December 2010

Bedford Harriers Half Marathon - Sunday 12 December

Fresh from running a half marathon in the warm climate of Lanzarote this half would be run in a much colder climate. On the day it was cold but thankfully a lot warmer than it had been earlier that week. My target was to try and run around 1.37 or quicker on a course that I enjoy despite the undulating first 6 miles. I feel the climb at 3 miles is always a good test as to how you are going to run and although I felt ok Jeremy Lewis eased past me. I kept Jeremy in sight and eventually passed him on the long climb up to 8 miles, although he did come by again momentary when my hat got caught on a branch and I had to stop and back track to retrieve it!!

I went through half way in 49.13, and was still feeling strong. A sub 7.00 mile on the downhill through 10 miles and with the final 3 miles generally downhill I hoped I could push on. With the Club Championship honours up for grabs I was aware that the senior vets title was still a possibility. I knew Richard Jones (a newcomer to the Vet 50 category!!) was running but I hadn't seen him. Then at 11 miles Richard comes past. I try to stay with him but he is clearly stronger than me. Although I narrow the gap slightly by 12 miles I can't gain any further and Richard pulls away again over the final half mile to deservingly take the title. A 48.09 second half is pleasing and overall I'm happy with my run.

Dave Stanley

November 2010

3 Counties XC League - Race 3(Northampton) - Sunday 28 November

My garden thermometer read -6c as I left home and didn’t get much warmer by the start of the race. Fortunately the sun was shining across Delapre park as another large field assembled for the start. It was a 2 lap course with much of the route taking you through narrow tracks through trees skirting the park making overtaking difficult. The ground was like concrete so there didn’t seem to be any advantage with spikes/studs.

At the front Phil and Tim came first and second again. Good to see Stephen Hartley, the Farmers and Sally Marsh all returning back after injury and scoring valuable points. Jeremy Bell was delighted to have scored points for the club for the first time.

As we entered the woods on the 2nd lap I led a posse of Flyers only to watch them all overtake me by the time we left the trees again! Managed to overtake Mike Bannister but only because he lost his hat and went to retrieve it. Jeremy Lewis was wearing his new shoes (still spotless after the race!) which allowed him to improve 50 places after the last race – I’m off the to the Sweatshop!

Andy Atherton

Wolverton 5 - Saturday 27 November

This was to be my first outing over 5 miles, so I was reasonably confident of getting a PB (this game is going to get much harder when I start doing things for the second time around).

The race started just south of Milton Keynes' Peace Pagoda and consisted of a lap around the northern Willen Lake, passing the Pagoda again before lapping the larger southern lake. The course was pretty flat with the exception of the inclines leading to the Red Routes besides the inevitable, MK dual-carriageways.

The race was reasonably well marshalled but the finish was quite anti-climatic despite the very pleasant surroundings.

It was good to see 4 other Flyers turning out but we were considerably outnumbered by other clubs in the field of 270 runners. Hopefully, Rebecca managed a new PB herself after a courageous dash to the line.

I personally finished in 38:20 (line to line) but officially 38:25 and in 186th place.

David Cook 38.25

Brighton 10K - Sunday 21 November

A smashing super fast course out and back along the seafront in which a few flyers obliterated their Pb's!!!!!!!

Will most likely go down on my "must do again list" a good club weekend away. I can only dream of joining the sub 40 club but in the meantime i shall keep chipping away

Becs

Fantastic Faraway Fast Frolics with Foxy Flyers Fillies

Becs had arranged a bit of a social trip to Brighton with the 10K in the Sunday morning and in addition to the usual girls weekend crew Leigh, Keith Morgan and I joined them. Saturday night was a bit boozy, but by about 10:30 we headed back for a coffee. With lots of hotels we thought it’d be easy to find a coffee but weren’t having much luck until we saw a coffee place near our own hotel. This looked good until Becs wandered over to be greeted by a chap in black with pink leather braces, a pink leather cap with false eyelashes with jewels stuck to them. Perhaps this wasn’t our sort of place after all! So we retired to our own hotel and had a quick coffee there that was so strong it would have kept you awake for a week if you drank all of it.

Sunday morning was bright, cool and fairly still, so really good running conditions. After a quick breakfast I headed out with Leigh and we followed the first loop of the course for a couple of miles to warm up. There was a special start pen for sub-35 minute runners and they had quite a few fast runners here, I think the flat, straight course must attract them for a speedy time. They announced the names and credentials of the fast crew but the only one I recognised was Liz Yelling. So, off we went.. The course is along the sea-front road, turning at the end and running back alongside the runners coming the other way. It was good to see the really fast guys pounding along as they went the other way, I couldn’t see Liz on the first turn-around but saw her at the 6K mark and she certainly looked like she was trying hard.

There were a lot of club runners in the field and there were always people to run with, which I think helped to keep the pace going. Training has been going well recently but I didn’t have any particular expectations. After a few beers the night before I had come up with a sophisticated race plan – I decided to let Leigh go ( as he starts fast and that doesn’t work for me ) then try for 40-minute pace and see when the wheels come off. Well, 5K came up in 19:45 and so I knew there was a chance of sub-40 if I could hold it together. I’d slipped just over the 4 minute/kilometre pace at 8K but knew that it was so close that 8 minutes of hard work could get me there. I still felt good so dug in and with a push to the line I finished just as the clock ticked past 40 minutes. It took a while to get over the line at the start so I thought I must be under 40 on the chip timing and my timing said 39:53 but it was a bit of a wait until I saw the official timing had my chip time as 39:54. That’ll do for me, first time under 40 minutes and a new PB.

It was also a good day for Becs – over two minutes off her PB!  However, not so great for Keith Morgan who was ill on Saturday night so just stayed to watch us. We’re still not sure if it was something he ate or he was just sick of Arsenal loosing to Spurs on Saturday.

Jeremy

This was supposed to be a double celebration. Watching the Gooners thrash the Spurs and then heading down to Brighton and enjoying a 10k run.  Well the first celebration obviously went pear shaped and it meant both Keith and I had miserable looks on us pretty much all the way.

However, once we all arrived in Brighton, we went out and had a nice meal……………eventually, once the chief decided to cook it, but during this time it did allow me to see the female variety in Brighton, and although it felt like 50 below outside, that did not stop them wearing pretty much next to nothing, still I was not complaining, although at one point I was nearly blinded………enough said there.

We made it back to the hotel where we all decided to have an early night knowing that we had a run first thing in the morning (was told to say that)

When I woke up the next day, I felt a little rough; I did wonder whether this had something to do with the 14 pinacaladas’ and a Lobster Vindaloo the night before……  After a quick breakfast stop, we all made it to the start, had a good warm up with Jeremy. I had a plan which usually I never stick to but this time was a little different, the conditions were perfect and I have leaned from previous experiences. I did not want to mess this up……again.

We went near the front so when the whistle blew, we only lost around 9 secs getting over the start line, plus there was very little zig zagging going on.  I managed to get through the first 5k in 19:50 which is bang on target. I thought “That’s great only another 5k to go at that pace” Yeah great speech there, unfortunately from 7k onwards, that was it, the pain was setting in!

The course was great because you backtrack on yourself and you get to see everyone, which meant it was spot the flyer and cheer them on!  The last 2k felt like forever, and wasn’t feeling too great, but I always remember my recovery is always quick, just keep going, and in Steve Hartley's words just “hang on”.  The last 200m was horrible and I could see the clock was comfortably at 39mins so just crawled my way to the end and found myself with a new PB!

The star of the show was Jeremy managing his first 39min 10k race, well done.  Well done to all the flyers, we certainly showed those seaside lot how it’s really done.  Finally thanks to Becky for organising this race, hopefully this will be on the cards again.

Leigh

Dirt Half Marathon - Saturday 20 November

This was the first running of this excellent off road run. Although there was too much tarmac for me, as the canal toepath from Tiddenfoot Waterside Park (where we did a loop at the start) to Stoke Hammond where we left it at mile 6, is now tarmaced all the way. I had to walk the steeper part of the hill up to Great Brickhill, but then enjoyed the run down to the edge of Stockgrove Park and through the woods on the Greensand Ridge path. We rejoined the canal at the Globe Inn with 3 miles to go & I was still running at 10 minute mile pace - but I did slow a bit on the final section. This was the most sustained run I have done for at least a couple of years, as most of the longer events I now do involve as much walking as running - and I was really pleased with my time.

David

Having joined the club after the Ampthill Trophy and then not managing to make any training, most people will not know who I am, but I thought you may like to know about what an interesting race the dirt half marathon was. The course was of two extremes, long, flat monotony of canal towpaths and a section of steep hills, mud, tiny bramble lined paths and cowpats. The weather was perfect, the event well-organised and the other runners very friendly. Having been advised to take a map I congratulated myself on not getting lost – until 12 miles in where a bunch of us ran the wrong way and had to re-track our steps back onto the course. Got home in 2.15 and look forward to doing it again next year.

Sarah Johnson

3 Counties XC League - Race 2(Dunstable) - Sunday 14 November

There are times when your running you think to yourself 'why am i bothering!' - well that thought crossed my mind in this race as i trudged up yet another hill and first Dave Coker then Andy Page came gliding past me. I even confessed to walking some of the hills as I reckoned my running pace was actually no quicker than my walking pace at this stage! Dunstable is a typical cross country course - plenty of mud with some testing inclines. I decided not to go out to quickly in this run and soon settled behind Andy Atherton. The nice first downhill section saw me pass him only for Andy to come back on me as we climbed that first long incline. I knew once over the top that this run was going to be a struggle as I just didn't seem to have the same recovery in me once back along the flat. The mud and the uneven tracks made it hard work and as we turned for home I was still losing places. One last effort on the flat back to the finish saw me just a few places behind Dave Coker in 146th place (I think). Well done to everyone who turned out and especially to Phil and Tim up front with a well deserved 1 - 2.

PS - Once home and a nice cup of tea inside me i'm back feeling positive and already thinking about that next x/c and my plans to keep up with Andy A!!

Dave Stanley

Mud Glorious Mud -a view from the women's team.

This weekend's race at Dunstable was serious cross country with plenty of mud and hills. I saw 3 guys go down hard in the first half mile, one after nearly knocking me off my feet (so no sympathy from me). Even with spikes or studs, the mud was so deep and slippery in places it was hard to work out where you could safely put your feet. I passed Jeremy Lewis a couple of miles in and couldn't work out why - until I realised he was wearing road shoes ( needless to say he caught me later - and has promised a trip to Sweatshop).

We had a good turn out of women this time and it was great to see some really improved runs - Michelle gained 10 places on her last outing as our first scorer (27th I think), followed in by Jo in 33rd who was 15 places up on last time out, and cross country newbie Hannah who ran hard for a well deserved 34th. I staggered in 37th - wasn't running badly - just beaten by flyers who were better on the day. Shona also had an amazing run in 69th, about 40 places better than at Stopsley, and Katie looked strong in her new spikes.

It also sounds as though the men had a storming performance with Phil and Tim making it a Flyers one two, and Giles in 5th

See you all on 28th Nov at Wootton

Caroline

Karen Trust 5K (in Association with Boxfit) - Sunday 14 November
A well organised event by fellow club Boxfit. Also running from the Flyers was Keith Morgan and Martin Beare.  This event was brilliantly set up, what’s more, the weather was awesome and the actual course was pretty challenging as well.  Before the start of the race, Boxfit Dave took us through a warm up (and it was 50 press ups for anyone who did not take part!) Arsenal legend (and my football hero) Ian Wright was there to say a few words and thank everyone for coming along.  With the race about to begin I went straight to the front. Darren Deed was there as a pace maker and to direct runners in the right direction.  My game plan was simple, stick with Paul Halford from Boxfit and try not to have heart attack. The whistle blew and we were off, unfortunately Darren being an ultra fast runner, he was gone before anyone knew what was happening, so we just hoped that Paul knew where he was going……… I managed stay fairly close to Paul most of the way until the end and I was feeling pretty bad at this point, but it was all over by then.  I crossed the line in 4th place. I'm really pleased with this, considering I’ve spent most of the year training for triathlon, my concern recently is that I have become weaker on my running. However, being back to Thursday night long distance running, and also the weekends as well, I believe this has and will continue to help and improve, just got to keep going and believing. Once finished, I went back to get my gear, whilst walking back I, heard "great running there, well done" I turned to thank the person who said it, only to find out it was Ian Wright! I went straight over, shook his hands and then the chat began. My Dad saw me and came over and proceeded to talk about the good old days at Highbury…………..Brilliant!  Fellow Flyer (and Gooner) keith Morgan was also around and managed to get a few pics, thanks!  A great event, well planned, thanks again to Dave from Boxfit for such a good event. Leigh Pilgrim
Although happy to help set up and support this race for a local charity, i was not however looking forward to trying to produce a respectable 5k time.  Excuses out of the way first, the day before this race i had completed a 5hr brick training session including a 20 mile run and my legs were feeling a trifle heavy (me and food again), i will also add my forte is endurance rather than quick fire races such as these. As this race was in order to raise funds in the name of "Karen trust" a footballers wife who sadly died of cancer last year, a number of well known footballers turned up to support namely Ian Wright, Mike Harford, Mitchell Thomas and a few others who i din not recognise not being keen on footie. My coach Dave and the Boxfit team had done a fantastic job of organising and running a super event and had attracted the local and national media such as Sky Sports and the like. The race was a flat fast 2.5 laps round Wardown Park. The race was soon over for our Boxfit Darren Deed in 14.27 I was delighted to get a PB of 19.51 and was a real surprise given how stiff i was when i got up (all together "oh matron").  Fellow AFF Keith Morgan and Leigh Pilgrim also had great runs also achieving PB,s. All in all a great morning out happy days, my only regret was the date clashed with round 2 of the X/C league. Martin Beare

Chiltern XC League at Watford - Saturday 13 November

Photographs by kind permission of Film41.co.uk

Strathclyde Park Run 5K - Saturday 13 November

Following a 6 hour+ drive and a 2:00 am arrival, the fact that I made it to the start line here in Scotland at all was surprising.  However, needs must with it being a Saturday and their being a Parkrun in the vicinity.......

Having encountered truly dreadful weather during the week, the good folk of Lanarkshire were pleased to see the sun shining at the off, although the minus temperatures ensured only 60 competitors. The course was sadly in poor condition due to the flooding which had occurred, resulting in shin high mud and standing water - unusual on lakeside footpaths - and the auld road shoes struggled to get a grip in places. This was never going to PB territory, however it was great fun and race conditions i would term as cross-country-lite!

George Arbuckle 19:25

Civil Service XC 2010 Champs, Birmingham - Wednesday 10 November

A glorious day to race XC and I haven't lost the bug - just a pity that persistent injury means that my body is increasingly unwilling to play. I really enjoy 3-lap courses and this one was a pretty flat 6 miler in Perry Park, Birmingham. The question was whether I'd have enough strength and how would I cope without my trusty Garmin which has expired from supping too much water.

I tried really hard to ease into the race and then move up the field but found myself entering No Man's Land half way round the first lap. Fearful that cast adrift could spell disaster and open the floodgates I knuckled down and worked my way back into a group of 4 but the extra effort took it's toll as we completed Lap 1 and I started to tie up. I was far from impressed with the the technique that my contenders showed even if they had dropped me off and resolved that if this was to be my last Civil Service race it wouldn't be over until I crossed the line.

Tightening my lines I relaxed, concentrated on technique and flooded the mind with positive thoughts about how I was fitter, faster, lighter, fresher.... Low and behold patient persistence brought it's reward and half way round lap 2 I was making in-roads. I felt HASSRA team-mate Andy Goodair on my shoulder and together we battled our away back into the pack with a lap to go, game on. We really grafted through the last lap and each picked up 4 places which was no mean feet and delivered a bronze team medal by a narrow margin.

A good day in spikes, and I can walk to tell the tale.

Stephen Hartley 34:40 (18th) 3rd Men's Team

Snowdonia Marathon - Saturday 6 November

Completed the Snowdonia Marathon in 4.31.16. I found this a very difficult race, brilliantly marshaled, stunning views. but the weather at the top of Waunfawr road was almost apocalyptic. Rain, wind, and the hail, shouldn't have worn my vest (ouch). Definitely going again next year.

Ian Orr-Campbell 4.31.16

Milton Keynes Park Run - Saturday 6 November

After a rather late and heavy Friday night, a number of options were open on Saturday morning:

Plan A: Join my fellow Saturday Morning Club nutters for a long session at Chicksands at 0700 followed by XC training

Plan B: Just xc training

Plan C: Lie in bed all day and move not one muscle

As it turned out, Plan Z was implemented as I was dragged out of bed kicking and screaming at 0800 with the words 'shopping' and 'MK' being the only 2 I could hear. However, on leaving the M1 I remembered that I had an old spare running kit in the boot and persuaded the 'powers that be' that a run would be good for my well-being (and hence shopping prospects for the day). A mad dash to the start, a nice tempo race later and a decent time in the circumstances.

I wouldn't recommend running with a raging hangover (unless you are Ady), but it disnae half clear yir heid!

George Arbuckle 19:28

Last Saturday, 30th October, was the first time there has been more than 4 Flyers running the Park Runs.  Unfortunately, 3 were running at MK, 2 at Gorelstone and another at Newcastle.  So no GP points there but good to see the support is growing.

Club 5K Time Trial - Thursday 4 November

It was a mild, windy night but this didn’t stop Tim from smashing last season’s course record of 18.51 held by Leigh. Hopefully see everyone back again on December 2nd.

Andy

October 2010

3 Counties XC League - Race 1(Stopsley) - Sunday 24 October

The start of another cross country season and for me re-visiting Stopsley after many years. Beforehand it was great to meet old friends from neighboring clubs and discuss our gradual decline in running as we approached or have passed that magical 60!! Even our own Paul Dove made a guest appearance.

A 10 minute warm up to the start saw us standing at the top of Warden Hills gazing out to Barton and beyond (I think). Now I'm a good downhill runner but as we disappeared down that initial steep decline I found myself in around 20th place. 30 years ago I would have said fine but not nowadays and for the next mile+ I paid the price for an enthusiastic start but still dug in as 100's passed me!

By the top of that long first climb (Tim Harris forgot to tell me about this one!) I was just behind Jim Dodds and a couple of other Flyers but had at least settled into a good pace. The course had a few muddy puddles but was generally dry and fast. On the return I was now beginning to pick up a few places but that final climb had my calf's crying for submission. A nice downhill and I suddenly realised we were approaching the finish. A final sprint did little good as another runner passed me and annoyingly he even looked older! Still, overall a decent run and great to be back out on the cross country scene for another year. Well done to all Flyers who ran.

Dave Stanley - 137th

It was a good day for running - bright, clear and cold. Enough rain over the last few days to make this edge of field run almost cross country too!  Got a bit confused, as I thought this was the Dunstable course so was pleasantly surprised - it wasn’t as hilly as expected but still hilly (if that makes sense!). Caught up with a lot of fellow Flyers that I had not seen for ages and also a lot of new faces too!

With my usual sparring partner not here I found two new ones instead, most notably Jeremy Lewis who I had a tussle with last week at the Trophy (he beat me!). This week though we traded places on and off throughout the race. We caught another fellow Flyer and the three of us ran together for most of the second half. The long climb back was really tough but once over the top a big push downhill to the finish was great.

First cross country since March 2009 (on football duty last year with a small boy!) so was really good to be back running and especially on the muddy stuff. Just need to get much fitter in readiness for That Hill at Letchworth (Andy & I have history there!).  Achilles really stiff today but a great day yesterday, wonderful to see so many Flyers both running and supporting.

Rick Hollingsworth

This year's Three Counties league started with a distinct frosty chill in the air - which was particularly unwelcome when we were all kept waiting at the start for stragglers to catch up, as by this time I'd stripped down to shorts and vest. The race starts with a steep downhill but after that it's mostly what is usually described as "gently undulating", though included some long uphill drags. The course follows tracks and bridleways with some stunning views across the hills on a very bright sunny morning. In spite of the sunshine, I wished I'd worn gloves and sleeves for at least the first half of the race, but was very glad I'd worn sunglasses. I felt strong in spite of a touch of my hubby's man flu and passed Michelle about a mile into the race, fully expecting to see her catch me later. It seems that all my recent hill races had paid dividends and I hung onto to be first female flyer home in 35th, with Michelle following and Jo as third scorer. Steph and Paula weren't far behind and then there was a bunch sprint for the line between Katie, Joanne and Laura. It was good to see some new faces taking on cross country - Shona, Caroline, Brendan, Adrian and Vicki all did really well - especially as Caroline confessed that she'd never run as far as 5 miles beforehand.

I can't really comment on the leading men as inevitably they finished far, far in front of me, but good to see Tim back on form in second place.

Next race is 14th November. Details will be on the website and the forum - would be great to see even more Flyers turn out.

Caroline Gilby

RAF Henlow 10 - Wednesday 20 October

Well i have had a full season competing both home and abroad, but this little local mid week special is a gem and packed with flavour, if one was describing wine one would say this was a cheeky little number and full bodied and with a lovely after taste.

I will always make room for this race, its not an easy 10 miler but the route is challenging and takes in some great countryside and villages.  Needless to say RAF Henlow are great hosts and the organisation is beyond reproach.

I took the opportunity of chatting to the new base commander and voiced my regret on the lack of free food and cakes as this had been a great crowed pleaser in previous years, i stated if she wanted to make a good impact on her new role locally she could do worse than get the grub back as my meetings with the last base commander on this matter had little affect (and look what happened to him).  However a good goodie bag was forth coming as per usual.

If the good lord had ever designed a day for running this was it, clear, still, blue skies with 3mph wind speed and the air temp 13 degrees.  200 strong feild took part with at least 2 national runners.  4 AFF made the start line which was good to see.

I personally was not expecting to much from this race time wise as i have just returned from a 3 week break following an injury.  From the off i felt relaxed and comfortable even on the hills, i managed an even pace throughout the race and enjoyed every mile.  I was pleased to cross the line at 69 mins far from my best on that course but happy enough.

Any Atherton had a good run 73 mins and just short of his PB.  Annie and Val enjoyed the run too obvious by there smiles at the finish.  As ever i will return next year to RAF Henlow and trust the important issue of food and cakes etc is addressed in full, i will of course keep AFF up to date with my meetings at boardroom level on this serious matter.

Long live this great race.

Martin Beare

TUI Palma Half Marathon - Sunday 17 October

I went for a long weekend to Palma with a group of friends to take part in the Palma Marathon/Half Marathon/10k. It is the first time I have run abroad and a while since I have run this distance. The organisation seemed very lay back but seemed to go smoothly. Only problem I encountered were the lack of toilets ! It was great fun and had a fantastic atmosphere with different bands and dancers around the course which went out to the harbour and then weaved in and out of the streets of Palma. I was adopted by a marathon runner from Nene Valley Harriers who encouraged me the whole distance which was a great help. I shall definitely go next year and will definitely train for longer distances as my legs started feeling it after 11 miles.

Denise Dillon 1 hour 46 min 46 sec

Kielder Marathon - Sunday 17 October

Having run Berlin in a PB 3 weeks ago, I only ever intended to run what was being described as the most scenic marathon in the UK, as a slower distance training run. This race is run around Kielder reservoir in Northumberland, around 40 miles outside Newcastle. It circles the largest man made reservoir in the UK and had Steve Cram as its main promoter. My outlaws live in the area and ma in law gave me a bag of beaver nuts for energy that she had bought in Canada. I pointed out that I had always wanted to suck on a beaver whilst running a marathon, which took a little while to sink in. On the way to the start, I nipped into the woods for a quick sprinkle and whilst doing so, a random bloke appeared on the other side of the tree and after a pause, said he recognised me. After checking which bit he was looking at, turns out it was someone that I had run with for the last 6 hours of a race I did in 2008. Not sure who was more surprised. He asked how Richard Jones was (he also having run with him), so I told him that I beat him by 17 seconds at Berlin. I checked to see if anyone else knew Richard, but they didn't. The scenery was fantastic, with the course undulating every single step of the way, save for the short run across the top of the dam. It turned out to be one of the hardest courses I have ever run. Apart from the dam, there simply wasn't a single flat section. It was all along man made paths along the side of the reservoir and I lost track of the number of warning signs saying steep incline or decline. There easily must have been 20 plus and they were just for the steep bits. I had also tweaked both calfs at training and even at the start they were stiff. Despite my injury, loss of leg strength and intentions to run slowly, I still went off to fast. Complete rookie error. Covered the very hilly (at the start we ran uphill straight away) first 10k in 46 mins and at the halfway point I had slowed to around 1.47. Few miles later, I was reduced to a shuffle and just after 18 miles, I was a gonna! Began to walk in sections as the legs just had nothing in them, calfs were very sore and my beaver nuts weren't working. Should have stuck to my game plan of a nice and easy run, forgetting the time but didn't. As a result, worst second half of a race for ages. Last marathon I just missed out on a negative split for the two halves by about 20 seconds. This time shaved it by about, er, 18 mins. Despite major slow down, still came 290 out of over 900 finishers which indicates how hard this course really was. Crammie also ran it in 3.47, so well done to him. For anyone looking for something different in marathon terms, I would actually recommend this race. Yes its very tough, but I suspect if you know that in advance, train for the downhills as much as the uphills (the downhills hurt more at the end of a marathon), go into it without injury or tired legs, you would really enjoy this one. It is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, it really does feel that you are miles away from anywhere and the pressures of the modern world, the course is majestic and given the distance from Bedfordshire, you will have to stay there for a few days which means a huge steak and fine vino on Sunday night and no traveling home! My pa and ma in law have a cottage 14 miles from the start, which is available for hire next year at very reasonable rates as well!!

Paul Owen - 4.01.39

Ampthill Trophy - Sunday 17 October

200 Runners in Main Race : 55 Runners in Junior Race.

A Bright + Brusque Sunday Morning and what better way to spend it - than organising The Ampthill Trophy X/Country Race 2010.

