No-Cache:-AFF_Archive2012

I have done this race many times before but this year this was not on my radar as i have had a full race program Including Auckland New Zealand in October taking the main focus, therefore did not register in time as this popular flavoursome 10k fills up very fast with 700 entrants keen to take part. Our very own Becs offered her number as she decided not to take part, so i did not hesitate in taking of her hands.

The skies on race day where grey and dark with a stiff 35 mph wind and heavy showers, hardly PB weather and conditions. I didn't want to let Becs down and i had firm orders to get that PB from her.

The horn was about to go so i pulled the choke out, pumped the throttle twice and the revs where at 20,000 rpm, even with max effort and feeling on form the winds just spoilt the progress and any chance of a PB, so my challenge was an age cat win and there being 50 runners in my age group was also a tall order. Tough as it was i was pleased with my run throughout, i was rewarded with a comfortable 1st V50 and 37th overall out of 700 entrants. I was delighted to have kept good form from start to finish of my long hard season and a final pot was a great way to end a season that dreams are made of..

Up North at my Mum's for Christmas and so entered the Ribble 10K as my last race of the year. This is a very well run 10K which includes the Northern Championships and takes place on closed roads over country lanes above Clitheroe Apart from a short very steep climb up from river level at about 0.5K on the way out and 9.5K on the way back its a fast course. Last year it was won with a 29.07 and Alstair Brownlee was 2nd with a 29.14 with 6 others also going under 30 minutes. This year the conditions weren't quite as favourable - with hail and rain throughout and headwind for the first couple of miles - but it was won with a 30.04 (the winner's first attempt at the distance as he's usually a track man !) and 250 of the 1110 strong field went under 40 mins.

I largely managed to avoid the Quality Street over the Christmas period and so was hoping to improve on my PB time of 52.07 from the Andy Reading 10K on 9th December but thought I'd blown it by 3.2K when I'd let the conditions get to me and lost pace. Its amazing however what a boost turning out of the wind can be and in the event I managed 51.46 so that's a good start to the New Year !

The facilities were great - the Council opened the pool changing rooms and switched the heating on so that hot showers were available and the parking and marshalling were excellent and I would recommend this race if you find yourself in the area next year.

LDWA walk/run of 23.8 miles through ther lovely Essex countryside.A beautiful sunny day with a freshening breeze - but very wet underfoot. This wasn't a problem for much of the route as it was on good tracks or grassy fields - but inevitably there were some very muddy tracks & narrow paths. The worst bit was down a short path between wide hedges, with a camber to the left of about 30 degrees. Stepping very slowly to avoid the inevitable slide, it was as I decided to move to the bottom of the slope from the top, that somehow the foot slid & I ended up on the gound with mud all over me & my route instructions! Really enjoyed it though & finished in 6 hours 8 mins.

Returning to the course of day 3 of my September 4 in 4 I started knackered after cramming in 240ish miles into December to reach 2012 for the year (note to self to distribute it more evenly next year). 19 miles of tough multi terrain and mud to start followed by 7 miles of tough roads with some challenging hills to finish.

The organisers were lovely and friendly as usual. free tea/coffee, bacon rolls to start us off- sausage rolls, pork pies, sweets etc at all the 4 checkpoints and a free hot meal to finish. but most innovative of all was the "shoe change" service offered at about mile 21. you simply deposited clean road shoes and socks in the van before hand which then drove to a point on the course so you could finish the road section in relative comfort, never underestimate the power and comfort of clean socks!

Big thanks to the boy Barton for his company on what could've been a lonely and tough run but turned into a lovely and tough run instead. The USP of the event is that you can walk, run or cycle different distances (10k, 10m,15m or marathon) so is open and inclusive to all.

Only 41 runners and we came in 24th & 25th so happy with that. the "winner" did about 3.27 which is impressive on that course!

6 Flyers turned out for this popular end for year 10 mile event. 10 miles is not that common a distance but I seem to have done all of them with this being my 7th race of this distance. If you have not done a 10 mile race I can recommend you do, its a slightly different challenge to a 10k and a half marathon and I think its my favorite race distance. Fred Hughes 10 is coming up on 20th January for those who want to try one. http://www.stalbansstriders.com/index.php/racing/fred-hughes-10

The course is 'Undulating' (read as hilly!) with most of the hills in the first 6 miles (into the wind too) but thankfully from 6 miles we turned to be down wind and the down hill. The first 2 miles round a housing estate is a bit odd but once you hit the country roads it is a lovely course with a circular loop before heading back the way you came and then you have 1 mile back around Buntingford back to the Finish.

Apart from the wind, we were very lucky with the weather and some great performances. Whilst still some way off my 10m PB, I did knock 2 mins off my time for last year so pretty happy. Craig nearly did not run as he was sick when he got up and was not feeling well and still managed to finish in the top 10 in under 60 minutes!! (I can only dream of this!). Phil knocked nearly 4 mins off his PB, he is getting quicker the older he gets. Claire and Mark, both made their 10 mile debut's and put in great times and I ran very close to Martin all the way and he was hoping to get sub 1:20 and the downwind second half meant we both did a negative split (as I am sure most people did) A nice race.

3C's XC League - Race 4: Stopsley - Sunday 16 December

I felt sorry for the bloke at the start. No water crossings. No fields of sheep. No snow. (Those of you who ran the Stopsley XC last year will remember the start of the race, huddling like penguins at the Antarctic, as a blizzard blew, fierce and strong.); the Race Meister wondered why we'd bothered showing up. Because of the perfect weather conditions and the exciting new race HQ, moved from the Regional Sports Centre down to Inspire Sports Village, where those of us who use FLC experienced facility envy. But most of all because we love running off road, away from cars and traffic. And because AFF is doing rather well at XC this year and we want to support our club. And support our club we did, with another excellent set of results. Our Men's team came 1st and the Women's team were 7th which placed us 2nd on the day behind North Herts. This means that the Flyers have a 5pt table-topping lead after Race 4.

The course itself is pretty quick, not least the downhill start which created a slip-sliding, scurrilous charge. A glorious day and wet underfoot was the perfect combination and the opportunity for a fervent leg stretch looping out towards Barton Hills. The finish was predictably quick and a festive chocy hit the mark - thanks Steph.

We have a break now until until Sunday, 3rd February when the 3C's League concludes at Delapre Park in Northampton. Please put 3 February in your diary. We need as many of you as possible to come along and run for and support the club.. AFF is in a strong position to win the league and every runner counts.

The biggest question of all is, will Inspire welcome back several hundred muddy XC runners to their sparkly new facility next year? Maybe they need that time to practise the hot drinks situation. I guess time will tell ...

Stephen Hartley

This is a great winter 10k put on by Alcester Runners. There is a good HQ with plenty of loos, changing rooms and hot showers and excellent parking. Chip timed and a flat traffic free course over roads and an airfield which was nice and fast until the start of mile 5 when there was a nasty head wind for the next mile. It does however have the advantage of making the final mile along the road to the finish feel great ! I managed a PB by 41 seconds which I was pleased with given the wind and its being my first 10k for one reason and another since September 2010.. About 400 runners make for a nice buzzy but not overcrowded race. I would definitely look to do this one again and since its only 5 mins from Bicester Shopping Village you could always combine it with some Christmas shopping.

Bedford Harriers Half Marathon (County & Club Champs) - 9 December

A brilliant event organised by the Bedford Harriers. With such a huge event, they do it well, the car parking, bus transfer, chip collection, bag drop, the whole thing a doddle!

My main aim for this race is anything under 1:30hr, and with very little training under my belt, this would be the best I would get. I had a game plan to stick to (6:45per mile) and this worked a treat, no massive outrage at the beginning, no smashing it up, just keeping a relaxed strong jog going all the way to 10 miles, the only problem with this was no pace makers, so I had to do this myself.

After the start George Arbuckle went by me and I made an effort to keep up but not go mad, I kept him in my sights and this worked well. At the half way point things were going to plan, right on schedule, but that's when the mental aspect starts to kick in and you've got to keep going. As we hit the 10 mile marker, the plan took a different stage, I was supposed to push the final 3 miles (5km) but Ii suffered very painful stomach cramp, and something I've not had before, it was so bad at one point I almost stopped, but I had to keep going, there was very little left to do. From this stage with 3 miles left, my pace hit rock bottom and I was struggling, not to mention wondering what on earth was wrong? However, having heard a number of stories from the Beare, you just have to find your way around it, I know it sounds crazy and stupid but there was a bit of mental belief that I had to keep going until the end, was not far. This was by far the longest and most painful 3 mile run of my life. Stopping was in my head but I just could not do it, I refused to. I also knew that my sub 1hr:30 was now clearly out the window. Finally I was turning left onto the final finish which is 800m up hill, great.

Upon the finish I saw the clock and was astonished that I was 9 sec away from sub 1:30hr, a shame, but really pleased to have not had a worse outcome. I made it through the line and grabbed some water and the pain strangely disappeared so fast?? I have no idea what it was that caused it, possible the energy bar I had an 1hr before the race, but I've done that before?? Anyhow, still pleased with the result.............and some cracking times by the other flyers, well done to all!

Leigh Pilgrim

Oh dear, it had to happen. For me, the worst race of the year. Not in terms of time, as a 1:29:30 (on watch) half marathon is semi ok I guess, but I just didn't enjoy it. I just wasn't in the game today and the positive neurotransmitters were just smoking weed or were on holiday. As we all know from earlier posts, neurotransmitters are packaged into synaptic vesicles clustered beneath the membrane in the axon terminal, on the presynaptic side of a synapse. They are released into and diffuse across the synaptic cleft, where they bind to specific receptors in the membrane on the postsynaptic side of the synapse. Yeah, whatever. Mine were in serious grumpy old man mode today.

I'm just not in the fast running frame of mind and in truth, I have half an eye on finishing the year streak and three quarters of an eye on the last serious challenge of the year, Hadrian's Wall. I spent the first part of the year running long and slow, the middle part burning it up and now I'm trying to go slow and long. Truth is slow used to be easy and it just isn't anymore.

I suspect that last bottle of wine and three double Baileys to round off the night on Friday influenced my two day hangover and general grumpiness, but I woke up this morning thinking I just can't be bothered to hammer it, so I didn't.

That having been said, I set off with a runner that earlier in the year, I just wouldn't have thought I would be in the same league, Steven Upton . We stayed together until half way, when my blooming shoe lace came undone. Just stopping for 30 seconds meant I couldn't catch him and I dropped the pace for the middle section. I slowed so badly, that the world and his wife went past me including one bloke who was breathing so hard I thought he was going to have a heart attack. I just didn't have any breathing problems at all, although the 9 miles I did on Thursday was in the legs. My slowest mile was at 8 when I did 7.14 (shocking I know), followed by 7.02, 6.45, 6.38, 6.28 and 6.28. The only reason why I picked it up? Ivor the Engine obviously. The heavy breather was getting on my wick.

The best part of the day was seeing my fellow club mates doing so well. Yet another great day out for the mighty AFF! Close on the heels of that, was catching up with my fellow shadow Olympic torch hero's Belinda Bradberry and Adrian Smith.

Paul Owen

Club 1/2 Marathon Champions

Men

Ladies

Champion	Phil Holland	1:14:19
V-40	Martin Beare	1:23:23
V-50	Dave Coker	1:34:51

Champion	Claire Fisher	1:39:32
V-35	Theresa Jackson	1:42:32
V-45	Sue Jones	2:02:50

In what is becoming an obligatory race during my twice yearly work trips to Phoenix, I decided to plump for a local 5K. The Tempe Run from the Cops 5K is a bit of a fun run where you can choose to either be chased by the Tempe PD or chase them (no comment.....). A field of 350 assembled in jovial spirits, however the race was professionally run, chip timed and enthusiastically marshalled apart from one part, which i will come back to......

An ultra of 40 miles for my 40th birthday 2 weeks before, saw me pretty much resting since, so it was good to get out for a fast blast. There was a group of 5 or 6 of us who broke out in front, running at approximately 18 minute 5K pace, which we managed to hold until around halfway. The race itself was round a lake and billed as "round a lake", however as we passed halfway we made the massive navigational mistake of.......running round the lake! At this point there was a detour away from the lake up a hill through a parking lot and back lakeside to make the distance up to 5K. Unfortunately there was no marshall at this point to tell us this and we had gone about 100m past before some frantic shouting caught our attention and we doubled back, to add about 200m onto the distance. Upon reaching the turning there was actually a sign. However, as this was about the size of the opening in my wallet, we all missed it.

From there, the group splintered a bit and 2 of the guys seemed to completely lose focus muttering some expletives, however I was never that interested in time, it was good to be in a race, so carried on and managed to make my way to second place. This was actually an enjoyable run with great banter and the fact that I would have been there or thereabouts my PB at around 18 minutes didn't really matter. Honest. A pair of handcuffs presented by the Police Chief as a prize did raise a wee smile :-) Seem to be missing the key though....

Once again Terry and I joined friends and runners from Leighton Buzzard AC, Milton Keynes AC and David Lloyd Redway runners in our annual trip to Lanzarote to tackle 4 races in 4 days - a 10K road race, a 13K off road hill run up to and along the ridge of an old volcano, a 5K race on the beach and finally a Half Marathon.

We were based at Club La Santa which is a haven for sports men and women and regularly has professionals using it as a base for their training. This year's races were affected by the high winds which played havoc, particularly on the 10K race. The Challenge, of course, is to get through all 4 races over the 4 day period. One thing that I always enjoy is that 3 of the 4 races finish in the Stadium on their Athletics track, which is always a nice feeling when you finish a race.

As Ii said, this year we had to contend with high winds and on the 10K race they were horrendous! At times I felt I was being blown backwards. In the end we both had to settle for relatively slow times. Terry finished 20th and I was 91st. The next day we had to tackle the climb up to the ridge and back - a total of 13K. Fortunately, the winds had dropped and we both had good runs. Terry was still 20th but I had moved up to 76th overall. The 3rd day was a trip to the opposite side of the Island at Puerto del Carmen. Overnight rain had made the sand quite firm and good running conditions but it was still tough ploughing through 5K of sand!! Terry had a blinder finishing 10th and had now moved up to 17th overall.. I also had one of my best runs over sand and although I was 83rd I also managed to move up to 74th.

The final day was a half marathon from the middle of the Island back to the Club La Santa and again finishing on the track. After 3 days of racing it is difficult to lift yourself to run a final 13+ miles, particularly with a 9.00am start!. The course has one really tough climb at around 4 miles but from around 5+ miles it gradually drops downhill back to La Santa. Terry ran a solid race - starting slowly but gradually worked his way through the field to finish in 18th place with a time of 1.19.29 (a PB to date). It kept him 17th overall, a mere 2 seconds behind the next placed runner. Unfortunately, I blew up after 16K when I appeared to be on for around 1.37. I was battling it out with fellow Leighton runner Roger Seldon. I had gone into the half with a 35 second advantage over Roger but he tracked me all the way. With 5K to go the quads finally gave way and my stride suddenly dropped dramatically as I desperately tried to keep it all together for those final few K. I was now beginning to wish that I hadn't played that game of football on the Monday - at 60 years of age I knew it was daft to chase a football round for an hour with others half my age!! In the end I lost 2 minutes on Roger but amazingly was still 74th overall.

Club La Santa is brilliant for all sports and the Challenge itself attracts runners from all around Europe, particularly Denmark who run CLS. Up front there are some quick runners - the 10K this year was won in 33.31 with the first female back in 36.48 good times in those strong winds.

Groups return year after year making it quite a family affair as old acquaintances are reunited but are soon ready to test each other again over those 4 races and then in the bar afterwards!! It is a great time of year to race in relatively warm weather and if anyone is interested in next year's Challenge then have a word with me for more details - I can thoroughly recommend it!!

Why i did this race i don't really know, I decided to do it only hours before the start, however my calfs where still very tight from my sub 3hr Marathon 6 day prior to this race. I think my thought process was it was going to act as a speed session following slower marathon miles.

My poor calfs were struggling the whole way but i plugged away and tried to keep a reasonable pace for the 5 miles. I could have done a bit better on another day but suppose i should be happy with 29.57 PB and 2nd in age cat.

Phil Clarke and paul Owen had great runs in particular, Shaun Kirtley and our very owns Becks made up the team of 5 AFF, for Becks it was her 2nd race that day.

I half jogged back to my van following the race with my calfs screaming in pain and with the thought of tackling the Cross Country the next morning, if it was not for my loyalty to the club i would have chilled at home, I write this report with my calfs in a bucket of ice.

Having checked my records, it was a surprise to see that I had never raced at that distance, so come what may I was always going to get a PB. Never the less, I still wanted to go for a half decent time to add a clean sweep of PB's this year all of which bar one are at age related Gold standard. Having spent my entire running career struggling most of the time to reach Bronze, I admit to being a little greedy today and trying to get another Gold.

The early omens were not good. The weather had been getting steadily worse all day and by race start it was raining and cold. The start was very bunched and despite running at around a six minute mile pace it remained tight for over half a mile. That was due to the unusual distance and there not being that many races around, which attracted a very high number of club runners making up 90% of the field judging by the vests on display. I haven't really trained intensively for a while (apart from running every day of course) and I just wasn't sure what I was going to do. I tried to keep a steady pace and it was something of a surprise to go through the 5k mark quicker than my current best 5k race time. I did slow over the next mile and thought I had dropped drastically to a 6.30 plus pace, although after the race my shiny new Garmin Stacey informed me that my slowest mile was 6.13 and my quickest mile was 5.59 which was the last one.

I finished somewhere on 30:35. The mad as ever Martin Beare put in a sub thirty run despite last weekends sub 3 hour marathon, with the AFF also being very well represented by the Silver Surfer Phil Clarke breaking his own V60 club record, Shaun Kirtley and Rebecca Fleckney with her second race of the day. Come to think of it, the winner of the potty cup is a tight call between the Beare and the Fleckers.

Having checked the stats I make it that I have snuck into the elite category, which is by far my best ever age related race result. Happy days.

Probably one of the most enjoyable running events I have taken part in. Basically a marathon event, 3 laps around Luton, only this one also includes a 3 stage team relay event for those not particularly up for marathon distance (in this case "moi"). On the day we had Julie, Paul and myself, the set up was really good, very exciting and strange but great cheering everyone on at the beginning, knowing that you will be on the course at some point

Julie was first to go, started with Keith Morgan who was in another team relay with Jeremy Bell. After the start, we made out way to transition to find out "how it happens". Second in command was Paul and with an excellent stage by Julie (and by the sounds of it, she enjoyed it!), Paul was then off and running. Me was now in a stage of hanging by the Christmas tree awaiting to open my present! With another fast time by Paul it was my turn…………..excitement was awesome.

I started well and with careful planning managed to not go off like a bat out of hell, kept a good pace and rhythm, you have to be careful not to be caught in other runners paces………….but one by one, I took them out! Doing the last leg, you could see the full marathon runners agony, they looked exausted, fed up, limping, walking. This course was tough and undulating, and for 1 lap, that was a good test, but for 3 laps……..forget it, full credit for those running the full thing, and fair play, the entries for the full marathon sold out!

The last 2 miles were the usual foot down a bit more knowing your near the finish and soon enough there it was, straight in and finished with a brilliant total time of 3hr 14.

The event cannot be faulted, the only problem I had was the mileage markers were a bit mis-leading and in the end, did not bother with them.

The Marshalling was awesome, so was the support, I think I heard my name being called out, yet I did not know them or who they were, but thanks anyway! A lot of the Marshalls welcomed the flyers to the race and when they saw the shirt, were full of support, it was great

A big well done to Martin and Jody for completing the full event………….something Im glad I kept away from!! Already looking forward to next years relay!!

Mark Waine, myself and [A another] took on the Luton Marathon course as a relay team. We managed to finish 2nd overall and 1st V40 team from a field of 61 teams.

I was please to hold a 6.28mpm average on the undulating course coming in 6th place/1st V40 in my stage with a time of 55.30 for the 8.6m section. Mark ran the final leg and helped us gain 4 places with a very strong 52.57 for the longer 8.8 section.

Beautiful day and perfect running conditions. Well done to those that completed the full Marathon I really didn’t envy you going round 3 times.

I tried to enter this marathon upon my return from my race in Auckland looking for something to do however i then realised it was full. Know the right people at the organising club then saw me on the start list. Again this particular race was a stocking filler (oh matron) but i have a soft spot for this race as it was first race i ever did and it was my home town.

The day began with a chilly but glorious morning a runners delight. The course is not the most senic you will ever encounter nor is it the easiest but its there to be run and challenged. I had previously said i wanted to squeeze a sub 3hr out of the course so set about the job in hand.

Not really much to say about my 3 laps other than i did my best and had a trouble free marathon refusing any water, gels etc as always. i wore a garmen but did not look at it once and ran entirely on feel, my pace was constantly changing as was the undulating course. The support all the way round was great as i knew lots of people from many clubs, marshalls etc including the ever supportive AFF crew. I look forward to having another bash at a marathon in London 2013

Well done to Jody who also ran the full distance, the relay teams also had a great day with fab team relay results and some very good individual time within. I came through the finish at 2.57.06 18th overall and overall county champ. [Webmaster Note - Pipped for the marathon title by, ex-Flyer, Stuart Still]

I don’t remember this course being as hilly last year – but then I was sensible enough to just do one lap! It was great conditions for a run - sunny, cool, no wind. I was determined not to make a mess of this marathon as I had in London 2 years ago. I started out steady and the first lap flew past. I was running 15-30 seconds slower than planned and felt comfortable so all good.

I kept this steady pace going throughout the 2nd lap but the hilly section the second time really got into my legs. I took the hills slowly, and felt fine on the way up, but I was starting to struggle on my way back into Luton, which was a concern as I knew this was a long downhill section (…geographically downhill, not psychologically!)

I got a massive boost going through the finish area again, with a high-five from Callum and encouragement from my wife and dad. This enthusiasm would have carried me quite far but there is a short steep section about half a mile up the road which I (stubbornly) ran up. My legs felt heavy from that point and I started to find things hard. Thankfully I had a long easy section to coast down for a mile.

The sight of the long grey A6 for the 3rd time finally got me down. I had been struggling for a while but this was the first time I walked. I gave myself a few minutes before I started again. I had to walk a few more times up the hill into Streatley and took a break at the water station.

From Streatley to Sundon I had a stitch which I couldn’t shake off and I was walking more than running. This was getting me down as I couldn’t see how I was going to make it 5 miles like this. So I changed my plan, I decided to run for 3 minutes and walk for 30 seconds. I still had to walk often but my running periods were invariably longer but most importantly was able to work for short periods and not think about how far I had left.

The last 4 miles were tough, I’d been struggling for a long time by then, but there were a few pockets of supporters over the last 2 miles which were a huge help. I finished in 4hrs 16.

This was quite far from my ideal time, and its disappointing to have put so much time into something and not get what you want. But early in the race I knew 4 hours was going to be a realistic target and I wasn't far from that. My nightmare previous marathon was all my own doing. But today, I’m not disappointed because I don’t feel I did much wrong – things just didn't quite work out on a tough course. ….Most importantly – 25 minutes off the pb. Can’t argue with that.

About 8 weeks ago, Sue was getting into trail running again with long runs of about 12 miles and I managed to tempt her with an “ultra experience” by running the Sundon Saunter. Despite a few temptations along the way, particularly when she found out there was a shorter version available, we completed a couple of 20ish mile runs and she was ready.

The Sundon Saunder is an off-road meander around Bedfordshire with excellent written instructions (courtesy of our own David Sedgley) organised by the LDWA. For me it is one of the joys of running – no pressure, no mile markers, no time constraints and the opportunity to enjoy beautiful countryside on what turned out to be a glorious November day.

Ultra rules of engagement consist of running the flat sections and downhills, walking the hils and eating and drinking copious quantities at the checkpoints. The Heston Blumenthal award for dish of the day went to our very own David Sedgley at Eversholt Pavilion – a tarte aux pomme a la Kipling avec crème d’Anglais. It hit the spot a treat.

We started from Barton, headed over the Clappers to Upper Sundon (checkpoint 1). From there we passed the disused Sundon Quarry – quite a stunning place and well worth an explore by the look of it – and headed South and West of Toddington over to Tebworth (checkpoint 2). Then it was over to Battlesden and Potsgrove on the way to Eversholt via Woburn Park. After David’s culinary delights it was on to Harington and then back to Barton. I have run many long runs in this area over the past eight years or so, but I reckon over half the paths were new to me, so it made the run even more enjoyable.

We managed to stick to our plan and only walked the odd flat section where the clay was treacherous, but Sue did really well, running through 27 miles and still looking strong at the end.

There were a few other Flyers on view, Paul Barton completing his 169th marathon. I think it was the only one he did yesterday, but you can never be sure. Richard Stanley transferred to the 27 mile route at the last minute and Karen Hollingsworth walked the whole route, as did Steve Smith, who it was good to see again, looking very well. As usual on these events I also bumped into Jim and Helen Dodds at a checkpoint, both out for a 12 mile stroll.

If you’re looking for a new challenge in the New Year sign up to one of these events and I’m sure you’ll really enjoy the experience.

I approached this race with slight apprehension as this was my first run since taking a fall at Tuesday's training and aggravating my hip. I decided to take things easy over the first half and hopefully be able to make in-roads over the 2nd 5K. The start is in Lowdnes Park, Chesham and runners are immediately confronted with an uphill climb for the first half a K. After dropping back down throgh woods we soon out on the road and a second climb up to 3K which i went throuigh in 15.04. The next part of the run took us back off road and along Herbert's Hole - a long muddy track that saw runners zig zagging back and forth to try and find the best line! We turned off the track and again climbed and up through 5K (30.34). The leg was fine so the plan now was to try and push on and run a faster return 5K. Although I did overtake runners the return along Herbert's Hole made it vey difficult to get past many. At 9K we started the climb back up and into Lowdness Park. The final 200m was downhill and I crossed the line in 50.25 - I had run a quicker return 5K but overall felt dissapointed with my run.

However, the hip was fine albeit a little sore. My next run is this Sunday over 10K which should be in a slightly warmer climate as myself and Terry are off to Lanzarote to tackle the Lanzarote Challenge of 4 races in 4 days culminating in a half marathon on day 4 - so bring on that sunshine!!

This was its 20th occassion and is a well organised run over an enjoyable course with 3 testing little climbs - I appeared to be the only Flyer present.

Really enjoyed this race, perfect conditions too. Kept a consistent pace, but nearly tripped over at 8k LOL! Felt much better than the last time I did this race so might be slightly fitter. Thanks for coming with me Pat, a lovely weekend away! :)

Back in the day......... Pheidippides delivered a message of the Greeks victory over Persia by running it from Marathonas to Athens and then promptly keeling over and dying, his last words were "joy to you". To be fair he had also run solid for 2 days prior (An ultra of about 250km)

do you think he had any idea what he'd started!?! the distance he ran that day was about 40km and as Wikipedia would have it, that is how the official marathon distance started! the world over! it was us Brits that changed it to 42km/26.2 miles so it could go past the queens digs!! so remember that next time you are cursing the last 2 miles of your marathon, it should've been shorter!

arrived in the busy city amid a lively protest and train strike! a good expo, 5.30am transport bus certainly gave me a wake up call.

I started the race with the usual marathon tourist syndrome of knackered legs after 2 days of serious walking and sight seeing, teamed with a bad back from the cheap hotel bed.

the race itself retraced Pheidippides steps, no wonder the poor chap carked it!!!! with 20 miles of incline (albeit gentle!) I can't remember the last time (ok probably never) that I looked forward to the last 6 miles of any marathon as they were going to be the easiest? a challenging course, a warm day, a fantastic atmosphere, good support despite the language barrier and an absofreakinglutely phenomenal finish in Panathenaikon stadium!!! enough to bring a tear to the eye of any marathon tourist. Good job I'm an old hat and immune to such expressions of emotion :)

no matter how much fun I was having I couldn't help but miss you lot doing the Wing/Tring/Bling XC in the wet and rain and wishing I was part of it.

so MY message? home is where the heart is but I'd recommend to anyone who is so inclined to jump on the marathon tourist band wagon, see the world and experience the atmosphere of as many foreign marathons as you can. besides i wouldn't mind a bit of company in my quest to run around the world? Next stop Portsmouth.

Quite possibly one of the toughest half courses I've done for years - or maybe even ever? Lots of water out the sky = lots of puddles and floods on the course. Beautiful scenery, tough hills, good spirited marshalls and runners despite the water!

Well done to Michelle for her distance debut- a baptism of fire! Well organised, friendly event and only an hour or so down the road, gets my stamp of approval!

This was my annual trip to the Lake District for a run organised by Lakeland Trails. This year it was for the final event(s) of the season, so races on both Saturday and Sunday.

Awoke on Saturday morning to find extensive snow on the fells, but fortunately nothing low enough to impact on the race itself. However, the car park was closed following a lot of rain, so required a desperate search for parking in Glenridding, which was not a good start. A damp and cloudy morning suggested that it was only going to get wetter. The course looped up and round Glenridding and then up and round Grisedale, supposedly on trails, but in reality largely mud, something that I usually avoid at all costs. On the plus side, all the uphill climbing was in the first couple of miles and then a generally downhill sweep to the finish. The rain came on hard just after I finished, so it was time for a quick dash back to the car and off for more pasta and red wine to fuel up for day two.

There was more snow overnight, and this time enough to prompt the police to try to close Kirkstone Pass; they failed as usual, but even in a 4WD we had to edge down the far side. As a consequence of lots of runners being delayed, the whole programme was put out and everything ran about an hour late. Luckily, it was a beautiful morning, and no problem waiting in the sun for the ferry. The race entry was restricted to 200 (for each of four races) as this is the maximum capacity of the Ullswater ferry that took us up the lake to the start at Howtown. The trip took 30 minutes, during which we were entertained by a combination of a local singer/guitarist (good) and announcements that we had to take enough kit with us as large parts of the route were inaccessible by road and any casualties would have to wait for recovery by the lake rescue boat (not so good). The course was along the south side of Ullswater; less muddy than day one but very uneven with lots of rocks and tree roots to be avoided and also far more undulating with a few steep, if short, climbs. Certainly, by the time I reached tarmac for the final mile back to Glenridding, I had nothing left in my legs and gently jogged to the finish.

The usual overestimate of distance by Lakeland Trails, but otherwise two good, well-organised and friendly events through some beautiful scenery.

Saturday Helvellyn 15 km Trail Race (my measurement 14 km) 1.21.13; Sunday Ullswater 14 km Trail Race (my measurement 13 km) 1.22.17

I've been rather looking forwards to this race after nailing a couple of decent performances at the start of the XC season. A 6 mile course on hallowed ground with it's fair share of hills and mud.

Psychologically, 3-lap races also appeal and lend themselves to racing beginning, middle and end. The challenge is always to make sure that concentration and technique have firm resolve at the end of the middle and the beginning of the end........... if that makes any sense? I rested for a couple of days after the Wellingborough 3C's Fixture and was hoping to go well.

I found a bit of rhythm on the first lap and bobbed along merrily making sure that there was a unit of athletes to work with. Lap 2 disappeared surprisingly fast and I set my sights on the hill that heralds the start of lap 3 - predictably tough and a reminder that I need to work harder on core strength. Chose my moment with half a mile to go, relaxed the technique and lengthened the stride, winding it up to the very last. A respectable run (38:24; 14th) and only few seconds off my time for last year which is a good result given the heavy ground conditions and a stiff breeze.

I led the HASSRA team home and excellent packing from team mates Andy Goodair (15th), Paul Collingwood (18th) and Colin Parrack (22nd) combined to deliver a Men's Team bronze

My first attempt at the marathon distance and I chose the Preston Guild Marathon which was held as part of the Preston Guild celebrations which are every 20 years. The whole thing was really well organised with free parking, good HQ, lots of loos (always important !), bottled water and Hi5 gels at all the stations..

