Hardmoors Roseberry Topping marathon 2014

This event claims to be a marathon, but it turned out to be a marathon plus a parkrun, a total of 29.3m and I don't think we made any navigation mistakes. But Hardmoors miles are said to be a new form of measurement ... It was the second running of this event, but it was a bit of a different experience from last year - the route was different and had more ascent and was a bit longer but also I didn't have any difficulties with public conveniences this year ....

Melanie was away for this one and I ran with Jane Ives. There were three other Striders running the marathon - Stew Mcconnell, who finished in an excellent 11th place, Denise Benvin, who had a fabulous run and covered 31.2m and Sue Jennings, who sadly had to pull out at about halfway because of an injury.

It was an early start, up at 4.45, pick up Jane at 6.00 and we arrived in Guisborough at about 7.00 for an 8.00 start.

I have done quite a few Hardmoors events over the past few years and I do love them. They are all tough events and this one was not the toughest of the marathon series, Wainstones has that distinction, but I think it is second toughest - 4012 feet of ascent. Most of that is in the first half. There are climbs to Highcliffe, Roseberry Topping (not once but twice - the route send you right down to the bottom and up then up by a different path), little Roseberry, Captain Cook's monument and then the climb out of Kildale. Some of the time we also had a strong wind in our faces, so this made the first half even tougher. I was feeling very blown about on the summits of Little Roseberry and Roseberry Topping. Once we stopped heading south and turned north we had the wind behind us, it was much less testing. There were still hills, but they weren't on the same scale. The underfoot conditions were tougher than the first half, but you could still make progress.

It took us 3hr 50min roughly, for the first half. The second half took us 3hr 25min roughly - with the hills in the first half, this was a perfect course for a negative split !

We went over part of the same course as the Eskdale Eureka but by the time we got there, that event had finished.

I had a bit of a tough time at about 21m, there seemed to be no end to the undulations between Castleton and Commondale. My solution was to eat more food - I had plenty of Quorn picnic eggs with me - my savoury food of choice for marathons. I also managed to demolish an entire Chia Charge banana flapjack at the next checkpoint. It all seemed to help and when Guisborough woods came into sight I knew we are almost there, just a few more miles of slippery, boggy path to negotiate. We finally reached the woods and started the steep, muddy plunge down to Guisborough. It was getting dark by the time we finished and there quite a few runners behind us who had to use head torches.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the event, the other runners were very friendly, the marshalls were helpful and encouraging. If you have not taken part in a Hardmoors event yet, I would encourage you to do so, they are great fun ! Photos

Hardmoors Goathland marathon 2014

This was the one Hardmoors trail marathon that Melanie and I missed last year and having heard lots of good reports about the scenery, we were looking forward to it. However, the weather forecast looked a bit grim. Light rain from 11.00 and then heavy rain from 12.00 for the rest of the day. With a start time of 09.00, we needed to be ready for some heavy weather. We had already been warned that that the ground was wet and boggy in places.

The start is a lovely downhill stretch to a river which you follow (and clamber rather than run) passing a spectacular waterfall - Mallyan Spout. Then it is up on to the moors where the trails were muddy, but not too bad. After a while we ran into forest and ran close the the tracks of the steam railway from Pickering. We crossed the line and then climbed back up again and at that point (about 11m) the rain arrived. It was out with the waterproofs and hoods up as the rain started to come down more heavily.

We really felt for the marshalls who were out in those conditions. We continued on to the Hole of Horcum and then skirted past RAF Fylingdales with its strange shaped buildings. From here we were on hard packed forest road for a while, but then we veered off on the Lyke Wake path. This section was completely flooded, boggy, muddy and streams were much wider and difficult to cross. After the first mile of the race we had given up any hope of keeping our feet dry, but here there was no choice but to run down paths which were streams. Finally, having crossed the railway again and climbed out of the valley, we turned for Goathland and warmth. Phil Owen was waiting for us half way up the final descent having stood out in the pouring rain for half an hour and is was great to see him and realise we were almost back. The village hall which was the race HQ was a very welcome sight. Phil ran back with us and then veered off to a coffee shop to get us life saving cappuccinos.

It wasn't quite our slowest marathon - see the Keswick Mountain Festival marathon earlier this year, but it was pretty close. I cannot recall having such tough underfoot conditions before. But in spite of that and the weather, it is an event we enjoyed and may well do again.

Photos

Yorkshire marathon 2014

Neither Melanie nor I was expecting to do well at this event. We only did the Kielder marathon seven days earlier and two weeks before that we had done the very hilly Great Langdale, so the best we hoped for was to be able to get round between 4.30 and 5.00.

