No-Cache:-AFF_Archive2011

For me this has been an important and busy year in Triathlon Highlighting in last months World Champoinships in Las Vegas, but i have dipped my toe in a few standalone running races as training runs.

As my triathlon season ended in November the plan was to rest until new year in readiness for training for 2012 season in Triathlon. As i am a greedy bar steward i could not resist the opportunity of running the bedford half and got a PB sub 1.30,. then a week ago my mate Craig Halsey offered me a race number for Ely 10k, how could i refuse, this was a stocking filler for me.

I crossed the line in 40.05 i was gutted 5 seconds from that golden sub 40, however it was a PB for me, the 2nd PB in a month. A good way to end what has been a good year for me, iam also delighted to say all injury free for the 4th year in a row. I enter the 2012 season in my 50th year and new age category so exciting times ahead.

Further more i am happy and delighted to re join the AFF for the 2012 season to assist my running within Triathlon and to spend more time with the best bunch of friends i call my second family.

A good well organised race starting at the marina by the River Ouse at Buckden, just off the A1.

Flat road course, good scenery with about 250 athletes, the most being from Bedford Harriers, a perfect race for the end of the year. I went off like a hare, lost time at 3 to 4 miles but finished well. I looked and felt like an athlete, unlike my finishing crawl at the Portsmouth Marathon.

Print out at the end with all of your details was brilliant, totally different to the Boxing Day 3 miler at Whitley Bay where all I got was a Christmas pud, no time or finishing position but 700 in the race. They like their runnning up North!!!

This year i had decided to give up my usual boxing day dip in Brogborough lake in favour of a cheeky little 3.2 mile blast round some feilds in Pirton, Herts,

11 Flyers took up the challenge on what turned out to be a very mild sunny morning if a trifle windy (there yha go again "food" i hear you cry). This race for me is not my thing as its way to short and my heart rate goes off the scale however i know its good for you and a good training tool, it was also an ideal opportunity to touch base with fellow flyers and get rid of the guilt of eating to much xmas day.

Having had a series of injuries, a collision with a German Snowboarder and a general inclination to ride my bike during the summer, it¹s been a while since I had pinned a number on and settled on the start line.

Pirton is a great race - not too long, not too far away, usually beer as a memento and a great excuse to escape the in-laws.

Karen & I met up with fellow Flyers before the start. Santa rode off on his bike to be chased by the juniors and the walkers set off too.

The race consisted of 2 laps of the playing field before running on a footpath across a field followed by a slow incline along a field edge. Then a turnaround point and the descent back via a bridleway to the playing field and a last lap.

Placing myself towards the rear of the field (I was under no illusions of my abilities) I enjoyed steady progress through the back half of the field until the turnaround. I thought the descent was going to be easier and to be able to recover! I held on as best I could but was passed by a few although I was still moving through the field.

I caught Mike just as we re-entered the playing field and we ran together to the finish. I had forgotten how hard it is to run - even this badly!

Great event though and some great times - especially pleased for Martin who is reaping the rewards of the long months of (triathlon) training and events.

We now hope to be able to stay injury free and to start to put regular appearances in on Tuesday nights as we prepare for a spring marathon.

For my final marathon of the year, I headed off down south with 8 other fellow flyers running the race and various partners and supporters, for what was meant to be a fast and flat course. We had all booked into various Premier Inns, although me and the other cheapskates managed to pick the one that looked like servants quarters for the proper hotel. Still, an enjoyable meal was had on Saturday night over looking the harbour and the Spinnaker tower, whilst winding Shaun up as he was doing his first marathon. To be fair, the lad coped well although he couldn't quite square George and Richard's beer consumption. A decent nights sleep led to a cold, but windless clear morning. The race itself was an out and back course, with large parts along the sea front. We had decided to split into a few groups, with me and George setting off with 3.25 ish in mind, Richard leading a posse aiming for 3.40ish, Niki trying to match her PB time from last year a little behind and Annie a bit further back. As always Paul Barton was there doing his own thing.

We set off at a steady 7.50 pace and were bang on target, until mile 3-4, when we ran onto shingle on the beach followed by a mile or so of bottle neck trail running, which was muddy and with lots of puddles.

We couldn't pass anyone and lost 1-2 mins on that section alone. The route then took a few twists and turns, with more beach running and one slippy short downhill which almost led to a dunk in a canal. We were surprised to wait until after the 11 mile mark before the leaders came past us on the way back. At the turn I was 3-4 mins off target pace and on the way back I saw the lads running well together only 5 or 6 mins behind. The terrain began to take its toll and cramp started to kick in early. My planned time went out the window and I ended up dropping to plan D. George decided to stay with me as I slowed and struggled in the last 5 to 6 miles in particular. The wind picked up a little and more ups and downs, trail and shingle led to me hobbling over the line having had to walk in various places as the cramp and lack of energy kicked in. The terrain and conditions caused this to become a hard race, as was shown by a slow winning time of 2.51. We all came in a lot slower than we had planned, save George who decided to stay with me when he could have been at least a mile ahead if not more. My time was only one second faster than Luton marathon last month, but in that race I ran it all the way and even had to slow down in places to keep something in the tank for this race. This was a struggle and certainly not a PB course for me at least. Still, big well done to Shaun on a great time in his first marathon and Annie, for knocking a big amount off her previous PB.

We didn't get to do any sight seeing, but did have a great night out with a superb curry to round off a great social weekend away with team formation Flyers. It was really good fun to go away with so many runners and hopefully, we can do the same again next year although in a different race!

Bedford Harriers Half Marathon (Club Champs) - 11 December

Phew! An immense entry from the club with numerous PBs.

A big thanks to Jeremy Bell and the committee for organising the discounted club entry! A great success.

There may have been some number swapping so if you have any corrections please email them to results@affrunningclub.org.uk

Club champions will be confirmed next week when results are fully there.

Worth noting that Ampthill lad, Andrew Inskip, came 3rd in 1.11.48

Andy Atherton

And there we were...................After two months of brutal training, both John Metcalf and myself were ready, well John was anyway, me, still a little apprehensive, most of the races I target in one way or another, go completely opposite to what I aim out to achieve.

However, this was a little different, huddled together at the start, there was George A, Steve M, Martin B, John M, James H, and myself all after the same time, so pace was the secret and we all kept as one group. We kept together until roughly 4 miles then in was a case of us slowly splitting up, however remaining together was John, James and myself. The pacing was kept the same, the pain was slowly creeping up on us.

trying to concentrate, my mind kept drifting, however, knowing the route backwards helped a great deal. I was really just waiting for Cranfield to make my final effort count, this was supposedly where we were going to push the final 3 miles.

We all got to Cranfield and it was "who has the legs"!! Fortunately, this time it was me, my adrenaline filled up and I was off, pushed on heavily, no stopping now, had I gone too early? Too late, I was off, in full concentration.

Getting to the 10 mile marker, I stopped my watch and re-timed, my object being 3 miles in 20 mins, this was (I knew) a long 3 miles, but after just running 10 miles, 3 seemed like nothing.

I held on and kept going, I knew I could do this it was just believing that I could continue at this pace for the last mile. Going from 11 miles to 12 seemed as always like forever, but I was almost there. I could see George in the distance, but I knew I could not catch him.

Finally turning the corner for the final straight, "bit" into me as this was uphill but I looked at my watch and knew I did not have to worry, I was fairly positive it was job done. I crawled around the last corner to see the time on the clock 1hr:28.............happy days.

At the finish, I turned around and watched the clock and I saw John come around the corner around a min later, we had both done it and mighty pleased!

The estimated splits if your interested were: half way point: 44 mins, 10 miles: 1hr:08, then the last 3 miles, 20mins. Something like that anyway

Leigh Pilgrim

Club 1/2 Marathon Champions

Men

Ladies

Champion	George Arbuckle	1:27:05
V-40	Jeremy Bell	1:34:32
V-50	Tim Hunt	1:34:57

Champion	Claire Fisher	1:42:11
V-35	Tracy Nichols	1:43:05
V-45	Caroline Gilby	1:45:24

I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable races I have ever taken part in. A PB by 3.5 minutes (including a 19:30 final 5K) certainly helped, but the whole build up to the race, and the race itself, was characterised by what a club like ours should be all about - teamwork.

At one point around the 2/3 mile mark, I think there were about 8 Flyers all working together, to keep to our goal early 6:45 pace and make sure we did not overcook things on the toughest part. This was also the case for smaller groups working together as the race progressed and the pace quickened in the second half and I for one would not have achieved the time I did without the help and support of fellow club members. Well done all. And thanks to the Club for offering the reduced price entries, which certainly helped to make this a hugely enjoyable event. Now for a mere marathon at Portsmouth on Sunday.......

George Arbuckle

Lanzarote International Challenge - 27-30 November
Once again we traveled to Lanzarote to compete in the International Running Challenge - 4 races in consecutive days. This was my 6th visit and Terry's 3rd. Our group was organised by Leighton Buzzard AC and included runners from Milton Keynes and Bearbrook Joggers plus ourselves. Not every one goes there to run with some of our party of 27 just using it as a holiday. With temperatures in the mid 20's all week it really makes for a good winters break. We stay at the Club La Santa - a sportsperson's paradise. Club La Santa is the Number One sports and active holiday resort in the World. Situated on the breathtaking, north west coast of Lanzarote, the resort features over 25 different sports. A number of international athletes use it as a training camp and it was interesting to see the many photographs in the Sports Bar of past athletes who have stayed there. The Challenge itself is over 4 days. First a 10K road race followed on Day 2 by an off road race over 13K on both dirt trails and asphalt roads around one of the big volcanoes near to La Santa. Day 3 is a 5K on the beach of Puerto del Carmen and Day 4 saw us complete a grueling half marathon. The competition is in 5 year age bands and features runners from Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland and England. The nice thing about the races is that apart from the beach race they all finish on the running track back in the Club La Santa stadium. There is a good standard of athletes with the 10K being won in 32.34 this year.
The 10K is tough - 2 laps with a climb at 2+K and again at 7+K and this year saw a strong wind which slowed times. Add in the fact that it was hot didn't make for comfortable running. Terry had not run for 10 days since a hamstring injury but was reasonably pleased with his run of 38.52 that put him in 46th position overall. My 45.08 was slightly quicker than last year but I found the run hard work in the heat. I was 106th overall. Day 2 saw us climb the 6K to the top of the ridge of the local volcano. The final 1/2K to the top is hard work but once over you can fast descend back to La Santa. A final 1K up to the stadium and we were both pleased with our runs. Terry's 49.56 moved him up to 32nd overall and I just made it under the hour to place me 92nd. Terry was also now leading his age group. Day 3 and we were off to the resort of Puerto del Carmen for 2 laps around their beach. Puerto del Carmen is also the resort for the Islands Ironman. Terry had a stormer finishing 19th on the day (19.16) - he says he likes running on sand! I was pleased with my run (25.00) - almost a minute quicker than last year but racing on sand does not suit me - the body was willing but the legs just seemed to lag behind! The final day was a testing half marathon. Although starting at 9.00am by 10.00 it was beginning to feel really hot and at this stage of the run we were now out on exposed trails and tracks. The first 5 miles are undulating with one exceptionally tough climb at around 4 miles. But once past the 5 mile point the course gently drops you down all the way back to La Santa. Again, a final 1K climb back up to the stadium and finishing with a 300m sprint round the track. After 3 consecutive races the legs feel weary but you just seem to be able to find something as you know this is the final race of the Challenge. Again, we both had decent runs although Terry was disappointed he didn't dip under the 1.20 mark. My 1.37.04 was again an improvement on last year's run. In total I had taken 8 minutes off last year's times and Terry an amazing 21.46 - then his is a lot slimmer and fitter one year on. Lets see how the improvement is over the next year!
This is a great event to do. It is a Challenge and one you feel totally elated when you cross the finish line on day 4. A presentation evening then follows with entertainment from a local band and then on to the Club's late night disco to complete a wonderful day. Our party had 3 age group winners - Terry (24-29 group), Richard Inchley in the 65-69 group (his first ever win he tells me) and Julie Dalzell from Milton Keynes AC in the 40-44 age group. We go for 10 days which leaves you with 4 days to unwind or to endure even more sporting activities. (Terry played an hour of football after the half marathon while I just went and soaked up the sun!!) Some simply go for just 7 days. Either way Club La Santa offers you the opportunity to try so many different sports. I have to say it feels like you are staying in an Athletes Village - and of course if you are young and single there are plenty of nice Scandinavian men and women to meet in the bar in the evenings!! If you are interested in next year (Challenge Week is 25-28 Nov 2012), then email me (stanleynet@ntlworld.com) or ring me (01525 754482)for further information or have a look at he Club La Santa web site http://www.clublasanta.co.uk/ . Dave & Terry Stanley

What a great days running! A little innocent FB activity Friday night with a couple of other running nuts led to my wacky races day.

9am MK park run, over to LB at 11am for a cup of tea and quick change into our (very hard to run in-don't recommend you try) santa suits for a 2 & 1/2 mile charity "dash". After disposing of said santa suits (kept the beard so as to disguise my resemblance to Sigourney Weaver. We then got wind of a Dunstable mile event so headed over to football club to try and squeeze that in too. Apparently we missed it by about an hour and a half so ho hum back to just the triple. Quick pit stop at the golden arches back to MK to join Phil Clarke, Richard Pillinger (doing a very good George impression) and Pete Bird for the last leg - Wolverton 5M

Needless to say time didn't matter (again) although the two boys (Paul Barton and Dave "foxy" Bayley) seemed to have a bit of a competition going to see who could get the best combined total. I refused to get dragged in- probably due to the fact I didn't stand a chance of keeping up. Much fun!

I don't know if there was an award but Phil Clarke was first MV60, beating his nearest rival by just 1 second. [Webmaster]

I have been a “runner” for almost 20 years. Whilst I have (almost) always enjoyed running, for me it has been a way of keeping reasonably fit and my weight under some sort of control. I have entered the odd race before this year but have treated them as another training run.

I have long thought about joining a running club but there has always been a good reason not to do so – I’m not good enough; I can’t commit to a regular night because of work etc.

Finally I joined the flyers earlier this year – March I think it was. I had already intended to run the March MK half and the Marston Forest 5k before joining the club. I was disappointed with my first half time (1:42:54) as I had run the distance slightly more quickly in a training run.

I then experienced a high in June by meeting my target of getting under 21 minutes in the Marston 5k (20:54).

I really enjoy the Tuesday night sessions – they are always tough but also motivating. I feel I have improved as a runner as a result – both in terms of technique (not that you would think so seeing me flail around) and speed / endurance. Plus there’s the social side and the healthy competition you get from pushing yourself to keep up with others who are at a similar level.

Then comes the low – a big one for me. Having felt that I had benefitted from the regular Tuesday training and continued to do my own but with a little more insight and knowledge picked up from the club I turned up for the Doug Anderson 5k fully expecting to equal or better by time at Marston back in June. Not a bit of it – my time was 21:53, which was almost a minute slower. However, it wasn’t so much the time that was the problem it was they way I felt during the run. I got to about half way and felt like I was running on empty. I can normally manage a pick up in speed at the finish but on this particular occasion I had nothing – I think I actually slowed in the last 200m.

Anyway, I was gutted and it’s been bothering me ever since. I have done some races since then – no real highs or lows. Although I was chuffed when I saw my name mentioned in Dave Stanley’s write up of the MK EMGP 10k as I passed him close to the line.

So, to Sunday and the St Neot’s half. My target was for a sub 1:40 time. I felt I had done the required training and had the experience of my first half in March under my belt. My main issue now was mental rather than physical but for the first time on a race day although I was nervous I felt I was in control and could channel the nervous energy positively.

My race plan was relatively simple – aim for an average of 7:30 pace giving me about 1:38. I completed the first mile in 7:27 – felt okay but conscious that I didn’t want to overcook things at the start. However mile 2 was downhill and so I clocked 7:17. My heart rate was okay though so I kept going at a similar pace. I won’t bore you any more than I already have by taking you mile by mile through the race but I was pleased with 7:00 dead for mile 13.

I crossed the finish line. There was no race clock and although I hit the button on my Garmin it didn’t stop. When I finally realised and pressed stop again my watch was showing 1:37:40. So, job done, under 1:40 as planned but I was left a bit frustrated as I wanted to know my official time. Finally, today (Monday) the results were published – my official time was 1:36:20.

I am genuinely “over the moon” by the time but more so I think by the actual performance. I felt relaxed and controlled for the whole race. I didn’t panic. I let other runners do their own thing and concentrated on what I had set out to do. And blow me it worked – fantastic!

What have I learned? Well firstly joining the club was definitely a good move. There’s no short cut to getting the results you want – you need to put the effort in. The more you run/race the more experience you get and the more comfortable you become in a race situation. It’s not life and death but you certainly feel the highs and the lows.

I’m now just wondering what the next disappointment will be...because I am sure there will be one.

This was my first Luton Marathon and leading up to the event I heard a lot of grumbling about how boring it was, the 3 laps were terrible and 'that hill'. I actually enjoyed it though. Normally I mentally break down a marathon into 2 half marathons but having three laps made it go quicker, the first benchmark of 13 miles was reached, not long after by the end of lap 2, knowing you only had 1 more lap to go (of 8 ish miles) seemed much more achievable than having another 13 to go. It was great having support at the end of each lap from the Flyers relay people and random support on the circuit from David Sedgley who kept jumping out of his car to run along with me with drinks, a drive-by from Richard Jones and a sighting of Mike Petty at the top of Streatley hill. There was also a chap on a bike who seemed to know my name, sorry I looked at you blankly! I am also very grateful to Paul Owen who took me round the circuit beforehand to strategically place water bottles, not sure I would have survived on 3 cups of water a lap.

This was my fifth time running this marathon, albeit only 4 officially as one was on a day that they cancelled it a few years ago when I ran most of it anyway. I also run a lot from Flitwick into work in Luton, using part of this course. So, it would be fair to say that I know it like the back of my hand. Despite that, for some reason I seem to be able to get on well with this 3 lap race, breaking it down mentally into laps rather than miles. After a very foggy start, it turned into a sunny and lovely day which supported the organisers wise decision to move this forward in the calendar by two weeks to avoid the ice and snow of last year. This was the lowest turnout from the club for both the marathon and the relay, for many years. There were only 4 of us in the marathon, one full team in the relay and Shaun sneaking in with two mates who were not club members. Stephen Morales was in the relay under boxfits banner I think. Never the less, it was great as always to see friendly faces in the hall before the race, particularly as I arrived for once early, thanks to Niki wanting to be on time. The course isn't too bad although its not the most scenic.

There are a few undulations from around the Streatley area, with one longish incline going through the village. Still, it only becomes a problem on the third lap which is at mile 21-22, so not really that much of an issue. I didn't taper at all, having put a 22 in the weekend before, a x-c 14 miler in the week before and other runs as well. I had wanted to run this feeling comfortable at around the 3.35-3.40 area as part of a training plan for Portsmouth next month.

At around the 18 mile point, I stopped myself from trying to run faster, which was a good idea by mile 24 as I was starting to tire. I managed to run all the way without walking, albeit in truth I didn't finish quite as comfortably as I had hoped. Still, thats number 44 chalked up. It was really nice to see other friendly faces from the club though who weren't running. So my thanks for the support goes out to Nick, Richard, Martin, Mike, both Farmers and Sedgers who were all on the route at some point or other. Your support was very much appreciated. I also need to thank Shaun for not getting a relay team out from the club, as I managed to beat his team by about 30-40 seconds. Mind you, I also managed to beat 31 other relay teams as well. All in all, I would say its worth doing Luton at least once, seeing as how its so close and normally very well supported by the club. Another nice medal to add to the collection although I'm not sure about a flannel instead of a t-shirt? I guess they had to cut the cost down as they allowed people from last years cancelled race to enter half price this year.

I enjoyed the second leg of the Luton Marathon Relay with two other triathlon colleagues, unfortunately we just missed out on the Men’s Vet pot. I managed a respectable ( for me) 58.39 for the 8.9mile second leg. I was pleased to hold 6.35/m pace on such a undulating course and over a distance that’s a bit longer than I’m used to. Those Tuesday and Thursday night sessions appear to be doing some good

Called in by Jeremy to make up a team in the Luton Marathon Relay, I found myself on 2nd leg. In 2006 I ran the Relay on leg 1 finishing in 61 minutes. This year would be slightly slower and even more slower when the results were first declared having me finish in 1.08.22 with Jody running 1.06.04 - he said he was claiming that as the 'chip time' never lies!!

I like the idea of a marathon relay and Luton is well organised on course that is less that spectacular but is at least rural for a while once you get out to Streatley. The hills, for what they are, take place over the first 5 miles with the final 3 miles of each lap reasonable flat. Jeremy ran a good steady leg on the back of little training and I only just got to the changeover point in time having spent a bit to much time relaxing back in the Sports Centre! Running leg 2 at a slightly faster pace that Jeremy meant I was picking off the full Marathon runners throughout my leg. This was nice as it meant you were continually working on towards the next runner in front. My quickest mile was mile 14-15 in 7.01, although I generally averaged around 7.20 a mile. I was well pleased with my run and no re-action on the recent hamstring injury makes things all go for my Lanzarote Challenge races this next week.

On leg 3, a good solid run by Jody brought us round in 3.20.43 and 17th place out of 62 teams. The only disappointment was the goody bag - a drink, chewy bar and a flannel - or was this a beach towel for a very very, very very, very small person!!!

5 of us Flyers ran this event on Saturday in what was only its second running. Starting at Cedars Upper School in Leighton Buzzard, you run a lap of the park before onto the canal tow path for 5 miles which. This was the quick bit as the route turns right and climbs up hill for over a mile (passed loads of slackers walking!) and through Rushmere (was stockgrove) park and then the proper XC section through the tress with a few climbs and some steep descents (this bit was not so quick!) onto the Greensands Ridge before rejoining the canal Tow Path back to LB with another lap of the park before the finish. The November weather was lovely which certainly helped!!

This event was organised by Dirt Running who also staged the Ashridge 5 on September which was a great race too. I though this was a really nice race especially once you turned off the tow path and went XC and at £14 pretty good value too!

Good to see a few Flyers there and got my Hoodie from Becs to wear at the end too!!!

12.1 Mile route - So given the choice on Sunday between the competitive scrum of cross country or a gentle LDWA challenge event, it wasn't a difficult decision. Between us, Paula and I have nearly 3 decades ( 10 years for me and at least 18 for Paula) of representing our club in XC so we both felt we've done our bit. The plan was to run steadily at gossip pace as we both need to build up some miles ahead of plans for longer races next spring. In fact we were so busy chatting up that we ran past Niki Rouse without noticing - oops. There were a few other flyers out on this lovely sunny morning - Mr Lydon plus entourage and the Dodds. Sedgers and Richard Jones were rumoured to be out on the 26 mile option too. The route took us up over Barton hills via Galley hill into Lilley then over Pegsdon back towards Barton and came with great views, cake at the checkpoints and a friendly atmosphere. In spite of stops to check the map, eat cake and chat we were surprised to find we were first home in this class. Not sure that I've ever been an outright winner before (not that there are winners in these LDWA events anyway) but had a very enjoyable morning.

17 Mile route - Great day out, but very hard work, and a bit of a shock to the system - first time on this event - many thanks for the map, encouragement and inducement Dave! I put in two slight personal detours to the 17mile route, adding in Warden Hill, and then Deacon Hill and Knocking Knoll, making an 18.4 mile (by Garmin) route for me. Sorry to miss the Shuttleworth XC, but I know I'll never make the score!

26 Mile route - It was a beautiful sunny day for the return to the Shillington route (this was used for 10 years before the last 10 years of Steppingley Step). I expect there will be reports form some of the others, so I'll just say I greatly enjoyed it. I hope no one got lost - as I was partly responsible for the route description! And join us next year for the new route: the Sundon Saunter - which will make the 3rd route of a triple challenge.

You can just feel that slight bit of anger again as one miss's sub 40min by sec's yet again for this year! I wasn't actually going to race this, one of my Dads idea to support a good cause, so once again my planned Sunday morning stay in bed was off the cards.

All my pre-planned work had me down as a sub 40min finish, the training I have done recently has been great.....if a little brutal, however one could not predict the reality this race...........

after getting in the queue ready to race, we were later told "this was the finish" so we were walked off and sent in the direction of the start.............things not going to plan at the moment. So to the start, where was it? No one knew, we were told one thing and then another, this confusion was put to one side whilst half the field started their warm up, you know hop skip and jump, the usual routine..........sorry guys you need to take a look at the flyers, they do "proper" warm up.

So, at the end of Mr Motivators routine, we were told to get to the start, the only problem was, no one knew where it was..............and then my worst nightmare, everyone in a but of confusion we heard the countdown!!! We were off, but where!!! Unfortunately, for many of us, where we thought the start was was actually at the back..........I had over 300 people in front of me and the timing had started.............I had to the horrible task of ducking and diving, squeezing, jumping through gardens, jumping over cars to get to the front. I had to remind myself that this was 10km and not 5k, oh dear, found that i had broken all records at 5k, unfortunately, I had another 5 to do, big mistake, the art of overcooking had occurred and now it was a case of holding everything together without falling part!

What made matters worse was that some of the corners and turnings were not marshalled so following everyone else failed, because they had no idea either. We had a chat about which direction we should take whilst one of the neighbors made us a cup of tea and some cake...........

By this point my concentration was gone and I practically wanted to hang up my shoes and go shopping (that's how bad it got)

Eventually after a lot of twists and turns, we gave up with the game "twister" and decided we should carry on with run.

Coming into the finish I was horrified at what the time could be, and to my amazement, it was just shy of sub 40mins. if it wasn't for the bad start and the getting lost, that would have been another good time to add to the list!

Anyhow, the main thing was, a lot of money raised for a good charity, and for most, it wasn't about a time, it was about taking part.

This does make me appreciate the hard work that goes on with clubs like AFF, Boxfit and Beds Harriers, everything is done how it should be

I have long fancied racing at Parliament Fields, London which has a special place in the cross country calendar.

Folklore abounds of a punishing hill at the start and a quagmire that takes no prisoners. This was my year to discover whether Parliament Fields is really as tough as they say.

The day was a fine, still autumnal one with soft ground underfoot and little trace of mud - so much for the dreaded quagmire.

We faced the challenge of a 10K course which took in 3 laps very beautiful parkland........ rolling hills, beach trees and challenge mix of twists and turns.

I do enjoy 3 lap courses. Psychologically I find them easy to tackle. In fact you get 3 chances to nail each racing line and obstacle.

The challenge on lap 1 is always to feel your way into the race and not burn too much energy. Lap 2 is all about holding your own and keeping the pace steady.

I set off well enough and without haste, mindful of the hills that lay ahead. Too much endeavour early on may look impressive but the wheels inevitable fall off.

By the end of Lap 1 I had settled inside the Top 20 with a group of 4 athletes to target ahead.

Lap 2 was interesting - the hills certainly felt like they had steepened and I pushed on wary of doing too much.

The final lap and it was game on - good lines, work the hills, push over the brow and accelerate. I kept changing places with another athlete who looked like he was more comfortable on the track; strong on the flat but hills were clearly not his bag. This was my opportunity. If I worked hard on the last 3 hills I could build a gap that would hopefully be defensible in the last 600m.

I executed the plan and it started to deliver. The gap gradually opened and then I kicked before the brow of the final hill. Streaming 300m down the other side at a crazy pace I rounded the final corner with 10yds in hand; sprint time. This was a good finish. Not only did I hold the challenger at bay but I also took 20m out of the two athletes in front and a ghostly approach almost fleeced them on the line.

I was very content with 38:10 (13th) and was first back for my team which helped us to a Bronze Medal and a happy smile.

A small marathon with fantastic views. Different terrain all the way round mud, grass, road, woodland path and lots of hills and cattle grids.My hat goes off to the man that did this in full bomb disposal kit, My training buddy Ian had a great run on very tired legs (never been so glad to see you at mile 23) this was the last of four marathons he had set himself to do in six weeks. The third being only the week before, Snowdon in hidious weather conditions. Well done.

I would recommend this event for those that fancy something a little different although it did feel a bit like a race meet with some serious compertition and I can't remember any friendly chat on the way round from other runners.

Firstly, I must say that having been selected by Team GB after making qualification for this race, for me personally was the stuff that dreams are made of!

Wearing my Team GB kit made me feel 10ft tall and being part of the team simply filled me with overwhelming pride and honour. It was also a great privilege and pleasure to be in the company of and to socialise with the best Triathletes in the World - covering all nations.

The race could not have been set in a more perfect location as the US State of Nevada is amazing and so fitting for the World Championship race. With all the formalities over: meetings, registration and checks the race day finally arrived (5th November). Who could have predicted what was about to unfold? Due to a very rare overnight storm and a sheer drop in temperature the ITU (International Triathlon Union) took the rare decision to cancel the swim at the very last minute!

