Newburn river race report 18/06/2014

I had signed up for this race a while back, but my 14 mike run on Saturday had left me with a very painful right shin so I was in 2 minds as to whether I was going to run or not.

In the end I did what I usually do - run anyway possibly risking further damage and hope the pain doesn't get any worse.

In the end it held out OK, although it was pretty sore afterwards.

It had been a scorcher of a day, my phone reckoning it was 21 degrees on the start line and my hayfever was kicking in big style. John hadn't pre entered but managed to get a number on the day so was running too.

The course is a scenic 6.5 miles from newburn leisure centre along the Tyne to wylam and back on the other side. Based on my 10k time at Blyth I reckoned around 39.30 would be a comparable time and that is what I was aiming for.

I got caught behind a bunch of people at the start, but once I got past them I settled into a/reasonably comfortable pace. Around half a mile in I ran past Graeme from wallsend harriers who looked like he was having a good race.

First mile went past in 5-40 and it seemed like no time until we got to wylam , over the bridge and onto the other side of the river. This was the 3 mile point and my time was just under 18 mins so I knew I had slowed down.

I then started to tire and running was becoming more difficult. I sensed a few runners on my shoulder trying to overtake me, and looking round I saw one of them was Graeme. I put in a burst of speed to get away from them but within a few mins Graeme was back on my shoulder again.

The next mile or so we ran shoulder to shoulder - I was really tired by this point and didn't have the energy for another burst so I decided to wait till the end and try and out sprint him.

We reached newburn bridge- the path goes under the bridge then doubles back on itself and there is either a ramp or some stairs to get up onto the bridge.

I chose the stairs, but after getting half way I was shouted back mpby a Marshall and told to use the ramp.

I quickly retraced my steps, but by this time Graeme had a gap on me and seemed to be speeding up. I tried my hardest to get back to him, but didn't have enough time as the finish was just round the corner and I was empty.

My final time was 40-40 which was a minute slower than I'd hoped for so I was a bit disappointed as I don't think I could have ran any faster on the day,

John was also disappointed in his time of 47 mins, although he has just ran a marathon so I don't think he's got any worries.

No point dwelling though - onto the next race,  Windy Gyle on Sunday.

Sunderland Half Marathon 04/05/2014

My original plan for this race was to try and break 1-20, but that was when training was going well and I was injury free. Apart from a few races I've done very little running in the past few months and had to rely on cross training in the gym to try and maintain my fitness.

Today would be a good test of how well that has gone, and how much fitness I've lost in those months. My revised plan was to try and break 1-22, which based on my 10k time of 37:23 at Blyth should be achievable if things went right on the day. My B goal if it didn't was to try and break my pb of 1:23:.31.

John was trying to break 1:40 but wasn't confident he would be able to before the start of the race as this was his first half marathon and he wasn't feeling great.

As we set off I felt pretty comfortable and settled into a good pace, doing both the first 2 miles in 6.02. The next few miles went by at pretty much the same pace and I wondered if this would come back to bite me later in the race but I decided to stick at it while I could and then push through the remaining miles when it started to hurt (hopefully not many of them).

The course winds its way around the city centre and brought back memories of the marathon a few years earlier. One of the nice features of it as that there are a number of places where the route doubles back on itself and you can see the runners coming down the other side of the road. This lets you potentially see the leaders, and also the other runners behind you so you can see how they are doing too.

After about 7 miles I started to feel the effects and my pace started dipping to around 6-10 average. I felt ok about this, but knew that I couldn't let it drop much further if I wanted to hit my target. There were a handful of other runners around me at this point and I managed to pick a few of them off - probably as a result of them setting off too quickly rather than me speeding up.

At around the 9 miles point the route goes back over to the north side of the river and it was nice to see Chris Redfern just over the bridge cheering me on.

I was starting too feel really tired at this point and it was a real struggle to try and keep my pace from dropping. The route pretty much goes up the coast, through Roker Park and then back down the way you come to the finish in the stadium.

Once it got to 11 miles in Roker Park I started to feel confident that I was going to hit my target of 1-20. I think one of the skills in endurance running is regulating your speed so that you have an even paced run. If you are able to speed up in the last few miles then you have probably started too cautiously, if you really struggle in the last few miles then you've probably went off too fast. Once you reach a certain point you know that your going to be ok as you have the strength to get through the remaining miles at a decent pace. For me today that was the 11 mile point.

I'm not saying the last few miles were easy, far from it, but I was able to run them at close to my limit which I wouldn't have been able to sustain for the entire race. The last mile especially was really tough - the last drag into the stadium seems to go on forever and then you also have to go round the corner to the end.

Normally I can muster a sprint finish at the end of the race, but I didn't have the energy today which made me think that I had probably got my pacing about right, apart from going off a bit too quickly at the start.

1:21:50 at the end then - a massive PB which I was over the moon with. Jim didn't quite hit his target of breaking 1-20, but he still had a fantastic race and finished in 1:20:45 - a PB.

There were also PB's for Dave (1:30:29) and Gemma (1:33:03) and John came in at 1:36:41 -well inside his target. There were also solid performances from fellow Saltwellians Mel, Annie & David.

So all in all a great day out. I feel really pleased that I managed to knock over a minute and a half off my PB with the amount of training I've been doing lately so my next target it a sub 1-20, probably at the Great North run later in the year unless I do another half before then.

3 Peaks Fell Race 26/04/2014

This race is arguably the biggest in the UK fell running calendar with and entry list of 1000 hardy souls. 2 of those hardy souls (me and Jim) traveled down to the race on the Saturday morning (Keith had also entered the race but had to withdraw because of an ankle injury).

Originally this was going to be one of my 2 A races this year (the other being the Yorkshire Marathon) but the calf and ankle injuries I've had over the past few months meant that I've done no-where near as much preparation as I'd liked and so I was aiming to just try and enjoy the day rather than going for a specific time.