I did the event last year and enjoyed it more I expected and recommended it to Melanie. She wanted to do it as she loves York and she studies part-time there. We also knew there were quite a few Striders there, including three who were doing their first marathon. There were also some Striders supporting and it was good to see them around the course.

Flip (supporting) drove us down with Anna (running). There had been fog warnings and they turned out to be accurate. The fog lasted most of the morning and it only burnt off after 1.00. But this was great for running, cool and no wind. We made our way to the baggage area, which last year had been inside and there were long queues. This year there were no queues but it consisted of tents in a car park. It was a bit chilly getting ready as the tents were just for the bags. We moved on quickly to a College bar (the race started and finished at the University of York) to keep warm.

Then off to the pens which like last year weren't crowded and soon we were off with Matt Dawson talking on the PA while high fiving runners. We went through the city centre and past the minister with the bells tolling in the mist. There was lots of support which was great.

On and out of York, through a few small villages and again the vicar in his full white regalia was out high fiving runners and saying bless you. I had thought the first half was flat, but my memory wasn't accurate, it started to undulate a bit at 8m. Melanie and I started a bit quick, but we slowed it down to about 9min 30sec which was still way ahead of what we had planned. But it felt comfortable.

We made it to halfway in 2hr 6min and neither of us thought we could keep that up. The first out and back at Stamford Bridge was fine and we pulled ourselves up to the next one. The second out and back seemed longer than last year and at the turn around point (18m) Melanie started to speed up. I managed to keep running up the drag and out of the out and back and at 20m I saw Melanie about 50 meters ahead. I was happy to get to 20m in 3hr 10min. Sub 4.30 was looking good and even a performance better than last year (4hr 25min) looked a good possibility. Last year I walked a fair amount after 20m, so this year I tried to walk much less and it worked, though I was slowing. When I passed Flip at 25 and half miles, I knew that even sub 4hr 15min might be feasible. This turned out to be a bit too ambitious. I did manage to run the final hill this year and flew down to the finish, but it wasn't quite enough 4hr 15min 20sec. I was very happy with that. Later I worked out it was my 5th fastest marathon/ultra out of 110 I have completed and I haven't run faster since May 2010 at Windermere which was 90 marathons/ultras ago !

Meanwhile Melanie had not slowed at all and speeded up slightly, so in the last six miles she had been closer to 9min 15sec. She came in with 4h 7min, a great negative split and she beat her PB from Vienna by about 13min ! A fantastic run.

This is definitely an event for PBs, quite a few Striders got one. I still prefer off road events, but I still find doing the odd road event fun. It was good to see so many of my clubmates (both Striders and 100 marathoners). The first timers from the Striders, Kerry, Kirsty and Lucy all finished well and Lucy turned in an excellent 3hr 45min performance !

Maybe our preparation hadn't been too bad for this event. Maybe we both would have done better if we had tapered. Who knows ...

Kielder marathon 2014

This was to be my ninth event running round Kielder. It is a lovely place to run, its almost all off road and the surface of the Lakeside Way is designed for mobility vehicles so it is very smooth. The route itself is very undulating with roughly 2600 ft of ascent.

Melanie and I had no designs on a fast time as we have another marathon coming along shortly, so the plan was just finish and if would be good to be under 5 hours. I hadn't looked at previous times at Kielder, but I knew there was at least one event where I had been over 5hrs and one at roughly 4h 30min when Sophster had dragged me round.

As we drove there we could look down on the valleys full of cloud, a beautiful sight. This year we were told that the parking was at the far end of the reservoir, but as we drove past the start/finish area at Leaplish we were directed there and parked very close to the start/finish, so no hanging round for a bus before or after the race :-) As usual we then enjoyed some of the home baking offered by the local village, Falstone.

The clouds burnt off and we had a bit of drizzle, but it all went away at the start. It was chip times so we started very near the back and ran up the first hill after the start. I have sometimes adopted the strategy of walking all the hills and running everything else, but this time I thought I would just run as much as I could and walk just the longer/steeper ascents.

And the miles clicked by. I took a gel from a checkpoint at one point and that seemed to help (I normally carry shot bloks, a nine bar and s-caps). At about 15m, Melanie said I was going a bit fast, so I slowed up a bit and got to the dam at 17m in pretty reasonable shape. Across the dam we were into the strengthening wind, which was harder but we were continuing to overtake people as we had done for most of the race. On to the Bull Crag promontory where I took another gel from a checkpoint. At first it seemed fine, but about two miles from the end my stomach felt pretty bad. I told Melanie to go on ahead while I took it a bit easier. I still managed to come in with my second fastest time ever at Kielder, 4hr 39min, so I was very happy with how it all went.

There were 644 finishers this year and some years there have been over 1000 so I hope this doesn't mean it is cancelled at some point.

