By all accounts the weekend's race in Steembergen, Netherlands was a hard one. At one point there was a facebook post by the Aussie team which read:
"at the moment we're having four seasons worth of weather ... every 15 minutes."
No doubt about it that is the stuff that makes things very difficult in a 24 hour race and, I guess on average, performances will have been reduced by about 5 % and the winner's distance was probably not as far as expected in a World 24 hr Championship race. Previous winning distances (men) are shown below and full results can be found on the DUV website.
2013 ... 269 km
2012 ... 277 km
2010 ... 273 km
2009 ... 257 km
2008 ... 273 km
2007 ... 263 km
2006 ... 272 km
2005 ... 268 km
2004 ... 269 km
2003 ... 270 km
2001 ... 275 km
Some of the UK performances seem to have been quite amazing in those circumstances ...
Steve Holyoak ... over 246 km and a new pb
Robbie Britton ... over 239 km and a new pb
Sharon Law ... over 226 km and a new pb
Karen Hathaway ... over 210 km and a new pb
Sharon set new Scottish records for 200 km and 24 hours (on the road). Amazing.
Debbie Martin-Consani, Emily Gelder, Pat Robbins, John Pares, Matt Moroz and Lizzy Hawker had less successful races and, unfortunately, I wasn't there so I can't really comment as to the reasons for that. Perhaps an injury or two.
Congratulations also to Torill Fonn who beat her personal best by almost 5 %.
Overall, as I'm a recovering injured ultra runner, I found it quite difficult mentally to keep up to date with all that was happening in Steenbergen ... I guess I'm just missing the racing a bit. I'm glad I persevered though as it has given me some much needed motivation for racing next year and training in the second half of this year (with perhaps a race thrown in ...).
Full results here.
Showing posts with label Torill Fonn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torill Fonn. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Fay and me
As regular readers will know Fay and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We didn't really know how to celebrate this milestone (not having done that before ...) but, in the end, we decided to go back to the place we spent our honeymoon. Not the same hotel - I don't think that exists any more - but the same part of the world.
I suppose the story starts back in early 1985, a few months before Fay's 18th birthday. We decided, without much fanfare, that we would get engaged on her 18th birthday and married on her 21st. Between mid 1985 and April 1988 we hardly talked about marriage at all but we hadn't forgotten.
In March or April 1988 (I forget which) I secretly organised a wedding for us. We both knew what we wanted - a quiet marriage with a minimum of fuss. And that included nobody from our respective families and no large party afterwards. On the first of May I asked Fay if she still wanted to marry me - the answer was 'yes' so I told her what plans I had made. Bradford Register Office three days later, 4.00pm.
At that point we still didn't have a ring but that was no problem, on the morning of the wedding we went and bought one - but the one Fay liked was a bit too small, hmmmm. After explaining the situation to the jeweller he agreed to try and stretch the patterned band of gold a tiny bit. But we had to go back at 3.00pm to collect it.
As the time approached we remembered that we needed two witnesses ... no problem, I'm sure these two passer's by wouldn't mind helping out for a short while. Luckily they agreed and our wedding went ahead without a hitch. Afterwards we adjourned to McDonalds and laughed quietly to ourselves about what we had done.
Our honeymoon was spent on the wonderful Gower Peninsula in south Wales. We were there five or six days touring the area and it's beautifully unspoilt beaches, coves and villages.
We realised we had to tell our families sooner or later so we arranged two trips and two bottles of champagne to help break the news. Of course some people were not happy that they had missed out on a wedding. Tough. It's our life ... we'll do it our way.
Twenty five years later the whole area is still an undiscovered gem of a place with many quiet beaches and bays which are absolutely stunning on the sunny days we were there.
PS ... all the best to the UK runners in Steenbergen at the weekend. Hope you all have a good one, and injury free.
PPS ... the same for William Sichel in a six day race he's running in Hungary (I believe Sharon Gayter will be there too).
PPPS ... also all the best to the other runners I know who are running in Steenbergen (Torill F, Sharon S, David K, etc).
I suppose the story starts back in early 1985, a few months before Fay's 18th birthday. We decided, without much fanfare, that we would get engaged on her 18th birthday and married on her 21st. Between mid 1985 and April 1988 we hardly talked about marriage at all but we hadn't forgotten.
In March or April 1988 (I forget which) I secretly organised a wedding for us. We both knew what we wanted - a quiet marriage with a minimum of fuss. And that included nobody from our respective families and no large party afterwards. On the first of May I asked Fay if she still wanted to marry me - the answer was 'yes' so I told her what plans I had made. Bradford Register Office three days later, 4.00pm.