There was a fairly low cloud base which obscured Pen-Y-Ghent (the first peak) and it started raining at around 10 o clock so it looked like we were in for a wet day (at least the start of it anyway).

Just before the race started I had a bad moment when I realized I didn't have my dibber  and had to race back to the car to get it, just making it back with about 20 seconds to spare.

So we were off, snaking round the streets of Horton in Ribblesdale before joining the Pennine Way and the first ascent to Pen-Y-Ghent. By this time it had stopped raining and felt quite warm as there was also a lack of wind.

About half way up and it was hands on knees time. To be honest I could have continued running but I knew there was a long way to go and I had to conserve my energy. 40 minutes and I was in the mist on the summit of Pen-Y-Ghent, and turning round to race back down the path I'd just struggled up. About half way down there was a woman writhing in the ground in agony with what looked like either a broken or very badly sprained ankle which made me conscious of being especially careful with my own ankle injury which was still heavily strapped.

By this time the mist had cleared, which probably wasn't a good thing as I could now see the 2nd peak Whernside far off in the distance. As well as "The marathon with mountains", this race is also described as 3 fell races separated by 3 cross country races, or 1 big cross country race with 3 big hills in the middle. After descending from Pen-Y-Ghent I could see why as the next 10 or so miles until the next peak were very runnable and pretty flat as you can see from the profile.

 Its very easy to run too fast on this section, and it was also starting to get warm with the Sun making regular appearances from between the clouds. As the route approaches Ribblehead it takes you along a road for about half a mile and I have never seen so many cyclists and walkers in such a short space of time. Many of the walkers I would imagine were attempting the 3 peaks walk (walking the 3 peaks within a 12 hour period), and the Tour de France passes through this area later in the year which is apparaent by the many roadside posters and paraphanellia on display.

After picking up my water bottle from the checkpoint it was time for the seconds ascent. The normal walkers route snakes round to the far side of the peak before making a steady ascent to the top, but as this was a fell race there was none of that messing around - it was a beeline for the top.

After fording a stream which guarantees you have soaking wet feet for the rest of the race there is another boggy section as the gradient steadily increases before taking a brutally direct bearing to the top involving a fair amount of scrambling.

After eventually reaching the top i tried to start running again but cramp in both of my calves stopped me in my tracks and I had to stop for a couple of minutes to stretch. I wasn't the only person in this boat as there seemed to be quite a few other runners with the same problem.

Half way down the descent I went over on my bad ankle and had to pull up for a few minutes until the pain subsided. I was starting to feel tired now as well and the looming figure of Ingleborough ahead was a reminder of how far was still to go.

After picking up another drink at the next checkpoint it was uphill again and the tiredness was really kicking in. The ascent isn't as steep as Whernside but it isn't far off, especially the final section which involves a fair amount of scrambling.

It's easy to think that once you reach the top that its easy from then on as the last 4 miles to the finish are all downhill on a steady descent (at least that's what I kept telling myself). In reality though its probably the toughest part of the race.

By this time I was seriously fatigued, my legs were sore and although there are some nice runnable sections there are also a fair amount of rocky & stony sections, boggy parts and generally tough terrain which saps your strength. It took my 53 minutes to run these final 4 miles, getting cramp again on the way down and being reduced to a slow shuffle at points

Eventually I crossed the line in 4 hours 40 mins and 5 seconds, more than 40 minutes behind Jim who had a cracking race to finish in 03:58:04.

All in all I had a great day and will definitely be back  next year to hopefully run a faster time, unless I decide to do the Fellsman which is also ran on the same day.

2013 summary

Well its been some time since I've posted anything on here so I thought I'd have a bit or a recap of last year.

Since I started running again around 5 years ago, 2013 has definitely been the worst year of training and racing I've had, certainly the first 3 quarters of it anyway. It all started going wrong after Cramlington cross country race in October 2012 where I picked up a slight hamstring niggle. I then made it 10 times worse by running aggressively downhill cross country training the week after which left me completely unable to run on it for almost a month.

When I did finally get back into running I was only able to manage 2-3 miles at an easy pace and only 24 miles in total for November and December. January was a little better and I was able to progress up to around 7 mile runs (and 35 miles in total), but then in February I badly hurt my back trying to lift a CRT TV which again left me completely unable to run for a good few weeks.

March was a little better, clocking in at around 55 miles in total but I still didn't manage to run longer than 8 miles and nothing at any sort of decent speed.

I had entered the Sunderland Marathon again and was hoping to break 3 hours, but had no chance of achieving that given my lack of training which was also compounded with working some long hours at work so I had to withdraw from the race. Gutted.

I still hoped to run an Autumn marathon, but again through May and June I just couldn't seem to find the motivation to put in the required base training.

I ran the Chevy Chase at the beginning of July with nowhere near enough preparation and this led to another injury - calf this time, which I was unable to shake off for around a month.

By this point I had around 5 weeks preparation for the Great North Run, so I decided put in some effort to do some high quality sessions & speed work in the hope of being able to at least match last years time. Unfortunately some hill sprints put paid to that with another hamstring injury which again left me unable to run for about a week and a half before the race.

Some Ibuprofen on the day helped me get through the race, but my lack of fitness left me 3 minutes slower than last year.

Next race a few weeks later was the first cross country race of the season in Tanfield which was equally as disastrous with me pulling my other hamstring within seconds of starting the race - this time so badly that my leg was physically bruised. An autumn Marathon now was definitely out of the question.

So October 2012 - September 2013 is without doubt the worst period of training I have had since starting running again. I averaged less than 50 miles a month, only 2 long runs and no marathons and had more injuries in that period than the 4 years which preceded it.

2013 wasn't entirely all bad news though, from October on-wards things have got progressively better and I think a number of things have contributed to this. I've joined a gym and am now doing regular strengthening & core exercises and I have managed to find my motivation again.