Great Langdale marathon 2014

This was an event I have always wanted to do, but for various reasons the timing has never quite worked out. The event website has the following on its front page "And Englishmen (and women) now a'bed will think themselves cursed that they did not run with us on that day - Henry V and Rocket Rod" on a background of the lovely Langdale valley. It was also billed at the UK's toughest road marathon. They know how to sell an event ! Jane Ives had run this a couple of years ago and had also recommended it (see link at the bottom)

It was a fairly low key event, almost all on road - there was a about a mile on a very smooth track. There was a half marathon as well, which was one lap and the marathon was two laps. It was up and down almost all of the way. The one exception was the first mile which lulled you into a false sense of security. It was flat, but then you turned up the very steep climb to Blea Tarn. This was followed by a lovely descent into Little Langdale and a climb out and past the start and finish of the fell race that Danny and Mike were doing. More climbs and descents before we reached Skelworth Bridge and a very steep 25% climb out of there. Then an undulating run back to the start/finish where many people finished.

I wasn't doing too badly at this point, but I realised I hadn't put enough vaseline on my nipples, so I looked around for a first aider, but I couldn't see anybody, so we carried on. It was much quieter on the second lap. The roads were open but the traffic wasn't too bad. We had met a few friends from fetcheveryone at the start and one of them said that the second lap will feel shorter than the first and that this was true even when you have done the race more than once. I was hopeful this was correct, but didn't really believe it. But that is the way it worked out. We ran past the fell race presentations and got to about 18m when I felt I was tiring. I knew I was well within the 5hr 30min cut off and Melanie went on ahead to finish with two laps equal in time which was very impressive.

I bimbled along, walking all the inclines and running everything else. I got to Skelworth Bridge to find they were giving out Galaxy chocolate bars at the checkpoint (checkpoints up to here had been water and haribo). I took half a bar gratefully and as I climbed up that massive hill again, I came up with a novel and not really recommended solution to my sore nipple issue. I melted the chocolate in my mouth and then applied it. It worked !

I finally arrived at the finish where the event was winding down, collected my medal and lovely little shoe momento. I also collected a bottle of wine, all over 60s finishing the marathon got one,a lovely gesture and one which I hope will be copied by all events in future ... 

Photoshttps://picasaweb.google.com/103033522343564390078/September2014TheGreatLangdaleMarathon

Supporting at the Great North Run

I have run the Great North Run ten times and at the moment, I don't have any desire to run it again. I enjoyed running it, but it was always crowded. That was always compensated by the atmosphere which was special. The event is now expensive and their transfer and deferral policy is unfair in my view.

However, there is no denying it is an iconic event and it is seen as a race to do for many people who are setting out as runners. Our club, the Elvet Striders, has many relatively new runners and quite a few of them were doing their first half marathon, so it seemed like a good idea to go along and give them a cheer and some support. This blog post also serves to remind me of certain things when I do this again.

I have supported runners twice before, the first time in 2008

and again in 2010

This year I decided to do it again but instead of supporting Fetcheveryone runners, Melanie and I decided to support our club. Unlike Fetcheveryone, we didn't have a banner so we had to make one. We also decided to go for something bigger than we used in 2010. We used a double sheet and I was all for painting the writing on, but then Melanie came up with two great ideas - use duck tape for the writing and add a couple of Striders shirts. Both worked very well and we would use them again.

We decided to use the same support point, it was reasonably quiet (apart from the Hash club runners about 100 meters up the road who were giving away beer to runners ....) and the road sign was pretty visible from the road.

What we probably would not use again were balloons . They kept popping, coming off and blowing away (sometimes into the race :-( so apologies if you tripped over a balloon) They also took ages to blow up and we were on a tight schedule because of road works at Whitemare Pool had meant we didn't get there until about 9.30.

When we arrived Melanie went off to use the facilities in the Temple Park Sports Centre and I headed for the sign to get the ropes over the sign. In 2010 I did this at the second or third attempt. I had brought a spanner to attach to the ropes to and then I would throw over the sign - well that was the plan. However, my first attempts kept hitting the sign and making a large clang. This attracted a policeman who came along and asked what I was up to. I explained and he generously said that if anyone complained I would have to take it down, but for now he was turning a blind eye. I assured him the sign would not go up until the road closed. Phew ! When he had gone down the road I tried again and got the spanner over the top. However, it wasn't heavy enough to pull the rope over the sign. This wasn't looking good ....

