Saturn Run Remembrance Day marathon 2022

Well that turned out much better than I expected 😀 

On Friday I pulled a muscle in my back not bending enough to tie my shoelaces. This happens every eighteen months or so. I’m usually uncomfortable and struggle to sit for a few days.

I cancelled a work thing where I would be sitting for an hour or so on Friday evening. I also withdrew from pacing at parkrun on Saturday.

On Saturday morning I did go to parkrun and basically walked 80% of it I ended up with a time over 40 minutes but I was pleased to have done it.

I had a place at the Saturn Run in Durham on the Sunday and the plan was to run/ walk a lap or two - a lap is about 4.6 miles. You can run as far as you like but you must stop no later than 6.5 hours after the start. It’s quite a popular event with people doing all sorts of distances. I find it a bit hard mentally as it is in an area less than a mile from home so I know it very well.

I started and running didn’t feel too uncomfortable but it was slow. The last long run I had done was 13 miles and I haven’t done anything longer for several months. @mhrunningwild joined me about half way round the first lap and ran with me for some of the second lap and that helped 😀

Much to my surprise I ran the second lap and the third. At the half marathon point I did think about stopping, but while I felt comfortable I thought I would do one more. I probably ran about 80% of that one.

At the end of lap 4 I calculated I had enough time to walk the last two laps and I managed to run about 20% of lap 5 and 0% of lap 6 as my calves started telling me they weren’t used to this.

Very surprised and happy with this outcome 😀😀

Many thanks to @mhrunningwild  who gave me exercises to help my back. They worked a treat I didn’t feel it at all when I was out there.

Hardmoors Wainstones marathon 2022

 I have done this event a few times before and this particular route at least once. This was my first marathon of 2022 and my training for this event has not been as good as it should have been. A couple of twenty miles runs and a couple of hill sessions is not enough for a 28 mile and 5000 feet of climbing.

It starts and finishes at the Village Hall in Chop Gate. The start is very, very slow. Within a 100 metres of the start is a stile which is a bottleneck and it took me over 6 mins to get over it., but I did start right at the back. This is followed by what I think is the hardest climb in the event.

Finally at the top, I was able to start running and down to the first checkpoint at Scugdale I felt I was making good progress. Maybe I went a little too fast as that may be one of the reasons why I found it so hard later....

Then its west on the Clevaland Way leaving it at Scarth Gap to get onto High Lane heading to Square Corner (10 miles) which was packed with cars.

Then back onto the Claeveland Way, through the lovely Osmotherley and then up to Scarth Wood Moor and back to Scugdale.

I knew the remaining miles would be tough. A long climb up Carlton Bank, down to Lordstones. I was getting caught by people who I had passed earlier as I was getting tired and I was taking the downhills very carefully.

From Lordstones there are the three Sisters - Cringle Moor, Cold Moor and Wainstones. I really struggled climbing these, the lack of hill training and distance showed here, we were past 20 miles at this point. However, a big compensation was the views which were amazing !

Down to Claybank there is another big climb to Urra Moor. 

Once there I was walking runnable sections I was so beat. Finally a downhill to Chop Gate Village Hall when I firnally started running again.

I was the only veteran 70 mad enough to enter so I won that award that was nice and lots of people were very kind. I did my 100th marathon at Wainstones seven years ago so it was good to be back at this event.

Jon and Shirley do an amazing job at organising these events and the marshalls are so encouraging and helpful. If you can get into a Hardmoors event go for it - getting in is quite a challenge, they sell out very quickly which says everything about these events.