The race now had a new format - a TT (time trial) and a run. For me this was very bad news as I am a strong swimmer and the longer the distance the better. This new format was not the race I qualified or trained for. Not only was the race not a Triathlon but was not even a Duathlon (run, bike, run).

I seriously considered pulling out as did many other athletes, however i did start but my race did not get any better. My lower back went into spasm on the bike at mile 10 and stayed with me throughout the race. The 20 mile undulating run with 2,000 ft of elevation just made things even more painful. I was happy to finish but with mixed emotions and feelings. I could and should have done better had it have been the race it was suppose to have been.

The Wellingborough venue hasn't been used for a few years, so was new to quite a few of us. About half the Flyers met at Redborne to travel together, saving petrol and sharing the navigating duties. Over the years we have had better support from the men than the ladies, so it was a surprise to see just three men and lots of ladies waiting at the school. A quick zip up the motorway, left at McDonalds, right at Sainsburys, right at the pub then we were there.

As you can see from the results we had just only a couple less ladies than men running. That's really encouraging as we seem to have a mix of men and lady cross-country competitors that match the makeup of the Club.

The course was 3 laps of a small park, with a fair bit of up and down thrown in for good measure. There were a couple of stream crossings, which were quite a jump down steep banks. Lots of pre-race chat was on how to tackle the water crossings, try and leap it? dip just one foot in.. ?

After a quick reminder that it was three laps, with 4 water crossings we were off. I'd forgotten that the middle of the pack of these races is a very lively place. A bit of elbow contact, a mass of bodies and a struggle to get a good position. I'd not recce'd the path used for just the first lap and almost got caught out by a big dip. We were off to the far end of the park and then started on the uphill section that wound its way back to the start with several climbs and descents. The first water crossing was a bit congested, I opted for a two-foot jump into the mud on the far side before heading out back to the far end of the park. I managed to hold onto position for most of the race, but could see Richard Pillinger moving away from me in front. Feeling a bit tired on the last water crossing I tried to pass another runner and cross the stream on a different place. This had a steeper bank than I'd realised and I ended up covered in mud as I clambered my way on all fours back onto the path.

I finished with ticket 103, just a bit more than I'd have liked but not bad for the first race. My highlight of the day was that Annette also ran (her first competition in about 3 years) and really enjoyed it. She came in lady finisher 91 and is hopefully going to be joining us at the next race at Shuttleworth.

At the time of writing this on Monday morning I haven't seen the overall league placings. It's Beds Harriers first race doing the admin so there may be a bit of getting up to speed with the results processing. We were lacking a few of the faster men; Stephen Hartley (knackered after moving house), Dave Olney (cyclo-cross racing), Phil Holland (injured collar bone) but the good news is that it allowed me to squeeze in as a point scoring vet and we still had 3 men in the top 20.

We had quite a few trying cross-country for the first time and I think everyone left with a smile after being revived with tea and cakes at the finish. Onwards to Shuttleworth in two weeks, hopefully we'll have another good turnout for the Club.

Particular thanks to Ma Fleckney, Helen Dodds and Paul Lydon who helped to collect finishing tickets and work out our results.

Really good race, fantastic support, world class field too! Pretty pleased with my time only 4 seconds slower than Henlow 10 about 10 days ago so very consistent.

Was hoping to go about a minute quicker as a very flat and fast course but the first 5K 23:09 was too slow due to weaving in and out of slow people despite being fairly near the front of the quickest wave. Second and Third 5Ks were 30 seconds quicker. Last 2 miles into the wind were tough (as Nick Jones warned me!) which meant I struggled to get quicker although did not slow down.

Raised over £500 for Red Cross and the Massage, cup of tea and cake in the Red Cross tent in the charity village afterwards was marvelous!!

Back to the marathon training now and having seen where the course starts and finishes in Dec, it could be bleak!!!!

My original intention was to go up to Birmingham and watch Terry and his friend run in the Birmingham half. Then 4 days before the run his friend pulled out and I was called off the subs bench to take part!!

With around 13,000+ runners competing in the Bupa Great Birmingham half Marathon, arrangements are on the grand style. Changing was in the NIA and with the majority of the roads around central Birmingham closed off, we decided to travel to Coventry and 'train' it in to Birmingham from there. Terry was in the 'fast start' and fortunately for me his friend had lied about his finish time and I was in the next stream of runners behind Terry! With the great Haile Gebrselassie running I knew I might have to settle for second place today. The first mile was downhill which I went through in around 6.50 but quickly settled into sub 7.30 pace. I went through 5 in 36.35, which at this point included the first short sharp climb up past the Cadbury Bournville factory. I should point out that at 4.5 miles I did pass Haile. Unfortunately for me he was going the other way at 6.5 miles!

3 quick miles in 21.43 and I was beginning to feel quite good as we looped past Edgbaston Cricket ground. Through Cannon Park at 9 miles and at 10 miles (73.12) I had run the second 5 miles in 36.37, almost identical to my first 5 and was running at around 7.19 a mile pace. Unfortunately, the hard work then starts on this course as the next 3 miles are basically climbing all the way back up to the finish on Broad Street, with one wicked steep climb from 10.5 to 11 miles. However, I was well pleased with my finish time of 1.36.38 - almost a minute quicker than last year at Bedford.

Terry had gone through the first mile in 5.49 but again settled into even pacing going through 5 in 30.49 and 10 miles in 61.33 (6.09 a mile). He was looking for sub 1.25 but I knew he was more capable of around 1.20. But as I said the final 3 miles are tough and Terry did slow partly from the hills and a stitch. Still he was well pleased with 1.21.59 which has laid down a marker for future halves.

I am not aware of any other Flyers running but what I would say about the Birmingham half is that it extremely well organised by Bupa. There was good support throughout the run particularly in the final 800 metres along Broad Street. Its a good course (but not a pb one) with only 1 serious climb in the first 10 miles. However, the last 3 are tough particularly mile 10 -11 - but even the great Haile slowed by around 25 seconds a mile here so my 8.17 a mile didn't sound quite so bad after all!!

Yet again it was with great pleasure that i ran my 6th consecutive Henlow 10 road race.

These days my Triathlons take me far and wide across europe and the other side of the world, but this race i always have a special place for in my racing calendar for it is a little gem. I have never made it a secret its a favourite of mine, why i hear you cry, well its like a rum triffle (food again) its packed full of flavour with a little kick at the end.

The race is different in many ways, hosted by the RAF, an A-B course, mid week, marshalled by MOD police and staff, cheap and with a great goodie.

This years race was its 59th year and i wait as ever in anticipation for the 60th. 6 Flyers made the race including our club chair, we all had a good race and enjoyed the day. For me it was a little sharpner in readyness for the worlds as iam now on my tapper.

There is a serious matter to deal with however, in a word "FOOD" the newly appointed base commander evidently did not want to enhance her position for further promotion by not laying on what is commonly known as a spread, a typical british affair that is shaw to draw the crowds. We live in hope for the 60th anniversary.

Huge well done to all but particularly proud of the 3 pb'ers George, jerry and david with the latter popping his marathon cherry - he couldn't have chosen better chaps to cheer him on!

This is well known as a fast flat course, ideal for a PB. I can’t remember when or why I entered this race. I seem to remember a bit of banter a few months ago and I got caught up in the excitement of a day out with some chums.

The race day approached and as usual I remembered that to run a marathon quickly you need to have done some serious training. Knowing I hadn’t done much work other than a lot of long runs I knew this might be a bit of a struggle. Anyway I set myself a target of 3;30 and set about finding out where Abingdon was, whether I needed a passport, visa, plane ticket etc. I was quite relieved to find it was in Oxfordshire and Mike “Stirling Moss” Petty was offering me a lift.

I was at the end of the road in good time and we set off. Knowing that a ferry wasn’t required I casually enquired which way we would be going. Mike remembered that he had forgotten his race instructions but fortunately Dave Cook had all his details in his bag with his chip, race number etc. Just as we were turning on to the motorway Dave remembered it was in his bag at home. You have so many bags to sort out at 5.00 in the morning of your first marathon! A quick U-turn and back to Clophill to collect the necessary. Fortunately Stirling had a turbo boost on his modest looking Honda and despite fog, roadworks and a forced petrol stop, we managed to reach the car park (10 or 15 minutes walk away) with 28 minutes to spare. Unfortunately it was full, but there was another one nearby, so we parked off and headed to race HQ. We arrived with about 8 minutes to spare. I despaired at my colleagues who hadn’t got organised the night before, trying to attach numbers and chips. Poor Jerry was in such a state he had to enlist the help of a safety pin expert to attach his number.

We met a mad Scotsman in a bin bag, a grumpy Welshman who I couldn’t decide whether he was more annoyed about the rugby or the man-flu he had been suffering all week and a fit looking young lady who seemed very relaxed.

No time to discuss tactics and we all set off. I ran with Paul for the first /12 mile, but he set off far too quickly for me so I let him go and settled into a steady pace for 3:30, expecting to go through half way at 1:45 and then pick it up in the second half. I felt OK and went through half way in 1:43 and continued at the same pace, possibly picking it up a fraction, but a little voice was telling me, “That’s a little bit fast, throttle back a bit”. Didn’t listen to the advice and carried on.

At 20 I overtook Paul, who was complaining of heart problems. The usual sympathy extended and I carried on. I held it together until 22 miles, but then I started struggling a bit. Finished my marathon in 3;28:47, but unfortunately I wasn’t in the stadium yet! So in the end I went over 3:30 for 26.44 miles.

Post race entertainment consisted of Paul stopping for a chat (claiming cramp) before completing the final lap, then stripping off in front of the Royal Box (the fastest I saw Becky move all day) and a very fine snack at M&S in full team kit (Thanks Dave).

A great run from George (sub 3;15) and a PB. A 14 minute PB for Jerry, which wasn’t at all surprising given his performance in training. An excellent first marathon from Dave Cook. A fine effort form Mike, especially considering he hadn’t got above 35/40 miles a week in training. A tidy performance from Becs following her stunning Berlin performance, although she didn’t catch the Serpentine runner on the stadium lap despite numerous helpful tips from the assembled coaches. Paul finished which given his condition was amazing!

Seriously though, if you are looking for a well-organised event with serious PB potential this is it. It does what it says on the can. Can’t be faulted.

Back at the beginning of February, I had set this as my goal race for the year. Loads of positive feedback on Runners World and a pancake flat course meant that this is one of the top races of choice for the marathon running fraternity. The day started scraping frost off the car (?!) at 0550, but after a heart healthy Mcdonalds breakfast with Pablo the depressed (sorry mate, Wales deserved to win!) and Becs, we had a nice relaxing drive down to Abingdon. The reason for mentioning this is that ths did not apply to the guys in the other car, eh David!

The weather was perfect. Clear skies, ideal temperature and no wind. Unfortunately, my original goal time of 3:10 / 3:12 was out due to 7 weeks injured over the summer with calf and foot injuries, but nevertheless I felt confident I could still achieve a PB (3:18) as I have felt really good when I have been fit. A quick chat with Coach RJ and I decided to set off around 7:20 / 7:25 pace, which would get me in just under 3:15, assuming no slowing down. Thankfully that is what happened. Through halfway in just over 1:37 and back in just under 1:37 for my first ever negative split and feeling strong throughout. One slight wobble at 22 when I felt a wee bit queasy and felt like cramp was coming on, but I managed to dig in and ride it out.

The organisers of this race are to be congratulated for a superbly organised race. Not quite as scenic as we expected, but nevertheless ideal in most other regards. The stadium finish on the track (I have never felt that bouncy in my life!) for the last 300m was ideal. Well done to everyone who ran - top effort. Special mention though to David for an excellent time in his first marathon and Jerry, knocking 14 minutes off his PB. Top race. Top company. Top day.

I only did this event as my wife had entered the 5k event and had cold feet as she has not done any XC before and was worried about going over on her ankles. I therefore transferred the entry and upgraded to the 10K. Also, as it was at Dunstable Downs I thought it should be a great place to run with some stunning views.

I thought what better way to prepare for a really hilly 10k on a Sunday than to go out for a 20 Miles solo run on the Saturday. As a result I was not feeling on 'top form' and was hoping to get under 50 mins.

Did the first mile in 7 mins and then it got narrow onto single track (as the name suggest) paths and then at 5K has Bison hill which was a roughly 1 in 6 climb up steps which you had to walk up. Anyone that tried to run was not going any quicker!!

After that it levelled out a bit but the headed into the woods for a bit of steeplechase over fallen trees for a few hundred yards before returning to normal trails to the finish outside the discovery centre on Dunstable Downs.

The weather was perfect and the views were stunning and a really great run for spectating too.

Overall it was great run and I would consider it again but without the warm up run the day before. The winning time of 33 mins was outstanding for the course and 7 mins quicker than the winner last year. Well done to James on his top 10 after a marathon last weekend.

After hearing the race briefing stating that the course drops to the aforementioned single track after the first 500meters and for a fast time you need to get into position early I decided to go for broke with sprint start into 6th place and then tried to hold on I dropped a few places between 6k and 8k, then could here Steve James in my head telling me to lift my knees, lengthen your stride, you have No stamina etc! The final 1k was over in no time at all I even felt like I sprinted the last 200 it probable didn’t look like I was thou

I quenched my first retuned to the home straight in time to catch Shaun charge in he seemed equally pleased with his run as I was with mine. The highs and lows (no pun intended)

Lows - The mental shear vertical hill / wall at 5k that had steps & even brought the front runners to a walk

Highs - 5k water station just after the hill - Bounding over logs in the brief wooded section FUN! - Finishing 10th

I only found out about this trail race when we went for a drive the previous Thursday & I saw a poster in a shop window in the village.

We went to the tourist office to find out more & the nice lady there had me entered for the 42K race while the others were still discussing where we should go to eat - we found a superb & inexpensive restaurant just round the corner.

I left Marsielle on the Sunday in the dark with the temperature at 13 C - & by the time we were ready to start it was down to 4 degrees.

At the briefing we were told that due to some erosion part of the route had been changed - so now it was 44K.

We set off from the village centre at 8am & by the time we left the road for a stoney track 1K later I was at the back along with a lady of over 60, plus the sweeper. A very steep & rocky climb took us to the first drinks/food stop at 9K - on the highest summit, Montagne de Vautubiere at 658mts. The views from the edge of the ridge near the top were amazing and very vertiginous - I had to hold on to a rock to look!

After a short drop down a wide track we soon turned up a narrow path along the next ridge. Now I normally love running along limestone pavements - but this one was upended and it was a case of stepping carefully from rock to rock - or between them. And the steep path down was equally rocky.

After many more forest tracks & narrow winding paths - up gradual slopes & steep ones, I eventually arrived at the second drinks stop at about 26K. By now all the marshals seemed to know that the last runner was an aging Englishman - and all were cheering me on. And it was getting really warm so I took off my long sleeve top.

Eventually I could see the valley leading back to Jouques ahead - but then rounding the hillside I realised we were going up the first mountain again - to the final drinks stop at the first summit, before we would turn to the finish - and via an even steeper path than earlier.

At the top I was told 'It's all downhill now' - but the very steep & rocky path down, on tired legs, was as slow as the path up. One of the marshalls helped a lot by holding on to me for the worst part of the descent. By now I had a group of them with me who were removing all the tape & signs from the course as we went along - and all very encouraging. The last 6K was along good paths, tracks & road - but I was now walking more as I had very tired muscles from all the climb.

As we jogged along the road to the finish two young girls came out to escort me in, and ahead I could hear cheering - it seemed all the runners had come out from the hall where the meal was set out to cheer in the last finisher! Then I had only just crossed the line when a young runner insisted on having his photo taken with me - he was the winner (over 4 hours quicker!) and wanted a picture of 'the first & the last'. When in the hall the organising team helped me to a huge plate of food - then I was called onto the stage to recieve a huge trophy - it seemed I was a winner too - as well as last in the race I was first over 70!

3 Flyers lined up for this New Race ,Well Organised by Boxfit and was a Fund Raiser for the L + D Hospital Baby Unit, starting at Vauxhall Sports Club, with a “ridiculous start time “ of 9.00 am...., going up into Luton Hoo grounds.

Myself + Leigh Pilgrim were running the 5km race with Mark Billington doing the 10km race.

Leigh set off at a breakneck speed and hung onto the leader for 3 – 4 km , but over the last km it looks as though the Leader pulled away and finished 22 seconds ahead. Leigh’s time being 18:55

I hung in – on this brutal 5km course – and just could not pull in the guy in front , and managed to get round in 24:40 which gave me 5th place (with 75 runners) and I am over the moon with that .

I later found out that this was Leigh’s first ever Top 3 finish in a Race – well done Mr Pilgrim – It’s about time....

Mark Billington managed a very respectable time of 44:31 in the 10km race – with a few more hills in his race , going right up to Luton Hoo , round the house twice and then all the way back.

This Race was won by Darren Deed (who seems to win every time he runs on this course!!) with a time of 30:33 – which I am sure He would say is slow for him.

A Big Thanks to Mr Dave Coard for organising a fantastic race, in a great setting , with great marshalls, a very good running commentary .

If this is going to become an annual event – I would recommend that you pencil this in your schedule , for Next Year, as I will certainly be going make for more.

Also – I would like to Thank – Mr Steve James – for all his shouting (+good natured coaxing) at our weekly Circuit Training sessions.

I always stagger out of the gym groaning and aching all over , but the strength work appears to have paid off and I feel stronger now in my races , especially towards the end, (Who knows – with Arsenal winning this weekend, He may even Lay off any digs on that side for this week !!)

Another race organised by Dave Coard from Boxfit. This time it was in the aid of raising money for the neonatal intensive care unit at the L & D. This together with being a Boxfit organised race, start - finish chip timing and a t-shirt were on the cards.................need any other reason to take part?

Two weeks ago I was in my shorts and t-shirt loving the sun, this time, first thing was really cold!!! However, its this weather I particlualy do well in, becuase I dont over heat.

Knowing the route was particularly hilly, i had to scrap the though of a PB and see where i could get in the standings. I met up with a runner from Luton AC who normaly achives 17:30 5k. We warmed up together (practically done the 5k circuit!) and basically started the race together, and actually ran together until the hills and then he just flew off, I could see him not too far in front but then he gained around 30 sec's on me. Trying to keep my posture, i knew where i was and just carried on and held on for 2nd.

Really nice set up and great morning for it. I miss the lake season and this was great to see everyone again

My first big race abroad after my 12th place behind American youths Hunter and Jet in Florida. There is something amazing racing abroad,a real buzz. Sunday morning arrived my nervous back ache from Thursday's club jog round Ampthill gone. Then help!! all the trams weren't running or were full and not stopping. Oh well, a 3k walk to the stadium will do as a warm up. The race starts and finishes in the old 1924 Olympic stadium. Big,big moans from my daughter( Richard, Mike, George, Paul also moan) about me not drinking and eating enough so I did what I was told and ate and drank so no cramp and the result was great a fantastic run. Even producing my fastest 5k split at 30-35 k but the last 3k through Amsterdam's Vondelpark tough. The finish is amazing because you think the 5000+ ?? in the stadium are cheering you. My supporters were hunting down an empty tram so missed my AFF coached sprint to the line but saw me twice at the Rijksmuseum. A pb by 2 minutes so so happy. Amsterdam is so well organised, great support, weather perfect and FLAT. My cool down on Monday morning was a bike ride around the marathon course down the Amstel and back. A biathlon but cycling is not for the faint hearted in the city of Amsterdam.

It feels like I have spent most of this year re-building some form and the road relay came at just the right time.

The Finsbury Park course is a playful 2 laps which includes a mix of up and down. Having raced it a few times I have gradually learnt not to overcook the first lap because the rises are guaranteed to take their toll.

Conditions were perfect - early afternoon on a glorious Autumn day, the lightest breeze, pleasantly cool and fresh. A couple of the first leggers dashed off with predictable enthusiasm but I tried to stick to the game plan and run some steady splits. The question was whether to plough my own furrow or ease off and join the pack. I opted for option 2 and gradually consolidated 3rd place. Feeling strong and relaxed at the end of Lap 1 I tried hard to relax and concentrate on technique. Lap 2 came and went with little mishap and I managed to hold a steady pace. My leg (16:09) is fraction slower than last year but this was a much better and more enjoyable run.

It was very pleasing to see my four team mates post some fleet times which combined to deliver a team Silver Medal in a decent overall time.

The course is around a narrow section at the northern end of lake Garda staring in Limone and finishing in Malcesine I chose to stay in Malcesine for a few days priory to the event enjoy the italian food wine ice cream oh the pizza that's food I know carb loading early in the name of running

the day of the run started with a dawn ferry trip across the lake to Limone bit choppy and the wind was throwing spray up to freshen any one not fully awake the weather generally looked grim but the atmosphere was good.

bags dropped last minute preps and ritual's taken care of the wind dropped and the sun began to shine the race was started by Limone's mayor (who is double a Mike from the young ones uncanny)

Instead of my usual go out as hard and fast as I can until my legs can take no more then gradually slow down I was determined to run more disciplined working negative splits this tactic seemed to make sense start slow and build up pace for a strong finish in reality I started well holding around 4.50 splits for the first 5k then upping the tempo at 6k noting the overall down hill for the first 10k

I felt good and was happy as I crossed through the half way point in 1:35 I slowed down to refill my water bottle's having drunk nearly all I was carrying the temperature had risen to a sweltering 29 degrees and having past through some very picturesque vineyards set in the valleys of Riva del Garda with very little shade I was aware of the possibility of dehydration I just had to hold steady now and repeat the first half's time again (water was every 5k and 3 large food stations with a selection of fruit biscuits water and energy drinks)

On passed yachting marinas and cobbled squares the spectators all cheered enthusiastically passing 28k I could feel my self slowing and the road starting to incline the 2nd food station was a welcome sight I then popped in my head phones and pressed play for some motivation music missing the opportunity to add the bond theme tune to my play list as I entered the tunnels used for the car chase in Quantum of solaces.

the musical interlude served me well for 10k but as the incline increased so did the head wind, I was aware of a new pb was long gone the last 4k was like all previous marathon attempts I just had nothing left so much for sience & discipline I started slow and finished slower

the finishes zone was one of the best i have seen aid station drinks including water and red bull, fruit cakes ,easy bag collection friends and family could join for hugs and kisses steming hot tasty risotto and beer! you've got to love the italians style.

the finisher medal summed up all that was needed 2011 lake Garda marathon I DID IT.

Having had a go at this race back in 2008, and as part of my build up to Winter Ballbuster duathlon in November, I decided to have another crack at this scenic hilly race, hoping that I have last week’s Standalone out of my legs.... Arriving early so as to distribute Ampthill Trophy leaflets on unsuspecting runners, I had chance to re-acquaint myself with the finish (some 1+ miles from where you start which often catches the unaware as they approach the start line on the return leg). A significant turn out from flyers made for good camaraderie at the start, bit of banter with some other familiar faces and off we go at 10.00. Gentle incline up & over railway left at top onto country path then left again to start first climb, suddenly the field starts thinning out as the lungs start to burn and the legs hurt. A temporary respite as we go through a golf course, then onto the climb up to Ashridge Monument – lovely scenery I’m sure but no time to stop! A quick gulp of water at the drinks station and then off toward the Ridgeway itself – a big downhill is proceeded obviously by a big uphill, which stretches out in front of you – you know it’s coming but after the first severe climb I know there’s another nasty climb to get back into the woods, which then seem to undulate upwards – I’m sure we need to be going down. Eventually after reaching steps we do start falling back to ground level – down through last gateway and track and back onto the road to go through the farmyard and over the railway – this is still 2 miles to go and despite the welcoming applause and a marshall informing me I’m 6th my inability to run fast on the flat kicks in as a runner passes me and disappears down the lane. I just have to hang on into the finish – I can hear the heavy breathing of the runner behind me but I decide that if he’s blowing like that he’s suffering to, so I push as hard as I can, as the gate into the finishing field comes into view, and with a spurt (definitely not a sprint) I cross the line in 7th 6 secs in front of 8th – what a way to get a £10 M& S voucher! Good result to for John Mitcalff after his exertions on the bike in Wales last week, along with Jeremy Bell who wisely chose not to run another event afterwards as per last week!!! Dave Coker in next followed a few minutes behind by Dave Stanley, just coming in front of Shaun Kirtley; Well done to Sally Marsh first lady flyer home and Caroline Gilby a gutsy 2nd. Great race if ever you get the chance to run it but be sure you have done your hill training and mileage as it hurts! Next stop Henlow 10...

I've said it before but this is my favorite local run. A beautiful but challenging trail run over 15K. The Ridgeway Run was established in 1982 and is an attractive route mainly on footpaths and bridleways with stunning Chiltern views combing fast track/road sections and three testing climbs. The famous of which is Pitstone Hill some 3 miles from the finish which leads you into a fall sense of security as when you get to the top you find there's still another 400 meters of climb to contend with. This year it was blowing a gale at the top which just added to my own personal struggle as I lumbered over the top!

As it is a narrow start down a small lane, I decided to start close to the front. All this meant was runners passing me for the first mile as I settled into my own pace. When Dave Coker went past I decided to use him as a marker to my fitness after last weeks run at Leighton when I finished some 32 seconds behind him over the 10 mile course. By the second climb up onto the Ridge I could still see Dave but he was a good 100metres ahead. Normally, I like to try and push on along this two mile section but this year found the two climbs had taken too much out of the legs. Through half way in 37.57, I knew I was struggling. Once over Pitstone Hill I ran within myself down through the woods when in the past I have descended at kamikaze pace - not this year though! The last two mile section back along the long farm track and Marshcroft Lane I just managed to hold my position and finish in a disappointing 1.17.22 (101st) - nearly 2 and half minutes slower than last year.

A good turn out from the Flyers lead home by Dave Olney in 7th place. Also, great to Sally Marsh back competing and she looked great in the yellow fluorescent t-shirt we all got for finishing!!

A really encouraging start to the season for the juniors Flyers with especially strong performances in the boys and girls under-13s which leaves the club with a mid-table 5th in the division for the boys and 7th for the girls.

Amelia Kirby was first off as our solo U11 girl. She was going really well until a rabbit hole twisted her ankle and she had to retire.

Aaron Potter was also our only U11 for the boys and got in trouble with a twisty bit of the course where he took a wrong turn. So, no points scored for the U11s yet but well done for Amelia and Aaron giving it a try for the first race of the season, there will be plenty more chances to go again.

The U13 girls was our best supported category with four runners. As the scores show, Lauren, Loiuse and Isabelle finished with 30 second gaps between them. It was good to see Alysa racing again, working hard now that she’s jumped up a distance category from last time.

We had the regular crew of Ryan, Josh and Alex running for the U13 boys. I saw a good lot of overtaking and I’m pretty sure the 5th in division 2 is the best place we’ve managed in this league so far.

Frances was our only U15 girl and had already run with Alysa to give her some support, so no need for an extra warm up! A good run for Frances that put her several places further forwards than last time I saw her racing at Stopsley. It’s always good to see runners moving up the finishing order.

Hopefully they can encourage others to join in and fill up some of the other categories.

I met up with a few Flyers before the start and for a change did a warm up lap. I was aiming to attempt a PB but needed a someone to pace me. After a bit of badgering George caved in. I think the last time he paced me at MK was still fresh in his mind when I said I wanted to run sub 23 only for the wheels to fall off. This time I said the aim was 21.59 but no slower than 22.15 (PB 22.33). I could hear George's eyes roll thinking here we go again.

Off we went. To my relief after 500m George said we were going to fast and slowed the pace. We hit 2.5km in 10.55. George kept me going, shouting words of encouragement like 'This is easy', 'Don't let your kids down', 'France should be 10 nil up by now' (just kidding George). I fell of the pace a bit at the 4km marker. With George's encouragement I managed to pick back up and according to my Garmin completed 5km in 21.53. George's said his showed 22 on the line (and to be fair his cost more!). The official time was 22.02. I am really pleased having knocked 31 seconds of my previous PB (Tuesday's session helped). Sub 22 would have been nice, it now means I have to feel that pain all over again :)

Having seen Mo Farrah doubling up and running in both the 10,000m and 5,000m in major championships I thought that I'd give it a go. Mo is a bit of a lightweight and has almost a week between the races. I reckoned that 45minutes between races should be enough for me. I've always enjoyed the low-key Harlington village race but this year I thought I'd do our club championship 10K on 2nd October instead. When I got the details for the 10K I realised that with a 9:30 start if I ran sub 45mins for the 10K then headed straight to the car I could get back to Harlington for the 11am start of the 5K race around the village. I arranged for Andy Atherton to get me a number for Harlington (which only allows on-the-day registration) and it was all set.

Standalone was a bit of a blur. My mind was slightly distracted knowing that I couldn't give it 100% and had to leave something in the tank for later. I was a minute or so behind Richard Pillinger and Nick Jones, who seemed to be having a battle some way ahead of me. I think they swapped places at least once - but couldn't be sure. The water stops were most welcome, hardly drank anything but splashed my face with it. Steve James was somewhere around the course and called out "lengthen your stride Jezzer", I took the advice and passed lots of people in the next kilometer. A bit of technique can make a big difference.

