbing.  On top of Rombalds Moor we encountered a few deep bogs.  Knee deep.  At least.  But after that it was easy going down towards Shipley Glen.

But then we took a wrong turn and added over a mile to our route.  I must share some of the blame for that mistake as it was me carrying the map.  Hugh thankfully spotted the mistake and got us back on the correct path - to Shipley Glen.

From that point on there were no problems at all and the terrain suited me much better.  Moorland running doesn't really agree with me - especially at speed when coming across deep marshes and streams to jump over.  Or not.

Anyway the final few miles were good and overall I was well and truly knackered.  Especially during the first half when I struggled to keep pace with Hugh who's obviously used to this sort of thing.  The blister was quite painful on the rocky uphill sections but not enough to slow me down and for the last third of the route I hardly noticed anyway.  I had drained it yesterday afternoon and used a Compeed blister plaster and two pairs of cushioned socks.

Thanks to St Bedes AC for organising the event and to Colin Best for organising Otley AC teams.  And to Hugh Pearson for not letting me slow him down too much only one month after my last 24 hr race.

Otley 10 and Bradford Millennium Way relay

Yesterday was the annual Otley 10 mile race.  Although I'm not the race director any more I still helped out wherever I could in the morning and again in the evening.  Colin Best and Steve Wentling did a great job organising things this year.  Especially as the venue was changed at relatively short notice.  Thanks to Otley Cricket Club for being so accommodating.

It seems though that when the race was held in mid May the weather was a lot better than it is now we stage the race about four weeks later.  Full results can be found via the link on the Otley AC home page.

Those of you who know me will also know that in general I get very few blisters.  Even during 24 hour races I often finish with no more than a single blister.  This morning I acquired one though.  During a 13.5 mile fartlek session.  It's quite painful at the moment but hopefully it'll be OK for the weekend's Bradford Millennium Way Relay where I'm partnering Hugh Pearson on the final stage.

here we go ... and it's good to be back

OK I know I haven't posted for a while and there's a good reason for that.  I haven't had anything to write about.

I still don't have much to write about at the moment but I have been busy planning my training schedule which will take me to my next 24 hr race - the Six Nations event in Perth over the first weekend in September.  That's Perth in Scotland, not Australia.

When I arrived home from Brive I took a few days mental recovery before trying to find out why I ran a substandard distance in France.  After the Commonwealth Championships I reviewed my training and made slight adjustments for, what I thought, the better.  I now believe these changes, especially in the running side of things, were wrong and so I've reverted to a very similar running schedule to the one I used last summer.

The other aspects of my training:  although I'm still incorporating cycling and strength/conditioning exercises it will probably be a bit less of the former and a bit more of the latter.

Flexibility training remains unchanged.

At the end of May I took part in the second Harrogate League race.  It was only seven days after the World 24 hr Championships and the plan was just to run the 5 mile course.  I managed 41 minutes on the hilly route at Temple Newsam, Leeds.  Although my left hamstring ached a bit I was happy with that.

Then I ran on alternate days - 6 miles, 7 miles, 8 miles and 9 miles.  My hamstring getter better daily.  Since then my weekly mileage has improved to 40 miles.  Next week 50 then 60 then increasing by about 5% weekly.

Yesterday I took part in the third Harrogate League race.  Five and a half miles from Yeadon, near Leeds which included a hilly stretch through and beyond Spring Wood.  Managed 38:05.  Sub 7 minute miling and a good springboard to faster racing over the next few months.

Ah yes, one last thing, my club [Otley AC] decided to award me the accolade of Runner of the Month for May.  I can only assume that no-one else had any good runs last month.  Or is that me being overly critical ?

short update

Just a quick post to mention that a few videos of the recent World 24 hour Championships can be found here.

There are also a few race reports that I enjoyed reading - Dan Rose, Scott Jurek and GB crew member Fiona Rennie.  Don't forget that my report can be read here.

There are also a couple of newspaper articles in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and the Wharfedale & Airedale Observer.

Then there's this one from last month which I've just come across in the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Post Brive I began running again on Thursday 20 May with a five miler and since then I've been out on Saturday (6 miles), yesterday (7 miles) and plan to run again tomorrow (8 miles) and Friday (9 miles) and after that - well it depends on my left hamstring.  It seems to ache a bit at the moment, only when running though and it does improve slightly as the run progresses.