The race was run on completely closed roads starting off in the City Centre and heading out in a loop to the countryside and finishing back in the City Centre. The lead runners came back on the field a couple of times which I'm never sure is a good or bad thing !

Unfortunately the weather wasn't kind with 6 degrees and constant torrential rain and hail. Even so the marshals and volunteers at the drinks stations were really great and encouraging despite the fact that they must have been freezing.

I had been training/hoping for 4.30 or thereabouts but a combination of not ideal final six weeks training due to injury/chest infection, the weather and a course that was a bit more undulating than I had expected meant this didn't quite work out. I was pleased with performance overall though and finished strongly which is encouraging for next time !

There is talk that this may become an annual event and if you fancy quite a rural and very well organised and good value marathon you may want to watch out for this. The local Holiday Inn was doing a good offer of b&b for £60 including early breakfast and 4pm checkout to give time for a post-race shower.

OMM - The Original Mountain Marathon - in the Howgill Fells - Sat/Sunday 27/28 October

I've done events in the Howgills twice before - about 4 years ago when the RAB was there in September when the weather was OK for September. And in 1987 when the OMM (then the KIMM) was last there. The OMM/KIMM has always been the last weekend in October - so the weather can always play a big part in this 'survival' event - and in 98 there was violent wind & torrential rain. So much that on the B course there was 95% dropout - and Kathy & I only managed 2 hours before turning back!

For those that don't know, the Howgills are those hills on th right of the A6 as you pass the honey pot of the Lakes on th left. It's an area of wild grassy covered hills with steep sided long valleys and long ridges - like the fingers of a hand spreading down from the north.

We were based at Sedbergh in the south & I met my partner there at registration as she had driven up on her own from Dorset.

It was when we were in the Alps doing the French OMM that Ines agreed to do the OMM with me this year - after the lady I had intended to do it with had still not recovered from her Achilles injury. (She decided to organise a cross country event somewhere as compensation!) I had met Ines several years ago at the Saunders MM & she's become a good friend - though this was the first MM we'd done together.

We set off on the Saturday morning into the teeth of an icy gale - though it was dry & we were well wrapped up. We were doing the Medium Score course - 6 hours & 5 hours each day to collect as many points as possible. We were soon onto the main ridge, & after one 20 point control down the western slope, we crossed The Calf - the highest point on the map. We headed downhill on a good track & chatting away went past the turn-off for our next control - but not too far & we soon had another 20 points. Then over a steep ridge to pick up another 20, 10 & 20 in a north westerly direction - before heading south to the main valley and another three 10's on the way to the campsite. We finished with 13 minutes to spare - and with the 2 compulsory 5 pointers at start & finish we had 130 points - and felt we couldn't have done more.

At the overnight camp I realised that my idea of half a bottle of red wine was not the best - when we discovered it was distinctly chilly! But with the help of a warming 'bain marie' it was soon much warmer & greatly enjoyed by Ines - who did wonder if wine aficionados would approve of this method of bringing it up to correct temperature! Then we realised what we should have done was brought some spices & had it Mulled!

Rain overnight, and breaking camp in the damp did not deplete our spirits too much & we set off into the gloom - collecting 30 points before we crossed back over the main valley. Getting points from here either involved very steep climbs, or long forays up valleys - so we opted to follow the wall along the top of the out of bounds area along the side of the valley, until nearer the finish where there were more easier controls to be found. But the further SW we progressed the more the weather turned wilder - so in the end we only collected another 15 points before calling it a day. We finished with about 50mins to spare - so could have done a couple more controls - if we'd had the desire to push ourselves further!

We'd had a great weekend - & Ines had her meeting with the OMM organisers & Jacques (organiser of the OMM France) as when we were in the Alps she agreed to be interpreter between the two organisations!

Medium score class. Day 1, 130 points in 5-47. Day 2, 45 points in 4-08. - Total: 175 points - don't know positions as results not on website yet!

This was my first attempt at anything like this, and great fun it was too. Very impressed with Box End. Rather sad that I seemed a fair bit faster on the bike compared to the running! I guess I need to learn to swim properly next. Then again, perhaps not!

2012 ITU World Triathlon Champs Auckland NZ (Olympic Distance) - Monday 22 October

This race marked the end of a long Triathlon season for me having started of with a Marathon and then straight into my races to qualify for the World Champs.

As i am a greedy fellow i wanted to try and qualify for 3 World Champs in 3 different distances in the same season. This is very rare and unusual to be able to switch distances and train for each race in the same season, but i just love my sport and want to feast myself on racing. I am happy to say i did reach automatic qualification on all distances (sprint, olympic, long course) my speciality however is Ironman or Long course.

I had my "A" races this year including some running challenges but Auckland Worlds was just what i call a stocking filler and an opportunity to visit New Zealand and represent my country, how could i possibly turn down this chance !, however i always want to do myself justice and always give it my best on the day.

The whole experience was simply awesome rubbing shoulders with all the elites from across all nations, and a collection of the best Triathletes from all corners of the world had picked by there respective countries. I stayed in official GB hotel in Auckland with the team and was supported by the GB team managers and all that goes with that.

The days prior to the race was taken up with an opening ceremony, parade of nations, team photos, team race briefings, registration, course familiarisation runs, expos etc. Unfortunately for me i got a virus the day before my race and i felt a little fragile and weak, but was positive in attitude, sadly i had a shocking swim start and went anaerobic within the first 50 meters which resulted me in having to tread water until my heart rate came back to something like normal, at this point i was last and my race was realistically over and it was just damage limitation from there onwards.

I lost 10 mins on the swim and i now had to catch them all up, from that point on ward i did ok and soon made my way up the field. I had an ok bike and a good run and finished mid field overall and was up there in the GB team in my age cat.

The race could have been so much better and might have had a chance of a podium had i not had my 10 mins loss in the swim and had my usual swim split.

I must try and be positive as i have had a season that dreams are made of and will settle for what i have had this season, This race has made me more hungry and focused to come out fighting on top form for the 2013 season.

I am stepping up my goals next year and going to attempt to qualify for The Ironman World Champs in Kona Haiwi and i have already managed to pre qualify for 2 ITU World champs for 2013 (long course in France) (Sprint in Turkey) so another busy year ahead next season.

I now return back to running for a few months ending with an attempt at London Marathon in April. What pleases me most is my total enjoyment and pleasure i get from the people around me in the sport and the fun of competing with like minded mates and long may that continue.

How could i not mention the supreme result our Phil had, total respect to a top athlete and great mate. Jason Moore also had a fabulous race and did the club proud with an excellent result on a world stage.

Training for this event was of a rather unconventional nature bordering on blasé. No cunning Voldemortian plans for us; we were going to do this one with vim and vigour and good old fashioned British spunk! After enduring weeks of an Indian summer through which we had set our jaws in a determined pose and strode off on ever longer excursions into the Bedfordshire hinterland we were ready for our free fall taper for the following week’s event. Untroubled by thoughts of negative splits we knew we were ready to ruin this marathon.

Sunday 6am, a frosted car, clear still indigo skies and the last crescent of a dark moon hanging just above a crimson and mauve bank of fog spelled this out to be a special day. We forged north through fog banks punctuated by bright sunshine along a relatively quiet M1 and arrived in Leicester and an empty parking space just 5 minutes’ walk away from the start. The weather was set to be bright and cool for the whole race; perfect in most respects save for the time spent readying equipment in the starting pen. The horn sounded and they were off – but we waited and waited and then the herd sensed the stampede and rumbled into life and we set forth aiming to return in 3h:59.

The first mile was downhill through the city centre and then exited via the main trunk roads; some of which were closed but others only partially closed (slightly dangerous if you forgot and stepped outside of the cones). At 6mi when the ½ marathoners split off the route had felt quite boring and was still industrial/suburban. After we split it meandered through an industrial estate and then became quite rural and more pleasing to the senses. At mile 8 we had averaged a pace of 8:50 including 4 breaks for refreshment and comfort. With no need to feel swept along by the natives we agreed to walk past the water stations in a leisurely manner and keep our composure. By mile 16 after meandering through several picturesque villages and 3 more stops we had slowed to an overall average of 8:53; now the ruin of Leicester had begun. There was then about 1mi of coned main road again followed by another mile of quieter roads before we entered Water Meads; a sort of aquatic conservation area and park which was quite stunning in the soft autumnal sun. As we left Water Meads at 21mi we hit suburbia again and with the spell broken we noticed our overall pace had dropped to 9:04! A bit of quick differential calculus set our minds at ease as we realised that our earlier elevated pace still left us with some wiggle room. Suburbia wasn’t all that bad and we amused ourselves by taking a few more scalps before we ended up on a tow path with a man demonstrating how to shout cramp in the local dialect and young lady who emerging from the reverie of her smart phone was startled to find herself being passed by runners, both most colourful in their linguistic accomplishment! Ultimately the tow path gave way to a city park which led to the edge of the city centre shopping malls and less than 2 miles to go. By now we had clocked up another positive split 9:10. We ran the gauntlet of shops without succumbing to the temptation to stop and got to the 25mi marker demoting the start of the final mile and ascent to the finish (4h:03). Not bad for a lark and a surprisingly pleasant day out.

Disclaimer: Paul B. is a professional Flyer who we saw at the beginning and end and should not have his character besmirched by our lampooning.

Mad Dog Mark (Folker) & Gentleman Jim (Dodds) …mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun…

It was another glorious sunny, autumn day for the Ridgeway Run. Let’s hope we are as lucky with the weather for the Ampthill Trophy!

The start is always crowded so I had moved up with Mark and Steve, but a sluggish getaway meant that I was boxed in and after a bit of manoeuvering for position I decided to stick where I was and try to catch Mark and Steve as the race opened up. I caught Steve on the long climb up to the monument, just after George has skipped past. George wasn’t racing but jogging and taking photos. We ran together for a bit and then he pushed on to keep Mark company for a while. I had Mark in my sights for most of the race and made quite a lot of time up on the gentle descent through the woods. It was fast but lots of roots meant care was needed, I ever so nearly lost it and just managed to avoid a tumble. As we got closer to the finish I could see that Mark was running out of gas, checking his watch often. As he did this I pushed on to catch him but never seemed to close the gap. It took me until after the race to realise that every time he checked his watch he also kicked on, which was why I wasn’t catching him. As we got onto the road with half a mile left I pushed on again and did finally catch Mark with just 200 metres left. George had been quietly watching and wondering if I’d get past Mark, and he cruised alongside down the finishing straight.

Most of us stayed around afterwards as the race HQ has a bar, so a bit of banter, beer and bacon butties.

I had been looking forward to this run all year as the Ridgeway is without doubt my number one local race. I was also in some decent form and was looking forward to chasing Mark Billington down over that final 2 mile stretch! Unfortunately, on the day I felt rough - whether it was the flu jab I had 2 days before but my whole body had no energy. I realised early on when after just 1 mile I was already starting to struggle. By the time we reached the first climb I was already walking. Part of me said the most sensible thing was to head straight back to the start but I wanted that finish T-shirt so I had no option but to carry on!!

It really was a struggle as runner after runner came past me. Another long walk up to the top at Bridgewater Monument and I decided that I might as well enjoy the scenery - something you don't normally have chance to take in when your running flat out. Michelle Morris passed me, then Rob Cooke and Terry Mchugh, all giving me words of encouragement. One last struggle up to the top of Pitstone Hill and then we descended back down for the final 2 miles towards the finish. By now I was feeling quite light headed and by the time I crossed the line was just pleased to grab a couple of energy bars and head straight back home.

This was a real shame as this is a great multi-terrain race, incorporating 3 testing climbs, some beautiful scenery as well as a couple of fast stretches to ensure some quick times. It is well organised by Tring Running Club and this year's event was their 30th occasion. As it turned out, up front George Arbuckle just pipped Jeremy Bell by 1 second with Mark Billington only a further 6 seconds behind - and who knows I might have been in that mix if things had been different - role on next year!!

I think the field was about 3500, started in Birkenhead Park, ran 12 miles until crossing the Mersey through the Queensway tunnel. At the end of the tunnel runners where greeted with the Boom Boom Boom of the Batala Brazilian Samba drummers. The sound sent a chill down my spine and spurred me on. The race was well marshalled and finished at the Pier Head outside the Cunard buildings. There was a great vibe about the race. I really enjoyed the race and atmosphere.

Yesterday I took part in my last Tri event for 2012. I had a great battle with my friend Mr Beare. My swim was poor and so I lost about 20 seconds, I was quicker on the bike (only to then have 30 seconds added to my time due to a timing matt fault ). We headed off on the run together and held sub six minute mile pace for the first 3k. I had a go at a breakaway only for Martin to come back strong and open a gap of around 10 seconds. I was unable to respond and he held the gap for the remainder of the race finishing 14 seconds ahead. Martin was the overall winner and I crossed the line with the second fastest time of the day only to be demoted to 3rd due to the timing matt problem ...... but hey ho. Very pleased with my run 2 minutes quicker than the previous year on the same course : 18.30 on an over distance 5k.

Arrived at the Premier Inn North Friday night and there was a guy ranting and raving he had booked a table for food in advance and the waitress had told him there were no tables and he would have to wait at least an 1 hour for food. I hoped this wasn't how the rest of the weekend would go. Anyway perfect weather and family loved Chester. So to the big day. Arrived at the racecourse early and then we were off. Ran my first mile in 8-50 and the pace seemed comfortable, so just soaked up the sights and atmosphere. First half of the run flew by, but legs started to get tight at about 15 miles. Come 22 miles I was really struggling, but the crowds shouting my name and kids high fiving really helped. Going up the last hill seemed easier than running on the flat! Then down by the river, round the corner and there was the racecourse. I'd made it!!

Well done to all the other Flyers. I now know what an achievement completing any marathon is. Many thanks to everyone for their advice and the SMC for getting me past my

half marathon barrier. Wished I could have been at curry night Sunday.. As for another marathon, no comment.

After 16 weeks of the Voldemort schedule, the main race of the year arrived in the form of Chester marathon. The Voldemort plan was so scary, I couldn't say it out loud at the start as it was a 3 hour one. Having ripped apart all my PB's in the last few months, I was hopeful of beating my best marathon time of 3.25 as well. I knew that a sub three was beyond me this time and when the Flying Scotsman George Arbuckle said he was going to run at 7 minute mile pace, that made up my mind to go with him. I had been considering 7.10 pace and aiming for around 3.08, but the schedule gave me confidence to go that bit quicker. The first half just wizzed by. It was quite staggering how we hit almost every single mile marker almost spot on at 7 minute pace, going through halfway in 1.32.04. I made the mistake of thinking to myself at mile 17 that I felt strong and might even me able to pick it up. Needless to say, not long after I felt the opposite and struggled to eat a jelly baby. It took me three attempts and some minutes to do so. At mile 20, we clocked exactly 2.20.00 which was inch perfect 7 minute pace. A lot of it was down to George. We were able to chat a lot of the way. Apart from when I was trying to eat, my breathing wasn't laboured at all with the main issue always going to be leg strength. We had been warned about a hill at 23 miles, which wasn't at all bad. Never the less, it was around that point that negative thoughts appeared and my inane banter froze up. We had caught John McBurney and for the first time George just looked and clearly was a lot stronger than me. Instead of thinking in miles, I concentrated on the minutes left which I could easily work out as we were still sticking to the pace. The blooming organisers then stuck in the worst hill on the course at 25 miles and for the first time all race, George opened up a gap and I knew I would not be able to catch him. John and I both struggled up it and it probably cost me around 40 seconds, with my pace dropping to near 8 minutes going up. At the top, I was able to get back to the pace but by then my right foot was hurting a lot on the ball, with every step being painful. Our names were on the race bibs and there were shouts for Paul, John and George (and as John remarked, all we needed was a Ringo and the Fab four were back in town). John eased away coming in at 3.04.07 and I hung on for 3.04.15 and 108th place out of 2070 runners, which at the start of the race I would have taken in a heart beat. If it wasn't for that blooming hill, I would have had a negative split which I missed out on by 8 seconds! Still, it was a massive PB for me by 21 minutes and I am on cloud nine right now. George played a huge part in it, both from faster long distance training runs and the race itself. He also pulled out a new PB of 3.03.28 which is just fantastic. The club had 15 people running and almost everyone picked up a PB. There were fantastic achievements all around, right for the Beare up front with an amazing 2.55.07 (PB) down to Terry McHugh with a brilliant 4.20.51, despite several pints of larger Saturday night. I was so pleased and excited for everyone. Most of us stayed and went for several beers and a curry in Chester, where we spent the entire night getting drunk, eating spicy food and talking about running. A fantastic weekend was had by one and all and one that is going to have to be repeated next year.

I tried to fit this Marathon into my busy season and in my final preparation for my World Champs in Auckland New Zealand 22nd October. To be honest the marathon training was not that specific as my priority had to be my GB race, however I am very greedy and want to do everything and I had set myself personal goals in both Triathlon and running. I am delighted to have had the season of my life and the last goal and box to be ticked was the sub 3hr marathon which I narrowly missed in April's MK marathon.

The method was quite simple, hit 6.55 minute mile for 26.2 miles, the doing however is not that simple, you will all know it takes great mental and physical effort to maintain that level of discipline. I felt strong, confident and relaxed from mile 1 to 26.2 and decided to push slightly harder than my target minute miling throughout the race.

This was by far my most comfortable race and genuinely I feel there is a bit more there, and although delighted with my PB 2.55.06 and 46th overall I wonder should I have tried harder. My biggest problem is my recent form has put me in territory unknown to me and it seems every time I race its new ground and judging pace is very difficult.

I must say a massive well done to the whole AFF Chester possee for some fantastic runs, I know that everyone enjoyed there races and we all left the course with smiles for ear to ear, I was so pleased that I could share my joy with everyone feeling the same.

The day was rounded off with a well earnt beer or 3 and curry "oh what a perfect day". Thank you gang for such great company, my only regret was staying in a different hotel and not being able to share yet more beers and laughter.

I pack my bags now for New Zealand as I fly out Sunday for 2 weeks with the GB team

This mountain marathon had been in my diary since back in February - to give me something to aim for when I started back running after my op. I really enjoy the combination of tough physical challenge, being out in wild scenery and the mental demands of route planning and navigation.

Originally I'd planned to do it with my husband but he dropped out injured so the hunt was on for another team mate. I slipped the idea into conversation after a few glasses of wine at the Albion, and when Paula didn't say no, I knew I'd found my victim. A couple of long walks later - she finally said yes.

This year's event was in the Cheviots in Northumberland, a stunning area of rolling hills, scratchy waist high heather, bogs and crags. You get a map on the start line and have to plan a route to as many controls as possible in 6 hours, ending up at the overnight camp, then back again in

5 hours on day two. My navigating wasn't actually too bad - wasted about 15 mins when I missed a track turn off, and another few minutes when I crocked my dodgy ankle, and then tried for a final checkpoint up a steep hill which we just didn't have time for, costing us 3 penalty points.

Sorry Paula for dragging you up that one. Day 1 score was 112 points (and most importantly we were not last).

We were grateful to drop our heavy rucksacks and set up the tent for the night - collecting water from the river to make a cuppa was number 1 priority. Overnight the temperature dropped to several degrees below zero so neither us exactly slept well, but woke finally to find the tent covered in ice, fell shoes frozen solid and even the gas bottle was so cold getting water boiling was a struggle. By far the coldest I've ever been when camping.

Day two started with a steep climb which we were surprisingly grateful for as it thawed us out, and we had a good day, navigating well, did plenty of running and enjoyed the lovely sunny autumn day and fantastic views. We finished comfortably inside the time limit, and picked up another 125 points to finish 18th in our class and 209th overall.

David Sedgley also picked a new victim to introduce to this addictive sport of mountain marathons. Unfortunately Keri Stanley had to drop out injured but her husband Richard stepped into the breach and even did all the driving too. They seemed to finish still speaking to each other which is always a good sign when maps are involved, collecting 255 points for a very respectable 203rd overall.

Not entirely sure which side of the sane/insane border we are on doing events like this, but I'm already planning which races I'll go for next year.

I believe the two MM virgins, Richard & Paula, enjoyed their first experience of this type of event - helped no doubt by the fantastic weather we had for the whole weekend. Richard & I certainly had a great time - and seemed to find all our controls fairly easily. (You're looking for some white & orange flags hidden in a vast landscape.) We also seemed to do well on route choice, finding paths through the heather & bog where there weren't any on the map! and Richard was pretty good at the navigation too - as I let him lead for the second half of Sunday. All in a great weekend.

My first foray into the Mountain Marathon arena, with many thanks to David for showing me the ropes with his usual kind and gentle understanding. I was a 'stand-in' for Keri who is sadly still not running with an injured but improving foot - fingers Xed she'll get there soon. An amazing couple of days with the excellent company of David, Caroline, Paula and Brian. After a little initial bafflement as to how and exactly what I was supposed to do, I quickly got into the swing of things, enthusiastically chasing check points with electronic 'dibbers' over the tracks, paths, heather, grass, bog and open country of the Cheviot Hills with an 8ish kg pack on my back with enough kit for 2 days of self-sufficiency in the wilderness. The navigational, planning and strategy elements introduced a whole new edge to the running arena for me, which I really enjoyed. We had glorious blue skies almost throughout - I never knew Northumbrian autumns could be so sunny and tanning! The price to pay was a cold overnight in the tent with frost and ice to clear the following morning, but it soon warmed up.

Overall a fantastic event, and many thanks to all fellow flyers for a great weekend out, and showing me the 'MM' ropes - I will be back for more!

Another fantastic outing for the Flyers, was quite surprised how many were there, but really pleased to see the turn out..............if only the weather was just as kind, the cold was due first thing and boy was it cold, considering what to wear on the bike and run, I just gave in and went for the standard tri suit only, the motto being, if your cold, your not working hard enough.

With over 400 competitors on the list, this was the busiest yet and it showed in the pool, it was packed out and unfortunately there were some that were just queuing up and going in whenever, which meant there were slower swimmers in with faster swimmers, so there was a bit of chaos here..................one of the reasons I now prefer open water.

My swim was not as fast as Id hoped but there were around 20 of us grouped together so you just had to put up with it, if you needed to overtake, you had to overtake up to 5 in a row, so just had to get on with it. Out of the pool and into T1, most people were getting jumpers on, coats etc........not me, shoes helmet bike go, go go!!

I was really cold, with just a tri suit on in 6 degrees, I peddled hard to try and warm the body up, moving my fingers every min or so to try and stop them from freezing. The only part of this that boosted me was overtaking all the cyclist in front, one by one, each wearing winter clothing and me shivering whilst hammering it past them!

One in T2, I had no idea of how the run would go, fortunately my helmet and shoes came off without problems, running shoes on and go, could not feel a thing, first lap was rather slow, second lap legs and feet came to life and started to smash the last two loops. By this time i was in a daze, the cold was getting to me. Upon the finish I carried on running and went straight to my car, luckily I had some warm gear and threw in on. Ran back to see my Dad and immediately he took me inside for a hot drink.........I did not look great. I also saw Jo in the restaurant who was also suffering from the cold.

With sharp transitions and a fast bike, I managed to get top half of the table, and considering this, still managed a 19min 5km at the end.............almost sub! A great way to end the season

Leighton AC used to be call this the Leighton Tough 10 but they decided to drop the word 'tough' after the first year when entries were small and they felt that it may be putting runners off! However, the course still remains the same and still has those 8 tough climbs over its 10 miles with the now infamous final climb at around 9 miles up Shenley Hill..

7 Flyers undertook the race this year and for me I was looking for an improvement on last year's time when I struggled over the hills in 1.16..50. The first 2 miles are flat and I went through the first mile in 7.13 determined not to overcook it with the hills to come. Mark Billington had gone past me and on current form I didn't expect to see him again. Just after 1 mile I was joined by Milton Keynes runner Julie Dalzell who had come with me and Terry on our running trip in Lanzarote last year. Julie on current form is also a minute plus quicker than me and as we approached mile 2 and the first hill I dropped off her pace allowing a small gap to open up between us. I struggle up the hills but find I can make up for it on the descents! - and this was to be the pattern for me and Julie over the next 7+ miles as we continually passed each other with me having the advantage on the descents and Julie on the climbs. Through 5 miles in 37.26 and into Great Brickhill with the next mile a welcoming descent as we approached Heath & Reach.

Once again I grabbed the advantage over Julie and as we turned into Shenley Hill Road and the final but very steep climb up and through 9 miles she had failed to catch me. In the distance I spotted Mark around 200 metres ahead. I didn't think I could catch him at this point but later learned that he found that final mile a struggle.. A quick descent and we had turned into Vandyke Road with just over a half a mile to run. I was closing in on Mark but despite a final sprint in to the finish with a final mile split of 6.49, I finished an agonizingly 6 seconds behind Mark. Nevertheless, I was well pleased with my run. I felt strong throughout and had finished 3 minutes quicker than the previous year and I had run a negative split with 36.18 for the 2nd 5 miles. For the record, Julie finished in 1.14.08 - 24 seconds behind me - she said 'that final hill was just one more hill too many!!'

I have to congratulate Martin Beare for an exceptional run. Again, another PB improving on his Sandy 10 time back in March by 1 minute, but this time over a much tougher course (he was also 3rd V40) - could a sub 60 be on the cards at some point Martin?

A well organised race by Leighton AC and on a personal level I'm really pleased that they have been able to resurrect their 10 miler even if it is now a real toughie of a course!!

This race was re-routed 3 years ago due to the authorities not allowing the race to cross a major road. It made the new course much safer but much harder by the gradients and hills it was the aptly re named the Leighton Tough 10. The course uses quiet country roads and lanes on the fringes of Leighton Buzzard.

My main reasons for tackling this brutal course was to add a bit of zip and zing into my tired legs following the longer runs in preparation for my attempt on a sub 3hr marathon at Chester this Sunday.

The thought of a PB was never on my radar and my race was interrupted by a breakaway horse with no rider as it was frightened by the front runners I was forced to dive into a hedge to avoid being crushed on a narrow lane. Ii lost my rhythm for a bit but pushed on trying to make best of the undulating course. I did feel quite comfortable even though I struggle on hilly courses.

However me thinks I am ready for Chester as I popped in a new PB 1.02.32 and 12th overall surprisingly, Ii should not say this but with a fare wind and a bit of luck I might just scrape a sub 3hr marathon.

It gave me great pleasure to witness the efforts of 7 flyers who tackled the race with me, I salute you all as the results make good reading. The hosting club did a great job and attracted 300 entrants and I will return again next year.

I was surprised to find that I was the only lady flyer at this race. Not to worry though, plenty of other friendly faces around (including our male Flyers of course).

I was expecting a steep downhill at the start (as I'd heard about last year) but the start was moved to the bottom of the hill. A wise move I think as there was a large crowd to get started and it could have been dangerous. This, however, meant that the race was more uphill than down with a flat(ish) last mile that allowed me to make up for some of my slower bits on the hills. I tried to keep Sedgers' training in mind and this allowed me to power up the first few hills and stride out confidently down what downhill's there were. However, the last long hill did slow me to a power walk (I was not alone)! The finish was a long bend on wet grass and I was glad of the grip offered by my trail shoes.

The pre-race massage by the man from The Sports Therapy Room was much appreciated and I recommend him to anyone in the Leighton Buzzard area. Great race, well organised by the small team from Dirt Running. Some awesome views from the top of the Chilterns.

The Ashridge 5 is in fact part of the Tring Ridgeway course but in reverse. Starting at the base of the steps that lead up to the Bridgewater monument we descended quickly down past Stocks Stables before following a path along the edge of a golf course. Unfortunately, I had gone off a little too quickly and paid for it as we started the climb up towards Pitstone Hill. Mark edged past me at the bottom of the climb and the next thing I know I've taken a dive - almost as good as Suarez for Liverpool. No serious injuries and I continued my push up and over Pitstone Hill. I could spot Mark down the bottom of the hill but knew he would probably pull further away as we started the final climb back up to the Ridgeway path and back towards the Bridgewater monument.

I had gone through 3 miles in 21.57 but the mile climb back up took me a grueling 10 minutes! Once back along the Ridgeway I pushed on to complete the final mile in 7.14 dipping just under the 40 minutes - a very pleasing run. Up front Steve Hartley had a great run but narrowly missed out on 3rd spot and a chance to be 1st V40.

The day started in traditional Welsh fashion cold windy and raining. I headed out with my bin liner, and found a bit of shelter before the start. Chatted to a girl who had come all the way from Bournmouth. The road had been closed for the race, and headed towards the Mumbles, a lovely headland stretching into Swansea Bay. This is one of the most picturesque runs I have done. Soon you could see the fast runners heading back, along the coastal path towards the finish, better get a move on!. Organisation was fantastic, no queues at the finish, great goody bag which included tee-shirt, medal, large bottles of shampoo and conditioner. There was lots of promotional stands, Runners Life being one where you just answered a couple of running related questions, then you could help yourself to a bag of pick n mix sweets, very nice indeed. Would recommend this race, great atmosphere, more than 3,000 runners, and my daughter met me with a flask of hot coffee and a toasted sandwich, couldn't have asked for more.

Isabel (MW70-74) did the out-and-back 6K run in a couple of minutes quicker than last year coming home in 40:56 to pick up the title in her age group. Meanwhile Austin (MM70-74) took 21 seconds off his age-group record set last year with a 52:35 sec for the hilly (99metres of ascent) 10K course.

Organised by race timing systems, this was originally to be held at Willen Lake, but due to the authorities not allowing any swimming there, the race turned to Brogborough. So change of venue and a change of mind, very good entry fee, plus price included donations to the Willen Hospice, this was perfect. Aalthough the air temperature outside was around 6 degrees and most people standing around in big coats, the lake was surprisingly warm......ish! However, being my home place of swimming, I had no problems about the swim.

The only two negatives about this event was that my goggles decided to flood every 5mins which was really frustrating. The other pointer was that the website stated it was a mile swim (1600m), then it changed to 1500, then it changed back to 1600, finally when most people finished in world record timing, re-changed to 1500, and in fact if you swam exactly as planned, it turned out to be just over 1300ms.....................!!

However, for a cheap price, donations to charity and a lovely morning, what more can we ask? Hopefully this will be on next year

4 self navigated marathons around beautiful Suffolk countryside, a gem of an event which is relatively new and still developing, Potentially a great club/away event, you can chose to run, walk or cycle various distances on 1,2,3 or all 4 of the days, so offers something for everyone, good VFM, a campsite, goody bag, clubhouse, bar, pubs, food, showers the lot!

There were 5 tough army guys that each started with boots and 15kg backpacks, 4 of which were broken by day 2 and the last man standing bravely finished the last 2 days of the marathon challenge by "removing his kit" and running in trainers like the rest of us mere mortals. Huge respect for his fundraising efforts and dedication/determination to finish even without his team mates, a true inspiration!

Unsurprisingly the event attracted a certain kind of "running enthusiast" most of which were very interesting to talk to and shared their experiences with me- my mind is now full of exciting and possible adventures - marathon de sables, trans Britain, Comrades (up and down) 100 milers, 100 marathons, ironmen, Mont Blanc the list is endless, I fear I might be getting into the wrong crowd...

I would like to be able to run a bit faster but until I shift the excess baggage (like the army guy) I'll have to be happy with just getting round and not getting lost which in itself is quite an achievement.

Time to hang up my long, slow boots for a few months now- looking forward to doing some "proper running" well at least running that doesn't involve carrying half your house, a days food and water, spare kit and emergency equipment on your back and who knows I might even manage quicker than an average 11-12 minute mile pace!

