tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63706942285182077002024-02-19T03:11:10.386+00:00One Foot in Front of the OtherRamblings of a running foolSam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-41764635220415556422017-09-22T20:55:00.001+01:002017-09-22T20:56:21.856+01:00Ultra Chicken<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ultra chicken loves to run, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She runs around the world for fun. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Come scorching sunshine, rain or snow</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's Ultra Chicken; go, go, go! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now here's a very silly thing, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This race is called the Piece of String. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You must run, and run, and then</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Go out and run, and run again. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">No one knows quite when to end, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">S' enough to send you round the bend. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But focus, try, and persevere... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You'll likely fail - so try next year! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">The mountain race UTMB</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Is held each year in Chamonix.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the mountains way up high, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's clucking tough, and you might die.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">And through the sound of cowbells ringing</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ultra Chicken's steps are springing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But 2 days in she doth decree, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"I should have done the CCC". </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Next, the race that eats its young.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Barkley Marathons sure are "fun". </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The conk is blown, the fag is lit, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But Ultra Chicken's thinking, "Darn!" </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sixty thousand feet ascent, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A finish rate of 1 percent, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A hundred miles (and then the rest!) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Will put this yardbird to the test. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">All her time she now devotes</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Running Land's End from John O' Groats.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A matter of a thousand miles</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Brings Ultra Chicken's trademark smiles.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Now I'll follow", the hen decrees, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"The footsteps of Pheidippides."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A marathon? "Well, for a start a </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Run from Athens into Sparta."</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Smiling as the race unfurls, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">High fiving all the boys and girls. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Molon labe"! There's the street, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Now go and kiss the statue's feet. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now the chicken celebrates</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Her entry into Western States. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And while she's at it, she might cram</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Three others for the full Grand Slam. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Four 100 milers?! Can you believe</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The amazing feats folk can achieve! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And whilst some say that she is nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She'll finish them; no ifs, no buts!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Some will say that she is brave, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And to inspire is what she craves.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nervous now the clock is tickin' </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She might be scared, but she's no chicken! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">But she is not some super chick</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There is no secret, no clever trick. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Perseverance and working hard</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Are what ultrarunners most regard. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">So try your best, but then push harder! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are no limits with great ardour. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Believe and trust what you can do... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Or be an idiot - that works too! </span></div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-86226505585738760762017-09-16T22:32:00.004+01:002017-09-16T22:33:18.630+01:00UTMB Race Report 2017 - Needs More Cowbell<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://utmbmontblanc.com/" target="_blank">UTMB</a> is one of, if not <i>the</i> most well known mountain ultra in the world. Granted, that is a fairly niche category in which to find yourself at the top of the heap. However, find yourself in Chamonix or any of the villages surrounding Mont Blanc at the end of August during the UTMB festival of running, and you might think that you had stumbled upon a big city marathon nestled away in the mountain valley. The atmosphere is, quite simply, electric, with the sounds of cowbells and shouts of "Allez!" ringing out day and night. And the finishing chute in Chamonix, where runners pass hundreds of cheering supporters high fiving kids as they go, is teeming with energy no matter the weather or time of day (or night).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Race week consists of five main events; the titular UTMB (Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc - Chamonix to Chamonix, 171 Km, 10,000 m ascent), the CCC (Courmayeur to Champex-Lac to Chamonix, 101 Km, 6,100 m ascent), the TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie, 119 Km, 7,200 m ascent), the newer OCC (Orsiéres to Champex-Lac to Chamonix, 56 Km, 3,500 m ascent), and the team based PTL (Petitie Trotte a Léon, 290 Km, 26,500 m ascent). They are spaced out so that there is always something going on around Chamonix, with the main event of the UTMB concluding proceedings.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6e0gmxUWrcuB1p9y7ONr5H2Upef5hYbFL2ZhEvKlXPfD1L0OiTbYEqpHTODKyt36weOuEsM5DlvPyANg0xODwGrkQzMFOgGR7kCokNZgW_AQxWhmuEa5kSNoQH5X58nsisfW1EChlCU/s1600/DSC_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6e0gmxUWrcuB1p9y7ONr5H2Upef5hYbFL2ZhEvKlXPfD1L0OiTbYEqpHTODKyt36weOuEsM5DlvPyANg0xODwGrkQzMFOgGR7kCokNZgW_AQxWhmuEa5kSNoQH5X58nsisfW1EChlCU/s400/DSC_0155.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
I originally did the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/ultra-trail-de-mont-blanc-2012.html" target="_blank">UTMB five years ago in 2012</a>, although my finish there has always had somewhat of an asterisk alongside it. The weather was awful leading up to the race, and so the organisers decided to reduce the distance considerably and changed the course such that we barely left the Chamonix valley. Whilst I finished the race, it wasn't <i>really</i> the UTMB. I had always had it in my mind to address this, and decided last year to put my name into the draw so that I might have a chance of actually getting in several years down the line. I really was NOT expecting to actually get in, so you can imagine my surprise when, for the second time, I got into the race on my first try. I have the <i>worst</i> luck.<br />
<br />
I confess that my lead up to this race has not exactly been ideal. The last time that I finished a race was the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/races/south-downs-way-100-2018" target="_blank">South Downs Way 100</a> over a year ago, and my running over the last 6 months leaves a lot to be desired. Since moving down south, and due to an injury that has affected my running for nearly 2 years now, I have barely run more than 30 miles a week, with nothing longer than 15 miles except for a botched attempt at a 100 Km a few months ago. I still cycle plenty and use the gym, but I miss the days of training for and completing ultras. I contemplated not running, particularly after I pulled out of the Serpent Way 100 Km at 40 miles recently. But seeing as how there are plenty of people out there who would love to have the opportunity to run this race, I wanted to give it the best go that I possibly could.<br />
<br />
Plus I had already payed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5P6VXxJl588NdYT6RJuQ2gJueHBXTSv5tqkWATLj-XcVWXB9-gLvKWYHCH0YnV1TQxjgGRXGISH0qN5noru5Q9MXURnjKEIWXL8jujd0u0P2iYRLeIXBpQvGMy7jslDHM0u6x7hP-0E/s1600/DSC_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5P6VXxJl588NdYT6RJuQ2gJueHBXTSv5tqkWATLj-XcVWXB9-gLvKWYHCH0YnV1TQxjgGRXGISH0qN5noru5Q9MXURnjKEIWXL8jujd0u0P2iYRLeIXBpQvGMy7jslDHM0u6x7hP-0E/s400/DSC_0152.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The weather leading up to the event was hot and sunny, and the photos that I saw from friends already out there looked incredible. So you can imagine my disappointment to turn up in Geneva to driving rain and threats of snow. It was all a little familiar... I was going to be seriously pissed off if the race changed again, and I ended up with another not-quite-UTMB finish.<br />
<br />
In the meantime I was soaking in the atmosphere, and spending the day looking after my friend Tim's family while he ran what his wife described as the "baby" race (OCC). I had hoped to take Jen and Lottie along with me, but unfortunately it didn't work out, so it was funny to end up tagging on as a third (well, fifth) wheel to a family. As the evening approached, we met up with Tim's friend Christian (who would also be running UTMB), his wife Caroline and their two boys, and made our way to the finish line to wait for Tim to come in. The weather had been pretty awful all day, and I confess to hoping that the OCC runners would bear the brunt of it leaving only good weather for me. Soz.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHlYvPGAn2Fg-N45oLql9jiIwnKDffBXGlpWexw2xxcx1w-W-ZB-xmPzbwnA_YKeNno6-s9qaI1n6nF9vAsDS7DblvT9hU3kGuFUT2NQVnRYOHv4NzH0xlFglsiun7Df8XOpkJ3rgxco/s1600/DSC_0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHlYvPGAn2Fg-N45oLql9jiIwnKDffBXGlpWexw2xxcx1w-W-ZB-xmPzbwnA_YKeNno6-s9qaI1n6nF9vAsDS7DblvT9hU3kGuFUT2NQVnRYOHv4NzH0xlFglsiun7Df8XOpkJ3rgxco/s400/DSC_0156.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Despite the rain, the kids were in good spirits, excited to see their Daddy finish the race. We set ourselves up near the end ready for them to join Tim in his final run through the line. It was dark and rainy, but as Tim came through the cheering crowd, he was delighted to see his family, and was so proud to run with his little boy and girl through the cheering crowds to the finish line after 12 hours of running. The "baby" race it may be, but there was nothing easy about it. But boy did he milk the fact that he was all done when Christian and I were still waiting to get going.<br />
<br />