I finished the 10K with a bit of a sprint against a couple of other runners, got my chip taken off, picked up a t-shirt and ran to the car.

I was on schedule as I got in the car but as the course passes the car-park exit at around 8K the road was effectively shut and the marshals asked me to stop until the race was done. It was very frustrating watching the time ticking away but it gave me a chance to cheer on some Flyers as they headed to the 9K mark. After 10 minutes the field was thinning a bit and the marshals let me out in a gap between runners. I zipped over to Harlington and just made it, arriving in the village at five to eleven. Just time to jog to the start pick up the number and pin it to my vest during the runner's briefing.

AT dead on 11am we were off on race 2 of the day. I felt okay but had lost a bit of speed from doing the 10K and couldn't pick up the pace enough. I started a little behind Andy Ath and stayed there for the race. The eventual race winner hared off away from everyone so I didn't see him again. Phil Clarke was a solid third place for much of the race, running strongly and with a good gap to the pack with Andy, myself and four others. However, as we got back into Harlington two of the guys in the pack really picked up their pace and caught Phil to push him to 5th place.

So, running both races meant that neither was going to be my best time but it was good to forget about PBs and target times to have a bit of fun trying to get them both done when it was so tight for time.

It was hot with no shade or wind. (Actually there is a tiny bit of shade, but its over the steepest hill known to man, so you don't really get to appreciate it.) It's quite a tough course, the first mile and a half slope down (fail to recognise this at your peril), then the last 2 miles contain a very steep hill and end on a pretty long up-hill into the finish. This was my first race in 6 months, so was nervous and found it hard. But I finished 20 seconds quicker than last time, 2 years ago, so pretty happy with that.

Following the demise 3 years ago of the original Leighton 10 which was run over a relatively flat course this new route aptly named 'Tough 10' certainly lives up to its reputation with a series of rolling hills and one really tough climb just before the end at 9 miles.

Competing with the Standalone 10K meant a small field of just over 100 runners. This is a big shame as it is a really well organised race along nice country roads over a testing course and I urge fellow Flyers to consider this race for next year.

I had come into the race with only just over a week of running in the legs having had 3 weeks off due to a broken toe. The aim was just to get round as I was unsure how I would feel and was conscious of the terrain of the course and the very hot temperatures, despite a 9.00am start. I set off with fellow Flyer Dave Coker but decided to drop off his pace as I passed through 1 mile in 7.18. Up the first climb to 2 miles and I could already tell that this was going to be a struggle! Then the first long climb started at around 3 miles as we made our way up past Stockgrove Park and upwards to Brickhill at 5 miles. Through 5 in 38.42 I could still just see Dave in the distance but he was definately stronger on the hills. As we dropped down out of Brickhill I was beginning to get a new lease of life as we approaced Heath & Reach but only to slow yet again as we pushed up yet another hill. The sting in the tail on this course is the climb just before 9 miles up Shenley Hill Road - a wicked short but very steep climb that looks even worse if you dwell on its incline as you turn to climb it from the bottom of Leighton Road. This was my worst mile split 8.05 but I could see Dave struggling and I was just starting to reel him in. The final mile drops down and back towards Vandyke School (6.50) and I finished in 1.16.50 - 32 seconds behind Dave but some 4+ minutes slower than when I ran the Sandy 10. Still, I had got round and times can only improve can't they!?

Sound runs from Terry McHugh and Nicola Rouse - Nicola had mentioned something about an 18+ mile training run the day before - incredible!

An undulating road 10 mile event around the rural parts of Leighton Buzzard. Although the title says 'tough' I think that is rather ambitious and may put people off entering. There was a long steep climb up to mile 9 but all other hills were gentle, long climbs. A really well organised event, starting and finishing at race HQ where there were parking and changing facilities etc, which made logistics for the day easy. I also felt that the marshall's did a fantastic job, especially in managing runners across road sections, which also made for a seamless event. No chip timing, my watch time was 1:29.

A tough race on a very hot day, a new course which had roughly 8 hills along the way which culminated at the last one “Shenley Hill” an interesting climb to the 9 mile marker ! excellent marshalling all round the course, especially at road crossings.

Haven't been down for training for some time due to injury, and then work commitments, but finally got round to running my first half marathon last weekend! Having family in Ireland, my sister managed to talk me into running this race with her after making sure I had partaken of one or two beers before she asked!

Atmosphere was great, with over 900 runners taking on the half marathon (the 10k having started an hour earlier). Weather wasn't bad for running, overcast and on the cool side. Organisation on the day was clear, the only down side being that rather than sending the race pack out to you, you had to go into the city centre to pick it up from the Elvery's sports store the day before/morning of the race- as this is the sports chain that sponsors the race. If's fair to say picking up the pack was a bit manic, and resembled a scrum!

The course took the form of a double loop, out from just past Spanish Arch along the roads of Salthill, and then back in again, taking in the sea paths and the quay, and was quite a scenic route in places. It's a fairly flat course, with only a couple of hills to contend with. Found the going a bit tough at mile 12, but was happy to finsh with a sprint!

Needless to say, was sure to guzzle a couple of well deserved guinness's afterwards.

Came home to find out that after three earlier attempts, I've got into the 2012 London Marathon, so am now looking forward? to upping my training.

This is the fastest I have ever done this course! Very pleased with the result, after a slightly disappointing swim, I managed to smash a new PB on the bike course.

Then just as the bike section went my way, I started on the run, without realising it, this was to be the best performance ever on the course, consisting of a 18:50min 5km run.............and that was after the swim and bike, Im megga happy!!!!

Both transistions were spotless, and yes, the weather was perfect, however, that does'nt always mean your gonna do well, you still need to put in your best performance.

My thanks to Steve Morales, I spoke to him around two weeks before the event for some preperation training advise, and after following it, look whats happened! I also have my parents to thanks for pushing me on, my Dad being patient as ever during my training, looking after my bike so that i can get straight on it after the swim training, what more prep can you ask for?!!

Oh and on another note, well done to the Junior Flyers who took part in the kids aquathalon, it was really nice to see the juniors in action

After a cycling accident when I was 18, I'd never really got my confidence back on my bike. However, as part of my "don't get old and boring" campaign, I decided to do some covert cycling during the summer with a view to trying my first tri sprint in Bedford in October. I was quickly rumbled by husband who promptly went on to eBay and started asking questions like "do you think a small tri suit would fit you?". How should I know, I'd never tried one on before? Anyway the tri suit was purchased, arrived and fitted so now I had to enter. As insurance I told (bored) lots of people about it so that I would lose face badly if I pulled out.

Sunday morning was beautiful, clear and sunny, I couldn't have asked for better conditions. I was seriously nervous and wondered whether slippery Ready Brek, my normal race breakfast, was a good idea after all. Met up with Jason Theobold (also his first tri) and Leigh at the briefing, good to see some friendly faces. The swim felt steady, I overtook about four people but wasn't overtaken myself. Struggled to get my socks on in T1 despite half a tub of talcum powder - note to self, use short socks next time. I remembered all the helpful advice husband had given me like don't ride over manhole covers and change into an easier gear near Sainsburys in case the lights go red (I did and they did). I did panic on the A6 when I was overtaken by an enormous lorry and braked down all the hills whilst being overtaken by other cyclists who were still pedalling! Quite a talent to be quicker up hills than down. Anyway, got back in one piece and according to the race results, had the fastest T2 transition in my age group. The run felt good too once I'd got over the jelly legs and I overtook some of those cyclists.

I genuinely had no idea of my overall time and initially wasn't too bothered as I was in it to complete rather than compete. But 1 hour 32 was so, so much better than I'd hoped for. I was delighted to get under an hour on the bike but equally thrilled to go sub 22 on the run - my pb at the recent Doug Anderson was 22.22! I would definitely do another tri sprint and know where I can get quicker on the bike but as Dave Sedgeley, who has been coaching me on my downhill running for the past 3 years, will know - its going to take some time before I relax downhill on the bike and maybe not brake all the way!

Entered my first sprint tri in Bedford on sunday and finished in 195th place with a time of 1:28:58, I really enjoyed it and was nice to see other flyers there (thanks jo), I would recommend this to any flyer thinking of having a go at a tri for the first time as it was well organised.

Myself and Fellow AFF Steve Morales was invited to take part in this sprint triathlon as was 6 pro athletes and a handfull of GB Triathletes.

These distances are totally at the wrong end for me, however iam always happy to use them as speed work training sessions.

Steve and i was put in the same lane in the pool which made it great fun as we fought the whole way, we then started the bike section together and we swapt places for the first half of the bike leg, steve just making slightly better work on the hills.

It was then a 5.5k blast on the run, i kept steve in my sights till the end and was happy to finish as close as i did. Even better apart from 2 pros (who did not score) steve and i had done the business, both getting 1st and Silverware. Steve got 1st male and myself getting 1st male 41-49.

I was a bit concerned that the 12mile run with the Flyers on Saturday morning( and particularly Ed and I attacking a hill a the 10mile point) might have put pay to any chance of success the following day – not clever at all.

So it was a nice surprise to end the season with a win. I could be accused of pot hunting here but essentially I did the race to support a charity that I have links with at my school.

However there were a few other ringers present !!! (including GB Long Distance Champ Joel Jameson all be it as a Non Scorer).

Nice consistent splits! Fast and flat- what a great event, very congested with other runners but support all the way round the course. (apparently) some amazing sights to see. thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of a city marathon

This was the first running of the event organised by http://www.dirtrunning.co.uk/ who also organised the Dirt Half Challenge in Leighton Buzzard in November.

Was a just over 5 Mile trail race but they had to move the finish so was 5.29 miles in all.

Having read the course description I thought yes it looks like a few climbs but nothing more than I am used to having trained in Ampthill park and run around Toddington. Well how wrong could I be the hills were fairly brutal and it was only the stunning views along the ridge that took away the pain. The climb for the 4th mile just went on and on made worse by the fact that you kept turning corners and seeing more of climb ahead!

There was 460 feet of climbs in all but mainly in 2 stints of a mile each. The finish was a nice flat mile run back to the monument at Ashridge.

Despite the pain this was a great race and I was delighted with 19th place and the fact that it was won in 33:37 shows what a tough course it was. If its back next year I will be there.

Brighton Triathlon - Sunday 25 September I wanted to do this Triathlon in memory of my dad who lived and died in Brighton, my father loved the sea and being by the coast so i thought it fitting that i do this race for him. The distance and course did not suit me as it was a short triathlon and the bike course was very hill (across the downs and ditching beacons) however the day was not about that. I started my journey at 4am to be in brighton for 6am as the race kicked off at 7.00am My dads presents was obviously with me as i felt fantasic, i was 2nd in my start coming out of the 1000 meter sea swim and going into T1. I was very fast coming out of T1 and was pushing hard on the hills, i had caught all the yougsters in the earlier start and was fighting my way through the pack. Again another quick T2 saw me out on the flat 8k run along the sea front, it was only then as things started to calm down did i reflect on my dad, he would have loved the race and the day as the weather was perfect, the sun glistening accross the sea on a perfect still, warm morning with the fresh sea air. I dont mind admitting at that point i shed a tear as i miss my dad, and the realisation of how luck iam to be alive and fit enough to compete in a sport i love with a passion. Not that its that important i finished in the top 10 overall and 3rd in my age category iam told. Then it was time for the serious stuff yes fish and chips on the pier followed by the obligitory large 99 ice cream "oh happy days" my dad would have been proud. Martin Beare - 10th Overall 3rd in class RAB Mountain Marathon - Sunday 24/25 September This year's Rab mountain marathon was held near Bethesda in North Wales. I'd entered soon after breaking my foot, with the intention of giving me motivation to get some fitness back after a long lay off on crutches. I also persuaded my husband David to tackle it with me - partly to stop me overdoing it running on uneven ground ( he's way less fit than me and not built like a typical skinny fell runner) and also to kick start his own training towards a 50 mile hike in the new year. Saturday dawned grey, soggy and miserable so rainwear was essential gear from the start, and footing on slippery slate was treacherous. They build hills steep and rocky round here, and though we navigated to the first two checkpoints successfully, checkpoint 3 was frustratingly absent in spite of much rock scrambling ( it later turned out the organisers had misplaced it - which always makes me feel better about navigation errors). Soon after David put his foot down a hidden pothole in the moss accompanied by a loud snapping sound and I really thought I was going to have to call mountain rescue. Luckily his knee seemed to snap back into place and he limped on, wincing with every step, only to go down again between two rocks on an almost vertical downhill scramble. He decided he could still hobble but our only option by now was to escape by the easiest track we could find to the overnight camp site. This was in a stunning but remote field and the sun even came out so it turned into a remarkably pleasant evening. It helps pitching camp in the dry and there's something quite primitive but satisfying about foraging for water from a river (safely boiled in a modern primus). Some sunbathing and a tot of medicinal XO Georgian brandy also helped ease a few aches and pains. We worked out overnight that our only way of getting home was either to bail out of the event and walk round to the finish by road, or follow the long but well marked track over several peaks including Drum (772metres) and Foel Fras (942 metres) rather than navigate over the uneven terrain. David's injuries meant he couldn't take any twisting or strain. We knew time would be tight given our slow speed and so much climb, and as it was we were 10 minutes late back meaning we lost most of our few hard won points on Sunday. My broken foot held up fine and my worst injury was a broken finger nail - dangerous sport this! Overall we scored 100 across the two days. This left us near the bottom of the field - but importantly not last - and with a well earned sense of achievement for both of us.
Caroline Gilby & David Bailey 100 points 288th out of 300 teams starting in standard class	David Sedgley & Joanne Allin 170 points 274th out of 300 teams also standard class
Caroline

This was a team tri organised by the fix uk and I gained free entry from volunteering to marshal at a great ormond street fun run several months back and roped in my sister in law Mira and friend Atul to complete our team simply named team J.A.M

The event was fantastic the morning started a bit misty but that soon lifted and quickly warmed up to become a perfect sunny day Dorney Lake was a supper location and was a well chosen setting to race and be a spectator even my wife's photography looks good

I have never enter a short distance tri and very rarely taking part in short runs generally going for punishing distances always out to improve myself if not always succesfully. So I took this on as a light hearted bit of fun and loved it!

The event is designed for people new to triathlons teams are of 3 computers A B C with one time chip per team they cold be mixed or single gender teams,

my team mates nominated me to swim first as A then passes chip to B then on to C only after C finishes their swim can the chip be passed back to A to start of on the bike this system follows through all the way on to the run this gives plenty of time to relax eat and drink between disciplines and cheer on your team mates enjoy all the excitement of the day

Our team came 61st out of 78 teams and 27th out of the 36 mixed teams finishing in 3.22.55 and I even managed to get a new 5k PB shaving of over 1 1/2 minutes of my previous best.

Last Saturday we ran in the Taupo Harriers Botanic Gardens relay race which is one of the hilliest one mile courses any sadist could have found for a club race. Isabel got round in 11min 07 sec whilst I did it almost as fast as two years ago in 7min 42 sec and was totally legless afterwards. The finish in particular is just too steep to really let rip and there is about 150 meters of flat before the course goes steeply uphill at the start.

Back to the Park Runs (proper kit this week!). This was my first Bedford Park run, I wasn't sure I would like running laps but I really enjoyed it. The race was well marshalled and water was provided at the finish. I saw two other Flyers, Steve Pritchard and Sean McCartney. I set off a bit quicker than usual and found myself just behind Steve after 2k, this set alarm bells ringing and true to form I talked myself into slowing down. I pushed hard the last 200 and finished with a PB. My Garmin clocked 22.29 but Park Run had me down as 22.33, still a PB but my Garmin doesn't lie :)

Both Isabel and I enjoyed this weekend of running as our Club – Taupo Harriers – entered 5 five-person running teams and 5 two-person walking teams in the 5k off-road Red Stag Relay in Rotorua.

The course is virtually flat for the first half of this race followed by a long drag upwards then undulates back down to the finishing straight. Isabel did a stout job recording all the 35 finishing times whilst all I had to do was run the anchor leg of the Dinosaur team – to think of it 5 years ago I was in the ‘fast” team, age wins in the end. Anyway, despite a nagging piriformis and slightly strained ITB I did a credible 25:06 which was as quick as three years ago. Not too bad for a 70 year old. The club was placed second in the composite running teams’ race and cleaned up the walking race with 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 11th places.

This is only the second year that the race has been running and last weekend was a sell out success with about 1000 folk entering. There was the option to tackle it over two days, which about three-quarters of entrants did, or for those of us with a suppressed sense of self-preservation there was the single day option which had a time limit of 13 hours. The race started on the beach in Nairn on the East Coast of Scotland at a bracing 6.30 am. First off was a 7 mile trail run to Cawdor castle to pick up the bike. Then, a 48 mile road stage to Fort Augustus before a short kayak stage on Loch Ness. After a run back to the bike there was a further 33 miles of cycling to Fort William of which about half was off-road along muddy forest trails. The final stage was an absolutely stunning 14 mile run starting on the slopes of Ben Nevis and then following the West Highland Way before dropping down to Loch Leven on the West coast for 1 mile of kayaking to the finish line. The weather let us off lightly - a bit of rain but fortunately only light winds. For true connoisseurs of pain the 1 day race, I can testify, is a real gem and the scenery is some of the finest on offer .

It was this or Swineshead 10. Got a very official email in bold type asking me to confirm i understood the instructions. No number until the day, so Dunstable Road Runners could keep track on how many runners were lost, and two very comprehensive pages of directions, made me wonder if i had made the right decision. Met fellow flyers Becs (20 miles) and Paul Barton (full monty) at registration. Off to the start with about 170 runners for the 3 distances. A steep climb onto the Dunstable Downs and into a strong headwind and then things got better. I was planning not to use the map, but follow someone else on the course. The guy in front had loads of energy drinks strapped to his waist, so i decided he wasn't doing the half and overtook him.

Then i hit the jackpot, 4 runners, dad (boxfit), son, daughter and friend running in a group. I ran with them all the way round. Came off a ploughed field after 8 miles and i was really struggling. I waived the group on, but the daughter stopped to catch her breath a mile on and i caught up. The group then managed to kick over the last 2 miles, but they helped me get a time i was really happy with.

This was a very tough event with lots of long and/or steep climbs - in Central Chilterns.

For the record this was my 103rd marathon. If there is anyone who intended to sponsor me for my 100th and hasn't yet done so my website is still open for donations: www.justgiving.com/David-Sedgley or see me at training.

I have not had a lot of motivation recently, so I asked my agent to find me a big city marathon with some water interest. Expecting a mass participation event in an exotic location I instead found myself at the start line at Ackers Adventure Centre on Saturday morning.

This was a fairly typical LDWA event, with about 80 people running the marathon. We were provided with a written route description and navigated the route passing through five well stocked check points with all bar the first five miles on canals.

The start was as low key as you could ever have. The official starter said, “If no-one’s got any questions I suppose you might as well start”, and walked off. I took an early lead through the Warwick Road Industrial Estate as everyone else went the wrong way, but lost it within 100 yards when I re-read the next instruction.

There was a fair bit of chat on the way round and quite a bit of quite hard running from my point of view. I managed to team up with a very good runner from Sutton (a recent 3:13 marathoner) who was complaining that my pace was a bit fast for her, I don’t know how she worked that out – possibly because she had run 17 miles the night before after work!

The race was remarkably interesting for a canal run, until the last four or five miles through Birmingham’s industrial wasteland. All in all it wasn’t a bad day out, but I’m looking for a new agent.

As we are near the end of the winter season here in Taupo we had the Harriers Club road champs last Saturday – brilliant day, shorts and vests only plus a BBQ outside afterwards. Today it is adjectively freezing!

Anyway in the Ladies MW65-69 Isabel did 43:11 for her 6k and not quite as quick as two years ago; last year we were in UK. I myself bust the gut in taking seven and a half minutes off the existing MM70-74 record for the 10k with a not very inspiring run of 52:51. By only doing a Silver Age related time I lost the lead in our Performance League by one point to a 16 year old girl who did a Gold time for her 4k race!!! This week we have 5 running teams of 5 runners per team and 5 two person walking teams in a huge off-road relay in Rotorua – The Red Stag Relay; I get to run in our Dinosaur team!

I lined up at the start with Shaun and Tim as we expected to be close in times. The start was a bit frantic, trying to get into the right group of the field - I think we'd been a bit pessimistic about where we started and should have gone forwards a few rows. Early on the race goes over a few speed humps. As I had just passed the second of these I heard an 'aarrrggghhh' followed by the sound of runner meeting tarmac. Everyone was too bunched up for a look round, so I didn't know that this was Tim taking a nasty fall. The rest of my race was fairly uneventful, I am still lacking in a bit of endurance so faded a bit at the end but just over 42 minutes is about where I had expected to be so I'm happy with that.

It was only when I had finished that I saw Tim again. At first I just thought he must have had a great race and that was why I hadn't seen him before. Then I noticed the bandages on his knees ( which he said looked pretty nasty as the St John staff dug out the gravel ), the bloody bandage on his head and all the scrapes on arms, hands and shoulders which were still bleeding away. Tim had spent over half an hour having gravel picked out from his wounds, after going down really heavily on the speed bump.

Meanwhile, away from the carnage down the field Giles won 1st MV35, Dave Olney won 1st MV45 and Giles, David and Kieron won first mens team.

As the Triathlon season draws to a close here in the UK, I was looking around for something to do, so last minute i put in an enrty for the wolverhamton Marathon. On the back of no specific training i decided to do it as a training run.

This was my 3rd successive year doing this marathon, Its not the easiest marathon to do but challenging and freindly without massive crowds, as the marathon is partly organised by the council there were plenty of road closures and very well marshalled. It was great value too at £16 with a plentyfull goodie bag, medal, T shirt, energy drinks, crisps, cake. This marathon was ideal to top up my running mileage in preparation for the World Triathlon Championships USA. I had a trouble free plod round the 2 lap course and enjoyed the mornings workout.

I finally managed to FINISH a Standard Distance race this year. The weather was kind to us (unlike last year) and the rain held off. The wind made the sea swim very choppy but on the whole was favourable on the bike.

My swim was a bit down but I’ll put that down to the chop- 25.40 to the shore and 27 to the chip mat. My bike split was the most pleasing at 1.02.39 ( I promise it was the full 40k as my Garmin confirmed). The bike took it out of me and I struggled a bit on the run coming in 30-40 seconds slower than last year with 41 mins.

I need to check but this may be an Oly PB for me and the bike was certainly my best ever 40k ride. I finished 4th vet 11th overall (these are provisional placing as they are still playing around with results).

That’s it for serious TRI racing this year - time to kick back and enjoy a few fun events before the winter sets in.

End of winter and fabulous sunny day, pity about the track! The main race is run on the Whakaipo Bay – Headland track which is hilly, in forest and a really good track – for bikes. There were so many roots people were going down all over the place, in fact our President was actually knocked out when he went down. Anyway I got to 19k spot on two hours and did run the last two km at 6min/km (GPS confirmed) and then wondered why it took me 18 min. Distance boards all over the place so many unhappy punters. Running with a nagging piriformis meant I was a tad slower than planned and took 2:18 but did complete it and hence also got my shirt for the 63.3 series. Of course next day could not use the hamstring on the leg that was favoured during the run. On the Quarter marathon Isabel was chuffed as she was 6 min quicker than last year doing it in 1:23:22 and quickest MW69.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling a little heavy legged. I left for MK a little later than normal, my usual running attire was in the wash so I had to revert to my old kit. When I got there the annual Jet Ski championships was on so parking was a problem. I got to the race start with a minute to spare. I set off, after 50 metres I realised I had a problem. Not an old injury flaring up, much more serious. A wardrobe malfunction! I have reverted to running commando due to chafing. My old shorts are a little skimpy and the old chap and the twins decided to make an appearance. I struggled to re-adjust (not bragging) purely trying to keep pace and look inconspicuous. I kept going but after 200 metres and continuous readjustment I dipped out to save myself and others from the embarrassment. So 80p out of pocket and a 60 minute round trip later I found myself back at home. I put some pants on and did a local 5k. Unofficial, but I did 22.33 which is a PB for me. Next time I will ensure I have the correct kit on and will try for an official PB.

Here in Taupo we had the Harriers Club downhill mile race on Saturday where Isabel did 9:39 and I managed 6:34 breaking a record set back in 1986 in the MM74 age group.

This Saturday we have the third of our half marathons in the 63.3 series with yet another grinding off-roader; hope to break 2:15 for that!!

This course on the old A421 promises to be extremely quick given the right conditions. However although yesterday was a relatively wind free day last night unfortunately brought strong gust in both direction on the course and scuppered any chance of a PB.

I just about held on to 25mph and finished in 24.06. I was pleased to learn that the eventual winner Ross Clarke was unable to dip under 21 and that for a rider that can go sub 19 means that things were not straight forward yesterday.

I hope on the right evening to record a time starting with 22 so let’s see if the next and last race in September produces optimum conditions.

After doing virtually nothing since Greensands survival was the main aim in this very pleasant run through the trees in deepest Buckinghamshire. Bumped into Dave Cook, who was using the race as part of his marathon training, but no other Flyers were present.

The course is two laps on roads through the woods that made it slightly cooler and with some rain during the last couple of miles it turned out to be an enjoyable run. Dave disappeared off a good bit ahead of me at the whilst I tried to find a suitable pace. After 4 miles things were going worryingly well so I decided to keep going and see how long it took before my lack of training kicked in. Towards the end I quite surprisingly came across Dave, who had backed off a bit, and although he rallied and sprinted away at the end up the final couple of hills - whilst I strugggled - I somehow managed to keep close enough to record a similar chip time. Overall a fun morning to record my first finish as a V50.

This is an event I have wanted to do for some time - but we'd always been away in France. It is along the Jurassic coast from Weymouth to Swanage - a very tough 32 mile route but amazingly scenic.

We left from the clock tower on the esplanade at 9am in hazy sunshine - but a mile later as we left the end of the road to start climbing the drizzle set in. This made some of the muddy paths very slippery - but much of the route was on grass along the cliff-tops - and after a couple of hours the slight rain stopped and for the last 4 hours we were in bright sunshine & blue skies.

Some of the climbs were long & steep, with many sections of steps - but the views made it worth the effort - and I did have to keep stopping to look backwards at the views. So with me getting much slower in the last 15 miles I had thought as I got down to the esplanade in Swanage that there was no chance of beating 10 hours. But somehow I pushed through the throngs of holiday-makers along the front for the final mile to finish in 9 hours 59 minutes.

In my quest to get back into the 15mins for the 5k I decided to rejoin my old running club Luton AC 2nd claim for the remainder of the track season. The first race was on the 6th of August at Bedford, I just missed out on a sub 16 with 16.03, pretty pleased as ran most of the race on my own with the 3 leaders 30sec ahead and the followers 30sec behind.

My second outing for Luton was on the 20th August at Stockwood Park, again the 5k, however this time I had just returned from 2 weeks holiday and had made full use of the bar!! And food!! A very similar race to Bedford, (apart from it was raining) as the 1st couple of runners were well ahead, which left me chasing on my own, finished in 16.16. At least I’m showing some consistency. The track season has now finished for Luton, I look forward to completing a full track season with them next year and maybe even try out a few sprints (800/1500m) or if I’m really keen, maybe even the steeplechase.

Another nice evening, another Aquathlon, these low key fun races are designed to give everyone the chance at succeeding, and makes the elites work even harder!

The course is once again designed in 3 waves, split apart respectively, normally I would start in the second group, this time however, I was put in the last group, this was to see how the faster runners would compare with the slower runners (regardless of swim time).

This time, the handicap did prove more difficult but essentially made me work harder. A brilliant evening sunset equaled the sun glaring in your eyes so navigation in the lake proved to be a problem, so much so, I finished the swim way off transition!

With most competitors on the run, I had to work very, very hard. Chasing people down was difficult than before, but, although 6k is a long way, its just long enough to started chasing people down..........and eventually one by one, I started picking away, I did not catch all of them, but whatever the outcome, it was a very good training session, certainly felt it anyway!

After missing out on olympic games tickets my consolation of being one of the first out on the course to be used in the games felt kind of cool its just pity i was not one of the first to finish! (wishful thinking even on a good day) but a server lack of training mainly due to a lot of long work days only swimming once in the previous 4 weeks, ditto for getting out on my bike and my lack of attendance to flyers meets says it all for my running.

Targets dismissed I went out and enjoyed it as much as I could. it was a bit of a family event with my sister in-law taking part in the sprint distance and getting a new PB friends cheered on lots of photos taken the sun shine held out for us.