Then a man came out of nearby house. As he came over, I didn't think he was going to be very supportive, but he started by asking what I was trying to do. I explained and he said that he lots of tools that might help including a selection of hammers which would be heavier. I went into his house and we agreed that a rubber hammer would be heavier and make less noise. It worked like a dream and we got the ropes over and down the back. Ken was a lifesaver, he not only lent us tools, he got his foot pump out when ours didn't work and lent a hand blowing up balloons, he lent us a broom when a balloon got stuck behind the sheet. He also allowed us to use his bathroom later :-) He had been a runner himself, having run the now retired Morpeth to Newcastle race. He had moved in just over a year ago, so wasn't aware of my previous supporting activities at this point.

Once we had the balloons attached to the sheet, we started to get it up the sign. The wheelchair racers were already going by so we were stopping to cheer and clap. Finally we got it up, though a balloon got trapped but after several attempts to free it with Ken's broom, we left it there.

The elite women then started to arrive and the leader was flying and well clear. Then the main race led by the elite men. Mo was also looking great, closely following the leader. Then we started to look out for runners we know. The first person we saw was an ex Strider, Michael Mawby, who ended up 77th overall. He was nowhere near that fast when he was running with the Striders. His improvement has been amazing. The first Strider was Stephen Jackson who exchanged a high five and flew off down the road.

The Striders then came along pretty regularly and there were a few runners from Fetcheveryone. We were also cheering any other runners from clubs where we could read the club name quickly. We also became avid race vest readers searching for runners who had their names on their vests so we could give them a shout. None of the Striders who wanted to limit their running to the shortest time possible wanted jelly babies, but they were very popular with runners who were expecting to run for longer :-) We also offered them to those who were walking, it was a hot day. This often seemed to spur them into running - magic !

There were lots and lots of people in fancy dress and of course they got a shout as well. We had great fun, but by 2.30 we reckoned all the Striders had gone by and the runners were thinning out. We had also given away a ton of jelly babies by that point (point for the future - they were cheapest at the Pound Shop). So we packed up, thanked Ken for all his help and went back to the car in King George Road. This was parked south of the race, so we were home soon after 3.00 and had no delays. We then chilled as it had been a great but tiring day :-)

More photos here 

Hardmoors Princess Challenge 30m 2014

This event is organised by Fetch's very own Princess Purple Bubbles ably assisted today by another well know Fetchie, Flip. They and the other volunteers did a great job  

The route is the same as the Hardmoors 30 which is run on New Year's Day. I have done that event three times and the Prncess Challenge once. They two different events because of the time of year they are held.


The section from Whitby to Ravenscar (about 11m) is very tough in winter. It is very muddy, it is cold and often the wind is very strong. It was so strong in January this year, they diverted the route away from the cliffs.

On the Princess Challenge, that section is so different. It is still tough, there are lots of undulations which you don't need after 20m, but at least the ground is firm. There was a bit of a breeze today, but that helped cool us down on a reasonably hot day.



I had some calf problems at about 10m after pushing a little too hard, so I had to take the next 21m a bit easier than I hoped. I still managed to come in under 7hrs which I have never done on the Hardmoors 30. Melanie went on ahead after Whitby and did an excellent time 6hr 20min.

My calf problems were mainly in my left one. It didn't actually seize up but it was painful on both sides for the rest of thr run. Later on I had a twinge in my right calf but unlike last Sunday it didn't seize either. MelanieLH has suggested drinking much more water regularly and foam rolling. I do both only very occasionally.

There were quite a few of our clubmates doing this event and two of them were doing their first ultra. They did great and they seemed to love the event and the atmosphere. They were particularly impressed with the round of applause that every runner received as the entered the finish in the village hall.


The event is for an excellent charity, the Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team and hopefully lots of money was raised 

Northumberland Coast marathon 2014

This is a special race. It is out and back from Alnmouth along the Northumberland coast until the route does small loop south of Beadnell and returns the same way. It keeps to the coastal path and there is very little road, probably about a quarter of a mile. A lot of the route is on beach.

It is not the same route as the Northumberland Coast Run (14m) which goes from Beadnell to Alnmouth as the road sections have been taken out of that route.

The weather conditions were perfect, cool at the start, but hardly any wind. It warmed up when the sun came out later, but it felt fine, nothing like some of very hot races we did in July.

I love running alongside the sea and seeing the beautiful beaches, the sea breaking on rocks, the attractive dunes and the attractive castles.

I ran fine in the first half, but I struggled in the second half. I haven't done a marathon for four weeks and I have only done short runs in that time. So no surprise there, poor training, poor run. But the views when walking were sensational and I got round and that is the most important thing. Also I only had calf twinge which went away, so that is the first time for a long time that I haven't had a major calf issue in a race !

Nice food and a drink in the pub with MelanieLH and two other clubmates afterwards. They all had a better run than me, but none of us had a great run.