I spent the next day just chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool and all shooting some B-ball outside of the school. I don't really put too much thought into these things, so was happy with the 10 minutes that I had spent throwing all of my random bits and pieces into my bag the day before. Funnily enough, the majority of my kit (except for my shoes) were the exact same things that I had brought with me 5 years ago, even down to the bandage. I guess it was a good sign that I had got through with everything intact last time, but it kind of highlighted quite how cheap I am.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8e_R-gpsk1JEQ-IztScrA86_VzrzUYTjxTytLG9ibey7gxsMdE32LAh6ejV5iD5_X0-AVzQPWefdkSd9jVMyyHAemobyY5hLqm8anDyrKKiTQxwCWgB2spTj5e6WhNmMEYxYUxEBcj4/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8e_R-gpsk1JEQ-IztScrA86_VzrzUYTjxTytLG9ibey7gxsMdE32LAh6ejV5iD5_X0-AVzQPWefdkSd9jVMyyHAemobyY5hLqm8anDyrKKiTQxwCWgB2spTj5e6WhNmMEYxYUxEBcj4/s400/DSC_0159.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The race started in the evening at a slightly revised time of 6:30pm. We had received confirmation that the race would go ahead with only minor changes - it still wasn't the classic UTMB course, but was close enough to finally get rid of that asterisk. I guess that all I would have to do now was finish the race.<br />
<br />
Tim was planning on crewing for elite runner Jason Schlarb during the race so had offered to give me a lift to the start. Jason had the win in his sights with a time of 20ish hours in mind - somewhat faster than my intended finish. As we approached the start, Jason and his girlfriend Meredith walked through to the elite pen, whilst I was redirected towards the general start pen with the rest of the plebs. Since we had turned up quite close to the starting time, I found myself pretty far from the actual start line. However, since I had no airs about my finish time I wasn't too worried.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYowyToiCgANhcuC8AWn2Q8JNNgLEE51tK47QYzG-9RDir8YCKiBw3q90xgLxujx8eMHfuW2B6wmNI92h2EwCxHrYR7ejqUHCdA1sRufc6OqrxRnkV7GdMiDxNIzDhpmwt46_ZIWOe4c/s1600/DSC_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYowyToiCgANhcuC8AWn2Q8JNNgLEE51tK47QYzG-9RDir8YCKiBw3q90xgLxujx8eMHfuW2B6wmNI92h2EwCxHrYR7ejqUHCdA1sRufc6OqrxRnkV7GdMiDxNIzDhpmwt46_ZIWOe4c/s400/DSC_0162.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Despite the issues leading up to the race, I was feeling pretty positive. I was planning on pushing myself as far as I could one way or another, even if it meant hiking most of the way to the finish. Since I was there until Wednesday anyway, I had nothing else to be doing other than enjoying some time in the mountains. My plan was to keep moving forward and smile as much as I could - this was due to be an amazing experience that I planned and making the most of. I was a bit concerned about how my legs and feet would stand up to the strain being so out of practice, but I put that out of my mind and concentrated on taking in the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
With one final rendition of Vangelis' <i>Conquest of Paradise </i>(man that song can get annoying after a while), we were off! Well sort of... As far back as I was, the movement was somewhat stilted as we were squeezed through the streets of Chamonix. The shouts of "Allez! Allez!" were somewhat frustrating while surrounded by hundreds of other runners moving at a crawling pace. I was allezing as fast as I could, damnit! Not that this was a bad thing of course - last time, I was quite near the front and ended up running to Les Houches in a ridiculously fast time and ended up completely shattered early in the race. This at least kept my pace sensible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ITSNqYM8R27Ko_vwLWyBbZFtrIffvKW8G9zVnKLjxB6hMMYidI4hkrvpNAWrPbQQlRuXBoZUYh0vpPtG3xrJdQpH2JdilkPwIMZuIA3xKlYQXR2ezhzOYKVfWOjoRRH-PwJDLJkijLg/s1600/DSC_0169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ITSNqYM8R27Ko_vwLWyBbZFtrIffvKW8G9zVnKLjxB6hMMYidI4hkrvpNAWrPbQQlRuXBoZUYh0vpPtG3xrJdQpH2JdilkPwIMZuIA3xKlYQXR2ezhzOYKVfWOjoRRH-PwJDLJkijLg/s400/DSC_0169.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As we got to the first climb, I was finally able to move, and set off at a run to get the legs going. Despite the threatened apocalypse, it was actually a very pleasant evening, and the run through the woods to the first aid station was a perfect start to the event. I heard a cheeky shout of, "Go on Sam, you're running faster than Walmsley!", and turned to find Robbie Britton out supporting on the route following his 16th place finish at the OCC the day before.<br />
<br />
The climb up to Le Delevret was about how I remembered it from last time - long and arduous. And this was one of the shorter climbs. Luckily, I had remembered one of my main tips from last time - <i>there's always more up</i>. Never think that you are at the top, because you will only be disappointed. Let it be a nice surprise when you start to come back down again! Another good tip is <i>sometimes a cowbell is just a cow</i>, so don't use the sound as a signal for an upcoming aid station.<br />
<br />
During the climb, it started to get colder and darker. I was quite happy in my choice of clothing for the time being (nothing fancy, a cheap thin long sleeved top with a cheap T-shirt over the top) as long as I didn't slow down too much, but put my head torch on early to save faffing later. I was climbing quite well, and when we reached the summit and began the long descent down into Saint Gervais I was picking up quite a few places.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FJqZ7xHUMzFiAFbuF80vjBpdgSxufBk29DfXfQCqniqoA6JjNv6p99l2dUYoCq62iq-3KldfSh9S7yc-Oybcyi3XwzTAM5yHqLGNWPhcQiusoFn0P0FgCClKyUFEu7HCutLqvtuXtGc/s1600/DSC_0170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FJqZ7xHUMzFiAFbuF80vjBpdgSxufBk29DfXfQCqniqoA6JjNv6p99l2dUYoCq62iq-3KldfSh9S7yc-Oybcyi3XwzTAM5yHqLGNWPhcQiusoFn0P0FgCClKyUFEu7HCutLqvtuXtGc/s400/DSC_0170.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The problem was that I was starting to feel it in my foot. I had been dealing with an ache in my forefoot since Les Houches, and it was now starting to feel pretty bad. Not a great sign with 140 Km left to go. So I made a decision that very likely is the only reason that I made it back to Chamonix - I started using poles.<br />
<br />
Dun dun dunnnnn!<br />
<br />
This is something that I have never done before. Generally it's because I can't be bothered with the faff, and I don't really now what I am doing. But Tim had convinced me to take his poles with me just in case, and right now I was really happy I had taken his advice. I was able to take a little pressure off of my foot which made a huge difference, and I soon got the hang of how not to poke people in the face with them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwksrUUq3y_hnIB4wYmgrONZr5yUmVinApzS9A2rMZPRFU7tmT-Xih7zOEfMpLSj85sbcUoyMXmRN-5S98vcWta_vX32UkpOtm8N5ZT_osGcqJgfRVVFDySmHA8iv5FT11OzCOMq1-W_M/s1600/DSC_0182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwksrUUq3y_hnIB4wYmgrONZr5yUmVinApzS9A2rMZPRFU7tmT-Xih7zOEfMpLSj85sbcUoyMXmRN-5S98vcWta_vX32UkpOtm8N5ZT_osGcqJgfRVVFDySmHA8iv5FT11OzCOMq1-W_M/s400/DSC_0182.JPG" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
I had also made a mistake having not eaten anything since lunch. I had originally meant to grab something before the start, but ended up not having enough time. A few gels had kept me from feeling too hungry, but the cheese and sausage at Saint Gervais was very welcome. Since it was getting cold and wet now, I also got into the habit of having some nice warm salty soup at each checkpoint, and filled one bottle with water and the other with half water and half Coke. This winning combination saw me through the rest of the race with no stomach issues at all.<br />
<br />
It was raining as I headed through Les Contamines, which was the region in which I was staying. My one worry at the start was that I would end up pulling out here, but there was no risk of that now. I was smiling and happy, and feeling good with how things were going.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghq-xchSSBqrBjPjbYteEKXSuzsbMyw0N8fmi5Xmdkw0YtKfNPdVQ8HRRIqaQS6bC0WXynPWm4v4M2JdrRc0HFCyXOg6tMvyoy2ZJ3JodVD_LJlRTh2IqgbGJT8-BWuH8Ft_4HLOv9f2w/s1600/DSC_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghq-xchSSBqrBjPjbYteEKXSuzsbMyw0N8fmi5Xmdkw0YtKfNPdVQ8HRRIqaQS6bC0WXynPWm4v4M2JdrRc0HFCyXOg6tMvyoy2ZJ3JodVD_LJlRTh2IqgbGJT8-BWuH8Ft_4HLOv9f2w/s400/DSC_0183.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Coming into La Balme was a very different experience to five years ago. The snow had really started coming down then, and we were forced to put on all of our layers before they would let us continue. This time, however, it was chilly and wet - a perfect British summer's evening really. This was one of the largest climbs of the race with about 1500m climb up to Bonhomme from Saint Gervais. But I was pretty pleased with my climbing, making good progress all the time without feeling like I was struggling the whole way. The poles were really helping as well and it was nice to take advantage of some upper body strength.<br />
<br />
The section down to Chapieux started quite technical and scary in the wet, but eventually opened out into a lovely track that was perfect for some proper running (when I wasn't stuck in a procession of other runners). It felt really good to get the legs turning over, which really helped to avoid the muscles getting too stiff. I was a bit taken aback by the guy behind me who very proudly declared that he wanted to "take my ring". Okaaaaaay... After a bit of fractious French, I realised he was making a slightly tortured reference to Lord of the Rings given my name. So after nodding, smiling, and quickly backing away I ran into the tent for some soup, a bit of a cheese, and a quick reapplication of lube. One of my lasting memories from last time was a 20 Km John Wayne walk to Chamonix due to the rain having washed away my lube last time, so this time I was going to be sure to take time to keep the balls rolling. So to speak.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa-q1jFiPsP6x53pzBuGlMmR4A5fWYRAnMRDb5y8wdesd6OcC1pCxAmYH51A73vxCGkcHbDjNaxYTbtA62yv1HUGcNS0oXQkO1xhxhwxqsvz_ByclU7KeT1Kpw0SZo18LAqHgNqr6sPg/s1600/DSC_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa-q1jFiPsP6x53pzBuGlMmR4A5fWYRAnMRDb5y8wdesd6OcC1pCxAmYH51A73vxCGkcHbDjNaxYTbtA62yv1HUGcNS0oXQkO1xhxhwxqsvz_ByclU7KeT1Kpw0SZo18LAqHgNqr6sPg/s400/DSC_0185.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It was here that I accidentally bumped into Christian, who had been caught up in the manic rush at the front of the pack. We headed out together on the switch back climb up to Col Seigne, which I believe may be where you enter Italy. In all honesty, I never really noticed. I kept forgetting where I was and saying "merci", "thank you", and even "gracias" for some reason at random times throughout the run. I'm so British. Christian and I headed up the nice wide trail together at a pretty good pace, making our way up the hill. At some point I managed to get ahead of Christian which I completely failed to notice until I turned around to see why he hadn't answered me only to find a rather confused looking Frenchman in his place.<br />
<br />
The sun was starting to come up as I headed down towards the lake at Lac Combal. Getting through the night is usually somewhat of a crux point in these races, as the sun can act as a huge rejuvenating factor. In this case I was going to end up going through another night, but for now it felt great having made it through the night, and the fact that it was looking to be a nice sunny day was a huge boost. The climb up past the lake towards Mt Favre was beautiful, and I even stopped for a few photo opportunities with the Italian side of Mont Blanc.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXu2rAr8R4P96_Cz3iyokHWM9EQHvyVLNB1IJcxXkP7E3giUBi1PLbm0awxEd7UXjBks7OWfL2EhrRIQditj8MAMiyZgRCDj1J1lI7F_0pL_KUBv4wh9gBmkv43i9zxz5bfL2AQ4EjvvE/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXu2rAr8R4P96_Cz3iyokHWM9EQHvyVLNB1IJcxXkP7E3giUBi1PLbm0awxEd7UXjBks7OWfL2EhrRIQditj8MAMiyZgRCDj1J1lI7F_0pL_KUBv4wh9gBmkv43i9zxz5bfL2AQ4EjvvE/s400/DSC_0189.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The descent towards Courmayeur was pretty technical, but I was feeling pretty good at this stage and made my way down as quickly as I could. Generally the trick to downhill running is to avoid putting on the brakes and let gravity do the work. This is easier said than done when one false move can lead to a rather rapid descent with an unfortunate ending. Quite how there are not more injuries, particularly at the pointy end of the race where every second counts, I have no idea. Unfortunately I was a little limited in my ability to move by the runners surrounding me, and I wasn't comfortable enough passing by on some of the more narrow paths to overtake. But I still came into Courmayeur in under 15 hours, which was far beyond my expectations!<br />