The serpentine swim went well for me a bit of pushing and shoving to start but I found some clean water or got left behind to find some to be brutally honest, the sun was dazzling after the first buoy turn I couldn't see a thing blind faith kept me online but once the sun dropped behind the trees I found my self in a small group of stragglers I powered on leaving them behind and exiting the water in 34 mins a new swim PB

A long run to the transition station with and 1500 bikes racked I was lucky to be at the end of a row! The bike course was generally flat no big hills and traffic free. The strait down constitution hill to the palace was a highlight of the bike course but i did witness some nasty spills on the tight corners on the approach round wellington arch i kept what a thought was a steady pace on the bike wanting to save my legs for final stage.

Leaving the bike i had no jelly legs and felt great at this point a committed a school boy error instead of giving myself one lap to ease into the run I put the hammer down strait away 2k in to the run my legs fell apart I have felt better on marathons than this I had to stop and stretch then hobbled round the rest of the course desperately trying to ignore the pain i tried to take-in the sun drench park and lake as i was on my final lap my sister in law was just taking to the water a gave her a weary wave.

We stayed to watch the pros get wet in the rain with the Brownlee brothers getting 1st & 3rd both qualifying the olympics' (check out the i player if you missed it) it was an equally great venue be a spectator as it was to participate.

I call this the successful failure because the main reason for me entering it was that i thought i could climb the high ladder and do well, when i first entered it, there were very few entries, so i thought to myself, work very hard and you can succeed. When I looked at the entry later that night before the entries closed, i think there were one or two others out to do the same thing, game over, i was really chessed off and annoyed at myself for thinking that I could do well with very few people taking part, never, never, never again am i going to do that.

However, it was successfull, becuase I actually wanted a swim time of under 15mins, and in the pool, I have failed to do this every time. So my new goal was to get sub 15 for 750m (for those swimmers out there, have in mind that im not that fast!)

Ive raced here before but that was for 1500m and a time of sub 30mins, and i achieved that, so I knew this was possible.

With very few competitors taking part in each event, I had a good start, the conditions were just right. The only problem I was faced with was my goggles kept leaking, so ensentually I was loosing time. However, once out I looked at my watch and was happy...........ish!

Regardless of the reason for taking part, i did genuinley enjoy this as I really like open water swimming, and aim pleased with my time, becuase Ive never achived that before,

For those that like open water, these box end mass swims are perfect and you dont have to be up early to take part, the start is 10:30am!!!!

This a 3 wave race with 4 minute intervals between waves designed to incentivise the less experienced swimmers.

Weaker swimmers start in wave 1, intermediate swimmers in wave 2 and advanced swimmers in wave 3. There is an 8 minute lag between the first and last wave - so to achieve the real race time for each competitor you need to deduct handicap times . Raw times are shown in brackets with handicaps.

Leigh had a fantastic run leg and was just short of a podium place in 4th position overall based on handicaps.

As experienced swimmers Martin and I were given the maximum 8 minute handicap and subsequently we had to work really hard on the run to finish mid field. If you take off the handicap deductions we were probably amongst the top half a dozen competitors from a field of approximately 25.

I call these races (Plash & Dash) this race was a small friendly club affair with a couple of outsiders joining in.

The race was seeded with slow, medium and fast athletes. The faster athletes having to give the others an 8 minute head start. Myself, steve morales and 4 others from visiting clubs were given this handicap of 8 mins to make it more interesting and even things up. Typical british summer time saw the race start with angry grey skies over our lake at brogborough.

After the 2 other race starts and 8 minute had past 6 of us set about trying to catch the field over this very short distance, a big ask but put us on the rev limiter (i used to be a rally driver).

just as the swim was about to end we started to pick off the earlier wave starts. The run was a flat 6k on a quite country lane, i was pleased with a hard drive all the way and catching many of the athletes.

Given the big handicap i had been given,. i was more than happy with my evenings work. The race was great fun and all done with good spirit, a great way to spice up a training session.

This a 3 wave race with 4 minute intervals between waves – weaker swimmers start in wave 1, intermediate swimmers in wave 2 and advanced swimmers in wave 3. There is an 8 minute lag between the first and last wave . To achieve the real race time for each competitor you need to deduct handicap times .

Yep, Tuesday eve saw Dave Coard organise race number three of the Boxfit Aquathlon series. These races are designed to be fun, although most of us tend to race them! The same handicap was invited again which saw the weaker swimmers go first and the elites go last. This intentionally allows for everyone to be on the run at the same time. Origionally entered as a post TRI warm down, I actually ended up racing it.

It was a very hot day and I was thinking about going non-wetsuit in Broggy for the first time this year, instead I decided to do that with just the warm up, could'nt believe how warm it was!

My race swim was even more interesting, if only I could go in the right direction I might actually stand a chance at getting in the top 3! We all knew which bouy to aim for yet some how we ended up doing a "V". I almost ended up on the A421 whilst Boxfit member Nathan decided that he wanted a tour of Lidlington.......eventually we made it back to shore............

When out of the lake, I saw Steve M in transition, emediatly the instink was "he's got you now" bearing in mind he was in the wave after me. However, wetsuit off, running shoes on and go...............

As I started off, Boxfit Paul Halford who also finished the same time as me on the swim, rocketed off on the run, it was like seeing Brownlee go!

On my mind was Steve M on my tail! Altogether, I was only overtaken on the run once by an elite runner from Team MK, so I was pleased

A great venue (only round the corner) great setup and fantastic support from the organisers Big Cow. For anyone wishing to have a go at a Triathlon i recommend this place, its idea for first timers, experienced athletes and elites. Plenty of Marshalls, you can't go wrong. For those that are afraid of open water swimming, you can practically put your feet down and a bit like today, it was like a bath, Good to see plenty of Flyers taking part and looking forward to having a go again next year.

My thanks as normal to steve Morales and Martin Beare for their training sessions and also sorting my bike out before hand and also to Steve Warne and Pete Bird who I swim with along side Boxfit down the lake. It makes such a difference when there is a group of you taking part

Given it was only 7 days ago i had finished an Ironman, this race was not on my radar, however i am like a child as some of you will know. I simply can not stand and watch my mates having fun racing, i want to play too. The chance to race against the best in the country at this distance was also very tempting.

Knowing the race organiser Mark Booth, he was happy for me to jump in last minute, when i say last minute that's what it was. I only got my race pack just as transition was closing on race day.

The weather could not have been better and for once the wind was only a few mile an hour with clear skies and a beautiful sunrise, these conditions influenced me to race as time in the triathlon season is running out and i am always keen to get it while you can.

I was never going to set the world a light on the day given i was recovering from an Ironman, However i was pleased with a trouble free race, the distance a bit short for me as i specialise in the long course, but i did enjoy upping the tempo and put in a solid effort with a pleasing result.

Our Phil Holland just goes from strength to strength and finished 5th and getting the fastest run split. Fellow flyers Leigh, Pete bird, and Steve Warned also took part.

Where to race next i ask myself before my World Championship race with team GB ? i have to keep race fit as the race in USA is in November, its been a long season for me this year 3 ironman, 2 half ironman, 1 Olympic distance, 2 sprint distance, and all the running races too, might just sit down at Christmas with a beer before starting my winter training program.

This is a great race Series , and don’t know why many more Flyers do not do these races. Well marshalled, friendly atmosphere and 3 testing runs, but all different in their own right.

After doing Ironman Lanzarote in May on the hardest course in the world, i was keen to try a fast course so i put in a last minute entry in The outlaw Ironman.

The Ironman race was based at the National Water Sports Centre Nottingham, its not the fastest course but it was local, cheap (£230) and got good reviews. I had done little training since May's Ironman but wanted to give it a go but have done 2 half ironman races since then.

As is normal with these races its mandatory to register set up transition the day before, upon my arrival in Nottingham i was horrified to see gale force winds and even witnessed the gantry and finishing funnel blow down at the venue, this was going to to play havoc with the times especially on the bike course, i was so praying the wind would calm down for race day. The race start was 6.00am so i was up at 4.00am in my hotel.

The National Water Sports Centre is a fantastic purpose built facility and ideal to host an event like this. The wind never did let up and was gusting to 35 mph, this was going to make a hard job even harder and a PB was now out the window but hay how i love a challenge. I had a solid 4k swim 1.10.38 the bike course was 3 laps of rolling hills making up 112 miles of which was as predicted very windy. I had worked so hard on the bike trying to salvage a half decent time but only managed to average 22 mph for 112 miles (5.47.55) as a result my poor legs where feeling at the start of the marathon. The marathon was made up of 4 laps, this was also made hard as it was very warm and very windy especially round the exposed lake. I would normally run a 3.40.00 marathon off the bike but not this day, had to settle with a plod of 4.20.32.

The race organisers (one step beyond) had done a great job on staging this new race and it was great value for money as Ironman races are normally £400. After the race i collected my gear and drove back down the M1 and was home in an hour and a half, happy but a trifle tired (did someone say trifle mmmmatron!)

What a fantastic place Iceland is! I went to do this event when I found a friend of mine from Sherbourn was to go for the third time.

We left Reykjavic at 4.30 in the morning for a 4 hour bus trip to the start at Landmannataugar - a campsite on a lava flow for those trecking the Laugavegur trail. It starts to the north of, & finishes west of, the largest glacier in Iceland.

The first two sections of the race were over the highest mountains - superb views & the most amazing colours. I got to Alftavin at 22K - the 4 hour cut off in 3.40 and knew it would be tough to beat the 6 hour cut off at 38K. At the half way point after wading through a deep, very cold river, we could change shoes & clothes from a bag that hed been dropped for us - I only stopped to change to a dry top. The next section was over interminable ash - and mostly gradual climbing. I got to the 38K point in 6-07 so just missed the cut off - but was greeted by Ines who had had to pull out due to a swollen calf. Her friend Briony had gone on & did finish in about 9-30.

But the bus drive out over narrow stony mountain roads was one of the highlights of the trip.

An interesting night for the relay runners. Apparently at least 3 other clubs/schools couldn’t put out a full relay squad out and so we ended up with just AFF boys (plus Lauren Nichols) versus AFF girls. Now most runners can only dream of running under 20 minutes for 5000m, so I think it was pretty amazing that the relay teams ran the times they did:

Boys 15mins 26.0secs ( 2 mins 28.6 secs off Mo Farah’s PB) - Girls 16mins 19.4secs (2 mins 09.29 secs off Paula Radcliffe’s PB)

While on the track the boys were a good few seconds ahead of the girls, the outcome of the handicap gave a win to the girls. Now I don’t set the handicap rules boys, it’s all Mo Farah’s fault, the faster he goes, the more difficult the handicap for you! Is anyone going to ask him to slow down?

Also some great times on the 200m and 800m races and if PB's were a little short on the ground, it was only because everyone’s legs were tied after those fast 5K's

Well what an evening, this race organised by Dave Coard of Boxfit, managed an excellent job of putting this show on. The entertainment kicked off at 7pm followed by a nice barbecue after.

When I turned up it was great to see both Steve Warne (previous flyer) and Ricky Jennings turn up to have a go. Including Boxfit Tri, Team MK were there so it was a great turnout.

Although we all had the same start time, there were three waves, first wave was beginners, second wave was for confident experienced and the third wave was the elites! The object of the idea was that everyone was on the run together. This worked a treat.

I was based in the second wave and Stephen Morales (2nd in Beds Mini Sprint TRI, GB age group competitor in European Sprint champs) was in the third wave. My plan was with a couple of mins head start, could I beat him?!

I also had the task of trying to catch up with Ricky (2x Ironman finisher and more Marathon finishes than I have fingers and toes to count on)

My swim was not bad, there was no elbows or kicking or any other forms of attack, so I was able to power out nicely. The course was a straight forward triangle........but I still found myself wandering off in different directions!

T1 was a good performance, wetsuit came off without problems, shoes on and I was off, there were lots in front so I knew I must have been taken out on the swim.

I found my running rhythm pretty quickly for once and one by one, managed to overtake the runners who had beaten me on the swim. By around 1km I was in good form.........then at around 2km, I saw Mr Morales.......not far in front.

I looked at Steve as he was coming the other way and started my catch up mode. Mr Beare was marshalling the turn around point (3k) and gave me a few words of advise.

The final 1km was like Gomez and Brownlee, neck and neck, I managed to pull away from Steve and push on hard because I knew he would be close behind me. Within around 200m to go, I hit the gas one last time and found myself in a good finishing time........ I actually aimed for a total time of 35mins and came away with 37:59min (without the handicap) so cant complain.

A very entertaining evening, great training session in race conditions and fantastic support all round

Thanks to Dave for organising such a great event. Looking forward to the next one!

This low key event consisted of a 800m swim followed by a 6k run. A handicap system was also a feature of the race. 3 waves of approx 10 competitors set of with staggered start times. The 2nd wave starting 4mins behind the 1st wave and the 3rd wave another 30mins behind the second. This made the competition more interesting with abilities ranging from elite to novice.

I was placed in the last wave ( along with one male and one female elite triathlete and an international runner to boot – great L) I was 4th out of the water in 12.30. I then both gain and lost some ground on the run. Despite the handicap I had managed to leave the water before Leigh ( who started in wave 2) however with some strong running 2/3 of the way through the run he had chased me down boo!

I eventually finished 4th overall on real times. Real time total 35.13 (+7 Handicap) (approx splits - Swim 12.30/T1 0.30/Run 22.13) 7th based on Handicap. Leigh’s total real time was 37.59 (+4 Handicap) (approx splits Swim 15.30/T1 0.59/21.30) 5th based on Handicap.

The Milton Keynes 10K is part of the East Midlands Grand Prix Series. The race starts and finishes at the Open University complex in Milton Keynes and was generally flat and mainly on the red ways around MK. The start is on grass in Woughton playing fields before taking you out to Willen Lake and then back past Kingston (5K) and then returning back to the OU. The inclines were mainly the underpasses with one small climb in the first 1K.

I have to confess that coming straight from work and for me having had a particularly hard physical day, I was not sure how I would run. Through 1K in 4.26 the legs didn't feel too bad. Ron Armstromg had passed me and I decided to try and use him as a marker for my pace. As we went through Willen Lake at 3K I was feeling really good. I passed Ron and pushed on going through 5K in 21.51. Forget any tired legs, I was really flying!! Despite the strong winds between 6 - 8K, I still ran the latter K in 4.19. I passed Fred Watts of Leighton (not often I get the better of Fred!) and entered the OU complex stride for stride with a young Human Energy runner. 500m to go he tried a break - I matched him and as we turned onto the grass for the final 100m sprint I kicked for the finish. With the young lad now beaten I thought I was home and dry only for an AFF runner to pip me at the post! Steve Pritchard had come from no where to snatch my glory! Still, I was really pleased with my run - a final K of 4.13 and an overall time of 43.38 and over a minute quicker than my run at Whipsnade. It was also nice to say I was under 7 minute a mile albeit at 6.59!!

Terry continued his return to 'pre Uni form' with a time of 36.09. Again, he felt he should have gone out harder over the first 5K. His splits were 18.14 and 17.55, running the final K in 3.23. He has taken almost 4 minutes off his Flitwick 10K time back in April and with training going well will continue to see his times tumbling. A 'blast' at the Doug Anderson 5K is now in order.

Did this nice small race on Sunday having done the neighbouring Prestwood 10k a few weeks ago. Think I was the sole flyer in attendance

Nice little race with about 260 entrants. Course was One loop around the lanes and was very well marshalled with almost all roads closed and those that were not had extra marshals on. Considering it is in the Chilterns it was definitely undulating as described and not hilly which I was worried about.

Not a lot of support out on the course but good crowd at the finish to cheer you home. My PB haul has come to an end but enjoyed the sprint finish to move up a few places in the last 200 (Tuesday's are paying off!!!!)

I must confess slightly of glory hunting with this race (- I have received the deserved ribbing as a consequence). However this blast out was ideally sandwiched between a fairly busy race schedule.

Typically this event is regarded as an opportunity for novice Triathlete’s to experience a multisport race with an open water element. It does however historically attract half a dozen serious competitors.

Chrissie Wellington competed in this race in 2006 with a time just inside 44mins and established local Age Grouper’s Dave Candy and Kieran Lewis have also been previous winners.

I knew very little about the pedigree of the field on Sunday and hoped I had chosen the right day for a reasonable position in the field (secretly hoping for a possible win). A group of teenage participants from swimming backgrounds looked like they could do some damage.

I was pleasantly surprised to lead the swim from the off and be the first out of the water. A good T1 saw me quickly out on the bike. Looking back on the bike a couple of k in and there was no one to be seen. 10k in still no one. Ignorantly I thought I had it in the bag. Coming into the final stretch of the bike leg I looked behind one last time - this time to find some right on my rear wheel.

He over took me and I went straight back at him returning the gesture -this little game played out all the way into transition. With a quick T2 I regained the lead. Within a minute of the run he was back on my shoulder. He soon went by holding a steady 5.30/5.45 min mile pace. I just couldn’t live with that pace and staying at 6 min mile pace I had to reluctantly accept second place.

The eventual winning time was 41.47 and I came in just a minute later 42.53. There was talk of a course record but looking back through the result archives that one still remains with Kieran at just under 41.

Still quite a pleasing result and talking to the eventual winner Chris Symonds it is clear he is an accomplished triathlete with a number of wins this year including the Windsor Sprint.

Four years ago I competed in this race on my return to triathlon – shockingly in 2008 I was 8 minutes slower so I guess that’s progress!

My Times : 200m swim - 3.15(4.09 to the matt) /T1 1.17/15k Bike 24.20/T2 0.21/3.3k run 12.45 - Total : 42.53, 2nd Overall 1st vet

David & I had a great time in the hills around Great Langdale. A very tough course with some seriously steep hills, but amazing views. I've been to the lakes many times, but this was the best weather - sunny but not too hot on Saturday, though it did get a bit too warm by noon on Sunday. We were both very tired as we came down into the head of the valley & our course sent us up into the hills to the south - & as I was feeling a bit unwell we decided to walk in down the valley & miss the last 3 controls.

Round the lake, up the canal, back along the canal and guess what round the lake to finish- different, simple, back to basics!

Huge respect to the 2 guys that did Saturday AM marathon, Saturday PM ultra and Sunday AM marathon. One of which being our very own 100 Marathoner Paul Barton.

I entered this some months ago at the suggestion of Becs Fleckney, who is fast becoming something of a marathon junkie. I thought it might give me something to do, after the 101 miler I did in May.

Unfortunately, I pulled my achilles again just under 3 weeks ago and came into this with only one run of 5 miles under my belt in that time. Never the less, I pitched up as usual with 12 mins to go, didn't bother signing in and trotted over to the start. Becs and Paul Barton were running the race, which had a very small field of only 40 people.

It started from Milton Keynes and ran up a canal to Linslade and beyond, after a lap of a lake. Despite being under prepared and injured, I set off at the front and found myself in 4th position for the first 8 miles or so, chugging along quite nicely on what was a flat course with little deviation from the canal once you were on it.

Somewhere around that point, my achilles started to flare up and I had no choice but to slow down. Having not seen anyone in the race for over an hour, I was then caught by a few people and I just had to let them slip on by. The turn around point was by a pub at 14 miles and we then ran back from whence we came passing all those behind us. I then continued to slow and eventually developed cramp in my right leg only which was weird at the time. After the race, I realised that for 2/3rds of it, I had been running with little weight on the leg with the achilles problem and all the weight on the other, which I guess contributed to the cramp. By the 20 mile mark, I had to put in some walking breaks which in truth felt really strange after all the training I did only a few months ago. I think a mix of the big race still being in my legs, the hiccups above and the over reliance on Dr.Bud and Nurse Kron.E.Bourg over the last 4 weeks were the main root causes of my slow time and drop in the finish order to about 12th at a guess.

Becs had a great race on what was a hot day, only just beaten by Paul Barton, who was running the marathon in the morning ( actually it was slightly longer but whose counting?), a 30 mile ultra two hours later and a marathon the next day on I think the same course. This event was very cheap to enter and was run by a 100 marathon club member, who puts on a number of similar events in Milton Keynes with small fields. It was mostly self supporting although there were a few water stops. It attracted a lot of 100 club members or very regular marathoners, which I guess suited the three of us. Its not an event for a marathon newbie, the course was in truth a little dull for me ( although it beat Paul's ultra which was 7 laps of a lake) and it felt a little like a secret club that I had inadvertently wandered into. Still, it was very local, easy to get to and didn't pretend to be anything that it was not. Small, basic and cheap which was all fine. Right, now need to find the medical staff and resume my medication for a few weeks before training starts again.

My last swim race before the big TRI at the end of this months. Well, what can I cay, it was full of whipping and bashing (and im not talking about those massage places that offer those extras) I was in the 3pm race and managed to watch the 2:30 swimmers go off. To my amazement, there was no washing machine affect, swimmers were just taking their time!! I therefore decided i would stick myself in the front of my group to get a good start.

Bad idea, our group was slightly different, I was smashed to pieces, elbowed in the eyes, legs pulled under and people trying to climb over me, at one point I almost stopped to yell "STOP BEATING ME UP!!!!!!!" However, I ploughed on and kept going, I was actually oddly enough really enjoying this. Mostly because the Thames was surprisingly warm, in fact it was like a bath. It was a very comfortable swim.

That's probably where my time went slightly wrong, i was aiming for roughly 32mins, by it did not happen, I blame this on losing 1 min at the start and 1 at the end,.........not to mention being around 300 other competitors all wanting the same. However, whatever happened, it was a great confidence booster and all valuable Open Water experience

One race a year which never fails to amuse and entertain and this year it was the challenge of beating the one known as Huw "Horse beating" Lobb who added the extra incentive who was out not only to beat the solo record but to beat most teams as well. Starting 2 minutes ahead of him on Leg 1 he had worn me down after 2 miles and went flying off into the distance (I was already cursing the 6.15 pace along the canal as being too fast). What then followed was a champion run from each team member, Amy had a fantastic run on leg 2 and was 7th fastest out of the whole field, super vet Dave O then knocked a massive 9 minutes off his handicap with a sterling long leg, Giles ran a super strong leg through Ampthill and up the hills to Maulden before handing over to young Matt Jones who blew away the competition and was the fastest runner on leg 5. Richard Wilson then brought the baton home strongly with his now familiar and favourite run as anchor man to finish home after a total time of 3hrs and 46 minutes. The team regarded by some as AFF's B team claimed a marvellous 3rd place in the fastest team overall category which was a massive bonus, and on top of that we also beat Huw by 10 minutes.

This year I decided to enter a team in the Greensand Relays and very quickly had a team of two fast runners and four of us with equal ability. With respective legs sorted and routes checked out and a Handicap start time of 12.43 we were ready to go! The Relays run from Waterside Park in Leighton Buzzard to Northill Church - a distance of 33 miles. 30 teams had entered including 5 Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers teams. The competition was going to be hot and we had our eyes on the AFF Flyers Formation Fiasco team - could we beat them on time and handicap?

I had the first leg from Waterside Park to Stockgrove - a total of 5.6 miles. Unfortunately, we didn't appear to have a great Handicap. Starting at 12.43 meant we were the 27th team off and only 3 teams behind us!

The logistics of this race meant the need to sort out transport at the end of each leg. I had left my car at the end of my leg 1 but then went and forgot to take my car key with me ! I actually remembered 100 yards into the race and then had to hope that when I finished I could get a lift to leg 3 where my car key was now residing!!

I was fortunate to have a Dunstable Road Runner starting with me. I discovered his 10 mile time was slightly slower so I hoped to be in front of him come the finish. The first 2+ miles took us along the Grand Union Canal. We both refused to give an inch and only at the turn off point onto the Greensand did I gain the advantage. Unfortunately, we had both probably over cooked those first few miles and I later paid for it up the second of 3 inclines. Tim Harris past us running for the AFF Nice and Easies (eventual winners) and at around 3 miles I was passed by Simon Coombes of Leighton Buzzard together with Hugh Lobb of Bedford & County. Hugh was running the whole 33 miles solo and amazingly both runners smashed the Leg 1 record in 31.57.

Entering the park in Rushmere I had moved away from the Dunstable runner but struggled up the second climb at around the 4 mile point. I half expected him to come back on me but managed to regain my pace on the next down hill section into Stockgrove Park. One last long 1K climb up through the park and as I hit the gravel road leading onto the road to my check-point I found one last sprint to pass over to Dave Coker on leg 2. My time of 42.58 was 3+ minutes inside my Handicap time but I was a minute slower than Mike Petty in the Flyers Fiasco team - game on!!

Dave ran a good leg finishing in 30.51 and a minute up. He had a good race with Amy Farr running for the AFF Scratch team. In the end he finished 100 yards ahead of her. We were now placed 10th overall.

With two fast runners in Terry Stanley and Andy Bierton on the next two legs we moved up to 5th fastest team. Both Terry and Andy had the 3rd quickest times on their respective legs. Terry ran 51.06 for the 8 miles across Woburn and Eversholt to Millbrook and Andy 38.19 for his 5.7 mile leg to Deadman's Hill. Our rivals the Flyers Fiasco team had dropped to 9th fastest but were still ahead of us on Handicap.

Mark Billington ran leg 5 to Deadman's Cross. 5.5 miles but Mark was disappointed with his run but I felt did a great job finishing in 44.33. Ron Armstrong was on the glory leg to Northill and covered the final 4.7 miles in 34.04.

A great team performance gave us an overall time of 4 hrs 01.51. We finished 7th fastest team and was in fact only a minute from being the 5th fastest. On Handicap we were down in 14th place. The Flyers Fisaco team had beaten us on Handicap (12th) but their time of 4.18.18 was slower than ours - a draw!!

The Greensand Relays was a great day. The weather held although a little hot on the latter legs. 3 of the Flyers, Nick Jones, Ady Wadsworth and Jim Dodds completed the whole 33 miles solo - a great achievement. However, probably the greatest run of the day was Hugh Lobb's solo run in an amazing 3hrs 57.44 - quicker than our whole team, fourth overall and over 1 hour and 16 minutes ahead of Nick!!

The only downside to the day was at the presentations when no one from our AFF Nice & Easies team had stayed to collect their winning trophies - something which I felt didn't go down too well with those present.

This event seems to grow in stature each year and is easily the most talked about and anticipated. Again it was a warm day though thankfully not as warm as the last 2 years. Woodland paths were slippy after recent downpours but still a great day to go running. In the team event AFF team finished prominently with 4 of the 10 fastest teams. AFF Nice N Easies (they certainly made it look easy!) brushed aside the opposition winning both trophies even with Stephen Hartley managing to run an extra half mile after missing the notorious woodland right hand turn on leg 2. (Hartley corner?)

Our team managed to come home 12th just ahead of AFF Bits and Pieces. Phil Clarke is now one of the most valuable team members beating his handicap by over 11 minutes matching Phil Holland. We also had a heroic final leg by Jeremy Lewis his arm still full of metal recovering from a bad break.

3 AFF runners were fastest on their leg. Phil Holland (leg 3), Paul Farmer (leg 2) and Matt Jones (leg 5) despite having to stop to sort out a blister!

Hats off to the solo runners Nick Jones, Ady Wadsworth and Jim Dodds keeping up the AFF tradition of ultra runners in this race. No idea how they manage it.

3 AFF Members – Giles Shorley , Martin Davey & Keith Morgan lined up – in the steady rain for the 1st Race in the Luton AC Series 2011.

With 2 Out and Back circuits , around the playing fields at Vauxhall Sports Club and then up the long driveway to Luton Hoo , it was a few sharp inclines to face out with a more or less “downhill” section on return .

Giles set off at his usual swift pace and maintained this throughout , coming home in 5th place overall – in a time of 28.44 : Martin ran well and came in halfway down the field in 37.48 : I managed to hang in there and after having outsprinted a Stopsley Strider for the line , recorded a time of 40.09 (Which was around 3.5 mins inside the time I was expecting to do !!).

As expected, Darren Deed of Bedford & County won the Race - for the 10th year in a row – in a time of 24.44 , approx 2 mins ahead of Rob Palmer of Luton AC.

Me + Giles stayed behind for the presentation , and I was shocked to hear my name read out when it came to the County Champs results. My Sprint finish, out doing the “strider” had given me the V55 County Championship – over the chap from Stopsley. But as the saying goes - You have to be in it to win it...

Next Race in the Series is the 5K – on Sunday 17July at Wardown Park , followed by the 10K on Sunday 24th – back at Vauxhall SC. This is a Good Race Series, well organised and marshalled , and would recommend it to anyone.

I signed up for this as it was an unusual distance and a guaranteed PB! (self indulgent I know!) slightly dubious of the fact it was 10x2km laps I turned up at Irchester Country Park ready to roll, during the race briefing it became clear that the first 1/2 a KM of each lap was up and down some serious hills!! I soon found out the course made Ampthill Park look flat, major quad burning going on and tree root grabbing in some instances!

A scenic run with friendly and supportive marshalls but after the 7th or 8th lap I ran out of things to say and my brain became fuddled and couldn't remember what lap I was on or how many I had left, so simply carried on running until they told me to stop! Stephen Hartley's words of wisdom kept on popping into my head and stood me in good stead as I pumped those arms up the hills and used the gravity and my arms to steady myself on the way down, Even Steve James piped up and told me to keep my head up and stop slouching when the fatigue really hit! seeing some of the other runners really struggle I was extremely thankful for the clubs coaching sessions that are geared towards making this kind of running easier!

