Great Barrow Challenge Day 3 2011

Day 3

After the first day I felt sore and stiff and I wondered if I would recover in time for Day 2. I did recover and Day 2 went reasonably well. After Day 2, I felt very good indeed and I thought that Day 3 would not be too hard.

It was hard. There was much more road than the previous two days, even more than I had expected, as a change to the route meant even less offroad. The route was mainly on quiet country roads, which rolled a bit, but nothing too serious. There were only one of two straight sections, which was a relief. As the day went on, it got hotter. Before we got back into Barrow we had a three mile offroad section. I liked that and moved much better. We also ran through a deer farm which was something I had not seen before.

I finished in 5hr15 so 5 minutes slower than Day 2, but I wasn't too concerned, I was just happy to have finished !

Great Barrow Challenge 2011 - Google Photos

Great Barrow Challenge Day 2 2011

Day 2

Last night my legs very stiff and sore after Day 1, but I woke on Day 2 feeling not too bad. Today's route was to the east towards Bury St Edmunds and it had much more twists and turns than Day 1. The organisers had gone to town with flags and markers to make sure we didn't go wrong.

There were more rolling hills today and the sun was out, so I was a bit slower 5hr10min, but I enjoyed the countryside much more. We ran through Ickworth Park which was the grounds of an old country house. It was a lovely place to run, if you are ever near Bury St Edmunds, its is well worth a visit. We then crossed a few fields and entered Nowton Park, more like a city park, but large parts were just left to grow wild. Then it was some road and trail sections before we got back to Ickworth Park again.

The only part of the route I didn't like was a section about 22m where we ran along a section of road which had lots of trucks. We then had the same finish as yesterday with those two hills in the last two miles....

I feel much less sore than I did last night, so I am hoping that Day 3 to the south goes well.

Great Barrow Challenge 2011 - Google Photos

Great Barrow Challenge Day 1 2011

The Great Barrow Challenge is a four day event and there is a choice of disciplines: walking, running or cycling. Each discipline has a choice of distances, although most people seem to be doing the maximum distance. You can change disciplines within the Challenge so there are some people who are running on Day 1, cycling Day 2, running Day 3 and cycling on Day 4. However, most people are sticking to one discipline. I did three marathons in three days in February so I thought I might push it a little and go for four marathons in four days.

Day 1

I arrived at Race HQ before 7.00 and in time to see some friends off on their 125mile bike ride. It was a small field although some riders set off later, the start times for all events are any time within a two hour window.

I faffed around and went to the run briefing at 7.45. We were warned about the sand at the top of the course and the tank tracks for about 6m from mile 16m. The tank tracks were said to be ankle twisting territory, so I thought I might walk most of that section. We set off soon after 8.00 and I took it very easy. We crossed a fairly busy railway line going over the rails and headed north. It was cloudy with no wind, so perfect running weather. It was almost perfectly flat, just a few very slight rolling hills and descents. There were a couple of slightly bigger hills in the last two miles, but my strategy was just to walk anything that looked like it was going upwards. Preservation is the key.

The course was very well marked. I hardly looked at the written instructions and I didn't look at the supplied map at all. I had downloaded the route to my Garmin and I used that the most. We went through a field of pigs. I did get slightly anxious after my recent experience, when I was chased across a field by some pigs (the fastest 200metres I have done for quite a while !) but after a few seconds I realised these pigs were contained by a low electric fence.

The route up to the top of the course was like running on a heath, not too hard. The sand at the top of the course was fine and not bad at all. At 16m I expected to find it much harder, but the tank tracks weren't too bad at all. Just a bit up and down and you could often run on the grass alongside. The last 4.5m were all on road and I enjoyed these much less. I came home in 5hr 4min. The only damage seems to be some chaffage from my rucksack, I was aware that my shirt was riding up early on, but I was unaware it was causing any damage. Bum bag tomorrow I think.

Photos : Great Barrow Challenge 2011 - Google Photos

Moray marathon 2011

I am ashamed to say that this was my first time this far north and it was good fun to explore a new area. On the evening before the race I drove some of the marathon route and I must admit my heart sank a little. Long straights, gradual but long climbs. The weather was a bit grey which didn't help. I also realised that it has been a while since I have done a road marathon and it felt a bit of a challenge. The organisers were encouraging runners to finish in under five hours and I wondered whether I might not make that - I might just get tired of running as I had done two weeks ago at the Northumberland Coast marathon.