<br />
Since I was already walking all of the climbs, it did occur to me that an early morning finish might be in my sights, which fit with my most ambitious plans from last time (before they changed the course). However, this time I had made no plans at all and was just planning on rolling with it. Plans can go wrong, and if you're too busy thinking about things you can really get your head all over the place. "Run stupid" is my motto, so I had nothing in mind other than "run to Chamonix". Simple.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRT4nYLs1JtK-HGK6xfvHWU6DpUDX2DEVKhhyphenhyphen4tmpyjxsKEkAC698ZyqrHiibJDFPNfy-Z4F-DorTqTIca-TY8_Wv0gAmGb6Co1yM88quo-M3MYPnZCM23A3TJ5iozhFxKOnwQlXxGfg/s1600/DSC_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRT4nYLs1JtK-HGK6xfvHWU6DpUDX2DEVKhhyphenhyphen4tmpyjxsKEkAC698ZyqrHiibJDFPNfy-Z4F-DorTqTIca-TY8_Wv0gAmGb6Co1yM88quo-M3MYPnZCM23A3TJ5iozhFxKOnwQlXxGfg/s400/DSC_0190.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I was feeling comfortable and dry at this point, but decided that I was going to take some time to get changed into some fresh clothes whilst I had the opportunity. I changed my clothes, relubed my... extremities, and changed my socks. I also replaced the tape on my feet just to avoid any issues that may occur down the line. I considered stopping for a nap, but actually was feeling pretty awake so decided to just crack on.<br />
<br />
The section up towards Refuge Bertone was quite relentless, with switchback after switchback up through the woods. This was absolutely a section where you need to avoid wondering "are we there yet". You're not. You're nowhere near. Get over it. When we eventually made it out of the woods, the track opened out into a wide open plain, with the route heading up towards the refuge. A helicopter was tracking above a group of us, and was swooping around all over the place. I felt that I should probably be running at this stage, but as soon as the helicopter buggered off I let out a sigh of relief and settled into a nice relaxed pace.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXvOWYLfVR7nt7a8pwiC44hMfhsQlECQwa-dSVIW6tJWgZ3xa1bvpyiDV11mSJUb1UIdheEWNSrkq-4cJ0Jp510_XOrtADTzw00HTdf5k52PhSgPBPinbgZirHNfB3NWZkersryDDhvg/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXvOWYLfVR7nt7a8pwiC44hMfhsQlECQwa-dSVIW6tJWgZ3xa1bvpyiDV11mSJUb1UIdheEWNSrkq-4cJ0Jp510_XOrtADTzw00HTdf5k52PhSgPBPinbgZirHNfB3NWZkersryDDhvg/s400/DSC_0192.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It was really starting to get chilly, and I could feel the rain coming. Since Courmayeur I had been running in shorts and a T shirt as it was too hot in the sun to wear anything more, but here I stopped to put a long sleeved top on before the cold weather got worse.<br />
<br />
By the time I dropped into Arnouvaz, the rain was really coming down, and the terrain had become boggy and slippy making descending quite treacherous. We were told that we would have to put on all of our waterproofs before being allowed to head out from the checkpoint, so for the first time in the race I found myself in trousers. But the ascent up Col Ferret into Switzerland was when the weather really turned. The driving rain very quickly became driving sleet and snow, and I had to use a buff on my face so that I could breathe properly. The ground was ridiculously slippy, and if it wasn't for the poles (which I used to literally drag myself up) I don't think that I could have made it. I was wearing Salomon Sense Mantras which are perfect for most running that I do (including road as I wore them to finish Spartathlon), but they just don't have the grip of something like the Speedcross or Fellraiser. I was a bit concerned that I had a made a terrible mistake, but was able to persevere with only a few slip ups.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjFsJocyyKmQcqmU9zrAK4kFs1z2xDiJq0HCsa9WNUo8E41ZafOxENDK8XAyKCfSoacfFP7-tBhR_BztckfORSueResH70K03tzVHy4FgKfitD0wsMziqoumkfaeMd-tuxZ5hp5gSWPY/s1600/DSC_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjFsJocyyKmQcqmU9zrAK4kFs1z2xDiJq0HCsa9WNUo8E41ZafOxENDK8XAyKCfSoacfFP7-tBhR_BztckfORSueResH70K03tzVHy4FgKfitD0wsMziqoumkfaeMd-tuxZ5hp5gSWPY/s400/DSC_0195.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The descent was actually a lot easier than I feared, and I came into La Fouly feeling pretty good. I was, however, aware that I had not slept for a while, and was actually a bit surprised that I had not begun to feel it yet. Over the last few years, fatigue has been somewhat of a recurring theme in races (after several years of raising a non-sleeping baby), so I was quite impressed with how awake I was feeling. That being said, there was a long way to go and the last thing that I wanted was to realise how tired I was while trying to negotiate my way down a cold wet mountain pass. So I decided to attempt to sleep briefly now, just enough to get me through to the end. Of course, I say "sleep", but really it was a case of wrapping myself up in my emergency blanket, sticking in my headphones, and resting my head on the table. I had my eyes closed for 20 minutes, and I'm not sure how much it helped, but I headed out into the drizzly evening ready to crack on.<br />
<br />
The next section was a rather long fairly flat or downhill section along the road (due to a landslide that had made the normal route impassable), which was a great opportunity to get the legs moving again. I could already feel my thighs screaming at me, but after a bit of time forcing them to do their bloody job I found that I was able to run quite well which felt fantastic. It was drizzling, but I felt perfectly comfortable in my waterproof and the movement was keeping me toasty warm. The light failed along the way, and I was back under the glow of my head torch before I made it to the lake at Champex Lac. Unlike the previous evening, there was no fog and so it was a lot easier to see, which made a big difference.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4ouNx0Eqsm8N5_VooJdeD-epMvD1sL2LKt4aUGVgByEI9kZcSS9OqwMNYWhtQZag1w-lrwBFfbkDAOQP_HBx3qe6dmn5qqeJ7Avrm9RAul3FmUn5-J01NkcvhlkhJnjQwSiVBOWbIHw/s1600/DSC_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4ouNx0Eqsm8N5_VooJdeD-epMvD1sL2LKt4aUGVgByEI9kZcSS9OqwMNYWhtQZag1w-lrwBFfbkDAOQP_HBx3qe6dmn5qqeJ7Avrm9RAul3FmUn5-J01NkcvhlkhJnjQwSiVBOWbIHw/s400/DSC_0196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I was definitely starting to feel it by this point, but this just spurred me on to get moving. After a quick stop for soup and to top my water off, I headed back off to make my way up through the woods. It was pretty wet and muddy again, and I was struggling to get my legs to do as they were told, but I made consistent progress up through the night. Again, this is not the time to be thinking about whether or not you are near the top of a climb, and being able to see lights above you does nothing to help, so I tried to concentrate on my Star Wars audiobook instead. I'm dead grown up, me.<br />
<br />
I was a bit worried that I had misjudged my water supply and was worried that I would run out before I got to Trient. I was keeping my ears open for flowing water to top it up, but luckily there was an intermediate checkpoint at the top of the hill at La Giétes. There wasn't much choice in this little shack, but I was happy to fill up my water and press on down the hill to Trient. By this point, I was struggling to pick up any speed at all on the descents, which is where I had been making up my time up until now. So for now it was pretty much hiking all of the way, including some fairly tentative steps down the hills which felt excruciatingly slow. Still, better than falling I guess.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIBCNBV_Ep31t6r6WYo2Kqcq3ggmp9NTByZaRjyHjv60B5734QKaJr5wv2l4Lsqzk3Gdohys1y1O5J9e0vkbNu1nV6hQH8cFrQJR8satWkuHT8vuKywEacnhmnP-HvzZBfRYTG2ixXAw/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinIBCNBV_Ep31t6r6WYo2Kqcq3ggmp9NTByZaRjyHjv60B5734QKaJr5wv2l4Lsqzk3Gdohys1y1O5J9e0vkbNu1nV6hQH8cFrQJR8satWkuHT8vuKywEacnhmnP-HvzZBfRYTG2ixXAw/s400/DSC_0199.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I could practically smell the end now, although there was still 30 Km and 2 big climbs left to go. I can't remember much about the climb up to Les Tseppe, other than that it was very very wet, but by the time I made it down to Vallorcine the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon.<br />
<br />
This was it now, one last climb before the final descent into Chamonix. Due to the weather, one of the route changes was that we would no longer be heading up to La Tete aux Vents, but instead would be skirting around slightly lower over to La Flégere. This is about the only section on the whole race where I had a sense of humour failure. Heading up through the woods into the mist was fine, and the early morning sun had once again given me a boost, making me feel nothing but excitement about the coming ending to this epic endeavour.<br />
<br />
However, when I started descending down prior to the final push to La Flégere I was struggling to get my legs to do what I told them. It was really gnarly terrain with some quite scary sections that required hands and feet, and I was just struggling to avoid careening down the mountain side. The lack of sleep was catching up with me here as well, and whilst I'm not sure if this counts as hallucinating (something that has never happened to me before), but I kept thinking that I saw the checkpoint tent up ahead - only to be incredibly disappointed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sF07HbB2ErC086DjZgtTCnDFy8kflmYWlp8iAgxylWm7x5wpxkoJ30HBi3uCNIEq3QMf551Q6yGJHeba9tCKeV0vD5B3coyfG1i_tzuWUz4Nk-fbjnEcZ7Wb9piWhEY0HFdE85wnyc0/s1600/DSC_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sF07HbB2ErC086DjZgtTCnDFy8kflmYWlp8iAgxylWm7x5wpxkoJ30HBi3uCNIEq3QMf551Q6yGJHeba9tCKeV0vD5B3coyfG1i_tzuWUz4Nk-fbjnEcZ7Wb9piWhEY0HFdE85wnyc0/s400/DSC_0200.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After a couple of little wobbles and collapsing on my arse in a very undignified manner, I came out of the woods to the wide (and steep) track up to La Flégere. At this point, I had got over my (albeit quite small) strop, and was feeling really excited. I "stormed" up the hill, and came into the checkpoint smiling and chatting to the aid station workers. It was warming up so I got rid of some of my layers and was back to shorts and a T-shirt for the finale. I was able to gradually get my legs moving down the first wide open section, and by the time I hit the narrow trail that winds its ways down to the town I was actually running. RUNNING! I mean, really really slowly sure, but it felt great and I was so excited knowing that within an hour I would be in Chamonix.<br />
<br />
As I approached the edge of the town, I stopped to put my poles away and to get a stone out of my shoe. Some of the people were very aggressively shouting "allez, allez!" at me, so I didn't hang about. The support throughout the town was as amazing as I remembered from my last finish, and even though I was a lot later than I had hoped it was actually a much nicer experience than it would have been to finish in the rain in the middle of the night. The sun was shining, and the crowds were out in full force as I headed through the town towards where I could hear the shouts from the finish line.<br />