And who said us runners are Daft !! Stand Up now – I want to shake your hand, as I totally agree with you.

The Juniors Race started off at 10am, and it was a great sight to see them rushing off across the ridge at the top of Ampthill Park and off on a testing loop with soft ground underfoot.  The under 11 + 13 yr olds doing 1 Lap, with the older ones (U15 + U17) doing 2 Laps.  There were some excellent runs in all classes and some very good times.  The Presentations for all ages took place at the Start/Finish area , and before we all knew it – ready for the off on the Main race.

The Main race set off, looking like a giant caterpillar looping around the first clump of trees and off on their way for 2 Long laps around the park.  27m 47s later and our first runner – Andrew Inskip (Bedford + County) crossed the finish line.  Over the next 40 minutes we were cheering runners on , as they crossed over the finish line – many looking as though they actually enjoyed it!

A Big Thank You goes out to all the Race Marshals who spent a good few hours standing out there and guiding + encouraging all runners en route. 

All other helpers deserve a word of Thanks – Flitwick Scout Group(Food + Teas) : St john Ambulance : Race HQ marshals – for processing all the Race Entries + Results so quickly : and – anyone else I might have missed out , who helped us all make it another good day for Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers.

We will try and make the route just as testing next year and who knows – it may even rain next year. Look Forward to seeing everyone back again in 2011 – same place and around same time.

Keith Morgan – Race Director

As always it was a bright sunny day for the Ampthill Trophy set in the beautiful Ampthill Park. I got there early to cheer on my son, Martin, in the 10am junior race which was very well attended with all the juniors giving it their all and most importantly having fun. Robbie started the main race at 11 and we all dashed downhill to the first corner. The course is tough and not for the faint-hearted with its continuous up and down nature. Flyers have a distinct advantage in that they train regularly in the park so know it well but it didnt make it any easier.

After putting in quite an effort in the first lap I managed to leave some daylight between myself and long time XC sparring partner Rick H and like everyone else managed to drag myself round the 2nd lap finishing absolutely exhausted. Up at the front last year’s winner, Phil Holland, managed 6th coming back from injury with the winner Andrew Inskip (our own Nick’s son who also won in 2004) finishing comfortably ahead in 27.41.

Very well organised by Keith and his cohorts who gave plenty of much-needed encouragement on the way round.

Andy Atherton

Blacks 10K Trail Race - Dunstable Downs - Sunday 17 October

This was the first trail race organised by Blacks which took place on the Dunstable Downs on Sunday. The race was very well organised, it was easy to get race numbers and the course was well marked. I knew that there was going to be on all mighty climb at one point as the race started at the visitor centre and proceeded to descend for approximately the first 4K. The there was a huge climb (which I choose to walk, as did many people around me) back up to the top again for the last 5K of the race. Nice mix of trail and path but a bit frustrating at times as the single track made it difficult to pass people. Excellent lot of goodies at the finish! Only negatives were the lack of encouraging marshals and the fact that my chip didn't record my time for some reason. However I was pleased with my time considering the hold ups and the fact that I did walk a little bit. They plan to do a couple of races next year.

Joanne Allin - 59.14 (clock time)

Leicester Marathon - Sunday 10 October

A good well organised race, surreal finish running through a city centre shopping centre.  Good marshals and encouraging spectators. No t-shirt.  Was it me a spectator shouted at," Keep goin', pop."  Probably was, as I struggled as usual for the last 3 miles.  Energy loss and mild cramp.  Still there is always another race round the corner and nearly all less than 23 miles.  Paul Barton was there flying the flag for the flyers.

Phil Clarke 3.58.16

Standalone 10K (Club Champs) - Sunday 3 October

I have to confess to waking up Sunday morning with a head cold and sore throat and wondering whether running this 10K was going to be a good idea. With the weather fairly miserable I arrived, parking my car in a muddy field and wondering if I might need a tractor to get me back out! The course is not one one of my favorites with a nasty incline just after the start to 1K and a couple of testing climbs at 8-9K when you least want them. I started as usual near the front but after 1K the legs were feeling really heavy and by 3K I did wonder if this was a good idea. But the next 2- 3K are overall downhill and I used the downhill to my advantage. Although I went through 5K in a disappointing 22.52 I was suddenly feeling a lot stronger with my running. We turned onto the bypass and I found my self moving back through the field and completed the 2nd 5K in a very pleasing 22.09.

A very well organised race by NHRR and a nice lightweight polyester t-shirt for finishing made a pleasant change from the bulk standard t-shirt - and 'yes' I did get my car back out the field OK, leaving early as I felt a return to bed might now be in order!!

Dave Stanley

Couldn’t believe how popular this race was. My first time doing it, and thought it was very well organised, and the marshals really friendly. They were the upsides. The big downside was my performance. Features as a PW – my calf muscles hurt from about 1km and stopped hurting about 10pm that evening. Basically when I took to my bed, still sulking. It was good to see fellow Flyers there, and hopefully they had some better results. And thanks Steve J for the cheering – always welcome. Should have been some nagging at 9km and I might have crept under the hour mark...

Ali

Bedford Sprint Triathlon - Sunday 3 October

This was the last sprint of the season, despite the weather, quite a high turn out of athletes of all abilities, from those taking on their first Triathlon to those that are after a final win.

There was also a Junior Aquathon taking part straight after the TRI swim, so it was a big morning of TRI sport at the park.

Thankfully the weather did hold itself and although the rain was quite light, with the competitors all going into transition to sort themselves, it soon began to turn into a Glastonbury lookalike.

Being the last sprint and of course the weather, I did not have too many aims on me other than to try for another PB on this course, but this would be another test!

The race started, it was great to see so many new starters (at least I would not come last anyway!!) and judging by the "mens" I knew there were a few nervy people around........enough said of that.

We watched as the first athlete exit the pool and wave his hands up, he had done the swim part and was really pleased with himself, unfortunately he then slipped over and landed on his backside infront of the spectators........

My swim started and I was soon pumped up with adrenalin, there was a guy behind me catching up pretty quickly so I let him go, then after that it was all clear and managed to hammer out one of my best swims.

T1, normally when I'm out, it's a race against time to get on your bike; however, all the Marshalls kept shouting "Slow down, it's very slippery" From pool exit to Bike start, I lost around 2 mins, when it's normally just under a min.

Onto the 24km bike and its now hammer it has hard as possible! Go psycho, in fact, do anything to get that av speed up.

Knowing the route always helps, but the hills, they don't seem much, but for the start, it's around 2-3 miles and without a proper warm up, they are terrible!

However, the usual rule applies, if you don't feel ill, your not working hard enough, so I ploughed on as hard as I could. Fortunately I managed to get through the traffic lights without any problems; the only downside was that although the route back was downhill, the headwind was amazing and my av speed was declining.

Back into T2 was also slow and chaotic, by this time you had competitors running, coming off their bikes and also, the junior Aquathlon taking place........not forgetting the people out walking their dogs.......I looked at my watch and realised that a sub 1:20 was out of the question, so I had to just give it all I had (which was very little) and try and get the best result possible

Start of my run I found myself with a painful "stitch" and lost 30 sec to a min waiting for it to go, once done, I was off and it was basically, keep going! I did overtake most of the competitors in front which was a great moral booster, but it was the young kids doing the Aquathon that proved even more of a challenge, as young as they were, they were off like rockets, and a few of us found it quite tough getting past them..........

Coming round the corner for the last time, I pushed on harder and crossed the line in 1:21:59, and new PB by 1 sec........can't be bad!

Leigh Pilgrim

Strathclyde Park Run 5K -  Saturday 2 October

After a traumatic week with my dad passing away just before I was due to fly with Richard and Paul to Berlin, I decided I needed a race to clear my head. With the Strathclyde Park Run literally on the doorstep of where I grew up in Motherwell, this proved to be ideal.

Now, my dad I would class as a typical non-runner. When I was as high as a kite after my first sub-40 recently, his reaction - in a nice way - was "it was only 1 second". No danger of me getting too carried away then...

The Strathclyde Park run is as flat as a pancake but being round a massive lake, can get quite windy. My goal was to sneak under 19 minutes for the first time and set off well with the 1st km in 3:41. Then my big mistake was to tuck in behind 2 runners who I thought were going at my pace. At 2k I ended up slowing down to 3:55 pace so knew I had to dig deep. I managed to get through 4k needing 3:45 into a stiff breeze to get under 19 minutes. Sometimes its just meant to be and I managed to pick the pace up enough for 18:57 and 5th place.

As soon as I saw the time I immediately heard a voice in my head saying "well done, you'll be home 3 seconds earlier now!" And I wouldn't have had him any other way.

George Arbuckle 18:57 PB

September 2010

Biddenham 10K - Sunday 26 September

A persistent heel injury has tempered my opportunity to train and race this year but with respectable miles under the belt I quite fancied a blast at the Biddenham 10K.

The wind was a bit blustery but at least it was dry underfoot which is a good job because 90% of the course is off-road and Water Meadows along the south bank of the River Great Ouse is regularly submerged.

I must confess to having a soft spot for this race - it was my first outing back in 2002 and a lung-busting effort delivered 37:47. Three years on and a stone lighter I had another go to sneak home in 2nd for 36:13. What would this year bring? I did my best to use every Portaloo and bobbed into the start line with a couple of minutes to go.

Game plan: an easy 400m and then find some leg speed to the bridge at 3K with the wind on my back. Good lines around obstacles along the river and I knew that a headwind would challenge from 7K.

We surged away and by the time we left Biddenham at 1K it was a three horse race. We were moving a little quicker than I had in my mind but with fresh legs and a tail wind I decided to go with the flow.

At 3K we crossed the river twice and the party had slimmed to two. Benefiting from a low centre of gravity I scooted over both bridges and bagged a 10m lead without starting to blow.

This was worthy of note: there was much left to do but I had the upper hand on obstacles. The question was whether I could last out. Greg Spellman (Rugby & Northants AC) gradually closed up along the flat and I focused on technique, good lines, knowledge of the course. I kept feeling him on my shoulder and responded by squeezing a little more and working for line.

Back over the river and I worked really hard to open up the gap again knowing that flat was to come. At 5K a win flickered within my grasp but I could so easily lose. There was nothing in it.

I focussed on the positives: lighter, faster, fitter, stronger..... repeating the mantra in my head, relaxed and stuck to my guns. Get to 7K, push hard from 8K and the last 1000m will vanish before we know it.

The last 2K suited my passion for x/country a treat: a narrow, winding track with plenty of twists and turns. With 600m to go I started to feel the threat subside and pushed harder for home..... onto the flat of Biddenham Main Road and with 200m to go I tonked it, winding up the speed all the way to the line for 35:53 - not bad for a blustery off-road 10K.

A great tussle and I really enjoyed being challenged all the way. What's more, I can even walk today :o)

Stephen Hartley

Run to the Beat Half Marathon - Sunday 26 September

The race is based around the O2 arena, winding its way around the Greenwich area. It was meant to start at 9:45 but they put that back to 10:30 as there were problems on the underground. The transport infrastructure struggled to cope with getting 11,000 runners across London so I hope they get everything sorted out for 2012. Hopefully they’ll remember to stop the weekend underground maintenance when the Olympics are in town!

Jeremy Bell 1:32:54

Berlin Marathon - Sunday 26 September

This had been in the diary all year as my PB attempt, after my Scottish 101.7 mile adventure. Due to have gone with Richard and George, the latter of whom had to pull out at the very last moment. He was sorely missed - mainly by Richard who had to put up with my chat all weekend. The 3 hour delayed flight from LA didn’t help (Luton airport), which meant we arrived in Berlin at gone 12. Quick taxi found our hostel all bright and yellow and wide awake getting ready to party, so we went to bed although not before RJ had a very lucky escape by retrieving his lost wallet from the taxi that had sped off into the night. Our 4 bed room was smaller than my bathroom, with two bunk beds and a view into what looked like the inside of a prison complex. The next day we declined the 5 hour walking tour to save energy and did our own, which took about 8! The expo was held at a massive communist looking airport and was huge, filled with runners from everywhere, except GB it seemed. Brazil, Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Spain, France to name but a few. Spent 3 hours at the expo, before heading off to Checkpoint Charlie which was very interesting and then to the Jewish war memorial, which had a permanent exhibition underneath. We spent a long time there, mostly in silence and utter disbelief at what the Nazis did. A truly harrowing place but one that I recommend anyone should go to if in Berlin.

On a lighter note, we then headed to the Brandenburg Gate to watch the end of the inline skating marathon which had around 7000 people in. No idea it was so popular, although disappointed no David Hasselhoff music was playing. Berlin has so much history you almost don’t know where to start. After getting lost on the tube, we made it back to the hostel for more pasta and Richard went off to bed. I stayed awake and read the 484th book I have on running.

Both our phones had run out of juice and we had no alarm clock. Luckily again, a note on the floor outside led to a kind sole waking us up at 7am and eventually off we trotted to the start. Around 40,000 people had entered and they started the race in waves. I had said goodbye to Richard at the bag tents and then didn’t see him once until the meeting area at the finish. I had wanted to crack 3.15, but Scotland took far longer to get over than I had planned, so decided to stick to a more sensible 3.25, with the hope I might be a bit closer perhaps to 3.22ish. Watch told me to run at 7.48 pace per mile and for the first 5 miles I could not believe how accurate my pace was. Mile after mile, spot on 7.48. I eventually realised that I hadn’t actually started my watch going!! Grrrrrrrr.

The problem at that point was that it was so crowded, that it was difficult to get into a steady faster pace. I clearly had slipped into the crowd seeking to go under 3.30, but was someway off the 3.15 crowd. As a result, without bobbing and weaving, I was running at the pace to some extent dictated by all the runners around me. I tried to work out the times in my mind for the Klm splits, but was still a little shocked to go through halfway at 1.43.21, when I had wanted to go through at sub 1.40 and probably around the 1.38-39 mark. I felt strong and could have done so had I realised earlier that I was so far off. I knew at that point that I was never going to run a negative split by 6 mins plus for the second half, so partly resigned myself to sub 3.30 or 3.28 odd if I could do a negative or very similar second half split. As it transpired, I maintained the same pace for most of the second half at 1.43.52, only 21 secs off a negative split, partly down to my last 2k which I covered in 4.42 each, which were my fastest. I haven’t tried to run ‘’ short races ‘’ faster for some years, sticking mostly to ultras and back to back marathons just as training runs but slow. It was a nice feeling to push hard, particulary in the last few miles when so many were dropping off and I was getting faster.

And then the crowning moment. As RJ and I went over the line a few minutes apart, I didn’t see him at all. At the end, the clock time had me two minutes in front, but it was the chip time that counted. An anxious trip to the hotel internet confirmed that I had finally properly beaten Mr.Jones for the first time ever in any serious marathon we have both run in as a race. Worth the trip just for that.

The course was a bit repetitive through Berlin, was very flat, lots of water stops but it was very crowded which I was told is not normally the case. Lot of people on the streets but I think it lacked the atmosphere of London. As you finished, they gave you a beer which turned out to be non alcoholic, but soon put that right with a pint and German sausage sandwich within 15mins of getting changed. On the whole, I would highly recommend Berlin, not just for PB potential, but for what the whole weekend has to offer.

Now have 3 weeks off before Kielder marathon up’t north, which is hilly and wont be PB course, before my proper crack at 3.15 at Luton!!

Paul O

Folkestone Half Marathon - Sunday 26 September

I offered to support a friend in this race, as he was running it as part of his training for the upcoming New York marathon. Having only ever done one half marathon before, Silverstone back in March, i was anxious to see how much (if any!) i had improved over the summer. Silverstone was completed in over 2 hours (maybe 2:10 from memory?).

A 7am start and a 2 hour trek down to race HQ was in store. The weather was grim for much of the journey, but as we approached the South coast, just after 9am, the clouds had departed. We parked up and begrudgingly stepped out of the warm, to be greeted by a very fresh sea breeze and overcast, but not threatening, skies. The conditions were pretty much perfect, albeit a tad on the chilly side.

Over at the start gate it was clear that the field was plenty more than the 350 odd signed up in the pre-race booklet. The race started at 10am and the first mile and a half was around the town centre before dropping down a long and steep hill (comparable to Lidlington hill maybe?) that took you onto the promenade. The course was a loop, taking you out of Folkstone, along the prom, and then back on yourself. I had clocked 32 mins at the four mile mark and 48 mins at six, consistent 8 minute miles. I was feeling more than comfortable at half way and kicked on a little. As you headed back on yourself you were aided by the tail wind. Seven was good, eight was ok, but come nine i was starting to go back through the field! I had clocked just over 70 mins at nine but by now my legs were on their way out. Ten and eleven were very difficult and the thought of the imminent incline back up to the start was not making it any easier. That came at twelve and everyone around me was suffering too. I managed to run half of the hill, regaining a few places along the way. At the top it was just over 1 to go, back along the cliff top path, and this was total agony. By now my right calf and groin had completely gone! I limped across the line in 1:51:46.

The last four miles, completed in a shoddy 40+ minutes, were my undoing. I don't think it was a case of over doing it at the start, more a lack of mileage in the legs? Six, sevens and eights are about as far as i manage in training. I was hoping for a sub 1:50 time, so was a little disappointed, but still managed a PB so not all bad.

Steve clocked early 1:40's, and we do it all again in two weeks at Felixstowe. My target for that will be under 1:45...!!

This was a well organised, well marshalled, well supported event, with easy parking, adequate facilities and a good atmosphere. I would recommend this event, if it not for the distance!

Jeremy Godfrey 1:51:46

Clacton (Olympic) Triathlon - Sunday 26 September

This was to be the last race of the year. The course profile and setting looked conducive to a quick time. However the gradually deteriorating weather conditions in the days building up to the event began to make the prospect far less attractive.

On the morning of the race we awoke to 35 mile an hour winds and temperatures close to 3 degrees (with the wind chill factor ). The off shore wind meant the sea was chop free but a decent swell was still building and moving large masses of water beyond the marker boys.

As we queued on the beach in our respective waves the weather lifted for a brief spell which perked us up a bit.

I actually enjoyed the sea swim and coast to coast I recorded a time of 24mins (the T1 chip mat was over a minute away). The heavens open on the bike section and the driving wind made sections of the ride very unpleasant there were however some very quick tail wind section to compensate. I finished the bike in 1.05 my fastest Olympic distance bike split to date so that gave me motivation for the run. I managed 40mins for the 10k run - not outstanding but fairly solid for me.

All in I managed to complete the course in a pleasing 2.12 . ( a two minute penalty for marking my transition area cost me two places)

Fellow triathlete and club member Martin Beare also had a very good outing and finished high up in both the overall and age group field.

Stephen Morales

Cycle for Cynthia 50M  - Sunday 26 September

This was an event raising money for a local hospice in Northampton and also Macmillan Support. Having cycles 50 miles most weekends, this was the ideal opportunity to see if I could scrape under 3hrs.

Unfortunately, due to heavy winds and more hills than the Himalayas, I just missed out on my target time by a matter of sec's. However, when i look back on the last four years of my cycle training, I have knocked almost two hours off, which I think is an incredible achievement.

I recon around 30miles, I hit "The wall" most other cyclist had disappeared and I began thinking to myself, is there anybody out there?  Fortunately another guy came by and stopped for a chat, enough time for me to get myself together.

At the 45 mile marker, I began trying to push on a bit, knowing that time was against me, I literally had to cycle like hell.

All in all a great way to raise money for charity, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and a great atmosphere at the start and end, and also, my fastest ever 50 miler, just shame about the weather!  The most important part though, no punctures! (Thank you!)

Leigh

RAB Two day Mountain Marathon, Lake District - Sat/Sunday 25/26 September

This year's RAB mountain marathon started from Bampton, not far from Haweswater in the Lake District. It was my first attempt at competing completely solo - meaning having to carry all my kit (instead of sharing heavy items like the tent across the team), and planning the route by

myself. As it happened it was a beautiful but chilly weekend, with

stunning views across the fells and lakes, and not a drop of rain. I spent longer than I should have at the start plotting the map and dithering about my route choice but but probably better that way round than rushing. The first couple of checkpoints were straightforward but then a long and rocky slog up a small river valley took its toll, where I met and overtook David and his partner (his ability to pick up new women to compete and share a tent with him is astonishing) followed by a precariously steep downhill to the next checkpoint, with scree and loose rocks to be negotiated. Another serious uphill followed and it was here that I made my most serious mistake. I had intended to head for a 35 pointer and descended towards it, but soon realised that I didn't have time to make this and get back to the overnight camp in time ( and time penalties for being late mean you can easily waste all your effort). As I'd gone down too far I then had to slog up again costing me precious minutes, and I took a rash short cut off the side of the last fell to find myself scrambling over crags and steep scree. Nearly at the bottom (luckily), I fell hard and smashed my compass to bits, collecting some pulled muscles and bruises too. This cost me precious minutes and I ran ( well limped) to the overnight finish to find I was 2 minutes over the time limit. I was pleased to find that Brian Layton - a veteran of 114 of these events had chosen exactly the same route as me - though being a bit faster had managed the steep checkpoint I'd wimped out of.

It was nice to have company at the overnight camp after being alone on the hills all day, and a mug of wine ( thank you David) helped ease the pain of camping in a field at only just above freezing. It was distinctly chilly overnight and I can't say I got a lot of sleep, but coffee and instant porridge cooked on my little primus set me up for another day. I had to borrow a compass and a route description as I dropped mine but managed to get round in 4h 26 minutes collecting 85 points, well inside the 5 hour limit. As Brian cheerfully told me, that meant I hadn't been ambitious enough early on ( I must admit to changing my route to avoid another hands and knees scramble), and by the time I got near the finish there weren't any checkpoints I could have added on in the time allowed. Still a lot to learn!

A really enjoyable couple of days of complete escapism, covering about 27 miles, which got me 7th in the female vet class ( and some of those in front of me were teams), and plenty of hard earned aches and pains.

Caroline

Bangor Northern Ireland 10K - Saturday 25 September

A visit to my Gran in Northern Ireland combined with a second attempt at this 10K which was my PB course last year in 52:48. This year it was my first race back after three weeks' off injured and two weeks getting back into training so I was pleased with the time in the circumstances (but secretly a bit disappointed not to beat last year's time even so !).

The race is one of Northern Ireland's biggest and this year attracted around 1000 entrants. It takes place on a Saturday morning and they close the roads so you get cheered by the shoppers as you run right down the main street and along by the sea before retracing and finishing in the local park. The course is fast and flat apart from a rather nasty hill at the 9k mark. Slightly worrying signs along the coast road warn to beware of tidal waves from passing ferries which can apparently sweep you into the sea but luckily the sea on race day was nice and calm. Good HQ with plenty of loos, chipped timing, bottled water handed out on course, excellent marshalling and a good quality t-shirt make this an enjoyable and good value race.

Bangor is a lovely seaside town - flight from Luton Airport to Belfast City takes 55 minutes and the airport to Bangor is about 20 minutes so all very easy for a nice weekend away. Definitely recommended. It is now a permanent fixture on Bangor's calendar and I am already planning next year's attempt !

Sarah Allonby

Leighton Tough 10 - Sunday 19 September

A cool breezy day for the replacement to our beloved Leighton 10.Not many runners either,115 finishers from 128 entrants. The venue is Vandyke School, it has good parking, good toilets and showers, excellent organisation as always, and coffee and bacon butties in the car park. Who could ask for anything more.

A nine o'clock start avoids the traffic nicely, though the start and finish have the roads closed for extra safety.  So off we go on a nice flat bit towards Heath and Reach, then the hills start. Then a very stout hill past Stockgrove Park towards Great Brickhill, then a steady downhill gradient towards Heath and Reach again, with lovely views out over Newton Longville and the canal valley. At my pace there's time for all this. Plenty of time.

Then guess what, some more hills, then back across a main road with a dozen or so marshalls (and a policeman) making sure it all happens safely. Then some more up and down then at mile nine we get to not just a hill, but the hill, the one warned about in the pre-race briefing. But much like the Mentmore hill on the old course, remember hill technique and if all else fails, walk. I should have walked.

Then downhill and flat to the finish, which is well marshalled and with a very friendly reception.

The course seems tough, but is an excellent hill training session. The marshalls were great, plentiful, happy and encouraging, which gave the whole race a good feel. My time was almost the same as for the Sandy 10, so it can't be that bad. And it's only Bedfordshire, not the Alps.  It's a good race, LBAC have gone through heaven and hell to put it on, you get a lovely hat, and we should be supporting it.  See you there next year.

Rob Cook

It was good to see this race back on the calendar after the race being cancelled last year following a disput between the authorities regarding the route.  The race was re routed and re named Leighton Tough 10.

Iam making a brief return back to running after the Triathlon season draws to a close and before i start my winter training program for an early season Ironman in Lanzarote in May 2011.

This new course is very demanding and as the name suggests is indeed tough, i decided to do this race to train my mind as much as my body, the race is all about mental strength for me as hills are not my thing. Running is now my weakest discipline within a Triathlon so iam training hard on the weakest link.

The weather was overcast with a stiff breeeze, but that was the least of my worries i was more worried about them there hills.  I decided to feed myself in gently (oh matron) and get to a comfortable pace 7min miles for that course.

The hills came and went mile 9 i thought job nearly done and turned the corner only to see a hum dinger of a hill "oh dam" i cried (i cleaned that up a bit) i dug deep for a last push and on to the finish.

I really enjoyed the run and the new route, i thought the hosting club Leighton AC did a great job all round and with getting road closures etc and the marshalls were supportive and plentiful. Oh and as a bony arse (bonus) we got a nice goody bag.  5 Flyers made the start line including our club chairman Rob, well done guys great job.