I expect to have a proper training schedule in place before the weekend though.  I feel I need to do well in Perth to put the recent bad run behind well and truly behind me.  It's a bit strange still though in some ways because only two years ago I would have been well pleased with 222 km.

full race report uploaded

Sorry it's taken a while but my race report from the World 24 hr Championships has now been written, edited and uploaded with photos.

It can be read here.

Over the course of the next few days one or two other pages/items on this site will need changing slightly.  So please, do come back.

My first run after that 24 hr race was the second Harrogate League race at Temple Newsam, Leeds.  It was a pleasant parkland circuit of five miles which I was please to complete in about 42 minutes without trying too hard at all.  Thanks to all those who commented on my recent race.  I truly am amazed at how many people read this blog and are interested in what I have to say about ultra running.

In the meantime my next race will be the third Harrogate League race on Thursday 3 June.  I know I'll see some of you there.

initial thoughts and questions

At least eleven national records from the 229 competitors shows what a high quality field it was.  Generally, 100 miles is seen as a good performance and at Tooting Bec the organisers try to have 25% above that distance, in Brive it was over 75%.

Eight runners over 250k, 43 over 225k, 100 over 200k.

Twenty one runners over 150 miles, 98 over 125 miles, 173 over 100 miles.

A true World Championship.

For my part there are a few questions:

- the temperature was consistently about 9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees F) below average. Did my heat training therefore have an adverse affect on my performance ?

- my plan was to start at about 7:45 per mile and gradually slow down to about 9:45 per mile at the end. Would I have done better if those figures had been 8:00 and 9:30 ?

- did I take my caffeine tablets at the most appropriate times, would they be better used when I feel a bad patch coming on ?

- cramp, why ?

Other thoughts/memories:

- the American woman, Amy Palmiero-Winters ran with a prosthetic leg but every few hours had to have the dressing on her stump changed.  She ran very close to 200km.  My hero for the race.

- Jim Rogers had been drinking beetroot juice for a week before the race. He ran a very good pb.

- my hydration plan worked exceptionally well.

- six portaloos for over 200 runners wasn't enough.

- the meals provided by the organisers before and after the race were excellent.

- the crowd support was absolutely amazing.  Hundreds of people lining the course, especially near the feed stations, made for a very special atmosphere.

I feel much more myself today, not running yet though - I'll save that for Thursday.  Hopefully the full race report will make an appearance in the next few days.

happy ... and a bit disappointed

Just a short update - I've basically spent today catching up with news and family stuff.  I'll post more stuff tomorrow.

The World Championships in Brive was a fantastic event.  Thirty two countries and well over 200 runners.

I passed 100k with a pb but at 99.8 miles it began to slowly fall apart.  Passed 100 miles in 15h 22 (a pb by 18 mins) but cramp, nausea, etc made things very difficult for the last 7 - 8 hours.

Still managed over 222k and a team bronze medal in the concurrent European Championships.

leaving soon ...

Well, this will be the last post on my blog before the World Championships.

The last couple of weeks have gone extremely well.  Tapering hard with no long runs but plenty of speedwork and a much reduced overall weekly mileage. Eating more food than usual too ... and losing a bit of weight [not that he had much to lose - Fay].

On a slightly different, rather sad note, it has just been announced that the race director for Brive has recently died.  See the IAU website for more details.

Also on the IAU website is the news that they will be offering live updates throughout the race, along with interviews and other items of interest.

The race website is likely to have live coverage throughout the event for those that are interested.  The race starts at 10.00am local time on Thursday (9.00am UK time).

I've also just found out that England Athletics have posted qualification details for the Perth Ultra 24 Hour Six Nations Home International Team Race which should be read in conjunction with the word document, a link to which can be found on the right of the England Athletics page - beneath the logo.  At the moment I know I have the qualification so I'm not thinking about that one.  Just the one in a few days time - if the Icelandic volcano is kind to us.

a couple of things ...

Getting a bit worried again by the volcano in Iceland whose name I cannot pronounce !!!  I can spell it though - Eyjafjallajokull.  Airports in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland were closed yesterday and this morning because of a fresh cloud of volcanic ash from that volcano.  I hope that isn't extended south to Heathrow over the next few days.

Also in the news is this item about an Indian man who claims to have spent the last 70 years without food and water.  But why would he want to do that when almost everything I eat is nutritious, provides me with the energy I need ... and tastes good.