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