Martin Beare

I ran the first mile fairly quick, but calmed down to about 7:30 pace when the hills started. The hills were non-stop from here to about mile 5 where a mile or so of relatively flat ground convinced me to up the pace a little. After about a mile of flatness I began to find some rhythm in my pace for the first time... and a false sense of security, soon broken by loads more hills. My legs were starting to burn on the uphills after about mile 6, but I was surprised, and inspired, that my pace was still averaging about 7:30, which would see me finish under the 1:20 I was aiming for. Just before 9 miles my determination was to be tested as I rounded a left turn to be presented with "the hill". It was long and steep, and got steeper as it got higher... ok, head up, eyes down and just make it up there!! After this it was a flat, windy half mile which was really tough on tired legs, but finished in 1:15:30 - so very happy!.

I loved this race - a nice early start, perfect weather, the course was challenging, the hills came thick and fast, but over this distance you could still give it some. And most of all the organisation and support from LBAC and the marshalls was excellent (the road crossings were perfectly done with military precision.) If you like a challenge then definitely get involved with this one next year.

Quote of the day - At mile 9 I did not notice the hill immediately as I was looking right at some supporters at the side of the road. My attention was first directed to the hill by the voice of a runner just over my shoulder who put it best...   ..."What the **** is that?!?"

Jody Buczynski

Great North Run - Sunday 19 September

When my son said he was interested in running the Great North Run I thought it would be nice to run it with him. Terry got a place through the ballot but I had to buy a charity place which we both then ran on behalf of Mind, the leading mental health charity. I had done the GNR before back in 1993 when I traveled up with Andrew Bailey on the day, ran it and then traveled straight back home to Flitwick - something i don't recommend as i remember 'cramping' badly in the car on the way back!!

We decided to make a weekend of it and Terry was keen to experience the nightlife of Newcastle on the Sunday evening. On the Saturday we were staying about 30 miles out of Newcastle, in a small B&B in a village called Stanley Crook on the edge of the Pennines. We drove up to Gateshead on the Sunday morning and left the car at the hotel for that evening. Fortunately, they had arranged transport to take the runners to the start. The trouble with these big races is you have to get their so early. Similarly, you then have to deposit your track suit and other warm clothing to the baggage buses, which still meant another 40 minutes before we actually started. Add to that it was raining at this stage which dampened the spirits a little as we headed for our start pen!

Fortunately, we were both only a little way back from the front, starting after the top men and fast club runners. The rain had now stopped and with the gun fired to signal the start we crossed the line after 90 seconds both giving high fives to Ant or was it Dec!! The next problem was to try and settle into our running pace. The hundreds of runners around you made it very difficult to 'run free'and the number of runners we then had to dodge around who had clearly lied about their finish time, simply added to the frustrations for the first three miles. I think with an event like this it's probably best to forget about pb's and just enjoy the occasion and dress up in some comical costume!!

We had decided to run the GNR together mainly as Terry's training had been very hit and miss with only around three training runs over 6 miles with the longest of those being around 9+! My target was around 1 hour 35 or 7.20 a mile and despite the difficulties of finding clear space to run the first mile, it was downhill and we went through spot on our target. I would describe the course as slightly undulating with a gradual long climb from 3 - 5 miles. It is not very picturesque course with only the Tyne bridge of any note to see of interest.

We went through 5 in 37.20, just outside of our projected split but we had the benefit of the next 2 miles dropping back downhill (7.10 and 7.03) and at half way we were back on target. The next 3 miles were covered in 7.14, 7.22 and 7.16, when I suddenly hit a bad patch at around 10 miles. I lost sight of Terry in the maze of runners as he edged ahead but there is fairly good support here as you enter South Shields and with their encouragement I managed to come through it (7.32). The course climbs slowly up to the turning for the coast and the 12 mile mark and it is at this stage that the crowds really give you encouragement. Through 12 in 7.20 and it was now straight down the Coast Road to the finish. You can see the finish gantry in the distance and hear the announcer calling out the names of runners as they turn for that final sprint in. It is very easy to get carried away and start sprinting with still a mile to go and then blow up half way down the road but at this stage who cares as you can smell that finish line!

Although Terry was still ahead of me he too was finding the last mile+ tough and unbeknown to me he was just in front at this stage. Apparently, as we turned for that final sprint towards the finish he was on the far side of the road and had taken the wider turn whilst i took the inside turn (that's experience for you!!), which now put me slightly in front of him. We both crossed the line a mere 2 seconds between us but on opposite sides of the finish course!! I had run the final mile in 7 dead.

Just like the London Marathon the GNR is superbly organised - a great good bag, medal and t-shirt, official photograph taken afterwards with your medal - you can't fault it. Would I do it again, probably not as I found the course boring and the number of runners in the early stages around you frustrating. A tip for anyone thinking about running it next year book your accommodation NOW as I had real problems leaving it to 4/5 months before the race to find anything available.

Dave and Terry Stanley

PS - my charity target of £400 is nearly achieved so thank you to those Flyers who did sponsor me. My site is still open so just go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidStanley if you would still like to make a donation or of course see me at training - thanks

Mourne Mountain Marathon - Silent Valley, N. Ireland - Sat/Sunday 18/19 September

The beautiful Mourne Mountains were not at their best as we had rain & wind on day one - thought it was not cold.

The forecast for Sunday was not good - so wet weather courses were imposed (i.e. slightly shorter) - but in the end we just had mist & no rain till later.

After the Alpine KIMM the week before this was the second MM in 2 weeks for Brian & I - with the Rab MM to follow the next week.

During the week before we left for Ireland I had a call from a lady I knew from the Bowline club who organise the Charnwood Hills Race - asking if I knew anyone who could do the MMM with her as her partner had let her down. She ended up doing very well with a young man from Belfast - and then became my partner for the RAB!

It sometimes pays to be last as I got to know Gail when she was acting as sweeper at Charwood and I was at the back (twice!).

David Sedgley

Dunstable Half /20 /Marathon Challenge - Sunday 12 September

What a great event! A gentle meander around some beautiful Bedfordshire countryside following well written instructions. If you haven’t done an event like this you really are missing something.

We all managed to find the start and it was a lung busting climb to rival the Barton 10K. We waved good bye to Tim, who perhaps needs to do some more hill work as he was only second going through the first gate, but by the time we were up on The Downs he’d burnt off the opposition and was well in front of the field. It remained that way until the finish.

The route went over The Downs, through Whipsnade out towards Great Gaddesden and then back to Whipsnade via Studham. The first part of the race passed so quickly and was pretty uneventful and the first ten miles flew by. Then we met Amanda and her friend Lucy from Fairlands. Amanda was running with Lucy, but Amanda was quicker, so the opportunity to run a bit quicker with four young men seemed an ideal opportunity to abandon Lucy and their shared map and run with the boys. Now Amanda had a bit of get up and go about her and was obviously keen to get a good time unlike the four young men just out for an afternoon meander, but she was very good as she waited for us at each turning/gate so we could catch up, or perhaps it was to check which way to go as she didn’t have a map! But soon she found someone else to run with so edged ahead. He seemed a very nice chap called John and when we next caught up with Amanda, we found out the very nice John had given her his instructions – such gallantry! To celebrate her new found freedom Amanda pushed on a bit with the ever willing Phil and Paul in tow. Also she decided to take a lead with the map reading and promptly led our colleagues off on a loop around Studham.

Anyway we burnt her off in the last mile as we finished with a sub 7 minute mile at the end, past the gypsy encampment and building site to finish on a narrow path by the bins. Not the most scenic finish after the beautiful run we had experienced.

Everyone reported in at the end (except John who was nowhere to be seen) and we got chatting to Lucy, who was doing stretching exercises to make your eyes water. She was obviously pleased to meet some ultra “specialists”, as she was keen to learn more about ultra running before she did the Himalayan Ultra on her honeymoon. The she added that she was a Sports Masseure. She was beginning to take on a God like status. I casually enquired if there was a downside. She admitted to doing a bit of whinging. On balance she sounds a great catch!

Great race and good fun was had by all (except for John).

Richard Jones

HSBC Olympic Distance Triathlon, Dorney Lake, Nr Windsor - Sunday 12 September

I did this race last year and enjoyed it very much, so I returned to see if I could beat last year’s time. Dorney Lake is a purpose built rowing lake and the venue chosen for the 2012 Olympic rowing events, the water is not too deep and is clear and clean, but on Sunday it was quite choppy due to it being very windy. The swim is a 2 lap route in front of the boathouse. This was my best swim by far and I exited the water feeling good, transition went well and it was out onto the 8 lap bike ride. The bike ride is on the service roads which are smooth flat and traffic free, the lap takes you around the top of the lake and back down the opposite side of the lake and around the back of the boathouse. The outward part of each lap was hard work into a headwind but on the return it was easier as you now had a tailwind, again I knew I had had a good bike section and my second transition went well. Now just the run 4 times up and down a 2.5k path on the side of the lake, as on the bike the run out was into a headwind but it was behind you on the return. My run was not as good as I wanted but at the end of it all I had finished with a pb by nearly 2 mins, and I was 1st Vet 50+. My splits were as follows; Swim 1500m 30:33 /T1 2:19 /Bike 40k 1:11:43 /T2 1:43 /Run 10k 46:06.

Steve Warne

ITU World Championships, Budapest - Sunday 12 September

My trip to The ITU World Championships in Budapest was full of mixed fortunes. The city is fantastic and the atmosphere created by its new temporary international triathletes population was incredible. Sharing stories and experiences from athletes from all corners of the globe form Chile to China, North America to New Zealand was quite incredible.

The weather for my 3 day stay was absolutely appalling – we had a light 1h run on the Thursday evening and cycled 25k the day before the race, each outing involving a thorough soaking. We were permitted a familiarisation swim the evening before the race and although the water temperature at 14c was colder than anticipated I felt strong as I navigated the 4 buoys around the 750m swim course.

So race day arrives and again we are greeted my torrential rain. Final preparations in transition was a soggy affair but as we climbing into our wetsuits the weather started to clear.

Up on the bank behind the swim start pontoon I begin to focus on the race ahead and do some last minute stretching – my wave is the next up. One last clean of the goggle lens and ping they snap...!!! The ensuing panic sends my head into a complete spin - I dash into the athletes village to beg or borrow another pair but still only 7.45am nothing was open. Eventually a friendly age grouper offers me their spare set – by this time my wave competitors are in the water and I am 400metres away. The wave starts without me, I struggle through the crowds around the pontoon and eventually arrive at the water’s edge to see my fellow competitors swimming off into the distance. My heart racing and overheated from running around in a wetsuit I eventually jump in – the shock of the cold water completely taking my breath away. No time to worry about that though so I put in an aggressive burst in an attempt to close in on the group. Unbelievably the goggles I had been so kindly lent don’t work - the cold water pouring into my eyes completely disrupts my rhythm so I abandoned the goggles all together. Once warmed up I am able to claw back a hand full of places in the swim – I eventually exit the water 3 mins down on my normal swim time. A decent transition sees me quickly onto the bike and the flat wind free course allows me to put the hammer down and start to claw back some time. I was delighted with my eventual bike time of 31mins and this provided extra motivation on the run. Again the flat straight line course was conducive to a strong run and again I was very please with my 20mins for the 5.4k route.

So to conclude despite the disappointment caused by the goggles I was very satisfied and indeed encourage by my bike and run performance particularly in relations to the eventual World Champion in my Age Group . My final ranking in the World Championship was 39th - had I not suffered the misfortune with my goggles I could have been close to a top 20 spot so I take much heart for this.

750m Swim 15.15 (+5 from eventual World Champion AG40-44) all things being even this should have been closer to 2mins

20k Bike 31.15 (+1.29 from eventual World Champion AG40-44)

5.4k Run 20.12 (+1.21 from eventual World Champion AG40-44)

Thanks to all my sponsors, my training colleagues, my work colleagues for covering in my absence.

Stephen Morales

Swineshead 10 - Sunday 12 September

I decided to enter this race last minute as part of my training for next weeks Great North Run (you can still sponsor me at www.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidStanley ). I had run this previously in 2005 when i dipped under the 70 minute mark. This year I would be pleased with anything inside 75 minutes!

The course is rural starting and finishing in Swineshead and takes in the villages of Melchbourne, Riseley, Brook End and Pertenhall. Over the years the start and finish have changed and I'm glad to say they have got rid of the unpopular use of a return loop at the finish when runners ran past for 400 meters before turning back.

The start caught me out chatting to Keith Morgan about this year's Ampthill Trophy and consequently got caught behind some of the runners as we headed up the hill towards Yelden. Just before 1 mile the course turned left along a private concrete road through Melchbourne Park. The surface was quite uneven and I was pleased to get back out onto tarmac. I had gone through 3 miles in 22.20. Overall the course is undulating with two significant climbs - one at the start and the other approaching 5 miles coming out of Riseley. At half way i went through in 36.56 and felt reasonably comfortable.

The next two miles were relatively flat (7.10 and 7.07) but as we turned out of Pertenhall we hit a strong wind on the run back to Swineshead (7.23 and 7.37). However, I was still feeling strong and a final mile in 7.09 brought me home in a very pleasing 73.27 - almost a minute quicker than my run at the Sandy 10 which I regard as a slightly easier course out of the two. So it's role on the GNR!!

This is wonderful village run set in beautiful north Bedfordshire countryside. There is a real village atmosphere about the race with stalls, music, a barbecue and licensed bar all set around the village hall. It is well organised and has a nice medal for your efforts.

Dave Stanley

Alpine KIMM -  Bellevaux (between Geneva & Chamonix) - Sat/Sunday 11/12th September

2 day orienteering event in the mountains.  It was a score event with 6 hours to gain as many points as possible each day.

We really like this very small event (only 24 teams, 8 of which were British) always in a spectacular area of the French Alps - and we had superb sunny weather all weekend.

Brian & Haydn also did it but I don't have their results - but every team got a prize!

Day 1, we did c.18km to get 120 points.  Day 2, we did c.20km to get 120 points - but with 20 point penalty for being 3 mins late at halfway control.  Total: 220 points - first (& only) Vet 60 team.

David Sedgley & David Peregrine

Robin Hood Marathon and Half Marathon - Sunday 5 September

Quite a long day driving up to Nottingham and back, but a great day and a good race. Half marathon course is an undulating route starting in parkland and then through the city centre and out through the university grounds and into Wollaton Park before returning. The full marathon then wends its way several times around the rowing lake and back. Don't think the strong wind helped the marathon runners in the second half but Mark Folker still managed to smash his PB by 12 minutes to record an impressive sub 4 hour time. I reaped the rewards of a minimalistic training regime to just about survive in the half marathon - last two miles were very, very hard.

Jim

Bob and Mark’s story.  Mark Folker & Bob Meyer (North Jersey, USA)

About 10,000 half marathon runners, including Jim Dodds (AFF), set off with about 1500 marathon runners on a largely sunny but breezy day (17.5 C, 11 mph). The first half twists and undulates through the city’s parks, streets and university to provide ample distraction and a variety of hard and soft footing to sooth the feet. With so many, space was often at a premium and though one had to play hopscotch from time to time it never quite turned into the conga but nevertheless maintained a party atmosphere throughout.

As we parted company at the halfway stage the mood palpably changed as the foolhardy marathoners moved out of the shade of the finishing straight onto the heat of the embankment and a very different second half. If the topography and mood of the first half was designed to lift the spirits then the second half was designed to test ones stamina and resolve.

Runners were now mostly strung out in one and twos and the benefits of our early steady pace, which had been masterfully regulated by Bob, started to pay off as we slowly picked off many of those in front in a series of uncelebrated mini victories that helped to divide the miles into something more manageable.

The second half heads out of town towards the national water sports centre and was flat, straight and mostly exposed to gusting winds. Having run out to the water sports centre along a county road with no apparent benefit of the wind to our backs we looped round and started to head back only to be diverted over an embankment and onto the footpath of the rowing lake where the head wind had magically doubled in speed. Continuing into the wind we reached the end of the lake, where we were funneled through a hairpin bend and back along the same path towards the other end of the lake 2km away with nothing more than a zephyr to cool us.

As we neared the end of the lake and the 20 mile mark the clock read 2:58:12 (I think) but any elation was short lived as we swung round to the other side of the lake and back into the head wind where every ounce was poured into maintaining our minimum pace as we slogged along the straight and featureless embankment back to the other end. As we climbed the embankment to leave the rowing lake and the hope of some shelter we were doubly rewarded with even stronger gusts of wind coming off a sailing lake and a 200m stretch of rough grass that contrived to turn our legs to jelly.

Safely off the grass and on to a 3’6” path that followed the water’s edge back to the river we could see the city landmarks in the distance and although we realised that the wind would buffet us for most of the way back the next few miles seemed to slip by. As we passed the football ground calamity tried to waylay us as Bob lost his pace card and I had the first twinges of cramp but we both ignored the distractions and pressed on. As we crossed the toll bridge to get to the finishing straight we saw a man running with a chicken on his head accompanied by the banana man in front of us but with Jim Dodds standing there to cheer us home we couldn’t suffer the ignominy of being beaten by fancy dress runners so we kicked for home to take a few more places before crossing the finish line. My result was 3:52:12, a new PB J (previous was 4:04 London 2008).

Final comment and thanks; the event organisation, support and drinks stations were all very well done and I would recommend it to anyone thinking of either a half or full marathon. I would also say that it is very much easier to run a marathon with someone than alone and would like to thank Bob for coaching me to a new personal victory and to Jim for hanging around to cheer us on.

Mark

Wolverhampton City Marathon -  Sunday 5 September

My original thoughts of doing this marathon was to run it for a time, it was only 5 weeks ago i completed my Ironman races and the idea being that it would set me up for a good marathon.

However my plans went slightly array, Following having an Ironman tattoo done i had a bad reaction and ended up on a massive dose of penicillin for 10 days, then man flue followed that.

This all but stopped my training in the lead up to the Marathon.

My new plan was to go and just enjoy The race with no pressure and a gentle pace and forget a time, i thought if nothing else it would be a good training session.

Nothing exciting to report on my 26.2 miles, i thought the race was very well organised and supported, the course was undulating but pleasant throughout and i would consider doing it again.

I had a steady eddie run and was in good shape at the finish . 3.36.15.

Martin Beare 3.36.15

Great Scottish Run - Sunday 5 September

What can you do in 1 second? Cough.......sneeze........say yes to a spot-bet.......realise my jokes aren't funny........ However at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday, 1 second took on a whole new importance for me for my first ever sub-40 10K.

The GSR takes place in the heart of Glasgow and is one of my favourite runs - although I normally run the half marathon.

Having lost over 30 seconds on the first uphill 1Km and contending with 'traffic', it was tough to claw this time back and by 9km I was still around 20 seconds out and honestly thought the time had gone, but the smell of Greggs scotch pies along with the deep fried hamburgers awaiting me at the end got me through right on the wire - i stopped my watch at 40:00. It wasn't until that evening when Richard J let me know my official time - which made the 350-mile drive back a lot more bearable.

Time to put the feet up, order the pipe and slippers and....oh, yes.....train for the Berlin marathon in 3 weeks.....

George Arbuckle 39:59 PB

Stevenage 5K Race 3 - Thursday 2 September

All 3 races were good, well organised by FVS as ever, although staged during the summer this time around. Results for race 3 seem to have omitted Paul Barton, but I know he finished just inside 22 minutes.

Jim

This race series has been moved from later in the year so it was nice to actually start in daylight on a fairly warm evening. The race HQ is not easy to find as it's hidden away down some tiny residential roads, but once there there is plenty of parking, and amazingly no queues for the loo! And bananas, crisps and tea afterwards.

I was hoping to improve enough on my last 5k to creep back over 70% for my age related effort (69.84 % last time out) but will have to wait for Phil B to do his calculations to see whether I made it. At least my times are going in the right direction, though the course was harder than I remembered with several hills sapping a bit of pace. It was good to see Michelle Morris getting her speed back - though frustrating that she came past me with around 200m to go ... and I never was very good at sprint finishes. Ali and Laura also were both pleased to improve on their previous times - helped by actually finding the race HQ in plenty of time, making for a less stressful start.

Caroline Gilby 22.42 ( self timed)

August 2010

Beds Road CC Spoco 20.5M - Sunday 29th August 2010

With a week on no exercise decided at the last minute to ride this local sporting course TT event. My favorite friend of strongs winds was back to great me a welcome home pressie!

This week I have managed to run 20 minutes after being unable to run, after having a fight with some railway lines and my bike.

Debbie Knott

Cheviot Challenge - Saturday 28 August

21 mile hike in Cheviots (Northumberland)

This event is in aid of and organised by Northumberland Mountain Rescue and takes place in the Northumberland National Park. The route is changed every year and you aren’t given the route (or distance which is around 25M) until the morning of the hike. The weather was beautiful – sunny, but not too hot and only the occasional rain shower. The scenery is fabulous and the hills are rolling – long slog up, but didn’t have to crawl up like some of the hills on The Long Mynd Hike!

Annette Bell & Jackie Mullens – 7:10

Stephen Mullens – 7:15 (held up chatting to blokes also doing Great North Bike Ride the following day – 54 miles Seahouses to Tynemouth)

Team Swift 100M Time Trial - Saturday 21st August 2010

I travelled to Ripon, Yorkshire for the last main 100 miles TT event of the year.

The course was 3 laps of undulating roads. The weather conditions were very tough today and everyone was faced with strong winds on the course.

In all I recorded a pb by 6 mins of 5 hrs 23mins 42 secs. The PB may of been greater if I didn't decide to go off course at 70 miles, by taking an exit too early. But managed to rejoin the course after I relalized.

After the event went on a well deserved holiday for a week of non exercise.

Debbie Knott

The Marathon du Montcalm – Ariege, France - Saturday, 21 August

A Hill too Far – or ‘It’s the taking part that counts’

Before I left home for our annual trip to Marsielle – where we stay with some of Claudie’s family – I had been looking on the internet for an event I could do - but not having found anything locally I saw this little run in the Pyrenees! Well, I'd not run in Pyrenees before – though it was 42.5K and it did go up a couple of the highest peaks in Ariege – so this made it worth the 4 hour trip.

It started from a village (Auzat - 737 mts) about 9 miles as crow flies from the Spanish border, and basically went via trails and rocky paths to the summit of Montcalm, then on to Pique D'Estats, the summit on the border - both over 3,000 mts high – then back down to Auzat again.

Claudie had found me an excellent B&B about 15 mins drive from Auzat – anywhere closer having already been booked.

On the Friday evening I had to go to the gymnasium in Auzat to register, and listen to ‘le briefing’. A really nice young lady at registration spoke English, so was able to answer some of my questions after this. Then when I couldn’t get the only public phone in the village to work with the French phone card I’d been given, she took me to the ‘Marie’ (town hall) to use the one in the mayor’s office.

Then I went to the square in the village, where several stalls were set out, plus a huge marquee with tables laid with plates etc. to partake of the pre race meal provided.

At 7am the next morning I was back on the street next to the square, under the banner marked ‘Depart’, wondering if I was going to get to the final summit.

I knew it was going to be one of the toughest events I had done - and I think I would have made it if it hadn't been for the heat.

I was soon at the back - before we'd left the road after 3K - with just a young French lad who was the sweeper for company. Leaving the road we turned up a fearsomely steep stony path, zig-zagging it’s narrow way through forest. Eventually, after 2K of this steep path we came out at the first drinks & food stop. After this the only flat part of the whole route ran along the mossy concrete top of an enclosed canal for over 3K. I tried to maintain a steady pace, but knew I was falling further behind the others – and it was by now getting rather warm!

After the canal a lovely forest path climbed & then descended to a car park at the head of the valley road, another stop for refueling. 10.2K completed and I was still inside the cut off time. But this was where the real climb started – we were only at 1,200 mts.

It had taken me an hour & 45 minutes to reach the car park at 10.2K – and I was only 5 mins inside the cut off time. But this was where the real climb started – we were only at 1,200 mts. - with nearly 2,000 mts to go.

A good track wound up the river valley for the next ½ K, then we struck up a stony path through the forest – zig-zagging steeply over fallen trees & rocks. Though slower than I'd have liked, I was OK till we came out of the forest about 400 mts higher after another 3K. This was the first checkpoint on the open hillside, where water (plain, sugared or salty) and tit bits of food were given out.

Here the heat got to me and I think I was suffering a bit from heatstroke as we continued upwards on the stony path to another checkpoint by a small lake. But the scenery was magnificent – an excuse to keep stopping to take a rest. And the encouragement from all the locals along the route was amazing – bearing in mind that the only way from the car park below was to walk, I couldn’t believe the numbers of people at each check point.

One of the questions I’d asked Elodie after the briefing was how the course was marked? “With red tape” she said, “you can’t go wrong.” Up to now there had been plenty of it – even on the 3K along canal top there had been a strip of red & white tape about every 100mts, where there had been no turns to left or right. Now, on the open hill, even though the path was mostly obvious, at any bend where one could have hesitated, the path was lined both sides with yards of tape held down by rocks. And we had a little helicopter circling overhead, checking on the progress of the runners.

As I approached the Refuge du Pinet, a mountain hut at 2,240 mts, the organiser came over to take away my number and SportIdent check. I had missed the cut off here (15.7K) by just one minute, but I'd already decided to quit as my legs (& head) were getting wobbly! I had 6K to go to the final summit and there was no way I'd do it in 2 hours - so after a rest I just enjoyed the magnificent view from the balcony of the refuge, watching all the lead runners come down the rocky hillside, looking across a tarn of deep blue water.

Then after 45 mins I set off to follow the rest of the course back to Auzat – at first down the mountain by the same steep route we climbed it, then a slightly more direct route down the valley. After another stop for refreshments at the chapel of Marc most of the route was on really nice ancient paths, enclosed by little walls, down the beautiful wooded valley. The temperature by now was up to 40ºC in the shade – I was glad I was now in no hurry. And the last kilometre on road into the village was under a fierce sun!