Final time 2h 13m 08s and a podium finish of 2nd lady, not really a true reflection of my performance as only about 10 ladies ran but a result I am proud of none the less:-) those that have known me a while will remember my fag smoking, binge drinking and kebab eating days when I would've been guaranteed last place!

Free tea and cake, jelly babies and a vest all made good value for money. I'll definitely be back next year might even go for the 30k and see if I can count to 15 laps without losing my marbles!

What better way to start my 39th Birthday than with a 10K at 9:30 in the morning in Brackley. I found out that Jeremy Bell was running too so we arranged to travel up together on a beautiful morning. We arrived in Brackley and race HQ was in the park with the start just outside the park on the main road.

It was a village fete type atmosphere, they had tents set up for changing, a bag storage tent a very good PA announcer. There was a table full on bananas, T-Shirts, drinks etc all laid out ready for the finish. There was a free post race massage tent too.

The race itself was downhill out of the village and was quite undulating except the loop of the airfield and then seemed to be almost all uphill back to the start. I was hopeful of a Birthday PB and needed to run 7min miles but ran first one in 6:30 but knew I needed something in the bag for the uphill sections.

At 9k I was slightly down on my 7min mile pace but could see Jeremy just ahead of me and I managed to run the last 6 in about 6:20 passing Jeremy on the way to give me a new PB of 43:21 and some large fist pumping to follow!!! The pa announcer was really good at the end and tried to give a shout out to as many people as he could. I took advantage of the free massage too!

Having run in the test event 2 weeks ago this was my first run in our new local park run.

This is without doubt a fast course a bit like Milton Keynes but without those bloomin zig zags!!!! 77 People turned up this week for the second event and the weather was perfect. It's amazing how people have immersed themselves in the park run world. The first man I spoke to had cycled from Huntingdon was running and then cycling back (and he did 19:36!!). Then is spotted someone with a 50 T-Shirt and it turn out he has run at 46 different park run events and 86 in total and had come up from Surrey to run at Bedford.

Anyway, I was very pleased with a new PB of 20:47 which whilst 2 seconds slower than the test event I can call it my official PB as it was a race this time.

Well done to all that took part and COMPLETED the course - I unfortunately didn't.

I had a good swim - 25mins out of the water and a few more seconds to the mat. It will be interesting to see what the chip timing says but I think it's a slight improvement on last year.

Solid first half of the bike and a bit laboured in the last 10k but again slightly quicker than last year in less favourable conditions.

Started the run and settled into a decent rhythm before my hamstring started to twinge - I hoped I would run it off but couldn't and with my mind set on the European's next week I pulled out. Under normal circumstances it might have been worth the risk but not with a GB race 5 days away.

On a positive note I felt very comfortable during the whole race – I’m now looking forward to the Oly race at MK next month.

Still it was a good work out! I now need to nurse my leg and hope it will be ok for next weekend

This was a two day mountain marathon, from the village of Pelussin on the slopes of Mont Pilat, about 50 miles SW of Lyon in France, orienteering in forest & open ground on hillsides with some seriously steep slopes. An event done in pairs, carrying enough kit for an overnight camp.

This was the 30th edition of this event and I was there for the 20th - and have done everyone since.

Scenery was spectacular and navigation at times quite tricky. There was an amazing run along a high ridge halfway through the second day. This was tougher than the previous 10 - the climb on the first day was more than 400mts from the start to the second control - about 5K. We lost about 15 mins looking for one control which we should have gone straight to near the end of second day. David & I have won our class a couple of times in the past - but now we are competing against teams nearly 10 years younger as there is no V70 class!

I only found out about this race the day before, so it was a bit of a last minute decision, but one I am glad I made. It was a scenic mainly off-road course, with a long climb for the first 1km giving great views and was well marshalled. The benefit of getting the climb out of the way was that the last 1km was a steep downhill so I managed my fasted last km in a race ever. I’ve not seen the official results yet, but my watch said 56.33.

Saturday was my first try at a parkrun, I thought that if the format of weekly 5K runs was coming to Bedford then I would give it a go. The course is the same as Bedford barriers use for their race, two and a half laps of Bedford park. It's a good, fast, flat course so I think we are really lucky to have this available as a local race to test your pace.

There were about 100 runners with pace from 17 to 47 minutes. I hadn't run a 5k for a year or more so wasn't sure how it would go. It went well with good steady pace all the way around. I couldn't fend off a few fast finishers but kept my own pace and finished with a new PB.

Whipsnade Park 10K - Sunday 5 June

A 3 lap course doesn’t always sound interesting until you find it around the roads within Whipsnade Zoo and does give you chance to have a quick look at the animals as you race round! Bearing in mind the zoo's location the course is relatively flat with a nice gentle downhill on the first part of the course and then a corresponding gentle uphill climb to complete each lap. Having said that runners had to contend with a very strong wind over the far side of the course. I went into the race having had a weeks rest due to a hamstring strain and was more concerned that this didn't play me up than any specific time. As it was I only felt it starting to tighten at around 7.5K. As I don't look at my watch during the run I wasn't aware of my splits but felt I was running OK and the week off meant I did feel fresh.

I went through 5K in 22.16 and despite tiring between 7 - 9K, I still finished in 44.45 (2nd 5K split was 22.29). Overall, very pleased with the run especially as I'm still keeping below the dreaded 45min mark!

Terry set off with Steve Morales and Richard Pillinger. Terry's target was a sub 38 min time and to use it as a gauge as to how training was going since his Flitwick run. Through 5K in 19.27 was slightly slower than planned, but he was feeling good and pushed on to record a second 5K of 18.20 finishing strongly in 37.47 and 12th place overall. His next aim will be to hit the 36+ min mark.

It's a well organised event and race entry entitles you to remain in the Zoo afterwards and enjoy the animals at a more relaxed pace! - which is what we decided to do. Medal and goody bag were OK. My only criticism is they could 'tape' off the area as runners approach the turn to the finish and those who still have a final lap to go. Both Terry and myself found ourselves dodging round runners as we turned to sprint those final 200 metres.

Dave & Terry Stanley

I had picked this race to do as it was said to be a fast flat course and I wanted to go for a PB – however it is 3 laps and I wasn’t sure how I would last seeing everything 3 times! Also it was only after I had paid that I realised it was not chip timing and as I was going for a PB every second was going to count. I arrived in the morning after a bad night’s sleep and thought let’s just get this done…. Then met up with Rob and Jane Cook, Katie and a few other flyers which was great. Put myself in 55 – 60 min pen and then we were off. Starting running and felt good – first KM and was on target for a PB and I worked my way through the next few – still on target. Now the lack of sleep was beginning to kick in and got past the start line for the last time and knew it was only one lap left to go. Came round the last corner and headed for the finish and a PB!! Not seen the official results yet but the clock showed 56.05 when I passed – however my Garmin time (which I’m counting for myself) was 55.53 – I couldn’t believe it, I was hoping to get 57 mins so really pleased. Now just need to find a nice fast flat 10K that actually has start to finish chip timing – do I hear Brighton in November calling……

Annie

A lack of discipline sums up this outing – After being presented with the opportunity to run this race at the final hour and with less than perfect prep the day before (long swim and bike) I still felt I could give this race a good go.

My first mistake meeting Terry Stanley, my next mistake was to try and out run him. After going through the first lap in around 12mins I new it was way too quick – 1k later I was gone by 5k I was the wrong side of 4 min kilometres and watching Terry disappear into the distance- all I could was hold on.

I was chasing a time close to 38, went of at 36 mins pace and ended up with just over 40mins – that says it all I think.

Good running Terry a sub 38 means you well on your way back!

Steve Morales

With Lanzarote Ironman still in my legs, a mate offered me his place on this event and i just can't say no to a race.

Registration is the day before in Weymouth so it meant an over night stay, the weather was glorious un broken sunshine and zero winds.

5.00AM race day lashing rain gale force winds, why didn't i keep my big mouth shut i cried.

The 1.9k sea swim was all about survival rather than racing as it was very rough with a deep swell, I don't know how but i managed a 28mins swim and exited with the leading pack in my wave start.

The conditions on the bike were not much better, 56 miles of high winds made it scary on the tri bars and a undulating course, "memories of Lanzarote" i pushed on with no probs, a school boy error though, i didn't fuel or hydrate very well on the bike as i thought it was only a half ironman.

The run was 4 laps making up the half marathon, i started of with my lower back in spasm for the 1st 5k then i got some rhythm until the last 5k and my mistake with fuel caught up with me.

I suppose the moral of the story is, you never know what day your going to have regardless of the circumstances. Happy days, oh and the fish and chip and ice cream went down well on the beach front afterwards, ha ah.

Fancy dress today. I was quite original and decided to masquerade as an 'Athlete'. I turned up in full running attire, shorts, top and trainers. I found the going tough (as usual) but managed a PB which I was really pleased with. I managed to fend off Super Mario then had my sights firmly fixed on a runner dressed as a Bull. With one last push and to my relief (male pride) I managed to catch him on the final run in.

Bedford's long awaited parkrun starts next Saturday 11th June at 9am in Bedford Park. For those of you who have not done any Park Run events, they are free 5k timed runs every Saturday morning at over 60 locations throughout the UK.

This weekend they held a test event to practice using all the timing equipment and get the marshalls (including the Flyers own Robbie Craig) used to how the event will run. As they needed some runners I though it was a good opportunity to try out the course. For those of you that know the Doug Anderson Memorial 5K, that is the course that is being run.

There were just 10 of us running today and I managed 3rd having set off a bit too quick following a couple of quickies and managed to knock 16 Seconds off my PB so I was very happy.

So we will now have two free local 5k timed runs (MK (Willen Lake) and Bedford (Bedford Park)) to choose from every Saturday and for anyone that has not taken part, you just need to register, print your bar code and then turn up. Its all free!

On Monday 30th May I took part in the BUPA London 10,000 which was my first big event and only my second race since joining the flyers.

What a fantastic event it was too. Incorporating the UKA 10,000m Championships there was an all star field including Mo Farah, Paula Radcliffe and Jo Pavey in a total field of over 10,000. That morning (at 6am) there was also a Test Marathon as the course forms almost the whole Olympic Marathon route as that event will be laps of central London so I can say I have run the Olympic marathon route!

The race is split into 9 waves based upon predicted times and I was wave 3. The Waves are set off at 4 minute intervals but the race is chip timed at start, finish and 5k so apart from having to weave through the crowds if you are quicker than you thought (like I was) it does not matter where you start.

It was a really hot day (unlike forecast) and the run starts on Birdcage walk and then goes along the Embankment up to the city with a loop round through Leadenhall market then back down to the Embankment and then finishing on The Mall.

The support along the route was amazing and there were bands located under the bridges for better acoustics. The the drummers in Leadenhall market were brilliant! The course was fast as pretty flat on all on tarmac except for a small cobbled section. There were 2 water stations at 3k and 7k and a couple of showers (they were handy as it was hot) to run through.

I would seriously recommend this event. We had a few family come along and look after our Children (my wife ran too) and they all really enjoyed the experience and had a great day out and it is a definite PB potential course.

I had a great run and was only 6 Seconds off my PB. I thought I was well inside it based upon my average pace only for the GPS to be slightly out because of the tall buildings which fooled me into a false sense of security (should have had watch set to show time too!). Having said that, it was hot and I had very little in the tank for the run up the Mall but running the streets of central London was a great buzz and I will be back.

So for my 100th marathon I walked, with some jogging, 100 miles. I originally said "attempting to" as I have tried this event twice before and got to 62 miles both times. The route took us through some beautiful countryside, with sections of Mortimer Trail, Offa's Dike & the Shropshire Way - which went over the Long Mynd. It was extremely tough (they say the toughest 100 there has ever been) with 17,000 feet of climb. But surprisingly a lot of the underfoot surfaces were short grass - in fact I kept thinking "this is like running in Ampthill Park".

At 25 miles, as we crossed into Wales, I was still about half an hour up on my 3 mph schedule. We turned north on the rollercoaster of Offa's Dike and I reached the checkpoint at Kinighton just as darkness fell - 35 miles in 12 hours. I stopped a bit longer here, changed socks & had intended a short sleep - but wasn't feeling tired. Continuing north on the "dike" in the dark made for easy navigation as a long line of headtorches streched for miles ahead. But at some point I started to get very tired & my pace slowed - so as we left the Dyke onto the Shropshire Way at the chckpoint at Mainstone (48 miles) I crashed out for a half hour nap. I'd been very down the last hour - thinking I wouldn't make it - but after the sleep & some Iboprufen I set off to pass the 50 mile point with renewed vigor!

At the breakfast stop at Lydham, where I had a full English, and as well as changing shoes & socks I had my feet washed & a massage of my calves from a very caring lady. 55 miles done & the next section was 11 miles to Habberley, the most northerly point on the route. This involved two long climbs - up Linley Hill & Stipperstones; but I was enjoying myself & the super scenery and always knew from this point I was going to finish. Another massage from a nice lady at Habberley set me on the homeward treck over some rolling hills to Bridges - where miraculously the lightwieght poles I had left behind at Habberley were returned to me! The summit of the Long Mynd was the 75 mile point and I was gradually overhauling walkers on the 5 mile jog along the crest & down the southern tip.

I had started to get blisters and at Edgton checkpiont (83 miles) I had my feet taped over the compeed & put on clean socks. It was now dark again, but I left the hall with some friends from BBN who navigated me slowly through the second night. I was travelling very slowly, but at each stile or change of direction they waited.

At the final checkpoint (95 miles) I put more padding & some clean socks on my feet and I did the last 6 as quickly as I had been at the start! I eventually finished in 46 hours 51 mins.

As this is a significant event in my running career I will be raising sponsorship.

I am collecting for the Bedford MS Therapy Centre. The lady who encouraged me to start running with her developed Multiple Sclerosis shortly after, and I thought it only right to help this centre which is a life-line for her.

If you would like to support this please visit my Just Giving Page: www.justgiving.com/David-Sedgley

In theory, running 100 miles is quite simple. A 40 mile run one day, a walk through the night and then a 40 mile run the next day, should get you fairly close.

The training had gone well. 40 mile runs were being devoured as the aperitif they are and several 75/80 mile weeks had been completed. Then, on the last long run, completely out of the blue I developed an injury and had to retire at 22 miles. Over the next three weeks I only ran six times, nursing a painful foot and only once managed more than 5 miles. I put the injury down to new trainers (of which I’d bought 4 pairs in readiness for the race). My only option was to dig out an old pair, which were probably at the end of their useful life, and go for it.

As race day approached I had no confidence in my fitness to complete the race, but I committed to start and lined up alongside Paul ready for the challenge ahead.

The first four legs (35 miles) went to plan. The course was hilly without being impossible and our progress was bang on 4 miles an hour which is about our norm for an off road, hilly, self-navigating route. We were greeted by our support team for the first time and probably spent about 45 minutes at that checkpoint, changed into night-time gear and set off for the night leg.

We negotiated 20 miles through the night with our inadequate head-torches and we arrived at the breakfast stop at daybreak – a good time to have breakfast! The Full English and the hour sit down conspired to leaving me very stiff leaving this stop, but after a couple of miles I loosened up and felt good again, running through some beautiful countryside (Stiperstones for those of you who know this area). At the next checkpoint we turned for home, albeit 35 miles away. At this stage I felt really good, but I suppose this was the first time I realised Paul was struggling when my comment about feeling so much better than at the same stage last year was met with a very negative response!

Sue met us again at checkpoint 9 (73 miles) and Fiona and James met us as we started our ascent of Long Mynd, having had a good night’s sleep and a bit of a lie in! I still felt good and wanted to run but I sensed Paul wasn’t up for that – Sue and Fiona did as well and decided that they would meet us at every checkpoint to the finish.

Leg 10 was tough into a gale on top of Long Mynd and the only serious rainfall of the run. From my point of view I was pleased to be shepherded off the top by a Billy Goat from Brummigham, who took pity on our plight and thought she might as well go our way as she couldn’t go gliding. The last couple of miles of that leg were tough and when Paul started talking about stopping I began to get worried.

We were very surprised and pleased to see Sue and Fiona at the next checkpoint and Fiona did an excellent Florence Nightingale and Clive Woodward impersonation, patched up Paul’s blisters and convinced him not to be such a wimp and to carry on. The next leg we were helped along by a group who route marched it and knew the route, so that passed quite quickly. As a bonus for our quick progress we were able to complete the penultimate leg in the light.

That just left the last 5.6 miles. Sue and Fiona had decided that they were going to complete the leg with us, which gave us both a big lift. As I left the checkpoint I knew I was going to finish but was still keen to crawl into a corner and go to sleep.

The last leg was hard – a long climb and difficult navigation through forestry – although the state we were in we would have struggled to find our way from Flitwick station to Redborne. We wandered around the forestry for what seemed like ages, without more than a cursory look at the map or using a compass. Our minds had gone. As the survival bag loomed, Paul thought he had a navigational tool on his phone and by some miracle we found our way to the road and then the finish.

At the end there was no euphoria or satisfaction on having achieved something we’d trained for off and on nearly two years – just complete and utter exhaustion. Eight days later I am still waking up wondering how far it is to the next checkpoint and worried about how far we have to go.

The enormity of the personal achievement will dawn one day and I will look back with satisfaction on what we achieved, but that hasn’t arrived yet. Still too raw and the 37 hours 37 minutes of pain is still too fresh in the memory.

But when I can finally look back with pride, I will still look up to Sedgers in complete amazement at his achievement of completing the course at the grand old age of 70.

Where to start? The only obvious place is to say just how much I am impressed by and in awe of our own Mr.Sedgley. At the young age of 70, Sedgers completed what was to my mind, the second toughest race I have ever entered, only being beaten by last years 100 in Scotland ( which none of us finished). Completing the race itself is a wonderful achievement, but when you add in the fact this was his 100th marathon and he did it on his own, I for one think this takes it to a whole different level. I was very happy to learn that Dave finished and reached such a milestone, both in terms of getting that far and the number of marathons. Mr.Sedgley, I salute you sir!

This race was the yearly flagship event of the LDWA, which allows runners to enter. Both myself and Richard had put in a lot of training together, as did David who was all over the UK in the 8 weeks leading up to it. It started near Ludlow in Shropshire, with 523 starters and eventually 375 finishers. Fifty runners started at 12 noon, with two at 1pm and two at 2pm, out of which 46 finished. The rest started at 10 am with the majority being walkers although some running and walking. We knew at the outset that it was going to be tough, as from the start we climbed 2.4km straight away. We employed our usual strategy of walking the hills, which meant that fairly early on the field was strung out for miles which is fine, as we tend to catch lots later on. The views were staggering from the outset. Whilst Shropshire may not have the mountains of Scotland, it is still a very hilly area with long sections out in the country with no close villages or towns. There was in total about 15000 feet of climbing and unlike Scotland, this wasn't concentrated on 5 or 6 massive climbs, but rather numerous smaller but much more frequent hills. The course didn't flatten out at save one small leg during the latter stages, but even then there was one final killer hill in the last 3 miles.

Last year, I had to retire due to huge blisters that I couldn't stand on. This year I did the prep, did the training and bought the right gear, so had no excuses. Richard and I also had our families with us and they were tremendous support, as were all of our chums from the club who took time to send us lots of messages of support and even face book message which I could access through my phone. These were real boosts to my morale. The course took us on a massive loop over into Gods own country (Taffland ) and back into Ingurland, Ingurland, Ingurland, taking in many, many trig points, Offa's Dyke and eventually the Long Mynd (which was very). There were 13 checkpoints and a few other self clipping points that ensured short cuts couldn't be taken as they were almost invariably on top of a hill. What you cant do when running that far, is to focus on the total distance. You have to focus on each checkpoint and no further and for the first part this worked. Early on in the race I was recognised again by a total stranger from a youtube video I have done, although he didn't tell me I had inspired him to run huge distances, like the last chap. Still was worth it to see Richard's face!

We kept up a steady running pace really for the first 3o miles catching the early walkers, albeit with the hills being walked. We caught Sedgers at this point and at the time I was a bit worried for him as he appeared to be limping. We had a brief chat before running again and leaving him to continue solo. We had taken our time at the early checkpoints to eat and drink something, knowing this was the only way to keep our energy up. It was still hard not to think of the race as being almost 4 marathons, so I tried to focus on things such as fish and chips especially ordered in at the 35 mile stop and breakfast at the 55 mile stop. By the time we reached our families at 35, it was still light but we were slowing. A few weeks before, we had run 40 miles in under 8 hours and could have gone faster. This time, it took us 9 hours to run 35, which was mainly due to the frequent hills, navigation, stiles and having two cups of tea and sandwiches at every checkpoint. We knew the first night was in front of us and also wanted to store energy.

By the time we left, it was dark. We walked out of the village and very quickly had to start climbing again. By this point, we had put on warm clothes and water proofs to avoid the mistakes of last year. The problem though was that it was a very dark night, with no manmade lights anywhere, which hindered both navigation and being able to run. We basically spent the entire night having to walk. It was just too dangerous in places to run, as we were either going up and over steep slopes with lots of rabbit holes and dangerous drops, or through woods with roots and holes everywhere. As a result, my original plan of getting to breakfast at around 1-2am went out of the window and instead it took us until 5.30am. The night time checkpoints were busy with people just shattered and talking very little. I sat next to one older chap at around 2am and without warning, he just threw up in his soup bowl and looked as though he was about to feint. Never the less, at the next checkpoint as we were leaving, he wandered in looking even worse! The weather was kinder to us this year and it didn't rain that much, although it was very windy most of the night.

The breakfast stop was something I had been looking forward to as we had decided to take an hour there. Cheerful helpers dished up plates of bacon, eggs, beans and sausages with even more sugary cups of tea. It was by this stage light again and after leaving, we managed to get some running in albeit slowly. My focus were the next few checkpoints, but I began to slow a lot. Whilst the clothing and change of socks/trainers helped keep the blisters away, I still began to develop very painful feet. My left foot by the toes became very sore in particular and my right heel to the point that I just couldn't run with my feet landing heavily. Instead I was forced into walking, which is an activity I dont like doing at the best of times. I also began to get very low mentally, dreading a huge 10 mile checkpoint between 73-83 miles which also took in the Long Mynd. It was a massive surprise to see my wife and son about 4 miles before I had arranged to meet them. They had trekked a long way back to find us and seeing them kept up my flagging morale. I even managed some conversation, which as RJ will tell you, is a non starter with me when my head goes. We left them at the top of the Mynd and trudged on. In the middle of nowhere, at about 76 miles, a lady came over and asked what we were doing. I grunted little although RJ was able to fill her in. She then proceeded to walk with us for the next hour and half, talking all the way to RJ, holding open gates and frequently saying that I looked in a bad way. I was, stopped even grunting and focused an increasing level of anger towards this mad woman. As the two of them chatted away happily about all things brummie, at least it took my mind temporarily off my shattered feet. Now looking back, I can of course see that she was in fact a very nice and helpful lady who guided us through a very tricky navigation section and I am grateful to her. When you are just on the move almost constantly for 26 hours you do become irrational.

The 10 mile section was followed by an only slightly less difficult 8.3 mile section. This was at 83 miles and I came into the checkpoint on my last legs. Every fibre in my body wanted to stop and I was very close to doing so. This is when my wife quite literally saved my race. I wasn't expecting to see her and she was there. She made me sit down, take my shoes and socks off. She then bandaged my feet and made me put on new socks and trainers. She also got the map out, showed us how far we had gone and gave me a massive pep talk. It was enough to get me out of the checkpoint, when I knew that I would finish. Having left, I had no choice but to do the next 8.3 miles and by then, we were into the 90's.

On this stage, we joined a group of quite fast walkers and ended up doing this section in not that much more than two hours which was a massive boost. Even in that group, there were a couple of walkers who had developed the trade mark lean to one side as they were walking, almost to the point they toppled over. The route description though was in Km rather than miles, which made the sections seem even longer. Any hope of running had long gone and I just focused on one stage at a time. It was still a huge relief to get it done and then arrive at the 91.5 mile point, where I knew by now the family would be. More cups of tea and cake were consumed and we set off on a shorter 4 mile section which we managed to do just before dark. At the last checkpoint, I knew that the bandages on my foot were causing a big blister on my left small toe and the feet were once again very painful, the painkillers having warn off. We sat there not wanting to move, but knowing we had to. RJ's wife and mine had decided they wanted to walk the last leg with us and this was very gratefully received, although her constant wafting of a coke bottle with whisky and ginger in it under my nose, was not.

And so the last stage. A mere 5.6 miles that I would normally run easily in well under 50 mins. Not this time. We managed a half decent pace as we came towards Ludlow, but it was now very dark and we still in the fields. As we crossed one very large field, we just could not find the stile to exit it and spent a long time trying to do so. This was very draining. We eventually did and got to the outskirts, when the organisers played one last massive trick on us. Instead of staying on the road and going around, they made us turn into very dense woodlands and climb 900 feet in the pitch black. I still dont know how we did it, but we did. As we came over and dropped down again in pitch black woods, we got lost. We were both shattered, disorientated and unable to think straight. What should have been and indeed was, an obvious and easy path out of the woods had us going around in circles. At one point I even wondered if my bivvy was big enough for two, as I was envisaging a night in the woods. So much for womens navigation skills. At least we had been going for 36 hours! We eventually made it out after what seemed an eternity with the last long mile to get us back from whence we came. That leg took us over 3 and 1/4 hours and was dreadful. The only high point was I did it with my wife and it led to the end.

I cannot tell you how much pleasure there is in not moving and knowing that you are done. Once finished, I could hardly move from the table to the car. I had wanted to avoid the second night and the common hallucinations, which didn't actually happen. We were done. Knowing just how tired and painful I was at that point, finishing in the early hours of the second morning, it is even more amazing to think that Sedgers was still out there and that he took another 9 hours. The thought of doing another 9 hours on top of what we did is almost unthinkable. So to actually do it, deserves one more huge congratulations from me to the man. Well done once again and also a massive thank you to Richard. He was stronger than me in the latter stages and could have left me, but didn't. I seriously doubt I would have got in without him.

I was 11th in my qualification wave out of 58 trying to chase 20 qualification spots so I'm pretty confident I'll get in. I was 40th overall across all the World Qualifying waves.

20k bike was a bit slow due to the wind - 35mins (on a still day I would be hoping for close to 30mins). But if you consider the fastest bike split of the day was just under 32mins I'm not to disappointed.

5k run again slow due to the head wind - 19.31 but again only 10 secs off the overall winners run.

Most importantly for me was my % of the winning time which came in at just over 107% which is my best yet in a qualification race.

Well, this was the end of a long road lasting over a year - not as a runner, but as a coach. With his impending 40th birthday, my cousin decided to take up running a year ago. As a 40th birthday present, his wife got him an entry to Edinburgh (as you do) and asked me if I would take him through the 16 weeks and pace him round. He had a good training period, however just before the start of the race when he tells you he hadnt had any breakfast because he "wasn't hungry" and then left his gels in his rucksack, I cant remember whether I uttered 26 or 27 expletives. Upon giving him my gels and mars bar, we set off and had a good first half, going through halfway in 2:05, which was slightly ahead of plan, but by mile 15 he had to stop and walk. This was a pattern for the rest of the race, however fair play to him for the way he attacked the last 6 miles into the teeth of a really strong wind (using me as a windbreak!). It was also good to chat to a number of Flyers at different times of the race which made the race seem to go quicker. At the end was the customary "Never again" but by later that evening that had changed to "Well maybe....." Another one bites the dust, and another one's gone............

Classic Scottish weather - from sunburn (really!) to gusting gales and horizontal rain (a nice head wind...), and almost everything else in between, all in 4 hours....

A great weekend away with the hairy haggis relay girls (and jezza). The race itself, for me was one of those "if only" moments. conscious I still had Shakespeare in my legs I headed out very slowly just wanting to get round without doing myself an injury, nice steady 9 1/2 minute miling for the first half until I felt brave enough to pick it up a bit, it took until about mile 17 for brain to work out that I could be in for another pb so put a right spurt on, therefore making the last 9 miles pretty tough on myself (as if they weren't tough enough already:-) my efforts saw me crossing the line just 36 seconds outside my pb, hey ho that's life, you've got to try at these things otherwise you never know.

I raised money for a very special young man and his Cerebal palsy charity and yet another life lesson was learnt, i should've had more faith in my own abilities and tried harder from the outset, have now doubt it could've been my special sub 4 moment. Shoulda, woulda, coulda!!!

A good race with good support, the long straights could be good or bad depending on how you look at life- I personally enjoyed seeing other runners as they doubled back and seeing them running into the driving rain and wind gave me a preview of what to expect in the last 7 miles.

The slight stop at mile 18 was well worth the 5 second penalty on my time and overall I'm dead chuffed that I beat the bad memories of the event 2 years ago - I'll definitely be back to woop some more ass - maybe even next year!