Race day dawned with much brighter, sunny weather. I met up with some other Fetchies, some new and some I have met before There had not been any signs out on the previous evening and the start/finish area was only sorted on the morning, so I thinking that this was a laid back event. The organisers knew exactly what they were doing (it was the 30th running of this event) and everything was ready in time and about 170 of us set off. The half marathon and the 10K used the later sections of the route so that everybody finished at the starting area of the marathon - those runners had buses to get to their starts. The mile markers counted down from 26 which I hadn't seen before.

We did a bit of a zigzag out of Elgin and then there was a steady climb out of the city. As a course I think I would say rolling, though there were some long flat sections. I enjoyed the route much more than I had the previous evening. The sun definitely helped, but it was warm. I don't think I have never seen so many water stations for a relatively small number of runners - every 2-3 miles and I was making full use of them.

I decided just to try and take this very easy. I had a plan to get to 3m in about 35 minutes and then see how it went. Well I got to the 23m sign (3.2m) in 30 minutes and that included the long drag out of Elgin, so not great pacing ! But I did try to slow down and quite a few people went by me. There was a woman about twenty yards ahead of me who was going about the pace I wanted so I just tried to keep to her pace. At 11m she stopped for a walking break so I went on and started to catch some of the people who had passed me earlier. From the splits, I did slow down after 9m, but I wasn't conscious of that at the time.

I thought I might try and speed up when I got to the 10k start (so just over 6m to go), but it didn't feel like there was much in the tank with the heat, so I plodded on, catching and overtaking other runners who were wilting in the heat. I was concerned I might just slow down again near the end and the penultimate mile was a struggle. The final mile was a breeze and I picked up on that one

4hr 37min 27sec was better than I had expected and it was good to come into the final straight in the front of the cathedral and to hear my name being called over the PA system

Photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/BFAWjQVyrYWSkPmz5

Northumberland Coast marathon 2011

This is my favourite marathon and although today wasn't one of my better runs, I still loved it. 

The weather was sunny and it did get a bit warm and later a bit windy.

There was a number of people there I recognised. There was another Elvet Strider, Fetchies I had met before and several marathon regulars, including a couple of 10 in 10ers, that I have seen at other races.

It was an event organised by the North East marathon club, so it was low key and well organised 

I knew I had to start slowly, this is the first of three marathons in three weeks. Also my hip has been a bit sore this week. I went for a long walk on Friday and that seemed to improve it, but I knew I needed to be careful.

So off to a gentle start. katypie was not too far ahead of me and after about three miles she waited for me to catch up. We then ran together for the next twenty miles and they just flew by. However as we were approaching the last water station with about 3 miles to go, I just seemed to lose the will to run. We had a good chance of a sub-5 at that point, so I said to katypie that she should go on as she was clearly in much better place than me. Reluctantly she did finally did go on and she made it under 5 hours.

I really struggled in those last three miles, runners came by me and I walked far more than I ran. The final run into Alnmouth along the beach was very hard as the wind had picked up and it was in our faces. Finally made it back in 5hr 14min.

What happened ? I think I didn't have enough to eat. I had shot blocks, but had just 3, way too little. I had a flapjack at the first checkpoint, but nothing after that until the same checkpoint on the way back (23m). I wasn't even expecting any food at the checkpoints, so I should have taken some food with me and/or had more shot blocks. I did take the Succeed S-caps regularly so I should have had enough electrolytes.

It was great to have katypie's company, I am sure I would have struggled earlier if she hadn't been there. 

I will be back next year 

Photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/FESqVpKNtfPVWukG7

Dovedale Dipper 2011

What a great race ! There were some tough uphill sections, lots and lots of stiles and gates, some fantastic views and lovely sections, like Wolfscote Dale where we ran up a steep sided valley next to a stream.

And it was great to meet up so many people I knew. It was a three hour drive, but well worth it. A couple of my clubmates also made the journey down. The usual friendly, well stocked checkpoints and meal afterwards that you get at LDWA events

A tough run, but lovely. I am not in great marathon shape, so I was pleased to get through it and it will be good training for events later in the month.

Photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/qyVEGzRAHMDcv8v67

Lakeland Trails marathon 2011

The scenery on this run was just amazing. I ran with a clubmate, Angela, and as she was not in the same form as she was at Druridge Bay, this meant the pace was comfortable, which was definitely a good thing in the hot weather. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the fantastic views. It was lovely to see so many Fetchies running and marshalling 

The course was fairly technical in places. I especially liked the wading through the river  

I definitely want to do this one again 

Photos : https://photos.app.goo.gl/ydipktBSML7152VJ6