When I reached the little square, filled with music & animation, I was greeted like a returning hero even though I had missed out the high part of the route. I'd done 31.5 K - just under 20 miles - in 7 hours, not counting my rest at the refuge.

I sat down in the shade of the marquee and had an excellent post race meal, while watching the later runners finish. Then I watched the prize presentation – there must have been at least 3 dozen trophies & prizes arranged on the bench on the small stage. There had been some children’s races round the village - & prizes for 1st three boys & girls for every year! And there was a shorter trail race round forests in the valleys – which was won by an English fell runner! And as this was a figure of eight route it could also be run as a two person relay - so prizes for those too.

Then they got on to thanking the helpers with flowers for the ladies etc – so I thought that’s it then. I made my way round to the back of the stage as I wanted to thank Elodie for all her help. “No, no, don’t go” she said, “You must stay to watch the rest.” More trophies were given to all the veteran categories. The winner, a Spaniard, did the 42.5K in an amazing 4-37-24. And there was praise for the last runner, a Scot, who finished just inside 5 hours later.

Then there was a prize for the youngest & oldest runners. So I went up on stage to receive a really nice cut out figure of Mercury (the winged messenger – not wholly appropriate to my lack of speed I thought) and the first time I’d ever got a trophy for an event I’d not finished! I'd always thought it could be a ‘hill too far’ – but as they say ‘It’s the taking part that counts!’

I’d had an amazing weekend - and met lots of really nice people. Will I be tempted to attempt it again? Well, it was I think the best organised event I have ever done - and I could always do the walk version! For yes, as well as all the other events, you could start an hour earlier and be taken by minibus to the car park at the 10K point, and just walk the 25K route to the summits and back.

Happy running in the hills

Dave Sedgley

Bedford Classic Triathlon  - Sunday, 8 August

Whilst most normal people would celebrate their birthday by going down the pub and getting completely hammered, I decide to take on the Bedford Classic Triathlon…. First mistake

Having trained very well for this, I was really looking forward to it. On race day my alarm was on for 4:30am, so a nice early night was on the cards. Unfortunately my neighbour had other ideas and decided to have an all night party till 5am, I hardly got any sleep.

I turn up nice and early and get prepared…sorted. Position of the bike was in the perfect place. This was the only good part about this race.  I was slightly annoyed that my group was last to start the race, as before I got in, there were some competitors starting the bike leg, not happy.

The river looked absolutely disgusting, apparently the race Marshall did say it had been cleaned out, but I swear I saw a body, a Tesco trolly, plus a McDonalds bag floating……………….

We got in……eventually and it was cold and the weed was awful. Not a happy bunny, the whistle went and I could just not swim, I was covered in weed and was going the speed of a Skoda, we had just started and already I was not happy. The swim was my worst performance in history.

Eventually getting out, transition to the bike was not bad and soon found I was freezing my butt off. I went as fast as I could, but as normal I felt terrible, no problem, just whack a gel down and have a drink, you will be fine. Unfortunately I was not, I had to stop and throw up everywhere, I must have lost 2mins. I did however feel better and continue on, but motivation was down, oh and to add to the misery was plenty of head wind, which slowed me right down.

Eventually back in for the run section, again my transition was fine, headed off onto the run, first lap was great, second lap was OK, and then final lap, practically walking, enjoyment was way out the factor now.

Crossing the finishing line, I had made it, but I was really disappointed and upset, one minute I’m training for a sub 2hr 30 Triathlon, now I’m finding myself back up to the 3hr marker. That is just not on.

Not the way to celebrate your birthday………….next time I will join my neighbours all night party…….!!!!

One more to go, that’s the final Beds Sprint series in October, at least no weeds in the pool.

Leigh Pilgrim 2hr:51

Kiwi Summer Migration - 13-18 August

All being well Isabel and I shall be in the AFF area between the 13th and 18th August 2010 unless we get stopped at the border trying to migrate south from Aberdeen and Edinburgh after inflicting some Kiwi culture on the Picts.

Unless the Kerrs get to hear about our arrival before we sneak in we shall be staying at 47, Fallowfield – 01525 403014.

Attempts will be made to get to some runs with AFF to try and reduce the effects of the self-abuse we shall suffer as we tour from Bonnie Scotland to Boring Bedford via Yuks Yorkshire and the deep south of England.

I still run, Isabel now hobbles but are alive and we have dug up our life membership cards for AFF.

We fly out of here on Sunday stopping on Monday in Edinburgh – please order some nice weather.

Austin Hutcheon

Bearbrook 10K - Sunday, 8 August

My first time at the Bearbrook 10k. An exciting start when the reason there were quite long queues to park at Aylesbury Rugby club turned out to be because the field was edged with a deep invisible ditch and the marshals had to control parking very precisely to avoid people driving into it !

A very good humoured event and a nice rural course with a longish hill out of Wendover towards RAF Halton and then a long slow descent back to Weston Turville. Worst bit is the 500m finish on grass which takes you on a tour past the finish and then RIGHT around the rugby pitch but plenty of encouragement from spectators and commentator as you are battling round it ! Unusual memento of a good quality shoe bag stamped with the race name which will be very handy for the cross season. Definitely one for the calendar for next year.

Sarah Allonby

Age Related Best - A Personal Best for the Older Runner

No matter how good or how poor you are, runners are a competitive bunch.  We all set ourselves goals.  One of the most fundamental of these is the Personal Best.  Unfortunately, as we progress through our running career, time catches up with us and no matter how hard we train the PB's disappear into the dim distant past, never to be attained again.  I have introduced a new statistic into the results listings to give  the more mature members something reachable to strive for.  We already display Age Related performance levels for the more common distances and it seemed a small step to determine when someone had set a best Age Related performance for a given event.  So from now on you may see the characters ARB in the notes column of the results.  This refers to an Age Related Best performance.  Although this measure is secondary to a PB it is by no means a second rate achievement, displaying that you are effectively holding back the passage of time and maintaining a standard.

Stevenage 5K - Thursday 5 August

Ran this on my birthday I really like this series as it is just you and the clock no pressure. Lots of support on the way from the marshalls. It wa a dry night and not too hot. The course is on cycle paths and with a few hills to keep you on your toes. I had an okay run as I have only been back training about 2weeks so was pleased to make it round. It was also nice to have Michelle Morris back racing. Well done everyone.

Kerry

Beds RCC Evening League 11.3M - Thursday, 5 August

What would have been nice was a PB to finish off the season with. Instead I missed out by 15 sec which I blame on a learner driver, tractor and plenty of head wind…….

Never mind, always next year I guess

Leigh Pilgrim 33:49

It’s all over!!!!

A little breezy night but dry and warm. Last night to do that PB or to just do a good ride. With the league taking the best 5 rides out of 7 of each distance you can push your times up by replacing one of your bad times! I was sitting .03 mph behind a rival and was keen to put in a good ride. However I was booked to ride on the tandem - so entered twice!! Moved above my rival and gained an extra place too!

League placings (best of 5 of each). Thanks to Phil for some of these computations!

35 people completed 5 or more events over each course.  140 completed 1 or more events (including 2 R Hollingsworth's but not counting his tandem partner.

17 "Flyers" achieved 29 PB's over the 14 week series.

Rick

Ironman UK - Sunday, 1 August

Once again i would like to thank you for all the well wishes etc for my 2 Ironman races. Well some called me mad or foolish to try 2 of these races in a week and they could have been right, however how do you know what your capable of until you try ? remember your 1st 5k ? the thought of doing a marathon seemed impossible until you do it.  My aim in the UK Ironman was just to finish after Ironman Switzerland.  The UK course is the toughest on the European circuit just to make the challenge that much harder.  2,000 athletes from all corners of the world came to together, even as for as Australia, Japan, America, Newzeland etc. The day before race day was spent setting out the transitions as there were 2 different transitions 15 mile apart. Race day started at 3.00am ready for a 6.00am kick off The race start was buzzing with TV camera crews everywhere and athletes making final preps and families saying there good lucks.  6.00am off we go 2.5 mile swim, the swim was a little unpleasant as the lake had blue green algae and only just made the safety checks.   Things were looking good, i recorded my fastest swim time in an ironman.

The bike course is commonly regarded as the hardest Ironman bike course in the world made up of 3 loops around hilly Bolton Lancashire totaling 112 miles on the bike.  I was conscious all the time to stay ahead of my fuel and hydration as failure to do so means you pay for it on the marathon, at the same time watching the pace.  Having safely arrived at T2 it was time to tackle the Marathon, (always the toughest part of an Ironman) At this point i simply could not believe how strong i felt, how is this possible i asked myself, i wondered would the wheels come off later in the marathon.  I am so delighted to say they didn't come off and i recorded a 3.39.16 Marathon my fastest Ironman run to date.  The finish area was in the town centre and was awesome with thousands of people lining the last few miles the last 300 yards on red carpet and TV coverage as you can imagin i was loving it.  The orgainsers interviewed me about my challenge and took great interest.  Once again i had a fab day and was absolutely over the moon with my result, If you have a idea GO for IT as anything is possible Martin Beare - Swim 1.10.14 - Bike 6.31.27 - Marathon 3.48.27  = Total 11.39.16 (including transitions)

July 2010

Beds RCC Evening League 10M - Thursday, 29 July

Sandwiched in between the two Hollingsworth’s (yeah nice trick, I know that was done on purpose) The object for me was to beat them to the finish, with Karen 1 min ahead and Rick 1 min behind me, there was always a chance (ok, slight chance) the impossible would become possible……………..

My start was good, cooking up a nice bit of speed, heading towards the hill I could see Karen, got to the top of the hill and made my move, job one done, nice one………that was until Karen re-overtook me, my language was very interesting! (Sorry Karen)

Annoyed by this move, I tried to keep up and work out my next move. At the right turn, I put my foot down and must have been in the “red” I cooked up 30mph and still struggled! I finally made my final move and managed to re-take the lead, my legs were finished and I found myself struggling to continue! But I carried on knowing that Rick was probably right behind us.

The next right turn came up and I was still in the lead………..that was it though, Rick overtook me and I was disappointed, I was doing so well. However I continued and tried to stay close to him. The final left turn came and so did the head wind, just hit me so much and my speed suddenly dropped heavily. I kept him in my sights up to the finish line…………..the end.

This is the last 10 miler, next week is the last 11.3 miler and then it’s all over, dam it I say, Never mind, always next year to get my victory

Leigh

Doug Anderson 5K (Club Championship) - Wednesday, 28 July

The club 5K championships were held on this fast Bedford Park course in mild conditions. 2 and half laps with nearly 400 runners took part in this excellently organised Harriers event. The top male club runners were missing so was an opportunity for a new name on that trophy with Mike Petty winning a keenly fought battle and Caroline Gilby cruising to the ladies title. Chip to chip timing gave runners an accurate time though it does mean the race becomes more of a time trial. A plethora of PBs is testament to the excellent training we receive on Tuesday nights. A big thanks to Debbie Knott for getting so many runners involved in the race. Next championship event is the 10K in September so get your entries in!

AndyA

Leigh Sports Village 10K - Sunday 25 July

Up North to my mum's so took the opportunity to enter the inaugural Leigh Sports Village 10k run around Pennington Flash (local water beauty spot). They got a good turn out for a first event of well over 500 runners. The facilities are brilliant - part of the Sports Village is a state of the art full size running track which is now home to Leigh AC which was available for warming up and part is a brand new rugby stadium so excellent toilet/changing facilities were available as well (no queues !).

The course was great - mostly over trail type paths and canal banks - and the marshals were young volunteers getting an NVQ in "Event Management" who did a really good job - just a shame that the water supplier let the race organisers down and the lads provided with the urns of water in substitution weren't also been provided with paper cups ! Was pleased with the time given the course and there was a cracking finish - decent tarmac for the last half mile and a good view of the clock the whole way.

Very enjoyable event and will be looking to do it next year.

Sarah Allonby 54:22

Milton Keynes Triathlon - Sunday, 25 July

After calming down I finally find the time to write my report on this somewhat amazing race.

So, I finally manage to get a new bike and what a difference, from my previous bike to this bike feels like going from a Skoda to a BMW (sorry for any one who owns a Skoda).  But you can see where I’m coming from, so after months of hard training, the day finally comes and its my chance to see what I can do.

On the plus side, my general biking had improved since basically doing a lot more of it and competing in Time Trials every week.  The other pointer is that my swimming had improved and was going that little bit faster.  The only downside was my running, since early this year, one thing or another, running had been down to a minimum.

So, the day before the race, I meet up with Steve Morales who was also racing that day and we begin to discuss tactics. My first chat was getting 2:35, then it began to change by “anything under 2:40”. Steve was putting his hopes on 2:17

The day arrived, and what a day it was, probably the best conditions, very little wind and nice and cool.

I rack my bike up, get myself ready and finally end up at the start. The lake was very calm and as soon as I was in, realised it was nice and warm as well!

This was it, what was going to happen…………………………..

The first discipline (Swim) went extremely well, knowing that there is still a bike and run to do, basically got myself into a pace; forget the other lunatics that are going like the clappers! I had 10mins in front of Steve as he was in the second wave.  The swim although really good did seem to go on forever, until eventually, I was out, good swim, good job done.

My transition was awesome; wetsuit came off without problems, whacked all my gear on then headed on the bike journey. Straight away I was off like a rocket but also I felt sick as a parrot, the short effects of transition out the swim and then onto the bike were taking there time, I just had to be patient, I felt absolutely terrible though.

As per prediction, these effects soon went and I found myself in a comfortable position on the bike, with my average speed creeping up, however, just as I was picking things up, Steve Morales went passed me like a bullet, he was on fire.  The first lap went very well considering I was still suffering the affects of a quick transition, however the fact that I was motoring quicker than ever was taking my mind off it.  At the end of the first lap, it was down hill and I was cruising at 30mph, I realised I had to be careful, its fair enough to be rocketing, but you need to remember there is a 10k run at the end.  The second lap was better, I felt more comfortable and was going strong. Coming down the hill for the last time, I called it a day and started preparing for the run.

Transition bike to run was also very quick and before I knew it, I was on the run. Strange one this going through the woods and trees, play grounds, tesco asda, through the check outs, then the petrol station……………..

My run as I knew was not one of the best, although very few people past me, I felt at the time it was a bit slow.  Last lap to go, the sun was coming out and I had to hurry, the heat was on its way and one thing I don’t like is running in heat. I was feeling tired, and sick I had had enough.  At this point I felt the run had let me down and I was hoping to have scrapped under 2hr:40.  Coming around the final corner, my name was called out and so was my time, I could not believe what I heard 2h:32…………

I did not believe this at first, I waited and waited for the results to show, I was pleasantly surprised.

After going through the results, I realise now I can actually attempt to race this distance in the future.  3 or 4 years ago, I would have been pleased to get through this distance in anything around 3hrs, I now find myself with the right equipment and now with the ability to race for sub 2:30

Well done to Steve Morales as well, he smashed his predicted / aim of 2:17 and came home in 2:12, just goes to show the hard work being put in.

Leigh Pilgrim 2:32:02

This weekend I found myself questioning why I’m involved in this endurance stuff. Is it to fend off (or at least minimise) the inevitable middle aged spread? Is it an outlet that provides a welcome tonic from the stresses of everyday living? Is it the challenge of taking part or winning? Or a personnel set of goals that quickly become an obsession? I think for me all of the above apply but perhaps the most significant motivator is sharing achievement, success and to a degree disappointment.

The whole focus of my winter training was about GB qualification, I was ecstatic and making the squad but I have to say the event itself was a quite empty experience , and why, because there was no one there on the day to share it with.

In contrast this weekend for me clearly proved the point :-

I raced the MK Standard Distance Triathlon on Sunday joined by 2 other club members and with support from other club members, close friends and family. (Meanwhile many of our triathlete colleagues where competing in the Ironman Distance in Switzerland and I was conscious that the start times where almost identical)

Condition on Sunday couldn’t have been better and having been chasing the illusive Standard distance time of 2.20 for the best part of a decade this look like as a good an opportunity as ever.

The lake was like a mill pond and despite the unorthodox zig-zag nature of the route it lent itself to a very quick swim – I left the lake in just over 23mins ( a season best for 1500m) and was quickly out on the bike. Still conditions meant the course was very fast, I put in a 32min first 20k loop and new if I could hold that pace I would be on for a good bike split. I finished the 40k bike course in just under 1.05 but with a slow pathway to the chip mat that turned into just over 1.06. Still very pleased with the race to that point I could afford a 48 minute run and still creep inside 2.20. I had a decent T2 and headed out on the run to test the legs. The bike had certainly taken its toll and I struggled to find a rhythm but I was able to hang on. With one lap to go I new the job was done and it was all about how deep under 2.20 I could go. The final time came in at 2.12.20. [personally] The prefect day!  23.12/106.50/40.20 for 5th in my age group 40-44

(Well done to Leigh Pilgrim who also had a fantastic day and far exceeded his own personal expectation.)

But I go back to the start of this entry - this achievement is only fulfilling because I can share it with my colleagues without that the whole thing would be empty. I went straight home to track friends competing in Switzerland and watch the day unfold as splits appeared on-line. Everyone finished safely and some amazing personal achievements were realised – without exception everyone achieved a PB – Martin Beare smashing last years already impressive time by 30mins.

Stephen Morales

Ironman,  Switzerland - Sunday, 25 July 2010

Hiya all just thought i would give you an update between my 2 Ironman races as i have just landed back from Switzerland. Firstly may i thank you for your kind words of luck and support which touched me, i carried those feeling around the course. The course was made up of a 2.5 mile swim in lake Zurich, 112 mile bike followed by 26.2 mile run (marathon) The swim was very congested as 3,000 competitors emarked on there ultra challenge.  I had few problems on the swim however broke my toe as i exited the swim on a large rock, luckily the adrenalin eased the pain anyway Ironmen dont cry ha ha. The bike course was quite undulating with 2 big hills the 1st called "The Beast" the 2nd called "Heart Break Hill" the names say it all.  I had a fast trouble free bike and tried to stay ahead of my fuel and hydration as the Marathon lay ahead.

The marathon was 4 10k loops around the beautiful Gin clear lake, the support and crowds around the lake was a real tonic, ha ha.  I felt really strong at the start and soon found my run legs and obviously got the pace right on the bike.  I had a steady eddie marathon and never felt weak or in trouble. I crossed the finish line in 11.17.34 ( PB by 17mins).  If i am honest i wanted sub 11hrs but may be that was to ambitious.  I am delighted to say i enjoyed the day immensely and felt in good shape which is just as well as i take another Ironman this sunday.  My soul aim in the UK Ironman is just to finish. For those who are interested my start number is 1249 and i can be tracked live throughout the race (log on to ironman uk) Martin Beare - Swim 1.16.14 (2.5 miles) - Bike 5.48.44 (112 miles) - Marathon 4.07.36 = Total time 11.17.34 (including transitions)

It sounded like a recipe for disaster when I agreed to do the 2 day Dartmoor mountain marathon with a blind date. David Sedgley found an ultra-running French woman looking for a race partner and paired us up (she later admitted that she manages to lose partners regularly through being too fast or keen for them). We met up in the pub on Friday night and Ines already a pint of beer in hand - a good sign I felt - and luckily neither of us ran screaming at the thought of two days of running, dubious navigating and sharing a tent overnight on some remote

hillside. It was only my second attempt at doing the navigating on an

event like this and some last minute coaching from my husband on how to

take a bearing came in very useful. We missed one checkpoint ( and

lost 15 points) on day one through being tempted by a track rather than battling more ankle turning tussocks and gorse, and had only a very minor detour on day two, collecting all the points we set out for.

Dartmoor is not as steep as the Lakeland marathons I've done before so we did a lot more running, and it turned out that we were fairly evenly matched for speed. At the overnight camp we were extremely grateful to find a farm down the hill with a hosepipe to wash the stinking bog from our legs, and Jo Allin had kindly gone to the trouble of carrying some wine with her which she shared with all of us - it made the dried trail food seem much less unappealing. My target had been to beat my score from my last event which we did by miles, and not too get too lost, so to find out we were first female team home in our class was an added bonus. Jo and David also had a good couple of days on the moor and seemed to finish still speaking to each other.

Caroline Gilby

We all had a great time doing this, very well organised, inaugural Dartmoor MM.

Caroline's partner was a French lady living in Dorset who I introduced her to. As they hadn't met till just before the event I was a little apprehensive as to how they would get on - but every time I saw them they were chattering nineteen to the dozen, and as you'll see from the results they did very well!

David Sedgley

Beds RCC Evening League 11.3M - Thursday, 22 July

Ha ha, this was the first race with my new “Bullet” bike…………and it did not disappoint, thankfully the weather cheered up just in time, pretty much near teas as I’m walking home from work during a thunderstorm……..just because I may not be able to put my new bike to its test!...........forget the fact that I’m totally soaking wet!

The weather cleared up in time and apart from wet roads, left probably one of the best conditions for cycling.

I got started and immediately felt the effects, I had better choice of gears, I was a lot more comfortable on the tri bars, my speed was also picking up nicely, burning up to around 20mph for average speed and this was just the start………excellent.  I did wonder maybe if I was overcooking things a little (over excitement?) but once over the hill, my speed remained constant.  Over the last hill and put my foot down for the last time, this was the fastest I had ever gone. On the last stretch I gave one last bit of effort and came home in 33:35, the fasted ever.  Apart from headwind (as normal) ideal conditions

Watch out Cavendish………….I’m right behind you

Leigh  33mins:35

Northumberland Coastal Run - Sunday 19 July

SUN,SEA, SAND and STONES

Arrived at the start early, after traveling with North Shields Poly RC.- every town up in the North East seems to have a running club. At 9.30 a.m. how were 800+ runners going to get on the small beach to start the race? However at 10.30 the tide had gone out a bit and the race was on. The speedsters just ran straight through freezing water and headed in a straight direction for 2 miles on the beautiful beach . Well you just have to do the same! up to my knees in sea water-- Freezing!! Beautiful coastal scenery but ran into a very strong head wind. The last 2 miles are on yet another beach very sapping on aching limbs, not the best conditions for my dodgy achilles. Finished and nobody seemed to be talking about their times. Lovely friendly, atmosphere. The race varies between 12 and 14 miles depending on the tides. This year it was 13.5 miles.

To cool down my daughter who is a physio and her mates, other physios, took me in the the freezing North Sea to sort out aching joints. That's what an ice bath is!!

My favourite race. A long way to go but if you are ever in the area it is well worth going to.

Phil Clarke

Grant & Stone Half Marathon - Sunday 18 July

I did the Grant & Stone 10k last year and was back again this year to tackle the half marathon held on the same day at High Wycombe. Its an excellent event - well organised with chip timing and plenty of local support and water stations. The only catch is that all the runners (10k and half) are sent off together and the race goes off quite fast but then the route goes up a steep zig-zag hill about half a mile in which goes on for about a mile and gets pretty clogged up. After that the course is great - country lanes and closed roads and a steep downhill to make up for the uphill ! The last mile or so is along the river and you can see the finish and hear the commentator which is a good incentive to pick up the pace a bit at the end.

Not a PB course for me as I struggled around mile 10 but conditions were good and not too hot and I enjoyed the run. An excellent goody bag with a technical t-shirt nice medal with the course engraved on it and lots of other freebies. Will be doing it again next year.

Sarah Allonby 2:08:44

 NSPCC Milton Keynes Half Marathon - Sunday 18 July

Bit of a cheeky little course - Milton Keynes professes to be flat, but the route is constantly dipping under the main roads, and climbing over canal bridges (anyone who ran will remember that nasty hump-back bridge about 10-11-ish miles.... perfect time and place to completely ruin your pace!!)

I started well, reached 10 miles fairly comfortably in under 80 mins, my 1:50 PB in sight. At this point the legs became heavy pretty quickly, but with most of the miles behind me, I knew the rest was in the mind. I ran the last miles with the voices of many Flyers coaches in my head "keep your form", "relax your shoulders", "don't over-reach your stride". With a mile to go 1:45 was now in my sights, which really spurred me on. My legs were so heavy, and my chest was getting tight... but I had to have that time!!!

Enter the field, with the final straight in sight, and 3 guys about 20 metres in front, so I put my head down and "sprinted" the last 200m trying to catch these guys. I did not quite catch them but I'm glad they were there, because I checked my watch crossed the line in 1:44:57, and with no-one to chase I'd have probably missed 1:45.

Training with the Flyers on Tuesday and all the help from the coaches saw me through the later parts of this race and with a much better time than I'd hoped for - so thanks a lot to the coaches for this one.

Jody Buczynski - 1:44:57

North Middlesex & Herts 100M - Saturday, 18 July

Yesterday in windy conditions, I competed in the North Middlesex & Herts 100 miles TT and recorded a time of 5hrs 29 mins 57 secs. A pb by 7 mins and a last three seasons best by 40 mins.  At last a pb for the year!

The conditions weren't ideal, approximately 56 miles of this ride was into a nasty head wind. And the last 12 miles on the A421 were horrid, I was down to 8 to 10 mph like everyone else!  Up until 70 miles, was on schedule for 5 hrs, but the wind just got stronger, so couldn't hold onto the pace...

I even managed to referee the children's triathlon in St Albans in the afternoon, at least there wasn't any issues!  Today, there are no signs of any aches or pains and even managed the zumba dance class! Will not ride the bike until Wednesday.  But the plan is to find another 100 miles TT and to get over next weekend of referee'ng the Elite men & Women's triathlon in Hyde Park London!

Debs

Beds RCC Evening League 11.3M - Thursday, 15 July

A very windy evening, this would be the last time I would be using my current bike; this bike has clocked up more miles than the oldest jumbo jet. It’s done so much, it is beginning to slowly grow old and tired……bit like me…..

Anyway, I was hoping that on its last day of working hard that I may get a PB, but the weather had other ideas

During the warm up I realised I had to be careful, the head wind / cross winds were very strong and was enough to push you off the bike if care wasn’t taken.