Since October I have been steadily increasing my mileage to the point I am now up to 55 miles a week, and am also doing some quality speed work. My race times have improved and I am now at the point where I fell better and fitter than I have ever been before.

I hope to update my blog on a more regular basis again, and will also post some race reports from last year (although some of them won't make for pretty reading).

Here's to a more successful 2014!!

Sherman cup 28/09/2013

This is the first cross country race of the season and was an absolutely cracking day with brilliant sunshine and no wind.

There was a good turn out from the club for both men and women and although I hadn't done much running since the great north run my hamstring seemed to be holding up and I was hoping to have a good race.

Normally this fixture is held at temple park, however this year the venue had moved to the fields beside tanfield railway.

I made my way to the start of the race, but I was only  a few metres in when I felt a ripping pain tearing through my hamstring (ironically not the one that I had previously injured).

I was hoping that it wasn't too serious and the pain would subside but that didn't happen and I started to think about dropping out.  I managed to keep going for a while at a reduced pace and decided to see if I could make it till the end.

Although there weren't any significant hills on the course there was a fair amount of undulation and the hard baked ground was energy sapping.

I managed to get round and finish the course without any further incident but my hamstring was very sore afterwards and I struggled to even walk.

Not a great start to the xc season but at least I managed to get round and was still in contention for the internal xc competition.

Great North Run Race Report 15/09/2013

When I got my race number this year and found out that I had a yellow/black number (fast paced club runners) I was chuffed as this meant I would be right at the front of the race and in with a/good chance of beating last years time.

Unfortunately my training hadn't been great since the Chevy chase so I had around 5 weeks to try and get some quality workouts in which I hoped would put me in a good position. Disaster struck on one of these as on the last rep of a hill sprint session my hamstring popped and I was left hobbling back to the office. This meant almost 2 weeks of no running before the race and a dose of ibruprofen to try and get me through it.

As you can see from the photo I couldn't have been any closer to the start and was almost breathing down Mo Farah's neck as he lined up in front of me.

As the race started my hamstring was sore but bearable and the first few miles went by ok. By the time I reached the end of the Tyne bridge I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable and it was at this point that Jim and Chris from the harriers went past me. I tried to stay with them but didn't have it in me on the day and I had too let them go.

By around 9 miles I was really starting to tire and slow down - mostly the result of not getting enough mikes in my legs before the race. My hamstring was getting sorer but not as sore as the pain that was now enveloping my feet - the result of wearing my racing flats which were half a size smaller than I normally get. 

It was around this point that Graham from the harriers went past me and again I couldn't do anything to hold on to him.

The last few miles were agony and I knew that I wasn't going to beat last years time, ending up about 3 minutes outside it in the end. 

Worst casualties of the race were my big toenails which went black and dropped off a few weeks of pain later.

Pretty dissapointing race, but again I probably couldn't have expected anything more on the day given the position I was in.
 

Chevy Chase Race Report 06/07/2013

Ideal Preparation for the Chevy Chase:

1. Do no specific training such as long runs, runs in the fells or any type of running on uneven terrain
2. Have a generally low weekly mileage in the preceeding months
3. Do another challenging fell run 4 days before that race
4. In that race, split open your shoes so that you have to use a new pair that have never been worn before.
5. Attempt to break in that pair of fell shoes a few days before the race, giving yourself blisters which then wont have time to heal before the race.

Yes, I adopted all of these 5 principles and as a result in combination with temperatures well into the 20's on the day had one of the toughest race experiences I have ever had.

 This year the full course was to be ran, the main problem being the heat and the organizers urged everyone to take plenty water as there would be limited supplies on the course. I had 2 500ml bottles in my pack which I hoped would be enough but somehow doubted it would be.

The first could of miles went by without incident and I reached Broadstruther feeling ok, although the Sun was starting to play a part and I was thankful to the water on offer. My plasters have also came off and my blisters were sore, but not a major problem at this point.

The next section up to Cheviot knee is where the terrain starts to get a bit steeper and the running turns into running/walking (for me anyway). The field had thinned out quite a bit and I tucked in behind another runner who was going at about the same pace I was.

One we reached Cheviot knee. all running stopped and it was a long harsh hands on legs push up to the Summit. When I have walked the race in the past it has been this section where the leaders have passed me but they were well ahead of me today.

Once the top is reached there is a short section of runnable terrain on flagstones before the checkpoint and the steep descent down to Carey Burn. Descending steep terrain is something I've never been good at, and many people passed me on this section. I passed Alan on this section who seemed to be going well and enjoying the day.

My blisters were really sore at this point, and my quads and knees were also taking a battering so I had jelly legs by the time I reached the burn.

The route then immediately turns sharply uphill again towards Hedgehope and its hands on knees time again interspersed with a few sections of runnable terrain. Its also a very boggy ascent which puts extra strain on the legs - I really started feeling my lack of endurance catching up with me and struggled badly on this section.

The top of Hedgehope was eventually reached and then again another brutal downhill section immediately follows. The pain in my quads was almost unbearable coming down and I had to stop a few times. I was still running pretty close to the guy I had been with since Broadstruther - he left me for dead on the descent from Cheviot but I had then caught him up again by the time we reached the top of Hedgehope. He was again pulling away from me on the descent, but as he reached the bottom I saw his fall over & let out am agonizing scream.

By the time I reached him there was already another few runners around him and he looked in a pretty bad way & not in any state to be able to carry on. I later found out that he had broken his ankle and had to be airlifted to hospital. This is one of the dangers of fell running and one of the reason for mandatory kit, although the conditions today were in his favour.

This point of the race is roughly half way in terms of distance, but the most difficult terrain is behind you so that is what I tried to hold on to as I was seriouly fatigued.