So all things considered, it was a lovely day out 

Rock and Rowel 26m 2014

Day 1 of our time off at home. Last year this was my favourite event of the year, lovely scenic route, reasonably challenging, lovely weather, ice cream at halfway, great food afterwards, bit of navigation to distract us from how far we had to go - it ticked all our boxes.

On our recommendation, two clubmates came down with us this year, Rachael and Jules. We also met up with Fran when we got there  The weather was forecast to be very, very hot and they certainly got that right, it was a scorching day.

The organisers had altered the route in three places, which meant that we missed out on a shady route round a reservoir and some moorland, but it was good to have something a bit different. They also made the start an hour earlier, which meant we got up at 5.00, but at least that meant we started when the temperature was still lovely.

After a sharp hill soon after the start it was just gently undulating for a while, going through fields, farms and crops. Sometimes the ground was a little uneven and I went over on my ankle at about 5m. My lower calf started to ache a little, but it didn't seem too bad and I was able to keep up. Rachael was carrying an injury which got worse so she started to walk with the intention of dropping our at checkpoint 3, near Ripon. 

The rest of us reached the lovely valley of the seven bridges which was past checkpoint 3 and after going through that and stopping for photographs, we noticed Rachel behind us. She had been able to run a little on the road sections and wanted to see if she could finish. Jules stayed with her and MelanieLH, cackleberry and I went on, though after slowing for some raspberry foraging (you can see that finishing time wasn't important to us !), Jules and Rachael caught us up at the halfway checkpoint.

This was a highlight last year. Ice cream in cones, lots of food, water, buckets to cool yourself down, the perfect checkpoint. This year it was the same, just wonderful.

The second half has lots more hills (there is 3000ft of ascent on the route), we were chased by a herd of bullocks at one point but Fran knew exactly what to do and stopped them in their tracks. Rachael and Jules dropped back again at this point. At about 21m, Fran said the heat had drained her and she would walk the rest. MelanieLH and I started to run on a flat section, but I became aware that my lower calf was no longer just an ache, it was now a sharp pain. Melanie stayed with us until Brimham Rocks and then went on ahead and Fran and i walked the rest. Brimham Rocks were as spectacular as ever. We were so impressed last year that we came back for a longer visit later in the summer.

Shortly before the easy run in to the finish, Jules and Rachael went by and we all met up again at the Village Hall. We started with pudding - jelly, fruit and ice cream to cool us down. Then went on the most impressive main course I have ever had at an LDWA event - quiche, peas in parsley sauce, potatoes, lots of salad dishes - amazing that this was all in an entry fee of £10.

Then it was off to the pub next door for a relaxing drink before starting the drive home.

There were about thirty runners and quite a few walkers on this event and I was surprised there weren't more. It is a lovely event 

Photos

Osmotherley Phoenix 2014

This is an event I keep coming back to. I have done 33m route twice and the 26m route once, two years ago when Melanie did her first marathon. The plan was to do the 33m, her longest official race (The Ultimate Trail 50K last autumn race turned out to be longer than 33m).

It was clear that it was going to be very hot day with only a slight breeze which we didn't get the benefit of very much. It was good to see Jason T and Nicki no miles before the start, we hadn't expected to see any people we knew. The event was sold out as usual.

We started slowly uphill out of the village which meant that we had to dodge round walkers once we started to run. Then it was the familiar climb up to the radio mast on the Cleveland Way, down to cross the road and along to Scugdale. I have lost track of how many times I have done this particular section of the Cleveland Way, but I am not bored by it, it still feels lovely. More tiring is the climb up to Carlton Bank and the steep descent to Lordstones. At this point the 17m route cuts off and one the great things about this event is that you can decide when you get to the checkpoint which route to take. We were both fine, so the 33m was what we continued with.

After Lordstones there is a choice, you can go up over the three sisters (including the Wainstones) or contour round. We have always contoured round, there are more than enough big hills in this event. This year there seemed to be more people doing the three sisters which surprised us a little.

On to Clay Bank and then the slog up the other side to eventually reach the trig point which is the highest point on the North York Moors. We run this area on the Wainstones marathon a few weeks ago and it was good to run down a downhill section we had slogged up last time. Down into Chop Gate and the 17m checkpoint there at the Village Hall, where the Wainstones marathon had started. We spent a little longer at this checkpoint, putting on more suncream and preparing ourselves for 'that hill' the one that hits you straight away. It is just so long and steep and to get that after 17m is just a killer. I had to take a couple of breaks in the climb up and I was concerned about an attack of cramp which I seem to get climbing big hills well into races on hot days. I made it over the most difficult bit, but then the cramp hit, a juddering pain in my right calf. Having just recovered from my second calf injury of the year and two long races in the next two weeks, it felt like preservation was important, so I slowed down.



