In my first full year as a runner I've competed in about 20 races. I've been keeping a running diary so every run has been logged. I've ran over 1200 miles but i'm sure that it would of been a fair few more had it not been for a spell of about 6 weeks in the summer when I was running a race every weekend and just ticking over through the week.
It's all about the races for me so here's my top 3 of the year.
In third place is 'The Coastal'. This race is a proper event. I think i'm right in saying it's been voted the best race in Britain before and I can see why! But it's not 3rd because of the scenery and friendly atmosphere, I loved it because it's probably the only race of the year that i've been involved in a proper sprint finish! I overtook a face I recognised from the Morpeth Harriers after about 8 miles and thought I had put distance between us but as I got to the last stretch of beach with another runner I glanced around to see him on my shoulder. The three of us jostled for position, catching up with another Morpeth Harrier we ran the last mile probably quicker than any of the rest. I ended up coming third in the group of four but was happy as I had beaten the bloke I recognised from a previous race. But it was close, had the finish been 10 yards further he probably would have beaten me!
Second place goes to the Les Allcorn 10k. After a couple of 10k's that had not went quite right it all clicked here. The first race I ever did was a 10k in Morpeth but had begun it thinking it was best to take it easy to start with then finish strong. That doesn't work (for me anyway), you can't just fanny about for 4 miles then sprint finish the last two taking out everyone in you way! I ran the Les Allcorn against my watch looking at every kilometre making sure I was under 4 minutes. My goal was to do it in under 40 minutes and I managed to do in well under 39 minutes partly due to a local runner I kept up with from about 3k to the end.
A lot of the races I've done were show races. Me and Glenn would turn up out the back of beyond to take part in a 4 or 5 mile race finishing in the middle of a show field, sometimes cheered(simonside), sometimes ignored(morebattle) but either way great fun!
My favourite race of the year was the Chevy Chase. Through 20 miles of mind games finishing with me running it pretty much exactly how I wanted. I had ran the route three weeks before the event doing a time of 3 1/2 hours and knew I could take 15 minutes off that on a race day. This was always going to be the biggie of the year for me so I set off knowing exactly where I wanted to be.
All went well till I got to the top of Cheviot(not even half way)and felt a twinge of cramp.I ran the next few miles panicing that I would get cramp and all my hard work would be for nothing.Luckily for me a friendly face was at the bottom of Hedghope and she gave me advice on what to do(cheers Alison).
By the time I got to the next checkpoint I still hadn't got the cramp I had been expecting, so I said sod it and picked up my pace.I picked it up even more when I saw Adam Fletcher in the distance.If someone offered me one place behind him at the start of the race I would have took their hand off. So to be catching him with 3 miles to go was great,and gave me the added edge to get to him.
In reality our race within a race lasted about 3 minutes! I caught him up-kept with him up Hells Path-he took away from me,simple as that. I'd like to think I helped him in that race as much as he helped me.
I ended up 8th overall,1st local but the race belonged to John,Cindy and Louise who get a big up because anyone thats finishes a race shattered or shattered with blisters on blisters deserves credit in my book!
The year ended on a downer through injury but i'm hoping i'm over the worst and my goal for the new year is to move from top end also ran (local races, i'm no where on bigger ones) to someone who could actually win a race (well if 3 or 4 of the big boys are missing!!). I'm hoping to do this by training harder and eating healthier, I haven't really changed my diet since I started running. When you look at the people beating me they all look a good bit leaner than me (apart from Adam!). So the half loaf of bread and butter with every meal will have to be cut down to 4 or 5 slices!!
Roll on next year!!!!
the gaybar chronicles
gaybar gaybar
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Monday, 8 November 2010
THE KIELDER JAUNT
A run from the bottom of cheviot to Kielder village was something Karl had been dreaming up for a while,so when the time came i was looking forward to it.The only thing i could see spoiling it was the weather so when i was awoken in the night to the sound of torrential rain on the window the alarm bells started ringing.
I was out the house for 5 past 6 picking up the other 4 runners to make our way to Langleeford,the rain had stopped but it was bitterly cold.
A snow covered Hedgehope came into view as we drove up the road,i could hardly say anything as the absurdity of the whole situation hit me like a lead balloon-i'm going to run 32miles!in the snow!with 4 people,3 of which i would never have even met let alone ran with a couple of years ago.
David and Alison who i did the Lakeland 50 with(managed to shoehorn it in)Sue is a member of the Northumberland fell runners that i've seen at almost every race i've done this year,Karl,i've known since our maxways days 20 years ago( now a parish councilor and along with Rob Murray John is the 1st male member of a pta anywhere in the world) and Adam,a surfer/runner who i've just realised says the last sentence in a broad Leeds/Harrogate accent (chaaarlieh)was accompying us for a bit of the way.