The terrain becomes runnable again, but although it is reasonably flat to the next checkpoint at Langlee Crags the heather was quite thick and the ground rocky with boggy patches underneath so it is tough running. I decided to conserve my energy and walk this section - I had exhausted all my water supplies by this point so was glad of the extra water they had on the checkpoints.

The next section to Brands Corner included some good tracks so I took advantage of this and ran these parts.

You then drop down to Carey Burn bridge and other tough section alongside the burn over some rocky ground. The heat was stifling in this part and I was walking again. I had decided to get to the top of Hell Path and then try and run the last few miles which is what I managed to do, although I had to stop a few times with cramp (not helped by numerous stiles).

I ended up finishing in 04:16:53 (38th out of 130), over 15 minutes more than my target time of 4 hours. Although this was a little disappointing I can't really complain too much given my lack of race preparation and I feel that I will be able to considerably improve this next year with better training.

Saltwell Harriers Fell Race Report 02/07/2013

This is the third time I have ran this race, but the first since joining the club as I was working in London this time last year.

My mate Jonny was also running again, so we drove over together. It's amazing how the weather can change as the elevation changes. As you can see from the picture the conditions were less than ideal with heavy rain and strong winds being a feature of the drive across to the moors above Stanhope where the race takes place.

After a short warm up and a bit of banter with some fellow harriers the race got underway.

The race starts off with a steady climb to the radio mast on the top of Collier Law and I made good progress, picking my way through the field and even passing Jim Thompson near the top (although I could still see Chris Kennedy around 100 metres in front of me).

At this point I was in around 10th place and feeling good, although I knew there was still a lot of work to do.

The descent back down to the road crossing seemed a little easier than previous years as the bracken was at a lower level so it wasn't as much effort to run through it. On this section I could sense Jim very close behind me and knew that if would be difficult to hold him off as he is a very good fell runner.

Sure enough just as we reached the road he passed me, and I started to feel tired and a little concerned that I may have started off too fast.

Those thoughts didn't last too long however.

After running along a disused railway track the route takes a sharp left and descents steeply down a long grassy slope to the river and it was at this point that disaster struck.

Just before the race I had noticed that one of my fell shoes were starting to come away at the sole and made a mental note to bin them when I got home. Unfortunately they decided at this point that they had had enough and the sole of my left shoe almost entirely separated from its upper half.

I stopped and try to patch them up my wrapping my laces round them which helped a little but my foot was still slipping all over the place inside them which made it impossible run at any speed down the hill and a steady stream of people started to go past me.

At the bottom of the hill there is a very steep drop down to the stream where my shoe came off entirely and I sat on the bank contemplating dropping out of the race.

The only problem was the quickest way back to the start/finish was pretty much following the race route, and it I was going to walk back to the start then I might as well try to run there.

I tried patching my shoe up again, and after a dip in the stream to punch my number I set off along the steep valley side.

This was probably the worst part of the race as my shoe wouldn't stay on my foot because of the unevenness and slant of the ground so I was pretty much running barefoot (on one foot) for this section.

Once this was over the final climb up to the finish wasn't as bad underfoot and I managed to hobble in 53:36, a good 5 minutes slower than the last time I did the race but thankful to get to the end without the other shoe disintegrating again.

Weetslade relays race report 26/06/2013

This was my first race since Prudhoe and although I had gained fitness since then I was still not at my best so was a bit apprehensive approaching the race.

Couldn't have asked for better conditions on the day - warm, sunny and not a trace on wind. When I arrived I found out that we had 4 teams (of 3) competing and that I would be running the first leg in my team. This put me with Graham Harrison, Darren Smiley & Graham Stephenson.

I knew that Graham Stephenson had been running really well and came on leaps and bounds since he joined the club so I made my race plan to stick with him as much as I could.

The race set of at a furious pace but I was able to tuck in behind Graham and stay there for the first mile or so until the course veered up the short hill in the middle of the course. I'm normally quite strong on hills and thought I might have made up some ground at this point but I didn't seem to have that extra kick on the day.

The route is only just over 2 miles, so it wasn't long before we descended the hill and headed back along the path to the start. I was still keeping up with Graham at this point and made a move to try and go past him, but he must have sensed me coming and speeded up himself.

Then before I knew it we were approaching the slight incline to the finish, and I didn't have anything left in me to try and mount a sprint finish and Graham pulled away from me and ended up finishing 9 seconds in front.

All in all I was happy with my performance, although the almost immediate soreness in my legs (which lasted for a good few days) was a telling sign of my complete lack of speed-work this year.

14:31 and 15th out of 64 runners on the first leg

Prudhoe xc race report 23/03/2013

This was my first race of 2013 due to being injured for most of the year so far. In the few weeks leading up to the race I was able to run without pain, but was only able to make it up to around 6 miles so again I was aiming to get round the course with no more injuries or setbacks.

Last year it was over 20 degrees and brilliant sunshine for the race, but this year it was almost down to zero with gale force winds. Keith had put out a call to action the week before as we were in danger of being relegated and needed to put in a good performance to avoid the drop.

As the race began I didn't feel too bad - its pretty flat to begin with before a steep descent down the hill and I was able to run comfortably before having to face the hill for the first time.

By the second lap the tiredness was starting to hit me and I really had to dig deep to get up the hill the second time. By the time I reached the top and turned into the gale force winds I was glad the finnish was just round the corner.

But was it......

As I approached the finish area no-one seemed to be stopping and then it hit me - we had another lap to go! Last year it was only 2 and I did think the course seemed to be a bit shorter. Afterwards I learnt that a big loop at the bottom of the hill had been cut out because the ground was in poor condition after all the recent rain and snow.

At this point I seriously considered dropping out of the race as I just couldn't contemplate doing another lap. Its one thing pushing yourself to your limits when your running well, and another to just hang on and I'm not sure which is the most painful.