I think jez will be glad to return to a world full of talk of west ham, beer and all things manly. But I think on a positive note we have converted him into the ways of moisturiser. Good work girls!

After a week when the forecast for race day was really strong winds it finally settled down and race day dawned with a few showers but not too much wind. As I was walking across Edinburgh to the start it felt more like heading to a cross-country race as there was quite a chill in the air. So, a pretty good day for running. The start was seperated into the sub 4hrs and 4hrs+ with relay teams. In the sub-4 area we got a 10-minute head start so as to spread out the field which seemed to work well. We were set on our way by a pipe and drums band and with the segregated start it took less than a minute ot cross the line. And we were off…at my ideal pace but one that I hadn't managed to pick up in the later stages of training runs - perhaps I should have figured something out from that! Anyway, first half all went great, saw Annie around half way and all going well keeping with the group that I had started with. It was around mile 18 that I started to suffer for my early optimism over my actual ability, I couldn't keep with my group of runners and lots of people started going past. My pace started to drop and by mile 21 when I saw Val I couldn't summon a smile. I suffered the last 5 miles, keeping going but really struggling to keep any sort of pace. My backup target was to get under 3-30 and I got to 25 miles at exactly 3-20. I was sure I was slowing to 9 or 10 minute miles and wouldn't make the half hour. So, I hit the lap button on my watch and put in a last effort to get back under 8 minute miles and on target. I made it with a bit to spare and as I saw the clock tick over 3-29 with just the finish straight to go I knew I could make it, I even managed a bit of a sprint finish ( well it felt like sprinting, though I doubt it looked like it! ). My gun-finish time was 3-29-30 and chip time of 3-28-41.

Last year I had felt awful after the race but this time was more careful with gently eating and drinking a little in the first two hours. I got recovered well enough for a group visit to the beer tent in the late afternoon - best pint I've had for ages.

A few Flyers travelled to the race. I spend most of the weekend with Becs, Val, Sue, Annie and Katie. Let's just say that we now all know each other a lot better and what happens in Edinburgh stays in Edinburgh ;-)

As i watched the 1,700 Triathletes arrive from across the world over the week leading up to the race, my nerves set in, my heart racing with apprehension and an amount of fear as this was billed as the toughest but the most iconic of all the Ironman courses.

After pre race paper work and official checks etc the day before i tried to get an early night, i think i got 2hrs sleep such was the build up to this race.

I lined up with 1,700 others for the mass swim start at 7.00am the sun just about to rise. As ever i was punched, kicked, pushed as everyone fought for position, that continued for 1 mile of the sea swim until things settled down, soon the 2.5 mile swim was over. I clocked 1hr 7mins for the swim.

The bike course was simply brutal from the word go, it was 112 miles of hills and 35mph winds and just for good measure the sun beating down just to add to the workload. The course proved to much for many athletes, some walking some needing medical attention through sheer exhaustion and some being blown off there bikes. I pushed on to complete the bike in 6hrs 52mins and was almost happy to start the marathon that was until i realised my legs felt like jelly and the sun was like a ball of fire it was now about 80 degrees. don't ask me where i found the strength to do that marathon but i don't understand the word cant and said to myself the sooner i get this job done the better.

4hrs 33mins later i crossed the finish line and if i am totally honest a tear of joy ran down my cheek with total relief that i had done it.

The Lanzarote course is regarded so tough every competitor is offered an IV drip to hydrate the body and is included in the entry fee, there were hundreds taking up on that offer. Although this was far from my PB it was probably the most rewarding ironman race to date and it was a true honour to have been part of this iconic race, and it was with great pride i received my ironman medal.

I am now looking for a fast Course to get my sub 11hrs as i have done the hard ironman courses now ones now. It was a huge lift to see AFF Alex and Wendy Kent out on the course giving their much valued support.

The race is for the St Michaels Hospice, where my Mother spent her last few weeks so I entered and raised some money as well. I knew it would be hilly.

The course is mainly along "A" roads, 3hills in the first 3 miles and then undulating for the rest. The finish is on the racecourse. What is it with me and racecourses-Edinburgh, Stratford and now 'ereford as locals pronounce it. Still a good race no chip timing, no medal but a t-shirt.

Well, I today competed in the the 19th running of the Prestwood 10k which I entered a few weeks ago (before I joined the Flyers) as part of my training to go sub 45min at the Bupa London 10000 on 30th May.

Firstly, what a really nice race it was, not too big and chip timed too (start and finish). It is a figure of 8 course and I had heard that the hills were in the first half (250ft of climbs in fist 5k!). However, after starting off (at the font in a macho way!) and heading downhill (6:33 first mile!) for ages, I knew it was going to get tough. Eventually we turned left and headed back up the hill to halfway which I made at just under 7min mile pace. From then on it was much flatter loop through the village estates before returning back to the leisure centre for one lap of the sports field before the finish. There was a qiote a bit of sipoort along the way from the villagers which was great considering quite a small race (248 entrants).

Well, I smashed my sub 45 aim and finished in 43:36 which I was really happy with and I can honestly say my 2 Tuesday sessions and 3 Thursday club runs have definitely helped contribute towards. I just need to reassess my goal for the Bupa London 10,000 now!

26.5 miles with 5,500 ft of climb - LDWA event in south Wales. Fantastic views and a super but very tough event. The first climb out of the valley was 1,000ft in 2.7 miles.

I intended to walk most of it - but did jog quite a bit. The slow time shows how much the climb affects speed.

At the end of May I will be walking/jogging my 100th marathon event. In fact for my 100th event I will be doing the Long Distance Walkers Association 100 mile event in South Shropshire - the Houseman Hundred. As this is a significant event in my running career I will be raising sponsorship. I am collecting for the Bedford MS Therapy Centre. The lady who encouraged me to start running with her developed Multiple Sclerosis shortly after, and I thought it only right to help this centre which is a life-line for her.

If you would like to support this please visit my Just Giving Page: www.justgiving.com/David-Sedgley

An absolute corker of an event, water and sponges coming out of your ears, nice stuff to look at, nice people to cheer you on, great marshalls (although they did all seem to be sitting down sunbathing) which made me feel just a tad envious!

Dead chuffed with my time, didn't think for a second I would do it- imagine what's possible if I trained properly with the magic 7 long uns and stopped drinking silly amounts leading up to it!

KT did a smashing job on her first marathon, smiling all the way as always - another one hooked!

Was wonderful to see a bloke at the beginning who had a striking resemblance to a chairman I once knew......Even nicer to see the cooks had both waited till the end despite Jane being very busy setting her own half marathon pb!

A little Annie and Val shape surprise at the end who had come to support for the day but who unfortunately I didn't see (they said I was too quick but I'm not convinced!). even on the finishing straight I didn't hear them screaming - clearly "in the zone" and dead set on my sprint finish!

Don't tell anyone as it might spoil my reputation but I did have a little tear in my eye once I realised my great mates had made the effort! A marathon just wouldn't be the same without them!

A mild overcast Sunday morning at 7 am and we are driving to Stratford upon Avon. A pitstop at Cherwell Valley services then parking at 8.40am nicely in time for the start. There's good crowd in the High Street listening to a lively PA commentary, then the 9.30 start. But only for Jane as I'm support team today. The race starts on time, the runners come past including Becs, Katie and Janie. Katie actually doesn't go past, but stops to show me her knee minus top layer of skin, she's taken a tumble a few steps into the start. Then of she goes, followed quickly by Jane. After one mile round the city centre, Becs comes past waving and smiling, then Jane waving and smiling.

Time for a well earned cup of coffee and sticky bun. For me I mean, Jane's busy. Stratford is after all a lovely place for spending a leisurely hour down by the Avon. Then it's time for a steady walk to the 12 mile point on the Half course. Not twelve miles for me you understand, just for Jane.

Marathon training isn't supposed to be easy, and so it's proved, but Jane has wisely opted for the half and she's well and truly ready.

On the bridge over the Avon Jane comes past on schedule, waving and smiling. I scurry over the footbridge to catch her a couple more times on the way through the meadow to the finish. Another PB for Jane, well done.

Whilst enjoying a sandwich by the river we are joined by Val and Annie who have also come to spectate. We all go back to see Becs finish the marathon course in a PB of about 4.04, waving and smiling of course. What I missed was Katie finishing in around 4.30 with that knee. Well done Katie, made of stern stuff obviously.

The Shakespeare is a great race at which to be a supporter, plenty to do, the parking is good, facilities are good and we will go again. Perhaps more of us should.

Got up at 5 am on Sunday to run 26.2 miles! We arrived in Stratford at 7 am and it was like a ghost town! We were there even before the marshalls – but at least we got a parking space! Oh and a trip to Wetherspoons for tea and toast! Stratford is a lovely town and looked like a good place to just explore and go shopping! Maybe next time J

Time went really quick and we were very organised to begin with! After making sure we had all our important stuff we really needed (well thought we needed) together and queued for the toilets , it was time to go to the start. I felt strangely calm-ish! Lol. After being squashed in the crowd for a good ten mins it was time to start! Hooray i thought and off I went! Well didn’t get very far and lay down on the floor! Tripped over something, don t know what! Got a lovely grazed knee and blood blister on my hand. Picked myself up feeling v embarrassed!!! Then saw Rob round the corner and stopped to look at my knee. Felt really shaken up but decided to carry on anyway (how brave am I!! And I didn’t even cry! Lol)

It was lovely that first lap – my favourite part was running alongside the race course! I kept a slow pace going or so I thought. Felt very comfortable up until 18 miles. That was where the pain really kicked in! And I thought – maybe i need to stop soon! It was at this point that I saw Becs. She was running really well. She said her legs were sore, but that didn’t stop her from disappearing up the big hill ahead. I walked that one! Then walk ran up until about 22 miles. (Well i say run, it was more of a hobble lol!) Then I hobbled to the end.

It was great to finally reach the finish line after what felt like an eternity of running! Becs was there and so was Annie and Val too (the supporting crew!) We hobbled off to the nearest ice cream van (thanks Val!!)and then pub lunch! I was starving (thanks again for bailing me out Annie!) Running a marathon definitely tops one of my bigger achievements in life! I am definitely up for another!!! I realise now though that it would pay to train long distance, marathon running is extreme and def not for the unprepared (me!!) Still pleased with my time though, not bad for a first go with some walking too!!

Week 9 of the training schedule brought the longest race to date and the last of 4 marathons, two forty two mile runs and this one. As usual, off I trotted at the crack of dawn with the Jones boy. As this was a longer race, I did actually carbo load for a couple of days, and boy was it needed. The start was from a place called Holt castle and we lined up at the very back of a roughly 40-50 strong crowd of fellow nutters, errrr I mean ultra endurance athletes. The hooter blew and the nut-jobs were off. The first part of the course was on the whole quite flat and took in a mixture of cross country trails, country lanes and a few towns. It wound its way down the river Severn past Worcester and was quite scenic. There was the usual mix of seasoned veterans with their interesting running gear (no adidas type tops, bright Ron hill shorts, threadbare running t's and camouflage rucksacks) and a few brave newbies (colour co-ordinated and matching gear). I think I spoke to at least 3 runners who hadn't gone past 30 miles before, so my hat went off to them for stepping up so far. At around 10 miles, a chap pulled up next to me and after a moment exclaimed rather loudly '' ITS YOU - ITS YOUTUBE MAN'' or similar words, followed shortly by ''you inspired me to run London to Brighton'' plus some other fan like comments. Turns out he watched my youtube clips of the above race (type in my name and ultra marathons and hey presto) and he liked it so much he entered the race! I inspired him!! He then proceeded to call me youtube for the rest of the race and even after! Still, small price to pay for global fame I guess. RJ was suitably impressed (not). He was so deflated at not being youtube man, that he feigned an injury at 20 miles and had to drop out, which in truth was a bit of a shock but the right decision.

Still it meant that I had well over half the race and 7 odd hours of running on my own which was hard. We had walked a bit to see if the injury would go and by the time I started running again, I was some way behind. As I went past the first marathon point I caught a few runners and then hit Malvern Hills. Boy oh boy, did the route change at that point as it turned into lots of very long and steep hill climbs. The Malvern's are a group of hills that are very high, with constant climbs and drops in-between the 6 or 7 peaks we scaled. The views from the top were magnificent and took in Gods own country (taffland) which were worth the climbs on its own. By about the 30 mile mark, I was starting to tire and my map reading skills failed again. I missed a right turn to take me off the hills and into West Malvern and instead, went on and climbed another hill almost to the trig point. I became disorientated and lost my bearings, eventually back tracking all the way down the hill. Overall, put an extra 3 miles onto route and ran 55. By this stage, not a soul in sight. I spent the next 2 plus hours odd on my own, in the rain, going cross country through woods, trails and villages in a very disheartened state. When I eventually caught someone with about two hours to go, that perked me up as he looked in a rotten way ( I did stop to check and he was but still ok to go on ). I then ploughed on and caught others as it was getting darker and wetter, including the focus of my inspiration, who told his mate that they couldn't let youtube boy beat them (they could and he did). In short very tough second half for all the above reasons and a very hard race overall. Not sure of the time as my watch stopped, but think I ran 55 miles in around 11 hours 50 mins but probably could have finished the actual race about an hour quicker without the walk and getting lost. Still, lets hope RJ's fit enough for the big race in 3 weeks time as I now appreciate how much easier it is with a running partner. Between now and then , the taper is king and no races.

In my effort of achieving my goal of sub 2:30 Standard distance triathlon, I needed to swim an accurate 1500m lake swim to see how I would get on. My swimming training over the winter period has been pretty brutal (for my ability anyway) and have worked hard to try and cut my times down, however, in the pool you don't often get the chance to really work as hard as you need to.

To see how I have improved (if at all) I took part in this open water 1500m event. My target was sub 30mins, so this was going to be a real tester, and only having been in the lake this year twice, I was a little apprehensive about how i would get on!

However, the weather proved good and the lake was in excellent condition and (surprisingly) nice and warm!

I learnt quite a lot from this swim and made me realise some of the things I need to work on when it comes to the real thing.

At the moment, I'm on target, just need to keep going and hopefully the training will pay off, and if not, there's always next year!

Thames Valley group of the LDWA laid on another superb event - with what could have been the best route ever - lots of grassy paths through nature reserves, and lots of bluebell strewn woods. I expect you'll get a full report from Paul, so I'll just say that I only did the 35 mile route as I was getting very slow after going off too fast early on - and suffering from a mild bout of sun stroke!

This was my 98th marathon or over event and I will be running my 100th marathon event at the end of May. In fact for my 100th event I will be doing the LDWA 100 miles in South Shropshire - the Houseman Hundred.

Penultimate long distance training weekend led me and Richard Jones to visiting Henley on Thames for another top value LDWA walking event that welcomes runners with around 300 entries. Having done it last year, I knew it was a hilly race which meant that our sub 8 hour forty mile time from two weeks would not be repeated. We were both happy to take it easy with the aim of being able to finish as comfortably as we could. This was another self navigating run with a 20 mile option, with the chance to drop down to 35 as well. Having not checked the route, I didn't know that there is a different one every year, which was a nice surprise. This is a very hilly area of the country, whichever way you go when you leave the very pleasant surroundings of Henley. Last year, we ran into a posse of Flyers and apparently Orlando Bloom was on the route. No sightings of the hollywood hunk this year, but it was nice to run into Jim and Helen Dodds who were walking the 20 mile option. After we left them it became a somewhat quiet race after we split from those doing the 20 mile option. Two faster runners went past us early on and another chap who left after us, caught us up, but apart from that no one overtook us for the entire 40 miles, although we did go wrong again a few times and ended up doing about 42 miles. Even the chap who caught us, tired at around 22 miles, dropped off the steady pace we were running and must have been an hour plus after us at the end if not more as we didn't see him before leaving the race finish hall. Despite taking around 9 and 1/2 hours, my guess is we were still quite far up the finish order but that was in truth the last thing on our minds. Having said that, at around a mile to go we ran past a rather odd looking chap in head to toe lycra and rucksack. We clearly upset him, as 5 mins later he came past us going faster. Richard's competitive edge kicked in and we started running faster, although I didn't realise until near the end that he was being spurred on by the man in black. All a bit pointless really, as he clearly had started sometime before us and we were probably a half hour plus ahead of him! Still, good to see that the legs could pick it up at 39.5 miles. Had thought we might have found Dave Sedgley towards the end, but we missed him as he did the 35 mile option due to time constraints.

This was another very good value event. It cost just a few pounds to enter, but there were 6 or 7 checkpoints, all of which had lots of sandwiches, cakes, chocolate, crisps and other goodies. There was even a meal at the end, although by then I didn't fancy it and went for a carb loading ice cream and milkshake from a petrol station instead.

Went down to Watford today for the 10K, running with 2 brothers and 2 nephews this was definitely a family affair with lots of support. A warm day although a lot of the route was in shade, the hills a sudden reminder that this was not a flat course and lots of weaving in and out of other runners and walkers, made them feel a little longer and a little steeper! Ran well and did a PB of 57.13 on my Garmin, official time of gun to finish of 57.49 – getting to the start line did seem to take an age – oh for start to finish times! Oh and yes the boys did beat me posting times between 44 – 56 minutes – a very happy family day out.

Conditions on Easter Sunday were perfect as 400+ cyclists were let loose from Naseby in Northamptonshire. The first 20 miles were fast and mostly down hill and the temptation to 'nail it' was overwhelming. However, I knew I'd pay for it later so backed off and stuck to the plan. As my first attempt at a long distance cycling race I'd set myself a target of 5 hours which seemed achievable with relatively inexperienced legs. Taking the advice of fellow Flyers, I'd loaded the mule up with as much food and water as I could carry and made sure I was eating something at least every 20 minutes. I would have got away with carrying far less as the feeding stops at 30 and 60 miles were better than expected and well stocked with food and drinks. The route itself winds through the picture postcard villages of Northamptonshire mostly on quiet, well surfaced B roads. The hills individually aren't particularly bad although they all add up to 4000 feet of climbing over the course. Overall, a well organised event with a friendly atmosphere and a good introduction to group riding.

After finishing the Flit 10k in an annoying 40mins, I thought to myself that I would push as I hard I could at the Bedford sprint to try and achieve my goal of 1hr:19 or under. Would all those horrible early get up during the winter for 2hrs of brick sessions finally pay off?

My swim was not brilliant, although I got a good start and ploughed on nicely, I ended up catching the slow traffic and must have lost 30 sec trying to overtake capt slow. Out of the pool I was slow getting my gear on for the bike, in fact it was so slow, by the time I got moving it was almost dinner time……..

The bike ride itself is pretty ugly at first and although it doesn't seem it, the first 4 to 5 miles is all uphill! However, with this I still managed to keep a good ave speed going and for what goes up must come down…………on the down hills I managed to pick up the speed where I missed out on the hills. The bike seemed to go quick which was great, coming back into transition my legs felt good for a strong run, I came of the bike well, and raced back into T2 when I heard……….."get your shoes". My bike shoes had come of my bike and I was ordered to go back and collect them. I thought "&&&& the shoes!" so I carried on, I was almost there when I realised they may disqualify me for it, so I went back, luckily one of the Marshalls handed them over.

I raced back into T2 and prayed for a fast run, it happened and I just gave everything I could. On lap 2 Mr Holland raced passed like lightning, I thought about drafting behind him when I realised I couldn’t even do that without the swim and bike, what chance have I got here?? I continued on with the last remaining energy I had and crossed the line in 1hr:19……..what I relief!

I recognise I’ve been out of the loop for a while and apologies for not being a more committed club member. Juggling work, family and training this year has been particularly challenging to the extent that I decided to withdraw from the Lanzarote Ironman. Ironically since I made this decision back in March things have calmed down in almost every area of my life. I'm enjoying training now and seem to be managing a nice balance again.

This weekend saw the annual Beds County Tri Champs. A local race with familiar faces and on a course that I enjoy. With months of base training in my legs but only a few weeks of speed work I wasn’t sure how the Ironman training would translate into a Sprint race. I was very pleasantly surprised. I took almost 4 minutes off my time at this event last year.

I PB'd in every discipline. 6.33 for the 400m swim, 42 mins for the 24k bike and just over 18mins for the 5k run. My total time was 1.09.20. 3rd Vet, 3rd Place Beds County Champs, 14th Overall

It was an added bonus to see Phil Holland, a relative new comer to triathlon, absolutely smash the course and take 1st prize J and Leigh also achieving a new course PB.

My main reason for taking up running this year was to run the London Marathon in memory of our son, Daniel, and to raise money for the charity that helped us, FSID (foundation of sudden infant death). It was amazing to get to the start line after so long training and fund raising and it was a brilliant event. Very emotional and so many amazing sights and stories. The day was too hot for me though, and although I went well until 20miles, I then hit the notorious wall with abdominal cramps and pain everywhere, it was worse than I imagined. I managed to walk/run to 25 miles, then felt a bit better again so ran to the finish – I am not sure of my time as I was really with it, but it was a few minutes over 5h. I was very pleased to have managed it, and it was overwhelming joining up with my family and the other runners who were participating for FSID.

Blimey! It was soooo hot! It was really hard! It was fantastic to see my family at 13 miles and to see loads of Flyers supporting us o the way. That was such a boost. And the crowds were awesome and very, very encouraging especially when I started to walk because I was knackered and my hip decided to get seriously painful (It has been fine for months). Then i got excruciatingly painful cramp above both knees (never had that before) and then felt decidedly dizzy at about mile 15. But, hey, what a fantastic atmosphere and what a way to see London. When I came out of the tunnel and along the Embankment it suddenly dawned on me that I was nearly there. But the last 800 metres have got to be the hardest ever. It’s only 2 laps of the track I thought but flipping heck they’ve never felt that long before! I think I crossed the line in 4.46 which is a bit slower than I’d aimed for but I’m still really chuffed. I know I wasn’t the only one to suffer a bit – everyone must have done in that heat. I think we all did really well. Congratulations to everyone.

I managed to finish the marathon in 4 hours and 51 minutes ,I was alright up to 20 miles and on course for the 4.20 I wanted to do but the heat got the better of me,

I arrived early at Blackheath and was in desperate need for the toilet. The queues for the port-a-loos outside were long, so I decided it'd be best to say my goodbyes to Mum and head inside the start area and attack their hopefully less busy loo's?! Thankfully this paid off as the queues were short, but most importantly there was toilet roll left (note for next time: remember own loo roll). After said toilet, this left plenty of time to relax on the grass and prepare the mind for what lay ahead. The overcast skies all around looked perfect, long may they continue... As I made my way to pen six, I saw Laura Johnston and we wished each other luck. Watching the mass start on big screen was awesome! Seeing the thousands of runners really brought home what I was about to do and I couldn't wait to get going. From pen six I crossed the start line much quicker than expected (maybe 4 minutes after the official start).

I saw Cheryl Baker and PC Rathbone early on, the latter the epitome of what the London Marathon is all about. Going over Tower Bridge was an awesome moment. Here the crowds were unbelievable. Both sides of the bridge were completely packed and the noise was incredible. As I turned to head for Canary Wharf, on the other side of the road were the Kenyan's and alike! To think they were heading for home already! My splits up to half way were pretty consistent but more importantly felt reasonable comfortable. I was running just over 9 minute miles which, for the sub 4 hour time, was the plan.

By now the overcast skies had departed and the sun was beating down. As I entered the docklands I felt a few twinges in the legs. I took on food from the spectators and a lot more water and this seemed to help. I recall running through a deep cool underpass and here I felt so good. I was speeding up and had to tell myself to just slow down and not get carried away. 2 miles-ish later and it was a different story. As I ran past one entrance to Canary Wharf station the leg pains returned and as I approached the entrance to the other side of the station, bang, it hit me. Cramps like never before. Seemingly from nowhere, and in both calves and both thighs! I instantly had to stop and stretch it out. I recommenced but 200m further along the same again! Oh **** I thought, this is bad. I took a good two minutes out to properly stretch and took on board some water from a Marshall (all of whom were fantastic, a great asset to the race). The time out helped and I was able to stride on albeit not at my 9 minute pace. It was inevitable from this point that I was not going under 4 hours. Even so I was determined to press on and finish as quickly as possible.

A few miles later and I was on the road home (the same place I had seen the those Kenyan's what seemed an eternity ago!). However, on exiting the Docklands there was simple no escape from the heat! It was unbearably hot and no amount of water seemed to cool me down. Maybe I took on too little in the early stages? At 20m the cramps returned and this time for good! With 6m to go it was a case of run some, walk some, stretch some. A repeated cycle which was crucifying my time but the only way I could get home. The crowds were immense, I took so much courage from their support. Putting my name on my top was really paying off now. The shouts of 'Jezza' only helped to move me along. As I passed Embankment I saw my merry band of supporters, beers in hand and laughing at the sight of me struggling! Very cruel but I didn't take it too heart. I plucked up the strength to run the last 200m hard and crossed the finish line arms aloft. Thankfully I didn't have to look far for Mum. I found a spot of grass, collapsed and stayed put for 45 minutes!

I'm pretty sure it was a case of the heat playing a major part in my downfall. The training you do is in the cooler winter months, a world away from the temperatures of Sunday. I don't think my early pace was too quick, as I was very confident off going under 4 hours. I will definitely look to do this again as my time didn't do me justice.

I had a bit of a nightmare. Ran the first 15 miles OK and suddenly had no energy left. I had to walk/slow-jog most of the way after that. I wasn’t the only one struggling, there were bodies littered all over the place. I had to grab hold of one lady who was tottering all over the place and help her sit down. She didn’t have a clue what was going on!

Met my wife Louise and son Martin at 17 miles and warned her I may be finishing a bit later than planned. I realized I could only finish by taking it real easy.

I later sat down after 25 miles on the kerb and wondered how on earth I was going to complete that last mile. St John's people wanted to drag me away but I got up and carried on walking. Mile 26 took 22 minutes!

If it had been the Greensand Ridge on a Saturday morning in February I'd have been flying along but yesterday was too warm for me Managed to do a token little jog down the Mall.

Again the Children with leukaemia hospitality sorted me out after the race. Managed to raise £500 for them so that was the positive side.

Saw Paul Lydon, Becs, Val and Abe/Becky Kerr - thanks for your cheering and Paul's pep talk.

Thought I'd be doing a PB yesterday but wasn’t to be so felt disappointed after all the hard training miles. Think I'll stick to the half marathons

In contrast to the crowds in London, Richard Jones and I set off in this race with little fanfare and just the odd sheep on route to bah us on. Another weekend, another long distance training running. As this was a bit of a step up after the last few weekends marathons, we both just wanted to run this comfortably and in truth, get it done.

This was a well organised trail and cross country event, which was self navigating all the way with a good mix of runners and walkers who could set off between 6-9am. It is handy having walkers, as latter in the race when you catch them they are useful guides. There were 6 or 7 checkpoints on route, most of which had tea, squash, cakes and all sorts of goodies. The problem though with long distance running is that after a certain point, you lose your appetite and despite knowing you need to eat, you often cant at least for periods. A few of the faster lads overtook us at the start, but with this distance, steady pace is needed. That having been said, we did cover the first 10 miles a tad too quickly, but overall we were able to keep a consistent pace throughout. The race encompassed a 40 mile circular walk around Coventry which we didn't see as a result, with 90% off road. Going past the marathon mark, both Richard and I were running very comfortably and it dawned on me that we were on for sub 8 hours without really pushing it that hard. Given my last 40 mile race took 9hrs 5 mins, I fancied the idea of beating that target and mentioned it to RJ. Unfortunately, around the 30 mile mark we got lost and added another 2 miles on by mistake. We had overtaken two pairs of runners, when we went off at a tangent. When we realised we were lost and tracked our way back onto the correct route, we saw them coming towards us as we went backwards. Having gone to the checkpoint, we turned around and caught them both up 3 or 4 miles latter. They were not amused!

We went through 40 miles in 7 hrs 55, but the official time at around 42 miles was 8 hrs 13, which still smashed my PB and Richard's.

The good news though from our point of view, was that we weren't trying to run hard and just did it as a training run and not the end goal. Very good value race, cheap entry, on the whole very good directions ( except at one point!), lovely part of the country, good atmosphere at checkpoints, meal at the end, certificate and badge.

This was the first mountain marathon of the year and the chance of good weather that far north is slim, but this was the 5th running of the event and the 4th we'd had sunny weather - though there was some cloud and very strong winds on the tops on day one.

As well as some superb mountain scenery with some very big climbs (we climbed continuously from sea level to 840 metres in the first 7.5K on Saturday) the highlight was the finish. We had been bussed to the start around Loch Broom and spent the first day in the are south of Little Loch Broom - then Sunday on the peninsula between the two lochs. We finished at a little jetty on the opposite side of the Loch to the town (a view which very few people have ever seen) & were whisked across a mill-pool Loch in spring sunshine in a high powered outboard dingy - a fantastic end to an event.