<br />
I was enjoying taking the ambience and high fiving everybody that I could, but as I took the final corner and saw the finishing arch in front of me, I broke out into a sprint and made my way to the finish as fast as my little legs would carry me. Probably not particularly fast to be fair, but to me I felt like the Flash, and got a good cheer as I came through the line.<br />
<br />
40 hours, 17 minutes and 12 seconds after leaving, I was back and finished. Huzzah!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCYEdSa3Z8f073beJEXk-kFKlf4EkCMzZgA9BbhT2X15BrSczKIy34uIukqcakKzpAamJEfM5R49Db7yz3QfqMkvUVyXmn4fRFmxwRQN1jdAgGSFNLJaNohvJ_nNrpDhOEzJIB55tO7o/s1600/DSC_0203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCYEdSa3Z8f073beJEXk-kFKlf4EkCMzZgA9BbhT2X15BrSczKIy34uIukqcakKzpAamJEfM5R49Db7yz3QfqMkvUVyXmn4fRFmxwRQN1jdAgGSFNLJaNohvJ_nNrpDhOEzJIB55tO7o/s400/DSC_0203.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I picked up my finisher's gilet - which this year was not a horrific lime coloured one like last time (which went straight in the bin) thank goodness - and sat to have a well deserved beer before heading off to pick up my finish line bag (which was annoyingly held miles away over by the Sports Centre).<br />
<br />
I was originally planning on sleeping for a while, but decided that I was too wired and wanted to take in the atmosphere while I could. So I grabbed a shower (thank goodness I got a T- shirt for finishing, as I had forgotten to pack a towel - technical T-shirts are pretty absorbent!) and headed back out to cheer on the rest of the runners. I hung out with Tim and his family, along with Tim's friends in the Scottish contingent who had all finished one race or another that week and were waiting to cheer on one of their friends. I had a bloody good steak, a couple of beers (which went pretty quickly to my head given my lack of sleep, lack of food and general fucked-up-edness), and cheered and shouted until my voice went horse.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NMTi1tichzG0aK9khW4-Fo0V4eP9fRYkSzBDNmZrVu5bc1zb2BqUQr4xmH72ds0JxdJUngzHJyP-LsTsNGE-bnNQ_jbJ61qmsBVKlHbwYaVzAzTjiZE8QdhG5fmirIBW_VRRPO5hf7s/s1600/DSC_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NMTi1tichzG0aK9khW4-Fo0V4eP9fRYkSzBDNmZrVu5bc1zb2BqUQr4xmH72ds0JxdJUngzHJyP-LsTsNGE-bnNQ_jbJ61qmsBVKlHbwYaVzAzTjiZE8QdhG5fmirIBW_VRRPO5hf7s/s400/DSC_0212.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
If you ever get a chance to be in Chamonix when the race finishes, I strongly recommend that you take the opportunity - it's incredible to see the culmination of so many people's journeys. There were smiles, there were tears, and there some incredible processions of friends and families running down that finishing straight.<br />
<br />
We were waiting to cheer on Christian with his family, and were getting a little worried as the cutoff was approaching quickly. We knew that he had left La Flégere just in time, but there now wasn't long left. As it turned out, we needn't have worried as the cutoff time we had been told was incorrect, and he finished with time in the bag, running through the line with his two boys.<br />
<br />
After a lot of cheering, a nice big ice cream, and a few drinks with friends, I headed along to the <a href="https://www.likethewindmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Like The Wind</a> celebration party where I caught up with a few people who I knew. I hadn't seen Simon and Julie from Freestak for a while, and it was good to catch up. I even got to speak to Double Bob Graham Round running legend Nicky Spinks for a while, who had crewed Damian Hall to a 12th place finish which was astounding.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSsl0s6GVglpIHQW7IgeSzbDlRclO0g89D0WH82UUGP8Qw1YBjGKyeuhKFYj_qSEpbYEkc7Ktu1in3JDGUbmChYovBi0ZWTOQxYBGy0BiuaAuL6nR4Z1XF_MX29v6wPZPyL_7EZkX660/s1600/DSC_0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSsl0s6GVglpIHQW7IgeSzbDlRclO0g89D0WH82UUGP8Qw1YBjGKyeuhKFYj_qSEpbYEkc7Ktu1in3JDGUbmChYovBi0ZWTOQxYBGy0BiuaAuL6nR4Z1XF_MX29v6wPZPyL_7EZkX660/s400/DSC_0215.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
By this point, I was genuinely struggling to speak coherently, never mind keep my eyes open. It was Sunday evening, and the last time that I had slept was Thursday night. I headed to bed for a well deserved sleep.<br />
<br />
I came away from the race feeling a lot better than I had any right to. The next day I was running around with Tim's kids, and was frankly far too happy when I managed to beat his 7 year old son in a sprint across the park. In my defence, he is bloody quick having come third in the kid's CCC a few days previously. I was worried that I was going to be wrecked after the race, but I felt great. Bloody tired, but great nonetheless.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvVdbiP6cmhCXLhF8EUUKQQtivnYksIxLalFECik9COhPdkBxuI6BnwVdJJFJ4V31ZR7YsVofI3g7HGUvkLQntao4CIizOE0_ee2IQjmRbyfQFPmENYnn4oUWgpwOhAZ3Mk6PPdfHjOw/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvVdbiP6cmhCXLhF8EUUKQQtivnYksIxLalFECik9COhPdkBxuI6BnwVdJJFJ4V31ZR7YsVofI3g7HGUvkLQntao4CIizOE0_ee2IQjmRbyfQFPmENYnn4oUWgpwOhAZ3Mk6PPdfHjOw/s400/DSC_0220.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Other than taking 10 hours longer than I would ideally have liked, I would go so far as to say the race went excellently. My fuelling decisions were spot on, I had no stomach issues whatsoever, I had no blisters, and most importantly my foot felt absolutely fine. In fact it felt better than it has done for a while. Now that I am back to earth at sea level, it is back to being niggly, but for those few days after the race I forgot all about it. My thighs felt very tight for a few days, but I got back on my bike as soon as I got home for my daily commute with no issues. All in all, I was very happy - not only did I finish, but I didn't kill myself or break anything doing it. Score!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/at-what-point-do-i-stop-calling-myself.html" target="_blank">My last post</a> was supposed to be a lighthearted dig at myself for having not finished anything in a while, but a few people took it as a genuine cry for help! But it's fine, I can now hold my head up high that I have finally finished something this year. Hurray! I still need to sort my foot out before I can get up to anything else particularly interesting, and if my house sale ever goes through maybe I might just look into that. But for the time-being this should do me for a while.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9klSgmc60AmY83S9F_UgfCMAqEXxdqw2W89LAxKM8Rzz-HmzhG-_81q7eR_Zlz5mgU5vWeqMMKgyH82Q2VrOmN_FCgEz3BFBydc0fYErvcPwajjyXOAED35sxXzwWXat7C6BIo1vQhA/s1600/DSC_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9klSgmc60AmY83S9F_UgfCMAqEXxdqw2W89LAxKM8Rzz-HmzhG-_81q7eR_Zlz5mgU5vWeqMMKgyH82Q2VrOmN_FCgEz3BFBydc0fYErvcPwajjyXOAED35sxXzwWXat7C6BIo1vQhA/s400/DSC_0226.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
And most importantly, I now have a qualifying race for Western States so I can continue my run of entries in the lottery, which double every year. I don't think next year will be a good year for me to get in, but it means 32 for the following year which should work out perfectly. Although knowing my terrible luck, I'll inevitably get in for 2018...</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-63205830418529811712017-08-17T09:19:00.001+01:002017-08-17T09:20:18.164+01:00At what point do I stop calling myself an ultrarunner?!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Boy, I am out of practice. Not only at writing this blog (I think this is my second one so far this year), but also at running in general. I hurt my foot in November 2015 (annoyingly it wasn't running related), and it has never quite been right since. It's not too bad, and I still run on it most days without too many issues, but if I try and run longer than 5 miles I quickly remember that it is not "<i>right</i>". I've tried various different treatments to no avail, so now I'm just going to bite the bullet and pay to get somebody to MRI it and get a good look at what the issue is. I just need to finish selling my house first so that I actually have some money...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But what I am struggling to get my head around at the moment is whether or not I still count as an ultra runner. I don't really care too much about being able to say I run ultras (I actually dislike the phrase anyway and tend to just call myself a "runner"), and my wife will tell you how poor I am at counting. But I do love running longer stuff and making a day (or two) out of it. And this is what I haven't really done for a long time - and I'm really missing it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because I wasn't running, and because of moving my whole family across the country to start a new life (which is going marvellously, thanks for asking), I've been away from races and away from social media a lot. And to be honest I am struggling to get back into it all. Who would have thought posting inspirational memes could be so hard. But I really miss the community of ultra running and I'm going to try and ease my way back in.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I even tried to race a few weeks ago, taking part in the <a href="http://www.serpenttrailrace.com/100k/" target="_blank">Serpent Way 100K</a> from Haslemere to Petersfield. The race ran through various trails around the South Downs that I have never run on before, and due to its winding nature it was never more than about 45 minutes away from where I live. I figured I could give it a go, and if it all went to shit I would be able to find a way back without too much hassle. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It didn't necessarily all go to shit, and it was a lovely day for running, but by 40 miles in it was clear that this sort of distance is going to be tough for me to finish. I decided to stop rather than walking the final marathon, a decision helped by the fact that my drop bag was at this checkpoint and I was able to blag a lift straight back to my car with a nice man who was out crewing his wife.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I'm not too sure what the heck is going to happen when I toe the line in Chamonix at the end of the month. I have finished 100 milers (Thames Path and South Downs Way) since the injury, so I know that it is doable, but UTMB is a whole different beast. I didn't really mean to get in - I wanted more tickets for subsequent lotteries. I have the <i>worst</i> luck, I tell you. But I'm going to give it my best, as I know plenty of people that would love to be out there but didn't get in. Don't get me wrong, I really do want to do this - ever since finishing the shortened course in 2012 I have wanted to come back and complete the real course - it is just that I am not the runner that I was then. I want to be, believe me, and I am really hoping that somebody can give me some advice that really helps my foot to get better. Because right now it is really pissing me off.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't often run more than 10 miles, and the 40 miles I did on the Serpent Trail are the most that I have done for a while. But I kind of have to finish one way or another - I might never get another shot, and if I don't hurry up and finish something soon I am going to struggle to have any finishes to put down when signing up for new races in the future.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In fact, as I only just realised when talking to Tim Lambert (who will kindly be putting me up when we head over to France in a few weeks), if I don't finish this I will lose all of the tickets that I have built up over the years in the Western States draw. Bollocks!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I think that it is going to be a case of sucking it up and getting on with it. I should be able to get a good chunk of it under my belt running, and then it will just have to be a hike to Chamonix. At least when I'm there I will have nothing better to do than to put one foot in front of the other and make my way to that amazing finish in Chamonix town square. Remembering that experience from last time should be all the encouragement that I need to keep on keeping on. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And maybe then I can actually call myself an ultra runner again?</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-29378494372736410892017-03-15T22:38:00.001+00:002017-03-15T23:17:02.444+00:00Hey guys, remember me? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Dear diary, </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