On the last lap I was passed by many runners and my lack of training and endurance really put me in the red zone and reduced me to a snails pace up the hill for the final time.

Ironically I was passed by Jim close to the end and finished one place behind him as I did in the same race last year. The difference this year was that he had missed the start of the medium pack and had to run with the fast pack (as did Chris) and so was a full 5 minutes ahead of me.

On the day I was 183rd out of 384 in horrendous conditions but on the positive side we didn't get relegated and will be in the 2nd division again in the next season.

Shibdon pond xc race report 17/11/2012

I went into this race still injured from the Cramlington race and xc training session the week after so it was never going to be a great performance. My hamstring hurt just walking so my plan was to try and run round comfortably and not make the injury any worse.

Because of this it was a pretty uneventful race, my hamstring was pretty sore all the way round but not sore enough to stop me running and didn't seem to be any worse  after the race.

It was the first time I had ran the course which is very short, flat and fast apart from a small hill you do a/few zig zags on.

Probably the slowest I've ever ran a race (i was 211th out of 460) , but at least I was able to race which is always a good thing.

Cramlington cross country 27 oct 12

First race of the cross country season and the conditions couldn't have been any more different than the last race in prudhoe back in march. Back then it's was breaking 20 degrees with sunny blue skies. Today the sky was pretty clear but temperatures were a lot lower and the abundance of rain (and overnight snow) in recent weeks resulted in the muddiest race I've ran so far.

The snow had melted by the time the race started, and there was an impressive turnout on the day.

After finishing 31st at prudhoe my aim was to try and break into the top 30 and make it into the medium pack. Even though I haven't ran much since kielder I think I'm still in pretty good shape so I thought I was capable of getting there.

When the race kicked off I made my way as close to the front as I could and felt pretty good for the first lap. Although certainly not a flat course, cramlington wasn't as challenging as wrekenton and didn't have the prudhoe hill. As Keith from the harriers said to me though at prudhoe all the courses are hard when your pushing hard which I felt I was for the whole race, and as the second lap went on I started to feel the effects.

Counting the people in front of me at this stage I was in around 25th place. I knew though that I would be overtaken by medium and fast pack runners by the end so breaking top 30 would be a difficult task.

Sure enough as the third lap unfurled I started to be overtaken and was slipping down the rankings. In a race I always think it gives you a psychological kick to overtake runners in the latter stages of a race, so it is a bit disheartening when this happens but I try and use this as motivation to run faster and keep ahead.

As the end of the race drew near I was feeling pretty tired and regretting the wine I had drank the night before, but I managed to put in a final sprint to overtake another runner on the line and finish in 38-23 in 41st place (out of 425 runners).

Even though it was disappointing to not make it into the medium pack again I only missed it by 17 seconds so that is my goal for the next race.

Kielder Marathon race report 7th Oct 2012

I've been running marathons for 2 and a half years now (this is my 5th) and I've now reached a point where it's getting harder and harder to get a pb. of the nature of the course I knew beating my Sunderland time of 3:04 was out of the question so my A goal was to try and beat last years time of 3-24.

I think I'm pretty much in the same shape as last year, although I haven't managed to get in as many long runs as I would have liked and haven't managed to get over 18 miles in training. Apart from my first marathon in Edinburgh I felt as least prepared as I ever have for a marathon so my confidence wasn't great going into the race.

I decided my race strategy was to try and sustain 7:30 to 7:40 mileing which would take me to around a 3-20 finish, and see how I felt later on in the race.

My mate Jonny was also doing the race this year too - his 3rd marathon and first time at kielder so I picked him up and we drove up together.

The weather was ideal for running - pretty nippy at first but clear skies all day and not a hint of wind - different story to last year. As we drove up towards Bellingham there was a stunning mist inversion covering the valleys below us, something that I remember from the first year I did the race.

As we set off the first mile was slow as ever - a combination of a hill right on the start line, and the difficulty of overtaking people on the narrow track. After around 5 miles or so though I had settled into a steady pace and was deliberately slowing myself down to keep close to my target pace.

Once I got up to around 7 miles I started to feel tired, but didn't want to take a gel so early as I had only brought 4 so I just kept going. The mental battle that normally kicks in later in the race had started already and the questions were floating round my head.

Why was I feeling so tired so early in the race?
If I was feeling this tired now, how would I feel later in the race?
Should I slow down and take it easy for a while? If so then it would be almost impossible to beat last years time.

I the end I decided to keep going at the pace I was running at for as long as I still could and hope I could sustain it till the end.

I took finally took my first gel after 11 miles, which didn't really help much but at least I was t feeling any worse and I went through halfway in 1-38.

I felt pretty much the same until around mile 15 when something bizarre happened. I took an energy drink from a feed station and it was like a kick start. All of a sudden the lethargy had gone and I felt really good.

I thought that the feeling wouldn't last long, maybe I mile or so and I would need another kick but by mile 17 I was still feeling great and started to push on and overtake people. I had another gel at mile 18 even though I felt like I didn't really need it and up until around mile 21 I still felt pretty good. I felt really confident of finishing now with a decent time and although the inevitable muscle soreness and fatigue started to kick in by mile 22 I was still able to sustain a decent pace. Thankfully the cramp that plagued me last year also stayed away.

The last few miles were pretty hard, and I had to dig deep to get through them, but it was a marked contrast to Sunderland where I was really suffering from around mile 14 and I was able to push on and overtake a few more people (including Jim from Saltwell who was suffering from cramp) .

My final time was 3:20:26 and I came 44th and Jonny did really well to finish in 4:19.

I got some massive pluses out of this race, firstly how well I was able to run considering the quality of my pre race preparation. I ended up taking all my gels but felt like I didn't need then all and could get away with less in the future.

Secondly I was happy at how consistent my pace was- although I didn't manage a negative split it is the closest I've ever came to one and I didn't implode in the second half of the race like I did in Sunderland. More than ever I feel like my best strategy is to pick a realistic finish time and try and stick to a constant pace all the way round, as opposed to starting faster to try and offset slowing down later in the race.