Before my scheduled start, one of the first bikers to go came back and mentioned that it was awful out there, the conditions were terrible. Unfortunately this then turned into more of a health and safety test than a time trial, everyone was warned.

Whenever I do these time trials, the worst part is the first 4 miles, this time was no different, only worse, I could not get comfortable and my speed was disappointingly slow, I got to the hill and my confidence was low.

However, once at the top, I had a quick recovery and managed to pick some speed up. Going through Old Warden I found that I had a bit of tail wind and gradually managed to catch up with lost time, interestingly going through the cricket ground at 27 mph…………..

The last stretch was amazing, I kept the speed up, the wind was amazing, but managed to keep going. I crossed the line and found out I was only a min down on previous PB’s……..not bad.

I was pleased, I had leaned a lot from the experience, although most other bikers did not like it, I found it a great learning experience.

One man to mention “Silas”, well I call him, “Sirus the Virus”. The first time he tried out this time trial, he got lost and nearly ended up in the Shuttle Worth air display collection………..this time he completes the course and manages to whack out 25mins………………………His advise? Get up to 30mph and try holding it for as long as possible…….yeah thanks.

You will hopefully see Mr Boardman next week (my bike that is)

Leigh Pilgrim 36:30

Sandy Trackfest - Thursday 15 July

Having being unable to train for 7 weeks, due to a groin strain, it was finally time to uncage the Tiger and kick some sprinting ass!

When I last ran this distance, I was 14 years old and clocked 14.4 seconds. 33 years later, I would be happy just to finish without injury and so I spent 45 minutes warming up and stretching before I was called to the start.

I lined up wearing lucky(?) number 13 ; nervously regretting the haddock and chips I'd eaten an hour earlier and determined to avoid complete embarrassment. I was up against 13 year old Callum and his mate, each looking to clock around 13 seconds. Jack who was out for a Special Olympics qualifying time (around 14.seconds) for runners with dwarfism, and another runner, targeting the special Olympics in another category.

I've got to admit, I really like the way these races were organised; sex, age and disability were of no concern, you just ran against runners with similar target times.

The pistol cracked, I was slow out of the blocks and for a while it was touch and go between Jack and I, before I managed to edge ahead. I tried, I really tried so hard to catch the other runners and for a while I felt I was closing, but all too soon the finish line arrived and my time of 16.3 highlighted that I am not 'quite' as fit as I used to be.

Then it was handshakes and congratulations all round and I could only console myself with winning the 100m vets category (yes, I was the only vet).

HOWEVER Windspeed was -4.3m/s which equates to roughly 2 seconds over 100m, so perhaps I'm not so bad after all. There's another Open event at Sandy Track in September and guess who's going to be running the 100m again? In the meantime I'm off down to Neville's for some salt fish and ackee and a bowl of cornmeal porage; it seems to work for Usain Bolt!

Robbie Craig 16.3 seconds 100 metres (heat 2) 4th place

Ladies 5K Stopsley Striders, Wardown Park - Sunday 11 July

A nice friendly laid back race, well it was all female! A pretty hot day and one other flyer Jane Hunt to chat to before the whistle start. Two circuits round Wardown Park and quite a few people around, including Martin Beare on his bike, giving lots of support which was nice.

Pat Godfrey 28.43

SMOC Orienteering at Furzton Lake, MK. - Sunday 11 July

I actually ran about 10K after running off in wrong direction from a couple of controls, and being on wrong side of impenetrable hedge at least twice!

This was one of a summer series of O events that SMOC organise - the first I was able to do this year.  They are great fun, and designed for complete beginner to learn about orienteering - and ideal for families.

Next event is at Caldicote Lake on 8th August. See: www.smoc.info for details.

David Sedgley - long course (7.5K), 1-38-03.

Beds RCC Evening League 10M - Thursday, 8 July

Well…………Where did it all go wrong, I turn up nice and early, set the bike up, lots of “clicking” noises going on, shoes wont click into the pedal, tires are near flat, breaks don’t work properly and the course has been changed to the 10 miler route due to traffic lights which I have no idea what that is.

I have an interesting warm up which consists of trying to working out why my front wheel is making noises, my shoes which are loose on the pedals and whilst trying to sort these problems out, nearly end up crashing into the temporary traffic lights because my breaks are a little dodgy…………

After asking everyone what the route is, I eventually just wait to be overtaken and follow the rider in front (don’t worry no drafting, not fast enough for that!)

Pretty good course although care and attention is required due to plenty of tasty pot holes, manage to get a good average speed (fastest so far) and managed to finish this time without getting lost in a fairly respectable time.

The route is good but I believe it’s easier than the 11.3 miler which I prefer as that course has two nasty hills in and makes you work very, very hard.

Leigh 30:55min

Tanners Marathon, Surrey 30 miles - Sunday 4 July

My father in law competed in the first ever Tanners Marathon back in 1960 as a police cadet, so it seemed fitting that his eldest son should compete in the last one ever. I'd originally planned that this would be a romantic walk in the country for just the two of us - having discovered a sport we both enjoy - but somehow it metamorphosed into a team of explorer scout leaders plus me. The guys had done some training

- including exploits such as walking to Toddington, drinking a pint in all 7 pubs then walking ( I use the word loosely) back. However I don't think they were quite prepared for how tough and seriously hilly the Surrey countryside is. It's undoubtedly a very beautiful route, with stunning views, and we were grateful for a fair amount of tree cover providing relief from the hot sun. 5 checkpoints on route supplied water and squash, though checkpoint 3 was running dangerously low. The long slog up Leith Hill ( at 1000ft including the tower it officially qualifies as a mountain) saw the guys suffering with accumulated injuries, fatigue and the thought of another 11 miles to go. Luckily I had enough cash to buy a round of ice lollies here - the best tasting ever they all said. By now the quickest way back was to finish the course and with painkillers and ice lollies on board we plodded on. I'd agreed to walk with the team so stuck with them all the way, though wasn't half tempted to join some of the runners. A couple of navigating cock ups and getting stuck in a long queue of people waiting to get through a series of narrow kissing gates at the start ( the only real black mark for the organisation) meant we didn't make the cut off time of 10 hours, but the guys were pleased not to be too far off - this sort of length of time on your feet is a challenge for anyone. Sadly there's not a next year to remedy this, so we'll have to find some other long distance event to do.

Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/davidjwbailey/sets/72157624424933332/

Caroline Gilby 10 hrs 32 mins

Cowman Middle Distance Triathlon  - Sunday 4 July

This very popular local Triathlon was staged at Emberton Country Park, Bucks.  The distance also referred to as half Ironman is a 2k swim, 56 mile bike, half marathon.

This race being the last of my scheduled races leading to my "A" race in Switzerland in 2 weeks time. My peak mileage complete and now on my taper.  As i stated this race is a popular one and had attracted 800 athletes some of which were pros and semi pros.

As ever under the command of Mark Booth "Big cow" the event orgainsers had done a great job with the set up and with the usual air of professionalism.

It was great to see my mate and fellow AFF Phil Holland giving much appreciated support and encouragement. Also great to see AFF Pete Bird taking on the challenging course and wearing his usual smile.

7.00am saw all competitors take to the lake in a mass start (an awesome sight) this is good practice for Ironman starts.  Due to the numbers it took me time to get into my pace as i struggled to find space and clear water. I did not have a great swim but ok.

Once clear of T1 i was keen to push on on the bike as i seem to make up good time on this section, and after taking on fuel on the opening 1st K the going was tough on the undulating 56 mile course with the winds at 25mph which at best only went from left to right but for the main were head on.  My only drama on the bike was hitting a massive pot hole whilst negotiating a T junction, my Tri bars now pointing at 45 degrees downwards and narrowly avoiding a visit to the hospital, fortunately i lost little time and pushed on finishing the 56 miles in 2hrs 48.

A slick T2 saw me on the Half Marathon course which was hot and undulating and with mixed surfaces. It was a 4 lap affair incorporating the country park where the many supporters cheered you on.

I finished 4th in age cat and 75th overall. (5.09.55) I was pleased that i felt comfortable and strong throughout which is important for my big race.

Pete Bird did a great job and finished (6.28.50).

Switzerland i am coming (case comes up next Tuesday ha ha)

Martin Beare

A tale of punctures on the bike and lots of cramping up on the run. Oh well there’s always next year!

Pete Bird – 6h 28m 50s.

Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon - Sat/Sunday 3/4 July

This was a 2 day orienteering event in the hills around Haweswater from just west of Shap. Not the biggest hills in the Lakes, but still a testing area of rolling moorland.  I was running (or rather walking with some jogging) with a new partner - a local girl who is an excellent orienteer.

Saturday was ideal weather - sunny with some cloud cover & a breeze, so not too warm.  The overnight campsite was in the lovely valley of Long Sleddale - a few K south of Haweswater.

Sunday dawned with low cloud, which developed into rain later with strong winds - making navigation just that bit trickier! And we improved our position.  

Harter Fell class - 18.8K & 16.8K (these are straight line distances between controls - actual distance travelled was between 3 & 5K longer each day).

Day 1, 6-07-01 for 112th place.  Day 2, 5-11-16 for 78th place.  Total: 11-18-17 for 92nd place of 121. And 11th mixed Vet team.

David Sedgley & Kate Breed

ETU European Sprint Championships, Athlone - Saturday, 3 July

This was my first time representing GB and I had mixed emotions following a weekend away with the UK’s top Tri Age Groupers.

The organisation at this ETU event was exceptional and the venue and atmosphere was superb. The event itself presented its own challenges - a very, very long transition (3mins) and a horrendous head wind and rain for the first 10k on the bike.

I had a steady 750m swim coming out of the water just under 13mins, I suffered in the wind on the bike out but managed to claw back time on the return until my chain came off 1k from the bike finish (lost about 30-45secs)my total bike time coming in at 33.50.

Out on the run I felt strong - the course was 2.5 laps of an essentially flat course with 3 short but steep climbs. My total run time was 21.49 for approx 5.7k

Overall Place 25th SWIM(to the chip mat):13:01 20th T1 2:49 15th BIKE:33:58 25th T2 2:16 24th RUN:21:49 15th

This was certainly not my best performance of the year and felt a little disappointed with my bike there is definitely room for improvement there – I was however encouraged by my placing as 15th fastest runner in my age group.

Trying to put things in perspective I looked at the open event results - had I been competing in that wave I would have been the 25th male from 670 participants so I take some heart form that.

Still more work to be done though onwards and upwards.

Stephen Morales

Cranfield 5 - Friday, 2 July

This was my first race since April when i undertook the Sandy 10 but decided as it was my birthday I'd give my self a birthday treat! With my Tuesday training being a bit up and down i was not sure how I'd go. I lined up with Richard Pillinger and Jeremy Bell but saw them quickly disappear with Phil Clarke as we moved through the first mile. 6.59 and then 7.01 for 2 miles was spot on. However, the course at this stage was flat to downhill and the tough work was still to come. Paul Barton, Jeremy Lewis and Martin Davey had passed me at 1 mile but I kept them all in sight and found myself passing Martin again at the 2.5 mile point as we came into North Crawley. We turned left down Folly Lane and the next mile+ had 3 testing climbs to negotiate. Mile 3 in 7.08 and 4 in 7.32 meant any hope of finishing inside 35 mins had gone. Through Wharley End and back out on the road approaching the Cranfield Campus I had managed to catch Paul. However, this only made him find another gear and he kicked away as we turned past the petrol garage and the sprint in towards the finish. The final mile was 7.19 and I had just crept under the 36 minute mark. Despite a disappointing time i did feel i had a good run and was pleased with my strength on the hills. Might see what 10k's are around over the next few weeks now!!

CPM Thame 10K - Sunday 27 June

Excellent organisation and marshals and a nice fast course. I felt well prepared so hoping for a PB - unfortunately however also the "hottest day of the year" (according to the previous night's weather forecast) and 30 degrees at Thame by 9.30am when the race set off. Felt I started off well but got hotter and hotter despite two well placed and well stocked water stations at 3k and 7k and just couldn't get in to it. 58:24 in the end but not too disappointed given the heat. Would definitely do it again but hopefully it will be a bit cooler next year. Was very impressed with the group of firemen who finished in about 70 mins in full kit !

Sarah Allonby 58.24

Herts Hobble, Wheathampstead - Sunday 27 June

This year was a beautiful route which took us through Brockett Park & past Knebworth House. I expected to walk most of it due to the heat, but jogged some where we went through some lovely woods - and was really pleased to beat 7 hours.

David

Greensand Ridge Relay - Saturday 26 June

Well, we didn't want that ugly trophy anyway!

A mere two seconds was all that separated AFF's Damsels in Distress (Carole, Jo, Caroline, Paula, Sally and Kerry) from taking home the dragon trophy for first ladies' team in the Greensand Ridge relay (though as some of us recalled, in the past it has been a fight among the team for the privilege of not having it adorning the mantle piece).

We could all find ways to take the blame for those two seconds - tying a shoe lace for Sally, holding a gate open for another runner in Kerry's case, Paula struggled to work out what to do with the dibber and Steve J tried to send her the wrong way, while I could certainly have got through the odd gate a bit quicker. As anyone who ventured out on Saturday will know it was not ideal running weather and for me on the long and largely shade-free slog through Woburn, overheating was my main concern. Luckily it did cloud over at times with a welcome hint of breeze, though of course never when you really needed it on the up hill sections. We all managed to beat our handicaps in spite of our catalogue of pre-race whinges about the weather, injuries, getting lost etc.

Looks like we'll be back next year to have another crack at winning, though as Jo kindly pointed out we'll be a year older and slower, and none of us in a new age group.

Caroline

Beds RCC Evening League 11.3M - Thursday, 24 June

A brilliant evening, the sun was shining and there were plenty of bikers out enjoying it. My start was pretty good, cooking the first 2 and ½ miles as per normal ensuring I keep the average speed up as high as I could and within minutes I was at eye balls out sweating me nuts off, just before the big hill………….lovely.

My hill climbing was fairly good here, I just kept going and going, I knew I had quick recovery after hills so I just had to have that in mind.

Overall a good performance apart from a minor stop I had to make for a car coming the other way and also there were some women that were walking in the road, they could see me coming their way at high speed but decided not to move or stop, so I just gave them the scare of their lives by passing inches by them at around 20mph.

After a tough ride, I whacked me shoes on and went for a short run, good brick session.

Not sure how I’m going to get to the 33min time as I’m already at a stretch, so if anyone has any ideas…………..

Good to see some other Flyers taking part as well

Until next time…………..

Leigh Pilgrim: 35:29

Just for a change, I thought I would try the L2B bike ride instead of running it, along with 27,000 others. Having not been on my bike for two years, I could not have been more under prepared. Pulled my hamstring two weeks ago and couldn't get my leg over the bike in the week before let alone ride it. In fact borrowed a superb bike form Steve James ( to whom I am enormously grateful ), pedals from a mate, helmet from another and a gel saddle on the morning. Carbo loaded with a chinese take away the night before, quite a few beers and even more vino. Fell asleep on my couch with TV on, woke up 4 minutes before being picked up at 5.30am, forgot helmet, drinks, food, safety pins, instructions, number for photographers and looked and felt rougher than a badgers you know what. Had no.2 in ladies loo in McDonalds. Mate in next cubicle and two women came in. Dived out and mate stayed locked away. Heard one women say she couldn't believe what I had done and called me an animal. Had bacon sarnie and coffee. Wore loud pink flowered hawaiian shorts, no cycling gear and had to put bike at bottom of kerb to get on. Tried bike 10 mins before start. Spent 10 mins trying to work out gears. All other team members suitably fresh, properly kitted out and aghast at the sight before them. Started and worked out how to use the brakes, gears and handle bars at the same time. Stopped for another bacon sarnie, paella, cup of tea and ice cream. Not unsurprisingly, became de hydrated at half way and planned lunch time beer was replaced with more sensible water and lucozade. Cycled all hills save Ditchling as too congested, breezed it, told team members it didn't feel that hard to ride 54 miles without training whilst hung over, cheesed all others off as a result. Had more beers in Brighton, poshest curry I have ever had and the most expensive. Others practically falling asleep in their ant and mogado curry whilst refusing my pleas to hit the Sunday night highlife , followed by an early hours swim in the sea. Mentioned I am planning to run a short race at the weekend ( Greensands 33 miles). Heard one bloke mutter expletive under his breath. Took the mick out of them all night. Shared a room with mate, snored all night and kept him awake. Apparently, the teams are down to 4 next year and they probably wont have room for me. Had a great time and real laugh with a good bunch of blokes, but wont be taking up cycling as I really would get shunted into touch by the Geordie lass.

The point of the ride was to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Whilst I clearly didn't take the preparations for the ride seriously, I did it with the best intentions which was to raise money for a worthy cause. That was made all the more poignant the following day, when news came through that one poor chap had a heart attack at the top of ditchling and died. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me. Every penny goes to the BHF. If anyone else is suitably unimpressed with my race planning and would never the less like to add to the sponsorship, you can do so via www.justgiving.com/provision . Thank you.

Paul Owen

Up in the 4’s for an early registration at this Leicestershire venue – a cold and blustery morning presented itself for this important UK triathlon calendar event.

I entered the lake 5 mins before the start time to acclimatised myself to the chilly water and attempt some kind of a warm. The unfavourable conditions had lowered my motivation for racing but probably helped me ease into this swim more sensibly. I was please to be out of the swim section in a PB time of 25.30 (+ another 10-15 sec to the timing mat).

Out on the bike and I felt fresh, the wind played havoc with my averages– there were sections where I achieved speeds up 70kph and other as slow as 20kph. I managed 1.14.57 for the 42k loop significantly slower then I would hope to achieve in different conditions.

Out on the run and still feeling strong I managed a 36.51 for the slightly shy of 10k run (9.7k). My total time a frustrating 2.20.11. 11 seconds short of the 2.20 benchmark considered to be the Triathlon equivalent to a sub 3 hour Marathon. Still all in all a very positive result given the conditions.  Finishing 28th /200 in my age group in a World Qualifying event I can’t really grumble.

Well done to my friend and fellow Flyer Martin Beare for a very solid performance - I believe he knocked considerable time of his own course PB.

Stephen Morales

Well after my bitter sweet news that i qualified for the GB squad to compete in Spain on the long course Triathlon, but through a silly admin error on my half, i missed race entry. (there were a few choice words i said to myself, like you silly sausage)

Still i now know my times are fast enough for GB slots in the future and i am still PB ing.

The Dambuster Triathlon is an Olympic distance race and this years race was chosen as a world qualifier for that distance, This distance is a bit short for me and i do better in the longer races however its a favourite of mine because the event is set around the scenic Rutland Water and the swim across the dam is a treat.  The event organisers( Pacesetter Events) do a superb job too with an air of professionalism that is beyond approach.

Needless to say there was some of the fastest Triathletes in the country present all hoping for a GB slot for this distance.  My club had a healthy team entry and a good mix of male and female of varied age categories.  My age group was the biggest with 240 in my wave start.

I got kicked in the face in the opening stages of the swim and nearly losing my goggles, this is always a problem with open water mass starts, they are sometimes referred to as washing machine starts.

My swim was not great so was keen to push on once out on the bike.

We had to contend with constant 25 mph winds which made it a bit twichy and hard work on the undulating 42k bike course. I was unlucky to get stopped at 2 T junctions and was slowed by a bit of traffic on several occasions.

The run was a simple 10k, 2 laps across the dam and then back to the finish where the crowds give great support.  Fellow team mate and AFF Steve Morales had a good race finishing 28th in age cat.

Not my best race however finished 25th out of 240 in my age cat, on a world qualifier i suppose i cant complain.  I am at my peak mileage now for my Ironman races (Switzeland and UK) with only 6 weeks to go. My next race is Half Ironman (cowman Emberton Park) 2 weeks time. Bring it on i say, i am loving it.

Martin Beare

118 started on a fresh and sunny morning, this was my first time and I'll definitely be back for more. I found it a friendly event and certainly one to practice 5K as I expect times on most other cources should be quicker. The route I found quite enjoyable, being a mix of flat tree lined paths and a few very short hills, except one which is a 5 or 6 switchback pathway up the side of a bank which really unsettles you. The finish is a bit difficult to judge as it can be seen from over a mile away; it would be all too easy to strike for home too early, but as my aim was steady Eddie I just tried to keep the form. Due to some timing issues I have a self timed 20;22 ( about 12th home) should improve next time as I now know what to expect.

Mike Petty 20.22

I entered this event the day before my bike accident and news flooded round the cycling community of the news.

The organiser put me off near the back of the field and it is normally an unlucky position to be in, especially when you know you will be the last finisher. It was his tactic, to see if I would start, as the traffic on the A1 can get busy at 7am in the morning plus he knew I had lost some confidence in riding the bike.

The aim was to ride comfortably at 20mph and to record a time of 2hrs 30 mins. To my surprise my time was my 2nd fastest 50 miles of 2hrs 24mins 39 secs and a 6 mins course best.

Comments from the day - I wasn't even trying, being spurred on by the Marshalls at the roundabout, not bad for the 1st 50 miles of the year!

Next Saturday is the National 50 miles champs and in three weeks time is the national 100 miles champs, so who knows.

The problem is after Sunday's performance there are a few people that are now edging their bets for a top 50 placing in this Saturdays National 50 miles and top 30 place in the national 100miles TT Champs

Debbie Knott

This was the first time I’d run in this local event but knowing the area pretty well I roughly knew what to expect. The starting officials (Ady and Tim) set us on our way with the first K a tough climb along a rough pathway to the top of the Barton hills which showed how important those Tuesday night hill sessions are. I was the first flyer to the top but paid the price for too fast a start with Martin and Mark cruising past shortly after. They started to disappear into the distance and I dug in to try and keep them in sight. The route takes you through some splendid countryside which takes your mind off the exhaustion. As you know, you can hit a bad patch in a race but miraculously start to feel better a mile or two later or you just simply get worse. Fortunately this time it was the former and I started to get back into my stride. The last K not surprisingly is a rapid descent and I just let myself go passing Mark on the way down.

Found the event very enjoyable and well organised, friendly and enthusiastically marshalled. There was good turn out from the club for a race that’s well worth supporting.

Andy A

Well what can I say?

Understandably, knowing the weather, I knew this was not going to be an easy ride, the wind and rain were both out to play havoc, arriving at the venue I had to relise that this was not going to be a “PB” evening, but still, its good practise biking in this weather, it makes you work harder……………and more tiring!

I had a good warm up and immediately felt the wind, this was not going to be easy, which ever direction you were going in, you either had cross wind or head wind, no tail wind today………..well saying that, there never is!

The first four miles you had cross wind, so this was the ideal chance to get some speed up before the head wind took over, yet no matter how hard I peddled, I just did not seem to go anywhere, at one point I felt like I was in a car wash, being hammered by wind and rain from all directions!

I did not feel to great during this course, this could have been due to the weather, and as it was very wet, I was not prepare to really go for it, knowing that one slip and I would be finished.

Coming to the finish, I gave everything I could till the end, slightly disappointed as I was 3 mins off from two weeks back but hey I guess that’s what happens

Straight off the bike, my running shoes were there, chucked them on and headed for a short run, good transition practise and felt pretty good.

Lets hope for better weather this Sunday

Leigh Pilgrim 38:10

Another warm one for an undulating Road course on the outskirts of Banbury, not a race I wish to remember, a niggling injury carried for several weeks proved to much on this course, banishing me to second after an overzealous official was just too excitable. The Aff squad picked up some valuable points and again some impressive times. Joel’s improvement by 30 seconds over the Corby Round, demonstrated how tough the Welland valley really was, need we say……. Nick majestically took 2nd MV65…….

Phil Holland

This was my 2nd Triathlon of the season and iam delighted to say it involved an overnight stay in sunny Weymouth as it was a big event and registration was compulsory the Saturday before race day.

My club had a decent entry so it was going to be interesting and exciting racing against team mates.  The race distance was middle distance (half ironman) 2k swim, 56 mile bike, half marathon.

The swim was a in the sea which was interesting initially as the first 100 yards was sent running through shallow water as the tide was out.  I had a bad start as i went anaerobic with the sea temp and excitement taking my breath away, i was forced to tread water to allow my heart rate to return to something like normal. At this point i was 3rd from last, i soon found my rhythm and pace and fought my way up the field and was please to exit the sea at the front end.

A swift transition soon got me on my trusty TT bike, the course took us along the sea front and then away from Weymouth heading for long fast hilly duel carriage ways, villages and long A roads.  I pushed hard on the bike in windy conditions as i had knowledge that i was going to be chased on this race, I had few dramas apart from a near miss with a farm tractor pulling out in front of me whilst i was at top speed, oh dam i cried (i clean that up a bit, ok a lot).

I returned to T2 got my and was holding good position and was happy, until i discovered that my legs would not work, i had pushed to hard on the bike and now i was going to pay for it, added to this my lower back was in spasm too, the heat from the sun was also going to make the half marathon a tough one. This is where i use my trump card, switch the mind to push on and feel no pain, i was not about to give up after all the effort on the swim and bike.

I came in 9 mins faster than last year and a PB and 2nd club member home 4.56.11 only beaten by Elite team mate Craig Halsley who finished 5th overall in a quality field.  I was a little disappointed as i feel my race could have been better, however pleased with my consistent form.

Next race in 2 weeks (A World Qualifying round) The Dambuster, An Olympic distance Triathlon at Rutland Water.

Martin Beare

A pre race treat to see a cheerful bunch of flyers itching to start, A fast start (again) from the Coventry Godiva guy’s pushed the pace hard for the first couple of miles, immediately spreading the field into good working packs, I found myself challenging for the lead and eventually making my kick for home a 7km (knowing the last 2km was fast downhill), I managed to break and took the win. Joel after a very busy race calendar gave a truly gritted race, out kicking three of the competition with a sprint finish. Nick again showed his consistency taking 2nd MV65.