It's been a long time since I wrote anything. You're probably wondering what the hell happened to me! </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
No? Anyone? </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Well, okay, probably nobody really cares, but it has indeed been a really long time since I blogged anything. There's two main reasons for this silence: 1) I've been busy, and 2) I haven't done anything worth blogging about. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
The last year has kind of sucked in terms of running. I injured my foot over a year ago, and still haven't got to the bottom of what it is or how to get rid of it. The most annoying part is that it wasn't even running related - it happened while walking around the Natural History Museum. It's manageable, I can still run, I just can't train like I used to. I've seen various people, had a rather useless few months going through the NHS, and still don't really know what it is. So I'm just cracking on, and it's <i>okay</i> - it's just not <i>right</i>. I miss just going for a run and not having to think about things.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, the point is it sort of put a damper on last year. I was still able to run, and managed the first two races of the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/" target="_blank">Centurion Running</a> Grand Slam; the South Downs Way 100 which was great fun (<a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/south-downs-way-race-report-2015.html" target="_blank">unlike the year before</a>), and the Thames Path 100 which I finally finished after 2 botched attempts. But the week before the North Downs Way 100 I developed some worrying symptoms that freaked my doctor out and led to a whole barrage of tests (all negative thankfully). I could barely stand up straight, never mind run and things were still a bit iffy for the Autumn 100. So another year, another failed Grand Slam. Sigh. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
On the brighter side, things in the rest of my life are pretty great. My girls are all keeping me on my toes as always: my daughter Lottie is getting smarter and smarter every single day, and continues to enrich my life and keep me beaming like a loon; my wife Jen continues to not take any of my shit, and reminds me constantly why I love her; and my dog Saphie is as nuts as ever, although I've got pretty good at judging her sudden lurches whenever she sees a squirrel, so I haven't fallen over for a while while out running with her.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Work last year was pretty hectic, but I've recently made a big leap and have accepted a new position which will be a huge change to all of our lives. So in a few weeks we are moving back to my home town for the first time in 15 years, where I will be starting my own bioinformatics research group at the University of Portsmouth.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
This is a huge change and an amazing opportunity. It's clearly a big step up job wise for me, and the idea of being in charge terrifies and excites me in equal measure. Never mind that I will be teaching at Masters and PhD level - poor kids... But for our home life it will also be a huge opportunity as we have a lot of family in the area, in particular Lottie's cousin who is basically a little sister to her. It's a big change, and a bloody scary one, and I hope that Jen forgives me for dragging her around the country for my job again.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Another benefit to this move is that I will have the South Downs on my doorstep. Yay hills! If only I could run properly. I really need to get my foot sorted, so once we are settled I am going to just pay whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this problem and get it sorted. I mean, the huge pay cheque is what got me into science in the first place. Well, that and the poontang. But I really want to go and run up some hills! I'm supposed to be running UTMB in August, so I really should get <i>some</i> running in at some point I suppose.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
I also plan on pulling my finger out and getting back into blogging. I have even started a new blog, <a href="https://irunfasterthanmycode.github.io/">https://irunfasterthanmycode.github.io</a>. This blog is a much more technical affair, where I will be looking at various data analysis techniques in detail, but given my enjoyment of playing with running data there will most likely be plenty of running related posts there too. But expect more stats and programming mumbo jumbo, so if that's not your bag then I would avoid it like the plague.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, I'm super positive about the year ahead. It may not be particularly pretty running wise, but it's going to be exciting in many other respects. And let's be honest, there's no way this year can be any worse than 2016. Right?</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-92219798378482759652016-03-12T21:49:00.002+00:002016-03-12T22:00:41.865+00:00How to set a slackline up in your garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
At Christmas I was lucky enough to get a slackline from my in-laws. Last year we moved into a new house with a bigger garden and trees just asking for me to bounce up and down between them. It took a bit of work to set things up, so I thought I would write a little blog about it in case anyone else was looking to do something similar. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96x2RKrz1GiA-SpNsxgVoIdX_vWEub_mg0dh6LQrCn6inQLwnAuinsm1bl8SjBRQFzOUSwZwbzU-s5adjIAdAyicNCuCe1oojalNfdH0Ody12T65CHVsiotpX-LXe_F1iZ55Wn20L89o/s1600/DSC_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96x2RKrz1GiA-SpNsxgVoIdX_vWEub_mg0dh6LQrCn6inQLwnAuinsm1bl8SjBRQFzOUSwZwbzU-s5adjIAdAyicNCuCe1oojalNfdH0Ody12T65CHVsiotpX-LXe_F1iZ55Wn20L89o/s640/DSC_0661.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog not included.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Step 1: Buy a slackline</b></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
I'm by no means any sort of expert on this. As far as I'm concerned, they all look like the straps that you use to attach things to your roof rack. However, I'm reliably informed that it's a bit more complex than that, though I have no idea whatsoever what I should be looking for. To keep things simple, I asked for a <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrasport-Slackline-Tree-Protector-Safety/dp/B00BF9GMZM" target="_blank">slacklining kit from Ultrasport</a> that contains everything that you need: a slackline, a ratchet, and a couple of tree protectors (essentially a bit of felt that wraps around the tree to protect the bark). If you shop around you can get some pretty good deals, although I suspect that if you're more deeply involved in the sport there are more expensive options (bouncier, narrower, etc). I don't plan on doing much more than falling off it repeatedly though.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuOdVhkTlpGbP0uYHPSfHwOUH2RPIeED2RXkq6QXfE1YjSYC-1Vceud1vB8_Eo5wyG3_vnRFM83bF6nMQdRnjzZQXGCGe71rLOWqsSV8_bqmTmwWPD_8-DcBSMuzwKdpOFBPf_y1Istk/s1600/DSC_0335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuOdVhkTlpGbP0uYHPSfHwOUH2RPIeED2RXkq6QXfE1YjSYC-1Vceud1vB8_Eo5wyG3_vnRFM83bF6nMQdRnjzZQXGCGe71rLOWqsSV8_bqmTmwWPD_8-DcBSMuzwKdpOFBPf_y1Istk/s640/DSC_0335.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very slack line.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Step 2: Anchoring to a tree</b></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
We have some fruit trees in our garden, some of which are big enough to act as an anchor. It's pretty easy to attach one end to the tree. Just wrap the tree protector around the trunk (don't want my fat ass rubbing all of the bark away), wrap one end of the slackline around the tree, then feed it through the loop at the end. Pull it tight, and voila. You just need to make sure that the loop doesn't slip off the tree protector, and it's as tight as possible as you don't want anything giving way when you jump on.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pLFV1S_cQiDh5FC8x4yQHuOa7_FfX6UCH0BSseSm82xZad-H3l7zlgHmsId-bC4DXozOnyILCBZi3AY-NkUOqJlLgoFYt_a3DsB5iHCDTptO-3H8Y2bYqpWA043nDvW-mRB74fONXA8/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pLFV1S_cQiDh5FC8x4yQHuOa7_FfX6UCH0BSseSm82xZad-H3l7zlgHmsId-bC4DXozOnyILCBZi3AY-NkUOqJlLgoFYt_a3DsB5iHCDTptO-3H8Y2bYqpWA043nDvW-mRB74fONXA8/s640/DSC_0339.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why? Y knot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Step 3: Anchoring with a ground anchor</b></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
There are a few options if you don't have any trees to use as an anchor. You could plant a tree if you're not in a hurry. Or you could dig a pole into the ground and concrete it in place like a fence post. I went for a slightly more inconspicuous option; a ground anchor. I started with an auger ground anchor, which simply screws down into the ground. Unfortunately I hit rocky ground and could not get it in (phnar). Instead I dug out a Dead Man's Anchor. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
First cut out any turf and leave to one side (I dug mine out of sight into the base of a big bamboo bush so didn't have much), then dig out a large channel perpendicular to the slackline, big enough for a chunk of roughly 50x50x1000 mm fence post to lie in. Then dig another channel perpendicular to this, leading towards where the slackline will start. This will create a T-shaped hole. The second channel needs to be such that the chain will come up and out of the ground at an angle. Wrap a chain around the piece of wood (fold it in two, throw the looped end around the wood, then thread the hanging two ends through the loop), and lay it down in the ground. This is your "dead man". The two ends of the chain will then run up the channel, where they will be connected by a carabiner. This will hang out of the ground, with everything else covered. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqCvshU2bzdmVQ7__yrYYIRtb4VhL9ARMiALHl1-UxJ71ZXMRld0wCO34d3IzeJHrsoiiUn-DKa-DhVU7fcDHyC07mDc5ekEKTx5-VcapuWlqNSk97wlPAor3rzdHYdBhtwxMQ8IscmQ/s1600/DSC_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqCvshU2bzdmVQ7__yrYYIRtb4VhL9ARMiALHl1-UxJ71ZXMRld0wCO34d3IzeJHrsoiiUn-DKa-DhVU7fcDHyC07mDc5ekEKTx5-VcapuWlqNSk97wlPAor3rzdHYdBhtwxMQ8IscmQ/s640/DSC_0665.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Braiiiiinnnnnnnnsssssssss</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Finally, fill in the hole. The first time I did this, my dead man rose from the dead like a rotting zombie. After taking a chainsaw to it (in reality a terrible weapon for a zombie apocalypse), I tried again and made sure to really stamp the mud down as I went. We have very clay like mud here, but if yours is dry it may help to wet it as you go. Add the turf back (to avoid being shouted at by your wife) and your done. No one would ever know. Unless the dog digs it up. Which she inevitably will.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvE-r2id4Mo2VMGFPHQE1cVn41TgtzBlDf9QQsPWfLAPdtkA6edtLqSMr_RDkSYdyeWbULO6iEpji5qe56dr5nBgz2ULatGx128Mbbr736MLKHNIBoD8qNRDRVtvvWBFN3fnd6Cr56q0/s1600/DSC_0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvE-r2id4Mo2VMGFPHQE1cVn41TgtzBlDf9QQsPWfLAPdtkA6edtLqSMr_RDkSYdyeWbULO6iEpji5qe56dr5nBgz2ULatGx128Mbbr736MLKHNIBoD8qNRDRVtvvWBFN3fnd6Cr56q0/s640/DSC_0662.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No one would ever know.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Step 4: Build an A-frame</b></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