For those interested I did about 34K in the 11.5 hours - so definitley not a marathon - and it shows how much big climbs and rough terrain makes the going that much slower.

Was on holiday in Southern Florida and entered my first race abroad. In Florida because of the heat, races start early so up at 6.00 am driving round St Petersburg - no not in Russia, I was not lost, in the dark, trying to find Walsingham Park. Arrived in time but the heat was ridiculous- 73 at 7.30 just like a Saturday morning run around Ampthill!! Missed the national anthem, call of nature but Carol sang it for me.

Started too quick but at the front and managed a good time of 20.41- 12th overall and first Brit home- well the only Brit in the race. Really pleased.

Race won by all American boy Hunter with his mate Jett in 2nd place. Phil's such an uncool name for a runner. Lots of chatter at the end and great food cookies, pastries and cakes but I was representing AFF and England so a banana for me. Loved ever minute of the experience. Ate all the junk food and beer later in the day watching Tampa Bay Rays playing baseball as my treat.

Something slightly different this time, having been invited by Icknield cycle club to take part in their time trial, I though i'd give it ago, especially spending the weekend running, it was time to get back into the cycling, and also, it helped this event being practically on my doorstep!

The course itself was great, and although there are two main roads to go on, they were not very traffic heavy so it was fairly safe!

I wasn't expecting very much having hammered the previous 5k time trial and the Flitwick 10k, so this was just a warm down.........so he says, as soon as I heard "3, 2, 1" my heart raced and I was off, pretty much tried to go eye balls out the entire way and managed to get a respectable time. Overall, it was fine and thankfully did not get lost for once!

A race report with a difference as I was only marshalling. However, what I did witness was an extremely well run race and certainly those runners I spoke to afterwards were full of praise for our 10K. So I'm sure on behalf of all Flyers I would just like to congratulate Becky and her team for an excellent, well organised event. Even Phil B was allowed to pull himself away from his computer screen and actually run for a change.

Up front a great battle between Rob Palmer and our own Phil Holland. Phil was just off the lead as they came up through 7K but I see from the results that Rob managed to edge away to win in 32.55 with Phil finishing 2nd in 33.25. Interesting, the last time Rob won our 10K was back in 2004 when he finished in 32.32, so he has not slowed a lot in those intervening years! On that day, second home was a young 16 year old Terry Stanley in 32.50!!

Great runs by Giles (12th) and Andy B (17th) next Flyers home, with Michelle Morris our first lady home in 44.12 followed by Jo Aatkar in 48.55. Michelle was in fact 13th lady overall. In all we had 29 Flyers running, which was a great achievement considering how many were also out there helping. My son Terry ran a respectable 39.50 especially as he had doubts about running the race due to feeling unwell the previous day. His own little battle with Leigh Pilgrim and James Handley eventually saw Leigh next in and finishing with that frustrating of times 40.00 dead!

My second marathon, and first city / road one: 7 mins improvement. Had hoped to get in under 4hrs, a little gutted but hey-ho - nearer for next time. A fantastic and well organised event but very very hot - the communal fire hose shower every 5km helped...

Where to start? What was meant to be an extended training run turned into the slowest, hilliest and most painful marathon I think I have ever run. This was an LDWA type event put on by a local chap and manned by a few enthusiastic friends. It was based around Bath, which happens to be in a bit of a basin. It was very cheap at £5, self navigating all the way and with lots of walkers and a few runners. As usual, Richard and I set off on our own near the cut off time after enjoying a last lazy coffee and settled into a steady pace. Within the first half mile, the Scottish rugby coach and ex England international Andy Robinson ran past. Apparently he doesn't know George or Robbie.

It was a hot day and we soon worked up a bit of a sweat. At around 2 miles, whilst running through a wooded trail, my foot slipped on a wet rock and the next second I came crashing down on it with some force, only stopping my fall by planting my teeth in a strategic position to stop me sliding. For a moment or two, I couldn't feel my teeth, my right arm or left knee through the pain. Gradually feeling came back and I was quite relieved only to have chipped my two front teeth, cracking one at the base, grazing my swollen arm badly and not breaking it and only a lump on my knee. Adrenalin kicked in and after a suitably manly pause, a look of mild concern from Richard ( I think he was worried he might have to do the rest on his own ) and a quick wash off the blood, off we went. I did struggle for the next hour trying to work out what hurt the most, with my Achilles also deciding to flare up to complete the quartet.

This was a very hilly course with somewhere between 3-4000 feet of climb which in truth I wasn't quite expecting. There were sections though in the first half where we were able to settle into a comfortable pace and indeed at one point RJ suggested we were running too fast. We soon caught some of the walkers, most of which had started around 7am, but the combination of the hills and the hot weather dramatically slowed us down. There was some relief for around two miles when we ran along a busy canal path, which had a lot going on both path wise and on the river. At the end, we had to run past an open pub garden with lovely looking pints and ice cream on offer which was hard. We took our time at all the manned checkpoints and took on a lot of fluid and enjoyed the mix of sandwiches, cakes and other goodies on offer. By and large, the directions were very good and we only got lost at one point in a field with no obvious corner! It was 96% off road, with some killer hills, the last of which was at mile 25!! The bloke who planned the route is clearly a sadist, but a happy one at that. All of the above led to a joint personal worst time of 6 hrs 14 mins, although rather bizarrely that suited us entirely as we wanted more time on our feet than running a fast race. This was advertised in fact as a challenge and not a race. As such, there are no finish lists and times, so no idea how we got on compared with other runners. All I know is that despite the time, we overtook a few and no one overtook us at any stage, so I guess we weren't that slow?

Tough run, but certainly worth a go for something different if you run lots of marathons, but not if you don't!

On a beautiful sunny day, which only got too warm in the last few miles, myself & friend David P navigated our way through forest and over moor between 10 checkpoints in this delightful area. An event with free route choice between checkpoints.

Bedfordshire AAA hosted an open track meeting on Saturday and one of our juniors decided to register for this and give it a go. I caught up with Josh Rogers and his Mum the next day at the Flitwick 10K fun-run and they said that it was quite busy at Bedford stadium and had the feel of a big, professional event but that Josh just got stuck in and did his thing – and won his race in 2:0.5. He was up against several Beds & County runners and a couple from Luton AC, both clubs with their own track and who race regularly in track competitions so this is a really good performance – well done Josh!

It was a lovely morning for the Sandy 10, the sun was just peeping through the clouds on a still spring morning. The start is in a rather unattractive industrial estate but we soon headed out in to the countyside and the scenery improved after the first mile. Apart from a couple of hills we spent most of the race on the plateau behind Sandy, so it was a case of trying to keep tapping out the same pace as the day got warmer. Steve James, Richard Wilson and Phil Bierton were circulating on their bikes so it was nice to get updates on who was just out of sight in front and who was behind. At 4 miles I was closing on James in front and got a tip-off from PhilB that Richard was just behind me. I was slowly closing the gap to James when Richard came past me at about half way. Richard pressed on and pulled away from me. He caught James by about mile 6 but James kicked on and left me and Richard some way behind. I felt rough for a couple of miles from 6 – 8 and slowed down but as we went down the hill after mile 8 I picked up speed and managed to carry on at a faster pace. It must be all the long runs that have helped to build my endurance as I managed to keep pressing on overtaking people all the way to the end. I just managed to get back to Richard with about 400m to go and finished with a sprint as someone shouted “he’s catching you” at the top of the finish straight – no idea if it was meant for me but I didn’t want to get nicked on the line so gave it everything down the straight to keep my place.

I have to confess that I didn’t do the usual social thing of cheering on other Flyers this time, like many of the lads I had to rush home to make amends for running on Mothers Day. One Flyer who will have to remain anonymous had more of a dilemma “I should go straight home, but my mother in-law is over so…”.

This was a good run for me finishing over 1 minute quicker than my time in 2010. At the beginning of the week I had felt tired in my running so decided to have 3 days off leading up to to the race and pleased to say the old legs didn't let me down!

The Sandy 10 course is relatively flat once you get past the 1mile drag up Sand Lane and on to the Everton Road to the 2 mile point! Thereafter its out to the village of Everton, a quick loop round before retracing your steps back to the finish at the Sandy Sports Centre. A good turn out of Flyers for our Club Championships was pleasing but I sad to say any chances of myself taking back my 10 mile Senior vet's title were going to be non-existent with the young Tim Hunt joining the 50+ group this year. I never look at my watch whilst racing but rely on years of running to get my pace judgment right. Through 1 mile in 7.11 was fine but the long climb up to 2 miles saw a 7.49 split. The next 3 miles I was soon back on pace and went through 5 miles in 36.30. I was still running strong at this point , although my splits for miles 6 and 7 slowed slightly, I still had the nice downhill to come after mile 8 and pushed on with 2 Beds Harrier runners. As we turned for the final 1000metres and the long run in to the finish I found myself sprinting with 2 lady competitors having their own private battle. I managed to pull away from them but had I gone to early as I could feel the lactic acid starting to kick in! As we turned for the final 200m to the finish I held on to cross the line in 72.13 (avg 7.13 a mile). My final mile was run in 6.39 - not often I dip under 7 minutes these days!

Good rural course and well marshaled by Biggelswade running club. Nice to have the support from PhilB and Steve James both out on their bikes around the course.

My first run in club colours started awkwardly. Struggling to find space for my long legs, I continued to run uncomfortably for the first 7 miles until I saw a recognisable red top with a diagonal white strip heading towards me. Realising I was not alone for the first time in a race but part of a team. I let out a cheer for my fellow flyer, simultaniously jolting myself out of my slumber and spurring myself on. My shoulders relaxed, my legs picked up the pace, described like an elastic band being let go, I started to make ground. With the added warmth of the sun, miles 7 to 9, in all honestly, were the most relaxed I have ever run!

Crossing the line with a 10 mile PB, it was good to greet some of my co runners and congratulate each other. I had to leave early but next time I will be there until the last flyer crosses the line. Sign me up for the next one. I'm all in!

The toughest part of this event is having to fit in all the shopping into Saturday morning, and get to Lincoln before the footy starts. Alas a county Mountie with a ray gun had other plans. He pulled me over just outside Woburn and added an extra 15 minutes, 3 points and a £60 fine to this first leg. My race was almost over before it had begun.

Leg 2 involved a long drive up the A1, but again, the fates conspired. Someone had dropped a ‘Go Outdoors’ catalogue through my letterbox and I was forced to stop off and check out the reductions on the Berghaus Paclite range and Salomon trail shoes. Although they didn’t have the models I needed, my Buff addiction got the better of me and I still emerged £20 lighter. Incidentally I ran into Paul Barton there; he’s just bagged his 99th marathon and will be running no 100 on Good Friday. Anyway, I eventually to Lincoln just in time to have a laugh at the Arsenal result.

With only 15 hours to go before the gun we started the fluid build-up and prepared for a pasta loading session, but what with India winning the cricket world cup, the pasta got shelved and we decided we to go find some Indians and help them celebrate. There is unfortunately, a dearth of Indians in Luton, but we eventually found some in a curry house and they were all in a very good mood, so we stayed for a while and to join in the festivities…and then it was morning!

I’d brought no gels or energy drinks with me, so with only 90 minutes left before the race, there was little alternative but to use more traditional methods of boosting energy levels. 2 fried eggs, 3 sausages, 3 hash browns, coffee, 2 fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, beans and 2 rounds of toast would hopefully see me through the grueling 10k ahead.

BANG! The gun went off and 5000 runners packed the streets of Lincoln on yet another perfect, sunny spring morning. This has to be the best organised and supported Lincoln 10 ever and I’ve been running them since it was called the Lincoln 6 mile. It was plain sailing (slow jogging really) all the way to the 9k mark, when the wheels came off. I just ran out of stamina and energy. Why oh why hadn’t I had the extra fried egg and cup of coffee earlier, they might just have seen me through? I slowed down to a gentle jog and held it together to cross the finish line in 56:20, a mere 9 minutes and 51 seconds away from a new PB. Next time I’ll make sure I have the 4 egg omelette, then it’ll be in the bag!

This was a very laid back race set around 8 miles north of Grantham in Lincolnshire. Having managed to persuade the Jones boy to pick me up so that we got there with more than 12 mins to spare, we wound our way up the A1 and had so much time on our hands, we stopped off for a coffee. Trouble is, neither of us had a watch and our extended break lead to a bit of a dash to get there with 14 mins to go. We wandered in and signed up. There seemed to be a lot of people around, so I popped in for a number two whilst listening to all the chatter going on outside. I reappeared to find RJ on the line, the 30-40 or so marathoners having left 3 mins earlier. It appears there was also a half going on, which started later. Having already run two half marathon distances in the week, I was happy to go off at a relaxed pace, although clearly RJ was not happy to be at the back and we speed off. We very quickly caught the back markers and I managed to settle the boy racer in to a much more refined dawdle. Unfortunately, whilst the course wasn't the worst I have run by far, it wasn't particularly interesting. Certainly that part of the country was very flat, with little points of interest. Numerous flat farmers fields and in sections, a very strong headwind. Around the 5 mile mark, we could see in the distance a bunch of runners charging towards us, which we assumed was the half. Turns out it was the leaders, who had taken most of us in the completely wrong direction. That led to an extra 1.6 miles on the route, which was fine by me as we were distance training in any event. There were 3 checkpoints, with sarnies and even a nice cuppa, although given the low numbers the runners were very spread out. We ran with a few runners at different points and picked up a lady runner at around the 19 mile mark who was doing this as her first race, which given the area, the terrain, the lack of marshals and need to map read all the way, was a very brave decision. No idea where we finished in the race or the time. Think we did around 27.6 miles in about 4hrs 40mins, but not really sure. Very cheap, low key event which was put on with the minimum of fuss, but with well meaning organisers. If you do lots of marathons, worth doing but not if you are doing a few only.

Once every three years the Dorset LDWA Group organise the Dorset Giant - a 62 mile event which goes past the famous chalk giant. So on the years when not organising that they now do this shorter event which they have christened the Daughter.

Dorset is certainly hilly, and there were several major climbs - and some spectacular views; as well as beautiful riverside paths and some very pretty villages. I didn't really expect to do this route inside 8 hours - so was very pleased to creep under 7 & half.

Oakley 20M - Sunday 27 March

My longest run this year so far and I approached feeling quite good but with a little apprehension. I aimed to finish in 3 hours and soon settled at about 8:40/m pace, slightly quicker than planned, but comfortable, and remained so for the first 12 miles. But about 13 miles my legs starting to tire dramatically. A handful of people walking back to the start here highlighted a sense of "no return"! But at 14 miles I knew I had an hour to run 10k, which is reasonable.

At mile 15 my legs were getting really heavy and the remaining distance started to get inside my head. I fell into step with a woman for 2 miles here which helped briefly, but I found it increasingly hard to keep up with her (despite her not speeding up). At mile 17(ish) I stopped at a water station, only for a few steps (as I haven't mastered drinking out of a paper cup whilst running yet) but this brief pause had consequences. I gap had opened between me and my pacemaker, I couldn't get my legs moving on the uphills anymore, people were starting to pass me and my spirit was dropping.

The last mile of any race is always tough, you feel like there's nothing left, but the taste of the goal drives you. Not today though, my spirit was broken 2 miles ago, I had to resort to walking up most of the hills in the last 2 miles. Every time I started running I made it a few steps before I couldn't move my legs again and walked for another minute, and I was getting really frustrated with myself. Jeremy passed me on the 19 mile marker, and offered some words of encouragement which got me started for the last time. I concentrated on sticking within a few metres of him (sorry Jeremy, no personal vendetta, just something to concentrate on.) Pockets of marshalls are shouting encouragement through the twisting, eternal maze of houses that (will hopefully) end this race. Another pacemaker seemed to edge a metre ahead, and another metre, and I started feeling sick in my chest and throat, and when there was nothing left we turned into the last field...

One thing I always find hard is seeing the finish line 100 metre's away, and then seeing a long taped off path around a big school field to get there!! My eyes did not leave the big yellow finish banner as i dragged my heavy legs half-way around this field where we passed a guy who shouted at a group of 4 of us, urging us to try and beat each other... well, you may as well collapse trying! Jeremy and I went past the other 2 guys and I went past Jeremy on the last corner. Despite this, and crossing the line in 2:57, I did not feel good. I had no balance, my legs ached, I couldn't talk or concentrate on anything (I think Patricia Godfrey tried to speak to me at the end, and I could not even construct a sentence - Patricia, if I appeared rude I sincerely apologise.) But most of all I felt disappointed in myself for giving up so close to the end, I cannot remember doing this before, and it played on my mind for hours!

On Sunday afternoon I came up with many excuses for my performance - started to quickly, underestimated the hills, mindset was wrong at the start, missed some training - and nothing that everyone else didn't have to deal with. But in retrospect I have decided, I would rather have finished the race like this and go under 3 hours, than finish more comfortably in over 3 hours.

Jody 2:57:18

We are both new to the club, and very much appreciated the camaraderie at the race. It was our first time at this distance for us both. Keri's previous longest distance was a half marathon.

Richard Stanley

Travelled up to Manchester to visit the family for the usual Clarke family race. This is my 4th year at this very well organised half marathon incorporating the England half marathon championships through the prosperous Cheshire lanes. Made a big mistake , went almost to the back of the field with family and friends so had to navigate through hundreds to get going. Race has almost 5000 entrants. Felt I ran more than a half but was first Clarke or Clarke friend home in my first race of the season. Happy!!! Great goody bag but again didn't spot any footballers.

This was the second time I'd done this excellent event which goes over all the highest points of Leicestershire, including Broomriggs Hill, Beacon Hill, Bardon Hill ( Leicestershire's summit)and the Old John Tower. It was a very misty day which never really lost it's chill.

For some reason the big hills didn't seem as steep as I remembered them - but I'd forgotten all the smaller ones in between!

But I was very happy to finish 42 minutes faster than last year - if rather tired!

This time trial was good practise ready for the first Beds Sprint Tri at the end of April, having cycled a marathon 80 miles last week and plenty of turbo on the Saturday, my legs were feeling a little tired, however, after a good warm up I was ready. Managed to stick by my guns and comfortable get to and up Hill foot, one of the toughest hills around, after that it was gear up and accelerate as hard as possible. half way round the course I though i was done in, but managed to get second wind and plough on. Knowing the course backwards helps a great deal as you know where the fasts bits are and the hills, so early prep is an advantage.

My average speed for the first time was well above what I had done at previous races at this distance. I felt it on the home finish but I was motoring (for once) and just had to keep going. I was aiming for around 51-52 mins, or anything under 55min, so to come away with 48mins, its "happy days"

With all this said and done, i still have to put this into action at the TRI so will wait and see if all this hard work and effort finally pays off!

Well done to Phil Bierton, first TT of the year and wins the Handicap..................(I recon he took a short cut..........!!)

This was the first time I'd done this event, which uses parts of the Greensand Way, the North Downs Way and the Weald Way, including some lovely forests & hillsides.

The recent dry spell of weather meant that the paths were only occaisionally muddy - Kent can have some very sticky footpaths when wet. Weather on the day was ideal - hazy sun, mild but not too warm - and I was happy to come home just inside 8 hours (which was my target, though half way round I was on for 7-30!) This was a 30 min improvement on my last 30 mile time - though the route probably had slightly less climb.

I signed up for this knowing that it would do me good to do a marathon type distance on the bike. A friend of mine also suggested I do it. All seemed like a good idea at the time.........

This event was free, that's right completely free............unless you failed to show up in which case you were charged £25, regardless if your dog ate your cycle shoes or your goldfish ate your car keys, you had to show!

This time last week I really did not want to do this, it just seemed such a long journey, but if I'm going to progress I needed to do this. My max at the moment was 50 miles, I could hammer that relativly well, so I just needed to slow down and thought I would be fine.

The course was fine, very few hills, but the hills that were there, were pretty nasty, but having climbed some of the worst in the past, I was able to show the pros how it should be done!!

The total time was around 5hrs, and with the assistance from a BRCC member we got around the course really well, I must have got the nutrition right as I was feeling pretty good most of the way round, probably helped by having half of Tesco stuck to my bike, which most people seemed to notice, but hey, it got me round!

Nice to see Ricky and Karen during the course, warming up for the Flit to Paris cycle and enjoying a nice day out!

Well that's the mileage in, now the real hard work comes in to play, time to speed up on the shorter distances in time for the TRI season

This was probably the toughest ever Grizzly, so I was pleased to be 30 mins faster than last year. Caroline will probably do a long write up, so here are just a couple of quotes I heard during the race.

Within the first few meters of running on the first beach (only 1/2K from the start) a lady cried "Oh, never again!"

Just a bit further along the beach: Man; "I thought we might do this again next year - on our honeymoon?" Lady, after a slight pause a curdled cry; "Yeeesss!!" After a couple of 100 meters I realised that I'd just heard a marriage proposal!

About 5 miles into the race a marshal, having just been thanked by a passing runner, replied; "The pleasure is all mine - but the pain is all yours!"

So for me this year's Grizzly seemed doomed before I even got to the start. I'd got the date wrong and screwed up all my social plans, tore my quads badly two weeks before race day ( and you need strong quads for all those steep downhills) and then found myself spending far too many hours in Watford General with my father, rather than training. However, a family weekend away seemed like a welcome escape so off we went, with David and the children promising to eat all the calories I was going to burn off.

This year's Grizzly was billed as the toughest ever, and a quick glance at mapmyrun showed the course to be a mere 32.25km ( that's just over 20

miles in old money) including 5 category 5 climbs (and that's only the big ones). "Valley of the Bogs" was an accurate nickname too as it certainly lived up to its billing. I often promise a tour of various types of mud on my Sunday morning routes, and this course ran the gamut of all varieties from thigh high, stinking, shoe-sucking bog to liquid cow slurry, plus stream crossings and a knicker-soaking dune slack. In spite of this, it's the shingle beaches that are probably the toughest parts of the course - the first stretch is just after the start and saps still cold legs before heading for the hills, while another long stretch at about 16 miles is sheer plodding torture (though being small and light definitely gives me an advantage over the bigger guys who sink and I got a good boost from passing several tired blokes). Reaching the steep (and vertigo-inducing) climb up the legendary "stairway to heaven"

cliff actually comes as welcome relief from the stones. It was here that international GB superstar triathlete (see Beds on Sunday!) and former Flyer Martin Beare finally caught me so I can't have been running too badly till then. The finish is in distant sight from the cliff top by this point, so it's a question of hanging on up the final few hills and last stretch of shingle - which I did to finish in 3.58 (just inside my 4 hour target) ... utterly exhausted, feeling sick and covered in sticky mud. Overall it was a gorgeous sunny day (the weather forecast had promised drizzle and for once I was glad it was wrong) with stunning views out to sea and hillsides full of wild daffodils, ferns and primroses. Plenty of cheering support, live music, friendly runners and marshals, and regular jelly baby supplies around the course too, make this one of the UK's great race experiences.

Sadly, my own day didn't go so well, as I got the phone call I'd been dreading at about 14 miles, though by then the quickest way back was to keep running, followed by a high speed dash back to the hospital.

What a great little race this is turning out to be. This is a predominantly cross country race in its second year that starts at Box End water ski park, with the starting time somewhere after 9am, for both 27 and 16 mile events. It circles Bedford, taking in various villages on route, coming back into the start area from the other direction. It is a self navigating event, although the instructions are very clear and having run it last year, I could recall it anyway.

My usual laid back approach to what is in essence an ultra training run for me, came to the fore once again. Having agreed to meet Richard at about 9ish, I found myself sitting reading the papers at 8.40am finishing off a nice cuppa and piece of toast. In fairness the start is only 3 miles from my place and last year, we started when we wanted with about 52 other runners. This year the event had gone up to about 160 runners, but it was still very much a relaxed affair with most runners going off on time but a few stragglers starting when they wanted. Didn't make any difference as they time you from when you leave. I say time you, but that involved you wandering into a tent to say your off and back, so its approx only. That having been said, I did manage to shave almost an hour off last weeks marathon, so cant complain that much!

There were 4 checkpoints with a few biccies and squash, although at the end you did get a nice cuppa and the organisers home made mini clangers which were quite tasty. Time was never an issue for me after my 327% increase in training over the preceding two weeks, which meant there was never any pressure to do anything other than go for a nice long run. It was very cheap to enter, as this is organised by a Bedford Harriers mile muncher that just wants to give something back and not make a profit. Did meet up with Paul Barton and ran last 4 or

5 miles together, during his 95th marathon. Paul is running his 100th marathon in Milton Keynes (on I think the 22nd April) and I am sure he would greatly appreciate any support available in the area on that day.

X Country race rearranged from 18 December. Very enjoyable 5.3 miles all off-road over footpaths, forest trails, muddy fields and streams. You cross the streams down and up quite steep muddy banks 4 times and apparently in previous years in December the water has been waist high but this time of year its quite a bit lower - still enough to get everyone fairly wet though ! Great HQ and excellent organisation with a nice fast finish. Hot soup and showers afterwards also very welcome. A great way to start the season.

Concidering I cycled 60 miles the previous day, I was'nt expecting very much for this, the idea was to come along and just cycle the final 20 miles I needed to complete the 80 miles I wanted for this weekend.

Preperation started quite bad really, I had done an excellent cycle the day before and unfortunatly on my travels picked up a bug, pretty much for the rest of the day I was coughing and sneezing and feeling pretty rough, not really something I wanted!

I woke up on the Sunday, feeling slightly better, after a long warm up at Cardington, my backside felt like it ws on fire, could hardly sit down!

However, the general conditions were better than last week and the competitve side of me came into action, instead of a pleasnt trip round the circuit i was planning, just decided to technically hammer it and see what happens. It paid off, I felt pretty strong and cycled well. I did feel the effects from the day before, I could not give it large for long amounts of time, my legs were feeling it.

However, at the end, i was very pleased to see my time of 35:51, was not expecting that, its still early days so very pleased!.

Sadly only a few flyers amongst the 10,000 or so runners for this years race. A cold start but the sun soon shone on the righteous!!

A refreshing run for me which focused on my pal completing her first ever half marathon and us both guiding a partially blind runner (don't think I will add this to my cv as we nearly collided at least twice during the run)

Anyway that's my excuse for a mediocre time, that and my love of the uninspiring course and 13.1 miles of pure tarmac! Things you do for your mates eh! But It was lovely to be reminded of the simplicity of running for runnings sake, no pb chasing, no race strategy, no pressure! the only aim to get to the finish line in one piece and all still smiling, perfect!

Having simply not trained at all for this race, plan was always going to be take it easy and walk sections. As it turned out, little choice in areas as it was so muddy. The race is almost all cross country, over numerous stiles and countless fields. Sections were very boggy and I completely lost my shoe at one point in the mud. The course was quite undulating and started and finished in a little village not far from Melton Mowbray. There was a 16 mile route that went one one and a 26 mile the other. I hadn't really looked at the race details and thought I might join the 16 milers if my legs didn't hold out. That plan went out the window as the runners started and finished at different points. There were just over 300 in the main race and I set off hoping to finish around 5 hours. Cross country races are always a lot slower than road races, but this turned into an even slower than normal one as we squelched through the mud. The race was also a mix of runners and long distance walkers, so the last finisher was around 9 1/2 hours. We were around 130th, so despite our time, still a lot behind us which didn't seem to be the case in the race as it was so quiet. 4 checkpoints provided lots of food and tea, although we didn't see the first supporter until around 25 miles.

Field was strung out and we went for long sections without seeing anyone, which made navigating a little tricky at times as neither me or Richard had bothered to bring a map! Got there 15 mins before the race started still having to register and change, thanks mainly to Jonesy telling me to leave later than I had planned and me listening to him. My achilles injury meant that I had last run an 18 miler in early November, didn't run much in December and took all of January off. Managed one 12 mile run in February and that was it in terms of training. Despite lack of training, I ran a lot further than I thought I would, including the last few miles home, albeit we did walk a bit and took our time at the checkpoints to stretch and eat. My achilles seems to have held out as well, which is a massive bonus, although it is still not right. Had to do this as part of ultra training. If not able to run now, ultra in 13 weeks out of the window. Hopefully next weekends marathon in Bedford will be less muddy!

First time trial of the year and pretty tough in the conditions, although the headwind was thankfully minimal it was still very cold. Good turn out. Time a little slower than predicted but apparently standard for this time of year, overall pretty pleased. however, doing better than I was this time last year, still need to get a few miles in though before the main races kick in, all good training, managed to eventually find my shoes and have a quick 10min jog after!

After being soaked and frozen at last year’s run it was great to see the sun was shining on Sunday morning. After a couple of 15 mile long runs in the last few weekends it was time to step up and add a couple more miles. The chance to run in a crowd also meant a chance to try out possible race pacing.

