volunteering

Spent a (mostly) enjoyable day on Wednesday helping with various tasks at the annual Otley 10 mile road race which attracted about 400 runners this year - the most for at least ten years.

Myself and a small team of volunteers began at 10.00am by putting up lots of signs around the race HQ (Otley Cricket Club).  Stuff such as 'car park', 'late entries', 'first aid', etc.  Then we set up the finishing funnel  and marked out the running route around the edge of the cricket pitch before getting organised for the afternoon's task.  Colin Best also drove around the course putting up lots of 'caution runners' signs.

At 4.00pm we reassembled to begin the task given to us this year by West Yorkshire Police.  We had to erect a temporary barrier along Pool Road so that runners had no choice but to use the footpath (not the actual road) for the first 1.3 miles of the race (2.1 km).  As we were doing this Tom Hannah drove around the course putting out the mile markers and one or two other signs.  This has to done fairly late because, in the past, some have been known to go missing.

That took about 90 minutes and afterwards I hurried home for a snack only to realise I had lost my house key.  Shit - I knew where it was - in the grass verge somewhere along Pool Road !!!  I also knew that it would take many hours to search for it properly so I just accepted it was lost for good and was thankful that if it was ever found there was no way it could be traced to my house.

6.20pm - time for the evening shift.  Began by giving out marshals high visibility clothing and explaining where they were expected to be, at what time, and what their duties were.  The latter varies with location of course.  After the race my job was to help Hugh Pearson write down the race numbers of every finisher - strictly in finishing order.  Not easy when two finishers didn't have numbers and a third had the number on her back.

Overall it was an enjoyable way to spend a day.  It is a good exercise for all runners for only then can we truly appreciate the effort that goes into staging even a small road race.  Colin Best has been race director for a few years now and he deserves much credit ... especially organising the 40 + marshals that are needed.  Well done to him.

Apart from all that I managed to fit in a short run of my own early in the morning and some strength training early in the afternoon.  So, a good day all round then.

Otley 10

Spent much of yesterday helping out at the annual 10 mile road race organised by my club (Otley AC).  OK, OK the club doesn't belong to me but you know what I mean.


This year was the 28th staging of the popular evening race which, strangely enough, seemed to enjoy much better weather when it was held in mid May.  The course itself winds it's way through beautiful countryside to the north of Otley and is well known across northern England for the two rather large hills - see the course profile here.  I don't believe this course was particularly designed to be difficult, it's just that it wasn't easy for the club at that time to find a suitable route locally for a road race without incorporating some hills.  I now think it's quite rare for such a long standing race to have a course record which is over 50 minutes.

The course records are:  50:56 (Colin Moore - 1989) and 57:40 (Veronique Marot - 1989)

This year's winner was Matt John (Otley AC) who finished in just over 56 minutes.

Colin Best deserves much credit for organising the race this year (and last year too).  Hopefully he can continue for many years to come and also hopefully I can be of more help than I was this year as the race has always been a bit special for me.  I was race director from 2000 to 2008/9 but had to resign when the pressures of Running to London and trying to secure selection for the 2009 Commonwealth Championships began to take their toll.

I'm sure Colin would want to join me in saying 'thank you' to all the marshals and other helpers who make this race possible.  I think that many people not involved in organising a race fail to appreciate the manpower needed to stage an event like this.

Otley 10

The 27th running of the Otley 10 took place yesterday evening.  As usual I helped out where I could - setting up stuff in the morning and working as a finish recorder during the race itself.  I also did various other miscellaneous stuff during the course of the evening.

I'm not actually the race director any more.  Colin Best now has that thankless task - and he did an excellent job too.

This year Keir was running his first 10 mile race [it was my first 10 miler too - back in 1992].  He knew the course was a difficult one but I'm not sure he quite appreciated just how energy sapping that second big hill would be.  He finished in 1h 40 and I'm very proud of him.   At 17 years and 10 days he was by far the youngest runner and I'm sure he'll enjoy his well earned memento - a bottle of beer !!!

what have I been doing ?

Not had much time for blogging recently.  Training mainly but also Keir's birthday a few days ago.  He's 17 now and halfway through some AS exams.

Anyway ... training.  A brief resume of what I've been doing since the last post.