Phil Holland

Where to start? This event was the hardest and most painful physical activity I have ever done, if not the hardest thing I have ever done. I entered this with my two amigo ultrateers, Richard Jones and Robbie Craig. We put in a lot ot training, including 40 mile runs, back to back marathons and 70-80 mile training weeks. I can honestly say I have never been fitter. We thought we were ready. This was an event put on by the Long Distance Walkers Association, with the walkers going off at 10am and the runners 12 or 2pm. Dave Sedgley and Steve Smith went off with the walkers. We went off at 12 with 60-70 runners. There were 17 checkpoints mostly in very remote places, with each laying on an abundance of food and drink. The scenery throughout the event varied between stunning and staggering. We climbed so high, at various points we could see snow on the mountains around us, although we didn't run through any. There was a total of 13,225 ft of assent and descent and by the end, the downhills were as bad as the uphills.

We started off at a steady pace of around 5 miles an hour although we knew that would drop. That might not sound much, but by the time you factor in the stops at the checkpoints and the huge amount of climbing we had to do, that was in fact quite quick. The checkpoints were around 6-7 miles apart and initially we certainly made steady progress. It was 90% off road, over constantly undulating, muddy, wet, stony ground although in the first few sections this was at least on trails. If you don't know Scotland its hard to describe just how remote and unrelenting the country can be, for mile upon mile. Imagine the most difficult patch of ground in Bedfordshire you have ever come across. It will be about a tenth of the difficulty of the areas we went through over 36 hours. Even so, after we started we began catching the walkers and were all running within ourselves and quite well. It drizzled constantly for most of the first afternoon and the temperature was quite low. We passed along numerous Lochs, through open land with mile upon mile of heather and gorse, and lots of forests. We did see a nesting Osprey on route which was a fine sight, but I cant say where due to strict instructions from the organizers.

The rules required that we took with us a number of things including waterproofs. We all cut corners and took the lightest things we could find, which I would deeply regret later. We all ate a lot at every stop, washed down with numerous cups of tea (I estimate I drank at over 40 cups over the event!). We covered the first 36 miles comfortably and met our support crew in advance of time at around 8.30pm and enjoyed a pre ordered salty bag of chips and scotch pie. We were still feeling good at this point. Re-fueled we set off again and prepared ourselves for running throughout the night. It got dark around 11pm and the rain heavier. At this point I was still in a pair of shorts, running top and running jacket, non of which were waterproof. I had been constantly wet for hour upon hour already. My feet were clearly in a bad way, having basically been wet for 8 hours plus. They were already soft and tender and a change of socks brought temporary relief only. Imagine what your feet are like at the end of a hot bath when you have stayed in too long and then multiply that 3 fold.

We ran along the old A9 for a couple of hours, which in truth was dreadful. It was now dark, wet and very cold. By the time we reached the checkpoint, it was around 1am, it was raining very heavily, we were all very cold, sodden and dreading the next 4 hours until it got light. In a tent in the middle of what seemed like no-where, I put on what clothes I had and wrapped a survival blanket around me under my running top, eventually stopping shivering. We looked in envy at the walkers who, whilst tired, were prepared for the conditions with full, thick and warm waterproofs. That probably wasn't the best time to receive a text from George Arbuckle saying we should get some rest and he was off to bed! I managed to reply without swearing. It was around this point that the trails became very intermittent and we agreed to walk. We did so for the next 3 hours, passing through forests, over Erochty Dam and Loch Erochty. By the time it was light, the trails had on the whole disappeared and the pain in my feet had started to become quite bad. For mile upon mile, we had to wade through wet, sodden ground, over and through heather/gorse with no trail at all. The heather was particularly bad. You could not see where you were going to put your foot and more often than not, it was either into a hollow, saturated muddy ground or both. The heather and gorse also lasted for I would guess at least 20 miles over the event.

By the time we reached the breakfast stop at around 6am, we knew we had to have a long rest. Porridge with lashings of golden syrup was followed by a full Scottish breakfast. Richard was so tired, he fell asleep for half an hour where he was sitting bolt upright at the breakfast table. It was hard to leave and indeed Sedgers dropped out at that point. Certainly, people were dropping like flies at every checkpoint, with the body bus in constant use. Seeing people giving up was hard, knowing the distance left and the increasing pain that would inevitably come. Another change of socks, liberal coatings of Vaseline and painkillers had little effect. The only thing that stopped my feet from hurting was sitting down.

Never the less, carry on we did. If I had known then how unrelentingly hard the ground would become and the pain I would go through, I may have given up sooner. They placed one self clip checkpoint at the bottom of one 700 metre climb that was tortuous, up through the heather on a particularly steep incline that took an age to cover. I was developing severe blisters and basically ran and then walked in pain for all of the remaining 15 hours. The climbs weren't just hills, they were literally mountains and munroes. By the time we reached our supporters again the next day, we had been moving forward for over 25 hours and had dropped to running for 100 metres and walking the same. We met them at Fotheringall Yew, which is the oldest tree in Europe, around 4 hours behind time. From that point on, we mostly walked. I had changed my socks 3 times, rested my feet at the stops, put on every plaster I had, used blister and ice spray, but the pain simply would not go away. After Fotheringall, we climbed over 2000 feet up a mountain called Schiehallion, albeit not to the peak, skirted around its flank and dropped back into yet another sodden gorse filled valley that went on for miles. There were sections where we took an hour to cover a mile. It was for us no longer a running race, but simply a test of endurance and will power. By this stage we all had something wrong with us and the banter that had taken place in the first say 15 hours, totally disappeared for the last 20 hours. The most annoying thing for me, was that I still had the strength in my legs to run. I had no muscle problems, no strains, no cramp. What I did have was severely painful feet that hurt with every single step that I took. I had to shuffle along, as the pain of bringing my foot down onto the ground from a running position was just too much.

By the time we reached the 86 mile checkpoint, we were moving at around 2 1/2 - 3 miles an hour, had spread out a bit and we were all hobbling. Richard's head had just gone and he simply couldn't carry on. It was hard to see him in such a bad way, but once he decided to stop it was clearly a relief to him. Robbie and I painfully walked out, to begin another section that would prove to be the start of our downfall. Normally 18 miles to me, is nothing more than an average training run that I dont think twice about, but at this point 18 miles of mostly uphill climbing seemed awful and at least another 7 hours on our feet. The next section just went 1400 feet steadily uphill all the way. How we made it, I honestly do not know. We inched our way along, not saying a word to each other for hours on end. Robbie had fashioned a makeshift walking stick from a tree branch and hobbled all the way. We were both in an awful amount of pain, but we still drove on. The thought of not finishing drove us forward.

We eventually made the 97 mile checkpoint and sat in the tent for 30minutues. Another chap also in a bad way, phoned his wife and told her to go home as he was going to have a kip for 3 hours and try to cover the last 7 miles after that. I wish we had.

We left the checkpoint. By now, it was again dark, we were going into the second night and the trail was totally uneven, very stony and wet. My head was going, I began to see the grass dancing and I was in agony with every footstep. Trouble was, we were still in the middle of no where and had no choice other than going on. The final descent onto a road, finally did me in. It was about a mile long, down a very uneven, steep, stony zig zagging path. Every step felt as though a knife was being plunged into both feet and the pain was more than I have ever experienced. Robbie was in the same way. That last mile probably took an hour. When we reached the road we had covered 101 miles and we had 3 miles to go. 3 miles. Might as well have been 30. I just could not go through another 2-3 hours of that level of pain and had to call in the cavalry to come and get us. For us to give up at that point, we clearly had reached the very bottom of our will power. Those that know me, just know I don't give up on things. If I say I will do something, generally I prepare and just get on with it. To stop with 3 miles to go meant we were both in a very bad way and we were. Even now as I write this days later, I don't regret doing so. I know I simply could not have gone on. I had pushed my mind and my body as far as it could go and I just couldn't go any further. My mind could no longer block out the pain. I really cant exaggerate how much pain my feet were in and indeed had been in for hour upon hour but particularly in the final 18 miles. Once decided, we were both relieved to at least have made 101 miles. We were picked up and my feet tendered by my own private father in law doctor. They were very badly bruised, almost raw and covered in blisters, with two toe nails on their way to dropping off. One blister in particular was the biggest I have ever seen! It covered my heel and part of my instep, was very bulbous and squashingly full of fluid. There were other smaller ones on both feet. My ankles were also swollen and painful. It was sooo nice to sit down, have them treated and drink 3 very large whiskies! I doubt that I could have got as far as I did, without Richard and Robbie. We will share the pain and experience of this event. All I can do chaps is say that I wouldn't have wanted to do it without either of you, your both amazing athletes and most importantly, thank you. By the way, wait until you hear what I have got planned for next year!!

Annoyingly, it was ultimately just my feet and ankles that stopped me. I was actually fit enough. My legs weren't that stiff, they were still reasonably supple and quite strong and after the event I had little stiffness. Could I have done anything different? Well yes. Proper clothes for a start and much better shoes, that might have stopped or at least delayed my feet problems. Very good waterproofs and probably two changes of shoes at least. Would I do it again? At the finish, I didn't even want to run again, but with time the memory of the pain will fade, so ask me again in 2 weeks (and don't tell my wife the answer!). Now, a matter of days after the event, as I write this I am still in Scotland. My feet and ankles still hurt. I am within spitting distance of the finish. I am willing my feet to get better enough to let me run the last two legs, to banish the demons. I suspect I wont be able, but the fire inside me wanting to do it is there. Heck, will I do it again? Of course, only next time it will be bigger and harder and I will be prepared.

On a lighter note, I am enjoying vino, McEwens and the Scottish cuisine. We went to get a pizza the other night and they asked us did we want it fried or battered!!! Honest. Deep fried mars bars also on the menu. We declined.

Quite a turn out this evening for the Flyers, a number of known faces turned up to have a go at this time trial.

The weather was awesome (if a little windy) but otherwise perfect conditions. My aim for this event was to get around 38 mins. With all the training I have put into biking over the last couple of months, plus the advise from training buddies Steve Morales, Martin Beare and Phil Holland, I knew this was possible.

The interesting part of this was, the extreme elites (Phil and Steve) were right behind me, so the idea was to see how far I could get before they overtook.

I darted straight off and found myself in a comfortable position on the tri bars, pushed it as hard as I could, first check point for me was the bottom of the hill, quick gear change, up the hill, the back up in top, bushing as hard as I could.

Without realising it, I was generally doing really well, and for those that know it, it was just after the Cricket ground that Steve James overtook!

Keeping low I tried to keep up with the cyclists in front, on one of the hardest parts of the course, things started to hurt……….alot! But I wasn’t going to give up, everyone probably felt the same, but they all kept going.

On the last stretch of road, the wind was incredible, I could see Karen in the distance and I was getting closer and closer and closer, until yes, I managed to overtake…………….shouting “This really hurts!!”

Finally I passed the line and was amazed to see the time on my watch, I was hoping for around 38 mins and managed 35!

Leigh Pilgrim: 35:40

This particular distance Triathlon is new to the UK and this was the first time it was to be run.  The distance being a 3/4 Triathlon, not quite an ironman. (2,600 meter lake swim,) (80 mile bike) (20 mile run).

This was a big ask this early in the season and the first triathlon for me this year, however the distance was right up my street and a good measuring stick of how well my winter training had been.  The week leading up to this event had been unseasonably cold with 3 nights of frost, this was quite significant as the governing body for the sport the B.T.F have safety limits on water temperature, the limit being 12.5 and it had been 11 only days prior to race day.  A decision could not be made until race morning whether the race was on so it was off down to Romney Marshes on the south coast and to our hotel.

On arrival at race HQ to register the evening before the race, i could not help noticing a huge wind farm, i thought to my self they don't put them there for no reason, this going to be windy one.  Any how i was up for anything as i have been starved of racing since last season and i was keen to find out how race fit i was and to carry on with the pleasing season i had last year.  My race started at 6.45am and my target of 8hrs was very ambitious but that's just me.

The lake was cold but warmer than expected and i was pleased with a solid swim and trying to hold back a little as it was going to be a long day.

T1 was a little slow as i decided to kit up in warmer clothing for the 80 mile bike as it was cold and windy. The first half mile i decided just to spin the legs and re fuel in readiness for some serious biking. The miles came and went and was pleased with a trouble free 80 miles in 3hrs 53 mins. (in 25 mph winds).  I was hoping i had not pushed to hard on the bike so my legs could push out a reasonable 20 mile run.

I was delighted to feel very comfortable and even happier to pick off so many runners, i made sure i used all the aid stations to refuel and hydrate.

The run was quite boring with long empty roads and it was hard to keep the mind going, however i did know i was going well in the race which was enough to keep me focused and pushing.

I was delighted to finish the race and even more delighted to finish in the top 10 overall and 2nd in my age category and beating my target by 17 mins. Total time 7hrs 42 mins including transitions.

Even more pleasing this showed me my training has been good over the winter and my overall fitness is good and my targets for sub 11hr ironman is realistic and on schedule.

I now look forward to my next Triathlon (Weymouth half ironman) in 3 weeks that's a sea swim so hope it warms up soon.

Little gem of a race yesterday, small field, familiar hills from the Oakley 20 route, nice friendly atmosphere and good to see the flyers presence increasing year on year!

It was a beautiful day for a run - around the lovely rolling countryside of west Northamptonshire.

The route was two loops from Farthingstone - the first of 15 miles to the east took in 3.5 mile of the Grand Union canal, with the water shimmering in the morning sun & my first sight this year of an orange tip butterfly.

The second to the north west was much hillier (with some lovley views) and well over 11 miles. I measured it as 12.5 - so we did 27.5 miles in all.

What an evening, the sun was out, no wind and a perfect temperature, ideal conditions for biking, not like the last couple of weeks where I have been fighting, wind, rain, tornadoes and hurricanes (ok, maybe slightly exaggerating there) but with the British weather recently, it has certainly felt like it!

All the usual Monsters were there, until I turned up (Capt Slow) but hey, one must remember this is a race against yourself, so why am I now tying a jet engine to my bike……..(don’t tell work, I’m sure the aircraft can still fly with one engine)

Had a fairly decent warm up and then headed my way to the start. The first 4 miles to the main T-junction are probably the hardest 4 miles of course, believe me its tough, the first hill doesn’t seem much until your right on it, then it hits you, after that your free to burn up the miles.

After getting through the toughest part, I tried to keep a good rhythm and decent speed, but I felt I over cooked it at the start (so what’s new)

The last hill had come and gone, my recovery was pretty quick and I gave it everything, whacked it in top gear and just pumped it as hard as I could, managed to break my speed record as well.

Coming past the hill, still pumping away, I was feeling terrible, I was in the “TRI aero” position and literally bottom off the seat as though I was running, I was absolutely giving it everything I could.

My speed dropped as I got near the end and just had to keep up as much as I could. Coming up to the finish I could not believe my eyes, the time keeps had got up and were walking back to the club house, I shouted at them “last one” followed by my number to which the look on their faces was just as shocking as mine.

Back at the club house there was slight confusion as someone had apparently called out my number, realising I had my number on the back of my jacket, there was no argument. I had also timed myself they took this down, I should have asked them to keep the original…………………..results should be interesting.

I wanted anything under 40mins, so for the first TT of this year, not bad, my aim of 35mins should be completed later this year

The final long run before a three week taper. Hurrah. This was a much busier event than the previous day’s marathon, organised very well by Halstead road runners. I would guess there were about 800 runners. It was dry and warmer than Orpington and probably just about ideal marathon running temperature. I ran it two years ago when the temperature was scorching and this was much better. The course itself is best described as undulating most of the way, as opposed to hilly on roads in mostly open country. We ran past loads of way markers across fields and I just about resisted the urge to dive off onto one of them to see where I ended up. Again there were lots of water stations and encouraging marshals that meant running without the need for a bottle or watch. Mind you, the sausage roll someone gave me at 18 miles did go down very well I must admit. We did have to loop once, but that meant we went past one particularly good spectator point 4 times which gave something to look forward to.

At the start of the race I was surprisingly energetic and even said to Richard that if we ran steady and got to 20 feeling as good as yesterday, we could pick it up for the last 6. Unfortunately early on, Robbie had an injury which slowed him down and would eventually lead to him dropping out at halfway, which was very sensible. The last time I tried to run through an injury in a race, I was out for 7 weeks. RJ and I pushed on and found Paul Barton doing his 9th marathon in 9 weeks I think. It became clear my energetic plans were fading and the fast last 6 miles gave way to a sensible last 5 with a quicker last mile. As we had set out so conservatively, apart from the water stops no one over took us and always from mile 20 on we took over a lot of the field which given we had run one the day before was somewhat surprising and probably made us run a bit quicker. On both days we had no idea of the time and ran on feel, so it was a nice surprise to get in under 4 hours for both and by someway for this one.

At least my lad asked this time how it went and showed some interest. Trouble is that was only number 27 and still have 73 to go! Am now on taper, before a little matter of a 104 miler at the end of the month.

Bit of a grey morning, but a pleasant run over a very flat course. Lots of support from the locals and very well organised with nearly 1700 runners negotiating a narrow start/finish through Higginson Park. Quite a few very quick athletes competing - including Hayley Yelling. The rest of us followed on at a more leisurely pace!!

Nice to see both Pete and Dawn Bird putting in some excellent times.

As I had read that the course was fairly hilly at Bleinheim Palance, I wasn't expecting any record breaking times. The weather was overcast but not raining and fairly nice conditions for running. It was quite a carnival atmosphere as a large majority of the runners were unattached entries. The start wasn't that well organised, and as I was quite near to the back I spent about 10 minutes dodging people, after we eventually got going. The course was as described, undulating, however when you spend some of your time running around Ampthill Park it wasn't too bad. Mainly paved with some rocky bumpy road through the woods. Well marked out and a good reception at the finish, with chip timing and a goody bag absolutely full of energy replacement products (which I didn't feel I needed after only 7K). I was really pleased with my time as it is only my fifth week back running after whats seems ages off with an injury. Would recommend it for a family day out as you can wander round the grounds for free (outside the palace) after the race.

The final long training weekend saw me and the two other ultrateers head off to Orpington for the first of two marathons, on a cold, wet and miserable day. This was a low key event organised by an individual who was raising money for the Footsteps Charity, with the assistance of the local round table and church volunteers. As such, we weren’t expecting a well oiled race organised by a running club, which was emphasised by the notes for the race which basically had a toilet stop halfway around in someone’s house! Never the less, there was a nice atmosphere and a reasonable turnout of about I would guess 70-80. The route was pretty boring, with two laps of the outskirts of Orpington. However, that meant there were lots of water stops and very enthusiastic marshals, who were a real credit to the race. Even the constant drizzle in the second half wasn’t a problem.

We decided to take it easy and ran the first half comfortably, without any watches (or for that matter food and water bottles for the whole race). Things were going fine until Mr.Craigs gastro belching led to a pit stop at the house in question. There was a marshal outside, but it wasn’t his gaff. We think the owners knew their house was being used, but Ricard Jones and I walked a bit up the road just in case, leaving Robbie at their mercy! He clearly took full advantage of the toilet break and must have cooked them some breakfast the time he took, or else he really did have a dicky botty. Either way, that was about the highlight of the race which was mostly on busy main roads that weren’t closed at all. We crossed a lot of traffic lights and caught some strange looks from the public. There was also a half and 10k, which started 2 ½ hours after the marathon on the same route which meant a busier finish, with still plenty of tea, coffee cakes etc available. On the whole, a good event although not a PB race. When I got home, my son didn’t even realise for an hour I had run a marathon. I might just be running too much me thinks!

This was our final “hard weekend” at the end of four weeks of silly training, before a three week taper leading up to out 105 miler at the end of May.

It was Saturday so it must be Orpington. This was advertised as a multi-terrain marathon so I was a bit put out when the multi-terrain consisted of about 800m of off road running and the rest was running a 2 lap course around the streets of Orpington. It was organised by a local church to support their charity “Little Feet” which raises money to keep kids off the street in Kenya. It was obviously very low key right from our arrival when we were told that there were toilets at number 79. The house next to the church was 147 and when there wasn’t a queue for the loos number 79 didn’t seem to matter much any more.

We started about ten minutes late and set off at a steady pace. Not wearing watches we didn’t have a clue about time and as we didn’t see any mile markers we didn’t have a clue how far we had run, apart from the fact that we hadn’t yet completed the first lap. At least when we passed near the start we knew we must have done about 13 miles. Things were going quite well and I think we were starting to pick up the pace. The race was well supported by marshals and numerous water stations. We stopped at one of the water stations where we’d had a chat with the couple manning it on the first way round. Robbie complained about stomach cramps. Paul and I said don’t worry we’ll walk up this short hill and you can catch us up. When we got to the top of the hill Robbie still hadn’t caught up and we looked behind and we couldn’t see him anywhere. He thought he must be behind the hedge at the water station, but after a few minutes longer we were starting to get a bit puzzled. I must say we were standing in a very pleasant road with very desirable houses. One particularly pleasant double fronted house had number 105 on the door. The penny dropped and a theory was planted in my mind. I started counting the houses back down the hill and finally realised what had happened. So the first time in my life I started running back along a marathon course and Robbie emerged, fully serviced, just before I reached number 79.

The race progressed and Robbie was starting to find the pace a bit stiff. I really fancied a fast last 6 miles but resisted as we had to hold something back for the morrow, but Paul and I picked the pace up and finished quite strongly. Robbie must have had a good last 6 miles as well and came in with stomach cramps not far behind. Robbie then proceeded to chat up some of the upstanding members of the congregation and seemed to be getting on very well with a 75 year old woman who told him, “Seeing all these bare chests, reminds me of my days in the rugby club when all the payers used to run through the bar with nothing on apart from a towel on their head and we had to guess who they were.” She didn’t get on to her desire to relive her past, but it was definitely time to go.

Sunday, so it must be Halstead and another road marathon. Robbie was keen to do his own thing as he wasn’t sure about a few niggles he had, so I set off with Paul, slowly at first and after about 6 miles I felt as though I had run about 18. Remarkably I didn’t feel any worse for the next twelve miles and we started to crank it up. As we approached half way we realised we were on for a sub 4 hour marathon, having been given a distance time update by the ever present Paul Barton at about 12 miles.

We pushed on and just got quicker as the race went on. We both found 18-22 miles difficult but a sausage roll at about 22 seemed to do the trick and we ran hard to the finish. Paul was particularly strong at the end, but I just about managed to hang on.

Don’t tell Brian Layton, but Robbie did not finish as he wisely didn’t push his injury.

I wasn't expecting much from this race and when I arrived with Richard Jones, he seemed a little surprised that it was a road marathon as RunnersWorld had stated it was multi-terrain. In reality there was a 1/4 mile stretch that was off-road, the rest of the course was very urban. and involved pounding the pavements, stopping at zebra crossings and traffic lights and keeping a wary eye out for traffic.

I'm not sure why I enjoyed this race so much, I suspect a lot of has to do with the people that were running it, They were all so keen and the number of marshalls and the frequency of water/iso stops was far more than I'm used to for this sort of event. In addition the out and back 2 lap course course had a long slow downhill on the return. , which suited my running perfectly and for a while even found myself in front of Messrs Owen and Jones. Unfortunately they soon tagged me back and later I had to stop for 5 minutes due to stomach cramps (too much porridge?) which persisted through the last 8 miles of the race. The final mile was a steep uphill, which really hurt, so to still clock 3h:58m while feeling ill, stopping for traffic and walking part of the way , then end up only 6 or 7 minutes behind Richard and Paul was a great result.

By the way, the race was free to enter, but there was a suggested charitable donation. In the end I had to concede the race was worth a lot more than the suggested tariff and stumped up accordingly. Sometimes its suprising and even difficult to say just what makes a race special, but I have to admit, this is one I'll remember.

PS Yes I did run the Halsted & Essex marathon next day, but the less said about that the better

A perfect evening at Silverstone, No wind, great temperature and a wonderful field, had a stunning run, surprised even myself, great to see Richard Wilson’s return to road racing, and a the forever positive Richard Pillinger.

Thanks for your words of encouragement guy’s, and again the coaches for there endless work to improve us all, THANKS

To place matters in context Phil has notched the 4th quickest 10K time for an East Region Athlete this year and is second only to B&C's Owain Matthews who recorded a 30:47 pb at Eastleigh in March.

As a rule I don't do 5 or 10k because they kill me!!! However as I work across the road from the track at Force India F1 Team, I thought it would be rude not too. I first ran this event in my early years as a Flyer, which was nearly 10 years ago :-( I always remember it being a fast one and I was right it's still fast!!!!!!! With my legs still hurting from the Oxon 20 I managed a PB of 55:06...not bad for someone who hates short runs.

The Great Weston 5 lives up to its name I decided today. Running through beautiful Northamptonshire countryside on a mix of road and farm tracks and paths you can almost not notice the ups and downs, of which there were loads – including a notorious climb right at the end. I did notice them, though, despite the drum rolling at the start and end and words of encouragement written on the tracks like ‘real athletes run – they don’t play games’ and ‘runners do, others watch’. And so finished in 47.06 (their time on clock at end) slap bang in the middle of the Weston May Day Fair - where there were lamas and bouncy castles to entertain us. I did feel a slight twinge of guilt for not doing the Flitton Flit this year but as my mum lives near Weston and wanted to do it for her birthday treat I was persuaded to join her. (She’s lucky, my mum.) And it’s a good race to go for if you’re fast because the winners get a barrel of beer, allegedly. I got a t-shirt and a nice medal.

Last weekend marked the start of the season Tri Season for many of us:

On Sunday I had ago at the Beds Sprint ( County Champs)

This was an opportunity to get a feel for the multi discipline race environment, get comfortable with the TT bike set up again and generally just test the water (metaphorically speaking).

Conditions were awful - amongst the worst I have ever experienced in a Tri - driving cold winds and wet slippery road surfaces.