It is a massive psychological boost to speed up and overtake people in the latter stages of a marathon and something I am defiantly going to work on next year.

I've signed up for Sunderland again next year and my goal is to break 3 hours. For now though I'm going to have some much needed R&R and reflect on a great running year do far.

Great North Run race report 16 Sep 2012

Although I've been running again for just over 3 years now and ran on and off since I was a kid I've never done the Great North Run before. In fact I've never raced a half marathon so this was a first on a number of levels.

I've got a long time goal to try and crack 1-15 for the distance but I knew I wasn't in that type of shape for this race. Realistically I thought that I'd try and aim for 1-23 which meant just under 6-20 pace.

My biggest mistake of the day was underestimating the time it would take to get to the start line. I set out for South Shields at 8-30 to get there before the roads closed with Donna who was going to wait for me at the finish line. Heavy traffic and a busy metro ride back to town meant I didn't get to the start line till 10-20, with the race due to start at 10-40.

By this time I had missed the baggage bus so had to race up to the top of Claremont Road to put by bag on the late baggage bus. I was advised not to try and get back into my starting pen and join the race at the back which would have destroyed any chance I had of getting near my target time. For this reason I decided to take a chance and raced back down to my start pen (Orange B) which was just closing (aaaaegh - at least I had managed to get a warm up racing to the baggage bus and back).

Streams of runners were walking back up the road so I felt resigned to going all the way to the back when I noticed one of the pens still letting people in. I managed to just squeeze in, but it still was nearly 15 minutes before I reached the start line just as it started to rain.

I resisted the urge to high 5 Mo Farah as I crossed the line and finally started to run. This is only the second race I've ever taken part in where there is a significant amount of support along the way (the first being the Edinburgh Marathon) and I think this is one of the reasons the race has came to be so big as it certainly isn't the most scenic of routes.

From start to finish I was constantly dodging past people so found it difficult to maintain a steady pace but I still managed to maintain my target of 6-20 mileing. I managed to maintain this until around 9 miles where fatigue started to kick in and I reached a steady incline before the steep drop down to the coast.

Although a net downhill course the route certainly isn't flat with a number of steady climbs which shook things up a bit.

I had made a decision not to take on any fuel or drinks during the race, consistent with my training were I have ran up to 18 mile with little fueling. In retrospect maybe a gel at mile 8 may help so I will give this a try next time.

At the 12 mile point I put a final kick in to the finish line for a time of 1-23-31 , pretty much exactly what I was aiming for. Maybe with a better starting point I could have got closer to 1-20 , but this now gives me a mark in the sand to try and beat next year.

Having ran my first half marathon and first great north run I feel that with the right training and preparation that 1-15 is in reach and something I'd like to work towards next year.

Next up: Kielder Marathon

Chevy chase race report 7th July 2012

Because of working in London I missed the Saltwell Harriers fell race this year which I have ran for the past 2 years and is the only fell race I have participated in. I have walked the Chevy Chase 3 times but never ran it so I was excited, but nervous as to how the race would go.

I had been suffering from a chesty cough for a number of weeks and didn't feel in great shape so had made a decision to use the race as a learning experience and take it easy.

It had been raining heavily in the week leading up to the race and there had been talk of it being called off, but as race day arrived it was still on so I headed up to Wooler.

When I got there my brother Alan told me that because of the weather they had shortened the course to truncate The Cheviot and Hedgehope with a total distance of 12 miles instead of 20. To be honest given the shape I was in this was welcome news and totally changed my fueling strategy - I felt confident I could get round that distance with no fuel, but packed a bottle of Lucozade just on case.

After setting Alan off in the walk I returned to Wooler YH where I talked to Jim from the Saltwell Harriers for a bit- sadly he was missing this years race through injury.

As the race set off I settled into a steady pace and tried to enjoy it the best I could. Throughout the race visibility was never more than about 50 metres and rain was also a constant factor.

The first few miles went past relatively easy, apart from being almost instantly soaked from the rain and splashback from surface water. Luckily it wasn't too cold so t-shirt and shorts were order of the day.

As we reached Cheviot Knee the terrain started to become steeper and more boggy making it increasingly more difficult to run. At one point I went arse over tit into the middle of a huge peat bog, much to the amusement of some passing walkers. We were diverted before the climb up to the Cheviot which gave some welcome downhill running, although I twice slipped on this section and twisted my right ankle pretty badly.

At the bottom of the hill I passed both Alan and Jim who both gave some encouraging words. Then it was another steep ascent up towards Langley crags and a dead sheep at one of the checkpoints.

The next section is relatively flat with some good running along well marked tracks. I became a little complacent at this stage and took a wrong turn, even though it was my 4th time along the route. I really should have known better but the combination of the mist, running instead of walking and not having my map as handy as I should have had meant I wasted a few minutes getting my bearings before meeting up with a few other runners and finding the right way.

By this time it had became apparent that the route was significantly more than 12 miles and I was glad that I had decided to bring a bottle of Lucozade for an energy boost.

Although the race wasn't as long as a marathon (the final distance was 16 miles) with the nature of the terrain it is probably comparable. The biggest difference is that most marathons are flat road races where's its easier to run at a constant pace, but you generally don't stop running the whole time. Because some of the terrain on the Chevy is so steep it makes sense to walk these parts which breaks the run up and makes it a bit more mentally easier to handle (although it certainly isn't physically easier).

When I reached the aptly named Hell Path I was really starting to struggle, but being familiar with the route I knew that it was pretty much downhill from that point. Once I reached the last mile on Tarmac I put in a kick that helped me overtake a few people and reach the finish line where I got hosed down and picked up my goodie bag. Final time was 2:37:35 and I came 41st out of 142 finishers.