24 and 25 May
A long run on each day ... 25.6 and 28.2 miles but also some strength work and stretching.  Five hours training on the 24th and 5h 30 minutes on the 25th.

26 May
Harrogate League race in the evening but cycling and weights in the morning.  The race was brilliant as far as I was concerned.  I knew it was quite a hilly 6 miles (well two big hills actually) and my plan was to use this as a a quick training run - 6:30 to 6:45 per mile.  I set off steadily and passed loads of people on both hills.  Approaching the finish a few other running tried outpacing me not realising I had always been holding back.  I bet they were surprised by the speed of my sprint finish.  My time of 40 minutes equates to 6:36 per mile ... perfect.

27 May
Hill reps using a 750m stretch of Farnley Lane in Otley - only the steep bit (as Phil Robinson put it).  I began, in February, with six of these with the aim of gradually increasing to twelve.  I ran ten on this day with no problems at all except for the strong winds.  Also did lots of strength work which took the total training time to over 3h 50 minutes.

28 May
Took part in the Park Run in Bradford.  The 5k race around Lister Park took me 20:59 [my worst time ever for 5k].  I did run the 8.5 miles to the start before the race though ... and the 8.5 miles home again.  Not too bothered by the very slow time because it came at the end of a very heavy training week.  Did the usual strength work this evening which took the total training time for the day to almost 5h 20 minutes.

29 May
Keir's birthday so I had a rest day.  We spent an enjoyable day in York with friends and the only training I did was about half an hour's stretching before bed.

This weekend's Grand Union Canal Race saw Pat Robbins win again in yet another course record.  The 145 mile race from Birmingham to London follows the Grand Union Canal as closely as possible and the record is now 25h 37 minutes.  Mike Blamires also took part and he must have been pleased with his time of 40 hours considering his limited training in recent months.

Chris Finill was also running in London - testing the course of the 2012 Olympic marathon with a few other runners including Ian Fisher of Otley AC.  I hear that towards the end the other runners decided to hold back slightly and let Chris finish slightly ahead ... out of respect for his feat of finishing EVERY London marathon (1981 to present).

30 May
No running ... only three and a half hours of cycling, stretching and strength work.

31 May
Long run - fartlek - 27 miles.  Felt very good and ran well in the windy conditions.  My route from Otley included Menston, Guiseley, Shipley, Leeds Liverpool Canal, Kirkstall, Headingley and Bramhope.  Cycling and other stuff pushed the training time up to 5h 15 minutes.

In the evening I attended the final Otley AC committee meeting before next week's Otley 10 mile road race and everything seems in hand and well planned as usual.  Should be another good race.  I'm not running (helping as usual) but Keir is - his first 10 miler.

1 June
The final long run before the UltraRace 100 miles at the end of the month - 29.7 miles using the canal again but a different route not including Kirkstall, Headingley or Bramhope.  Felt good running in the unseasonably warm conditions.  Strength and flexibility work made this a long training day - over 6h 45 minutes.

2 June
Just a nice run in the sunshine up the valley to Askwith and back.  No problem but with all the other training the total time rose to almost three and a half hours.  Weather still warm.

Unfortunately I couldn't run in the Harrogate League race because of the local scouts committee meeting.  Being chairman I should attend if at all possible.

3 June
Early this morning I did more hill reps but this time on the shorter and much steeper Newall Carr Bank.  Then I spent some time shopping for things needed for the upcoming race:  food mainly but also a new wristwatch/stopwatch as mine finally packed in a few weeks ago.

Just finished today's other exercises which takes total to about 3h 30 minutes.

Well, that brings us up to date.  It's been a very busy week with all the training, Keir's exams and two committee meetings.  Hopefully next week will be a bit less hectic - especially as it's the first week of tapering.

getting better ...

Not sure what I can write about today but there is a need to write something so that I don't end up on John Kynaston's '... blogs Hall of Shame'

Rehab is going particularly well at the moment and I've ditched my old friends Ib and Ic (not sure what happened to Ia !!!).  Hope they don't mind, I'm sure they realise that we'll meet again sometime and it'll be as if we've never been apart.

My weight has also started falling, slowly at the moment but that's OK ... there's no rush.

At the moment there's quite a bit going on in the background with my other running activities - helping with the organisation of two races staged by Otley AC.  The annual Otley 10 will be on Wednesday 8 June and we have also been asked to host a race as part of the Harrogate League which will use a different course to the one we usually use.