Despite this I was able to claim first place in my age group V40 and finished 13th overall ( possibly aided by absence of the usual contenders Kieran Lewis and Steve Mac)....still I’ll take it while I can.

I was very please with my run split @18.21 for 5k (winter running miles have definitely helped) but the bike needs work – the 400m swim was OK approx. 6.40 excluding run to the chip mat.

We definitely had a record turnout from the club for this event. I think 3 did the 40 miles, while I opted for the shortened version, and over 15 did the 20!

Lots of bluebells, cherry blossom and even an Orlando Bloom.

Daayyyy 384 in the big brother ultra training huse. If its a Saturday, it must be long distance running day, and so it was. Me and the two ultrateers packed our very worn out daps and headed off to Henley on Thames for what promised to be a very long day out following last weeks marathons. We were all surprisingly OK and not fazed by the days running ahead. This was a Long Distance Walkers Association event, which welcomed runners. It had a 20 mile route, with a 40 mile as well using the same checkpoints, with 3 extra loops from checkpoints 1, 3 and 5 which was a clever use of resources. There was a staggered start, with the early walkers going off at 7am. As a result, we started with just a few runners at 9.23am, with a plan to run slowly, walk the hills and eat a lot at all the checkpoints. The scenery was superb all the way, with the route covering the Chiltern Way. At least 95% was off road and there were many, many stiles, hills, valleys, animals, magnificent country homes, cricket matches, woods, trails and at least 20 plus Flitwick Flyers walking the 20 mile route. It was a nice surprise at around 7 miles to catch up with Goldi, a gaggle of gorgeous gals and Sedgers at the first checkpoint who was also running the 40 but who had started earlier. At checkpoint 3, Ann mentioned she had seen Orlando Bloom walking in the woods ( as did another runner), to which Ricardo Jones replied, who he? The boy has got the makings of a fine Judge, me thinks.

There was a lot of food and drink at the checkpoints, which we consumed with gusto. We wanted to use this as a gauge for our 104, which is now less than 4 weeks away. I found out that lots of sugarery cups of tea are a must, I hate marmite sandwiches and that we are going to have to climb a huge amount in Scotland. This was a very well organized event, the route description was spot on (we did it all without a map and just using written instructions), no medal but certificate in the post, as much food as you wanted all the way with a great cooked dinner at the end. All for the princely sum of £8. This was an exceptionally good value event, on a different planet experience wise to London marathon the weekend before and a very enjoyable long distance training run with no pressure at all. A half marathon midweek and two more marathons at the weekend beckon for me this week and then the taper. So far, not had any letters from a divorce lawyer which is also a bonus.

ORLANDO, A DOG AND A BEVY OF BEAUTIES

For those of you who have ever walked or run the Henley 20 or 40 you will know you are guaranteed to see a whole plethora of differing flora and fauna. So it proved this year when on Sat 1st May a whole squadron of the Flyers finest completed either the 20 mile or 40 mile routes through some of the best countryside England has to offer.

I was very fortunate to be accompanied by 11 lady Flyers (yes boys that is right 11. Well if you have it, why deny it I always say) and one sterling dog. We also saw on route a number of Flyers Nutters namely, Paul Owen, Richard Jones, old Salty Nuts himself Robbie Craig and the indomitable Dave Sedgley powering around the 40 mile course.

However myself and the majority of my lady chums (Val von Arx, Sue Weir, Annie Page, Jenny Pedder, Ann de Winter, Leslee-Anne Dawe and Good Dog Leo) adopted a more sedate pace and enjoyed all that the countryside had to offer. There were those more fleet of foot, namely Pat Godfrey, Ann Clarkson, Chris Inskip, Lisa Bassett and Wendy Thompson who favoured a speedier pace and powered on ahead.

Ah, and what did this superior pace bring? Disappointment I have to say, in that is so doing they missed the sighting of the day, in the shape of a Hollywood Superstar, one Orlando Bloom!!!

Now I have to confess when this gentleman and his minder strolled past with a couple of dogs I paid them no heed. But when Ann de Winter went all of a quiver and started fluttering I did think that for a moment we had espied an especially exotic breed of duck or similar (Ann I should hasten to add is our resident identifier of all things fluttery). No it was aforesaid Mr Bloom.

Well it beats going all orgasmic over yet another bunch of b....y bluebells, or ahhing over lunch in the making in the shape of lambses (although they were a little short in number this year), or gasping at the magnificent red kites that hovered above us, but I did feel a twinge of jealousy. In other words what does Mr Bloom have that I don’t!!! (No replies to this please, as my ego has taken enough of a battering).

So with excitement like this to propel us forward, the remaining 10 miles or so flew by. Well actually they didn’t, but all credit to everyone who finished especially the Henley Virgins (you know who you are) who were completing this magnificent Long Distance Walkers Association event for the first time.

Next year the 40 and perhaps I can rustle up Kate Winslet for the boys – yeah! yeah!

Yours sore of foot

I'm only writing this report because out of all the lovely ladies from Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers who did Oxon 20 GOLDI forgot about me in his report!!!!! Goldi I forgive you :-)

Our aim was not about time it was more about running/walking 20 miles and enjoying ourselves and that's exactly what myself, Chris, Lisa, Wendy, Ann and Pat did. Loved every bit and would do it again...Fab day, Fab event!!!!

Distances: 1st Run:10 KM, Bike:40 KM, 2nd Run: 5 KM

Phil Holland First in 1.46.54secs (36 seconds ahead of the second place athlete).

After qualifying for this race last year, it was always on my radar, but an unsuccessful start to the multisport calendar meant I decided to focus on my running rather than Duathlon for this season (still am), but after Tim Harris gave me some wise words I confirmed my entry.

For a major race I was very relaxed, I was there to enjoy the atmosphere created by the GB Team at these events, and the great racing always being displayed, not to pin my season on, so I stepped up to the start.

The 1st Run was steady, staying with the front pack on the 10k Run, Transition was smooth and found myself quite fresh on bike, 40km later I had slipped down the field to 4th but only 30 seconds behind Bouchette the French No.1, transitioned well and my favorite bit the 5km sprint to the finish, I picked up lee Cauldren (GBR) out of transition, then the German Athlete, I could see Bouchette returning on the 1st of 2 laps, I’d already taken 15 seconds out of him and he looked like he was working hard, I pushed on to an eruptive crowd taking the No.1 spot at the end of the 1st lap, the next 2.5k felt ever so long, I new all I had to do was maintain my pace, Knee’s driving stay relaxed, drop my shoulders, work the arms…. The last 100m was fantastic as we re-entered Stanislas Sq for the last time, the crowd had grown, the noise was unbelievable, I had a GB flag tossed at me as I crossed the line, quite possibly the most emotional finish yet.

My Thanks as always goes to my Wife, Nutritionist & Physio Nik, without Nik I wouldn’t have the support to train as I do, and of course the fantastic coaches at AFF, the training sessions, support and encouragement you give me pushes me forever harder.

A Big thanks to you All.

Well as a London reject I thought I'd trot over to Germany to sample the beer and run a marathon at the same time, as my times generally have been improving recently I felt confident I could comfortably achieve a 4:15 marathon as i'd heard it was nice and flat I put a bit of pressure on myself had A MONTH off the beer and attached myself to the 4:15 pace makers with the bouncy green balloons to help achieve my goal.

Initially i wondered if I'd chosen the right game plan, perhaps I had over egged it and set off too fast?, I wasn't used to this pace in a marathon and dreaded hitting that so far elusive wall. the first 5k was challenging but comfortable and I obviously found my rhythm as I managed to lose the bouncy green balloons at the next water station, kept looking around every now and then but they were nowhere to be seen:-)

Pretty uneventful as i maintained my 5 minute lead on target all the way through the markers, i think it helped a bit that it was in German (KM markers) it confused my brain enough to not count the miles, and you probably know what happens when you start trying to do calculations in your head when its all fuzzy!

At 32k, with only 10k to go I knew I was almost there, kept telling myself only 6 miles, but previous experience shows they are often longer than the previous 20, therefore kept on expecting to feel terrible, yippee that didn't really happen until 5k from the end and by that point I knew I could simply hang on and let the adrenalin finish me off. In true flyers fashion I even managed a sprint finish to try and get in under 4:10 but didn't quite manage it - not too bothered thou as I'd already obliterated my PB by 20 minutes.

As you could imagine was gagging for a beer and my spirits were raised when i saw a tent giving away free beer to all finishers - I felt cheated to discover it was alcohol free, but refreshing none the less (and i made up for it later which was probably more sensible)

To sum up - bloomin hot, excellent race, well organised, friendly, shame not more brits taking part, good transport links, good support from spectators.

Oh and it rained all day Monday so had to spend the day shopping - ho hum :-)

So, 364 days after running my first marathon, I ran my last! Luckily the hot weather warning did not materialise, and at 9:30 I was huddled, shivering in my pen in the pouring rain. However, this was preferable to watching Robbie liberally applying Vaseline to every imaginable part of his anatomy – don’t ask!

As we started moving forward to the start I ran my quickest part of the race back to the toilets, 5 mins before the start! Relieved, I dashed back to the start and gradually moved to the start. This section of the race was not as slow as I thought it would be and I quickly settled into an 8:30 pace, lapping up the atmosphere. A brief chat with Richard Jones at around 3 miles settled me down a bit and I concentrated on keeping my pace.

The conditions got a bit humid so taking on water was important. I glided through 5 miles and before I knew it I was through 10 miles. I was feeling so good I had to concentrate hard to remember to take my gels every 5 miles. The crowds were shouting loud, and at one point a group chanted my name over and over again. To be honest I was struggling emotionally not physically at this point.

No sooner had I got myself together then Tower Bridge appeared, and the crowds were sensational. This was the high point of my race, I felt on top of the world, cruising along with thousands cheering and shouting! How could I ever get tired with this crowd willing me on. I crossed half way bang on my target, but by 15miles things were getting tough already! It wasn’t long before the mile markers were getting further and further apart. The ‘brick’ on my wrist was still telling me that I was maintaining 8:30 per mile pace, which was just ok for a sub 3:45. However.... I was actually running further than the mile markers suggested, because in the crowds I was running wide of the racing line a lot.

Through Docklands, my legs really hurt! Still 8 miles left!! The crowds were shouting, but all I wanted to do was stop. I didn’t, and somehow the miles were eaten up and I staggered through 24, by pouring cold water on my hamstrings and calves managed to keep the pain down. I missed a couple of water stations late on which didn’t help.

Too late I checked the distance on my Garmin and realised that despite my pace I was too slow for a sub 3:45 and to be honest by this stage I just wanted to finish. That I did, just 17 seconds inside my PB from last year. My Garmin clocked 27 miles, and had I run 26.2 I would just have broken 3:45. Ah well, same for most people I guess.

I was too tired at the end to feel anything other than relieved it was over. The memory of running over London Bridge will remain with me for ever, and running two marathons is an achievement that no one can take away from me.

A massive well done to everybody who ran a marathon this weekend. And thanks to the ‘Saturday Crew’ for helping me through my brief but rewarding marathon career. Keep on running.

It’s been bugging me for years that when you tell someone that you are a runner the first question is “have you done the London marathon?”. So, in a fit of enthusiasm I entered the ballot for 2010, was rejected but got the first reserve club place. In February Pat Godfrey decided that she’d struggle to use her club place and made an early decision to pass the place to me, I was already on a marathon training plan but the place in London certainly focussed my attention on the task in hand.

I travelled down on the early train from Flitwick, with Robbie Craig, Keith Morgan, Jeremy Lewis, Val Von Arx and Julie Hodgson-Smith. We picked up Shelley in Harlington and headed down to London. It was really good travelling in a team, having a good natter on the journey. We were all at the blue start, so found a place on the grass and then checked out the toilet facilities.

It started raining at about 9am, but I wanted to get a good place in my start pen so I stripped off and went and shivered for half an hour until the rain stopped. With 15 minutes to go the start pen marshals told us “we’ll leave you to it now, have fun” and they took away the divider so that we could filter into the next pen. That happened with the other pens and when we were ready for the start I could see the start gantry and it only took a couple of minutes to cross the line.

After about a mile I found Tim Hunt and Richard Jones running together, so joined them to run together. Richard wanted to take it easy, so encouraged Tim and me to head onwards. We headed off together and ran most of the way to Tower Bridge together, saying hello to Paul Owen along the way. Tim then got a few places ahead in the crowd and I couldn’t pull him back so I decided to stick on my own for a bit.

Just after Tower Bridge the 23-mile point crossed the 13-mile marker. I saw the top 5 runners go by with all the motorcycle outriders. Those guys really motor along! That encouraged me to press ahead and I was going well until a slow mile with the twists and turns of Docklands slowed my pace. After mile 18 I was really counting down to the end, praying for each mile marker to come into view so that I’d be closer to the finish.

I saw Tim again at about 21 miles and pulled up to him at about 22 miles. We were both running out of gas and just gasped out “I’m knackered, how about you?” as we met.

Lots of people were taking walk breaks, or completely collapsing by this point but I decided that I was going to run every step without any breaks. I kept thinking of one of our juniors who is quite tiny and for her the 2-mile cross-country races are a real challenge but she has real determination and always finishes. If she can do it then I was determined to do it too.

I suppose I should have been encouraged by the 800m to go banner, but was so knackered that 800 still seemed a long way. I tried to smile as I crossed the line, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired before. I was quite misty-eyed as I collected my medal, really pleased with what I’d achieved.

When I reached the meeting-point for ‘B’ I was glad to see Martin Beare and the Boxfit crew, as I wasn’t very well and collapsed in a heap while I tried to take on sugary drinks and some grub. Robbie also joined us and it was nice to have a couple of mates to keep an eye out for me as Annette was stuck by the tube and took a while to reach me.

If you ever have the chance to run the London Marathon then do it, just once.

Thanks to those who sponsored me, I’ve raised over £500 from cash donations and online sponsorship for the Alzheimer’s Society.

As for me, I’ll just say ‘never again’.. probably.

This came at the end of a week of high mileage for me, when I ran the most I have ever run in 7 days including a 20 mile run the day before as part of my 104 mile ultra training schedule. The lactic acid build up was evident in my legs even walking to the station, which was the intention as I am learning to run a long way on very tired pins. Never the less, I wasn’t looking forward to this one and could have fallen asleep on the train. That was a pity as I had waited 6 years to get in. My lack of enthusiasm wasn’t helped by the cold morning and rain whilst we were standing around. Luckily, there were lots of other Flyers around who were bouncing around with added excitement. I made my way to the start line and bumped into Paula James and after a brief chat, I realised that this wasn’t just another long training run and that I really should try to enjoy the experience. My aims were to run as far as I could and try to get in less than 4 hrs 30mins. As time wasn’t an issue for me, I settled into the pace straight away and didn’t start bobbing and weaving all over the place to gain spaces. It was clear that unless you were at the very front of the pen or in the Good for Age pen, this wasn’t going to be a PB race as there are so many people around you all the way. Unlike other races that open out after the start, this was crowded all the way and some weaving is inevitable particularly at the end when people slow down. The crowds were truly fantastic in the support they gave the runners and were the best I have ever witnessed. They were often 2 or 3 deep for long sections as a minimum, but in places this was much more. At Canary Wharf, there must have been 12 -15 deep in sections. The noise in places was tremendous and this did give me a big lift.

My legs were heavy all the way, but they didn’t give in to cramp or any muscle pull which I was half expecting. I settled into a very comfortable pace and didn’t even try to respond when Jeremy and Tim eased past around mile 4. I kept on repeating to myself this was a training run and time didn’t matter, but if I get in again, I will do this for a time if I can get in the GFA pen as the crowd clearly helps you. I found myself expecting to slow down, but I didn’t and for the very first time ever, I did a negative split for the two halves, running the second one two minutes quicker than the first. I was able to run all the way, save a very short wee stop and found myself feeling quite good at the end. For long sections I didn’t bother looking at time and just ran on feel, which lead to very close 10k splits all the way. I didn’t notice once that the balloon arches were mile markers and couldn’t understand why there weren’t any! I wasn’t even sure when we went through halfway! I was very surprised to find myself coming to the end well under 4 hours, overtaking a lot of people and actually getting quicker. As a result of all the above, I ended up really enjoying the day and will be entering the ballot again as soon as it opens in May, which is something I thought I wouldn’t be doing at the start. The best city marathon I have run in terms of crowd participation, very flat course although a little devoid of interest in places which is made up for by the atmosphere. Organisation was superb, didn’t have to do any map reading which was a bonus, nice medal although would have preferred a technical t-shirt to the cotton one we were given and a very nice finish down Pall Mall ( or at least I think it was Pall Mall! ). Found a very disappointed Ed at the end, had a sarnie and easily made our way home despite the crowds. Hope every else did what they wanted, particularly the first timers.

Highlights of the VLM for me were:

· Seeing Princess Beatrice (I'm easily pleased)

· Getting a good sponging from the gravity defying Daily Sport Dollies; I think they wanted to talk about the election, but I may have misheard

· Martin Beare's shiny lycra Union Jack running shorts

· The crowd shouting my name (yep I had it big and bold on my vest)

· Clocking another sub 4h road marathon

· Offering Jeremy Bell a lick of my salty nuts (cashews) after the race

· Jeremy's subsequent psychadelic yawn

· Having a nice cup of tea when I got home

Once again i was privileged and delighted to take part in this race, it never ceases to amaze me the support that the crowds give. Its so nice to be surrounded by decent nice people ie the runners raising money for charities and the thousands lining the streets willing everyone to finish.

I personally was using the race as a building block to my Ironman distance races (iam now entered in 2 ironman races in the same week Switzeland then UK Ironman 7 days later.

I had a trouble free race apart from stopping at mile 25 (big ben) and was sick as a result of a last push to get 3.30.00 instead i lost time in my effort.

I have found my running has suffered in the last 2 years as my training has to be split 3 ways (swim,bike,run) however my overall fitness is much improved. I finished the race in good shape and a smile on my face as i enjoyed the day out in every aspect.

I met up with almost all the Flyers at both the start and finish and some creditable times were achieved well done you Flyers.

My finishing time was 3.37.04

KEBEDE NARROWLY BEATS NICK JONES BY 48 MINS AT LONDON

After preparing for this race over the past 18 months the day finally arrived. Didn’t need the alarm to go off at 4:45 as I was awake by 3:00am anyway. After running at London in 2008 it was my target to go under the three hour mark this year and a consistant weekly average of over 50 mpw with weeks of up to 80 miles had hopefully brought the lifelong running ambition into a distinct possibility. Luckily the achilles problem I had suffered from in March had cleared dramatically. Had mixed emotions ; I was so nervous as I dreaded the thought of putting in all the effort, only to fall short on the day yet on the other hand excited knowing I was in the best form of my life.

Drove down to London along with Ady, his friend Mark, Kieron & Paula. Upon arriving at Blackheath around 7:30am we split up into our various starts. It certainly wasn’t the hot start we were expecting. It turned positively chilly and about 10 minutes before we were due to start lining up the heavens opened. Unfortunately the tents were jam packed so we had cover ourselves the best we could outside.

My plan was to go though to 20 miles in 6:30 pace (2hr 10m), try to maintain a good pace for the next 3 miles and hopefully have enough in the bag for the last 3.

The countdown began and at 9:45 we were on our way. First mile was quite congested and this helped to contain my normal fast start. (6:28). Managed to get into a rhythm and the next few miles were slightly above pace at around 6:20’s but still felt comfortable, although the thought of continuing the pace over 26 miles was a bit daunting. The crowds yet again were fantastic and the atmosphere electric.

Saw Steve James at the Cutty Sark around 7 miles and this gave a welcome boost. Went through 10 miles in 64 mins, bang on schedule. I knew that Nicky & Matt would be at Bermondsey around 11.5 miles and when I saw the big Welsh flag in the distance gave me an added spur. So on over Tower Bridge which was a fantastic experience, you really got the feel of being in a major city race. The atmosphere and encouragement was unbelievable. Still running strongly, managed to maintain the tempo from 14 – 20 although this was the hardest part of the race knowing that I had to maintain the pace until 20 in order to give myself a fighting chance in the latter miles.

It is such a boost to see friendly faces in the crowd and seeing Ischelle and Mark’s wife gave me the encouragement I dearly needed. I reached the 20 mile mark in 2:10:30 which was bang on target. This gave me 55mins to do 10k so as long as I kept up a decent pace the goal was on. Mile 21 I dropped from 6:30 average to 6:50 and subsequently 6:56’s for mile 22 & 23. The legs were beginning to tire but I knew from 23 that I had 29 minutes to do the final 3 and a bit miles.

Although the quads were beginning to scream and a slight tightness in the left calf managed a 6:25 24th mile but then the tiredness kicked in as I slowed dramatically to do mile 25 in 7:40, passing in 2:45 so I had 15 minutes to do the last mile and a bit. Still, with the body at it’s very limit I could not manage one iota of self congratulation as I was painfully aware of how things can suddenly fall apart. Kieron had passed me twice and looked very strong although I knew he had obviously had a problem. Saw Rob & Jane and this really helped. Just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

As I passed Westminster the crowds were brilliant, having your name called out and the shouts of encouragement were so uplifting. Again I looked out for the Welsh flag where I knew Nicky & Matt would be ; it seemed an age before I caught sight of it in the distance. The sub 3 was there and I must admit to being a tad emotional when I passed them with 800m to go. I saw Kieron struggling with cramp at that moment and it just hit home how difficult the last miles can be. Fortunately he managed to get going again.

The feeling rounding the corner and seeing the finish line was absolutely magnificent, all those long cold, icy and dark long runs during the winter suddenly paled into insignificance, knowing that you have achieved your lifelong ambition., with 100 yards to go. Although I had envisioned this moment and told myself to keep calm in case of a sudden muscle pull I couldn’t help myself. So much so that with all the punching the air and trying to put on a “fast” finish that 5 metres from the line I did feel a pull in my right hamstring but luckily crossed the line in 2:53:48., and obliterated my PB by 10 minutes.

So pleased for Ady who managed a brilliant time considering injury & sporadic training, making up for his nightmare last year.And congratulations to all the other Flyers that raced London and Shakespeare, especially the first timers, who all showed great determination and resilience in completing the distance.

This was an LDWA alternative to running the boring streets of London.

With 4,000 feet of climb it was also a bit tougher!

And although it was listed as only 27 miles several people came back after with between 28 and 28.5 on their GPS!

Their would also have been some fantastic views from various points on the South Downs Way, including 4 of the Seven Sisters cliffs - but we had a lot of mist on the tops, and a chill wind at times.

So although I would have liked to be a couple of minutes quicker I was quite please to finish in 7 hours 2 minutes.

With most of my Saturday Morning Club brethren (and sisteren - is that a word?) off on their 26.2 jaunts on Sunday, I felt that I had to somehow support them in some way or another, so I decided that the best way would be....to run a 5K.

I feel like a bit of a fraud submitting this with what lay in store for them on Sunday, but with my last serious race being the FLM exactly a year ago, I had to start somewhere!

This friendly, very low-key event I would highly recommend. As long as you register before 6pm on the Friday you can run the next day and when you have registered once, you can race any parkrun location any week (Saturdays at 0900). Just turn up, run and have your email paper barcode ready for scanning at the end. Couldn't be simpler.

I competed and finished the Half Ironman in very hot conditions (80 F)

My overall time was 6 hours 40 mins 58 to finish 6th in my age group.

Swim - 1.9 km 2 laps  

PB by over 2 mins 54 mins 45 secs

Bike - 56 miles 4 laps 3 hrs 09 mins 02 secs

A bit below par performance in my strongest event, the conditions were very tough and was windy. The course included a one in 7 % hill which lasted 2km before each turn and a few technical turns. There was also a few cobbles to master aswell with temperatures rising throughout the ride. It was the first time, I even took water at the drinks stations to cool my legs down! I was also catching a few people on this section and even another lady commented on my smooth pedalling style!

Run 13.1 miles - 4 laps

What torture! with tempatures reaching 80 and may even over! I just plodded along like my usual self. But kept going, even though people I had over taken me on the bike were passing me. At this stage I was drinking pepsi just to get me through! The first drinks station also ran out of water, which didn't help, but lucky Mike was on hand with one of the drinks bottles I threw at him on the bike!

Pleased with the run time, of 2hrs28mins 57, fastest ever run time recorded at half ironman!

Finishing overall time was 6 hrs 40 mins 58 secs, (which I think is a pb at the distance)

Did raise some eyebrows with the cult racing top at breakfast!

In all an eventful event, shame about the hot conditions, at the end a free massage, with two ladies and then they had to enlist the help of another lady who looked like Helga the Bear wrestler, she was scary!

Bit red and sore, but just eaten a proper american milk shake & veggie burger! Think I deserve it, after my 4000 calories burn off!

"You've got in with a bad crowd" one of the senior coaches said to me recently.

He was right, I just didn't realise how mad, bad and dangerous to know they are. They bait you with on Saturday mornings, they hook you into running to Luton once a week and they reel you in with the prospect of your first ultra marathon (Greensands '09). Next thing you know you're doing a 27 mile circumnavigation of Bedford your training runs are over 30 miles, you've already run 4 marathons before the end of April and your race objectve for the year is to run 105 miles in under 30 hours

I really feel it takes a lack of common sense to take up ultra running; sadly I seem to be developing just this attribute. So having been too ill to work Wednesday, lived off Lemsip and Strepsils all week and failed to train for 6 days, I was stir crazy when ultra-nutter Richard Jones e-mailed me on Friday "Coventry way 40m?".