Whilst it was disappointing not to take on hedgehope and the cheviot I still really enjoyed the race and will defo be returning next year.

Angel View Race 31 May 2012

Weather wasn't great for this one , been steadily raining most of the day but at least it wasn't windy or particularly cold so this wasn't too much of a problem.

As I collected my race number from inside the angel inn it seemed like the saltwell harriers were out in force as the place was full of red and white tops. After a bit banter I headed out to do my warm up and then attempted to find the start line (not an easy task).

I always think its a challenge to try and work out your pace on a course you haven't raced before, especially when there's hills involved (as there was on this course), so my strategy was to hang in behind Chris (from the harriers) and see how that felt.

Even tho I was pretty close to the start line I found the first half a mile or so quite cramped and difficult to get past people, but I could see Jim and Chris from saltwell not far ahead so I wasn't too worried.

The route twisted and turned around single track around the angel sometimes on paths I didn't know existed even though I run up the railway tracks quite often. Since Sunderland marathon I haven't done any speed sessions as I haven't really felt right, so I was a little apprehensive as to how I would feel in the race but at the point where the route goes up the old railway track to wrekenton I felt pretty good and decided to push on a bit and try to catch chris.

Maybe because I live in an area with lots of hills I think I have a strength in this area and past a few runners on the way up including Chris. Disaster struck at the top though. The route loops back on itself back down the track again, but at the turning point I took a wider line that I should have as did the runner in front of me. By the time the marshall alerted us to this Chris had already turned round and was away back down the track.
I raced back down but didn't manage to catch him by the end.

I thought it was nice to see the runners behind us running back up the track in the opposite direction, and it was a good point to spectate for too.
All in all a great race and one I will defo be back for next year.

Sunderland Marathon race report

Well its been just over 2 weeks since the race and my legs are still as sore as they have ever been after a race. I've only ran 3 times since and never felt good so I guess its true what they say about taking around 3 weeks to fully recover from a marathon.
As far as the race is concerned I ran 3.04.08 to take 31st place (of around 1100 finishers) which is a massive PB and under the 3.10 I needed for a London good for age entry so I'm well pleased with that.
The day itself was sunny and warm (a little too warm for marathon running but no-where near as bad as Edinburgh in 2010), so I arrived with my friend John at the start in plenty time & quite relaxed. I hadn't done much running in the 2 weeks leading up to the race because of a few niggles in my left calf & right thigh which seemed to still be there during the warm up which worried me a little.
Before I knew it the gun was going and I was off and I hit my first problem - after about 200 metres my Nike+ decided I had already ran a mile (and not surprisingly a PB) so I had to uncomfortably fiddle on with it to restart it - great timing!!
I felt pretty good for the first 10k and went through it in 39.33 which in retrospect may have been a little quick. My goal was to break 3-10, but I still harboured a slight hope of breaking 3 hours and I that point I was on course (although I knew I would inevitably slow down as the race progressed).
By the time halfway came though I started to feel the pace and had slightly slowed down, going through in 1.28.18. In previous marathons it has been around the 18-20 mile mark that I have really started to really feel the fatigue kick in, but this time it really started to come on after halfway - probably a result of my earlier pace. By the time I got to around 16 miles I was more exhausted than I have ever felt in a race and my legs felt like lead weights. There was more than one occasion that I contemplated stopping and walking even just for a few minutes, but somehow I managed to keep going.
The course is very twisty and turny & because of this there were a few points that I passed the race leaders in the opposite direction which judging by the looks on their faces appeared that they were suffering as much as me. I also saw John and  few Saltwell Harriers pass the other way.
After about 19 miles the course loops back past the Stadium of Light and then goes up the coast to Seaburn and back down again. It was nice to have the support of the crowds at this point but I was really suffering and my legs were in agony. I had noticeably slowed down and knew by now I wasn't going to break 3 hours, but I was still on course to get under 3-10 and this was the main motivation that kept me going.
At around 23 miles the dreaded cramp flared up and I had to stop for a few seconds. I hoped that it wouldn't be a repeat of the problems that really slowed me down in the last few miles of Kielder last year but luckily it was a one off.
The last few miles were some of the toughest I have ever ran, but I finally managed to get across the finish line in 3.04.08. The pain in my legs was so bad it took me twice as long to get back to the car, but I came back to the to watch John finish in just under 4 hours 30 in his first marathon.
I've learned something different in every marathon I've ran do far. In this one I really pushed hard at the start and this definitely affected me later in the race. Could I have achieved a quicker time if I had not set off as fast, and pushed harder later in the race? I'll never know, but I do know that if I want to try and maintain that sort of pace for the entire race then I need to do more training (in the build up to Sunderland on average I ran 4 times a week with a max weekly mileage of 43 miles). I feel confident now that I will be able to run under 3 hours which I will try and do next year in London, and maybe later this year if I do another road marathon (I don't think I'll manage it as Kielder).
The biggest positive I took from this race was how hard I was able to push myself in the 2nd half of the race despite the agony in my legs and being absolutely exhausted.
Next up Chevy Chase....

Sunderland training

Just thought id collect my thoughts as to how my training for the marathon of the north is going. Past 2 weeks i have managed to get an 18 mile run in, and I'm currently averaging around 40 miles a week. The numbers aren't massive, but I have been doing more speed work than ever before and the longer distance I have to travel to work now means more walking and riding so I'm getting the benefits of cross training which I think is defo helping me.
With 2 full weeks of training to go before my taper I'm aiming to get to at least 20 miles, maybe 22 at a push for my longest run and my goal is still to go sub 3 hours, although I don't know if I've done enough training to get there. I guess time will tell.
On the positive side, I'm injury free, however the last couple of long runs I've done I have suffered from stomach issues (tecchy term - gi distress).
I'm using a different energy drink (asda's own brand because that is what they are going to be dishing out at the marathon of the north) so I don't know if it is that, or my food intake beforehand. On a positive note, because of this my on my 18 miler last week I only drank half a bottle, and this week only a quarter of a bottle without hitting the wall so I guess indirectly I'm training my body to use its energy stores well. As long as race day isn't too hot I'm pretty sure I can get round in water and energy gels alone so hopefully it's not a big problem.
I'm really looking forward to race day now and enjoying my running in general - plenty more racing to be had this year :-)
On a more sombre note i was saddened to hear of the passing of caballo blanco aka Micah true aka white horse, star of Chris mcdougals great book born to run. He was a great inspiration and will be sorely missed.