I'm not race director for these races though.  I gave that up in May 2009 because of time constraints; I'm just helping where and when I can.  And that suits me fine because when I step up my training in a few weeks time that's all I'll be able to manage anyway.

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.

hope you're still waiting

Well ... "we're waiting" I hear you all shout.  I know you mean my race report from the Commonwealth Championships.

It'll only be another two or three days - and here's why (without going into too many details):

- a death in the family held things up big time last week
- I've developed a horrible cold this week
- I've also been planning my training for the next eight months or so with lots of help from Alan Young
- other pages on this site needed updating too, more details soon
- had an AGM to plan for Otley Parish Church Scouts (I was the secretary, now chairman and newsletter editor)
- had to attend the AGM of Otley AC (I was the secretary and race director of the Otley 10, now vice president only)

As you can see I've hardly been idle.

Anyway, the wait is almost over.  Just hang in there another few days.

Otley 10

Otley 10 last night.   I handed over the race director's role earlier this year and the new guy seems to have done a fantastic job gathering over 60 volunteers - marshals, car park attendants, timekeepers, etc, etc.

My job was recording finishers' numbers.  The first time since 1998 that I've actually had a specific job to do.  So, I stood in the drizzle for 40 minutes or so shouting out numbers while Hugh Pearson wrote them down.

From what I could see everything went well.

Photos, results, etc available on the Otley AC website.

Ice and snow

Because of the icy conditions underfoot I had to slightly alter my training today. I was going to do an acceleration run (where each mile is slightly faster than the previous mile) on the route of the Otley 10. I decided though that narrow country lanes, ice and hills don't mix very well.

For those unfamiliar with the Otley 10 the first four miles are flat. The next four miles involve 680 feet of climbing (210 metres). Mile nine is downhill and the final mile is uphill to complete the loop.

I ran in the other direction instead. The temperature, as yesterday, was -1 degree Celsius (30 degrees Fahrenheit) and I was mildly amused to see other folk out and about without gloves ... I'm running in three pairs and struggling for the first 20 to 30 minutes.

Had a fantastic hot bath when I returned home and a large cup of fresh coffee. Fay had some from Sainsbury's ... Continental Blend. I don't usually drink supermarket's own but I thought I'd give this a try - it was good, I really enjoyed it. Not sure where the beans actually came from but I'd guess there was quite a lot from Indonesia in there.

Also in the bath was some stuff from Lush. They make fantastic bath and shower products, the things with cinnamon and other spices I find particularly good for recovery after long runs (or on a cold day).

I also use chocolate milk to aid recovery. In this case I drank almost a pint whilst making the coffee.

The plan is to run twice tomorrow but we'll see what the weather brings.

Tired today

Yesterday's race went brilliantly apart from a lack of manpower at the finish. We were saved though by Roy Hollingworth of Dragons RC who stepped in at the last minute to help out - many thanks to him.

I must admit that today I feel a bit of a fool. Derek Martin (Abbey Runners) turned up to hand out race entry forms for his club's 10 mile race - The Eccup 10 [a very good race, which I would run if it were not on the same day as the Hull 24hr race]. At first I didn't recognise him and when it dawned on me who I was talking to I forgot his first name. I know he's running in Hull too and I hope he does well - he was 4th last year (and second in the Crawley 12 hr race this year I believe). Apologies to him then for my disrespectful attitude at times.

This morning I ventured out on a slow 23 miler - including a very hilly 10 mile section - to make sure all the signs, etc have been collected. Last year I had to carry a sign (36 inches by 24 inches - on a wooden stake) back home from the 4 mile point ... not much fun.

Otley 10 this evening

Luckily the organisation of this year's Otley 10 has hardly disrupted my training at all. The only change I've had to make is to move this week's two long runs from Monday & Tuesday to Thursday & Friday.

On Monday I ran around the course checking everything over and painting on the road exactly where the mile markers should be placed. Although it is known as a hilly course I was surprised how easy the run was, I wasn't running fast but I expected at least to be very tired at the top of the two (big) hills.

This morning I spent a couple of hours with a team mate putting up signs, etc around the race HQ and taking delivery of the mementoes. A specially commissioned bottle of beer from Hambleton Ales.