We discussed what to do and we agreed that at the 20m checkpoint where the 26m and 33m routes diverged that I would do the 26m and Melanie would do the 33m. She had the route on her garmin, a map and the route description so although she was a bit anxious about getting lost, off she went. I walked most of the way back, I knew I was going to be back way before her and I didn't want to do any more damage.

I chatted to a few people, a Swede who had not realised how hilly it was going to be and had also transferred to the 26m route and a two of women doing their first ever marathon.

Got back and relaxed, consumed two pints of shandy and then at just over eight hours Melanie came in. She had made one or or two minor errors but her watch had told her when she went off course. However, she had a bad headache from the heat and half wished she had also done the 26m, but she was also pleased to have done the 33m route at least once. This was her 31st marathon/ultra in the two years since her first marathon. In that time she has also had an operation and had to take time out because of a stress fracture. 31 events in two years is just amazing !

Hardmoors Rosedale marathon 2014

We did this one last year and of the marathons in the Hardmoors series that we have done, we considered this to be the easiest. It starts through undulating countryside and a few quiet roads until it gets up onto the moors and then there is a long drag upwards to the 10m point at Blowarth Crossing, a windswept junction familiar to many Hardmoors runners. Then there is relatively flat section along old railway lines before a short climb to an isolated pub (the Lion Inn), then down to more railway lines, followed by a plunge down to the valley and a steep climb up the other side, back to an old railway line. The final downhill 3m includes short sections of quiet road, but is mainly on paths across the moor.

There was an alteration to the route from last year, the steep climb came at about mile 18 rather than 20. Not much difference really, but I think it wasn't quite as steep as last year. This led me to think that this year I wouldn't get any cramp issues after the climb, but it did happen again. Not sure why, I had been taking S-caps regularly, drinking a reasonable amount. 

It slowed me down a bit, but it wasn't as bad as last year and I finished about 8 minutes earlier which was pleasing. Melanie went on ahead at mile 22 and flew along the remaining 5.5m - Hardmoors marathons are well know for being a bit long.

It was a good day for running, cloudy but you could see for some distance, so there were some lovely views down into Farndale and Rosedale. A nice breeze on the tops.

One of our clubmates, Anita D, chose this to be her first marathon. She only completed a Couch to 5K programme less than a year ago and see forgot her running shoes for this event, so she ran it all in sneakers. She finished, a great achievement 

Brathay Windermere marathon 2014

After the Keswick Mountain Festival marathon Melanie spent some of the evening looking at youtube videos about how to tape up her knee. I tried not to get cramp, but failed at this...

I woke up feeling much better and ready to run, it is amazing what a good night's sleep can do. Melanie wasn't too bad, but she wanted to try the K-tape. We went to Brathay and found some tape to buy and I tried to put it on as per the video. It wasn't as easy as it looked to avoid getting kinks in the tape, but I got it on with some minor kinks. Neither of us had a great deal of faith. As it turned out her knee was fine all the way round. Could have been coincidence, but you never know ...

We saw the awesome 10 in 10 runners including Rentboy and Kaz and lots and lots of Fetchies and one other clubmate from Durham. It was clear it was going to be another hot day, but at least the route is pretty shady.

We decided to run separate races for this one as we knew we would probably run out of steam at different places. Melanie gradually pulled ahead but I found myself catching her gradually after Hawkshead and I caught her at about 6m when she had stopped to stretch. We then ran on for about 5m together. After that I slowed a bit and she disappeared and I didn't see her again.

The traffic was much lighter on the way down to the bottom of the lake which was good. The third quarter I always find hard, not just because of the undulations, but because of the traffic. There is no pavement, the road is narrow and two way traffic means that cars are passing very close to you. It was slowed down by convoy cars going up and down at 20 mph, but it still felt risky. However, this year the organisers had made it largely one way (though there was less traffic going south so maybe that was restricted as well), which made an enormous difference. Not sure how they achieved this, it must have affected lots of people, but hats off to them, it was great.

My running of this section was poor though, the after effects of the previous day, poor training and the heat were taking their toll. It thought I might try for sub 5, but I missed out by just under 2min. I wasn't disappointed, on Saturday afternoon I couldn't even see myself starting ! MelanieLH had a much better second half than I did and came in with 4hr 38min, a great performance on her first double 



My eighth time at this one and I will definitely be back, it has such a lovely atmosphere and it is beautiful 


Photos

Keswick Mountain Festival 42K 2014

As usual we had entered the Brathay Windermere marathon for this weekend. Then we came across this event and we looked it, ferry across Derwentwater to start, all off road, up to Honister, down to Buttermere and then up the Newlands valley back to Keswick. Melanie was keen, but I pointed out that is was a day before Windermere. And then I said, well we could do both ... and as it was some months away and I think Melanie quite fancied doing a double, it was agreed !