I had my 1st food of the day,a jaffa cake bar and a twix washed down with some fresh orange juice.Looking at what the others were taking i felt massively under prepared,i had a bottle of powerade and 2 energy gels .
We hit the snow half way up Cheviot,getting my feet wet for the 1st time made me realise how cold it was going to be,quick photo op at the summit then we were off,theres not much to say about the run other than we were either on ice covered paving slabs or snow covered boggy ground,neither is great so i'm sure if we had done this run 4 months earlier it would have been far quicker.
I was 1st to go arse over tit,a rather theatrical slip landing on my side in wet peat drew a 9.5 from the judges but by the end of the day i think we'd all went over 1 way or the other.
Running in the wet was taking its toll,constantly having to pull a foot out of the bog or trying to stop yourself slipping is unbelieveably draining.I think that was 1 of the reasons i was a little quiet,apart from a brief chat about Tom Cruise-his best films,how good looking he was in Top Gun etc etc i just left Karl and David to talk about computers and what covered the earth 500 years ago(honest to god they were).
By 18 miles i was beginning to regret not being as prepared as the rest,cold sweat,sore head and stomach cramp told me i needed food,the onion rings (choice of the elite runner)that Leanda would be waiting at the 20 mile mark would be the greatest ever.
A brief 2 mile or so not knowing if the wives would be at Burness due to a road closure and them just being women(joking)were tough but it all worked out ok as we met them on the road.
The coop onion rings were tasting like Marks n Spencers finest,the coke was'nt touching the sides and by the time i had changed my socks and trainers i felt a lot better and the doubts about not finishing had lifted.
Not far into the 12 mile run through Kielder forrest i realised i needed to keep going as chafing and aches were taking over my body but its not the most interesting run i've ever done 1 tree looked like the next and around every corner was another stretch of road with trees either side.It was only when i happened upon a parked car the excitement levels grew.Just as i got up to it a bloke jumped out,oh god i thought,whats he doing.He had something in his hand,a hammer?knife?gun?no it was a camera!he nodded and walked past me.Out the corner of my eye i could see he wasn't about to attack me,phew,i was safe-to run along a road with trees either side!
I met up with Leanda and Cindy about 4 miles from the end and leanda ran back with me,modesty stops me from saying she still couldnt keep up with me(oops)i was glad to have finished it with her and a couple of minutes later the rest were done too,after a few back slaps we headed home,eventually finding the right road i now realised what a nightmare the women had had getting through.
Apart from a sick stop for David the spirits were high and we discussed everything from school to swimming,it was when Alison nonchelantly said "yes i got sick of driving to the bottom of the alps so the men could go climbing"i felt exactly the same as i had 10 hours earlier-i wouldnt have known these people had i not started running,god i'm glad i did.
thanks to Karl for organising it,the people for running it,the women for driving/moral support and Lisa n Caroline for looking after the boys!
I was out the house for 5 past 6 picking up the other 4 runners to make our way to Langleeford,the rain had stopped but it was bitterly cold.
A snow covered Hedgehope came into view as we drove up the road,i could hardly say anything as the absurdity of the whole situation hit me like a lead balloon-i'm going to run 32miles!in the snow!with 4 people,3 of which i would never have even met let alone ran with a couple of years ago.
David and Alison who i did the Lakeland 50 with(managed to shoehorn it in)Sue is a member of the Northumberland fell runners that i've seen at almost every race i've done this year,Karl,i've known since our maxways days 20 years ago( now a parish councilor and along with Rob Murray John is the 1st male member of a pta anywhere in the world) and Adam,a surfer/runner who i've just realised says the last sentence in a broad Leeds/Harrogate accent (chaaarlieh)was accompying us for a bit of the way.
I had my 1st food of the day,a jaffa cake bar and a twix washed down with some fresh orange juice.Looking at what the others were taking i felt massively under prepared,i had a bottle of powerade and 2 energy gels .
We hit the snow half way up Cheviot,getting my feet wet for the 1st time made me realise how cold it was going to be,quick photo op at the summit then we were off,theres not much to say about the run other than we were either on ice covered paving slabs or snow covered boggy ground,neither is great so i'm sure if we had done this run 4 months earlier it would have been far quicker.
I was 1st to go arse over tit,a rather theatrical slip landing on my side in wet peat drew a 9.5 from the judges but by the end of the day i think we'd all went over 1 way or the other.
Running in the wet was taking its toll,constantly having to pull a foot out of the bog or trying to stop yourself slipping is unbelieveably draining.I think that was 1 of the reasons i was a little quiet,apart from a brief chat about Tom Cruise-his best films,how good looking he was in Top Gun etc etc i just left Karl and David to talk about computers and what covered the earth 500 years ago(honest to god they were).