If you are using trees as anchors, it's very simple and you can jump straight on. If using ground anchors, you will need something to maintain the slackline above the ground. Most people use an A-frame for this. I looked at a couple if pictures online, then put one together which seems to hold... </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
First, I purchased the wood I needed. This was simply two large lengths of 25x50x2400 mm pressure-treated wood, and one 50x50x2400 mm fence post. </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UkmePAKfYotXHlx66uxdW_WmIcSDErC1NOmDJ34bcG0KCXHrHPvFOQX1Bh0NlJqvn_t7-DQzZlBX6zi8xwTDfBxBkuTwOCLVJ5bnauhAyvIbrI8HJAOWZd93SrFJW3KUWs9LPZuyf8s/s1600/DSC_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UkmePAKfYotXHlx66uxdW_WmIcSDErC1NOmDJ34bcG0KCXHrHPvFOQX1Bh0NlJqvn_t7-DQzZlBX6zi8xwTDfBxBkuTwOCLVJ5bnauhAyvIbrI8HJAOWZd93SrFJW3KUWs9LPZuyf8s/s640/DSC_0656.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a joke here about "having wood", but I'm far too sophisticated for that kind of low brow humour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
I cut one of the bits of wood in two for the side pieces. I cut the other in two to give me a base piece, then cut the other half in two again for the two struts. You could use a mitre saw to cut the ends to 45 degrees, but I just did it by eye which worked fine. Finally, I cut the fence post into three chunks to act as supports to the frame. This allows a couple of different heights for the slackline. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhIvDImZ8CGZB86REvuH0MzqM4oorotrifoM2mH92loS0d_TrR7xIJz8TyEjaOPkZY0njlMsyU2lVQ1S9u7ioJ6tDqF57xD7kdwehOsknLwxofOgVA8by-Z3bhMBdMExj_w3vrlWqMc4/s1600/DSC_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhIvDImZ8CGZB86REvuH0MzqM4oorotrifoM2mH92loS0d_TrR7xIJz8TyEjaOPkZY0njlMsyU2lVQ1S9u7ioJ6tDqF57xD7kdwehOsknLwxofOgVA8by-Z3bhMBdMExj_w3vrlWqMc4/s640/DSC_0657.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's quite an erection.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I predrilled all of the holes, then used large wood screws to hold everything together. Finally I added some M16 160 mm bolts through the gaps in the A-frame to give the slackline a smooth surface to lie on. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Fd93H4CYBP8Mw7yIonrQTj0LUv0yYTKncu8PUCstTQABj_Z6hNCKtD7OBG8HQdvMyvxusKkm8cfVg71n_Pn34AjSDY45E8UJe5RXsf4dXCjoP_XZSKw8taXbFJLz-uzR6oYgjNq51_U/s1600/DSC_0659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Fd93H4CYBP8Mw7yIonrQTj0LUv0yYTKncu8PUCstTQABj_Z6hNCKtD7OBG8HQdvMyvxusKkm8cfVg71n_Pn34AjSDY45E8UJe5RXsf4dXCjoP_XZSKw8taXbFJLz-uzR6oYgjNq51_U/s640/DSC_0659.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't have any trouble getting it up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Step 4: Learn how to slackline</b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
This is the step I'm on now, so you're on your own on this one! As you can see it's going well so far...<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxSpbBu9P7M7lBy91B5eL1uBrMVojmkNrRWCoOHw9ZdLE9cawaNvyTVAVTngDmJ4TTLshR9W9twLWMU0gJquw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Keeping it up however...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
I'll post again soon with an update of how I'm getting on/how many injuries I have suffered. Hopefully this is helpful to anyone else looking to set one up at home. </div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-86297478832478263802016-02-24T22:33:00.002+00:002016-02-24T22:33:53.360+00:00Belated 2015 retrospective<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been a while since I really sat down to write anything for this blog. I've even been pretty much silent on social media over the last few months. There's no real reason other than feeling like I didn't have enough spare time, and wanting to spend what little time I do have doing more productive things - like running around the park with my daughter, playing board games with my wife, and sitting in front of my Xbox every now and then (yes - I do consider this productive use of my time). I have written a few things for <a href="https://www.ultra-magazine.com/" target="_blank">Ultra Magazine</a>, including an article on women in ultra running (including an in-depth interview with the legend that is Ann Trason) which I am incredibly proud of. But yeah, the blog has kind of gone a little stagnant. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, here we go, I plan on rectifying that and getting back to jotting things down more regularly. I enjoy writing and find it helps me get things straight in my head, as well as being a great way of recalling the adventures I've had as my faculties fail me with old age. Sadly it feels like this is happening sooner than I may have hoped. I have a whole bunch of posts already in the works, some gear reviews, as well as a couple more magazine articles to watch out for. So I figured I should probably get this one out of the way first. So here is my run down of 2015 and look ahead to 2016. Two months into the year. Ahem. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In all honesty, last year was a bit crap as far as running is concerned. It kind of went to pot from the beginning, with a DNF at <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/thames-path-100-2015-race-report.html" target="_blank">Thames Path 100</a> that ruined my shot at the Grand Slam (all four Centurion Running 100 mile races in one year) before I even got going. After <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/spartathlon-race-report-2014-highway-to.html" target="_blank">my adventures in Greece</a> the year before, I had decided to stay a little closer to home so the Grand Slam was my only real goal. To have it all crumble so early in the year was a bit demoralising. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By the time I reached the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/south-downs-way-race-report-2015.html" target="_blank">South Downs Way 100</a>, I had resigned myself to a second goal - a fast 100 miler. I figured 16 hours on a 100 miler was a pretty tough ask, but was something that I'm pretty sure I could do. The only thing was that I had been pretty inconsistent with my training, with DIY in a new house and training a new dog playing havoc with my training plan. Don't get me wrong, I was still getting plenty of running in, but the structured training was gone. When I went out at SDW100 it was far too fast, and it quickly became clear that my goal wasn't going to happen. When my head torch battery died leaving me using my backup torch to try and negotiate the downs at night, I realised I wasn't having fun and quit rather unceremoniously with only about 8 miles to go. Stupid in hindsight, and a bit melodramatic (wah, wah, woe is me, etc.), but at the time I honestly couldn't face seeing anyone at the end knowing I had failed my goal again. Ridiculous to think that I would consider a 20 hour 100 mile finish a failure, but there you go. Of course I still had to see everyone to pick up my bags, which was much worse… </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't necessarily regret bailing, as in all honesty being that whiny I'm glad to have not got a buckle. With so many people out there giving it their all, and fighting tooth and nail for their buckles I would have felt a bit of a fraud half-arsing my way to a finish. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was feeling a little demoralised, but a great experience out on the Downs again a few weeks later at the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/oxfam-trailwalker-100k-race-report.html" target="_blank">Oxfam Trailwalker 100K</a> brought back the love of running. I had been trying too hard and had forgotten my usual mantra; <i>running stupid</i>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So when the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/north-downs-way-100-race-report-putting.html" target="_blank">North Downs Way 100</a> came along, I was back to my usual plan of, well, having no plans. Even more than that, I was not racing. I was just out to have some fun. In fact, I was so laissez-faire about the race that I missed the start while chatting with some friends. But the day went brilliantly, and I finished with a huge smile on my face. The <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/autumn-100-race-report-going-loopy.html" target="_blank">Autumn 100</a> was similarly relaxed, and actually went a lot better than expected with a pretty good finishing time despite the lack of urgency. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I ended up slightly falling off the face of the earth as far as Facebook and Twitter are concerned. I really want to avoid wasting time when I could be doing other things, but there are definitely pros and cons to stepping away from social media (there's a blog post right there). One of the cons is that I have been well and truly out of the loop on things, and have become kind of isolated from the community. I'm hoping to strike a balance now between staying connected with my friends, while not spending all of my limited free time scrolling through timelines and dodging Candy Crush requests (or whatever everybody is playing these days). Let's see how that goes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the running front, my year is looking pretty similar to last year, with the only difference being that I managed to miss signing up to my favourite (and most convenient) Centurion race - the SDW100 - because of my media blackout. So currently I am running 3/4 of the Grand Slam (the "Grand Sl"?) and... Well, that's it. I had hoped to be running in UTMB or Western States, but unfortunately I wasn't selected in the lotteries. Arse. So I don't really have any big plans for this year, other than making sure I enjoy myself. I'm not feeling particularly race ready so don't expect to see me at the pointy end, but who knows. Hopefully I will be able to add a few more races in there, maybe some more local shorter races. I just need to get my act together and book them in. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Roll on April for the first race; Thames Path 100. I've failed miserably twice at this one, so I'm out to finally scratch this one off the list. I think this time I'll take my time a little more though.</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-59189135813793329082016-01-08T09:04:00.002+00:002016-01-08T09:04:18.819+00:00Autumn 100 Race Report - Going loopy<div style="text-align: justify;">