It's almost three years since I did four in four days and maybe I was a little overconfident. Melanie had better preparation than me, we went out for longer runs the day after our last three marathons and I didn't manage the last one (half marathon distance) because of too much work. Ah well, nothing else to do but to give it a try.

It was a fully marked course and we obtained a GPS of all three routes (there was a half and 10k), redrew it, downloaded it to our Garmins and we were ready. We arrived at the landing stages at Keswick and there were thirty eight runners (fifty had registered). There are thirty nine people in the results and I think the last person started late. The vast majority of the runners were under forty, male and looked very fast. I could see us being at the back and soon after the start we quickly lost sight of the main field. We did overtake one runner, but I don't know whether he finished. We did come across some of the main field who took some wrong turns, but they soon quickly disappeared again and after the first checkpoint we didn't see any other runners.

The route was marked every 200m with red flags (an enormous effort for so few runners) and we ran down the lovely east side of Derwentwater and on to Grange. Shortly after the campsite at Grange we were presented with a dilemma. The main path clearly went away from the river and that is what I had plotted and downloaded to our Garmins. However there was a flag showing the way alongside the river and further along, another one. Okay, its that way. However, no more flags, so we decided that someone had moved them and cut back to the main path. A little later a group who had gone much further than us along the river and got wet feet, caught us and went onward. Just outside Rosthwaite there were more moved flags. The organisers had warned us this might happen here, so we followed the route on our watches and started the long slog up to the slate mine at Honister and the first checkpoint.

Then it was another slog up the dismantled tramway (it was a clear day and the views were great) and then down into Warnscale Bottom. We had hoped for a runnable descent, but it was rocky and full of loose stones. It was beyond our capabilities to run down that and we got to the bottom with shaky legs from having picked our way down. Then a lovely run round the west side of Buttermere, into the village. It was very warm by this stage and it was starting to take its toll.

Then another climb away from the road round the shoulder of Rannerdale Knots (fantastic views of Crummock Water !) and then a plunge downwards to the road again just past Hause Point and the second checkpoint and halfway. We were carrying two bottles of water each and with the heat and scarcity of checkpoints, I am so glad we decided to do this.

Then we went up into Rannerdale. The organiser said there was a surprise here and it turned out to be thousands of bluebells. I normally expect bluebells to be in woods, but there were none here, they were just out on the fell. Amazing.

We continued upwards alongside Squat Beck and then contoured round Whiteless Breast. Although this was downhill, the path was slanted down the hill so it made for very uncomfortable running, especially for Melanie who had sore ankles going into this event.

Then it was another contour round Bleak Rigg. At the start of this is a steep climb and at this point I realised I was in trouble. I had to stop walking to recover. I have never had to do that before in an event. It was probably the heat with no shade. We had caps on and had re-applied sun cream but the relentless climbing and heat had got to me. Melanie suggested dipping my cap into the becks we were crossing and that worked well. However, at that point my mind was saying to me - it would be crazy to do Windermere tomorrow, you will be lucky to come out of this without heatstroke.

We continued up the totally deserted Sail Beck Valley, no roads, just birds and the sound of water. Just lovely.

Got the top of pass between Sail and Ard Crags and then another testing descent into the Rigg Beck valley. This time there was less rocks, but it was steep and loose rock. I managed to lose my footing once and ended up on my ass, but no damage done and finally it became more runnable and we came to the third checkpoint near Birkrigg. Then some quiet road and southwards down the Newlands Beck valley (between Maiden Moor and Hindscarth) down the east side and back up the west. Then along the base of Catbells towards Skelgill and after that the final checkpoint. Most of this was runnable, but I had very little left so it was run/walk for this section.

Then Silver Hill, Fawe Park, through Portinscale and the Cumbria Way and back to the finish at Crowe Park in Keswick. Seven hours. I have never broken that barrier before ! Definitely the toughest marathon I have done. Beautiful route and I am so glad we did it, but I am not sure we shall be there next year ...

My legs were cramping most of the evening and Melanie's knee was very sore, so it wasn't looking good for Windermere the next day, but I have been like that before and I know a good night's sleep can make the world of difference. Melanie's knee was a little more worrying.

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Valleys and Views 26m 2014

After running the inaugural Hartlepool parkrun on Saturday, we then drove down to Stamford, a place neither of us had been to before. What a lovely place. We wondered around, drank coffee, ate a meal and just relaxed. Definitely worth a visit.