I make the 250 mile trip every year to put on a silly outfit and run with some 50,000 other people for 13.1miles then jump in the car and come home again! Somehow always manage to get a few girlies to tag along for a good weekend away and this year was no exception.

"Where's Wally" was this years choice- quite original we thought, until they start popping up in the bushes, in toilet queues, behind baggage buses:)

My quickest ever GNR, I started right at the back- half hour walk to get to start line got wet so needed to run to warm up. started weaving my way through the crowds and maintained for the next 2 hours:) maybe I ought to try and get in a higher pen next year.

Great to see the K's popping their cherry and raising pennies for charity, the lovely Mrs Owen and Liz Ash taking part in their first ever halves- couldn't have picked a better event if you ask me.

For the first time in 14 years of doing this event we were based in the posh new Mountain Centre, instead of the usual marquee in a field. The forecast was for sun on Saturday with rain moving in for the second day.

We started in sun and after plotting our course (this was a linear course, not a score event like two weeks ago) we set off west along the northern edge of the forest - then turned south into the hills. We soon had a steep climb up to a rocky spur for our first manned control & then down onto a track for the climb up to Hare's Gap and the Mourne Wall. This is a massive structure which completely surrounds the watershed of the two main rivers in the mountains - the water source for Belfast. Those with a head for heights run along the top! From a control beside the Ben Crom Reservoir we had a very steep climb of 150mts in 250mts - to next control at Blue Lough. A little later we were running down a stream between high banks to find a control at a wall end. We saw the wall end, but no control - so carried on, looking for another wall. Then looking more carefully at the map I saw it was the right wall, but wrong stream - as the other was a few yards away over the cliff!

We got to the camp site, after a long run down beside the Mourne Wall, feeling we had done OK - only the one mistake where we'd lost about 15 mins. We pitched the tent, had a meal & when we looked at results we were in 10th position.

The second day was fairly simple navigation - after a 3K slog back up beside the wall into the next valley, we crossed it on the slopes of Slieve Donard - Ireland's highest mountain. Then it was down into Donard Forest & back into Tollymore Forest for some more technical controls - more like proper orienteering. The last of these had some teams running around in circles looking for the right track - though it was only 200mts from the finish!

Then back at the Mountain Centre, the food we were given was somewhat superior to what we'd had in previous events, and we discovered we had moved up 9th place! As I said to Dennis, the organiser, "Something wrong when a 70 year old can finish that far up the placings!" Though there were only 22 on our course, more people opting for the harder C course this year, I was still please to be well in the top half.

Not earth shattering but I did enjoy it, Dorney Lake was clear as ever and still draped in all its Olympic regalia the swim felt fantastic and I was middle of the pack not being lapped at the back like I was a few years ago,

I pushed hard on the bike having done next to no training on my bike this year, might have over cooked it a little as I could feel it on the run 140th overall 28th out of age group as I have slipped into some old bugger category how did that happen!

But the day was all about my brother in-law Chris Pitkin who only had his first swimming lesion at the begining of the year and targeted this advent completing the swim in 19.02mins just awesome

The only disappointment of the day was even though there was no cut of time stated prior to the event while I supporting Chris who finished 256 out of 261 in 2:42 I was shocked to find the officials packing everything away water, chew bars, banana, signs including the finish board above the line for the last runner! This was very uncool!

If they had given everyone 3 hours max the last runner would have cleared the line with 5 mins to spare. (Human Race events)

The Voldemort training schedule kicked in big time today. I ran the Grunty Fen half marathon with the Flying Scotsman George Arbuckle in a new massive PB time of 01:27:41 watch time, which probably puts me in the top 5% of the 800 field based on last years times (official results not out). My previous PB for a half was this race in 2005 on the same course, with a time of 01:40:41, so a nice neat new PB by 14 minutes or about 2.2 miles.

It was a blisteringly hot day but for once, the sun didn't effect me. I had wanted to go below 1.30 and set out trying to run an average 6.50 mile pace. I went through the first mile at spot on 6.30 and didn't feel like slowing, so I cracked on. George had by this point slipped past me as I expected and I settled into my plan of steady miles. At around three, I thought I ought to slow a little given I went past the 5k mark just a minute off PB pace and tried to run evenly. I could see George in the distance, but no part of the plan had me running anywhere close to him. I'm not sure who was surprised the most as I eventually drew level at 6.5 miles and with some reluctance went in front. I then spent the next 6.5 miles waiting for him to retake me. The course was mainly long, straight Cambridgeshire country roads with three or four 90% turns where you could look sideways to see those behind. At every one, I just focused in front and didn't look once, to avoid telling speed boy I was flagging, which I was. After the race, he told me he could see that I didn't look so the mind games worked! It was still a massive shock to cross the line in front and in the 1:27's, with an average overall mile pace of 6.40 for the race. Me, an average of 6:40? I still cant quite believe it. George was totally magnanimous and if I thought before my respect for him couldn't increase, I was wrong. He missed his PB by a minute and was behind me. To top it off, after the race as we were talking to Carolyn O'Connor and Catherine Course, when the former asked the Sean Connery sounding Jockster if he was Welsh. The highlight of the day. Almost.

I entered this race as part of the build-up to the Chester marathon in 4 weeks and as a guide to current fitness. The added bonus was a race against my training partner, the newly formed specimen that is the former ultra-boy, the Welsh Whippet Pablo Owen.

Having run 1:25 in the build-up to the MK marathon in the spring, my plan was to see if I could come close to that here, despite a reduction in training. Although the temperatures were pretty punishing, I don't normally mind the heat too much. The first 4 miles felt like a breeze, through in 6:30 pace, bang on 1:25. At this point the wheels started to come off and I started to struggle. Just before halfway the Welsh Whizzard came alongside me and then quickly past me. Normally in race conditions, that is just the spur I need to kick on as I thoroughly enjoy the man o man competition. Not this time. At no time did I think I would ever reel him back in and by 8 miles my pace had dropped by 40 seconds per mile. At this point, I could easily have stopped as I felt so bad, but somehow dug in to the finish. In the spirit of taking the positives, to still go sub 1:30 despite the last 9 miles, was pleasing.

However, the race was never about me, it was about my Welsh mucker. Only 3 months ago, his last truly quick race was the last time Scotland won a rugby match! Since then, he has managed just over 19 minutes for 5K, a sub 40 minute 10K and now 1:27 half. That is one heck of an achievement and his race today for me was right up there with the best club runs of the year so far. Fingers crossed he can keep it going for Chester and get the time his hard work deserves, but regardless, the speed endurance he has developed in such a short period of time should be a positive to anyone, as to what can be achieved by hard work and determination.

Up on holiday in Scotland I came across a midweek 10K a mere 20 miles away from where I was staying. The race was in Dumfries and was described as a flat, fast course. I was slightly suspicious of this statement as the area I was in was all hills! As it turned out it was a genuine flat course with only slight inclines in the first and last K's.

With just under 300 finishers this was a small field but up front their were some fast runners with the first 3 finishing under 32 minutes. Even the first V55 was back in 33.57!

The race left Dumfries along the Lockerbie Road and I found myself alongside one of the Dumfries female runners. We had gone through the first K in 4.12 but quickly settled into a 4.20 pace. By 3K I had edged ahead of her and had moved up alongside two male runners one of whom I recognised from the car park having very distinctive tattoos down both arms. We went through 5K in 21.37 and were now turning onto the Edinburgh Road and the return back into Dumfries. We were also facing a headwind and whilst I had pushed head of the two male runners by 8K the one with the tattoos was back alongside me. Through into the town and onwards towards the Athletic Stadium and the finish he began to edge away from me. Through 9K he was still just ahead when another runner caught me just before the turn into the Stadium and onto the athletic track. Despite all 3 of us raising a sprint over the final 150 metres, I couldn't catch either of them and we all finished in the same positions as we had entered the stadium.

My return 5K split was 21.55 and a finish time of 43.32 giving me a agonising 7.00 minute a mile split (I'm desperately trying to keep below the 7 minute a mile barrier!)

This was a well organised 10K and although fairly low key it did have some excellent prizes for the first 3 finishers in each age groups - so I went away with a very nice piece of glassware!

Footnote: On glancing through the AFF Reports on the web site I was drawn to the photo of Phil Holland on top of the podium at the National Triathlon Championships. When I looked a bit closer I noticed the guy to his far right was wearing a finishers Gallovidian T-shirt - a very distinctive blue. I thought this was a coincidence as the Triathlon was only 4 days after my run - but down in Olney. On inspecting the results sure enough a James Douglas had finished 4th in the Triathlon and when checking my results found he had won the 10K in a time of 31.33 - Small World!!

I keep saying to myself i must stop entering races and chill out a bit, but i simply cant as i am having the season of my life and still getting faster and whilst i am full of confidence and on form why stop now i ask myself. I feel like a kid keep going back to the sweetie jar for more. The triathlon season is very short so i also feel i have to make the most of it as autumn is just round the corner.

This Event was offering 3 different distances a very short "super sprint" "sprint" and an Olympic distance. Naturally i prefer the longer distances however i have shown this year i am as fast on the shorter courses too but my thinking is if you like your sport why not spend longer doing it on a longer course and justifies the trips and the early morning starts.

My mate Steve Morales and fellow AFF tipped me to win the race outright however a last minute entry from a young elite and a fellow younger GB mate i have met at 2 world champs made this a little less realistic.

The race started with a 1500 meter swim up and down the river ouse which was a tad colder than the lakes. That went ok and i did my usual. My T1 was a little slower than i would have liked and was very frustrating.

The bike was an unusual 45k, 5k longer than an Olympic distance, however i put my head down and pushed, Again this race gave me more than my fair share of dangerous, idiotic, car drivers pulling out of side roads with out even attempting to look. I felt as if i should have won a prize simply for making it back to T2 with my life.

The run course was a very technical 10k and at points tight, the course was made up a mixture of grass and narrow paths, not conducive of PB 10k, however i had to try and get the best of this course. The 4 laps went in no time and i enjoyed the challenge, i felt really strong from start to finish and posted the 2nd fastest run, the elite senior winner was the only athlete to run faster than me, i posted a 38.00 10k

I ended up just missing 2nd overall and got 3rd overall and 1st in my age group by some margin. I was delighted to receive my Trophy and £55 prize money which paid for my race, happy days.

Next its The National Team Champs representing Ampthill & Fliwick Flyers team, 9th Sept.

This is a great event run by Fylde Coast Runners who run a lot of events round the Fleetwood/Blackpool area. Excellent HQ with decent changing and showers and very well marshalled and organised. Also near the excellent Freeport Outlet Centre for post-race shopping and food if you need to bribe someone into coming with you.

The course is effectively two laps along the side of the sea although you only run along the actual sea front once (which as there was a very strong headwind was quite enough thank you !). This means that you run past the 11 and 12 miles markers on the first lap which is very encouraging for the final push as it all feels familiar. Not traffic free but the excellent marshalling meant it was never necessary to stop and the drinks stations had bottled water which is always a plus.

This is a fast flat course and I managed a PB by nearly 2 minutes which I was really pleased about - especially as the race wasn't chip timed (although there were only 400 or so runners so that didn't really matter).

I will definitely look out for more events run by this club and if you are up North at all and fancy racing somewhere different I would recommend having a look at their website. They are putting on a marathon and half marathon in Blackpool in April which goes along the sea front and finishes in Blackpool Football Club's stadium and I really fancy this - not entirely sure which distance yet though.

With the last Big Cow sprint TRI of the season coming up, I decided to take on the shorter distance (750m) to see if i could squeeze any more speed out of me. The conditions were spot on for this race.

Having competed in these events by myself last year, I now find myself racing with four other flyers! How times have changed and shows how much interest there is in this sport.

Learning from Steve Morales, I found some clear water before the start and checked to see who was around me that could cause any disturbance, going by this I had a problematic free start.

Being only 750m and knowing most of the others would simply smash it up from the start, I just went hard from the start and tried to keep my own pace. i did have a clear swim and although my own pace was high, was loving every sec of it.

Down the final straight, Nicola was right by my side and we were both fighting for clear water, being the true gentleman that I am, I decided to let her have this space and followed close behind. This had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she may have been slightly faster............(cough cough)

After an enjoyable swim, I was 13 sec away from my target time........but give it another year, hopefully will get it. Anyhow, nice warm up prior to the Sprint

It was last of the 750m Mass Start Swim series at Box End this Saturday just gone.

Despite this being my slowest performance of the 4 races I picked up a third place male trophy with 11.48 and 2nd place male for the whole series.

My average over the 4 races was 11.35 with a PB in race 3 of 11.16. That’s about a one minute improvement on last year but next year we need to be into the 10's....

MK Olympic Triathlon, English Championships - Sunday 19 August

“Inspiration from the Brownlee Brothers” - Quote from Alistair Brownlee after the race…….”I woke up on race day like a big kid at Christmas, I was really excited”

So my day finally arrived and like Brownlee I decided to look forward to the race rather than the usual “nerves” that enter the system.

Like any race I decide to get their early, set up, rack up and then warm up, although not much could be done there as I did not want to loose too much fuel. The day was predicted to be extremely hot and I'm not much of a runner in the heat. Luckily my wave was first, so I though If I can get this done and get on the bike ASAP, perhaps I can get on the run before the heat wave starts

The swim went well (if at times a lot of weed got in the way) but it was comfortable warm, so no complaints there, with fresh new goggles I was able to see clearly where I was going and navigate well. There was also very little washing machine affect at the beginning which did help.

So out in T1, found my bike, had my fish and chips, watched a bit of fools and horses……………OK just kidding, my T1 was great.

The bike leg was brilliant, having learned from previous events, I lost very little time and although took around 10mins for the legs to kick in, this was to be my fastest 40km bike ride ever (PB!) Nearing the end of the bike, my concern was now on the run and the heat, not only that but my bike leg was extremely fast!! So I had used up a lot of energy. Covering myself in water and taking as much drink in as I could, tried to cool myself down

Into T2 after a fantastic ride, I find my slot, dump the bike and go, after around 10mins of running, it all basically got much worse, the sun was out, I was tired and so were my legs, all I wanted to do was stop and walk. There was some guy with a hose pipe and I basically ran in front of him and he hosed me down!!!! Arh that was great. So the last lap and I'm feeling absolutely terrible, currently on a PW for the run, by the time of the last 400ms I was in a complete mess and falling to pieces big time…………………that finishing line could not come quick enough

Eventually over the line……..I had no idea of the time and was at that moment disappointed with my run leg but told myself, that’s the best you could do in those conditions. I saw the times were up and decided to take a look, to my astonishment I had smashed my PB and ended up with sub 2:30!!! Blimey should have seen me! I looked at the times and realised that my swim had been faster, but the biggest improvement was the bike leg, smashed 3 mins of my previous best time!

Well done to the other Flyers, Phil Holland who won! And of course our Mr Beare who came second in his age group…………………..brilliant day for the Flyers

Leigh

This race was a gathering of Triathletes from across UK to battle it out for honours in the Olympic distance. (1,500 meter swim, 40k bike, 10k run)

For me this was touch and go if i would even make the start as i had a swollen wrist following a bike crash 3 days previous. I had resisted a trip to hospital just in case they put me in plaster thus ending my race start. My biggest problem was going to be able to get my wet suit off as my arm was powerless and near useless, the swim was also going to be difficult too. There was talk prior to the race start that the swim was close to being a compulsory none wet suit due to the high water temperature, this would have been of some help to me given my situation, however the powers that be and the officials from the B.T.F decided to make it a wet suit race.

My swim was reasonable but i could only deliver 50% power on my damaged arm, T1 was painful as i struggled with the removal of my wet suit.

The 40k bike section was trouble free and the conditions as near perfect as they come.

As i have hit some run form this year i was keen to push hard on the 10k and the hot conditions suit me well too. I enjoyed picking off many of the younger wave starts, my 10k run split turned out to be a 38 min which i was happy with.

Given my injury i was over the moon to again finish on the podium in this National race and taking 2nd and silver honours.

Our own Phil Holland had a blinder and finished 1st and gold, Leigh Pilgrim was very happy with a PB and was evidently overjoyed. All in all it was smiles and deep joy (oh matron) at this race on such a beautiful summers day.

Martin Beare

I decided to have dabble at this slightly unfamiliar event and managed to persuade Martin to join me. Neither of us posses the appropriate off road bikes and whilst I managed to blag a hybrid ( far from ideal) Martin chose to ride his road bike.

I came out of the swim marginally ahead of Martin but we left T1 pretty much neck and neck. Martin then edged ahead on the bike giggling (i think) at the novice nature of our bike equipment. It was reminiscent of two kids racing Choppers across a playing field. Martin arrived at T2 a few seconds ahead and after a tumble was out on the run as I approached transition.

From the 70 or so starters we were in 12th and 13th position after our calamity bike section. On to the run section and I was chasing down Martin whilst he was chasing down the rest of the field. It was very gratifying to reel in the stronger swimmers and mountain bikers.

I never quite manage to close the 30 sec gap Martin created on the bike but still quite pleased to be so close to someone in such amazing form. We eventually finished 4th and 7th respectively.

My mate and fellow AFF member Steve Morales called me 30 mins before the start of this race and invited me to come and join him in this race. I was then told it was a cross country affair and a mountain bike was required, I don't own a suitable mountain bike so took my training road bike with thin road racing wheels. On arrival at the venue it was plainly clear my road bike was totally unsuitable and i was the only competitor without a mountain bike, However i love racing and the challenge size of the challenge hard to resist.

The 750 meter swim was simple and trouble free and i exited the water in 7th, then onto the bike and from the off it was obvious that this was going to be interesting at best, i must have come off about 5 times and my bike was getting a real battering.

My biggest crash was in front of all spectators coming back into transition, i did a spectacular flip and went down hard, in true Ironman style i picked myself up and carried on as despite my disadvantage i was doing ok.

On the run i had to make up some time and thankfully i was soon making good ground and passing quite a few competitors throughout the 5k run.

Amazingly i came across the line 4th overall and 1st in my age, However my bike and body had clearly paid the price as we were both battered and torn. I later discovered i had done some serious damage to my wrist and it was of some worry as i had a big race at the National Tri Champs 3 days later.

I did enjoy the race format and the splash and dash, with the right tools next time it would be even more fun and higher finish. Fellow flyers Theresa Jackson, Julie Prittchard, Steve Morales also took part, and we had great support from AFF Paul Owen and Niki Rouse.

I had decided to enter this race just to have some fun and leave the pressure of racing my A races this season. Then i discovered that it was a European qualifier for a sprint race in Turkey 2013. This is not my distance but iam always happy to take on any challenge as i simply love racing. Fellow flyers Steve Morales and Jason Moore also made the start in there respective age groups and we all wanting to make qualification for racing for GB.

I had bought a new pair of swimming goggles for this race and never realised that this was the worst thing i could have done and later proved to be very costly. From the start of my 750 meter sea swim my new goggles filled with water and continued to do so for the entire swim, i stopped several times to adjust them but never did sort the problem out. This was the worst swim i have ever had in a race and i came out of the water almost last.

I was keen to try and make up time on the bike and run but it was a big ask to try and make qualification as there was a very strong entry. I had a reasonable bike, and my 18 min 5k run was one of the fastest on the day and got me out of trouble. It turned out i was 3rd in my age group but if i had my usual swim i would have been 1st

I am happy to say i have made automatic qualification as the top 4 in each age group go through to represent GB in Turkey 2013. This now means i have been selected for 2 GB races next year so far (World Long Course Champs 2013) (European Sprint Champs 2013) and i will probably make the 2013 Olympic distance World Champs too.

This was a great little stocking filler race for me and good fun by the sea side, me and Steve made our journey back home via London and managed to watch the latter stages of the Olympic Marathon and gained inspiration for my 2013 London Marathon.

Jason Moore had a great race and finished 4th overall, Steve Morales had a solid race too and was happy with his mornings effort.

Fine weather prevailed on a challenging course starting with a sea swim that was difficult to sight and navigate followed by an over-distance undulating bike leg with some long drags. I managed to steal my first victory of the season over my friend and training partner Martin but I think only due to some problems he experienced in the swim ( he was marginally quicker than me on the bike but some 50secs + quicker on the run).

An unsensational but solid performance should see me into the GB Squad for the European Champs next year. I have not achieved automatic qualification but I was one of the fastest losers in my AG so fairly confident I will get in. Jason and Martin both qualified in their respective age groups. Martin finishing 3rd in the 50-54 AG and Jason was 1st in the 20-24 AG.

Having raced each weekend for the past four weeks, I was a little tentative about my last big race of the season. The problem with racing most weekends is you’re mostly either recovering or tapering, I know I should be categorising races and training through some but it’s hard to tell your body that when you just want to go out and do well and have a bit of fun as well. This race was to be my second middle distance race of the year but the first full half ironman and I was a little concerned I hadn’t run the full 21k for quite a while, May to be exact, and I hadn’t ridden 90k for a while either, however I had been training pretty consistently and getting at least 2 key sessions in during the week.

The swim was 2 x 950m laps in Grafham water and this is the part I least worry about, as unlike many competitors I’m pretty comfortable in the water. Even the presence of ‘killer shrimp’ didn’t worry me. I exited the lake and it was onto the bike, it was a gently rolling out and back with 2 laps built in, so it was great to be able to see all of the fellow competitors at regular intervals and establish what the time gaps were. I felt my pacing was about where it needed to be to enable me to get off and complete the run, something else I know I haven’t been doing enough of this year! The run was an out and back of 2 miles and then an out and back in the opposite direction of the remaining 11 miles, again great to be able to see everyone. It was starting to get hot, as was forecast, and it always amazes me how many competitors expect get round the run on just the few cups of water provided by the organisers. The course was also unexpectedly lumpy and as the heat started to take its toll on many competitors I made up quite a few places which is a completely new experience. I finished in a time of 5hr 33mins, was 4th woman and 52nd overall and feel that with a better schedule next year there’s a fair amount of time to be shaved off.

The early mist soon rolled back & we had a lovely sunny morning for the jog west to Pirton, the climb over Knocking Hoe, and the ascent up Pegsdon Hills. A section of the Icknield Way took us to the first checkpoint at a farm. Then downhill to Hexton, west to the edge of Barton & the climb up Barton Hills to the next CP at Barton Hills Farm. 13.1 miles in 2 hours 40 mins - a bit quick I thought as we'd had two big climbs. The sun was now beating down - though a slight breeze on the hills helped. The next section to the Lilley check point over Galley & Warden Hills was the route of the Shillington Shuffle - so far I'd hardly glanced at the route description as it was all so well known to me. I'd done the first 18 miles in 4 hours - about half hour quicker than expected.

I did slow down a bit on the paths to Peter's Green CP (24.4m) then when dropping down to edge of Harpenden I was caught by some of the walkers I'd started with. The walk along the Lea valley became increasingly slow - I couldn't concentrate on the route description - I was feeling a little nauseated. A mixture of heat stroke & pushing too hard in the early miles meant i had to call it a day at Wheathampstead. Still I'd done 30 miles in 8 hours 23 mins - a good day out mostly. And I was back at the rugby club in time to see Mo Farah's 5K run !

No watches allowed, boiling hot and I hadn't done a 10K for ages! Was going really well until I almost got lost. How difficult can it be to follow a set of arrows?! For me, when tired - VERY! This completely threw me out of my Olympic athlete style rhythm LOL! Great race. Hope I won a prize for guessing my time almost!

Taupo Mizuno Half marathon run this past Sunday with just on 2,000 competitors (walkers and runners) and yours truly did not finish last though he started last – aiding a charity runner who was getting $1 for each runner he overtook. He passed just over 1,000 people whilst I took out 590 to win the MM70-74 age group in 2:01:34 which was a bit slower than planned but acceptable.

Atrocious weather conditions faced 9 brave Flyers as they undertook the 4th running of the Center Parcs 5K time trial last Thursday. If only the run had been held a few hours earlier when the sun was still shinning! With the course quickly deteriorating and a 4 minute handicap on the rest of runners, Alex Ash flew round (or should I say swam round) in a remarkable 18.05, destroying his previous best and the course record by some 26 seconds! Steve and Phil had a good battle over the hills with Steve eventually getting the upper hand. Katie was first female runner back having given Andy a 'good run for his money'!

With the rest of the runners quickly exiting to dryer climates I waited and waited for new member Andy Shaw to arrive. Running in just shorts and vest he eventually returned in 42.30 - what an introduction to a Flyers run!!

Again my thanks to Ann De Winter and Andy Atherton for their help. Hopefully, the final run of the year will bring better running conditions - Thursday 6th September.

Well To start of with i must express my deep pride and honour of having the chance to represent my country at the World Championships and simply putting a GB kit on one stands 2 feet taller such is the pride. This years World Champs was a little closer to home unlike Vages USA in 2011, this time it was Spain's turn to be host and set in the beautiful city of Vitoria -Gasteiz.

Upon my arrival with the GB team the schedule was busy from the off such as the opening ceremony, registration, ITU race briefing, GB race briefing, team photos, setting out T1 & T2, unpacking the bike and building back up, road test bike etc etc. The city was a buzz of excitement and anticipation with every country accross the world present and all the athletes all looked in good shape and ready for there big race.

Race day arrived and we all assembled at the lake for the start, i was lucky enough to spot 4 times World Ironman champ Chris Maca and had a brief chat as he was getting into his wet suit in a quite corner of the lake, what a nice chap and he wished me a good race.

I will not bore you all with the details of the race other than to say i had a fantastic trouble free race and enjoyed every moment of it, for me this was the best race of my triathlon career and everything came right on the day. The crowds and support throughout the day was truely amazing and i felt so privileged. I knew i had had a good race but had no idea how well, Then the GB team manager told me that i was the 1st GB finisher in my age group, i simply can not tell you how i felt, life does not get any better as i have such passion for the sport, I have had a great season thus far and this was just the icing on the cake. I don't drink but do you think i had a beer that night !

I now look forward to my other GB World Champ race in Auckland New Zealand in October this year (Olympic Distance) if i can raise the funds.

I would very much like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone for the very kind messages, Iam genuinely touched (oh matron) by all the support and it means so much to me, a massive thank you, iam a very lucky boy. Oh by the way my new mate pro Chris Maca won the race in great style.

This weekend a group of us made our way up to Catton Park in Staffordshire for a 24-hour cross-country relay event. We were a team of seven (Becs Fleckney, Annie Page, Lizzie Ash, Mark Billington, Ron ‘Ben’ Armstrong, George Arbuckle and me – Jezzer Bell). The format is that your team run as many laps of the 10K course as you can within 24 hours, each runner must at least do one lap but then you decide who does what. We took turns doing a lap each until Annie and Becs did 20K stints (helping to build up to upcoming 50+ mile events). We also sent George out for a 20K stint as he was easily the fastest of the group, that was as far as our performance related tactics went - we had definitely decided that this was an event to mix some miles with a bit of socialising so had mostly gone with who fancied what.

After a couple of laps we figured out the best places to spot runners a couple of minutes before the handover point, so that we were ready for the switch-over and as we settled into a rhythm of lap times we could rest up by the tents and head out 5 minutes before the next handover. That worked well until Becs decided to put in a speedy lap before night fell and had to leave the course to find Ron to tell him that she was ahead of schedule and grab him to the handover point. Just as well we weren’t going for gold in the event!

There was an extra award sprint on the course between 6 and 7pm. Whichever runners were on the course had to blast up 300m or so of a stiff climb and fastest man and woman would win a new pair of shoes. We planned to get fast George out during that window. Lizzie was also scheduled to be out during that hour so she also said that she would give it a go, though played it down with “I’ll do my best but I’m not fast” comments. It was only in the early morning when we found the scores for the hill sprint that we saw that sadly George was in 50-something-th place but Liz was 4th fastest lady for the hill sprint! Trust me, there were lots of lady ‘whippets’ running in this event, so a really impressive result. (I see that hill sprints are on the menu for training this week, I’m sure Lizzie will be happy to share some expert tips).

The night-time laps were quite special, it is a big event and so you see lots of lights floating their way around the course as you wait for your handover. It was a fair bit slower during the night, however good your light is it you need to be more careful through the woods in particular. I’d already had a bloody collision with a tree in daylight, but managed to concentrate and have an incident-free run through the night. (when ducking under leaves to overtake at the side of a path remember that leaves attach to twigs and twigs attach to branches, and some big branches hurt when you run into them!)

A number of runners do this as a solo event. Nutters. Having watched their shuffling painful progress as the event went on I think I can safely say that I’ll not be joining the Club’s ultra running group any time soon!

So, this was a really good event and a great weekend away. If you can run 3 lots of 10K over 24 hours, rehydrate with Carling and have a free weekend next July then this is the event for you! We were 84th out of 188 teams in our category, lap times below:

Lap	Runner	Time	Lap	Runner	Time	Lap	Runner	Time	Lap	Runner	Time
1	Lizzie Ash	65:40	7	George Arbuckle	42:20	13	Mark Billington	54:20	19	Rebecca Fleckney	78:40
2	Jeremy Bell	49:06	8	Lizzie Ash	62:15	14	George Arbuckle	48:18	20	Annie Page	69:17
3	Rebecca Fleckney	62:14	9	Jeremy Bell	50:55	15	Lizzie Ash	82:58	21	Annie Page	76:41
4	Ron Armstrong	49:28	10	Rebecca Fleckney	56:21	16	Jeremy Bell	57:05	22	George Arbuckle	49:52
5	Annie Page	62:04	11	Ron Armstrong	53:37	17	Ron Armstrong	54:32	23	George Arbuckle	60:46
6	Mark Billington	51:19	12	Annie Page	64:23	18	Rebecca Fleckney	72:21	24	Mark Billington	53:07

It has been a long time since i did a standalone 5k race, the only time i do 5k runs is within sprint distance Triathlons and even then its not often i do sprints.

Wardown park was my play ground as a child and teenager and i have many years of fond happy memories messing about and getting into trouble. Where have all the years gone i ask myself. I liked the idea of having a nostalgic trip back to Wardown park and having a final blast before Sundays World Champ Race, this race would also add a bit of "FIZZ" to my run in my Triathlon and would act as a speed session.

This race also happened to be the clubs 5k championship race and healthy numbers of AFF where present and i am sure the beautiful weather and sunshine helped attendance. 5k races in my opinion are the hardest of all as you are on the rev limit from the word go and there is nowhere to hide in these races, you just seem to be pushing all the way with the lungs feeling as if they are going to burst, your mind has to stay strong and positive to keep driving to the finish, having said that they can also be very rewarding if you get it right with the effort, pace and mental approach.

I was challenged by my mate and fellow flyer young Craig Palmer early in the race but managed to pull away after 1k, i also was aware Nick Jones was not far behind me which made me focus on driving all the way. The race was soon over and as i approached the finish line the race clock changed from 17s to 18s so a little miffed i just missed 17 something, however very happy to be 1st flyer home and a PB and i got my speed session done, it was good to see a great effort from the club and some fantastic individual efforts.

On a hot sunny afternoon Lauren set out on her debut for the county in the 1500m. The race was going well for Lauren as she was hanging onto the group and finding her pace. Panic struck when two girls fell in the pack causing Lauren and several others to hurdle/dodge the fallen athletes. When things had settled the field had split into two clear packs, Lauren being in the second. Although not catching the leaders Lauren was happy with Knocking 2 seconds of her PB.

Snowdon International Race - Saturday 21 July

Terry described this as the hardest race he's ever done!

The Snowdon Race - or by it's official title, the Snowdon International Race - is an annual fell-running event, in which 500+ participants race from Padarn Park in Llanberis, to the peak of Snowdon, and back again. A total of 10 grueling miles (1,085 metres or 3,560 ft) which follows alongside the route of the famous Snowdon Railway. Although a defined track it is a combination of gravel, awkward loose rocks and large boulders to run over with a gradient at times that leaves you with 'hands on knees job' to ascend.