However, as we slipped and splashed along a couple of miles of canal tow-path the chance of a steady pace disappeared. Never mind. The course is quite hilly, with a few big uphill slogs, but it’s all through countryside and quite pretty scenery to take your mind off the job in hand. At one point we turned a corner to run past Ashridge College, this looks like something out of a Harry Potter film dropped in the middle of the woods. Just after this I hooked up with a couple of ladies (hooked-up in the running sense) and we worked together for a few miles to push the pace a little. Once I got in the rhythm the miles clicked past without too much pain and I got close to my target pace of 7:30 m/mi with an overall 7:36 which seems quite okay as the first few miles were very slow and I finished the second half much faster than the first half.

I’d also used this as an opportunity to start getting used to race fueling, so slurped a couple of gels along the way. It felt like I picked up the pace after having them, but I’m not sure how much is psychological or real. Whatever, if it makes me go faster I’ll stick with it.

There were quite a few of us running, Laura, Becs, Jason and Carol finished together around the 3-hour mark. Jeremy Godfey made it home a bit earlier (but I forgot to check the time and there’s no timing from the organisers). Rob Cook was also in around the 3-hour mark, although Laura reported that he’d peeled of to have a quick natter with someone he knew – well, it is just a training run and not a race!

A good no-frills event that does the job to help get the marathon build-up on the way.

For my annual trip to see Jad & do an event with her we chose this very popular event - it's always full by October!

This year as the Marches Group are organising the Houseman Hundred in their usual patch they decided to go into Wales for for this event - so it was that last Saturday we had a very atmospheric walk/run around the Berwyn mountains.

With nearly 5,000 foot of climb and much bog & heather this was the toughest event I have done in a long time. And we did well over 26 miles with all the dodging round pools of water, marsh and bog. The run along the Cadair Berwyn ridge cliff, with a near vertical drop of several hundred feet and the wind attempting to blow us off, was particularly interesting.

So Saturday saw me lining up before dawn in the rain as last minute sub in a team of old fat blokes (OFBs)- in their words - to tackle the Southern 50 trail challenge in the Chilterns. It's only open to explorer scouts and leaders, which I became by sleight of paperwork. Ampthill & Flitwick Explorers ended up with two teams tackling the 50km option, the OFBs and team of teenage explorers dressed as pirates.

You get a list of grid references at the start and have to plan your own route to get to them all in order. Here I thought I could relax - surrounded by people much more qualified than me at map reading, though it wasn't long before the tough terrain had all the OFBs reaching for walking poles leaving me clutching the map. Good practice for the next mountain marathon at least! The pirates had an hour's head start on us but we caught them after only 3 and half hours - showing that old age and cunning have the advantage over youth and energy. It was clear we'd have to help them round so we slowed to their pace - something the guys seemed grateful for.

The slippery Chilterns mud and over 3,500 foot of climb made this a serious slog and it took us 13.37 hours to do around 58k ( taking the long way to avoid some climbs, plus one or two nav cock ups ... only 1 was my fault) but even so we improved on last year to finish 17th out of I think 37 teams. Even I admit it was up there in the top few toughest events I've ever done and I'm quite hard by most people's standards, while our teenage pirates were complete heroes making it round.

However, it was also well organised with a great atmosphere and more cake than even I could eat at all the checkpoints, plus very welcome cheese toasties at one village hall, and burgers and hot dogs at others (they clearly know what teenagers live on given the chance)

Learned few lessons about ultra distance events too (can't imagine how anyone could even contemplate going on for 100 miles).

So already planning on doing the 50 mile option next year - but hopefully with some slightly older but less fat blokes.

The Hardwick x/steam cross country race over 6 miles from the village of Hardwick near Aylesbury is a firm favourite of mine. The 'x/stream' comes from the fact that you have 5 water crossings which this year were up to your knees with one water crossing coming over your waist! This all adds to the fun of the race and if you add in 3 brooks to jump across 4 or 5 stiles to climb over and some very heavy, thick mud to wade through this is a very testing 6-mile cross country course.

I think this was my 6th Hardwick and the mud this year was without doubt the thickest for many a year. I traveled up with Dave Sedgley and Sarah Johnson, who was using the race as an alternative to her long run as part of her London Marathon training. The race is a fast start as runners jockey for good positions as they approach the first of the 2 water crossings after approx quarter a mile. The first half of the course has the majority of the water crossings to negotiate and brooks to jump across but the second half of the race had some really heavy mud to slog through, particularly when we climbed the one long steep incline at around 5 miles.

I was well pleased with my run feeling really strong coming off the long climb and although my time was 11 seconds slower than 2010, I felt overall I had a better run this year. Sarah finished strongly and even Sedgers put in a 'little sprint' to the finish just to impress us!!

First in was Thomas Beedle from Chiltern Harriers in 35.17 with Connie MacMillan, Banbury Harriers first Lady home in 43.35.

I remember reading a report on this event by Wandy Kent several years ago in which she spoke of stream crossings up to her arm pits! Every time I've done the event since, while we've had some mud & deep ditches, I've always felt there may have been some exaggeration in her report. But no, this was what the event is supposed to be like and on a damp day we had two wide stream crossings in first half mile which were thigh deep - followed by many really sticky field edges & deep mud through gateways, then the stream where water was above the waist - and many more really sticky field edges & deep mud through gateways, not to mention more streams. So a happy time was had by all!

It was a grey, damp and miserable sort of weekend(19th -20th Feb). I was soon cheered up though by the fresh and smiley faces of Annie Page , Sue Weir and Becs Fleckney, oh and pub grub too J we took the train to Brighton with the intentions of having a mega shopping spree. However after trekking across London and enduring the tubes, none of us felt up to much other than a quick stop in boots to get the essentials (in Becs’s case; miniature shampoos and conditioners that cost a matching small fortune LOL!)

“Sue had the best idea she‘s ever had!” (Becs’s words!) We all went for an energy boosting curry at a very busy restaurant before a stupidly early night (9.30pm) Well Sue and I had a bit of a giggle until about 11.30 about girly things – oh and watched the film ‘Body Guard’ with running commentary, very annoying! . The party people outside the hotel however did not let up until 6 am! Thinking about it, we probably should’ve just joined em, I had much interrupted sleep that night!

An early start was had by all, and yes it was grey and dull once more. But it wasn’t cold or windy – so ideal running conditions. After brekkie in a little cafe, we went to the little running shop to look at the bargains. It was at this point I started to feel sooo nervous. The thought of running 13 miles was rather overwhelming as I have never even walked this far before, let alone run! 9am soon came around and we stood in the crowds looking out for the best fancy costumes. Then we were off! I didn’t spot Pingu – but Sue did as he came careering past her at speed. I did see an inside out body and a shark with a pair of legs hanging out his mouth, oh and two guys with pink tutus and leg warmers on ran past me at one point too – v cute!!!.

The 10k mark was great, but that was where Becs flew past me and disappeared. She was running really strong! It was then that I suddenly realised that I had to do the same distance that I had just run all over again, plus a little more. So I slowed it right down! Ten miles eventually came round, and I was wandering if I could manage the last few miles. Could‘ve done with a lie down, but the crowds were so supportive, that kept me going! It was at 11 miles where I bumped into Sue and confessed my undying love for her! Felt really tired at this point. The best bit by far was the finish line and crossing it before 2 hours!!! Becs was already there of course, and Annie was close behind. A fab first half marathon, with lovely supportive company, who all ran fantastically - well done!!! Thanks again ladies – will def do it again next year!

30 miles of Surry hills & bogs. This was the 50th running of this classic event and the first time I'd done it. The forecast was for rain all day - but there were some slightly drier spells - I almost thought I saw the sun at one point! At halfway I thought I would be finishing under 8 hours easily - but with the wetter weather, & the yomp across the bogs of Ockley common, in the 2nd half I slowed down a lot in the last 7 miles - probably because I'd not kept up the fuel intake!! Oh, and because I did at least an extra mile when some way from the 3rd checkpoint I realised I'd left my rucksack in the Hall !!

The last race of the season saw a good crew of boys out in the U11 and U13 categories. The U11’s ran one loop and the U13’s ran the same loop twice. So, it’s a big jump between the age groups for our runners who have changed age groups. Imagine if the adults had to do twice the distance in the 3 Counties League when we got a year older!

We had 5 runners in the U11’s race. The start is a sharp downhill, so the usual advice to take it easy at the start was out of the window and we got them all charging down the hill to make the most of the gravity assistance. Josh has done well in the schools competitions and he continued his good work at Wing. He was the first of the Flyers home in a creditable 30th place right in the middle of a pack of finishers. Next we had Alex, Matt and Will keeping in close formation to finish together and encourage each other. Jack finished our crew’s placing, putting his bouncy energy into a good performance that showed how much he has improved since last year.

In the U13’s we had 3 runners. James was suffering pre-race nerves at the start and almost pulled out but decided to give it a go and see how he felt after one lap. Cameron was first home with a strong performance, another runner who also had a good result in the schools competitions recently. Next was Ryan, he’s jumped up to U13 this year so double distance for him. He worked particularly hard on the last hill up to the finish to fight off a couple of other runners right behind him. James lost a shoe in the muddy swamp on lap one but continued in his white sock, which was soon dark brown. The ground was soft so he carried on, just handing his shoe to me as he ran past. The pre-race nerves were gone and had a smile back on his face. He put in a solid performance, finishing the race with one bare and very muddy foot!

With a free weekend I decided a multi terrain race would be in order. Wellingborough is a series of 3 races over 3 months and this was race 2. I did the series in 2009 when I was in much better form - nevertheless, I was looking forward to a run out and the venue of Irchester Country Park is a beautiful spot for a race. You can choose either to run 5K,10K or 15K (each being represented by one 5K lap of the course). I opted for 10K but spotted Marathon Man, Paul Barton running the 15K (a short run for him of course!). My son Terry also decided to run having a free week from football. The course can be tough depending on how wet the conditions are, but today the course was generally firm throughout. There is one significant climb otherwise it is a really pleasant run over trails, paths and country tracks.

A steady first lap saw me push on for the second 5K. I felt strong back up the hill at around 6K for the second time and maintained my form through to the finish. Although just over a minute slower than 2009, I was pleased with 44.42 and 36th place. Mike Bannister who had gone off hard over the first 5K was slowly coming back to me but despite a final sprint in to the finish I couldn't quite catch him. Mike was 35th in 44.31. Terry finished 10th in 39.56 and has vowed to run another 10K soon on the roads to see what his current road time is.

Interestingly, the winner of the 15K race (Tom Vickery from the Cambridge Tri Club) led throughout, and would have also won the 5K and 10K races - his finish time was an incredible 48.09!

The final race is the series is on Sunday 27th February - see the following link if your interested in running http://www.justracinguk.com/events

A 14 mile "hills race" is always going to be tough. Using it for marathon training the aim was to get round rather than do it quickly, but as with any event, after a couple of miles you get enthused by the people running around you, and at some point “decide” you want to run this well!!

The first of the big hills was at about 3 miles. It’s always hard to see a big hill in its entirety coming toward you. The hill was long and the wind was strong here, but I managed to run to the top, and got a good pace going down the back of it (although slightly conscious that we were running across a golf course that people were using!!)

At about 6 miles was the centrepiece of the course - this hill was long and extremely steep! I managed to keep running up it, but trying to get my breath back whilst running over the top was made harder as I turned a corner to see the hill continue up the side of the next field!! This hill was tough, but was rewarded with a long steep downhill which I pounded down (probably inflicting some permanent damage to my knees, but enjoying some semblance of speed.)

The next few miles were devoid of serious hills and a long gradual decline through the forest was very welcome. We were soon returning along the route we’d run out on, which has the (dis)advantage of knowing what’s coming. The thought of being killed by golf balls is slightly less daunting when you’re knackered, but the hill from the golf course was tough at this stage. My thighs were on fire by the time I was half way up, but I made it up there, knowing that this was the last serious hill!

It was nice to look down from the top of the first big hill we'd come up. I pounded down this, and with about 3 miles to go I tried to steady my pace knowing the worst had been conquered. The ground underfoot made the last miles hard going, it was uneven and there were still ditches and streams to get over. The last mile was uphill and into a very strong wind which made it a tough slog. One steep, muddy slope left and we turn into the school field and the finish.

This course is all about mud and hills (and scenery - but make sure you look on the way out, as you’ll be too knackered on the way back.) The longer distance and big hills (and the time of year) make it challenging - but to run it fast is within reach. Finished in 2:05:19, which I was OK, but next year I'll definitely be getting that time under 2 hours. It was nice to travel quite far and still see so many Flyers about too – well done guys!

This scenic, tough and hilly race is still one of my all time favourites and as it only takes just over an hour to get there, it's perhaps surprising that more Flyers don't run it. One for the girls too, as it's the only race I think I've ever run where the men have to queue for the loos and the women don't.

The race takes you out across Bradgate park over bogs and some of the oldest rocks in Britain. It then heads downhill over the biggest hazard on the course - the local golf course. I'm not joking as last year a golf ball literally missed me by a few inches. While the race claims 1200 feet of climb, there's only one hill that is so steep you have to walk and then a long steady slog up the Beacon where massed ranks of my in-laws waved support. This was over half way and I made the most of the long downhill stretch, overtaking a whole bunch of people who'd passed me on the way up. The toughest part was perhaps the final couple of miles - by now very fatigued but fighting a head wind that was so strong you felt as though you were almost going backwards. My only real complaint was two bottle necks near the start - getting over one stile took over 5 minutes, putting paid to any thoughts of beating last year's time.

I was pleased to finish 32nd female and 4th in my age group in 2 h 13 mins. Sal (36th, 2.14) ran strongly just behind me, and Jo (43rd, 2.16) finished well too - her longest and toughest ever race, making us 6th female team too. Strong runs from Laura (2:34) 1 and Sarah (2.41) too.

Jody was first Flyer home in 2.05, and I think David Sedgley was pleased not to be last this year (410th place) with Robbie just behind on his first major run back from injury.

So that's it for the 2010/2011 cross country league, finishing with a tough slippery slog round the fields of Northamptonshire. The women did us proud today with our best finish of the season. Michelle (15th) has improved every race, Sal (17th) dug out her competitive streak to leave me for dust ( how does she do it in races when she normally trains at about my pace?) and Kara ( 21st) is clearly benefiting from Steve J's circuits and ran well to be our third scorer. Jo wasn't far behind in a creditable 23rd leaving me trailing in 27th finding the long homeward uphill drag tough going. Good runs from Katie, Shona, Becs and Caroline too

Even more credit to our men for a fine result as second men's team overall and to Tim as individual series winner.

Along with my joint captains Steve and Paula, our plan this year was to get as many people as possible to have a go at cross country, and more importantly to enjoy it (for a given value of enjoy - moaning about the mud, hills and injuries is all part of the fun!). We hoped to build some team spirit through XC training sessions, and chatting over post race cake together too. I hope we achieved this - it has been great to see many new faces this year, as well as some old stalwarts returning to the scene. Do pass on the word for next year that mud is so much more fun than slogging round tarmac road races.

It's the team effort that really makes cross country so much more fun that all the other racing we do as a club, so thank you to every one who has turned out to run, and to my fellow captains for sharing the efforts of organising training, numbers and getting runners to the right place. Also we owe a huge thank you for the hard work behind the scenes by our own AFF admin team who made it all run so efficiently.

The final race of the series saw the Flyers travel some 40+ plus miles up the motorway to East Haddon. Missing many of our top scorers meant we would need to pull out all the stops to finish in the top positions. This was an out and back course with a long drag back up to the school grounds, where we again ran round two school playing fields before finishing - yes, not the most interesting of courses!!

I had a steady start but never got much faster although I did seem to gain ground on runners going back up the long drag towards the school. One last ditch sprint to the finish saw me home in 110th position in the men's race. Overall we were 3rd with the Ladies 5th and we were joint 2nd overall on the day - not bad in the end. Paul Falmer led the Flyers home in 5th position with Michelle Morris first lady Flyer home.

This was the last event of the season and so brought to a conclusion the Club Cross Country Championships. The winners are listed below. We were not up to our usual standard in the League this year but the Men's team finished second and Tim Harris won the men's individual award.

What a gorgeous day for walk in the country it turned out to be on Sunday. I must admit to being surprised to find myself on the start line (well, actually a corner of Leatherhead municipal car park) after being knocked for six by flu over Christmas ( even took a whole week off running which is unheard of for me) so feeling totally untrained for this sort of distance. I gave my husband David every excuse to drop out but unusually he was the determined one, conscious that he has a 50km challenge hike next month and doesn't want his explorer scouts to beat him by too much.

The plan was to stick to walking (though plenty of runners do enter) and not to have any rows or sulks about directions or reading the map. Both of these feats we managed, though I did have to make David jog briefly when he slowed down to tweet. The Surrey countryside is certainly hilly, with some steep climbs up Box Hill twice and then a real slog straight up Ranmore escarpment at around 15 miles, but there were some stunning views in the sunshine. Heavy clay was very leg sapping in places too, where it wasn't frozen. Surrey LDWA did a great job in producing clear route directions and checkpoints providing biscuits, drinks and copious jelly babies at one and lifesaving ( I don't think David would have made it without the caffeine boost) tea and biccies at the second one. We made an average of just over 3 miles an hour which was a respectable walking pace on the terrain and more importantly finished with smiles ... and still talking to each other.

This is my first run for 5months after rupturing my Achilles, 5.50am start lovely day 68/70 at the finish. I walked most of it and finished in 3hr1min46sec. the only reason i did it was because i had $1100 to collect for charity.

It is with much sadness that I am to leave the AFF. If I am to represent my country and race for Great Britain, it is a requirement from my sport of Triathlon that I have an International race license and be affiliated to a BTF club. I have been training and racing with a Triathlon club for the past 3 years and I suppose it's time to move on.

If I may take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to the great club that is AAF for all the help and support I have received over the years. I owe so much to certain individuals as well as the club for their kindness and support especially in the early days (no names). I will always hold the club in the highest regard and deepest respect for its moral stance and principles, not to mention its sporting achievements and greatness.

I will still be proud to keep an associate membership and its not a goodbye rather a catch you later. I hope and trust I will meet you all at races.

As we close the book on yet another successful year for the Club it is time to tidy up the few remaining events. The Marathon Championship is contested over the calendar year and awarded for the best performances over the distance. Over the year, 49 marathons were completed by Club members, not including those events not officially designated as marathons or those over distance.. The final results are:-

The Grand Prix Leagues also are concluded at the end of the year. The tables have now been finalised and are available here. Unlike previous years, the eventual winners, set the pace from early on in the series and held off all comers. Well done to the 5 winners:- Phil Holland, Jeremy Bell, Joel Benedickter, Keith Morgan & Rob Cook.

Provisional leagues for the new season can be found below. Points awarded for Beds XC Champs have been added

Eagles

Ospreys

Falcons

Herons

Kingfishers

Hawks

Name

Score

Name

Score

Name

Score

Name

Score

Name

Score

Name

Score

Kieron Lewis

Adrian Wadsworth

Jody Buczynski

Valerie Von Arx

Brian Layton

Debbie Knott

Andy Bierton

Joel Benedickter

Martin Davey

Kerry Large

Denise Dillon

Paul Lydon

Jeremy Bell

Paul Barton

Jack Benedickter

Pat Godfrey

Rob Fraser

Martin Spedding

Phil Holland

Ed Druce

Rebecca Fleckney

Michelle Morris

Jane Cook

Paul Owen

Dave Stanley

Leigh Pilgrim

Keith Morgan

Katie Ruditis

Sue Weir

Lorraine Tur

Martin Beare

Jim Dodds

Alistair Gould

Nick Inskip

Ed Watts

Brendan O'Mahoney

John Mitcalf

Dave Coker

Steph Cooper

Annie Page

Nicky Cronin

Jayne Hunt

Richard Wilson

Mike Petty

Jeremy Godfrey

Tim Barry

Paul Dove

Liz Miller

Nick Jones

Richard Jones

Mike Bannister

Jo Aatkar

George Arbuckle

Vicky Harris

David Sabey

Jeremy Lewis

Stephen Morales

Dave Cook

Claire Fisher

Terry Stanley

Stephen Hartley

Martin Godin

Pete Bird

Tracy Nichols

Sarah Johnson

David Bartram

Dave Olney

Andy Atherton

Paula James

Steve Warne

Joanne Allin

Lionel Mann

Phil Clarke

Sally Marsh

Karen Hollingsworth

Andy Page

Phil Bierton

Anne Pullan

Steve James

Caroline Gilby

Dave Sedgley

John Saunders

Mark Folker

Ian Orr-Campbell

Peter Benedickter

Carole Lydon

Warwick Browning

Ron Armstrong

Sarah Allonby

Janice Benedickter

Tony Cole

Robbie Craig

Kara Farmer

Hannah Tattersall

Adrian Lake

Uday Tuladhar

Rick Hollingsworth

Paul Farmer

Tim Hunt

Peter Jr Benedickter

Shelley Mayles

Julie Pritchett

Tim Harris

Nick Stone

Nick Tillett

Matt Jones

Abe Kerr

Caroline O'Mahoney

Giles Shorley

Jason Moore

Alison Parker

Mike Gabbitass

Jenny Pedder

Carol Ford

Richard Pillinger

Mark Billington

Rob Cook

Laura Johnston

Shona Peter

Val Phillpot

The reorganisation of the leagues is done on a completely impartial process, based on the final positions from the previous season, but also taking into account results from our own events, which do not qualify for GP points, and any results of new members recorded before joining the club. Anyone who has not recorded a result during 2010 has also been removed but will be reintroduced when a GP event is completed. Adjustments may be made during the first 2 months to correct imbalances in the league sizes caused by new/rejoining members or members not renewing.

The GP leagues will be displayed on this page during January, when the 2010 leagues will be replaced on the Grand Prix page of the website.

Note: The number of points awarded to the first finisher in a GP event has been increased from 50 to 60 as, at the Stopsley XC, we had 46 scoring members and were in danger of not having enough points for everyone to score.

I have also been updating my annual Age Related calculations and these updated table can be found here.

This was an LDWA challenge event from Stansted Mountfitchet, over rolling countryside & through some charming villages - very muddy in places due to the thaw. At halfway I thought I would be 10 mins inside 6 hours, but the heavy ground eventually took its toll on my legs and I slowed a lot in the final 6 miles.

Original Mountain Marathon - Cultybrannan Camp, Crieff, Perthshire - Sat/Sunday 30 October I had entered this event with my usual partner David P, but then he couldn't do it. So knowing that Jacques was coming over for a meeting I asked him if he'd like to do it with me. Jacques is organiser of the French OMM and I've got to know him well having done his event 11 times. Although he plans the event in the Alps & walks over the whole area putting out all the controls, he hadn't actually taken part in an event like this before - in fact hadn't camped for about 25 years. some of his kit was a bit large & heavy compared to today's & he therefore had a rather large rucksack. Also, he's a walker not a runner hence we couldn't do all the course in the required time on Sunday & I was convinced we would lose all our points, but we managed to hold on to 14. Jaques did enjoy it however, and although the climbs were not as severe as in the Alps he did find some of the terrain challenging (he'd obviously not come across any peat hags before!) He was also introduced to real Scottish weather as Saturday was very wet & at times windy, and to a wake up call from bagpipes - and porridge for breakfast in the tent. Medium Score class. 6 hours & 5 hours
David Sedgley & Jacques Amiot Day 1, 70 points in 5-10-17. Day 2, 60 points in 5-22-58 ~ less 46 penalties as late = 14 points. Total: 84 points. 198th place.	Haydn Leaker & Martin Spedding Day 1, 120 points in 5-28-35. Day 2, 100 points in 4-52-24. Total: 220 points. 132nd place
David

Mourne Mountain Marathon - Sat/Sunday 17/18 September This was the 13th time I've done this event in the 'beautiful mountains of Mourne' - but the start was from a new location, the village of Attical in the south. The forecast was for wet weather on Saturday, but better on Sunday - but we only had a few drops on day one, very wet overnight, (we'd just got the tent up before the 1st downpour) then much clagg with showers on Sunday - though sunny for the last couple of hours. The climb on day 1 was over 1000 metres, but only about 400 on second day, which accounts for our quicker time. The amazing granite crags & rounded tops of the mountains reminded me why I keep comining back to this well organised but low key event. If there is anyone out there wanting to know more about the Mountain Marathon format please ask - I'm still looking for a partner for the OMM in Scotland at the end of October.
C course - c.20K & 17K Brian Layton & Paul Davies: Day 1, 5-30-54; 23rd. Day 2, 3-59-40; 14th. Total, 9-30-34 for 17th place of 86 teams, and 3rd male vet team.	D course - c.17K & 17K David Sedgley & Martin Spedding: Day 1, 6-09-24; 22nd. Day 2, 5-14-21; 27th. Total, 11-23-45 for 24th place of 36 teams.
Dave Sedgley

French OMM - Sunday 4 September French OMM (used to be Apline KIMM) a two day mountain marathon in the Jura Mountains. This was a score orienteering event - with the object to get as many points as possible in 6 hours each day. This is a very friendly small event - don't know how the organisers carry on doing all the work for only 20+ teams. The weather was superb again despite dire warnings of storms - we had a storm overnight but it was dry by morning with only a short spell of rain during Suday morning - then becoming sunny again. We did OK on the Saturday, with only a couple of slight navigation errors, but had to really work hard at the end so as not to be overtime, & incur big penalties. We had some tremedous views. On Suday we came out of a forest on the wrong side, had to relocate & change our route - then later David's calf went which slowed us down so had to cut out a 20 point control we'd hoped to do. So we didn't beat our rivals - a French mixed V3 team who we know very well. If there is anyone who would like to know more about these Mountain Marathon events please ask - & see my notice re needing a partner in October at the end of the bulletin.
David Sedgley & David Peregrine Day 1, 210 points in 5-57-00; Day 2, 130 points in 5-35-55. Total, 340 points - 1st V3 male team	Haydn Leaker & Brian Layton Day 1, 210 points in 5-38-03; Day 2, 200 points in 5-52-43. Total, 410 points - 2nd V2 male team
David Sedgley

ETU European Champs - Pontevedra, Spain - 25 June
	Just back from the European Champs – great weekend and awesome setting. You may have already heard that Steve Mac is the new 40-44 AG Champs – he absolutely smashed the grueling course. He took 2 minute out of me on every discipline and beat the current World Champion by nearly a minute and half - with Phil, Eimear and now Steve the local pedigree is incredible. This course is not ideally suited to my Clydesdale build. The bike course took us on a 10k nonstop climb into the mountains to a turn point and back down the same road. I found the climb really tough and struggled to hold my nerve on the decent. The run was a technical route through the city centre with a 600m climb in the middle of the 2 lap course. Never the less I managed to improve my European Ranking from 25th last year to 17th this year. Looking at the results I know where I need to make the improvements. I had 13th fastest run but lost ground on both the swim and bike. What is encourage is that a modest improvement in any of the three disciplines can make a huge difference to your final ranking – I believe with the right emphasis I can break into the top 10 (maybe???). The best example of this being the guy that came in 13th was slower than me on both the bike and run but had a very strong swim and consequently finished 4 places higher than me. In summary fantastic weekend of racing, in a beautiful location and incredibly hot.
Stephen Morales

This was the first time that any of us had run at the SEAA XC finals and as an experience it is well work a look at for next year. 93 clubs fielded teams of at least 6 runners, including some of our own local clubs like Stopsley and Beds Harriers. Glory on the day went to Beds & County, winning both Senior Women (8km)and Mens(15km) team races, as well as Neilson Hall taking the men's individual title. The race venue was well organised and had a "buzz" about it with lots of things going on. It can also provide a good excuse for an evening in London. Parking in local streets was no problem, being free after 1:30pm so if your looking for a XC race tougher than any which the 3 counties series can offer then this is the one for you. Anyone for next year!
As for the men's race, the first obstacle to negotiate was that all runners were required to file through a tent to activate their timing chips or something, however this took so long that the race gun went off before all the runners were through. There must have been several tens of runners still filling through the tent as the main field romped off. Luckily for us we had just joined the back of the starting line with seconds to spare. As the 900 strong field about 70m abreast took off up the starting straight (hill) my main though was to take it easy. Once at the top you then joined the 3 lap course, which having seen several earlier races was pretty churned up with long sections of thick mud 2~3 inches deep.... Not nice if you took a fall..
Each lap comprised 3 leg sapping climbs, undulating flats and a steep finish to each lap and was part of the final run in. Although I thought I was starting slowly, I quickly realised that I'd gone too fast and started to go backwards and Mark eased away. By the beginning of the 2nd lap I had to (needed to) walk on some of the main climbs and by midway through the second lap the front runners were starting to pass like whippets. The top 120 finishers were all doing sub 6 minute miles!!!!! Dave Coker joined me just before the beginning of third lap and although I couldn't keep up he did provide me with much needed motivation to keep going. As for times, Hannah did very well finishing her 8km race in 42:07 in the lower middle field( first home 29:47) as for the guys let us say that we were all in the lower rankings and, at around 80 minutes each, a tad short of the 48:23 winning time!!!! (9.3 miles easy peasy!). Unfortunately Jeremy Godfrey had no time posted. Mike Petty