Then on to Corby to spend the night before the main event of the weekend, the Valleys and Views, an LDWA event. This had three different distances and we had opted for the 26m route. This event was a little unusual because there was no route description issued before the event and no map available either. So we had no idea where we would be going. On arrival at registration at Wilbarston Village Hall, we received a route description and there was a map on the wall with the route marked. We marked up our map (which we hardly used) and waited for the start (runners weren't supposed to start until 10). However, we found out that the reason for runners not starting until 10 was to ensure that the checkpoints would all be open for the runners. As we wouldn't be running fast, we set off at 9.20 roughly - our starting time was recorded and off we went on our own. A lovely way to start.

The course wasn't marked at all and we largely navigated using the excellent route description. It was a very undulating route, almost all off road. Sometimes the path was indistinct and sometimes it went straight through fields of crops. One particular field was full of oil seed rape about a metre and half high. As we approached it we could see the bobbing heads of runners in a mass of yellow. Quite a bizarre sight. We assumed there must be a wide path, but it turned out to be very narrow and you almost had to brush aside the rape to get through. Melanie loved this section.

There were three checkpoints. The event details said there would be basic refreshments, but there was more food than we expected. Also each checkpoint had lollipops which Melanie could not resist (this was definitely an event in which to discover your inner child)

It took us a bit over 3 hours to get to halfway, but we speeded up in the second half and finished with 5hr 48min. Often you get a meal at the end of LDWA events, but this time we had to pay extra for food. The entry fee for this event was only £4 so this seemed more than reasonable ! Egg on toast was available for £1. The bar in the village hall at the end was also open which was a bonus. There were a few people I knew from the marathon circuit running this event and it was good to chat

A lovely run and well worth the drive down from Durham.

Hardmoors Wainstone marathon 2014 - my 100th

It was great to see so many Striders at Chop Gate on Sunday for this event. The weather turned out to be better than forecast with only a couple of light showers while Melanie and I were out there. Without a doubt, this was one of my toughest marathons. The first twenty five yards from the village hall were flat, then it was straight into one of the steepest climbs on the route. It took us 23min to cover the first mile. The first half was very tough, with six biggish hills. At halfway it felt like we had run a marathon already. The second half was a little easier, two biggish hills and two long drags upwards. The drags would have been runnable if our legs had not been so trashed from that first half.
 

There was some great performances, particularly Paul coming in third overall having started near the back with the rest of the Striders. Jules and David were next in, followed by Andrew Thompson (who has hardly run at all in the last four months). Then Melanie (completing her 25th marathon in less than two years !) and myself (gaining my age category prize as there was no other v60s running). Then Sue showing her usual determination and grit. George and Anne came down to watch and Phil was marshalling and Anna was helping with registration and giving out the medals. Anita and Mark did the 10k although they arrived after we had started and finished hours before we got back.

People had gone to a lot of trouble to acknowledge that it was my 100th marathon and I was very touched. Somebody had put notices around the village hall, it was acknowledged at the briefing and I was given race number 100. Somebody also arranged a card and got people to sign it. It was all a bit overwhelming.

Running wasn't a major part of my life until 2003. When I joined the club in 2005, I was of the mindset that at the age of 54, I was too old to contemplate running a marathon. However, I soon realised there were members of the club who were older than me and running marathons. I also started to learn more about running marathons through the running website fetcheveryone.com where I record my training and races and have met many of my running friends.

I heard stories of the London marathon but as I had completed the Great North Run many times, the thought of a crowded race in a city did not appeal. Then a club member, Colin Blackburn I think, sent round an email about a marathon that was being revived, the Windermere marathon. I think this was in October or November 2006. The thought of running round a lake was much more appealing and May 2007 seemed a long way away, so I entered. May 2007 came round and I was on the start line having completed a training plan ! It all went amazingly well until 22 miles when I started to struggle, but I made it to the finish. My children were there to watch and I uttered the words 'Never again'. I saw a few people with 100 marathon club tee shirts at that race and could hardly believe anybody could run that many marathons.

I didn't run any more marathons in 2007, but once 2008 dawned I forgot the pain of the training and those last 4 miles and entered Windermere again, plus one or two other marathons. I also got a last minute place in London with ten days notice. And since then, it built up to 2011 when I did 30 marathons or ultras. I have cut back a bit since 2011.

I aim to keep running marathons and short ultras. Achieving 100 marathons to me is just passing a milestone by the side of the road, I want to keep running long distance events - I enjoy them, they keep me fit and I don't have to train for the events if I do them regularly. I am a poor trainer. I probably won't get great times doing it that way, but I am not motivated by obtaining personal best times. I have done one sub-4 marathon (Blackpool) and I am happy with that. Our next marathon is in less than three weeks and we have a double planned for May, so there is lots to look forward to !

For those of you who want to see what events have made up my 100, then you can see a spreadsheet here which is in the format required for the 100 Marathon club.