6th months ago Terry said he fancied doing the Snowdon fell race having accompanied me in his youth when I had first run it back in 1997. This was in fact

my 4th Snowdon having run it as recently as 2006. Back in 1997 I had managed 1.37.49. Of course then I was a lot younger (45), faster and more daring on the descent than I am nowadays. Although I feel I am a reasonable descender I decided this year that I was going to take no chances as any trip on these rocks could leave you with a serious injury.

The race is on a Saturday afternoon and we decided to make a weekend of it. After the recent heavy downpours it was pleasing to report beautiful sunshine all day plus wonderful clear views at the top (if only I had taken them in when I got up there!). It seems as if the whole of Llanberis comes out for this race. It has a wonderful carnival atmosphere with stalls and fairground rides for the children.

As well as the Home countries competing in the International competition there were also teams from Italy, France and Sweeden. The race requirements require previous fell racing or similar experience but fortunately they accepted our Lanzarote Challenge as acceptable.

The first mile is along tarmac road as you swing out of Llanberis and past the railway station to join the path to the top. However, this first section up past the railway is probably the steepest section on the run. The best I can describe it is like that little section out from Millbrook golf course up to the road but steeper and over half a mile long! My thighs were burning at this point as I joined the Snowdon track and I still had 4 miles of climb to go.

Probably the toughest section on the mountain is the climb up from Clogwyn Station to the summit ridge at around 700 metres. It is awkward, loose rocks and extremely steep. It was at this point that the lead runners came hurtling back down past me. I finally reached the top in 1hr 12 mins (the first runner home was already back in 1hr 05 !!). I actually felt that I had climbed reasonably well and it was a great feeling as you climb up over and touch the top before beginning your descent. Terry was up in 56.07 and in 79th position at that stage.

The only trouble now was my legs were shot and the muscles just didn't want to play game as I tried to lengthen my stride on the descent. As i said I decided to be over cautious across the rocks and as a result all those I had passed in the final mile on the way up seemed to come flying past me on the way down!. But finally I was back on the final mile along the tarmac road to the finish. If going up this extremely steep road was tough trying to stop your legs from running away from you on the descent was even tougher as by now my muscles were just aching to stop!!

I turned the final corner from the railway station with 400metres to go and the crowds were just brilliant. The organisers had incorporated your first name on your race number and it was just brilliant to hear the crowds calling your name and words of encouragement as you tried to find that extra something for the sprint in to the finish. I crossed the line in 1hr 56.10 (376th) my slowest time to date but I had got down in one piece plus no blisters!

Terry had also descended with caution but still turned in a great performance finishing in 1hr 27.26 and 83rd position overall.

This is one of those races you have just got to experience and the whole atmosphere at the event makes it a race to remember. Take a look at the video from last year on youtube or if you are quick you can 'catch up' with this year's race (1 hour) on Welsh TV, Channel S4C via the internet.

Dave and Terry Stanley

I was invited to this special race by Galeforce Events organiser Steve Young. I thought this might be just the ticket as i was planning on going to the Bedford River Festival anyway and an 800 meter blast will put a bit of top end speed on my swimming in preparation for this Sundays World Champ race in Spain.

The swim was straight up the river in the heart of Bedford and the festival and watched by thousands of festival revellers. The swimmers made the mass start on a floating pontoon and the race was soon under way.

We all enjoyed the screams, shouts and cheers from the crowds. I felt strong and comfortable all the way and totally enjoyed the race, i was even more pleased to finish 3rd overall. I was soon out of the river changed and back in the crowds enjoying the fun of the festival for the remainder of the evening.

Really? A race I'd never heard of? Of course I jumped at the chance. Nice to see the girls making an effort - the boys must've been washing their hair?

Definitely back for more next year- a brill team event involving all the clubs from the local area, hopefully get a few more red n whites to tag along..... Big thanks to Tracy Nicholls for co-ordinating team entries and to our chief cheerleader Mr K for looking after the little ones so Mrs K could run!

This was my first duathlon. As those of you who have ever cycled with me will know (Paresh Aatkar, Theresa Jackson and Julie Pritchett) I'm not at my most relaxed on the bike. So cycling on the Silverstone race track with no cars, no hills and no junctions to worry about seemed like a good one to me. Having just spent what felt like a fortune on my new bike was also an incentive. So, I packed up Toulouse (the Trek) managing to get the wheel off (and on again) without incident and set off. Mindful of Mark Billington's motorway experience on a duathlon night I chose the A5.

I've got nothing to compare this event to but it seemed well organised and friendly and its always good to spot a few familiar Flyer faces when you get there. I was pleased with my time, especially that my second run, which uses the same route as the first run, was only about 30 seconds slower. My bike time was about what I'd expected in terms of time, I did manage to overtake two cyclists but got overtaken by way more than two, although I got some of them back on the second run. I was enjoying a beautiful moment on my bike when I was appreciating the venue, the track surface, the atmosphere of the event and I looked down at my gadget thingy which said I was doing 20.8 mph and I felt like the fastest cyclist on the planet. Then I heard "vvvvvv" behind me and who should come literally zooming past me but Phil Holland. OK, more work to do on the bike then!

Is it any wonder Gateshead has produced more top Brits than anywhere else! with all those hills they clearly get the best training!

After a proper northern night of beer and takeaway I found a gem of a local 5 miler nearby before heading home- started up hill, stayed up hill for 4 miles but our hard work seemed to be rewarded with the most blissful downhill last mile I have ever experienced (well apart from the one in snowdon marathon:) good teeshirt, good atmosphere with friendly runners, good weather and most importantly a good way of getting rid of a hangover

The Voldemort plan continues to reap benefits, as I smashed my 10k PB with a 39.59 and 33rd place out of 588 entrants at today's St. Ives race. I just don't run 10k's, mainly due to the fact that they hurt I suspect. My previous best was 43:54 and with the rest varying between 44-52 minutes some years ago. Having never come close to 40 minutes before, I set the garmin for exactly that time hoping I might be able to just dip under. I had hoped to dip by more than a second, but what the heck I'm in the 30's and right now I don't mind admitting that I feel quite chuffed. I had looked at the last two years results, which had the just below forty peeps in 34th and 35th place, so I found myself in the rather unusual surroundings of being near the front at the start. Having never been that far up, I was caught in the flow as the gun went off running around a 6.10 pace, when target pace was 6.24. I finally got my head around my km running pace having only ever run a race in mile terms. This was quite easy to work out ie four minutes per km. I slowed intentionally to 6.25 pace and kept that steady for the first 3k and was around ten seconds up at the km marks due to the faster start. A problem flared between 3-5k as we ran straight into a strong headwind on a wide open airfield. I slowed and by the turn at the 5k mark, I had lost time and was now behind. The wind in our faces did not translate into any wind on our backs although I was able to pick it up slightly to regain the lost time, albeit it I still needed a lung buster in the final 800 metres covering the second half in a negative split which is another rare event. Another great run came from Julie Pritchett who also PB'd, which was even more impressive considering that yesterday she ran an unplanned fifteen mile cross country with the crew, followed by an open water swimming race a few hours later. An amazing achievement by any standard. We were also joined by Shaun Kirtley, who also popped in a new record. Unfortunately it was a personal worst!

After some very wet weather on Saturday, which made some parts of the route very sticky, we started on Sunday with bright blue skies. Much of the early part of route was through woods, then later we had some cloud - so it never got too warm. I was hoping to be under 6.5 hours so was pleased with time, particularly as the mud meant slow going in parts. I find the southern part of the route particularly pretty as it winds down the river Deane then over Waterford Heath nature reserve.

A problem facing everyone at the moment "is it ever going to stop raining"? (a bit like all the Spurs supporters saying "are we ever going to win a game") and the answer is not likely.............. Fortunately being a Gooner, we don't generally let the rain bother us, we simply get on with it......OK enough I know lets get down to business

Yes, it was raining but the show must go on, fortunately, the heavy stuff was early that morning. Very little wind meant that we were not having to put up with 20 foot waves either so the surf boards were not required this time.............. With very little wind and a fairly warm lake, this was the conditions that all the swimmers had been waiting for, cutting down on those times.....especially "moi", who's last attempt at this event earlier on this year almost was "why am I bothering". I did this event last year and made sub 30mins, so I knew it could be done.

With fewer swimmers and a calm lake, this was it....just go out and push hard. No flooded goggles and no world war 3 at the beginning, I was already gaining a lot of time from previous showdowns.

The first 750m went well and the sec 750m was a case of holding on and pushing that little bit harder. Thankfully was able to keep this up. The last few metres was more like a panic sprint finish (just incase) but came out in a PB of 29:24....................the "one and only" was smiling again! Still not as fast as the rest, but for me that's the result I was after

Stephen Morales and Martin Beare took on the 750m sprint and both managed podium finishes...... Happy days.....luvly jubbly!

Well I did it! I ran my first ever half marathon. My second will be The Great North Run in September (only 10 weeks away). This was a great race - well organised, nice scenery and LOTS of support around the course from marshals, spectators AND other runners.

My chip time was 2 hrs, 26 mins, 21 seconds. Always going to be a PB as it was my first!

Someone posted on the forum that a run called the Hitchin Hard Half was being resurrected by the Hitchin Rotary Club. It was this or Milton Keynes, so no decision to be made!! Limted to 300 runners, saw 5 Flyers at the start ( James Handley, Tony Cole, Philip Horan, Terry McHugh and myself). Off we went in conditions that varied from light to monsoon rain. Knew from race info there would be a couple of climbs, but the first from 2.5 to 5 km was testing to say the least.

Got slightly better afterwards ( there is some downhill) and plenty of enthusiastic Rotary Club Marshalls, along with great support, especially in the village of Preston. Plenty of surface water, ankle deep in one place, but i prefer this to hot conditions. All the Flyers seemed happy with their runs afterwards. Great race, with a grass roots feel.

Due to the misfortune of Theresa Jackson I got a late call up for my home town half. It was nice to chat with fellow flyers 'Terry McHugh', 'Tall James', Dave Coker' and 'Tony Cole' before the start. As with the MK 10k I travelled with 'Terry McHugh'. Billed as the 'Hitchin Hard Half' I was excited by the challenge. I had nostalgic thoughts of running the streets on which I once roamed with a full head of hair. In reality the route took us out via 'Preston'. The course was a challenge but not as hard as the title suggested. Yes there were some tough hills but so there should be else why do the hill training sessions on a Tuesday! I had planned to use the race as a training session as a build up to the big one, the 'Chester Marathon' in October (8.30 mm pace). I set off slowly as the race started on a hill within the grounds of Hitchin Priory (the venue for my wedding some 9 years earlier, happy memories). Runners were then filtered through a bottle neck. This didn't last too long and we soon found ourselves running over a bridge into Gosmore and were then able to get into a rhythm. I intended to take 2 gels to see how I got on with them. Both fell out of my pocket within the first mile! I stopped to pick up the second one (this must of cost me 10 minutes, honest.......). The race went well. I shared a bit of banter with the marshals + fellow runners along the route. I didn't take on water at any of the many water stops scattered around the course, however my trainers took on lots of water running through the many puddles that were expected given the conditions (high knee lifts required). I took my gel between miles 9 and 10 which gave me a little boost for around 5 strides. I felt strong for the most part but the last mile was tough. The finish was a nice grassy downhill 200 metres. All in all this was a really enjoyable run on a tough but fair course. The organisation was great and the event was well marshalled (and supported given the conditions). I would recommend to others as a date to note in your diary for 2013 (they have a license to increase to 1000 from the 300 for 2012). As for my time, I am delighted to report 1.45.26 which is a new PB.

Well yet another big event for me and only a week since my Ironman; Although i tend to recover from hard racing well, this was a tall order to try and do well in such a quality field of athletes and the distance also being quite long (half Ironman) The goal being to get on the podium for national honours (bronze, Silver or Gold) This race was the real deal with all the big wigs from the governing body from British Triathlon present (BTF) together with big numbers of race referees to see fair play as this was such a high profile event.

I was going to try and grab this race by the scruff of the neck and go as hard as i could from the off as i knew that's what everyone else was going to do.

The big numbers in the mass swim start had the usual punching, kicking, pulling as everyone was fighting for space and clear water. once the pack spread out i was making good progress on the 2 lap 1.9k swim. I was happy coming out of the water at the front end of the swim.

I was soon out of transition for the 56 mile bike, the conditions were not great with damp roads and light rain at times. I was still feeling in good shape and was pushing at a good pace but remembering i had a half marathon to do. I had made good work of the bike with no problems and had some good battles with other athletes on the way.

So now onto the Half Marathon, this normally separates the men from the boys in Triathlon and my running is quite strong this year, i knew that i was going to make up a lot of time on the run and must say i enjoyed every moment of this till the end.

The finish line soon came, i had done it 3rd, i had made the podium and bagged a Bronze medal. Iam so happy with this result as iam fully aware of the quality of the competition, many of these athletes are ex pros and semi pros and i am delighted to be receiving medals with them.

I enjoyed the experience of being presented my medal on the podium by the representatives from the British Triathlon Federation, how proud was I !

I now have 2 weeks rest before flying out to Spain with the GB Team for the ITU 2012 World Long Course Championships.

It was good to see fellow Flyers Kieron Lewis and Pete Bird also taking part both seemed to have enjoyed there day.

From Wasdale Head - i.e. among the high mountains. This year my partner was my friend from the Bowline Club. Despite the forecast for wet weather we had no rain all weekend, except a drop during the night - so no chance to test my new waterproof! The first climb on Saturday was horrendously steep - and later we had a control on summit of Seatallan. The campsite was super & we had chance to swap tales with friends. Day 2, with tired legs, was slow - with more steep climbs & rocky summits, including the top of Pillar. Half way round we caught up with my friend Ines & her new partner, and we walked the last few miles together. Joanne & Ian caught us early on both days and had an excellent run.

Altogether a fun if very tough weekend. Day 1, c.19K with 805mts climb: 6 hrs 22 mins. Day 2, c. 21.5K with 830mts climb: 7hrs 49 mins. Total: 14 hrs 11 mins.

Saturday 7th July It would appear on the basis of today's 5k race that my Voldemort marathon training schedule might actually be paying some dividends. I ran a new PB by some 86 seconds, officially coming in at 19.10, albeit it my watch stopped at 18.58 finishing in 4th place out of 131 runners. To say I am happy would be an understatement. I simply have never in all my forty four years ever run so fast and this is new uncharted territory. I also think that for the first time ever I actually raced with some sense. At the start, I let the others shoot off and didn't try to match them, running at my pace. I stayed at that pace and slowly but surely, one by one I began to reel them in. As I passed each, I was hurting but told myself if I felt that way and I was going quicker, they must have been in a worse place than me. The acceptance of pain as part of the marathon training kicked in and on the last lap, I was able to move up four places just overtaking the first lady with about twenty feet to go. Given I just wanted to go under twenty minutes for the first time ever, to have a watch time of under nineteen and an official time not much over, has had me on a high all day long. I have to thank the Flying Scotsman George Arbuckle for turning up to support which helped spur me on.

Conditions around Center Parcs for once were ideal for fast times and Alex Ash did not let me down running a new course record by just over 1 minute in a time of 18.31and that included a quick pit stop! - he has laid down the gauntlet now for Terry Stanley and Steve Hartley !

18 runners were present and it was Michelle Morris first lady home in 24.19, improving her best time by 59 seconds and a mere 29 seconds outside of Caroline Gilby's course record. For Jeremy Bell and Warwick Browning no course diversions were needed after their Milton Keynes foray!

Work on Center Parcs meant a last minute re-routing on the final K with runners finishing by the Millbrook Roundabout - hopefully the course will be back to normal for the 2nd August run.

A nice fast course but the organistion this year left a little bit to be desired. The race was also part of the East Midlands Grand Prix series, with this race being the last in the series. The first problem was at the start when runners were told that the gate leading us out on to the road after 500m was locked!! It meant desperate measures when we all got there!

The course is relatively flat with a small incline just after the start and the up and down climbs through the red way underpasses. I had soon settled into my 4.20 a K pace and was tracking Jeremy Lewis who was 40 metres or so ahead of me. I went through 5k in 21.42 and was feeling reasonably strong but just couldn't close that gap on Jeremy. With just over a K to go Jeremy had spotted me but it would make no difference and despite kicking hard over the final 200m I still finished an agonising 10 seconds behind him. My 2nd half split was 21.40 and I was well pleased with my overall run. The added bonus was having just turned 60 the day before I was placed 1st Vet 60 - nice start to my new age category!

It was as we were progressing down the finish funnel that I was suddenly aware of Warwick B, Jeremy B and Phil C finishing - apparently they had all wanted off route due to a section of the course not having a marshal (there must be a joke in there some where)!

Up front Phil Holland had cyled over, ambled over to the start, run the race and then cycled back - oh and by the way won in a very creditable time of 32.40 and also making him Club 10K Champion. Terry Stanley was 2nd Flyer home in 17th place with 35.45 and Tracy Nichols took the Ladies Club Championship in a time of 45.35.

I traveled up with Theresa & Terry. Conversation flowed, eventually Terry paused for breath and Theresa managed to get a word in :)

I planned to run at 7.30 mm pace and pretty much achieved it (7.23). I know some fellow flyers got lost but that will teach them to run quick. I for one enjoyed the race with the added bonus of a 10k PB.

This is a PB to the tune of 18 seconds for Lauren which she is really pleased with. She is even more pleased that with this result she has been asked to attend county selections for a place in the u13 county team at a forthcoming championships in Kingston Upon Thames.

This was my 6th race in as many weeks yet this race being an Ironman was the biggest distance too. The last 2 weekend races were National and World Qualifiers so the racing was hard and fast.

One could say i should have gone into this Ironmam fatigued but i felt strong and full of confidence following a string of PB,s in both running and Triathlons.

This race was always going to be interesting not knowing how my new body and new training ideas was going to work, however the indications were i had got it right judging by my current results and form, but like they say the proof is in the pudding (there i go again "FOOD") The race is based at the National Water Sports Centre Nottingham and registration has to be completed the day before, therefore an overnight stay was required, but there lies the problem, a guest house that turned out to be full young contractors working away from home, saturday night and wanting a beer or 3 or even 16. Thin plasterboard walls = NO sleep before my mamouth challenge.

Talking of challenges i left my guest house at 4.45am sunday morning (6.am race start) only to be faced with the good old British Wheather, the wind gusting at 35mph (not funny) I tried to stay positive and focused on trying to set a PB, this being my 7th Ironman distance its the time i complete the course iam interested in more than the distance.

These events are all about pushing hard but getting the pace right so you reach the end, fueling the body is also key. This requires knowledge and understanding about your own body and having trust and faith in yourself.

Mental strength plays a massive part in these races as your mind will at some stage go through some dark patches and its how you deal with that which can make or break you.

Without wanting to bore you all anymore iam abslutley delighted and thrilled to say i had a blinder of a race, i had no issues throughout, judged it all to perfection, was as strong in all 3 swim,bike,run.

I set a new PB by 1hr 4 mins, even with a marshal sending me the wrong way at the final bike split adding 5 miles to my race bless him "NOT"

I just seem to be finding more speed on a weeky basis, i just feel so strong and full of confidence, something is going to go bang in a moment i fear, but whilst its good iam taking it with both hands and feet.

No rest for me yet as this weekend is the National Middle Distance Championships, Emberton Park, Olney, Bucks followed by the first of 2 GB races "The World Long Course Championships Spain"

Deep mid-winter here in Taupo but we had a brilliant day for the North Island Cross Country Championships (NIXCC) this past Saturday: course setting at 7am saw temperatures of -30C which rose to a dizzy round zero for the first race of the day – walkers 5k. It was warm enough for no gloves by 11am when I set off to defend my course record in the MM70-74 set last year. First lap went well with 16:08 for the 3km and I claim I ran harder on the second lap but must have gone to sleep somewhere out in the back-field as final time was 32:43 so quite a bit down from last year’s 31:17. So did not get the Gold this year but still hold the course record with my second place and Silver Medal. I am now the only Taupo Harrier to have a full suite of medals Bronze, Silver and Gold for the NIXCC Championships. This coming weekend sees the first of the half-marathons in the Taupo 63.3 series – this one is the off-road Mt Tauhara event so will be hard work.

I was up North visiting relations so decided to enter this fell race. A new challenge, how hard could running up a hill be. Whaley Bridge is a small, Derbyshire town in the Peak

Distict. The race started after the carnival procession of the Rose Queen. The whole town was out. Then the rain arrived. Off down the the main street, up with the main group and then the fun. Out of town off road a herd of cows slowed everybody down. Good a rest then. Up, up, up we went. I'm sure that I could see Manchester in the distance. At the summit there were ropes for the local climbers. With hindsight I could have used them for the downhill.. Going up was tough, going down was scary, I was useless. Everybody was overtaking me at ridiculous speeds. Then the finale, cold, wet, muddy you had jump into the River Goyt, up to my shoulders in water. Good shower though. I finished in one piece but there were injuries. How do you train for this ordeal? I did everything wrong. I walked up most of the hill and tentatively ambled down the hill. It was great fun, my first and probably only fell race.

Whaley Waltz - a waltz not for me.5.75 miles climbing 900ft to Windgather rocks (what a name!!)

Unlike the usual hot sunny weather for this event we had drizzle at the start - but this soon died out & we had cloudy skies with only one slight shower in the morning - then some sun later - much better than the forecast!

The route took us through some lovely countryside, but the heavy overnight rain meant some of the paths were very muddy/slippy which slowed us down. At the second check point (which had excellent food, including Marmite sandwiches!) at 10.5 miles I was still averaging over 4 mph, so was hoping to beat 6.30. But then over the next 8 miles there seem more mud - and tracks with enormous puddles - which took a bit of navigating if one didn't want to get feet too wet. Plus more super food at next 2 CPs - I had to have second helping of rice pud & fruit! So by 20 miles I worked out I should finish around 6-45.

But then a dose of glucose tablets gave me renewed vigour & I decided to run as much of the final 6 miles as possible - instead of my usual run/walk. I think I averaged nearer 10 min miling (instead of my usual 15 min miles) for the last 6 miles and was well pleased to finish in 6hrs 34 mins. It would have been well under 6-30 if there hadn't been so much mud!

This race was chosen by the British Triathlon Federation as the National championships for the standard distance some times called Olympic distance. As i had qualified for this distance the previous weekend the pressure was off me, i had book this race in advance just incase something had gone wrong at the 1st qualifier the week before, thankfully thing went to plan. As this race was nominated the National Champs as well as a world qualifier for Auckland, New Zealand the standard was truly unbelievable with almost every athlete being on top of there game, this race was serious stuff.

I drove up to Wales on the morning of the race and as ever it was the usual driving rain and high winds the entire journey, i am a very positive and upbeat chap but this weather is really testing me, do i have to wait for my world champ races in Spain and New Zealand to get some sun !! The week leading up to this race was a heavy week of training for me as i have an Ironman next week so i did this race on tired and heavy legs, but these races make good speed sessions for me and keeps me sharp to complement my endurance.

I gave this race my best shot and was well happy with a PB for this distance and had some good splits. My mate and fellow flyer Steve Morales was also in the race and started in the the 40-45 age cat.

The conditions during the race where horrible, wet, windy and lots of traffic getting in the way on the bike leg, the run was lumpy at best. The lake we swan in was like thick green pea soup and only just passed the offical BTF water tests.

I enjoyed picking off the earlier wave starts and younger athletes throughout my race and was very pleased with a solid strong race My focus now is on next weeks race, a distance that suits me better, iam looking forward to the Ironman and simply love the buzz of the challenge, the harder the better "Oh Matron" bring it on i say.

I'm at home following my return from North Wales choking on a massive slice of humble pie. Fellow Flyer, Mr. Beare , completely destroyed me today at the World Qualifying Event in Shropshire. He is certainly putting a cat amongst the pigeons at the mature end of National Age Group Triathlon.

I'm embarrassed and disappointed that I couldn’t offer a firmer challenge. I was a few seconds quicker in the swim (24.30), 2 minutes slower on the bike (1.07), and a diabolical 7 minutes slower on the run (for me personal worst at 45mins for 10k).

Not taking anything away from Martin as this was yet another awesome performance, breaking the 2.10h barrier on a brutal course, but I was definitely not on my game. I'm not entirely sure why my body refused to perform today. Despite a strong swim I had no energy on the bike and completely fell apart on the run. As friends and family will testify I was exhausted coming into the race after a very demanding week in my professional capacity and maybe should not have raced. Or perhaps I have simply been a little complacent. My sessions revolve around 30 - 45 minutes of high intensity with a real absence of volume in my training. Perhaps fine for Sprints but clearly not enough for a quality Olympic distance performance. Let’s see if I can get it right for my next race in August.

A difficult course, made all the more difficult due to the previous night storm. Organisers had to change the course on the day. I will definitely do this again, very good atmosphere, marshalls fed and watered us with bananas, shot gels, flapjacks, water and isotonics. Lots encouragement along the course especially in those dark 19 to 21mi moments, when the climb was so steep and muddy, I shuffled, swearing at the mountain. Fighting those negative messages 'lets just go home'. 'you've over cooked this boy'. I found redemption in two hairy jelly babies in the corner of my pocket, this lifted me. Giggling madly, I crossed the finish line wet, muddy, with 26.57 on my gamin. A great trail run.

So that's another one ticked off my bucket list. Running an ultra may seem an odd choice but it was left over business from last year before a broken foot and then cancer got in the way of life. Had no idea whether I could make the distance when I set off to tackle 34.7 miles worth of Greensand ridge relay as a solo runner but took the view that it was just around 4-5 days normal training in one go. I'm very grateful to my friends ( Jo, Amy, Pip, Sal and Laura ) who ran with me and kept the chat and moral support coming. And yes Laura you really did have to slow down for me towards the end. Also to my family for coffee and a very welcome marmite sandwich as I headed through Maulden at around 22 miles and David S for lift to the start and clean socks at Millbrook. Sorry if it sounds a bit like an Oscar acceptance speech there - but I feel it genuinely was a team effort.

Really delighted to a/ finish b/ to make it inside my target time of 6h30 (by about 7 mins) c/ have well earned beer and chips at pub.

Up to my Mum's in Rochdale to race in what bills itself as the oldest half marathon in the country at Freckleton in the Fylde valley. 700 competitors and very much an outing for the whole village who were out in force to cheer all runners - especially at mile 12 in the centre of the village which gave a real lift.

We were predicted rain and wind and in the event got bright sunshine so the water/sponge/shower stations all around the course were especially welcome. The course is pretty much flat but with some longish open stretches which felt quite tough and an slightly unwelcome small hill at the end! Finishers get a banana, water, cup of tea and a different memento each year - this year's was a very smart boot bag.

Time was a PB by literally one second but it was my first half in 2 years so was very pleased with that - went off a little bit quick for the first 4 miles and paid for it at mile 12 but the village support was really helpful at that point. All done by 4.30pm so off to Lytham on the coast for some excellent fish and chips. Look something like a red panda now as didn't put suntan lotion on for unexpected sun but would definitely put this one in the calendar for next year.

Decided to give London to Brighton ago with entry help from Rick Hollingsworth. With early 4am start from home got to Clapham Common by 5am for 6am start & was near the front.

There were various bikes of all shapes and sizes and everyone with their own plan on what they were going to do. My intention was to do it as quick as possible, so set off at a good pace with a small

group doing middle 20's mph, but as the rules state you have no right of way and we seemed to get caught at all the traffic lights which was making it hard work. But once out of London

we got going. I must add I did not anticipate the amount of hills. I knew about the last one but not the rest. The small group I was in was getting smaller by the mile, most dropping of on the hills. Then about half way

a large group of about 10 riders from Redhill Cycling Club (who didn't seem to have been entered) came past me, so I joined in on the back. With the usual circulation everyone taking turns at the front, got to the dreaded hill and I

must say it was hard work, but with the training on Sundon Hill and the Barton Clappers Hill it wasn't so bad. With the final miles down hill, I managed to do just under 50mph on the steep down.

Got to the finish line bang on 2h 45mins, was about 10th person in, and yes you would be right to say it was not a race but I don,t think anyone told the people who I was with that. It was a very good day, & I did enjoy it.

"Jolly boys outing, London to Brighton (Currently banned from Margate)" Sunday saw myself and 5 other friends (otherwise known as the "Flitwick 6" club) take on the most dangerous bike ride ever...... London 2 Brighton 56 mile, well felt that anyway........ 14 pinacolad's and a lobster vindaloo is something you should not have the night before either

Over the last couple of years has seen my friends take up biking, and through their enjoyment they all wanted to take on a major challenge. Having never done it before we all decided that the London To Brighton was to be the one.

Having done that distance before, i had the task of advising and training the guys up in order to successfully complete the journey. Within a week of the event, 40 miles was covered in one hit which was excellent.

The event for me was something Ive never experienced before, there were over 35,000 cyclist taking part, so the start going through London was pretty much standstill, in fact it was so slow we were practically walking some of the journey. The road side support and the amount of refreshments was overwhelming.........I have never seen anything like this before, not to mention the different shapes and sizes of bikes, people dressed up.............I suppose this is like the London Marathon of biking.

At around 20 miles, the huge crowed of bikers gradually began to decrease and I was able to put my foot down and continued the rest of the journey. In terms of danger, there was crashes on nearly every corner, cyclists crashing into one another and some other unpleas'nt sights which I just had to look away from because they were horrific, but that obviously was not enough to stop the lunatics from hammering it down the sharp downhill's not realising there was a t-junction coming up............plus the ones that decided to talk and text on their mobiles..............the Ambulance service probably had their busiest day ever.

The main highlight for me was "the hill" near the end (around 46 miles)...........everyone, but everyone was talking about it............and it did not disappoint, you knew you were there because everyone got off and walked up, which became a little frustrating having to zig zag past them, but as long as you warned them or (shouted at them) they got the hint. Upon reaching the hill, I changed into a more "respectable" gear and went for it. its approximately 1 mile long but seems like forever, and just as you think its all over.........it carriers on again! Then once your at the top, what do they all do? "STOP!!!!!

With 7 miles left of the journey it was all down hill from then............and when I say downhill, it was extreme downhill!!!.........would not believe how fast some were going. Finally in Brighton with the finish line in site, with the huge welcome of 1000 plus spectators.......was quite amazing

The total journey was around 5hrs 40mins, a lot slower than usual, but this is an event you cant and shouldn't race.

The friends that I had trained up finished an hr later (6hr 40) and are extremely pleased and proud of themselves!! I have to say, I would not choose to do this again, because there's just too many people and extremely dangerous in my books, however, if i was forced to I would go for a much earlier start time to avoid the crowds Glad to have done it

I have recently taken part in the Barmouth to Fort William Three Peaks Yacht Race which involves running up and down the three national peaks from sea level. There were five of us on the boat three crew and two runners - myself and a friend.

We have made two previous attempts at completing this race - the first time we completed it but were disqualified as we had to put on our engine to get up to Scotland due to lack of wind and one of the crew needing to get off the boat and the second time due to extreme bad weather at the start of the race the skipper grounded the boat just outside of Caernarvon. This time we got the medal. We ran from Caernarvon up and down Snowdon in 6hrs dead, from Whitehaven we ran up and down Scarfell in 10 hrs 35 mins - this also involved 30 miles of cycling to get to Ennerdale where we started running.

We then completed the race at midnight on Thursday after running from Corpach up and down Ben Nevis in 4hrs 59 mins.

Each time we have participated in this race we have all vowed we would never to do it again and then several weeks later we were all itching to book again. Anybody interested take a look at the website www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk/

This event was chosen as one of 2 world qualifying races for the Olympic distance Triathlon. The lucky winners and qualifiers getting to represent Great Britain in Auckland New Zealand in October 2012.

