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....