By 18 miles i was beginning to regret not being as prepared as the rest,cold sweat,sore head and stomach cramp told me i needed food,the onion rings (choice of the elite runner)that Leanda would be waiting at the 20 mile mark would be the greatest ever.
A brief 2 mile or so not knowing if the wives would be at Burness due to a road closure and them just being women(joking)were tough but it all worked out ok as we met them on the road.
The coop onion rings were tasting like Marks n Spencers finest,the coke was'nt touching the sides and by the time i had changed my socks and trainers i felt a lot better and the doubts about not finishing had lifted.
Not far into the 12 mile run through Kielder forrest i realised i needed to keep going as chafing and aches were taking over my body but its not the most interesting run i've ever done 1 tree looked like the next and around every corner was another stretch of road with trees either side.It was only when i happened upon a parked car the excitement levels grew.Just as i got up to it a bloke jumped out,oh god i thought,whats he doing.He had something in his hand,a hammer?knife?gun?no it was a camera!he nodded and walked past me.Out the corner of my eye i could see he wasn't about to attack me,phew,i was safe-to run along a road with trees either side!
I met up with Leanda and Cindy about 4 miles from the end and leanda ran back with me,modesty stops me from saying she still couldnt keep up with me(oops)i was glad to have finished it with her and a couple of minutes later the rest were done too,after a few back slaps we headed home,eventually finding the right road i now realised what a nightmare the women had had getting through.
Apart from a sick stop for David the spirits were high and we discussed everything from school to swimming,it was when Alison nonchelantly said "yes i got sick of driving to the bottom of the alps so the men could go climbing"i felt exactly the same as i had 10 hours earlier-i wouldnt have known these people had i not started running,god i'm glad i did.
thanks to Karl for organising it,the people for running it,the women for driving/moral support and Lisa n Caroline for looking after the boys!
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
2 BREWERIES
Ive done a few races this year(as i like to mention every now and again)but none can compare to the 2 breweries.it starts in the grounds of traqair house(which has a brewery)and ends 18 miles away ar Broughton brewery-hence the name.
Very friendly and light hearted banter at the start and with this being an nfr championship race there were plenty of familiar faces,along with them Les Turnbull was there so advice was on hand from a bloke thats pretty much done them all,so when he says "take it easy for the first few miles"you listen,or should i say everybody else would listen,not me though,but an hour or so later i was wishing i had.
The 1st couple of miles were more of a long drag than steep,i was quite well placed but the stronger runners were beginning to pull away,as far as i could see there was only 1 nfr vest in front of me and i had long since decided my race was gonna be against them as i had no idea who or how good most of the scottish runners were.
From the top of Birkscairn the next few miles were very hard,a steep descent over dense heather straight up Stob law,more heather then at last a path.Will Horseley had now passed me with Lee Bennet and were trotting away in the distance,i tried not to get to down hearted as i never get near them anyway but my head was starting to say other things.From here to the end i battled the demons as much as the hills.
Past a water point,grabbed a couple of sweets and followed a couple of runners onto a forest road then an abrupt turn through some trees,lucky i'm following these 2 i thought.Round a corner a very steep fire break lay in wait,impossible to run i started walking hydrating as i went,mind games again as 1 of the runners i was with put some distance between us.
A cheery looking marshal shouted "wheres your mate?"looking around i couldnt see anyone so smiled and kept going,whats he on about i thought.Running again and getting into a decent rhythm only to be greeted by a bloke running the other way"how far to the checkpoint"he asked i almost managed to answer him then another few came past asking the same question,i had no idea if i had gone wrong as well but my fears were put to rest as Lee Bennet came past,they had missed the turn off to the fire break,god was i glad i'm a follower not a leader!
Hard track to help my aching joints then water at Stobo castle,whilst drinking a bloke asked"when did you shave your tache off"what the hell you on about i thought as he pointed to my chest,then it dawned on me,i was number 118!with much "hilarity"i was off this time with a bloke who had done this race twice before"how long to go" i asked "about an hour,depends how boggy the swamp is"he said."swamp"i thought-great!
A mile of forest track then there it was in all its glory"the swamp"but there was something lurking in the background-Trahenna the biggest hill/mountain i have ever seen and i had to get over it.