This distance is not my chosen distance however i have showed good form even at sprint races so i thought i would have a go at qualifying for 2 World Championships in the same year at 2 different distances. This race obviously attracted the very best athletes from all over the UK all fighting for national honours and the overall standard being very high.

Again the weather was a major problem with winds at gale force which was a problem especially on light carbon bikes with deep section wheels. The Water temp was also very low resulting in the swim being shortened following BTF rules.

I had a very solid swim and made good progress in choppy conditions and coming out of the water at the front end.

The bike section was interesting to say the least, i was being blown all over the place and i was very nervous that the next gust of wind was going to take me off the bike. One poor chap in font of me did come off and crash, he was seriously hurt and was taken to hospital. I was very pleased to finish the bike course and my only problem was the chain coming off twice.

I was soon onto the 10k run which i pushed as hard as i could in my final attempt to qualify. I am so happy to say my efforts were rewarded, the first 4 athletes getting automatic qualification to the World Championships. I am very pleased to have done well at this distance as it it very competitive and its not my chosen distance, so its off to New Zealand in October (more dosh needed haha) This coming Sunday is the second of the 2 qualifiers in wales but for me now the pressure is off and i can go and have fun as my job is done, that does not mean i will backing off. Lets hope the welsh land has some sunnier skies for us.

With Leigh, George and myself all chasing a coveted sub-18 time there was always going to be some intense club rivalry and sparring going on. The key was not to get drawn into a battle right from the outset and risk blowing up. Leigh's pace was brutal at the start as he chased after Steve Upton - the first K went in under 3:24 which I knew I couldn't hold so I had no choice but to let a gap develop. Then turning into wind on the second part of the course Leigh's pace dropped right down to something manageable probably after deciding that Steve was untouchable. I was then able to close back up always conscious that George was sitting on my heels biding his time. Sure enough, just before the 4K mark George blasted past Leigh and me issuing some derogatory comment about our lack of pace. I ignored his cunning rouse knowing that I wouldn't be able to out-sprint him from 1k out. He soon settled back on his race pace in front of Leigh and I knew then that I had a chance. I sneaked past Leigh and got right on his tail. A few nervous glances from George told me that he knew I was back but now I had the psychological edge. Patience, patience. 600m left, still too early. 400m, now's the chance. A sharp kick and the gap was created. I just had to hold it now for the last few hundred. Only 4 seconds but it was enough to see me through. 18.01,a new PB by some margin and some superb club racing - thanks George and Leigh. This is what's great about being in a running club like the Flyers. There's no way any of us could work that hard without that element of competition. Disappointed not to get 17:59 of course but 18 is no longer the psychological barrier that it was. I should take this opportunity to thank Nick Jones for organising the Saturday morning pain sessions at Chicksands - they really are making a difference ! Well done to first Flyer Steve Upton who's just getting stronger and stronger. Another outstanding performance by the Flyer's marshals who make all this possible. Thanks for your great support.

Well, where do I begin.......it all started on Christmas Eve when Martin Beare told me about the swimming sessions on a Friday night as I was looking for some cross training to get me ready for the impending Milton Keynes Marathon in April and a PB. Not feeling ready, I popped down to the pool a few times on my own to 'find my inner mermaid' and really didn't enjoy it so gave up and concentrated on running. Then in February all plans changed as I injured myself with Plantar Fasciitis. I thought I would be back running in a few weeks so rested and started swimming with Martin and the gang on a Friday evening and also joined a spinning studio to try and maintain my fitness. The foot injury meant that in the end I couldn't actually start running again until May, with a slow plod once a week to manage the foot and try to get back into it. Slowly my desire to compete starting eating away at me again and the chat down the pool of the Dark Side and Triathlons started working its way into my mind. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was in touch with Theresa Jackson and she had invited me to Box End for a lake swim. Never one to do things by half, a week later I had bought a Tri Suit, Wet Suit and entered my first ever Triathlon - I felt I could swim, bike and run quite competently so apart from the technical aspects of the unknown Triathlon world, the completing the 3 disciplines together never really worried me. After last nights Triathlon I had a major reality check and realised what a tough sport it is and how fit Triathletes are, man was I shattered after!

So, how did the race go for me...... Theresa took me for a reccie of the MB/run trail before as a warm up which calmed my nerves a bit. We then racked our bikes in the transition area and Theresa helped me into my wetsuit. Before I knew it I was in the lake (yes it was blimin cold) with the other 47 competitors, in my race swim cap (very excited by that!) feeling like a real triathlete, just like the ones you see on the telly! I opted to stay at the back; not wanting to get caught up in the masses and off we went. The swim was out to a buoy and back which seemed to take forever. I had a goggle malfunction and had to keep emptying the water from them but apart from that had a steady swim. I exited the lake and walked to T1, I struggled to get out of my wetsuit as I was tired and cold from the swim and slowly got my socks, shoes and helmet on. The first bit of the bike route was flat so gave me time to acclimatise. I tried to take a drink but couldn't get my bottle out so soon gave up with that. The back end of the bike/run loop is undulating and my lack of confidence and skill on my bike meant I was slow. I came off my bike 3 times over the 2 laps - twice up a slope I couldn't cycle up and then had a big off when I lost my nerve, braked too hard and skidded, lading hard on my side. I got up feeling a bit dazed, looked around for some reassurance or sympathy, realised I was on my own so had to get on with it. That really knocked my confidence and I had a steady cycle back to T2. In T2 I spent far too long working out how to put my bike on the rail and wondering what else I needed to do apart from take my helmet off, and then set off for the 5k run. Jelly legs were in full force, my leg and back were hurting me from my fall and I hadn't fastened my trainers tight enough so I was wobbling all over the place. To be honest I really felt like stopping at this point but I gave myself a good talking to and plodded on. I finally found my running legs with about 2k to go and finished strong (ish).

So, as you can see from my essay above, I've had a real journey over the last 4 months and feel quite emotional about it all. Unfortunately I seem to have injured my knee when I fell off my bike and can't walk today - but when I am back in full working order I will continue with practising my swim and bike, mixing it with my Chester marathon training, if the injury gods will allow, I hope to finish the summer marathon ready and improve on my performance in the next evening triathlon. Whilst I am here writing my dissertation, I would also like to thank Becs, Annie, Paul and the SMC group for their support during my injury lay off, Martin for his consistent encouragement in the pool, Theresa for her support, help and guidance into the dark side, Julie for making me laugh and helping to keep things into perspective and to the rest of the AFF for their support.

It was hard to believe it was June, the lake was still quite cold, however given the amount of rain over the previous few days, the off road 5k loop which is used for the bike and the run was holding up well.

Curiously, given how I felt on the evening, I managed to knock time off of every stage, even the transitions! I knocked a total of 3:40 off of last month’s time to finish in 1:10:05, 2nd Vet lady and 3rd lady overall.

The flyers were well represented by Niki Rouse who was coming back from injury and is now back on the injury list – sorry Niki, Julie Pritchett who couldn’t swim 2 months ago, so to be competing so soon in open water is fantastic and Alex Ash who turned out a great performance for his first ever triathlon.

Again a great, friendly, low key evening triathlon which is great for all levels. Next race is on the 19th July.

I can't recommend this event too highly after a great day out with my husband and a friend. It's an LDWA challenge event from Sheringham following a circular route along the coast and inland into some wonderful countryside. It was, as they say "gently undulating", with around 520m of climb and for once a pretty accurate set of route instructions. There are 4 checkpoints - run by enthusiastic and friendly volunteers who must start baking days in advance as we were treated to home-made flapjacks, bread pudding, gooseberry jam and fruit loaf, and Marmite sandwiches, and much more, plus a meal at the finish and all for a £6 entry fee. Indeed I probably ate more than I burned off.

The weather was pretty much ideal walking weather, with mercifully no rain for once. We were all pretty pleased with the pace we kept up - the fastest average speed per mile we've managed in an ultra distance challenge walk. And I'm still convinced that walking is more tiring than running as you are on your feet for so much longer, with giant blisters to match.

I had decided to fit this cheeky little sprint triathlon into my busy Triathlon season and the idea being a sharpener to put some top end into my training following endurance training. My big races are due to start including 2 world qualifying Olympic distance races the next two weekends followed by an Ironman the weekend after that, i then have 7 days to recover before the National middle distance Championships which then take me directly into the ITU World Long Course Championships Spain, i have then got some domestic fun races booked with less pressure.

Anyway i wont waffle on about this Spalding race other than to say i was delighted with my result, i raced as near perfect as i personally could have done, i had good splits on all 3 swim, bike run. I was especially pleased with my 16.45 5k run and the 3rd overall fastest run of the day. I was very happy to have won my age group by 6 mins and 5th overall. I am especially pleased as i specialise in endurance racing not sprints however i have done 2 sprints races this season and come 1st in both, it will be interesting to see what happens with the races that suit me.

I must say thank you to my bike coach pete who has worked with me the past few weeks and my new sponsors Ampthill Fireplaces, i signed a sponsorship deal 2 weeks ago, i feel so fortunate to have such great support from everyone, it makes all the difference, i feel your presence in every race.

Just missed out on a pot/podium spot I'm afraid but very close at the top as you can see from the attached results – only 1 minute between 2nd and 5th. Not sure how much it affected my overall time but tweaked my hamstring coming off the bike and ran in a lot of pain – hobbling around at present. Still quite pleased with the result and knocked over 2mins of my last outing here.

The 2nd Center Parcs 5K Time Trial was hit by heavy rain in the afternoon that again made the course wet and muddy in places. In my opinion, not as bad as the first Time Trial ran last May but still enough to make it a good old traditional cross country run!!

24 Flyers turned out and it was interesting to note that all those that ran the first race in May had improved times on the 2nd run. The course follows a clock wise direction around Center Parcs leaving runners with 4/5 testing climbs between 3 - 4 ½K. Steve Hartley led the runners home with a new course record of 19.23 taking 4 seconds off Terry Stanley's previous time. First lady home was Caroline Gilby in a really impressive time of 23.50, again a new course record.

This is by PB Course and really enjoyed it last year. I posted the race details on Facebook a while ago but having had a few niggles I only entered last minute to put in a race to gauge where I was in terms of fitness.

There was a few of us entered and I picked up Theresa (Middle Distance Triathlete) Jackson and Niki (Plantar Fasciitis) Rouse en route. As we headed over the rain did not seem to be getting any lighter and when we got there (way too early for such conditions) it got worse as we were walking to the start from the car park. Thankfully the organisers had put up a few gazebos for us to shelter under where we met Mr & Mrs Chairman Bell and Rebecca (its my burfday) Fleckney.

Luckily by the time the race started at 9:30 the heavy stuff had eased and off we went in perfect running conditions on an undulating course that drops down on country from lanes Brackley to Turweston airfield which you run a lap of. It was great to see the locals had put bunting up in the villages for Becs birthday as we meandered through the lanes before heading back up the hill to the main road for the last K on the flat back to the village green.

Having not been sure of what to expect I had 45 mins in my head but ran without my garmin and ran as hard as felt sustainable and got into a great rhythm. I also felt really strong on the hills and on the stretch 8 to 9 K (was all up hill) I and I gained about 10 places in that stretch which felt great but I had almost nothing left for the last 1K but managed to hold my position and post a time of 44:55 which I was delighted with.

Really enjoyed this one again this year, only about 200 entrants for a lovely local race. I will be back in 2013.

An event I entered at the last minute as part of the “avoid the street party” strategy; this being the closest event and just a quick drive along the Sussex coast. With 80% off-road, kissing gates, stiles, single-person paths, stinging nettles, rough ground, loose flints and slipperiness as only chalk can be after a night’s rain, this was definitely a trail race. Add in 1000 feet of climbing from the beach and up onto the Downs and it wasn’t a race where anyone was looking for a PB. Instead it was a day for enjoying the scenery, and what great scenery; views across the English Channel and sweeping Downs, the Litlington White Horse, the pretty village of Alfriston, Cuckmere River and the White Cliffs all in one run! At least that was the theory, in practice the Jubilee mist covered most of it, so runners just had to imagine it was out there and continue to slog up the hills. A hard race, but cheap, friendly, well-organised, lots of drinks stations and only 30m to a paddle in the sea at the end!

Girls U13 100m: Lauren not at all happy with this result, it was her first time going from a sprint start in a compertition and in her words she got it wrong. 15.85 (9th)

Girls U13 800m: Lauren was happier with this result, although not her preferred distance it was the longest one offered to the u13 girls. 2.48.09 (7th)

When our intrepid ultrateer Sedgers asked me if I would drop him off at the start of his latest 100 mile adventure in Hackney, as one does, one looked to see if there were any park runs nearby, as the timings seemed to fit in.

It was gone 0850 when we parted company, but thankfully I pulled into the car park at 0858 and made the start on the g of go! Now, I am one of those runners who needs a long warm up, so this wasn't ideal, but these things are sent to try us as they say. The original goal of 18 mins was out of the window and I settled into a pace around 18:20 which was tough, but doable. With about 500m to go, I put on the after burners confident of around 18:10, however.......

The guy in front of me was far enough in front that I lost sight of him and missed the clearing (and sign!) to direct me into the field with about 200m to go and instead I carried on the tree lined footpath until I reached the car park! At that point I thought mmmmm (or something like that), when I looked to my right and saw the finish line parallel to me. It was with much merriment the helpers watched as I entered the finish from a 90 degree angle for an 18:30 finish. A few minutes later, the laughter subsided when they realised that the girl at the finish had forgotten to give me a position chip and therefore their positions and timings were all out. I slunk away quietly.......to return later to apologise. They were great, but it goes to show how difficult finish co-ordinating can be when you get muppets like me running! Still, these are the runs you remember over a beer in times to come.

With The Olympic Games in London this year co-inciding with the LDWA 40th anniversary, the annual 100 mile jaunt was planned to link Olympic sites with those of the founding of the LDWA. It all started in Surrey in 1972 when Chris Steer saw a notice in Peaselake Post Office advertising the Tanners Marathon. He entered, met the organiser Alan Blatchford, and they decided to set up a local group for others who took long walks & might be interested in more challenges. There are several sites in Surrey dedicated to their memorey, including Steers Field & Blatchford Downs - and a Blatchford bench outside Tanners Hatch youth hostel.

The 100 started close by the Olympic Stadium, after some encouraging words from Barbara Blatchford (Alan's widow), and we were soon jogging through the first of many parks - Victoria Park, the oldest public park, set up after a report in 1834 recomended more open air leasure for the poor of the East End!

Four more parks & canal towpath later we were at the 1st check point at Milwall rugby club - then down the steps into the foot tunnel under the Thames to emerge by the newly restored Cutty Sark. Passing in sight of Greenwich Park (equestrian & modern pentathlon events) we the followed the Thames Path to the O2 dome (Gymanastics & basketball) & on to the Thames Barrier.

Here we turned south through more parks, golf courses & woods, following the Green Chain Walk & the London Loop trails - it really is surprising how green much of London is.

At the 3rd CP at Mottingham I changed from road to trail shoes - though at this point the trails were still hard after all the dry hot weather. we passed though Chislehurst Common, more woods to the west of Orpington, & on to Biggin Hill where the check point was in the Spitfire Youth Centre. From here, with night appoaching, the expected rain rain started, but only as a few spits in the wind. We only need our head torches for the last mile into Woldingham, and it was as we approached the CP that that the rain got heavier. While in the scout HQ, with its thin roof, the rain drummed down heavily & I found plenty of delaying tatics before eventually leaving. when I did the rain had eased - but the once dry paths were now gluey/slippy mud & downhill in the dark became treacherous.

We were now following the North Downs Way and my right foot was beginning to feel an ache - all the hard footpaths in London had not been good for it & now I found it hard to protect it form the stony paths. I'd done 40 miles at this point but pressed on to Merstham - where because of my now slow progress it was light. Rejuvenated at the CP I followed the NDW west to Box Hill - but I was progressing very slowly - the paths were a quagmire in places & the climb up to ther village seemd to take forever (not helped by me missing the turn & having to go back up a hill I'd just walked down!!)

So after a sleep in the Hall I decided that was enough for this weekend - I have other events to keep fit for. I'd done 52.4 miles in 21 hours 18 mins. And the bit through London had been fun - something really different - including going through galss doors to pass forecourt of a Canary Warf restaurant!

There's always next year - coast to coast, Cornwall to Devon over Bodmin & Dartmoor - how about it Becks ?

3 days later we are running the Whipsnade 10K. Expensive race to enter but it did give us free entry into the Park for the rest of the day. The course is 3 laps around the main animal area of the Park and is reasonably flat with a slight downhill on the first K of each lap and a slight climb back up for the 3rd K of each lap. I estimated that if you really wanted to you could spot around 30+ different animals around each lap!! 4 Flyers (if only 1 more had turned out we would have got some grand prix points!) and all of us had recently run at Silverstone over 10K.

Today, however, the weather was against us for potential pbs for although the race did start at 9.30 it was still exceptionally hot. Once again Terry Stanley led the Flyers home finishing in 3rd place in a time of 35.53 (only 4 seconds down on Silverstone). He had moved through the field for the first 2 laps going through 5K in 17.49. At 7K he moved into 3rd place and held his form to the end covering the 2nd 5K slightly slower in 18.04. Given the right conditions I'm sure Terry can close in on a sub 35 minute run.

Myself, Martin and Richard all suffered in the heat with our times all around 1minute+ down on Silverstone. My splits were 22.20 and 22.38 but I have to say from 3K onwards I was fighting to keep my pace from dropping too much in the heat.

Afterwards, myself, Terry and Martin did a leisurely trip around the zoo park with Martin reminiscing about his youth and the fact that he used to bring his girlfriends up here and I guess it wasn't just to see the animals!!

Well my bike coach keeps reminding me i have only a few weeks to get bike fit for my Ironman race (The Outlaw) Nottingham UK. He is helping me to reach my training goals in a short time, He has also ordered me to stop racing and focus on training, so what do i keep doing ?

I thought i would sneak this 10k race in and get some heat training and speed work, i thought he would never know, what i did not realise was his daughter was doing the race and he had come to watch her, i did not know where to hide, i had the idea of hiding behind a bush with the lions but it was to late he had spotted me, he said you better do well and he would punish me on the bike the following day, no excuses he said.

I joined the start line with Terry Stanley, Dave Stanley and Richard Pillinger and 600 other runners.

The heat even at 9.30 was too much and the course is not PB material either but i was going to drive as hard as i could to please my watching bike coach. The pace was fast and furious at the front and i pushed for 3 laps of the whipsnade animal park.

I was a bit miffed i did not go as well as i wanted but i am greedy and may be my expectations where unrealistic.

I came in at the finish with 38.58 and 12th overall and i think 1st in my age group. Mr Stanley junior had a great run to finish 3rd overall 35.57 Father David had a very solid run 44.58 and Richard Pillinger should be pleased with 41.35 in very hot conditions.

I joined the Stanley,s for a stroll round the animal park and acted as tour guide for them, thanks for your company boys, I enjoyed saying hello to my cousins the brown BEAR,s Great mornings work if not a little expensive for a 10k.

Bupa10k.: time; 37:55 oh yeh.. wow what a cool day out..! scorching hot & 8500 peeps running the race, was great atmosphere in green park with all the pre-race music blaring out.! tubes was manic with runners coming from everywhere, but real friendly buzz all day long..! i think everyone struggled with the heat & i would have caught mo farah on a better day...REALLY...!! of course not,, but hey P.B again,& i was over da moon..! as alan partridge wd say.." kiss my face.."

Having not done a tri this year so far due to the bad weather, this was "my warm up" not great considering the event that this was, National Champs, world qualifier, all the "Topguns" were going to be there, I was without doubt, going to get my butt severly kicked!

Anyhow, regardless of that, I had to stick by my own guns and forget everyone else.............which i done.

The highlights for me on this was my biking and running, not knowing at the time, my aim for sub 40mins 12miles was well on the cards and bearing in mind the run course is 5.3km, I managed to come off my bike and smash out a 20min run, with that helping, I was able to grab a few places.

The swim was slightly dissapointing in terms of time, however, i did enjoy it, the "washing machine" affect was minimal and my wave did go into single file quite quickly. The lake was lovely and warm, the sun was shinning and I had a pleas'nt swim, no flooded googles, so all in all was successfull, just the time needs to be improved. The only bit that lightens this up is that the people Ive spoken to, their swim times were slightly down as well.............

So at last the first one is over and very pleased, a few things to look at, but should be happy with this first outcome

2 day mountain orienteering event from Lac des Sapins - in Beaujolais Vert . For the 31st edition of this large French event (about 1,000 teams & I've done all 12 since the 20th) we were in a super area of mixed pasture & forest.

We stayed in an excellent B&B, a classy, chic barn conversion - with superb views, food & wine, on the Firday & Sunday evening.

Despite a very iffy forecast, the weather was sunny & warm (too warm for fast travelling) on the Saturday, with some distant thunder overnight, and cloud with some mist on Sunday morning - & sunny again in the afternoon when we were relaxing in beautiful garden swapping stories from the event. In between we trecked around forests, through pretty hamlets, up & down hills (only one really steep) & enjoyed amazing views, while searching out the white & orange kites that mark the controls. Basically we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - though yes, it was tough at times.

David Sedgley & David Peregrine: D course - Total, 11 hrs 50 mins - 7th place in V3 (60+) category (out of seven, but most of these were 10 years younger!)

So this was to be my first middle distance triathlon, had I known how brutal the course was I would probably have selected differently. The shallow lake which was the venue had warmed up beautifully and was 19 degrees, however the shallow silty bottom meant that when this was disturbed by 363 competitors it was like liquid mud and the water was pitch black. The swim went well though and I emerged 1st in my age group. The run to transition was a long one and then it was out on the bike, 3 laps of the course and 1 long, gradually steepening climb each lap, and my legs were in a whole heap of trouble, I did wonder how I would ever get round only my 2nd half marathon of the year. The run was simple, up a hill and back down, repeat 4 times. I’d set myself the goal of 2 hours for the half marathon so was pleased when I matched my flat, Silverstone half marathon time of 1:57, especially given that my legs felt worse than they’d ever felt for the duration of the run. This time last year I wouldn’t have even been able to comprehend getting round a half marathon especially after the bike, but once again, I have Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers to thank for giving me the confidence to give it a go.

I finished 3rd in my age group, and was 25th lady. Plenty more work to do and lots more events in the diary :0)

Following Jeremy's message on the forum re the open 3K meeting at the Sandy track, myself and Terry decided to give it a go. This was a Thursday night and to our surprise there were 9 or so other Flyers turned out for a blast around the track. The format was simple - turn up on the day, register and give an expected finish time. Your times decided (depending on numbers) if you went in the 'A' or 'B' race!

3 Flyers found themselves in the first race and it was Terry who led from start to finish who dragged the runners round. At one point it looked like a good race was on until the second runner dropped out leaving a gap to the next Biggleswade runner that would never close. Terry cruised round in 9.49 (unofficial time) a minute down on his 'junior' pb.

The 'B' race saw the rest of us Flyers. As we warmed up and donned our vests and slipped on our trainers it was Andy A who suddenly pulled out a pair of nike spikes - this man obviously meant business. A few wisecracks and a warning that 12 seconds would have to be taken off his time for an unfair advantage, we all lined up at the 200m start point.

Although the whole event is 'low key' it was all properly organised with starter, time keepers and a guy who was calling out lap times every 400m meters! We were even told to re-group at the start line when one of the runners had his toe slightly over the line!

When the gun went we quickly all shuffled into a crocodile line and after 200m were all still together. But predictably, we soon all started to spread out as the laps took their toll. Upfront, Phil Clarke had a good run only to be out sprinted in the final straight. I had settled in with Dave Cook and Tracy Nicholl - and 'yes' thanks Tracy for pacing us round. We would have taken a turn if we had had the effort to have worked past you!!

A first K in 4.06 soon slowed to a 2nd K of 4.17. With 800m to go I had pushed past Tracy and Dave and finished, I believe, in around 12.35. My only other 3K was in 2005 when I ran 11.48 so no pb for me then!

Running on a decent track is great experience and the Sandy Series races are well worth a try. No one should feel put off as it doesn’t matter what standard you are - just give it a go.

The next race is Thursday June 28th and the 3rd Race Thursday, July 12th - both start at 7.15. See Biggleswade Athletic Club web site for full details.

It has been a few years since I have run this multi-terrain event which takes place around the beautiful village of Wheathampstead. The 10K race follows the old Welwyn - Luton railway line (Ayot Greeneway) for 3K before looping you Fish Wood and open countryside close to Ayot St Peter before returning you to Wheathampstead along by the river Lea.

The river and railway are closely connected in Wheathampstead's history as it was the rail that brought washing from London in Victorian times that could be cleaned in the fresh waters of the river and returned in the same day.

Only 4 Flyers running (shame as no Grand Prix points!) but ironically all Stanley's - but we're not related! Terry led the 'Stanley's' home in 3rd place - he was pleased with his run having worked through from 6th place and then moving into 3rd as they went up the incline at 7K. He finished just behind last year's winner and returned nice even splits of 17.40 and 17.39.

I was pleased with my run but again suffered on the two climbs at 3 - 4K and just after 7K. I made good pace along the outward section along the old railway line and went through 5K in 22.33. The return section along the footpath close to the river was awkward at times but you could still keep a good pace going. The final sting in the tail was the switch back of turns in the final K as you skirt the Marford Playing Fields that lead you to the finish close to the Village Hall (2nd 5K 21.56).

With over 700 runners this has become a very popular off-road race. It is well organised with chip timing and has a children's 2K run to add to the enjoyment.

This was a no nonsense affair. The race was divided to into Age Group waves with all competitors chasing 1 one the 20 Team GB spots for the World Championships in New Zealand later this year.

My achievements yesterday somewhat blur into insignificance with Phil Holland’s awesome winning performance and Jason Moore’s fantastic triathlon debut result. Never the less this was without a doubt my best personal performance to date. I managed to shave 5 minutes off the previous year’s result and with an extended bike course. Most pleasing was the progression in all three disciplines. I shaved 1.43m off my previous swim best, managed to hold 24mph on the bike and went sub 18 for the 5k.

Looking back at the results I feel fairly encouraged - I was able to almost match the eventual winner in my AG on the Bike and Run but conceded significant time to his incredible swim split.

I missed automatic qualification to the worlds by 12 seconds (finishing 6th) but I’m almost guaranteed a place based on my % of the winning time. With Phil and Jason both through it could well be an AFF road trip to New Zealand.

It was a funny day. I failed to achieve what I set out to achieve, but did achieve something that hadn't even occurred to me!

Julie Pritchett, Mike Petty (their first tri) and I met up in the transition area outside Robinson Pool far too early for a Sunday morning. This was to be my second tri and my self imposed target was to relax on the swim and the run and to focus on cutting down on the bike time as that was the area I was least competitive in, in my first tri in October. Husband had lent me his expensive bike and taken off the cleat pedals - I've not progressed onto that yet. And if you'd asked me how I felt it was after the event I would have said mission accomplished. I worked really hard on the bike. At the end I couldn't muster the sprint finish I normally find something for.

Then some bright spark said we could get our times and splits from the clever machine in the tent. So we did. My overall time was about 30 seconds slower than October although still 1 hour 32.

My swim was a tiny bit quicker, despite (a) the timer starting as you walk across a pad before you even get into the pool as opposed to when you push off from the side, (b) two goggle malfunctions and (c) being too polite letting big breaststroke guy come by me who then inexplicably slowed right down. He was a lot bigger than me though and I wasn't going to argue. But next time I'll power on and not make eye contact. Those Friday night pool sessions with Martin must be paying off because I didn't think I was working that hard.

T1 was quicker despite pulling on a jacket. Again, good advice about organisation from Martin.

I felt strong on the bike along the flat but it was very windy in places. Then, something happened that has never happened before. As I went down the slip road onto the A6, I had to pedal! Yes, I pedalled going downhill because the wind was trying to blow me back up! I wasn't overtaken by anywhere near as many cyclists as last time but I was still slower. My only comfort is that (on detailed analysis of the published results while I was meant to be cooking dinner) the male and female winners yesterday also competed in October and their cycle times were more like a couple of minutes slower this time. I also know I can improve on things like thinking ahead at junctions so I'm not in too hard a gear when I try to pull away and taking the straightest line over roundabouts. Every second counts.

My further detailed analysis of the results, involving a lot of scrolling up/down/left/right, also revealed a column called "category position" showing I was 2nd in my age group! Can't be disappointed with a result like that!

There is a final column on the right hand side of the results grid. It says "County Champs". There is a "y" in the row beside Mike, Julie and me ... could this mean that in our respective age groups we ... ? Will tri and find out. That would be a great reflection on the running club newly affiliating to tri!

Much slower than I anticipated, but also much colder than I thought, the conditions were (as you would expect with recent weather) a little uncomfortable. There was a big turnout this time so the Mass start was pretty huge, the usual hugs and kiss's (or washing mashine effect) was there, and due to this, the first 750m was pretty slow but managed to pick up second half of the show, mainly because I was getting cold and wanted to get out!

This was my second and longest time in the lake this year, so I can take away the confidence that I can actually swim the distance so early in the year..........just need to knock a few mins off............about 15 if possible!!! na just joking

The first of the new Box End evening Triathlon was better attended that most expected with 41 competitors lining up. The lake was a balmy 14 degrees, trust me it’s not so bad once everything has gone numb and so it was a simple out and back swim to start the race. Once that was out of the way the bike was 2 laps of the 5k circuit around the lake. Many moons ago, the fast and furious evening mountain bike racing similar to this was my favourite midweek training, so I delved into the memory banks and decided to just go out ‘full gas’. Mixing it up with lots of the guys and being able to sit on wheels as drafting was allowed, I had an absolute ball. On the run however, which was one lap of the 5k course, the men took their revenge and left me for dust. I didn’t feel too bad given the effort I’d given on the bike but it wasn’t enough to hold a few of the men off.

I’d recommend this event to anyone wanting to give open water, off road triathlon a go, as long as you have an off road bike of any description you’re in. It’s a really low key event and fantastic midweek training. The next event in the series is the 14th June.

Battersea Park is flat as a pancake and, with a still, cool day four laps of fresh tarmac were always going to tempt. This year's race had the added zest of attracting a bigger field as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Challenge.

I settled into the start line with a hint of nerves but quietly hopeful. A few produced the predictable 'rocket start' and I was content to let them go - with a flat 10K the tactics are all about (1) quickly up to race pace, (2) relax, (3) slot into a group and then (3) punch out some even splits. I was aiming to stay inside 5:45 min/mile. From Lap 2 things got easier - I started to rein in some of the fleet-footed ahead and with a field of 400 there were plenty of athletes to chase down and lap. I felt powerful and fast.

2km to go and a group of 3 classy athletes were in my sights; the good news was that I was close on their tail. 1000m I made it a group of 4 and pushed on to lead - why slow to their pace? With 250m we skipped onto the athletics track and started to compete. One dropped and the other two kicked again at 100m.

With the benefit of hindsight may be I should have gone but my competitors had served their purpose - I was on for my quickest time in 4 years and this time as a vet. 35:08 was good for 7th place and meant that I led the HASSRA team home which bagged a Bronze Medal.

I also bettered Pete Fossey's 1994 MV40 club record (35:21) and a return to sub-34 is in the sights.

Many thanks to all the coaches at AFF, have given me loads of confidence & all the tips to make myself improve all the time. Bring on the summer races..! My 1st & last win, I would imagine, but hey you can only beat what's put in front of you. Nice course by the way, very scenic.! & to top it the sun was shining.! Yay...