Prudhoe cross country race report

My second cross country race of the season, and in fact my second ever. I'd heard about the hill at prudhoe but hadn't really thought about it too much before today - soon I would find out how bad it was.
Got chatting to another runner on the walk up to the start line who also informed me there was also a stream to cross followed by another sharp hill and a tricky tree to negotiate. I was beginning to realize why prudhoe is considered to be the toughest of the cross country races.
With temperatures hitting 18 degrees it wasn't typical cross country weather but I certainly wasn't complaining as it also made for a lovely drive up and relaxing walk up to the start line.
Since joining the saltwell harriers I haven't been able to make any of the training sessions yet so didn't really know any of the other members yet, but I was made very welcome beforehand and had a good chat with a few of them.
As I'm training for the marathon of the north I've came off a pretty full on training week, running 9.5 miles at dinnertime and cycling to work and back (14 miles) yesterday but I felt pretty good at the start and confident that I could put in a good effort.
As the gun went off there were about 10 runners immediately off before me but I knew from wrekenton that this wouldn't last and I wouldn't be able to hold this position for the whole race, but even so for the first 10 minutes or so of the race I felt pretty strong .
Because of the hot weather the ground was pretty firm and my newly bought fell shoes were easily capable of coping with it, although I will probable invest in a pair of spikes for the new season.
After the initial small rise from the start line it's pretty much all downhill which is good for getting up a bit of speed (as long as you can keep on your feet) but as its a 2 lap course I knew that the further downhill I went the more I would have to climb again. Twice.
When the stream came it wasn't as bad as I thought and my feet got barely wet (unlike the Stanhope fell race where you go in almost up to your waist), and I still felt pretty good at this point.
Then shortly after came the hill.
I've ran up steeper and longer hills before but never in a race ( well maybe apart from stanhope but that's a different kettle of fish). On the positive side there was a lot of support with many people cheering and clapping which definitely helped the slog to the top which at times seemed like it was never ending.
Once I got to the top though it didn't take long to recover which I think is probably due to some of the intervals and speed work I've been doing over the past few weeks. I knew though that I had it to face again on the second lap.
By now I had been passed by a fair few runners and I had no idea what position I was in but still felt a lot better than I did at around the point at wrekenton.
The second lap went pretty much the same as the first with the additional dread of having to face the hill a second time. The only consolation I had was seeing other runners around me also struggling (apart from the odd runner from the fast/medium pack racing past like a mountain goat).
Almost at the Finish I was passed by Jim from saltwell who I had been talking too before the start who ran from the medium pack, and I finnished one place behind him. After the race he told me I had finnished in 31st place - one off getting into the medium pack aaargh!
Cross country is a difficult type of race to measure your progress. Because all of the courses are different you can't rely on times along so although I was about a minute faster than wrekenton this doesn't take into consideration the distance, terrain and on the day conditions. Even so I felt I had a much better race than wrekenton and felt a lot stronger throughout.
I still need to work on my pacing strategy - I'm pretty sure I couldn't have went up the hill any faster, but having run the course now I would like to think I could push myself a bit harder next time.
Roll on next season!!!!!

Feet in the clouds

Just finnished reading this fantastic book about fell running by Richard askwith. Fell running is an area I haven't really got into much in the past, although I have done a fair amount of fell walking. My fell running career so far has consisted of running the stanhope fell race for the last 2 years (around 6 miles), but it's something I have enjoyed and want to do more of and I have entered the Chevy chase this year as a first step.
The book is partly a history of fell running including biographies of giants such as joss naylor, billy bland and Kenny Stuart and partly a story of the authors battle and final success on his 4th attempt to achieve arguably one of the toughest endurance events in the world - the bob graham round.
This isn't an organized event, but rather an invidually arranged traverse of 42 of the highest peaks in the lake district over a distance of 72 miles which has to be achieved in 24 hours.
One thing I have learnt from the book and from my own experiences in fell running is that is is a very different beast to any other type of running. Although the uphill sections are undoubtably tough I think that the key to succesfull fell running is the ability to run quickly downhill, frequently over unstable terrain such as peat bog, ankle snapping grassy tufts and rocky ground.
Basically there are 2 options:
1. Cautious style - hold back on the descent to reduce the risk of falling arse over tit or snapping your ankles in half.
2. Kamikaze style - a headlong descent into the abyss with no regard to personal safety as fast as is physically possible (which according to some stories in the book led to some almost 3 minute miles being achieved)

The most successful fell runners undoubtably adopt the 2nd approach despite the risk of serious injury and this is also one of the appealing aspects of the sport.
The bob graham round is something that has been in the back of my mind for around a year now and is definitely one of my longer term goals. Definitely not this year, prob not next but hopefully before I'm 40.
I was massively inspired by Some of the stories in the book such as the fastest traverse (billy bland 13 hours 53 mins), most number of peaks in 24 hours (77 mark hartnell) and for me the most impressive joss naylor 70 peaks in 21 hours covering over 50 miles and 25,000 feet of ascent. At the age of 70.

I love running and will always continue do so as long as I am physically capable, and stories such as those described in this book give me so much encouragement of what the human body is capable of achieving, and also for how long it can continue to do so.
A cracking read and highly recommended.