2015 was a funny old year, and unlike other years I haven't really been in training so much as just <i>running</i>. I don't really get the concept of 'junk miles' - I like running, so any time that I am out on the trails I am enjoying myself. I'm not really overly bothered whether or not this is the most efficient way to train, although I do always prefer to try and push myself. My routine has been thrown off a bit this year with a house move and a new dog to try and knacker out every day, but I'm keeping fit and getting plenty of running and cycling in. What I haven't been doing is any focussed training to try and get faster, something which I hope to address in 2016.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Free time seems to have been a very scarce commodity recently, hence my absence from social media and the lateness of publishing this. It has actually sat in my drafts folder since the day after the race, but I just kind of forgot about it! A recent <a href="https://www.ultra-magazine.com/2015/11/thesegirlscan-sam-robson/" target="_blank">article that I wrote for ULTRA magazine</a> (a fantastic magazine which I am very proud to have been even a small part in, and a topic that is very close to my heart since taking on the epic job of being father to an awesome little girl whom I want to give every chance in life) took a lot of my free time so I decided to have a break and try to get into the habit of using my time more efficiently. I'm pretty bad at it, so I'm sure I'll be back to my usual loquacious self in no time...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hit <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/thames-path-100-2015-race-report.html" target="_blank">Thames Path 100</a> at the start of the year in pretty good shape - except for the unpleasant stomach bug that had hit me a couple of days prior. Yuck. So I failed in my Grand Slam bid before it had really begun which was a bit of a bugger. "Fine, let's try again at <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/south-downs-way-race-report-2015.html" target="_blank">South Downs Way 100</a> then", I thought. But by then I was trying to run faster than my training would really allow. And it showed. Frankly I just got bored with my own whinging so pulled out to avoid sullying the race for the people that were there giving it everything that they had. So really since then I've taken a step back to get back into the swing of just chilling out and enjoying the experience. The <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/north-downs-way-100-race-report-putting.html" target="_blank">North Downs Way 100</a> was a very good example of this, as I started right at the back of the field and then had a lovely time making my way to Wye, even going so far as taking in a couple of naps along the way. It's the only way to travel.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This brings us to the Autumn 100, the final "hundro" in the Centurion Running Grand Slam. The setup is very tight, centered around a checkpoint in Goring with four 25 mile loops (12.5 miles out and back) along the Ridgeway and the Thames Path like a big cross. In previous years, this has been held later in the year as the Winter 100, but this year had been pushed forward to try and avoid the horrendous weather that had dogged it in the past. Whilst I have never run this race before, I have experienced it in previous years as the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/piece-of-string-fun-run-november-2012.html" target="_blank">Piece of String Fun Run</a> took in much of the same route (plus the little detour to Bath in the second edition). But this year the weather was pretty much perfect, with an overcast but dry outlook for the day and night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the past, making plans for these things has resulted in it all going to pot, so I stuck to my standard "plan" of running stupid and went in pretty much blind except for what I knew from previous PoS races. No pacing plan, no nutrition plan ("eat" was as far as I got), no walking plan - just got on with it really. I probably should have planned ahead a little bit and at least arranged somewhere to stay, but I managed to sort this out a day before race day with minimal fuss. I stayed in the Reading Premier Inn, and caught up with Rich Stewart and Bryan Webster for a meal at TFI Friday. I couldn't bring myself to have a dessert, but when Bryan's came I was really regretting that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The race itself started at a nice leisurely time of 10am, meaning a nice lie in and a pretty chilled out morning. Well, it would if my body clock wasn't set to wake me up at 5am every day. Oh well, I guess I got to catch up on some reading. And it meant that I got to have a nice big fry up for breakfast as well, so I can't complain. One thing that has really dogged me pretty much since my gorgeous daughter was born is tiredness - I just can't stay awake like I used to, I guess because I am still trying to catch up on sleep after the first 2 years of perpetual wakedness. It was particularly noticeable at NDW100, although that wasn't helped by a terrible night's sleep just before the race. At least now I was well rested and well fed, but the late start did make me wonder if the sleep demons would creep in early.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We arrived at race HQ to the usual military style operation of kit check, waiver signing, and number assignment. The usual suspects were around, and as usual it was great to catch up with people that I only really get a chance to see a couple of times a year. I have been trying to ween myself off of social media recently, mainly by deleting the apps off of my phone, so haven't even been able to catch up with what everybody has been doing. Apparently I had missed a big surprise - that James Elson would be running his own race today. Even he didn't really know what he was going to do, whether he was going to race and push the pace, or just relax and enjoy the wonderful Centurion experience that he gives to others. But it is a huge compliment to the rest of the Centurion crew that he felt that he could take himself away and leave his baby in their (more than capable) care.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We lined up at the start, with James giving everybody his usual spiel about not going out too fast (well of course he would say that if he was racing...). Stuart March was hounding me while I tried to hide away from his seemingly ever-present camera. I really don't photograph well, and even he made a point of commenting on my squinty eyes. A bit harsh, but I'll let him off; it's true after all. I caught up with Dan Park who had only just returned from America, and hadn't even transitioned to GMT yet - possibly a bonus, but we would see! He was feeling good, and while he had injured himself at NDW100 putting an end to his Grand Slam bid, he was feeling strong and ready having recently taken up Eddie Sutton as a running coach.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The horn went and we were off along the Thames Path. I was careful not to head off with the front pack, as I am not nearly fit enough to be racing at the sharp end at the moment. Maybe the pommel. But I kept up a pretty good pace and was happy to switch off, enjoy the morning, and listen to some podcasts. I have just started listening to a film podcast called <a href="http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/" target="_blank">Now Playing</a>, which does a good job of dissecting and over-analysing movies that I love - something that I love to do, much to my wife's consternation. It's good to know that other people share my views on Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors though (best in the series if you were wondering).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I wasn't too far back on the front runners when we approached the turnaround, but I was surprised to see course record holder Ed Catmur in second at this stage. He usually sets a blistering pace at the start, so whether he was holding back or others were on a similar suicidal bent I couldn't say. James was high up in the rankings, so it was good to see him ignoring his own advice. He had a huge grin on his face, and was clearly enjoying the full Centurion experience.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had made a decision not to rush today at the aid stations. I know that at the NDW I wasted a huge amount of time just hanging around at the checkpoints, but in all honesty I was in no hurry today and was quite happy to just enjoy my experience. Also, after my experiences at the Thames Path earlier in the year I was also careful to top up my bottles at every opportunity. After a quick refill, I grabbed a handful of fruit and made off for the return journey.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The structure of the race was really nice as it meant that we got to pass everybody on the return journey and see how our friends were getting on. The only problem is, I "know" a lot of people without really knowing them. I am awful at remembering names and faces. Add into that the fact that there are a lot of Twitter/Facebook people where I don't necessarily even know what they look like (stupid non-descriptive profile pics), and you have a series of slightly awkward interactions where I desperately try and remember if we're good friends or not. Let me say this now - it really is nothing personal! My brain is just awful at social interactions. But it was good to see that Dan was running well with Bryan, and they both seemed to be enjoying themselves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I made it back to Goring in pretty good time, 25 minutes behind the front runner but actually faster than I expected. I grabbed a tea and refilled my bottles ready for the next stage along the Ridgeway. I know this section well from the Piece of String Fun Run, and after a bit of running along the river it soon heads off into a more interesting section through the woods. A bit of undulation was a nice change from the slightly monotonous river-side running, and this was the section where I pulled out of the second Piece of String - only 10 miles from the finish after already running here from Bath. Grr.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But there were no issues today, and I made it out to the golf club feeling very happy. The race leader headed past me coming down the hill, and I wasn't too surprised to see that it was James. He had a big grin on his face, and seemed to be having a great time. His recent race results have shown that he is amongst the upper echelons of UK ultra runners, and he only seems to be getting better. All while being one of the top Race Directors in this country, and possibly the nicest, most humble guy you'll meet. #mancrush</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After heading through a fun wooded downhill section (which probably wasn't going to be as much fun on the way back up), the path cut directly through a wide open field which was just asking for a childish aeroplane impression. Nyeeerm!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(Wow, it really is difficult spelling the onomatopoeic sound that an aeroplane makes...)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thought that I remembered the checkpoint at the end of this section being in a hall in the middle of a little town centre, so I was very surprised when I found it in a tent in the middle of a field. It's always nice when the checkpoint is closer than you think. There was a kid there holding up a sign with a big "power" button drawn on it, which said "hit here for a Power Up". Good lad! I bet he made a lot of people's day. After high fiving him, getting my power up, and grabbing a face-full of fruit, I was back on my way heading back to Goring. The route is quite narrow, making it a bit of a squeeze when heading past the other runners, but luckily ultra runners are generally a pretty friendly and accommodating bunch so it was all very "after you", "no, no, after you I insist". Of course the sensible way of determining right of way is, "whoever is currently barrelling uncontrollably down the hill". Again it was great to see how everybody else was getting on, and generally everybody seemed to be in good spirits.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I got back to Goring again, this time making sure to swap my lighter head torch out for my Petzl Nao, ready for the sun going down in the next section. Again, this was a section that I knew well from the Piece of String, as we ran it several times in the inaugural race way back when. It took a lot of the thought out of it and I knew exactly where I was going. It is probably the most interesting section of the whole course, with plenty of hills and some very exposed areas. I remembered having to fight against some incredibly strong winds, but that didn't seem to be the case today. It was dark now, but not too cold as long as I was moving.