Later this afternoon I'll be off around the course again (with another team mate) putting up the 'caution runners' signs and mile markers as well as making a final check that everything is OK.

And then, tonight, the race. As in almost every other year that I've organised this race I'm a bit worried that we don't have enough marshals, funnel officials, etc. I'm sure everything will be fine though ...

Still not found any decent decaff coffee. I'll probably end up buying some decaf house blend from Starbucks (help ...)

Pleased about my weight. Since the beginning of the year I've lost over 2kg (4.4lb) and I'm consistently under 59kg, I feel much better for it too.

busy, busy, busy

Had lots of PC/internet connection problems recently ... I think they're all sorted out now and normal service can be resumed.

The full length sorbothane inner soles I bought in London recently don't seem to stop the balls of my feet from being painful on long runs ... in fact, I would say they make it worse. A couple of days ago I had to change my shoes twice during a 23 miler.

The instructions say to use them over the top of the inner soles provided with the shoes. Perhaps I'll try them "instead of" as opposed to "as well as".

Still using the sorbothane heel raises though but the long standing achilles injury is now officially no more ... ie I'm injury free for the first time since October last year.

Ran a Harrogate League race in Thirsk last night, approx 5 miles (probably a bit more). I came away with my best time ever on that course, which I'm very pleased about. One of our team, Gilly, came away with an injury to the back of her left knee though which doesn't look good - she couldn't straighten her leg or put any weight on her left foot. She seemed a bit sad, which is only natural as she's been running well recently. I hope she's OK.

Seriously beginning to think now about exactly what food, drink, painkillers, suntan lotion, kit I'll need to take to the Hull 24 hr race - gels, rice pudding, custard, jaffa cakes, grapes, Turkish Delight, electrolyte sports drinks, salt, sun glasses, the list goes on and on ...

Also been busy allocating tasks for this Wednesday's Otley 10. I have to find at least 50 volunteers and allocate tasks such as marshalling, car park attendants, timekeepers, lead car driver, sweep car driver, finish recorders, people to give out mementoes and drinks after the race. Also have to liaise with local police and councils, scouts, town mayor, other sports clubs who share our car park, etc. Very busy at the moment.

Stage Three

Finally began training properly yesterday ... and it felt good to be back.

Ran 8.6 miles steadily and today tried the same but a bit quicker - no problems at all except that I couldn't find the Otley 10 mile markers (the ones I paint on the road every year).

Making Plans

Training (if I could call it that) is going very well at the moment. Yesterday's outing scored 98 and today's did likewise.

Time now to look at putting together a proper schedule starting from mid March ... things such as long runs, hill reps, tempo runs, intervals, etc. One question though: my races last year were 1 mile, 5.7 miles, 5.9 miles, 5 miles, 24 hours, 24 hours and 2 trail relays so how do I estimate what my 10k, 5k, 3k half marathon paces should be ? I also ran a 10k but that doesn't count because I ran 17 miles to the start before racing (ran home too after the race).

Using the World Masters Age Graded Tables and some clever stats I've decided that the above training paces should be (per mile): 6:26, 6:11, 5:52 and 6:38 respectively.

Also beginning to look at races - not entering anything yet (apart from the Hull 24 hr race). Those that interest me include:

Wakefield 10k, S. Leeds Stadium 5m, North of England 12 stage relay, Rothwell 10k, Bradford 10k, Harrogate League, John Carr 5k Series, Black Sheep Series, Meanwood Valley Trail Race, Wharfedale Off-Road Full & Half Marathons, Bradford Millennium Way Relay, Stainland 7, Mileta 10k, Wetherby 10k, Sutton 7.

The following ultras are also possible: Ridgeway 40, Fife 50k, Gordon Bentley 12 hr, Marlborough Downs Challenge, Dartmoor Discovery, Rochdale Canal Relay, White Cliffs 50, Self Transcendence 24 hr.

These things all depend on how my rehab continues to progress ... but things are looking good.

Just seen in Athletics Weekly that two ultra runners are standing for election to the Road Running Leadership Group: Hilary Walker and Pam Storey. As secretary of Otley AC and Race Director of the Otley 10 I believe I'm entitled to vote (twice). After reading the information on UK Athletics website I think I'll have to go with Hilary ... sorry Pam !!

PS can you tell I'm in a much better frame of mind that I was in early January.