The next bit was a blur jogging/stumbling till the foot of the hill then walking,everybody seemed to be overtaking me including a couple of women,they were coping better than me,bad thoughts in my head again from "stop and have a rest"to"curl up in a ball and die"but i managed to get to the top,a few last steps then i was off running again,well for about 3 steps anyway till cramp took over my calfs,reaching to pull my toes towards me doubled up in pain with people passing(all shouting encouragement)i took off again then i got it in every part of my legs calf,thigh and groin locked in agony but from the shouts i heard i wasnt the only 1.i wasnt going to give up now so off i trudged trying to free my legs,for at least 5 minutes i ran in agony till i got rid of the cramp then it was another steep descent,every so often i would raise a leg too high and the pain was like being stabbed in the leg(i imagine).the last mile was through Broughton i managed to pick up a few places but at this stage most people were hobbling rather than running.
I couldnt see Leanda or the kids at the finish line just Will and a few people i half recognised,i didnt hang around,just picked up my free bottle of beer and headed up the road to be met by the leanda who had missed me finishing due to traffic!she could see my usual post race emotional face so sent the kids to the park and gave me a much needed hug,i tried to say how hard it had been through tears snot and slaver,i think she got the picture,
i ended up coming 29th in a time of 3 29 48,about 4 mins behind will,which was almost worth it but i must admit i didnt particularly enjoy the race,it was too hard so i dont think i'll be doing it again but hey i said that about the lakeland 50!
Very friendly and light hearted banter at the start and with this being an nfr championship race there were plenty of familiar faces,along with them Les Turnbull was there so advice was on hand from a bloke thats pretty much done them all,so when he says "take it easy for the first few miles"you listen,or should i say everybody else would listen,not me though,but an hour or so later i was wishing i had.
The 1st couple of miles were more of a long drag than steep,i was quite well placed but the stronger runners were beginning to pull away,as far as i could see there was only 1 nfr vest in front of me and i had long since decided my race was gonna be against them as i had no idea who or how good most of the scottish runners were.
From the top of Birkscairn the next few miles were very hard,a steep descent over dense heather straight up Stob law,more heather then at last a path.Will Horseley had now passed me with Lee Bennet and were trotting away in the distance,i tried not to get to down hearted as i never get near them anyway but my head was starting to say other things.From here to the end i battled the demons as much as the hills.
Past a water point,grabbed a couple of sweets and followed a couple of runners onto a forest road then an abrupt turn through some trees,lucky i'm following these 2 i thought.Round a corner a very steep fire break lay in wait,impossible to run i started walking hydrating as i went,mind games again as 1 of the runners i was with put some distance between us.
A cheery looking marshal shouted "wheres your mate?"looking around i couldnt see anyone so smiled and kept going,whats he on about i thought.Running again and getting into a decent rhythm only to be greeted by a bloke running the other way"how far to the checkpoint"he asked i almost managed to answer him then another few came past asking the same question,i had no idea if i had gone wrong as well but my fears were put to rest as Lee Bennet came past,they had missed the turn off to the fire break,god was i glad i'm a follower not a leader!
Hard track to help my aching joints then water at Stobo castle,whilst drinking a bloke asked"when did you shave your tache off"what the hell you on about i thought as he pointed to my chest,then it dawned on me,i was number 118!with much "hilarity"i was off this time with a bloke who had done this race twice before"how long to go" i asked "about an hour,depends how boggy the swamp is"he said."swamp"i thought-great!
A mile of forest track then there it was in all its glory"the swamp"but there was something lurking in the background-Trahenna the biggest hill/mountain i have ever seen and i had to get over it.
The next bit was a blur jogging/stumbling till the foot of the hill then walking,everybody seemed to be overtaking me including a couple of women,they were coping better than me,bad thoughts in my head again from "stop and have a rest"to"curl up in a ball and die"but i managed to get to the top,a few last steps then i was off running again,well for about 3 steps anyway till cramp took over my calfs,reaching to pull my toes towards me doubled up in pain with people passing(all shouting encouragement)i took off again then i got it in every part of my legs calf,thigh and groin locked in agony but from the shouts i heard i wasnt the only 1.i wasnt going to give up now so off i trudged trying to free my legs,for at least 5 minutes i ran in agony till i got rid of the cramp then it was another steep descent,every so often i would raise a leg too high and the pain was like being stabbed in the leg(i imagine).the last mile was through Broughton i managed to pick up a few places but at this stage most people were hobbling rather than running.
I couldnt see Leanda or the kids at the finish line just Will and a few people i half recognised,i didnt hang around,just picked up my free bottle of beer and headed up the road to be met by the leanda who had missed me finishing due to traffic!she could see my usual post race emotional face so sent the kids to the park and gave me a much needed hug,i tried to say how hard it had been through tears snot and slaver,i think she got the picture,
i ended up coming 29th in a time of 3 29 48,about 4 mins behind will,which was almost worth it but i must admit i didnt particularly enjoy the race,it was too hard so i dont think i'll be doing it again but hey i said that about the lakeland 50!
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