At that point we still didn't have a ring but that was no problem, on the morning of the wedding we went and bought one - but the one Fay liked was a bit too small, hmmmm. After explaining the situation to the jeweller he agreed to try and stretch the patterned band of gold a tiny bit. But we had to go back at 3.00pm to collect it.
As the time approached we remembered that we needed two witnesses ... no problem, I'm sure these two passer's by wouldn't mind helping out for a short while. Luckily they agreed and our wedding went ahead without a hitch. Afterwards we adjourned to McDonalds and laughed quietly to ourselves about what we had done.
Our honeymoon was spent on the wonderful Gower Peninsula in south Wales. We were there five or six days touring the area and it's beautifully unspoilt beaches, coves and villages.
We realised we had to tell our families sooner or later so we arranged two trips and two bottles of champagne to help break the news. Of course some people were not happy that they had missed out on a wedding. Tough. It's our life ... we'll do it our way.
Twenty five years later the whole area is still an undiscovered gem of a place with many quiet beaches and bays which are absolutely stunning on the sunny days we were there.
PS ... all the best to the UK runners in Steenbergen at the weekend. Hope you all have a good one, and injury free.
PPS ... the same for William Sichel in a six day race he's running in Hungary (I believe Sharon Gayter will be there too).
PPPS ... also all the best to the other runners I know who are running in Steenbergen (Torill F, Sharon S, David K, etc).
Thursday, 1 March 2012
training, races, retiring ... and questions about drinks
Recent training has been good in the warm winter sunshine - the temperature here has regularly been over 11 C (52 F) whereas the average is only about 7 or 8 C (45.5 F). It's all starting to come together and I've added hill reps to the training schedule. In fact I find myself choosing the hilly route almost every time I go running at the moment - it's good for strength though so I'm not complaining. It will also come in handy if I choose to do a hilly ultra in June.
Early next week I'll be doing my first 20 miler (32 km) since late August last year and I'm really looking forward to it. I've no idea yet where I'll be running but those three hours will be fun if the weather stays as it is.
Sad to read about William, Anth and Torill all having bad races recently for various reasons in Espoo and Evreux. I'm sure they'll all bounce back, learn from the experience and have some good performances later this year.
Received news yesterday that it's extremely likely that I'll be taking part in a 24 hour race in eastern Europe in early September. Nothing definite yet (the wheels of officialdom are turning slowly this year) so I can't say any more than that.
On a similar note many of you will be aware that the IAU is pushing very hard to have a 24 hour race included in the 2018 Commonwealth Games which will be held in Australia. If that does happen it will be a fantastic opportunity and experience for all the athletes. Not just for ultra runners but for all the other sports and media people who will get an chance to see first hand what we do and the extreme levels of fitness, endurance and camaraderie involved. Fay said recently that I'll be retired by then ... don't tell her but even though I'll be 54 when the Games take place I'll be trying my best during 2017 to make the team.
Retire ... don't be silly.
A couple of thoughts recently came to me when reading the label and website of a well known brand of isotonic sports drink:
100ml contains 6.4g carbohydrate (of which 3.5g are sugars). What is the remaining 2.9g ? and
if I aim to take on board 60g glucose per hour during a 24 hr race will 100ml provide 6.4g or 3.5g of that ? and
500ml bottles of liquid and 390g tubs of powder have slightly different ingredients and nutritional data, why ?
Hope someone has an answer or two (or three maybe) - for ultra runners nutrition is important ... everyone else thinks we're bonkers !!!
Thanks to everyone recently for the birthday greetings via Facebook or otherwise ... much appreciated.
Early next week I'll be doing my first 20 miler (32 km) since late August last year and I'm really looking forward to it. I've no idea yet where I'll be running but those three hours will be fun if the weather stays as it is.
Sad to read about William, Anth and Torill all having bad races recently for various reasons in Espoo and Evreux. I'm sure they'll all bounce back, learn from the experience and have some good performances later this year.
Received news yesterday that it's extremely likely that I'll be taking part in a 24 hour race in eastern Europe in early September. Nothing definite yet (the wheels of officialdom are turning slowly this year) so I can't say any more than that.