Girls U13 100m - Having qualified by coming 2nd in her heat Lauren went on to win Bronze in a close ran final. - 15.5

Girls U13 1500m - The field was led by two experienced 1500 m runners from Beds and County leaving the real race to be fought out for the Bronze Medal position. Lauren led the pack from the start of the race beating off a 3rd lap challenge from the eventual 4th place competitor and still left enough in the tank to kick for the line with 150 metres to go. - 6:00:2

Following 9 months of "long stuff" training for halfs and fulls (well not relative to a certain Welshman...), the summer of speed is almost here. After my final "long" for a while at MK 2 weeks ago, I made a late decision to go for a speed marker for the summer, by running the Marlow 5 miler.

Now, my marathon mentor Mr Richard Jones, has always maintained that you have a quick 10k in your legs 2 weeks after a quick marathon, so whilst I concede rest may have been the best thing, I decided to put this theory to the test.

The 5 long races I have competed in over the last 9 months have all followed a similar pattern of starting within myself and aiming for a negative split. This one was different. This was to be eyeballs out stuff from the beginning and see how long I could last. As a result, I went off at 6 minute mile pace to see how close to that magic figure of 30 minutes I could get and although I had to dig deep in places, I was pleasantly surprised by the result - I even managed a Phillipa Horan "glory" sprint for the line!

I would really recommend this race. As road races go, it is excellent. Speaking to Pete Bird afterwards, he is a big fan and has run it a number of times. 10 bucks, wicking t shirt, good medal, excellent goody bag, fast, flat course on closed roads, good support, with a Thames setting at the start and finish. And only 50 minutes drive.

This was my first Triathlon of the season after concentrating on my running since the new year i was mindful that i had totally neglected my biking. It is only 6 weeks until my Ironman and 4 weeks till some major National Triathlons including qualifiers.

My new bike rebuild only arrived a week or so ago, so this race was simply going to be used to try the bike out and give it a shake down. I never expected to have such a good day and result, It seems as if my form has transformed over to the bike too, on little or no training on the bike.

The race was organised by Tri Force (St Albans) and the race based at Hatfields sports village using the pool for the swim.

The bike behaved perfectly and it worked like a swiss watch, i was very surprised i was right on the pace from the off and had a trouble free bike split apart from encountering an artic lorry on the final roundabout doing 2mph slowing my progress. The run was as perfect as it could get 2nd fastest run of the day, only beaten by the winner. All in all what a perfect day, i won my age group by some margin and was 6th overall. Even the weather was perfect clear, blue sunny skies and zero wind speed.

The organisers got my age group wrong (49-54) but made no difference because i won my age group and the one above me too (45-49). Fellow AFF Steve Morales had a great race too and finished strong just behind me. A big well done to AFF Liz Ash who finished her first Triathlon and she looked so happy and seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed herself.

I went away with my silverware a very happy boy and excited about the season that lies before me as thing can only get better.

So then we move on to Sunday morning. At last it’s sunny, dry and wind free – perfect Triathlon conditions. Based around the Hertfordshire Sports Village this event provided a flat bike and run course. T1 and T2 were extremely long in order to get competitors from the pool and out of the campus enclosure.

My swim was average followed by what I felt was a strong bike leg and reasonable run. Despite putting in a quicker run than my V40 adversary his bike leg was just strong enough to prevent be taking the age group prize. Martin had a great outing and did win his V50 age group( infact he would also have won the V45 age group below). Despite having focused his energy on running for the last 5 months he still managed to post a fantastic bike leg and on paper (there are some small timing disputes) beat me at my own Sprint Tri game by a matter of seconds.

A evening for once without any rain, and for the first time in a long time, it was shorts and t-shirt territory. However, not getting away with it too easily, the weather did prove to provide one challenge and that was plenty of wind, making the journey more uncomfortable than normal, however, as I have come to learn.....its all character building........great thanks!

A sub 40 minute 10k has been my aim for a couple of years now and I have gone close on a few occasions but to no avail. Well, it finally happened at Silverstone on Wednesday evening when I ran 39.51. On the drive home I was trying to work out what I had done differently this year to sneak under 40 minutes and that is the main reason for me writing this report (not to have a gloat (honestly!)). A few thanks are in order. Firstly to all the coaches who organise and deliver the sessions on Tuesday evenings. A big thanks to George A for Sunday morning tempo runs and not to mention loads of advice and encouragement. And finally, thanks to Nick J for some superb speed sessions over at Chicksands.

I have now hung my 10k running shoes up. (Until Whipsnade in acouple of weeks time).

Well i am getting bored starting my reports off talking of the weather but feel i can not ignor the fact, yet again we were faced with a wet and windy race track at the famous Silverstone race curcuit.

This race is very popular because on the right day and conditions can deliver PB,s.

This race being the 1st in the East Midlands Grand Prix Series As ever i wanted a new 10k PB and to keep my run of PB,s going but realised this effort was going to hurt in the conditions that faced us.

I lined up together with 1,200 including 18 AFF and soon we were off, the pace was keen for the first few K then things settled, those who had gone off to fast were now fading.

I was thinking about clipping the apexes of the corners and straight lining the bends as not doing so adds mileage (something i learnt as a race driver) Without the aid of a garmen i had identical splits and worked hard for my new PB, nearly half a minute faster than Flitwick 10k which was PB too.

I would love to hang around with my standalone runs but i really must start working on my Triathlons now, i have some major races only weeks away. For now very happy with my 37.55 10k.

A masterful run by Terry Stanley and strong performances for our AFF team in horrible conditions, nice work guys.

I remember a conversation back in November with George Arbuckle where we discussing goals for the year. I suggested it might be nice to get close to 38minutes for 10k and wouldn’t it be a dream to go sub 38. Martin was with us at the time and he interjected with “yes that sounds like a great goal” – I think I was unfairly dismissive of Martin’s comments at the time ( to be fair he was a few pound heavier). But have a guess what he’s the only one of us to have achieved exactly that.

Work commitments were almost certainly going to prevent me racing on Wednesday but with big push at the end of the day I managed to leave Watford at 6pm hoping I could cover the distance to Silverstone in just over an hour. I eventually arrived at the Silverstone car park at 7.25 ( having changed during traffic stops on the way up) I grabbed my number and pushed my way to the front of the start line. Far from ideal prep! The gun went and I found myself alongside Terry Stanley and Martin Beare. The initial pace was fierce but I felt surprisingly good. At 3k things started to feel uncomfortable but with Terry just a few yards ahead and Martin alongside I thought I must be going ok. At 4k I really started to hurt and Martin edged ahead. I crossed the 5k point in a ridiculous 18.30 ( I now understand why I was hurting). This was 37min pace but I was never going to hang on. Martin pushed further ahead and was by now a good 30 seconds in front. From this point it was all about survival K’s 6,7,8,9 blurred into a period relentless fatigue and 9-10k was the longest kilometer I can ever remember running. I eventually finished in a respectable 38.38 but over 40 seconds behind Mr Beare. Lesson learnt about even pacing though – with a first half around 18.30 and second half over 20mins, not clever!

'It was 20 years ago today...' as that great Beatles record goes - well actually 22 years in my case since i last did the Silverstone 10K. My diaries reveal that back in 1990 I was running the best racing of my life. Over 2100 miles that year - 2 sub 3 hour marathons, a 10 miler under 60 minutes and the Berko Half in just over 80 minutes! I had run 36.22 at Flitwick the month previous and approached Silverstone that year knowing the course was fast but to be aware of that strong wind in the back straight. I went through the first 5K in 17.55 and although I slowed still managed to take 2 seconds off my pb (36.20) - a pb that still stands for me today!

Fast forward to 2012 and the Silverstone track still looked the same and 'yes' that strong wind was still there in that back straight between one and a half and just over 3K (and 5 1/2 - 7K). With over 1,100 runners it was a large field. We had some 18 Flyers running including my son Terry who brought the Club home in 18th place and 35.53 (18.09 and 17.44 were his splits) - his last k in 3.20.

My target was to again try and keep Dave Coker and Jeremy Lewis in sight - both had passed me after half a K but the good news was I was feeling strong as I passed through the first 5K in 21.26. Further up in front a good race between fellow veterans Phil Clarke and Warwick Browning. Warwick, with that distinctive headband looking ever bit the 118 man, finished in a great time of 41.07 holding Phil off by 34 seconds.

Back into the headwind on the second lap I was closing in on Dave. Steve Pritchard went past me and he too was now closing in on both Dave and Jeremy. At around 7k I managed to pass Dave and opened up a small gap as I went through 8K (4.16). However, I was now slowing as the effort to catch and pass Dave was telling - 9K (4.29). One final effort to the line saw me home in a pleasing 43.19 (my final K in 4.12) - my quickest time since 2009. In the end a mere 21 seconds separated all 4 of us.

Well done to everyone who ran but particularly Richard Pillinger for finally ducking under 40 minutes for a pb and Martin Beare for another great run and yet another pb in 37.55. Can you go any faster Martin?

Footnote; Has anyone seen this week's Beds on Sunday - Is that Paul Owen on the front cover getting in some extra miles!!

I’ve been a resident of Lidlington for five years now and have missed the May day antics every year due to other commitments so I was pleased to be around to joined the festivities this year. Part of the May day tradition in Lidlinton is a lung busting 1 mile run from the centre of village up Lidlington Hill and down again. I decided it might be fun to have ago – correction Martin Beare from the neighboring village of Ridgemont thought we should have a go. As you can probably image this was no elite field. Possible challengers included a few local runners and a group of over enthusiastic and cock sure teenagers and members of Lidlington FC.

The teenagers charged off from the start but rapidly died on the steep section of the hill, by the turn point I was in the lead but conscious Mr Beare would soon be right on my shoulder. With only a couple of hundred hard to the finish I turned to see Martin and another unsuspecting contender right on my shoulder. Then out of nowhere this unassuming youngster dressed in football attire comes flying past to steel our thunder. With only yards to the line we just couldn’t respond.

So it ended unnamed youngster first, me second and Mr Beare third….. so close yet so far!!!

Never mind we did end up with a pot each; Mr Beare received the prize for fastest guest and I picked up the vet prize. - No doubt Martin will get his revenge this Wednesday at Silverstone.

Brass Monkies!!! - With only two weeks to my first World Qualifying race I was keen to test my form over the three disciplines. Disappointingly the Bedford County Tri Championships were cancelled last week due to the beautiful spring weather conditions we are enjoying. I decided to look for an alternative and stumbled across a sprint event in the Cotswold. Looking more closely at the race profile and location just a few miles from the University of Bath (Historically a UK Tri Mecca) I could see this would attract a descent field.

Throughout the preceding week daily communications from the organizers cast a shadow of doubt over the viability of the swim with water temperatures hovering just above 10c (legal limit for Tri open water swim racing being 11c).

I left Bedfordshire at 5am on Sunday morning fully expecting the swim leg to be cancelled and the event turned into a Duathlon. Slightly disappointed at the prospect of there being no swim (….be careful what you which for) I arrived to find athletes sporting their new season wetsuits - the swim was on. I must admit to a pang of panic...!!! Some competitors decided swim conditions were too extreme and sensibly withdrew. Still desperate to race I decided to give it a go.

Without too much time to dwell and only a couple of minutes of water familiarization we we’re off. 100 meters in and I still feel ok .... then suddenly the effects of the cold water kick in. I can't catch my breath, I try slowing down, I still can't breath properly , I start breast-stroking, I'm getting colder and colder - the only thing to do is to push on. Negative thoughts are now exacerbating the panic ( .... It's just a sprint I keep telling myself). I continue to talk myself out of the panic and eventually I can see dry land. I leave the water 2mins down on my normal swim time.

Just grateful to be safe I head to the bike - transition is fairly smooth and I'm off - 50metres into the bike and my chain comes off. By now feeling very frustrated I fix the chain and start pushing hard out of pure anger –at this stage oblivious to the 5c air temperature. Dry and light wind conditions made the bike course very quick and I was able to claw back significant time. I covered the 20k loop (less 1 minute either side transition lead roads) in just over 30mins approx 25mph. A reasonable T2 and I was onto the run. l felt strong and started clawing back more places as each lap passed. I was delighted with my 5k run split of 17.30 and even more pleased to have dipped under the hour for the whole event despite my terrible swim experience. I feel with a more even playing field on the swim I would have been significantly up the pecking order. But in summary pleased with my general fitness.

not quite sure what has come over me recently, in an urge to try new things I have found myself entering Ultras, Triathlons and Duathlons, maybe its a mid (running) life crisis? so this is how I found myself on the dark side and at the start line of the spring into summer Bedford Harriers Duathlon on Sunday morning (very early I might add!)

cut off times were advertised and I knew even the running elements would be tight, so with the bike being my weakest discipline, I called upon fellow Flyer Martin "GB PB" Beare for some specialist training! he very kindly took me on my first (and as it turned out my only) bike training session which consisted of a gentle 14mile amble on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Of course that would be enough to see me through a 40K competitive bike ride up hills and down dales.... the GB bike borrowed from Rosie Hollingsworth would easily do the rest?!?

ah yes and the part they all warn you about - the jelly legs you experience after the bike. I really should train for that I remember thinking...... as those from the dark side will tell you absolutely nothing can prepare you for that feeling, and absolutely nothing did:-)

for at least 1mile of the last 5k I felt like I was running in treacle, uphill, backwards and with someone else's legs and feet - priceless

and so I seek forgiveness not from the borrowed GB bike that was subjected to a couple of hours of under performance by a mediocre cyclist, or even the motorists of north Bedford that were subjected to the sight of my wobbly backside and red and puffy face panting up the hills for 25 miles, and sorry but not even forgiveness from Steve James for his rise in blood pressure as he was marveled by just how very slowly someone really could carry out their transition, but no I seek forgiveness from the wonderful, smiling and cheerful Bedford Harriers marshals and officials who stood out there for 3.44.35 seconds waiting for finisher number 55 to come in!

an excellent event for the harriers dipping their toe in the duathlon waters - i certainly hope more will come. I had a great day - thoroughly enjoyed it and have gained some comfort in being the only flyer to finish. One didn't even make it to the start line - some fir tree related excuse and one got a puncture - schoolboy error? (only joking boys)

any other novices considering entering a duathlon, I'm sure there are a few. I certainly would recommend it. there is some serious money and flash bikes/kit/sunglasses but oh so pretty - you don't need to get sucked into that just yet, just try it out, find a friendly event and give it a go- there's a wealth of knowledge within the club so don't be afraid to ask for tips and advice (Tony Cole and Martin Beare were smashing) keep smiling and enjoy every last second if it!

having parted from Richard and Paul at check point 1 feeling like a dog let of its lead i charged of down the road missed a turn got to a dead end looked around to find 20 people had followed me dame, retraced my steps making an exploration of another false trail thinking any minute the sat nav will turn up, Finally found the right trail probable lost about 10mins here but to be fair the sing was only clear from the wrong direction

the ingmar project style coding tripped me up once more just after the route change (in 150yds TL on encl FP between FP/cycleway)

i missed the TL and went AHD GRRREEE the route change was meant to cut the coarse size down but with these errors i was adding the mile back on

between check point 3 to check point check point 5 i played tag with a french runner route reading together or yelling out conformation of our own interpretations of the gibberish between. from CP 5 & CP 6 (see im doing it my self now) i started to put some distance between my new friend and my self with just 9miles to go i pondered the thought i could do that in an hour but ill aim for an hour and a half 8 hours was my target in sight i passed the finally CP i admit i was a bit confused by this point with (reach RD at BIX. continue AHD) what the F**k is BIX searching the key nothing does it mean bi cross roads No bix is the name of the village i was standing in! i got my card stamped had a very quick drink and got moving dreaming of KFC and starbucks my last 2 miles where my fastest pulling a 8.48min mile at 38

returning to base in 8.01 by there time 8.00:06 by my gps i now have an official bench mark to build on sounds like i might do more

the spread of food was fantastic in the hall every one was friendly as i sat eating various runners i had meet on the day drifted all acknowledging each other

Driving down to the run today, I passed a blue van on a quiet duel carriageway. As soon as I did, it started to speed up on my inside, so I went a little quicker. The van speed up, I went faster and my new found nemesis road warrior began hammering after me, following all the way into Henley when I found out it was James Handley trying to catch up to wave hello!! I knew then that the lad was going to be all about speed, so Richard Jones and I resolved to let him run fast on his tod and we would plod. We started off nearly last and worked hard to keep that position. I thought the rules said runners went off at 9.30am, so we waited until then. The rules in fact said to go off by 9.30am, but of course me and satnav didn't bother reading them properly, or unlike James, study the maps intently making notes of route changes. That's why the place was empty as everyone had left. James clearly wasn't bothered as he had designs on a quick time and cut off's were not going to be an issue for him. The lad was fresh and hadn't got any racing miles in his legs, unlike the two old blokes starting with him. There four lady flyers doing the 20 mile version and it was nice to see them at the start. After the first checkpoint, we pushed James out the door and sat back down for another cup of tea. Given in the last few weeks I ran a x-c 29 miler and came third in not much past 4 hours (did I mention that?) and a marathon with a new PB (did I mention that?) and satnav has also run two quicker marathons, we just wanted time on our feet, which we got. Coming in last at the second checkpoint, the helper mentioned we had only just made it by 10 minutes. We didn't have a clue, having stopped at the top of one hill to take in the magnificent views and have a chat with some locals! We then made the next two checkpoints by the same margin, hardly seeing a sole as we did. We eventually caught a women carrying a tyre. 26 miles into a hilly, totally self navigating and cross country ultra and all we could do was catch someone with a tyre tied to their waste with a rope and traffic cone jammed in the middle. No, we had no idea why and we didn't stop to ask. The second half was a lot hillier and muddier than the first and the tired ultra boys catch phrase of walk the hills, was put to good use. Almost the entire route was off road and totally different to the last two years events. It was also very quiet, partly due to the 20 mile option going an entirely separate route which was a bit of a shame. We did catch a few towards the end, but the last few weeks running took its toll. We meandered to the finish in 9 hours 23 mins, a full 1 hour 22 mins behind James who did a sterling job in his first ultra. We certainly wanted time on our feet and boy did we get it. The route was a tad short due to flooding, so we didn't duck out at any point. Honest. Steve James has been chuntering on about rest, which is a word used by idyll, good for nothing, devil worshipping non runners, otherwise known as cyclists and triathletes. We all know the phrase rest is for the wicked, so I for one wont be resting tonight in bed, snoring loudly and dreaming of beer. I also wont be resting until noon in bed on Sunday, oh no not me. I'll just be keeping the mattress warm to help with global warming. Somehow. Right, I'm off to rest, err I mean save the planet....

With some trepidation myself and Andy Atherton had organised a 5K time trial around Center Parcs. The 'trepidation' was would the recent heavy downpours mean runners having to swim their way round the course!

However, despite some rain on the day 17 Flyers turned up to race the first official time trial including one new runner, James Prestwich, recently moved to the area and looking to join our Club. The course starts at the main entrance into Center Parcs and takes runners clockwise round, finishing to the rear of the Staples Garden Centre.

The course was heavy going and times reflected that but it was Terry Stanley first home for the men and Michelle Morris for the ladies who have set down a marker for future runs. No doubt times will get faster as the weather improves - Phil Clarke asked me to point that out for his time!!

Thanks to our helpers and supporters, Paul Owen, Annie Page and Martin Beare. The next run will be Thursday 7th June.

I wanted to enter a race on my holidays in the South West of USA. However circumstances dictated that I changed from the half marathon to the 5K. In other words I wimped out - very early start, the El diablo hill - a 500ft climb in less than a mile, lack of form and confidence 2 bad training runs of 8 miles at 5500ft, running along the road used by Forrest Gump. Still I was up at 4.45 a.m. drove in the dark to the start ready to catch the school bus at 6.00. It was the famous yellow American school bus,the driver an old lady out of Forrest Gump and then I sat on my own just like Forrest until a pretty young married lady sat next to me. We talked. Off into the desert for a 6.45 start.We are then told by the organiser because it's windy (It was) and cold ( 60F) we'll keep you all on the buses before you start. Only 5 minutes for a warm up. Cold and windy compared to what the marathoners encountered at MK. These soft Americans. I hear Hurricane was an apt name for MK marathon. I started right at the front and ran the 5k into a head wind to finish in a respectable 20.49, in 6th position beaten by Ryan and a couple of Glens. You can guess the standard wasn't high by my position. Still 6th out of 140. After being told " Good job", 30 times, I headed back down the trail to Washington, Utah. I wonder when I get back will I run quicker? I doubt it. Altitude training works for Paula and Mo.

I had decided to finish of my spree of standalone runs with a marathon as i make return to my Triathlon season. The new MK marathon was ideal i thought as it was easy to get to and without the stress of travel.

My prior leap frog races had gone ok so i was hopefull of a good run. If i am honest i wanted a sub 3hr marathon, this i thought was realistic going on my recent results, however i must admit i was a little nervous of this distance as i have run very few standalone marathons as most of my marathons have been in Ironman races.

My recent pace is also new to me and it is very difficult to know what pace and how hard to push as iam breaking into new ground therefore have no reference.

The day of the race was something else, i have never seen weather like it, stiff winds, wind-chill factor of 0 degrees and a waterlogged, flooded course. I then thought the sub 3 was out of the question but ever a trier i was going to give it a go.

So into the race it was clear the course had a few small lakes to negotiate (flooded paths) the driving rain continued to hinder our efforts.

However i was on tract surprisingly for my goal, i was hitting even splits which at this point didn't know where ambitious or not as my PB marathon was 3.30.

I was in total admiration of the support along the course in such terrible condition, especially the AFF crew to many names, i thank you all my heroes.

I continued to have a trouble free run just a little pain in the calf from a tear from my last training run.

Bitter sweet, shame i just missed the sub 3, i am sure on a better day its there to be had, but i have knocked almost half hour of my marathon time and kept the PB,s going. Happy to finish in the top 50 overall 3.03.43 I think this race has a great future and the organisers did a great job under difficult conditions. me thinks this a great alternative to London, having said that i am happy to take my good for age entry and will be doing London 2013.

Yet again the AFF where out in force and i am proud and delighted to say there were some great times and brilliant efforts, top job guys.

Is it possible to have a nightmare marathon and get a 3.23 PB? Is it possible to run the first half in around 1.47 and then the second half in 1.36, picking up a half marathon Pb on the way? Mmm, yes. I had a shocking first half in today's first running of Milton Keynes marathon. The weather was truly awful. The wind had been howling all night and the rain had been incessant for the previous 24 hours. The course was flooded in many parts and we spent most of the race saturated, but none of that was the problem. What was I hear you ask? A three week out of date egg that Fi kindly stuck in a sarnie for me on Friday lunchtime.

The first warning signs appeared through the night into the early hours on Friday, with three trips to the little boys room. Saturday was an endless walk back and forth, with numerous diarrhea tablets being ingested. Race morning beckoned with a tummy that sounded like a witches cauldron brewing and nothing more than I could do than cross my fingers.

The first of my seven stops in the first half came around the four mile mark for a wee, followed by a shoe lace calamity not long after. The trots then essentially exploded at around the six mile mark and all I could do was stand still, cross my legs and hold my breath. It didn't work. Within a mile, I was decorating the side of a fir tree and hoping that wet grass wouldn't chaff. For the record, it doesn't. By the halfway mark, I had stopped seven times, two for tummy related issues, two for shoelaces and three for a wee. I decided that my race fuelling strategy of chocolate covered raisins and mars bars wasn't working (honestly that was the race fuel of choice. Go figure?). I decided to not at for the second half and just drink. It worked. I did stop for a pee once, but compared with the first half no problem. I then just got quicker. I covered the second half in a little over 1.36 and for the first time ever, just did not count the miles down in a bad way from 20 on. I just ran them, kept it steady, passed hundreds of peeps as I knew I would and mullered the last three miles in particular, running them without doubt the quickest I have ever run the last three miles of a marathon.

PB by over 3 minutes and I am a bit gutted. I have never finished a marathon so strong. Without all those stops in the first half, I would have been closer to the magic stepping stone and springboard of 3.15. On a clear day without the trots, I would have had it today, so I shall take that as a positive, before the real marathon training plan starts on the 18th June. Need to rest now before next weekends 40 miler, which might be a tad slower.

The chip time was 03;25;26 but mt gamin was 03;23;37 and I didn't cheat, so not sure how that works? PB either way, so guess I'll just have to take both.

Upon waking up for this race, which I had been planning and preparing for the last 4 months, with the tiles rattling and shed door banging, I proceeded outside into horizontal rain to discover a large section of my fence had blown down. An omen I thought? However, running should be full of challenges and successfully completing a marathon in those conditions is something you could probably call a "challenge"!

Training had gone pretty much perfectly and injury free for probably the first time, the goal being sub 3:10 and close to 3:05 if I had a really good day (pb 3:14). Everything was going "swimmingly" (I kill myself sometimes..........) until mile 7 which was around 1.3 miles long. No problem I thought, someone has put the mile marker in the wrong place. However, when miles 8, 9 and 10 came and went in exactly a mile each, I knew something was up. It apparently turned out that the organisers had to lengthen the course due to the conditions, but of course I didn't know that at the time. As a result, through halfway in almost 1:36 when it should have been just over 1:33.

This was probably the only mental wobble I had during the race, knowing I needed a negative split in those conditions to go sub 3:10. However seeing Chris Jenart just after halfway (and thanks to ALL Flyers for their support) and thinking that the course would be less exposed (marginally!) in the second half really helped. At that point, this is where the mental preparation for marathon running really kicks in. I knew I had not cut any corners in training and remembered the really tough runs I went through, such as the 10pm solo head torch runs in the pitch black round Flitton and Greenfield and the tempo runs with Nick J and Rich P on the back of the long SMC runs. As a result, I felt I could trust my training and picked the pace up to 7 minute miling. Thankfully it worked and I felt strong right to the end, for an inward half in just over 1:31, for a 3:07 which I was delighted with.

A very well done to all Flyers (and all runners) for their achievements, some top efforts all round.

1. The organisers. Having those conditions thrown at you as event organisers must have been a nightmare, however from where I was, I thought the organisation was (on the whole) excellent; the signage, the supportive and plentiful marshals and the abundant drinks stations were first-class.

2. The supporters. Support is so important in any marathon and especially in conditions as tough as those, so a big thank you to all supporters for their efforts in conditions more appropriate for ducks than marathon running. Quack.

If one of The Bard’s great plays were to be associated with this race it would most definitely be ‘The Tempest’! The weather conditions were the worst I have EVER run in. There was to be no ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ of an intended PB which I had been training hard for for the last four months. The training had gone well, a 10 mile PB achieved at Sandy, the signs were good. Then I woke up on Sunday morning to lashing rain and twigs and small branches strewn across the hotel car park. I was drenched just taking the short walk to the start. Five minutes before the start of the race the organisers announced that the marathon which was being run in conjunction with the half, was off due to the state of the cycle track which forms the route of the last section of each lap. The marathon runners would just have to run the half. Off we went. Everything was going well through 5 miles. I was 30 sec up on my splits. Through half way doing well. The weather didn’t seem too bad after all! Eight miles went by and I was still on target, feeling OK, thinking I might be able to pull off my first sub 1hr 34min half marathon. Then we turned left to head back into Stratford and the wall of wind and rain hit me full on in the face! At times it was all I could do not to get blown backwards. I could barely see where I was going as the rain was hitting my eyes so hard. The puddles were ankle deep, and the track was covered with them. At 10 miles I was a whole minute down on my intended splits. From this point on I was no longer battling against the clock, I was battling against the elements. I stopped looking at my watch and desperately tried to maintain some sort of pace. I passed the 24 mile marker intended for the second lap of the marathon and it felt I had, indeed run that far! In the space of a couple of miles my race and fallen apart. My time of 1:36:34 ish Was probably pretty good in the conditions and the PB will have to wait for now. At least this race got me back into regular training after a tough end to 2011 when I just couldn’t get going and my times were slipping backwards. I got a 10 mile PB out of it all, and am enjoying my running again, so every black cloud........

As my last long event before the 'Games 100' in just over a month's time I thought I ought to do a decent training run - so opted for this quite tough LDWA event through the Forest of Dean & Wye Valley.

The forecast was for dire weather - so wrapped in a borrowed waterproof jacket (thanks Caroline!) as my best one had got torn, I set off from a school at the edge of Lydney at 9.30am along with a group of over 100 walkers - most of the runners would start in the next hour.

We headed north & soon crossed the Dean Forest Railway and were in the forest on good tracks - and despite grey skies the rain was holding off! After a lovely bit along a lakeside we turned west for the first steep climb of the day & onto the first checkpoint at 8.5 miles. At 10 miles I worked out that if I could maintain this speed I would finish in 13 hours - but knew the tough part of the route was still to come. [The info said 1,338 ft of ascent.]

So onwards, southwest then south for our first views of the Wye, and along the moat of St Briavals Castle to the second CP at 17 miles. Some stiff climbs meant my time check now showed a finish in nearer 15 hours! We descended to the valley for a jog along the riverside to cross it at Brockwell. We then turned north, climbing through more forest, then down to the river again. I started to feel really tired during the 2.5 miles along the river & was being caught by walkers! So at the 'dinner' checkpoint I had a 10 minute kipp, before rice & mince & apple crumble!

Refreshed, and with clean socks, I set off north west through more hilly forest, below some huge rocks & down to the river again - to pass just north of Symonds Yat Rock. Here it got dark and so with an excellent borrowed head torch (thanks Nicole!) I ploughed on through the gloom & increasingly muddy forest tracks. I now had 20 miles to go - it had got windy, but still the rain was holding off! Back into the Forest of Dean & southwards - past the obelisk at the centre of the forest. Further south, after seemingly endless squishy muddy tracks through the forest, I reached the 5th checkpoint feeling really tired again so found a corner for another short sleep - the marshal woke me up after half an hour!

The final 6.5 miles should have been quicker as I was moving a bit faster again & no steep climbs - but twice I went off route, adding nearly a mile! The rain finally came in windy gusts with only 300 metres to go back to the school.

My eventual time was 18 hours 53 mins. - for a route which some people with GPS said was 55 miles!

We both turned 50 this spring and Karen decided that it would be great to mark the occasion with a marathon. Madrid marathon fell on Karen¹s birthday and so we entered having not run for a long time.

Injuries, skiing, cycling and life seemed to all get in the way of any consistent training. The first trial was the Grizzly with about 6 weeks to go. The Grizzly was tough but we managed to finish and it gave us a little bit of confidence.

The next big event was us undertaking the Steppingley Step route one Saturday (a lovely 26 mile circular route). We ran as much as we could and walked what we couldn¹t (the carrot cake and coffee in Barton Mills was an adequate replacement for a water stop surely?).

The following week (2 weeks to go) we entered the Bedford Clanger a 28 mile circular route round Bedford. Again we ran together and finished in just over 6 hours.

Madrid has a cut off of 6 hours and we have been concerned about not getting round in time, it¹s hilly (800ft of climb) at altitude (700 meters) and often warm! The Clanger had given us further confidence and with smooth tarmac and not having to navigate we should be faster.

Karen had a plan to run as far as she possibly could to build up a bank of time for when she had to walk. We ended up walking very little (the odd

The Marathon and 10k start together and give the start a big feel - 20,000 odd runners. The 10k runners depart at around the 4k mark. The roads though are much wider than most marathons (except New York!) and some are exteremly long and straight - again similar to NY.

You run up hill to the (Real Madrid) Bernabeu stadium and onward to the edge of the business district as flagged by the Gate of Europe before slowly turning around and heading down into old Madrid and to run in front of the Royal Palace. From there down to the river and into the old Royal hunting grounds (Casa de Campo).