Sunday 8AM Richard Jones and I left Meriden Village hall and after 200 yards i pulled up in agony. My calves had tightened so much during those few days off that I couldn't actually run. Eventually I was able to jog and after about 8 miles and some stretching exercises, the calf pain, relented, replaced by my familiar friend 'achilles tendonitis'. Then we were flying (subject to volcanic ash) through some suprisingly attracive countryside, pretty villages, country churches, byways, canals, spinneys and manor houses. The weather was pretty much perfect the entire way and my only regret was that at no time during our 9+ hour tour of Coventry was I pain free.

Earlier, in a a fit of bravado I'd said to Richard "I don't do DNFs", he reminded me of this frequently in the last 10 miles, when I just wanted to sit down and cry, but I finished and without Richard there I know I'd have struggled... Bring on those 105 miles (maybe)

Having been injured since December with a fall at netball I decided to train for a sprint triathlon. Seemed like a good idea in January. However with the sun shining yesterday and very little wind I couldn't have hoped for better weather. After getting over the nerves of seeing all the people with the expensive bikes and gear to go with it I had a great time. The event was really well organised and the bike around the Duston area was very well marshalled. Only problem being the photographer at the top of a very steep climb. I was pleased to come away being 4th in my age group knowing that I could do much better as I really struggled on my run and could improve that by at least 5 mins. Must be mad but will be doing Henley in June ! !

Score course ( day 1, 6 hours : day 2, 5 hours)

This was the first MM of the year and we ran (or rather mostly walked & climbed) through some fabulous mountain scenery.

And as Gairloch was officially the sunniest place in Britain this weekend we came back with a suntan!

If anyone out there would like an introduction to this type of event, and fancies a 2 day walk in the hills - I'm still looking for partners for two events - one early July and one towards end of September.

Brian Layton & Ron Smith: Day 1, 260 points; Day 2, 133 points; Total 393 points. 16th overall and 2nd vet handicap.

David Sedgley & Martin Spedding: Day 1, 135 points; Day 2, 80 points; Total 215 points. 28th overall.

We had over 20 Flyers out in the sunshine for the first Club championship race of the year, the Sandy 10. Biggleswade AC were using the Flyer’s timing clock for the race and late on Saturday realised that not all the parts were in the box. A big thank you to Julie Brown for rounding up one of the engineers to open up their workshop so that I could retrieve the missing bits and make sure that everything ran smoothly on race-day.

Its easy to know where to start on the race report.. Phil Holland won the race in 53:16, several minutes ahead of anyone else. A quite awesome performance and a very worthy Club champion. Obviously none of us who ran the race saw much of Phil after the first half-mile, so I can’t add much more.

Back in the pack we were off at a fast pace, running the first mile at 5K pace before I decided to let Tony and John pull away and I eased back to have a steady race at closer to my target pace. It was nice to have a good pack of Flyers running, as most of us had battles for places with Club-mates, or at least had a target to follow and chase. I caught John at about 6 miles and pushed on to keep a gap and go after Tony. He had assured me that he’d blow up at 8 miles, so I was gradually pulling closer to him after 7 miles but he held steady and although I kept gaining on him I just couldn’t close him down and he finished some 20 seconds ahead of me to win the Vet award. I hadn’t realised that we were hotly pursued by Richard Pillinger, who was just another 20 seconds back, so just as well that I’d kept pushing to try and catch Tony.

Mike Petty took advantage of being a youngster in the V50 category to finish his first 10-miler with the Club V50 award. Just behind him Sally finished with the same time as Dave Stanley to win the ladies award (Sally won it – not Dave!).

It was great to see so many Flyers out on an almost perfect morning for running. The start is not the most scenic, in the depths of an industrial estate, and as we all huddled on the line, Phil Holland nonchalantly sauntered up - last to arrive and looking incredibly relaxed. This was the last we saw of him as he led the field home by a clear margin of several minutes (though Phil admitted that having a lead bike to follow was handy in view of his reputation for getting lost).

Tony Cole's dayglo new race shoes clearly paid off with a PB, and Sally and Dave Stanley fought each other hard for supremacy on the line ( and were given identical times). It was a few years since I'd last run this race and the long slog of a hill at 1-2 miles loomed large in my memory though fortunately it didn't seem quite so bad this time. The course then takes runners on a loop of Everton (particularly lively support at the pub - they had the right idea for a Sunday morning) and Gamlingay.

All the marshals were wearing silly hats of some sort - a small distraction from the pounding on tarmac, which was taking it's toll as I

haven't run on roads since early last summer. I was hoping to break 1h 20mins and hit the 5 mile mark in exactly 40min so knew I would have to speed up to make my target. Luckily "that hill" is in your favour on the return leg and I picked off a few tiring runners at this point, making the most of gravity assistance, and hanging on for the line in 1h 19min 24 secs, and I think 4th in my age group. Laura and Ali ( a virgin at 10 miles) also had good runs - as did Jeremy Bell and Robbie Craig (especially considering he had done 32 miles the day before).

My slowest 10 miler for some time but I was far from disappointed as I had just returned from a hard week of walking and running in the Scottish Borders. As it turned out our Club V50 Championship went right down to the wire! This was a different course to when I last ran the Sandy 10 and on that occasion arrived after the race had started, still in my car with runners coming towards me - this time I made sure I arrived on time! The race started on an Industrial estate and I lined up with Jeremy Bell and Tony Cole near the front to ensure I could settle into my own pace straightaway.

After a flat first mile we climbed out of Sandy towards Everton. By 2 Miles I was feeling knackered (15.04)but managed to settle into 7.30 mile pace and went through 5 in 37.28. The course after 2 miles is reasonable flat with few serious inclines and being out and back meant we had the nice downhill into Sandy to look forward to. At around 6 miles Sally Marsh passed me, opened up a small gap of 30 metres but as we approached the downhill section between 8 and 9 Sally was starting to come back towards me. We turned into Sunderland Road to start the long run for home, passed the park on our left and the '400 metres to go' sign when out of the blue Mike Petty comes up on my shoulder. Mike was quite clearly looking strong, but I responded and for a moment moved away from him. Mike kicked again, passed me and we both then passed Sally as we tuned for the final 100 metres sprint to the finish. Mike found another gear and kicked away passing 3 further runners to finish in 1.14.11 and a worthy winner of the Club V50 title. As we closed in on the finish Sally passed me again, I responded and we both went flat out stride for stride together and crossed the line with nothing to separate us except probably my larger stomach as they gave me the nod over Sally for 146th place overall!! What a great competitor Sally is deservingly taking our Women's club Championship and I believe finishing 7th overall in her age group. We had both run a 6.57 final mile. Up front great runs from Jeremy and Tony and a special well done to Phil Holland winning the race overall in 53.16 - over 4 minutes ahead of 2nd place. Lets see 53 minutes - ah yes i was somewhere just past the 7 mile mark at the time - a sobering thought!!

6am get up (not nice for a Sunday) gobble down some grub then head for Northampton for a lovely 60 mile bike ride (should ave stayed in bed? Na that’s defeat)

Owing to a Duathlon the week after, I wasn't going to hammer this, purely use it as a training session for the mileage (Half Iron distance).

Arrive early, set up bike and get all me food ready (practically had the entire of Tesco strapped to my bike) have a chat with the other bikers and then met up with fellow Flyer Debbie Knott who I would be biking with as she knew the route, the last thing I needed was to get lost!!!

Around 300 bikers were there, so 20 bikers were set off at two min intervals.

8:30am and we were off, as usual, the normal bunch of lunatics set off like a bullet, however, we just kept a nice simple pace throughout the journey.

The course itself took us through some known routes such as the MK Cowman and Sprint distance routes, plus the Bedford tri route, so at least some of the time I knew where we were and even better, knew where the hills were, ha that was great!

I found this biking trip more enjoyable than others because most of the time we were talking to other cyclists, it even felt like the Tour de France at one stage when everyone was together!! This also meant that the time / distance was being eaten away without realising it. I often find biking on my own soul destroying and not enjoyable, especially the long distances.

At 31 miles, we had a pit stop where we saw most of the bikers who had gone of like bullets at the start. After filing me self up with a load more fuel, we set off again, I felt pretty good even at 30 miles.

We reached 40 miles and this was perhaps when everyone started splitting up, and then around 45, we felt like the only ones on the course!

50 miles soon hit and I thought, cool, only 10 to go, and of course that’s when the wind hits and your legs feel terrible and my colourful language starts (sorry Debbie) I was literally fed up with everything, the road was very long and more boring than an episode of Eastenders and the wind was just in your face. The last 5 miles were just a nightmare.

Eventually my distance measurer hit 60 miles and I had a smile on my face, I had done it, yet for some reason I was still cycling, all I was doing was looking for the finishing sign and guess what It wasn't around!!!! Ahhhh was we lost? Had we gone the wrong way????? Na, going down one of the final roads I had a chat with "John" the camera man, How far to go I asked, "two miles, only round the corner" was the response.

The final turn and I could see the finishing line, we finished together (OK Debs in front by a sec!)

Next week it’s the MK Duathlon: (10k/40k/5k) which I’m really looking forward to!

Battersea Park hosts the annual Civil Service 10K Champs and a four lap course has huge potential because it is flat as you like and there are no tight bends.

Last year I went there with high hopes but a cottage cheese sandwich had other ideas as it cramped me on lap 3.... a real shame because I was flying.

This year was a case of unfinished business. I've been in reasonable shape and a fair wind permitting had plans to smash a Pb. Sadly, that wasn't to be the case. A sweet first lap settling into the pack and then a head wind took it's toll. I hung on for lap 2 despite the developing squall, recovered in lap 3 and was happy to finish inside the top 10. First home for my team (HASSRA) and some good packing delivered a team silver.

A little disappointed with the time but the conditions were very poor so I shall bank the silver medal and finish the business next year.... 3rd time lucky!

This is quite a small race run by Carterton Town Council and RAF Brize Norton. Not the most scenic course but fairly fast and flat. Very well organised and marshalled. Got a tshirt and a medal - handed out by the Lady Mayoress no less !! Local farm shop was runninng a very nice barbecue. 6 seconds outside last year's end of season PB so pleased with that as a first go at 10k this year.

Back home in the area of my birth and another good, well organised event apart from spectating at the finish. The race is around the affluent lanes and mansions of Cheshire. Big turn out nearly 4,000, lots of spectators and all roads on the course are closed. Winner was home in 64 mins. Rapid!!! I beat my children and their friends, so happy plus back on form with a really pleasing time of 1hr 35 . 27- A happy northerner.

An LDWA 27 mile run/walk around the oldest hills in Britain.

Steve walked this, and as it was twice the distance he'd walked since the recurrence of problems with his knee, he was really pleased to get round. I was also very pleased as I walked most of first 20 miles (at which point I'd have finished in about 7-20 at the same pace) but managed to run most of last 7 miles.

Conditions were almost perfect for this race as I joined a large field of 12,298 strangers and [as I discovered later from the results] Val Von Arx in a road next to the Madjewski Stadium. After an energetically led warm up we all got going on a grand circuit of Reading, through housing estates and the town centre, past several local bands, including a particularly noisy collection of drummers who had picked out a "echo-ey" spot in an underpass, before returning along a fairly dull stretch of dual carriageway and making a dramatic entrance into the football stadium in front of a packed crowd of several thousand. This is the only time I shall ever experience being cheered onto a football pitch and it was really quite something. In hindsight it would have been good to have waved to the masses or sprinted up to the finish, but I contented myself with just staggering over the line.

Reading is virtually flat so I think this is a fast course. I hadn't done anything like enough training but the miles seemed to pass by reasonably quickly. The event is really well organised and obviously with the bonus of a memorable finish. Local support was excellent all around the course with all the roads closed to traffic. Would definitely do this again.

I was very pleased with this, not only did I manage not to loose control and plough into someone's fence or get lost (I know the course now!) but managed to get a respectable time, although its a 12 mile, I arrived early enough to get a 12 mile warm up, which was handy! The race starts off just before the main hill and then finishes off at the top of the hill after completing one circuit

A great race, all the usual friendly bunch of bikers were there and altogether managed to cycle 30 miles which is not bad for a Sunday morning

This is great biking training for the standard distance triathlon

The North Wind did blow, and so did the South, East and West, or at least that is what it felt like. Those of you who have braved this old bomber airfield which now doubles as a motor racing track will testify to its openness and windiness. And by George did it blow. No matter in what direction one ran it always seemed to be into a head wind. When you are a plodder like me the last thing you need is anything that further slows you down.

No matter, it didn’t rain, and as always this was a very popular race, with something like 6,000 completing the course. For the Flyers it was very much a family affair with Wizzle (Leslee-Anne Dawe) and daughters Liz Yelling and Lucy Talbot all competing in the same race. It was good to see Wizzle returning to racing after a long lay off, and her daughters didn’t do too bad either, with Liz winning the Ladies race in a disgustingly fast time of 1.14.50 and finishing 3rd overall, and Lucy helping dear old Mum around.

Pat Godfrey and son Jeremy continued this family affair and returned very respectable times. I didn’t see our redoubtable Welshman (who did himself proud) but then again after the first mile I didn’t see too many people at all, other than my good mate Jenny Pedder who kept me upright all the way round and the very nice St John’s man on a bike who kept asking me if I was alright (he didn’t know how close he came to being mugged for his bike at one stage!!).

And of course my Beloved Twinkletoes who skipped around the course, felt she could have run faster, and then drove home to work a twelve hour night shift. I went home, fell into a Ruby Murray and several tins of cider and felt none the worse for it.

Next year?? Bring it on!!

Running the Silverstone half Marathon on Mothers Day, what else could you wish for! Conditions were fantastic sunny and mild, very well organised and 5750 thousand runners at the start line. Bumped into Paul and Carole Lydon, looking enthusiastic and raring to go. The start got the adrenalin going with the sound of the racing car music. Lots of support from spectators. It was a great race although extremely windy on the last couple of miles. I hobbled back to the car it was pay back time, with the dreaded plantar fascilitiis settling in.

PB by 4 seconds so pleased with that ! Very well-organised race promoted by the people who do the London Marathon. Good touches such as great mile markers with huge clocks and 330ml bottles at the drinks station. Run round the Silverstone track which is a bit of a building site at the moment in preparation for F1. 6000 plus people but its chipped and it all thins out quite quickly.

Generally good mostly flat course with a couple of inclines over bridges - parts of it are quite exposed and it was very windy. Worst bit was the last mile or so into a real headwind. Think it pays to get there early and get away early too if you can - I had heard horror stories about queues getting in and out of the Car Park but I had no problems getting it and got straight away too.

Ran this with Richard Jones and Robbie Craig as part of a training plan for a 100 mile marathon we have entered. As a result, I ran a half marathon midweek, 11 miles on Saturday with two other runs, so this race was all about endurance training and forgetting times. As it was only two miles from my house, I was tempted to run to the start but given it was mothers day and I couldn't be that long, decided against that plan. Starting time was anywhere between 9am and 10am, depending on your speed. It was very low key and laid back, which delayed us at the start whilst we caught up with a few people that we tend to see at these events. It only cost £4 to enter with a request for donations to a charity and was clearly just set up for the runners with no eye on making any profit. We set off from Boxend water skiing park at around 9.30ish on what was a cool but not cold morning. The route very quickly found off road trails that wound within spitting distance of my place and stayed on trails for the majority of the way.

At 3 miles we caught up with a woman who was towing a tyre on a rope behind her. I never really found out why, but even I thought that was a bit mad but there you go. There were around 67 people in the race, but because it wound around Bedford through trails, lanes,woods and farms, we didn't see that many people except when we overtook a few (not that many). It wasn't signposted at all by the race organizers, except the normal way markings on footpaths. However, the route description was spot on and despite lots of twists and turns, we didn't get lost once or even go slightly wrong. There were no medals or even a finish line at the end. We wandered into a tent, casually mentioned we had finished and had a cup of tea! The only downside was at the end. I realized there were 5 of us from the club and grand prix points were up for grabs. Given all my races are marathons or ultra marathons where there generally arent 5 from the club, points are non existent in my world. Having proudly graduated to the lowest league with nil points for the last two years I think, I now have scored with the unfortunate prospect of more points in London and almost unbelievably, points on offer over my 100 mile race as there are 5 of us in that. How bizarre is that!! Anyway, the Clanger is a great race to add to the Bedfordshire race calender and one that I will do again next year. As for the time, nit really sure but would guess somewhere around 4 hrs 40m, but thats a guess.

This was the first big weekend in our build up to our 100 miler at the end of May, so after a 12 mile warm up on Saturday, we headed off to Box End for the Bedford Clanger and to meet an out-take from Twin Peaks “The Tyre Lady”. For the uninitiated the Bedford Clanger is a local delicacy – a Cornish Pasty with a savoury filling at one end and a sweet filling at the other. The Tyre Lady is something else.

I arrived in good time to see Paul Barton and Alistair Gould warming up and ready to go – Paul for his 55th marathon and Alistair for his first. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Tyre Lady making her start, dragging her tyre (Ford Mondeo not Ford Fiesta) together with a white box with flowers sticking out of the box. She just smiled knowingly, which is more than you got from the Log Lady.

Messers Owen and Craig also registered to make it a Grand Prix scoring event. Paul and Alistair stared about 20 minutes before us and we finally got registered and made our move. The route was a clockwise circum navigation of Bedford and apart from a section around the south of Bedford it was really enjoyable. We made a good start and overtook a Tyre following a Lady just past Bromham. She just smiled.

The checkpoints were good with a fine selection of cake and biscuits. We ran together all the way although Robbie chose to run his own race in the last four miles. Paul and I finished feeling strong. And Robbie came in not far behind. The Tyre Lady finished feeling a bit flat. Well done to Alistair on completing his first marathon.

A good addition to the calendar and an enjoyable race.

Kathy & I were supposed to be doing the 2 day Polaris event on the Welsh borders last weekend - but it got cancelled - so we opted for this short 3 hour event instead.

It was cloudy most of the time, with a stiff wind from the west - which we ended up cycling into for the final 8K, just getting back to the finish with a few seconds to spare. I think we chose an optimum route for us as there was a really nice long bridleway halfway round, which some friends did in opposite direction and said was really tough into the wind. And our 230 points gave us first in our class (though there was only us that old!) - and second of all the mixed teams competing (our friends beat us by 10 points for top spot).

For anyone into mountain biking these are fun events. Let me know if you're interested.

A well executed plan went into action. I worked out my times for different mile makers across the route and stuck by them. With thanks to Jeremy Bell, Jeremy Lewis, Tim Hunt and Noel from Boxfit for getting me through the first 6 miles at excellent pace, unfortunately, it was just too fast for me (knowing that there was another 6 miles to go) so I had to pull back and stick by my guns. However, by this time, I was well in time for the predicted time of 1:35 / 36.

The last 3 miles were extremely tough and I was slowing down, but you have to mentally get in your head that its only 3 more miles and then its all over. Although I had that in my head, my legs were finished and there was little energy left in them.

However, saying that, I was still on course for the predicted time and thats what calmed me down, thinking I was getting worse, when actually I was bang on target.

I wanted 1:35 / 1:36 and came away with 1:34, that’s enough Half's this year, its time to get my head down for this years 5 and 10k's

Also well done to Boxfit, all the guys and girls run extremely well! Brilliant job everyone, in particular Steve Morales, his training has been awesome and it showed here with an excellent 1:28 (I believe)

Full credit to those running the marathon, I can safely say that is NOT for me! I think I will stay in bed when that’s on!!

If only I could just get my bag back..............

t last a good run! After recent weeks disappointments it was nice to register a decent performance over a 5 mile multi-terrain race. I did this race back in 2004 - it is set in Wendover Woods which is situated on the northern edge of the Chilterns with spectacular views across the Aylesbury Vale. I travelled over with Laura Johnston, who was running this event for the first time. The race starts by the main visitors centre and for the first mile and a half saw us descending along gravel/muddy tracks. In fact it was 7 minutes before we turned for the first short climb before continuing for a further 2 minutes to the bottom of the valley. Of course what goes down must come back up!

Conditions that morning were really cold (-5 when I got up) and the frozen ground made it really difficult to run along the rutted tracks.

At the bottom of the valley, the course turns and you begin the gradual climb back up. After approx 3+ miles the course takes you off the tracks and through the woods. Conditions were tough here and after one really steep climb we were soon back out onto the tarmac road and heading for home. Level with another runner as we picked up the pace over the final mile it is strange how you then try and psych out your opponent - /'he looked younger than me - bigger build however - reckon I good out sprint him though if needed!'/ Still, didn't want to leave it to that final sprint so picked up the pace and found I opened up a small gap. Then with the finish funnel insight he went past me like a whippet to beat me by 3 seconds - so much for my analysis of fellow runners!!

Laura was well pleased with her run although I did think I might have worried her slightly with over exaggeration about the long tough climb back up.

A lovely setting for the race that was originally postponed from January due to the snow. Although well organised by Justracing it was shame that more runners didn't turn out.

I appreciate that some of my fellow Devonians might be a bulb short of a full chandelier but there was a clue to my nickname, namely Goldi printed on the front of my vest! So how Goldi became Eric I do not know, but one of the many brilliant supporters cheering us around the Cub and Grizzly somehow translated it thus.

No matter, Eric or Goldi or whatever Glorious Devon lived up to its name with a fabulous bout of Spring weather to cheer us on our way. As past participants of the Grizzly and the Cub well know the weather at this event can range from the horrendous to the downright Biblical so to stand atop one of the many cliffs and marvel at the sunlight glistening on the waves below was a sight to gladden this winter saddened heart.

The race itself?? Well it was the usual mixture of hill climbing, shingle walking, angel flying and becoming ever more cream crackered as the race wore on.

However my two best pals on the day namely Karen (my what lovely hair) Hollingsworth and Val (who also had lovely hair) von Arx, bravely volunteered to accompany this knackered old soul around the 9 miles of the Cub course. Without them I believe I would still be gently meandering along the beach towards Seaton so my heartfelt thanks to these two brave ladies. Ali Parker who was a Cub virgin returned a very respectable time of 1.47 so all credit to her for a great run.

So we walked, talked, crawled (me), fell into water (me again) and occasionally ran. The crowds were magnificent and so were the marshalls, especially the very nice gentleman who a mile from the finish gave me a slug from his hip flask (a nice drop of Glenfiddich). With this inside me I managed the last mile it a very happy state of mind.

All in all a madcap adventure (especially for me) but one that is well worth the effort. Next year??? Hum!!

A beautiful clear sky day dawned on East Devon Coast at Seaton lulling yours truly into a false sense of security! Met up with various other flyers pre-race and at 10.30 we were off down the road onto the first of 4 stretches on the shingle beaches, round onto the esplanade and away we went.......up the first of too many steep hills - at least this was on road. About 3 miles in and off road we went round a caravan site and away.... beautiful view of Branscombe bay as we dropped onto the beach for the water crossing - only went up to my midriff! Then away off up into the hills, the relentless hills - a bit of a respite around 8/9 miles whilst skirting round a few farmers fields before dropping down into forest about 12 miles - then the bogs came - with marshals in there in waders to pull you out if you got stuck! a quick stream to wash those shoes off and up again followed by severe off camber hill down into another bog - this time with ropes just in case the marshals couldn't get to you - somehow back into Branscombe (not for the last time) down hill and past the pub where the crowds were 3-4 deep on either side of the road - great encouragement but just round the corner off up another steep hill you would have difficulty in getting a car to go up! More upwards undulations until a marshal tells you you are at the top - its all downhill to the beach again - a 3/4 mile slog along the shingle beach followed up by a near vertical climb on the coastal path to get back eventually into Beer (the place not the drink) - more crowds, more encouragement - less than 2 miles to go - but oh joy more steps up and away over to Seaton - but just for a laugh they throw you back out on the beach for 1 last killer session on the pebbles - back onto the finishing straight - catching a few on the line and finish. 63rd official place 2 hours 56. Okay was hoping for nearer 2 hours 45 but nothing prepares you for the relentless hills both up and down that eventually reduced me to walking some of them. What a race! Nothing prepares you for a course like this - my training of up to 60 mile weeks just got me round but hey there's always next year - older, wiser? Oh and kick me if I ever tell you I'm good at getting up hills - nothing in Bedfordshire comes close.

Well done to all the others who made it down there and round - a particular big well done to Sally Marsh 2nd home for the flyers in 3 hours 31- and I got her name right this time!

Dave Olney

Chiltern League XC, Shuttleworth - Saturday, 16 January

Jeremy Bell

Disney (Florida) 1/2Marathon & Marathon - Sat/Sunday, 9/10 January

Ricky Jennings

Happy New Year & End of Season Championship Results

As we close the book on yet another successful year for the Club it is time to tidy up a few remaining events.  The Marathon Championship is contested over the calendar year and awarded for the best performances over the distance.  Over the year, 50 marathons were completed by Club members.  Not to be overshadowed by those 2  stalwarts of the ultra distance runs, Richard Jones(7) & Paul Owen(5), Paul Barton weighed in with 6 and another 7 people completed 2 marathons during the year.  This total does not include those who decided to swim & cycle their way to the start of the marathon or those that did not stop on the completion of 26.2 miles.  The final results are:

This year, as a result of the unfortunate cancellation of our nominated event, the Leighton Buzzard 10, a hasty and, I hope sensible approach, was taken to contest the Championships over any 10 mile event in the remainder of the year.  During that period 26 times were recorded and the contest was in dispute right up until the final few days of the year when some sterling performances snatched titles that may have seemed already decided.   The final results are:

The Grand Prix Leagues also are concluded at the end of the year.  This, supposedly, "bit of fun", event was well contested right up until the last day the year.  The tables have now been finalised and are available here.  Well done to the 5 winners:- Phil Holland, Jeremy Bell, Rebecca Fleckney, Alistair Gould & Debbie Knott.  The somewhat disappointing thing about this year is the noticeable reduction in participation of GP events.  This is shown by the fact that it is the first time for 5 years that it has not been necessary to populate the Hawks league.

I have now updated my annual Age Related calculations and the updated table can be found here. 

Phil Bierton

Last Updated: Monday, 23 December 2013 21:22