On a similar note many of you will be aware that the IAU is pushing very hard to have a 24 hour race included in the 2018 Commonwealth Games which will be held in Australia. If that does happen it will be a fantastic opportunity and experience for all the athletes. Not just for ultra runners but for all the other sports and media people who will get an chance to see first hand what we do and the extreme levels of fitness, endurance and camaraderie involved. Fay said recently that I'll be retired by then ... don't tell her but even though I'll be 54 when the Games take place I'll be trying my best during 2017 to make the team.
Retire ... don't be silly.
A couple of thoughts recently came to me when reading the label and website of a well known brand of isotonic sports drink:
100ml contains 6.4g carbohydrate (of which 3.5g are sugars). What is the remaining 2.9g ? and
if I aim to take on board 60g glucose per hour during a 24 hr race will 100ml provide 6.4g or 3.5g of that ? and
500ml bottles of liquid and 390g tubs of powder have slightly different ingredients and nutritional data, why ?
Hope someone has an answer or two (or three maybe) - for ultra runners nutrition is important ... everyone else thinks we're bonkers !!!
Thanks to everyone recently for the birthday greetings via Facebook or otherwise ... much appreciated.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Nothing to do with me this time
Nothing much to report about me and my training at the moment - everything is going well - so I'll post a few bits and pieces about other ultra related stuff.
First up is a piece I found in the Northern Running Guide recently which mentions that at the up coming Sheffield Adventure Film Festival there will be a screening of the recent 16 minute film about Scottish international Fiona Rennie made by her husband Pete and Helen Brogan. Congratulations to everyone involved in that. You can also read about the short film at the Diversity Films website. Do watch if you get the chance ... it is rather inspiring.
Next weekend there are a couple of races of interest. Firstly there's a rather unusual race taking place in northern France from 22 February - a 48 hr treadmill race to which six top ultra runners have been invited including William Sichel. As usual all the details are/will be on his website.
And then there's the Espoo indoor 24hr in Finland which is hosting the Swedish Championships (but not the Finnish - don't ask [I don't know the answer]). All the best to Anth Courtney and Torill Fonn who are both taking part. I hope Anth gets to see the northern lights while he's in Finland.
Finally, it appears that at the start of this month the Australian Ultra Runners Association announced selection details for the World 24 hr Championships later this year. Basically the qualifying standards are 210 km for men and 190 km for women. One thing I noticed, which I think is a good idea, is that they are also offering performance bonuses, ie
50 Aus dollars for men who achieve 200 km and women 180 km
100 Aus dollars for men who achieve 220 km and women 200 km
200 Aus dollars for men who achieve 240 km and women who 220 km
300 Aus dollars for men who achieve 260 km and women who 240 km
and also:
50 Aus dollars for finishing third
100 Aus dollars for finishing second
200 Aus dollars for finishing first
I think that's a really good motivational idea, especially as the AURA funds are limited and travelling expenses are less generous than for UK teams - all the details are here.
Overall, if I had a choice, I think I'd prefer my country to pay travelling expenses though.
First up is a piece I found in the Northern Running Guide recently which mentions that at the up coming Sheffield Adventure Film Festival there will be a screening of the recent 16 minute film about Scottish international Fiona Rennie made by her husband Pete and Helen Brogan. Congratulations to everyone involved in that. You can also read about the short film at the Diversity Films website. Do watch if you get the chance ... it is rather inspiring.
Next weekend there are a couple of races of interest. Firstly there's a rather unusual race taking place in northern France from 22 February - a 48 hr treadmill race to which six top ultra runners have been invited including William Sichel. As usual all the details are/will be on his website.
And then there's the Espoo indoor 24hr in Finland which is hosting the Swedish Championships (but not the Finnish - don't ask [I don't know the answer]). All the best to Anth Courtney and Torill Fonn who are both taking part. I hope Anth gets to see the northern lights while he's in Finland.
Finally, it appears that at the start of this month the Australian Ultra Runners Association announced selection details for the World 24 hr Championships later this year. Basically the qualifying standards are 210 km for men and 190 km for women. One thing I noticed, which I think is a good idea, is that they are also offering performance bonuses, ie
50 Aus dollars for men who achieve 200 km and women 180 km
100 Aus dollars for men who achieve 220 km and women 200 km
200 Aus dollars for men who achieve 240 km and women who 220 km
300 Aus dollars for men who achieve 260 km and women who 240 km
and also:
50 Aus dollars for finishing third
100 Aus dollars for finishing second
200 Aus dollars for finishing first
I think that's a really good motivational idea, especially as the AURA funds are limited and travelling expenses are less generous than for UK teams - all the details are here.
Overall, if I had a choice, I think I'd prefer my country to pay travelling expenses though.
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