A few K¹s round the park (it is massive) then down one side of the river to Athletico Madrids stadium before crossing the river and running back. The last 6 or 7k are all now up hill. Similar to New York you run along two sides of another massive park before finally entering it. Here (even when we finished) the crowds where massed on both sides to the finish.

A lot of support in localised areas, water stations every 5k and from half way more frequent. Powerade from about the 3rd water stop was also available. Officials roller blade along with you with magic spray and Vaseline! Sorry to say the gel station ran out of gels before we got to the 32k mark.

Nice Adidas top, nice bling medal - rock and roll bands, 10 or so made some great noise (could have done with more). Excellent Spanish oranges at the finish along with bananas, nuts, water and squash - enough for a picnic in the park! Expo was ok but had the saving grace of free beer with the pasta - yes free beer!

Madrid has renewed our excitement at running marathons so may well start looking around for another one. Seemed fitting as we were celebrating our 50th birthdays to run together and to hold hands across the finish.

Karen Hollingsworth 4.48.18 - Rick Hollingsworth 4.48.17 (not sure how that happened!)

Myself, Haydn & my friend Gail from the Bowline club, did this LDWA type event organised by the Waendal Walkers Club.

We ran/walked through parts of Northants, Liecs & Rutland and enjoyed some impressive & extensive views around the Welland Valley. We had dry & sunny weather for the first 5 hours - then a few showers, including hail.

Our eventual time was 6 hours 32 mins. Haydn says: despite feeling absolutely shattered after the event he was surprised by how good his legs felt on Monday morning!

This was my first foray into Triathlon last year and it’s looking like an annual event on my calendar now, a good chance to see how the winters training translates into race times. This year’s final time was 2 minutes quicker, each discipline was quicker, except for the bike which, while disappointing, wasn’t entirely unexpected given the lack of time I’ve been able to spend on it. The minute that I made up during the swim, T1 and T2 was lost on the bike, however my run was a full 2 minutes quicker which I have absolutely no doubt is down to running with the flyers on a Tuesday. A nice little season opener but now I have to up my distance ready for my first half ironman at the end of May – also need to brave the lake in the not too distant future as well!

Flitwick 10K - Sunday 15 April

It was with great pleasure i took part in our very own 10K, not that long ago voted one of the top 10 10K races in the UK by "Runners World".

I decided to do this race as part of my training for the MK Marathon in 2 weeks, the idea being to put some top end speed to enhance the long runs, i also wanted to try and get another PB at this distance, However this course is not the easiest to achieve this.

The day was bright but cold and even worse it was quite windy especially the later 3ks.

I started the race trying to hold back a little as i am aware there are some hills to tackle.

Then with horror i noticed my shoe lace had come undone at the 1st K. I was talking to fellow flyer Steven Upton and voiced my situation (i cleaned that up a bit) at this point i decided pulling out or running without a shoe, however i kept going but felt i was not running to my potential as the shoe was just about hanging on which was a shame as i felt strong.

Anyway must not grumble, i got my first sub 40 for 10k and the PB and very happy with 38.18 I must take this opportunity to say how proud i am of the club, the Flyers have demonstrated such professionalism in the organisation and spirit hosting this great race, this can be filtered down from the race director to every marshall and helper well done to you all.

Further more well done to all 37 AFF who ran the race not forgetting the kiddies race it was brilliant to see all the little one giving it everything. Happy Days.

Martin Beare

Finally...................one gets it right, after nearly messing up the MK 10k in March, my Dad drilled into me what I must do and kept telling me until i was telling myself in my sleep. Every year I have done this I've messed it up one way or another, so this was it, my nemesis, my home town, the Flitwick 10k, in my books one of the toughest on the calendar. The instructions were simple, don't overcook the start and dont copy anyone else, that was it, simple.........yet its taken soooo long to get it right.

Without boring you too much, I had a set time for each km, and this time round, stuck by it, whether or not "pepsi", "shirley", "John", "Dave" or a nice girl in a pink top passes you, stick by the your rules. And?........... Worked perfectly, luvly jubbly, stuck by my times and passed with flying colours, the course is a brutal as ever, but if you concentrate, your not far off.

On a final note, thanks to the Organisers and Marshalls, you were everywhere and all called out my name in support (and thankfully nothing rude this time) even if it appears that we ignore you, (which we are.............only joking!) it really helps and boosts you on! Oh by the way, if anyone knows what Mr Beare is on at the moment, I want some if it! Thanks to all involved, until next year

Leigh

Another superbly organised event by Becs & Co. People are paid large amounts of money to organise far less so quite how this is all done is spare time is beyond me.

Good to see our Phil H coming first after last year’s second place and with plenty to spare. Also impressed by the phenomenal Martin Beare who like a vintage port just keeps getting better and has now reached ‘whippet’ status.

I was asked before the race what time I thought I’d do – I said 45 mins. At the start I stood by the 45 minute marker. I ran the race without a watch and finished in 45 minutes. I think I talked myself into it. Next 10K I’ll tell them it’ll take 40 mins!

Big thanks to all who marshalled. It was great to be cheered on at every corner by a club mate.

Andy Atherton

This was a trip back in time for me. I used to spend a lot of time in Llanelli in the late 60s and early 70s when Welshmen were real men, worked down the mines and in the steelworks, drank Brains to excess and beat the All Blacks at Stradey Park. They’re now a bunch of tree-hugging modern men, the steelworks and mines have been replaced by cycle paths, bird sanctuaries and environmental projects, Brains takes second place to designer lager in the pubs and Stradey Park has gone.

Still, not all is lost because they have diversified into running and have learnt to put on a cracking race. This was my 49th marathon and definitely one of the best. It was a two lap course hugging the coastline. It was a very scenic, traffic-free route along cycle ways (minus the cyclists). We were very lucky with the weather. It was bright sunshine and little wind which were just about ideal running weather. Together with the fact that the only hill was where the path rose 6 metres to take it over the railway line this was PB heaven!

I hadn’t really done any speedwork for this race, so I was just planning to run around at 8 minute mile pace in about 3:30 and set an early season benchmark for the V50 marathon challenge. I planned to run the first half in 1:44 and see how I felt at half way. It was all going to plan until I got to mile 10 when for some reason I picked the pace up. I put it down to idyllic running along the sea front on a beautiful day. So I got to halfway ahead of schedule in 1;43:20.

I carried on at the same sort of pace (7:30 – 7:40) for the next 10/11 miles and inevitably tired in the last three miles, but I still managed the second half in 1:40:37. I do love negative splits in marathons!

Great running weather this year: cool, cloud with a few sunny breaks and a cooling cross wind - better than last year's 29 degree finish! The usual fantastic Parisian support, scenery, architecture and ambience made for a great day. The route is stunning, taking in most of Paris's landmarks, with much of the centre shut to traffic. Two 6-mile meanders through the parks at either end of the city break up the urban street scene. Oranges, raisins & bananas every 5km (so much better than E-laden dayglo power-junk!), street entertainment every 2-3km, and very enthusiastic spectators shouting your name from your bib at every opportunity. This is a really great run, other than the famed lack of adequate toilet facilities at the Champs Elysees start, just in front of the Arc de Triomphe - a spectacular spot for so many multi-national inhibitions to be shed. We couldn't resist it again this year, although it was a tough decision with the Flitwick 10k clash - hope it went well!

Highlander Mountain Marathon - from Kinlochewe in NW Scotland. - Sat/Sunday 14/15 April

Kinlochewe is at the south-east end of Loch Maree and we spent the first day trekking along the northern shore & up onto the lower slopes of Slioch - one of Scotlands most impressive mountains (Slioch means arrowhead). The weather was sunny, but not warm, and the views spectacular. After picking up 4 controls NW of the mountain we descended a severely steep gorge and down to the lochside beach where we were taken across the loch on a small, but very fast, inflatable boat to the campsite.

We left for the day 2 course just as the snow stopped & a greyer day with sunny spells. On the south side of the loch we trekked towards the magnificent Beinn Eighe with is spectacular snow capped peaks - but afte the 5K on a track to the first control the terrain got really tough, with several steep valleys to cross & it took us over an hour to do the next 2K. After a steep push up to a fence corner control (where Yannis Triddimas, a well known mountain goat fell runner, passed us carrying both his & partner's rucksacs) we finally made the coll after 10K of gradual climb. Time was now running out so we ran down the path, omitting 3 controls we'd planned to go to. and got to the finish 39+ minutes over the 5 hours. Still, we'd had two great days in the mountains & thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Brian Layton also did the event, with Ron Smith (father-in-law of the organiser & picks us up from the airport & puts us up the Friday & Sunday nights). They won the Vet prize in the score event.

Firstly, I must thank two of my training buddies, Steve Morales and Martin Beare. I ask them to check my bike out and to make sure all is well, unfortunately all wasn't well, it was in a state that’s technically known as "knackered" in particular the back wheel. They both sorted this out for me in time for the event….thanks guys.

This event was scheduled for Bank Holiday Monday. I applied for this to take part in an accurate 54 miler and to get an official time for it. However, come the Sunday night, I wasn't looking forward to it, the predicted weather conditions looked absolutely terrible.

Come the Monday, driving to the start, it was evident we were going to have an interesting journey, I actually thought it might be called off. Arriving at the start, there were some riders that did not show and I did not blame them. There was no signs of cancellation so I set my bike up. The route had the usual in it………….plenty of hills!….. But the most pain come from the strong headwind, and right from the start this was hitting hard.

The route itself went through Shefford, Pirton, Hitchen, Lilley and I had the scare of my life at one point when I thought "John" the "van man" was right behind me, only when I looked it was a whacking great big plane flying over the top of me about to land at Luton………….good job I did not get lost, might have ended up on the runway!!

We were, very lucky, although plenty of headwind, the rain wasn’t as heavy as predicted and it wasn’t very cold, but this was no day to be hanging around stopping for a picnic. The second half of the show was where I found improvements, the route took us through Barton and then back direct to Pirton and then Shefford, skipping what we had already done. This built a positive attitude on me and began to push harder.

Ironically this is when things changed. I was trying to chase down the other riders on the same route. I was getting frustrated because I could not see them to pick them off one by one. Therefore I just decided to continue to carry on at my own pace without overcooking it. What I did not realise was that the other guys on the route were somehow actually behind and were chasing me down! I did not realise this until the end.

The last 10 miles were based on the Beds Road Cycle TT route, so for me, I was "at home". I buried it with what I had left in the tank, which was even harder as the headwind was now even stronger and my legs were running on overtime. Finally now at the finish, I found out there was one other rider who had actually come in around 8 mins before me. However, I was over the moon, even though this was technically "not a race" I finished with the second fastest time.

Lovely little gem of an easter monday event that I've done for a few years now - usually a bit sunnier, a few hills and had the pleasure of Mrs Von Arx's company and we had a good old chin wag all the way round. nice medal and even nicer bacon roll to finish.

Had a number for the half marathon but wimped out to the 10k - mainly because it was 3k laps and just couldn't face 6 laps of the same old route again. A mediocre event in an mediocre time (considering) not really worth the £18 entry fee.

A fair few flyers at this very low key and simple self navigated route (17.2 for the mini or 28ish for the full)

First rule of these events - read the instructions!, even as early on as leaving the car park - do not follow little blue arrows in place meant for a triathlon at the venue next week, as you WILL add about a mile on before you even leave the lake:-) - so started off quite hilariously but got better! had the lovely company of Mrs Annie Page and despite our extra mile "mishap" quickly passed the few targets that were ahead of us. cake, chocolate bars and crisps at all the checkpoints - probably the most weight I've ever put on doing a 17 mile run. a few podium finishers to the flyers - well done boys and girls.

The highlights of the day - making like a 4 year old on the jingle jangles outside M&S (got a few strange looks) discovering new pathways literally right on my doorstep and sharing a lovely day with lovely club mates! will be back next year for definite!

We are still nervous of the 6 hour time limit at the Madrid Rock & Roll Marathon on the 22nd April. We thought this event might give us some confidence.

The route used mostly bridleways, footpaths and shared cycle paths to circumnavigate Bedford, starting in Box End. The route was via written instructions and all off-road but a fair amount of path/concrete.

Being off-road and having to navigate slows you down but it does make the miles go quicker as you are constantly looking for the next post/gap in the hedge. Running somewhere new also makes for a pleasant change as you watch the scenery go by.

We met and chatted with some interesting and colourful characters (mostly 100 marathon club members who seem to be on the whole a slightly odd bunch!). We ran for a large portion of time with a couple accompanied by their sheep dog - it¹s on its 75 marathon!!!!

Very pleased to see the finish - we were stronger than last week, ran a lot more and bearing in mind we were navigating and it was off-road, were pleased to finish in 6.07 for the 28 miles.

Feeling reasonably confident therefore to be able to enjoy our Rock & Roll Marathon after a three year gap.

Nice to see the event had a good splattering of Flyers (10!) and that there where still some there when we finally came in (although some had been home and showered!).

Nice to note also that a small event such as this (56 entries) was able to donate £500 to Sue Ryder!

Oakley 20 - Sunday 1 April

This run was originally set up to test runners for there looming marathons, its a 20 mile road race taking in some beautiful countryside views in and around the villages of Bedford. 1,000 plus runners gathered at the usual race HQ the school in Oakley, we were all blessed with near perfect weather conditions.

I am pleased to say that another strong showing of 18 AFF took on the challenge. My personal game plan for this event was to get 20 quality miles in as part of my preparation for the MK Marathon, As usual my approach was to go what i call "bear back" (no water, no fuel or gels and no garmen) i like to run on feel (oh matron) and on empty and train my body to feed off itself (a must in ironman) I ran close to even splits and felt strong throughout and enjoyed the run.

As a bonus i bagged 1st V45 County Champ and another PB, 2.17.13 I went home a happy boy with all the boxes ticked.

Yet again there were some great individual performances and everyone was smiling at the finish so a big well done, the Saturday morning club has definitely help us all.

A big thank you must go to the organisers (Beds Harriers) and the support and cheers we all got along the way from fellow AFF, Marshals, etc.

Next stop our very own Flitwick 10K.

Martin Beare

Also heard that Tracy Nichols picked up the County FV40 championship. Still awaiting official County results for this and also County 10M champs at Sandy. - [Webmaster]

This was another race outside the normal circuit around Central Beds, this time across the Downs west of Basingstoke. Billed as cross country, but really a trail race, and given the lack of rain on the Downs this winter I never regretted running in road shoes. Also unusual in that the race was a genuine point-to-point, so started with a one hour coach journey from the finish at Overton to the start at Combe Gibbet along country roads and through small Hampshire villages. The race itself was undulating and included the highest point in SE England (Walbury Hill), the highest point in Hampshire (Pilot Hill) and (the) Watership Down, however it was mostly downhill, losing a net 200m over the course, so plenty of long downhill slopes. Add in a beautiful day, great views from the tops and some pleasant trails made this a very enjoyable experience. The only downside was that with an entry of only 150 it was easy to get a bit isolated during the second half. I was doing this to get in a long race, whilst avoiding running against the clock (and other Flyers) on roads and doing something stupid, but averaging just inside 8 minute miles suggested the trail and downhill aspects roughly cancelled each other out. Highly recommended if anyone is in the area at the right time.

This race was nominated 10 mile club champs and attracted no less than 28 AFF which was great to see.

It has been a few years since i did this race as iam normally gearing up for my Triathlon session, however this year i thought i would hang on to running for a few more weeks before i aim to qualify for the World Triathlon Championships again.

Fellow AFF and supremo runner Nick Jones and myself swapped places and ran together for half the race then nick edged out a few yards and managed to hold that to the finish, however i enjoyed racing and running with nick. As i put it to Nick afterwards "it was a good honest race".

I have to be honest a little disappointed just missing out on club champ V40 but delighted to keep the PB,s going. I now look forward to the Oakley 20 in a few days.

A very big well done to all who raced the Sandy 10 and i believe there were a number of PB,s

A great race for Pbs as many Flyers found out. This was our Club 10 mile Championships and 28 Flyers turned out - only Beds Harriers had more runners. The course has one long hill just after 1 mile taking you up to the 2 mile marker. Then it is out to and round the village of Everton before descending back down that long incline and returning to the finish at Sandy Upper School. Despite promises of really hot day the whole race was run under a cloud of misty, cold weather.

Phil Holland led the charge and he was always going to be the first Flyer home although unfortunately he was pipped for 1st overall in the actual race from Will Green from Serpentine Runners. However, Phil's time of 53.38 was just outside his pb but an incredible 5.21 a mile pace.

Behind him was Terry Stanley, also setting a pb, but it was his first ever 10 miler! His time of 59.45 (and 13th place) gave him his target of dipping under the hour. Of the faster 'boys' it was Martin Beare's run that most impressed me. We need to drug test this man! - his time of 63.33 was over 5 minutes quicker than his pb set at St Albans earlier this year - quite an incredible run for an old timer! Martin was just behind Nick Jones, whose fine run clinched him the Vets trophy.

Behind them came a number of great runs from fellow Flyers many setting pbs. Steve Phillpot was the first Vet 50 home , holding off a late charge from Warwick Browning.

For me, my target was to get as close to my time last year. As it turned out I finished in 72.04 a mere 13 seconds quicker. After the long push up to mile 2, the aim was to try and keep Dave Coker in site. Dave and the other 70 minute finishers had passed me in the first mile, but I felt I could keep some in touch once the hill was out the way. I passed Shaun Kirtley just before 3 and could see Dave Coker and Warwick Browning a few hundred yards ahead. Through 5 miles in 36.30 (exactly the same as last year!), I could not make any impression on those 2 Flyers in front. I hit a bad patch through mile 6 (7.23), but soon found my pace again as i went through mile 8 (7.05) and mile 9 (7.04). I dug in through that final mile (6.48) to finish just 51 seconds behind Dave in 131st place - a very satisfactory run.

what a great city marathon! I think this has gone straight into "my favourites" list and one I will definitely recommend. fast and flat course taking in all the sights, plenty of water, powerade, cheering and music stops on the way round.

an early start of 8.30 and running mostly through shaded streets created the best defense for what was a very warm day. I started with no absolutely no idea on how it would go (atmosphere at the start was awesome - and they did play the cliche song which made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up) felt ok so just ran as well I could- was on for sub 4 but couldn't quite pull it out of the bag in those last 4 miles, never mind- there's always MK!

Most importantly i did enjoy celebrating with a Italian mucker (3.03!!!) from the hostel in the bars in the sun after - i reckon we could learn a lot from them:)

As the first Triathlon of 2012 this low key event provides a great leveller for the forthcoming season.

The small field of 100 competitors saw a mix of novice, intermediate and accomplished Triathletes.

My swim was solid and about where I hoped to be at this early point in the seasons. My bike leg was perhaps the most pleasing. I was able to hold over 30miles /h for the majority of a the outward bound leg ( all be it largly a down hill leg) and was conscious that the return leg would involve a bit more of a grind. The run was a similar affair 2.5k down hill to the turn point and and 2.5k uphill - I felt good ( thanks to those Tuesday sessions) and with a time of 17.44mins I was delighted.

Overall I finished 7th , 2nd male 40-44 beaten in my category only by the overall winner and current European Vet Champ.

26.5 miles over the ancient & beautiful Charnwood Hills, incuding Bardon Hill - the highest point in Leicestershire.

6 Flyers and about 360 others gathered on the outskirts of Baldock for the inaugural running of the "Baldock Beast". The event is run by Baldock Town Council and although there are a few possible organisational improvements to be ironed out it was a very good race to run. The course is undulating but maybe not really that "beastly" and meanders out through the villages of Wallington and Sandon before returning [partly using the outward route] to Baldock. Part of the course is off road using tracks and one reasonably muddy path that was a bit slippy. Marshals were brilliant and very encouraging and the weather although a bit cold and grey at least stayed dry.

I ran with Mark Folker for most of the race but saw Rob and Jane Cook at the start and Richard and Keri Stanley at various stages during the race. I've only had a quick look at the past results but it looks like Keri and Jane both did brilliantly well to achieve new PB's and Rob seems to have equalled his PB performance at MK a couple of weeks ago.

'The Baldock Beast' - the very first Baldock Half Marathon - A really good and well organised run, by Baldock Town Partnership, as the inaugural event with 450 entrants and 350 runners on the day. Cool and cloudy, great for running in, and only a slight detraction from the very picturesque course, villages and countryside to the east of Baldock.

An excellent route, mostly on very quiet country roads (virtually zero traffic - absolutely no hassle from cars) with 3-4 miles of track for a little added interest. There are some hills (which I guess is what 'The Beast' bit is all about), but mostly short and not overly sharp ups with plenty of rather long gentle downs, so the hills can be worked for some overall speed - Keri did a PB by over 2 mins against the Bedford Half, so the course must have some PB potential! Well recommended for next year (seems like it's planned an annual event) - just a quick jaunt along the A507.

The first time this race has been held, so we didn't know what to expect. A lot of work had gone into it and it showed, everything went really well. With a 500 entrant limit it had plenty of parking and all important toilets, number and chip collection went smoothly, then off to the start in plenty of time. A great course with a little off road then round very quiet country lanes. The first third was mostly uphill, then some undulating stuff, then last third mostly downhill just when you need it. No killers hills, though the one at ten miles did go on a bit. I'm sure it's just a matter of technique, and for every uphill there's a downhill straight after. Good marshalling with loads of support through the villages, and some lovely scenery with great views (if only the sun had come out). Chip timing by Race Timing Systems which corresponded with our own timings and results on their website by mid afternoon (a nerdy point I know but I was pleased to see it). A mars bar at the finish , a medal and a bright orange T-shirt back at Baldock Hight Street.

One of the more brutal time trials at Cardington, you start just before "Hill Foot", the course then takes you around the 11.3 mile route then you go past the club house and continue onto Hill Foot before climbing the hill again and then onto the finish.........and just when you thought that was tough, you then need to cycle back to the club house!!

Also taking part was John Mitcalf from the Flyers who had an extremely good TT. I was after anything under 40mins and managed 38, so megga pleased with that considering the cold weather and torrain that you have to cycle on, needless to say you have to plan this course, if you go out like a nutcase and hammer it, unless your a pro, you just wont finish, but to get the best, you need to get it right!

Just over 9 weeks ago I was in hospital undergoing major surgery for cancer and am now 5 weeks into a tough drug regime. It seemed totally impossible that I would have the energy to even drive to the start line, let alone contemplate taking on the Grizzly's infamously tough 20 ish miles. However I've been running for every one of the forty days since I was mended enough to do so (and a huge thank to to all my AFF friends who've helped make this possible - you know who you are) so it seemed worth a go, with the aim of just getting round.

I ran with Sally for the first 12 or so miles - we were told off several times for talking too much - but this both helped the miles go past and meant we settled into a steady pace and didn't rush off being all competitive (I know - not very believable!). At around 12.5 miles, there was a lovely long downhill and I expected Sally to follow me as I stretched out to enjoy the help of gravity, but by the time I looked back I couldn't see her, so carried on alone. It was a gorgeous spring day, almost too hot at times but with a stunning course, plenty of wild flowers in bloom and great support from marshals and spectators, I enjoyed pretty much every step of both up and down hills, and even the notorious bogs. Exhaustion did set in at 19 miles on the steep steps out of Beer, with some real danger of simply keeling over, but I passed Brian Layton here who encouraged me on and pointed out that it's OK to feel tired by this point as it shows you've pushed yourself. It was then a question of one foot in front of the other to the line and I was utterly delighted to finish nearly 25 mins faster than last year. Still can't quite believe it.

Final results aren't out yet but Sally did finish in spite of struggling with her knee, and I was delighted to see Karen Hollingsworth getting round with Rick to keep her company.

This must be our favourite running event. For us it has seldom been a race and has often been an adventure and often of epic proportions. With no training to speak of - Karen¹s longest training run being 5 miles - we made the start line.

A fantastic day and much of the familiar routes - although a reverse start, less beach running and a bit of transitional road running gave it it¹s own unique flavor! Old favorites where still there though - the dip in the sea at Branscombe, the bogs oh! and The Hills. A special mention for the fantastic, helpful and energetic marshal's. The views as you run along the cliff edge both away from Branscombe towards Sidmouth and back towards Beer are just stunning.

Karen stoically refused the Cub split and we settled down for the up¹s and down¹s to come. We were royally entertained by a group of Trotters from Cornwall on their first Grizzly, a bunch (of about 12 or so) that were very vocal and out to have a good time - culminating in a mud fight in the bogs! From about mile 15 stiff calves and shin splints started to plague Karen but she can walk faster than many people can run.

We finished battered, bruised but not broken and we had a wonderful reception from the announcer on the PA. Met up with fellow Flyers and sat drinking coffee in the afternoon sun.

The Madrid marathon is just over a month away which we feel a bit more comfortable about having done our first 20 mile training run!

As usual i made my annual migration to Seaton, Devon as its part of my pre Triathlon season preparation, This race requires as much mental strength as it does physical.

This race has a masssive following and is one of the UK,s top races and truely iconic within the running world. The race is made up of running on shingle beaches, hip deep bogs, 65% hill climbs, river crossings, the rest of the course covers 20 miles of pure hill work. A couple of days prior to my race i had the start of a cold / bug and was felling worse as race day arrived, however i gave the course my best but was off form and i felt quite rough towards the end but tried to wear a smile for the great support we all recieved.

20 hard miles in the pot and a good training session, the company from my fellows AFF was fantastic, the wheather blessed us the whole weekend, sadley i was feeling to unwell to indulge in my planned fish and chips and ice cream, instead made a dash for home and my bed. My final word is simply "respect" to anyone that completes that course regardless of how long they take to complete it.

For the first time in 15 years I had to drop down to the Cub Run - due to having a bad cold/cough. Though I did do a bit extra, adding another 1.5 miles by dropping down to Branscome for another bit of beach & a big climb back up, to eventually catch the last of the Cub Run runners. So I have a time of 2-34-58 for approx 10.5 miles.

As a 'Grizzly' first timer, I couldn't have asked for better conditions: sunshine with a little cloud, not too hot (usually) with a cooling sea breeze at the tops of the HILLS (I naively thought I could actually run the whole event..... maybe if it had hills, but not HILLS!).

Luckily, the bogs were also generally confined to where they were supposed to be - looks like it's been dry in Devon too. A truly amazing event, that I doubt I would have come across without joining the club, so thanks! Only slight downer was coming in with a gun time of 4.00.57, having had vague hopes of coming in under a grizzly 4 hours. If it had been chipped, I would have been 3.59.33ish! This is definitely abut the event, though, not the time, and what a spectacular, rugged, friendly, thoughtful, entertaining and massively challenging event it is. Dave asked me if I would be back next year just after the finish - I hesitated at the time, but I'm not really sure if I could keep away, body willing!

PS - best of the Grizzly quotes (laid out every mile or so for helpful distraction): 'if it's gone and you're alive, you didn't need it!' (you then had to work out how '7/5 of the population can't do fractions' on a vertical uphill after a huge knee-deep bog & river crossing.... only the Grizzly!)

Having raced mountain bikes nationally for years, I decided at the beginning of 2011 to return to Triathlon, on the swim and the bike I could always be competitive but went backwards on the run, hence the decision last October to join the Flyers. The coached Tuesday night sessions were really bringing me on so when a friend asked whether I’d be interested in running the Silverstone half marathon I jumped at the opportunity, the entry went in and looking at the pace charts on the AFF website, my latest 5k time was putting me at about 1:45, bettering my last half marathon some 15 years ago by half an hour. That was, until ‘the incident of the discs in the night’ – an old cervical disc injury flared up on the 16th January which meant a few weeks off training, this then led to shingles and a few more weeks off training. Having only been breaking myself back into training for about 10 days I’d reassessed my goal for the event to two hours, it would still be a PB and a challenge, but without overstretching myself. I’d always been used to starting a race flat out from the gun so this event was a complete change for me, I trotted over the start and made the decision to try to stay with the 1:58 pace maker, then I’d left myself a little time in the bank in case I slowed towards the end. At 10 miles I was still much more than comfortable and decided to press on to the finish. The strategy worked and I was able to run the last 3.1 miles quicker than the first 10 to finish in 1:56:29 and a PB by 19 minutes. It was a great event and thanks to all at the Flyers I’m really enjoying my running, the list of new events that have been opened up to me as a result of being able to run is very exciting and my confidence grows with each run.

A great morning for the first Beds Road time trial of the year, this one being the 11.3 mile course. The weather was pretty much perfect and this ensured a good turn out of cyclists.

I'm very pleased with my performance here (being the first time trial of the year) and pretty much got everything spot on. My only issue was that a group of around 20 cyclists continued to cycle in a bunch at a comfortable pace around the circuit which was not helpful, considering they knew what was going on, they chose to carry on.....thanks guys, will remember that one. I recon a sub 35 min cycle ride would have been on the cards if they were not in the way........

Thanks to Graham Laming (Organiser), the time keeps and the helpers, without them, these TT's would not happen

This event. consisting of 10K run, 40K bike and 5K run, doubled as a qualification race for the GB Age Group Duathlon team to represent the country at the World Championships, as a result the field was stacked full of excellent athletes.

Phil Holland, representing Team Corley Cycles, was first Club rider home in 12th overall, 3rd in his age group, followed closely by Jason Moore, representing BRCC, in 30th, 4th in his age group.

Phil Holland - 32:34 - 68:05 - 16:35 - Total 1:58:29 - Jason Moore - 36:27 - 67:19 - 17:24 - Total 2:2:32

Well dealing with the weather was my first part of my challenge, I returned from training in Tenerife on Tuesday with clear blue skies.

Race day was heavy rain, cold and windy on the open parts. An impressive showing of 27 Flyers took on the half Marathon.

As usual i was after a PB, after a conservative start to get the engine room warmed up i decided to switch the twin turbo,s on, after checking all systems which seemed to be fine i made my move. I was just after the 1st mile i came across Nick Jones and thought i may be running a bit to quick at that point, however i decided to carry on at my pace and passed nick. I kept my foot in all the way and was running very even splits, as i never wear a garmen or watch this was on feel. I was always worried Nick might pass me at some point which kept me focused on my push. I was and am delighted to have had the best race of my running life to date 1.24.52 and my 6th consecutive PB in the last 3 months. Oh deep joy, 'oh what a perfect day' and i never even noticed the rain and bad weather in the end such was my elation.

There where some other great personal performances by the flyers team, well done boys and girls.

An almost perfect run all the race tactics and training drilled into me by the club coaches have finally paid off.

With the appalling weather i stayed sheltered until the last so i had no chance of getting up front even if i wonted to i happily stayed back joining a small huddle of flyers we all worked the first 4 miles together taking it in turns to lead through the crowd the joke was made about our similarities to a cycle peleton as the crowd slimed out so did our little group as everyone dropped to there own pace. Jerry and i stuck together having only deciding on this at the start line we increased pace hitting the half way point at 46 mins i pushed on but jerry was having none of it he held me back from charging of to quick as soon as a saw clear ground ahead and this was my saving i checked my watch he was right plenty of time yet. At 9 miles i started to pick it up leaving jerry making ground but keeping it steady at 11 i put on the speed every hill on my toes over the bridge last 500 meters i saw richard and sprinted for the line like i was on redborn track

No pb but i do not care no one past me from start to finish i felt great frozen could not move my fingers but great strategically it was my best race

Origionally, this run was never on the cards. Until I spoke to Steve Morales about it, mentioning to me its a good course and should be done. I entred this nearer the time, and being only March, wasn't expecting very much from this, not to mention the lack of current training for 10km racing. Most of my time has been spent either in the pool or on the bike.

10km running now for me is a tough challenge, having spent most of it in the 40's, unless its in a triathlon, anything over 39:59 is 'scrap yard material'. That one second means everything. So the last few weeks coming up to this I had to scramble some training in, this was literally a Thursday night long run about a week before! Not the best of preparation.

The only two good things that could make this a successful run was the following Ingredients: - Guaranteed cold weather - Course would be fairly flat

I met up with fellow runners and training buddies Steve Morales and John Metcalf, both who are on top form at the moment (John who is soooo close to getting his picture taken...........by the speed camera...)

At the start line we were met by two other Flyers, Phil Holland and Jason Moore, two extremely fast runners. Comment of the day goes to Steve Morales for this brilliant liner: 'If we are still running with these two at 5km, something has seriously gone wrong'..........!!

I knew what I had to do and the timings, however, when the whistle went, all that went out the window, both John and Steve went off and never saw them after that, the first mile was done in a rediculous time of 5 mins, so I had to slow down big time! This did not help by the first 5km being pretty much downhill. I thought to myself, you only have to worry when a nice young girl with a pink top passes you. As I was getting towards the 5km marker, I had to push on to re-pass her...............

All the work then re-had to be done again. Although not significant, the last 5k were slightly uphill and if your running this does make a difference. Coming up to 8km, I had no choice but to push even harder and that's when I re-saw Steve Morales, I just kept him in my sights and continued.

Turning the final corner was when it happened. I had around 50m still to run and I saw the clock at 39:55, a lot of bad language entered my head. I had to smash out 50ms in world record timing. Basically a bit Like Walcott, I had to smash it to the end without messing it up, but thankfully my finish was like Van Persie, made it in the 'nick of time'......That was too close.

Yo thi man! If I hear that one more time, I'll never buy anyone a drink ever again......mmmmm....... What a race - 0700 start, apparently due to the daytime heat. Actually an 0430 start for me in my fleapit of a hotel, to a 5am MaccyD's brekkie and bus to the start in the mountains for half past 5. In the dark. In sub zero temps. Standing around fire pits. Not the best start, but things only got better.

The course has a fantastic profile - downhill and flat, with very few uphills. Finished the downhills through 10k in just over 40 minutes feeling good (although quads a bit achy), but unfortunately miles 7-10 were into a stiff breeze. And with typical American street layouts, I knew these 3 miles were straight as a dye, with no respite. Then 2 schoolboy errors at the final drinks station before 10 miles. Tried a strange looking gel (still dont know why) - brought it straight back up (lovely!) and gulped down Powerade without slowing down. Almost immediately picked up a stitch which lasted for a mile and a half. Thankfully managed to pick it up after 11 for a fast finish to get me through in 1:25:30 - PB by over a minute and a half, so delighted with that. Coming down the finishing straight, the announcer asked me where Bedford was, which I replied - Scotland! Cue mad scenes. Its William Wallace. FREEDOM! Don't think they had ever seen a person of Northern British persuasion be

Pleasantly surprised to be told that I was first V35 - first ever trophy! Presented by the mayor, who clearly had also never met a Pict before. Had me talking into the mic and interviewed afterwards on camera. Awaiting the email to provide the subtitles for the US viewers :) Interview went something like this. So, did you come all the way out here for the race? No. Will you be coming back next year? Errr, no. Would you recommend your friends to come out to run the race? Errr...........no. Cant imagine my new media career as a replacement for David Letterman will be happening any time soon! All this before 930 in the morning. Early starts have some benefits......

After yesterdays JB trail run, I was a tad tired as the alarm went off. Luckily my old mucker Richard Jones was also fatigued having run 12 miles yesterday. Lightweight, I ran 12.3. Off we headed to Cambridge uni's boundary run. On arrival, we thought we were in fresher's week, as the glow of young, shiny eager faces meant we almost needed sunglasses. We toyed with just letting the whipper snappers just go and wander over to the start at some point or other, but decided to follow the pack to save having to map read. This was just an extended training run and it was more important to have time on our feet rather than time. We wound through the estates and paused as we reached a level crossing waiting for a train to go by! Those at the front must have had a hearty lead as a result of that stop. It rained from the start and the moment we hit the trails, we knew that it was going to be a very slow, wet, cold and muddy run. The constant rain turned the trails into a mud bath, with

the down hills more suited to surfing than running. So much for England's green and pleasant land. At halfway, all those shiny young things stopped and headed for the local wine bars ( there was a half and a full ), which left what grizzled old veterans there were that had entered. And me, a mere boy at 44. There was then just mud, mud and more mud. Oh, and rain. Lots and lots of rain. The field really was very sparse by now and we couldn't follow anyone. I was stuck with satnav Jones in the middle of fields somewhere around Cambridge, getting more tired as the miles past. Fortunately, the route had been very well marked by the Cambridge crew, with the flour arrow markers holding up despite incessant rain. We trundled in at 425, which on a wet, cross country, muddy and cold marathon was fine. Both of us are capable of running an awful lot quicker, but today was just about the miles and being able to run tomorrow. I've got a whole 17 hours rest before my next planned run. Happy days.

I set off to the Berkhamsted Half with Steve Pritchard. I had no aspirations for a quick time after a bit of a lay off and not much training under my belt. The weather conditions were not ideal, cold and wet, but not much wind so could have been worse. I had no idea of what challenges the course would offer but had been told there were some challenging hills on route. I bumped into fellow flyer Ron Armstrong pre-race and by coincidence raced the first mile with him before we said our goodbyes and Ron pushed on. Now talking of first miles I thought it would never end.....then the 2 mile marker came into view which made me feel better! This feeling was short lived as mile 2-3 was a killer. There were some generous downhill's as I trundled around. At mile 11 another hill loomed into view but to counter this mile 12-13 was downhill all the way. This lead to a 7 minute finishing mile. If I had known there were no more hills to climb I might have pushed a bit harder! The local supp

ort was very good considering the weather. The race was well organised and well marshalled. I for one will be running it again next year and would highly recommend it to fellow flyers, definite PB potential as I proved with a PB of 1:46:49 beating my previous best by 4:45.

My 4th half on the first anniversary of my first half - Milton Keynes last year. I have improved by about 8 minutes on my first half and it was pleasing to get a PB on quite a tough course in very wet and cold conditions.

During the final mile I asked myself could I have done any more and my honest answer is that I don't think I could have done - I did give it everything. Although I wore my Garmin I didn't use it during the race so I really didn't know what my time was going to be until I saw the clock at the finish.

Interestingly I'm not convinced about the official time. I accept that my garmin was start to finish line and there was some to add on due to the start position but I thought I had crossed the line about 1:34:15 - based on the official clock.

Having had a couple of months of dodgy running and totally avoiding walking due to a nasty cartilage rip with a floater on the left knee the said knee duly received the attentions of surgery and all the offending bits were extracted. Post-op instructions were "start doing what you like doing as soon as you feel like it. If it hurts, then stop but you are no longer 25 years old". On this basis gym work started a week after surgery, then gentle walking and biking were tried and three weeks after the Black & Decker job the knee was given a social outing on the local Taupo Harriers Starlight 5k race. This was done very carefully started last so no one could claim they passed me, never got beyond a comfortable jog speed and slowly crept up through the field finishing in a PW ever time of 28:10 and did not get a telling-off from Isabel. Then last night - the four week anniversary of surgery - ran in the Harriers Ironman 5km race (Ironman NZ is this Saturday in Taupo) on the same course going just a tad harder and apparently did no harm at all and took 2 minutes off the previous week's attempt finishing in 26:09 and even sprinted at the finish. Looks like getting back to a sub 25 minutes for 5k might just be possible in a week or so but right now it is off to the South Island to do some tramping - wonder if that will work?

A cool and sunny day - perfect conditions. Aim was to get a PB - hopefully under 45 mins. The first mile went downhill so was hard to judge the pace, but fell into a decent pace after a couple of km, hovering around 7:00-7:15min/mile. Felt comfortable for the first 5k, had to start working hard after that but stayed concentrated on picking off the person in front of me, which worked well. Started to find it hard about 8km but fell in with another guy at this point, ran alongside him. I kept trying to get away, but he kept matching it. After about 5 attempts I got away (he said "good luck" and just let me go this time). There is a tough little climb from 9km for about 500m which I found really hard, but once at the top the road sloped downhill slightly to the finish.

A nice course, slightly undulating but nothing too tricky until the last climb. Pleased with the time and performance - felt good throughout and had nothing left by the end! And knocked 1.5 mins off my PB - Happy Days.

For my annual trip to see Jad & do an event with her we chose this very popular event again. This year it was back to south Shrops in the area around the Clee Hills.

We climbed Brown Clee (twice - both ends seperately) and Titterstone Clee - with lots of undulations in between, making a total of c.3,600 feet of climb. The weather was superb - sun all day but with a slight breeze wich meant it never got too warm. As this was an area I used to cycle around occasionally in my youth it was good to go to the top of some hills I had only looked at from below!

Brian Layton, 5hrs 22 min - Jad Bienek & Geoff Harding - walked it in 9hrs 11 mins.

After the girls had set my pb time of 1hr 36mins at the dinner table on Saturday night, I was under pressure and feeling a bit nervous when we set out for the start line on a glorious February morning. It was good to bump into David Cook and have a boys chat before the start after spending all evening with the girls (only joking ladies!). Both myself and Dave started off together but I soon upped the pace to a brisk 6.45, knowing that if I was to achieve this amazing feat that was set, I needed to be doing around 7-7.15 mile pace at least. This courageous start proved to be a little quick for me and after a couple of miles, I settled back down to a more comfortable 7.05 mile pace. The miles seemed to fly by and I felt pretty good with my pace varying from 7-7.30. At 10 miles I started to flag a little, keeping up the pace was starting to take its toll and I resorted to a couple of gel sweets that I had concealed in the back of my shorts prior to the race. This gave me a little energy boost and I was able to pick up the pace again, however, looking at my Garmin, I knew it was going to be tight to achieve the set time and I tried to up the pace but my little legs could not go any faster. I finally finished at 1hr 37, a PB for me with my Garmin showing 13.53 miles!. Dave came in 4 mins behind at 1hr 41 and he had the same distance recorded and after chatting with a few other runners it appeared that the organisers had got it wrong so..... allowing for this, I think I could have been a bit closer to that 1hr 36 mins goal!!.

All in all a well organised flattish course, perfect for PB’s, definitely consider next year if they get the distance sorted!. Well done to Annie for achieving a PB and well done to Becs, Val and Dave. Thanks ladies for letting me join the sisterhood for the weekend and making me an honourable girlie! Very enjoyable weekend.

Since the event the following statement has been issued by the organisers:- The Race Organisers have confirmed that ‘The Brighton Half Marathon is a UKA licensed course measuring exactly 13.1 miles, we have however received feedback from various runners that the total distance measured on their training devices showed a distance of over 13.1 miles. We can now confirm after investigation that the total distance covered by each runner in the Brighton Half Marathon on 19 February 2012 was 13.42 miles. This has been investigated and is human error due to a misplaced turnaround between mile 4 and 5.’ The Race Director said: ‘We take full responsibility for this human error and would like to issue our most sincere apologies to all the runners who experienced disappointment over this. We have taken all feedback into account, we will be implementing some new additional measures ready for the 2013 race to prevent this from happening again.’
Forename	Surname	Category	Gun Time	Chip Time	Adjusted Chip Time
Mark	Billington	M40	1:38:13	1:37:13	1:34:53
David	Cook	M50	1:42:44	1:41:44	1:39:18
Katie	Ruditis	FSEN	2:06:48	2:01:35	1:58:41
Rebecca	Fleckney	FSEN	2:08:38	2:05:33	2:02:32
Annie	Page	FSEN	2:11:17	2:08:12	2:05:08
Valerie	Von Arx	F50	2:37:29	2:34:24	2:30:41

A great little cross country over 6 miles in the small village of Hardwick close to Aylesbury. After the disappointment of not traveling to Charnwood it was great to undertake a race that is my top 5 of favorite runs.

The 'x/stream' refers to the fact you have to cross a small stream/river on 5 occasions. Throw in around 3 open ditches to jump across and 3 stiles to clamber over makes for a great cross country course. There is one long climb around 4+ miles but generally the course is relatively flat. Running around farmer's fields has normally meant some heavy,sticky mud to negotiate but this year conditions were almost ideal and made for some fast times.

With 7 Flyers running we had good Club presence. I was really pleased with my run, soon settling in to a good pace and having no problem with the water crossings. It helped that water levels were down this year. I felt strong up the the long climb and found myself passing runners over the final mile back to the finish. My time of 47.06 was over 2 and a half minutes quicker that the last 2 years but reflected the better conditions this year. I noticed the winner (Thomas Beedell - 33.58), who also won in 2011, was a minute+ quicker this year. Coincidentally my 84th finish position was exactly the same as 2011!

Great race and if you have never done it then one to keep in mind for next year.

I completed the Bramley 20 on Sunday, finishing in 02:58:58 - the flat run from mile 19 ensured I just dipped in under my target time of 3hrs. Bramley is a 2 lap road race, accounting for a 10 mile event too, along the country lanes which seem to have a lot of 'gentle' inclines but no downhills! I went off too quickly (why do we never learn?!) and blew up quite early on going from a 8.30 average pace to 8:54 by the end. It's always a friendly event, marshaled well by Reading Road Runners.

Right what can I say to do this event justice (and make it sound more interesting than running 28 laps round a lake over 4 days).....Inspired by seeing Paul Barton do this event last year it seemed that the next logical step in my marathon journey was to enter a multi day event. I raised around £700 for the stroke association in the process, met some very interesting characters (a bloke that has done 800+ marathons, a lady who has run every day for the last 6 years, a guy training for the 10 in 10 using barefeet running tactics, to give you a rough idea) basically these guys bang out marathons for breakfast! I was a novice, a rookie, an outsider but welcomed into the fold and given the same support and encouragement as the other 52 on the start line on day 1.

The event is run by one man band, Enigma Running who uses his events to fundraise for his own running of the 10 in 10 every year in May (Brathay Trust) - running in minus 12 was the easy bit compared to 12-14 hour days of lap counting, results sorting, water/feed station, cheering etc; whilst being unable to feel your hands and feet!

The first 2 days were relatively "easy" physically and I quickly found a natural rhythm to see me through, lucky to have self employed and part time mates I had some lovely company but WOW did the flyers came out in full force on Saturday and Sunday!!!! I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of support from the club, there were more red hoodies than runners at one stage:-) - most came to run a lap or 2 or even 5 and 7!!!! with me. I know it sounds gushy but It really did make such a difference to my state of mind, I didn't once get bored as I always had someone new to chat to and discuss the igloo and icicles with. I can't thank you all enough!

Huge hugs go to my pal Val who was there without fail every day and Mrs Annie "pink hat" Page who saw me through the last 2 laps (7 miles) every day which as you could imagine were the toughest.

Would recommend this event to any seasoned marathon runner, but perhaps a more interesting course such as great barrow challenge in september unless you are very very comfortable with your own company, monontoneous views and don't mind feeling a bit wonky and lopsided after running round in circles day in day out.

Rebecca Fleckney	4:47:01	4:35:40	4:41:11	4:48:50	Total 18:52:42	Average 4:43:10	24 of 45
Paul Barton	4:23:05	4:20:30	4:20:47	4:17:50	Total 17:22:12	Average 4:20:33	18 of 45
Martin Beare		4:35:40

For once I might actually have a bit of a rest, well for a few days at least........

After some early calls to decide if it was safe to travel on a snowy Sunday morning I eventually decided that if I could get to Flitwick from Ampthill then the main roads would be okay. I made it down to Flitwick, collected Terry McHugh and off we went. The motorway was clear and we made good time to Anstey in Leicestershire. The race HQ was up a hill which was a challenge to drive up, we had to scoot around several cars into the fresh snow but kept going and made it.

Haydn, Sedgers and Brian Layton had much more experience of this sort of event and they were comparing notes on the best kit to bring. Gloves - essential, hmm I didn't have any of those. Hat - again, essential kit, I wonder if I should have brought one? Lots of layers, well, I did have a base layer with a Flyers vest on top. That's layers, isn't it?

So, off to the football field where the race starts and after a 10 min delay we were off. The snow was deep enough that it felt like non-stop high-knees drills. Not sure I could keep that up for a few hours. I started gently and the field soon strung out after a delay at a stile. The front-runners were clearing a nice path in the snow, so the going was getting easier. Overtaking was tough as you had not only to overtake but also leave the path of flat snow and go out into the deeper stuff. I went out slowly and picked up the pace after halfway, so had a good run for home with lots of overtaking to keep me motivated. As we got back to the finish there was a bit of a chill in the air but for the rest of the race we'd been under blue skies and even feeling a bit of warmth from the sun, there were times when I thought that there really wasn't a better way to spend a Sunday than charging around in the snowy Leicestershire hills.

I know that the Watford Half was cancelled, so this could be a good early-Feb fixture as it seems that fell races ignore the conditions. I'll certainly do this one again.

What an amazing race – 7 hardy souls from AFF made our way to Charnwood, the conditions were not too bad but the fresh and compacted snow made it hard going [well for me at least], the actual weather itself was glorious after a rather unnerving view of clouds and mist on the drive up.

A classic race with wonderful views across the parks and an interesting run up the beacon,,, all in all, one to savour and I for one will be back next year whatever the weather. Well done to all who made it there and around the course..

Crikey, that was hard... and white... I've never put so much effort and concentration into every running step, so it felt like a lot more than 14 miles. Next year, I'll bring my crampons - should have known, really, being a climbing club race! Great experience, though, with wonderful scenery, a few crags and the only sunshine for miles around.

My hometown 10 K, which has traditionally been my first race of a new season and makes me think that Spring is approaching. No sign of that this year! The overnight snow had cleared, but it was still very chilly hanging around beforehand for the 1400+ runners that made the start. This is a nice run which undulates, mostly upwards, through Graylingwell Park, Goodwood and Lavant, but then after a steady climb up Pook Lane at around 7 K runners are safe in the knowledge that it is all downhill until sweeping in past the Festival Theatre to the finish. Actually doing some training over November & December this winter was rewarded with a PB, although my total lack of a finish suggests that there is work to do somewhere.

Having done a Marathon in December, the speed has been zapped out of my legs so I am looking to go shorter and quicker for a few months to get it back with a sub 20 5k my immediate objective.

Got to Willen Lake at 8:15 and it was -7 and set off for a 5k warm up which is did in a pedestrian 26:46 but had steam coming off me at the end so I knew I was warm. Stripped down to shorts (it was still -7) and went fairly hard to see where I was in terms of fitness. Finished in 21:33 with progressively quicker miles so even though is was 45 secs off my PB I am very happy and its great to be over the post marathon blues of a few weeks ago.

The 5k racing season has restarted in Taupo with the first of the Harriers Starlight Cinema runs round the domain – a mean, hillier than it looks course.

Having made a gentleman’s agreement with my 65 year old running mate, Rev John Howell, to run this race leaving plenty of room for improvement in later races the event took over and I did 25:42 beating John by about a minute. I was pleased enough as the first race is usually slower but I was a good 40 sacs off my own age group record. My well not make the rest of the series as off to hospital today for surgery on the left knee to tidy up a torn cartilage with a floater.

It is a few years since I last represented the Civil Service so it was a great pleasure to receive the call to race at RAF Halton.

The Sir Sefton Brancker match has a long tradition and sees a Civil Service rep team pitch up against the RAF with the added spice of Police and Fire Service also involved. Each team consists of 10 senior and 6 veteran athletes with 6 and 4 to score on a 10K, 2-lap course. This was my first call-up as a vet.

The few days leading up to the race had been exceedingly cold which meant that the ground was hard as nails. Thankfully a mild spell with rain arrived over night to warm things up and soften the ground a treat; I was rather looking forwards to this one.

The start was predictably frantic as athletes jockeyed for position and settled into their stride. After that it was a blur of parkland with some twists, turns and logs to clear through the woods. A strong run saw me finish in 34th place for 36:13, and 11th vet.

Some classy athletes competed and the RAF piped the Civil Service by just 4 points.

3 Counties XC @ Wootton - Sunday 15 January

An early end to the three Counties League this year, after a hectic autumn just one post-Christmas fixture. So, on to Wootton's fixture in Northampton. There was quite a trek from race HQ to the start, ideal for a good warm-up. The start was made a bit different to previous years to try and stretch out the field before we hit the congested climb through the woods. It was off fast and a surprise to see Phil Holland passing me from the back, shouldn't he be at the front? As we hit the woods there wasn't much choice but to go with the pace of those around. The path got narrower as it turned left at the top of the park. The sun hadn't got to the path and it was quite treacherous in places. The marshals did a good job of warning us of the worst places but I still nearly lost it on a downhill corner, then did exactly the same on the second lap.

After a late shoe change (which explained the start from the back) Phil Holland finished a strong third place as first Flyer home. We had 31 finishers with a couple of injuries, Laura took a tumble and Martin Godin tweaking a calf muscle.

So, the final positions are 6th men's team, 7th ladies team and 6th overall for the season.

Well done to all who have raced for the club this season, lots of first time racers who hopefully enjoyed the team spirit of the cross country and also the tea and cakes at the end!

Club Cross Country Champions

Men

Ladies

Champion	Andy Bierton
V-40	Jeremy Bell
V-50	Rob Cook

Champion	Jo Aatkar
V-35	Annette Bell
V-45	Keri Stanley

Yes! It's that time of year again. Don't the years roll by and 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, 77 marathons were completed by Club members and I am sure there are a few more that Paul Barton has sneaked in and a few over distance.

Me and my big mouth - Paul has just reported another 25 marathons for 2011. The final results are:-

Club Marathon Champions

Men

Ladies

Champion	George Arbuckle	3:14:08	Abingdon
V-40	Jeremy Bell	3:28:41	Edingburgh
V-50	Richard Jones	3:30:55	Abingdon

Champion	Rebecca Fleckney	3:51:54	Berlin
V-35	Tracy Nichols	3:55:30	Rutland Trail
V-45	Keri Stanley	4:17:19	Edingburgh

The Grand Prix Leagues also are concluded at the end of the year. The tables have now been finalised and summary tables are available here. Well done to the 5 winners:- Paul Farmer, James Handley, George Arbuckle, Shaun Kirtley & Nicky Cronin. It's good to see some of the newer members making their presence felt. Generally speaking all the leagues were closely contested, despite George's final surge, picking up large numbers of bonus points after the bumping process hade ceased. Kingfishers was particularly close with Nicky just edging out Sarah Johnson on the head-to-head count back.

I have now produced the new leagues for the 2012 season. The reordering process involved taking into account certain results that did not contribute to last year's position such as our 3 events and any events new members may have participated in before joining the club. Hopefully this has produced a balanced and competitive set of leagues reflecting previous performances. Any major anomalies should sort themselves out using the bumping rules. In fact this has already moved Theresa Jackson up 2 leagues due to her performance in County XC Champs. So the current state is far from final. I have tried to accommodate everyone who has recorded a result over the last 12 months. If your name does not appear, fear not, you haven't been forgotten and will be placed in a league when you first complete a GP event.

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

We had superb weather for this 25 mile jaunt around nothern Essex - so a great start to 2012.

The route went from Stansted Mountfitchet to the edge of Saffron Walden & back - with some wide open views. And not too much of the famous Essex mud!

Visiting my mum up in Norfolk at this time of year means either running Ely New Years Eve 10k on the way up or the Wymondham 10k on New years day itself - once we did both.

This year though we settled for just the later race. Two very, very late nights not to mention a few celebratory drinks - oh and only just returning to running didn¹t put us in our prime!

The race starts in a narrow lane and if your after a time you need to be up the front to avoid the jam of people. An open country run, undulating and subject to any passing howling gale. In places you could probably see the runners spread out in front for the better part of a kilometer.

We had decide to run together and started towards the back of the field. We chatted as we ran and enjoyed slowly catching and passing those runners that took off too fast. Loads of marshalls, at least 2 at every junction and all very much still in the festive spirit. It being a holiday it also attracted many friends and supporters, the few houses we passed also had their owners out to cheers us on.

A very pleasant way to start the New Year and back in time for a massive lunch. Time was slower than the last time we ran this (about 3 years ago) but 2 races in a week and after such a long time not running its still encouraging. First road race in a very long time (2 years for me!).

As at the start of 2011 the Taupo Harrier Club, with Sport Waikato, planned their first meeting of the New Year to take place mid-morning on the 1st January with a run in Spa Thermal Park measuring 2012 metres. In 2011 the weather gods really were in a good mood and ensured a beautiful morning however for this year someone, somewhere must have upset the said “Weather Gods” and the day broke with torrential rain. Despite the dreadful conditions at 9am Club President and Captain, Noel Bennett and Austin Hutcheon respectively, set off wearing all the wet weather protection they could muster and set out the course – the gear must have been good as only their feet got wet.

The course was ready by 9:45am but no one appeared in the car park so Noel and Austin reckoned that they would have to run round the course all on their own just to prove that exercise can be taken in what could have passed for a paddi field. However minutes later cars appeared and by the appointed start time about 25 people had gathered; these included Rebecca from Bedford in the UK, one very young runner dressed for the occasion in his wet-suit, a mini fire-man on his bike plus several other people of all ages with several of them totally unknown to the Harriers – hopefully the start of a good relationship. Rebecca felt right at home with the wet start to the day but did lament the lack of mud usually found on UK cross country courses. Rebecca described the event as a good-fun event that demonstrated the Taupo Harriers commitment to family running – great to see so many youngsters and runners of all abilities taking part.

As normal the kids shot off whilst the ancients grunted into gear and gave chase and all were astounded that the rain had stopped, in fact as the race progressed the weather got better and better and by the time the event was over the sun was almost shining. There were no official times taken but Noel, third placed, reckoned he was close to his time last year of a bit over 9 minutes, Isabel was only 30 seconds slower and Austin 40 seconds slower – in the conditions, where bow-waves were actually seen on some sections of the course, these times were pretty good. Runners soon picked up the course markers and all retired to continue other activities feeling really good with themselves for making the effort. Hopefully all those that ran will keep up the effort and get back out again soon – the Harrier programme can be found on www.taupoharriers.com and it will not be long till the Harriers’ Starlight 5k series starts. All runners and walkers are welcome to come along to join the Harriers and finally our UK visitor offered thanks to all running volunteers throughout the world who take the time and effort to make things happen.

Anyway a cracking little informal gathering of Taupo Harriers on new years day for a 2012 metre cross country run - only 25 of us turned out due to the torrential rain that has engulfed most of the north island these last few days....... a challenging route with plenty of hills and water but hey no mud! didn't disgrace the flyers too much, came in the top ten and I think I was 2nd lady! my only official event in about 3 weeks so you can guarantee i'll be making up for lost time when I get back

OMM France - 1/2 September A two day orienteering event in the high Alps, for teams of two. As Haydn had asked my friend Gail to do this event with him this year, Brian (who'd done it with Haydn the last few years) asked my French friend Ines. So as I was with David P (who I've done it with the last 8 years) - six of us flew out to Geneva. As we drove up from Morzine to Avoriaz (20 hairpin bends) we could see the jagged shapes of the high apartments in the swirling mist - and the snow covered mountain tops on the Swiss border beyond. After we had registered and had a carbo packed meal in the Italian restaurant - we stood in our apartment watching the snow falling, and wondering if we would be running the following day. Next morning the snow was still falling - but miraculously by 10am, as we walked down to the start area, it stopped - and we had a day of high cloud with amazing views. As this was a score event (6 hours each day) we all went different ways, in our case navigating to pick up controls on a winding path between the golf course & woods - with a vertical drop not far to our left. We only picked up 50 points on our way to the control sector, but it had only taken us 2 hours (we could go through the CS between 2 & 3 hours from the start - on a total of 6 hours.) So we now had 4 hours, & picked up 50 at 3 controls in a forest - a technical area mapped at a bigger scale - in 30 mins. We then went up on a fantastic ridge run for another 30, through meadows & woods to a control at a viewing platform (20 - with a lake 2,000 feet below) and up on another ridge, through more forests up to the main ski runs to pick up another 40 points before a final descent of over 1,000 feet to the overnight camp - beside a bar by a stream. With tent pitched (& some socialising in the bar) we cooked our dehydrated meal with more socialising around the campfire! After a night of clear skies & full moon we packed up around 6am for a chilly 7am start. The first part of the course involved more climbing than the day before - so it was nearly 3 hours by the time we got to the control sector - and we still only had 50 points. As we got there at the same time as Haydn & Gail we did most of the rest of the day together - visiting the same bit of forest as yeaserday for a different 60 points - plus another 30 on the edge of Avoriaz. In the full sun it was now getting very warm - Gail & Haydn pushed on to a control beyond the finish, but we decided we'd had enough - it had been a very tough, but glorious day. Brian & Ines had opted for the shorter course - 4 hours each day - as they had niggling injuries. At the prize giving all teams got something - and in the evening a big group of the British teams went down to Morzine for a very convivial meal together. And everyone said they were coming back next year! Dave Sedgley
David Sedgley & David Peregrine Day 1: 190 points, in 5-54-22. Day 2: 140 points, in 5-27-00. Total: 330 points for 16th place overall - 1st V3 male team.	Haydn Leaker & Gail Kalsi Day 1: 120 points, in 5-38-28. Day 2: 150 points, in 5-37-25. Total: 270 points for 17th place overall - 2nd V2 mixed team.	Brain Layton & Ines Braun - short course Day 1: 200 points. Day 2, 190 points. Total: 390 points for 4th place overall - 1st V2 mixed team.

St Albans Half Marathon - Sunday 10 June The St Albans Half Marathon is a large event - not only a half marathon that saw over 2,000 finishers, but incorporates a half marathon walk, a 5K run and a 1.5 mile children's run. It was disappointing, therefore, that only 3 AFF runners featured in this well organised event - you even got a free lolley for finishing! For me it was a case of returning to my roots and running a race I have now done on several previous occasions.
	Major roads were closed that meant clear running along the first 3 miles of St Albans that took runners up to the golf course at Batchwood then onto rural roads through Potters Crouch, Bedmond and Chiswell Green before returning runners back into Verulanium and the finish. The St Albans Half Marathon was founded in 1982 by local businessman, Phil Gibson, who wanted to raise money for a hospital scanner following the death of his mother from breast cancer. It attracted 1,300 competitors each paying £1.00 entry fee receiving a certificate on completion. First male runner home was local athlete Kirk Dumpleton an old friend of mine from my youth. Kirk's claim to fame is he is the only British runner who has ever beaten Steve Ovett and Seb Coe in the same race - Winning the National Cross Country Championships as a junior runner!! Flyers who have done the Fred Hughes 10 will therefore be familiar with this course as from mile 3 onwards it follows the FH10 route. It is therefore an undulating course with a couple of steep climbs particularly the long drag through 6 miles up Bedmond Lane. Throw in some warm weather on the day meant it was not really ideal half marathon running weather. Nevertheless I found myself soon settling down into a 7.20 pace and despite dropping to a 7.40 mile up to Bedmond, I went through half way in 49 minutes dead! The next 3/4 miles are quite undulating and certainly by 9 miles I was again having to mentally concentrate on keeping this pace. A fast 800m downhill in the final mile saw me clock an amazing 6.38 mile and pushed hard to finish in 1.36.50 - I was well pleased with that time over this course. Interestingly, I was placed 239th after the first half but my second half split of 47.51 was infact the 173rd quickest time for the return leg and placed me 208th overall.
Terry was a little disappointed with his run but he had been unwell at the beginning of the week which had restricted his training. He said he didn't feel like he had any energy and had an uncomfortable run yet still churned out a 1.20 performance. His splits were 40.56 and 39.56 and his return split was the 6th fastest of the day. Terry's final mile was 5.32! Nevertheless I felt it was a good, solid run over this testing course. Well done to Martin Davey who was, we believe the only other Flyer running. Dave Stanley