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I came to the corner which I remembered well as the point where I stopped in Paul Rowlinson's car for a little nap after about 30 hours of running on the Piece of String. Ah memories! As it happened, I was only about 10 Km from the end, but of course I didn't know that at the time. It was worth doing though, because I went from stumbling around like a zombie to running on fresh legs with just a little 20 minute snooze. It's a trick that has helped me in a few longer races, and I have never had a problem getting going again afterwards. I could see lights coming towards me, as James and his pacer Paddy Robbins ran past at an incredible pace - I was still a couple of miles away from the midpoint checkpoint, and he was only a few miles away from the final leg. He was having a great day and I figured was easily on for a 15ish hour finish.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I wasn't going quite that well, but was feeling happy and enjoying myself. However, I started to have a bit of trouble with a stitch. It was annoying me, as it meant that I was struggling to run as fast as I wanted. I wasn't too fussed from a finishing time perspective, but it did mean that I was getting a little colder than I really wanted. I tried putting my jacket on to be on the safe side, but then I found that I was far too warm. Stupid thermoregulation. It was annoying me as my legs were fine and I just really wanted to open things out a bit and get cracking. But there's not much you can do about stitches other than hold back and let it work itself out. Sigh.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I ran under the A34, I remembered the very first Piece of String. This was the first section, and some of us thought that it may have been the end of the race, so there was a bit of a sprint finish to Bury Downs. As I headed up the hill today, I saw the lights up ahead and headed straight over - only to find a group of what I assume where Duke of Edinburgh teenagers giving me funny looks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Me: "Erm, I guess this isn't the aid station then?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Da kidz: "Y'wot m8?!"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Me: "Erm, sorry. Init. Word."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yeah, I'm down with the kids.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I headed into the actual aid station and grabbed a cup of tea as I tried to let my stitch settle down a bit. Sarah Burns-Morwood headed back the other way, comfortably in the lead in the women's race (and about fifth overall) and looking very comfortable. I headed on to the turnaround point at Chain Hill but in all honesty this section was a bit of a slog. I spent a little bit of time at the checkpoint, just letting things settle down. I did manage to avoid falling asleep though, so there's that. At least on the way back it was more downhill, so I was hoping that I could get going properly again.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Heading past all of the other runners, I couldn't make out who anybody was so relied on relatively open-ended shouts of "keep going" and "looking good" style comments. Somehow other people didn't seem to have that problem, and lots of people seemed to spot me quite easily. Do my sideburns glow in the dark?!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I got down the last hill and hit the road, there were a few miles to go before Goring, but I was feeling good again. My stomach was settling down (largely because I had stopped eating for a bit) and I was starting to pick things up again. I caught up with quite a few other runners and was just happy to be running properly again. Back into Goring for the last time, I refilled everything, grabbed my spare torch battery, and sat down for a bit of a chinwag and some soup. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nici Griffin, the Centurion Army's den mother and general boss (despite what James might think), seemed to be chastising me for hanging around and trying to shuffle me out of the door. So off I went, out on the final section of the race, back along the Thames Path towards Reading. Again, this is a section that I know well, although to be fair it's not like it's particularly complicated. Follow the river, if you fall in you've gone wrong. Easy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first section is a little more hilly than you might imagine a river path would be (I live in Cambridge okay?! This is hilly for me), but it at least keeps it a bit more interesting. The checkpoint at Whitchurch crept up on me quicker than I expected, and I was enjoying the music on the radio so much that I got told off for hanging around for too long. Meh, I was in no hurry and who doesn't love a bit of AC/DC? As I headed down the hill towards the meadows, I followed the path away from the road into the churchyard. However, it wasn't well signposted here and I came across Dave Ross who had accidentally gone into a private drive instead of past the church. We buddied up down towards the meadow, and chatted about his recent packed schedule including Badwater and the Stagecoach 100 miler only 2 weeks earlier. He was feeling the miles today though and seemed to be struggling to get going.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was getting a bit chilly, so wished him luck and headed off again. I was feeling great now and was picking up the pace more and more. I came into Reading, passing the Premier Inn where I had stayed the night before, and made my way over to the Kennet and Avon Canal towards the rowing club where the aid station was situated. On the way I bumped into Melissa Arkinstall who was running her first hundred miler and seemed to be killing it in third place for the women's race. We chatted on the way to the checkpoint, which again jumped out on me earlier than I expected. I spent longer here than I should have done, but for no real reason. I was feeling good, I wasn't falling asleep which was a nice surprise, I was just quite happy having a cup of tea and biding my time before heading back.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With 12 miles left until the end, I was feeling absolutely fine. I’m not going to pretend like I was dropping 6 minute miles or anything, but it felt like I was running really well and it felt good. It was nice to just be able to Let It Go (I’ve watched that film far too many times) and run. I only really had one issue, as my head torch battery ran out just as I arrived at the Whitchurch checkpoint. Bugger. I had used a fully charged battery from Goring, but had used the higher setting on the torch thinking that 100% charge would easily last me 5 hours. I was wrong. Luckily I had my spare torch, but it is not as bright and so the final 4 miles were a little more treacherous than I had anticipated. Luckily it was quite a bright evening, and I have pretty good night vision so there were no issues.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I started picking up the pace here knowing that I was pretty much done. I managed a nice sprint finish along the last river section, heading up the ramp, and into the hall. All done in 18:29:20. I was happy with this as it was actually a lot better than I thought I would do, but at the same time I felt so fresh at the end that I wondered why I had been slacking so much all day. Now I know that this is a good time for running 100 miles, but with these things it’s all about whether or not you feel that you have done your best. This was not my best, and so there is a part of me that feels like I should have tried harder. But that’s fine, as today was not really about racing, and it is actually a really good sign to me that I was able to finish in a good time despite not feeling my fittest. The other side to this is that if I had tried harder I may not have felt as good later in the race as I did. The third leg could definitely have gone better after all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, all told the pacing went pretty well. I don’t normally bother looking at checkpoint times and analysing my own performance beyond how I feel, but I was interested to see how badly leg 3 had gone. The first leg took about 3:30, second leg was slower at 4:20, third leg was significantly slower again at 5:15, and then the final leg was a little slower again at 5:20. So as expected leg 3 was a pretty big drop, but there wasn’t much more of a drop for the final leg. It’s funny as I thought that the last section was faster, but it just goes to show how different things can feel 90 miles into a race; suddenly 12 minute miles feel like a sprint!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a slightly inauspicious start to the year, these last two races were all about finding the love again and just enjoying the running. And I most definitely achieved that at the Autumn 100. I had a blast, and happily had no issues to show from it - no aches, no pains, no blisters, no rubbing anywhere (usually the post-race shower immediately highlights any unexpected chaffing locations with a vengeance). I had a little kip in the back room, hopped on a train home, and spent the rest of the day playing with my little girl. I was back to my usual routine of running 5-10 Km with the dog followed by cycling 16 miles to work on Monday. Thank goodness for my Wolverine healing factor. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James went on to win the men's race in a pretty phenomenal time of 14:35:40 - a new course record. As James pointed out, the previous course record was set under much worse conditions at a different time of the year, but there is no doubt that 14:35:40 for 100 miles is a world class time, and I expect big things from him at the next Western States! Chris Brookman was second in a similarly fantastic time of 15:06:53, with Duncan Oakes taking third in 15:19:29. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The women's race was won by Sarah Morwood in 16:13:58, obliterating her previous course record, coming 4th overall in the rankings, and setting what I think might be the fastest female 100 mile time at a Centurion race. Second was Sally Ford in 18:11:31, making this the first 100 miler she hasn't won this year which is a pretty impressive collection of trophies! Third was Melissa Arkinstall, who I was really pleased didn't just finish her first 100 miler, but did it in a fantastic time to boot.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These times are well outside of my abilities, but I love that they keep getting faster. And I think that they will get faster still in years to come, as people see how hard they can push themselves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So that's really it for 2015. I'll probably do a bit of an end of 2015/start of 2016 post in the next few days as I get back into the swing of blogging. I should probably think about doing some races this year then...</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-67746072769639654982015-09-25T09:29:00.001+01:002015-11-09T07:44:32.477+00:00North Downs Way 100 Race Report - Putting the "end" back in NDW<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, I have to be honest - I had almost forgotten what the finish line of a Centurion race looked like. I seem to have a habit of DNFing these particular races, despite the fact that they are some of my favourite races to run in the UK. Previously this has been due to injuries or not wanting to ruin myself for other A races for the year. This year, I decided to have a crack at the 100 mile Grand Slam (Thames Path, South Downs Way, North Downs Way and Autumn 100) to polish them all off in one go, but as you may have noticed that didn't quite go to plan. Dysentery on the TP100 (Sophie Ellis Bextor's follow up hit) and a sense of humour failure on the SDW100 quickly buggered up any chances of that Grand Slam buckle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There wasn't much I could do about the TP100, but I sacked the SDW100 with only 8 miles to go. I could have walked in for a sub 24 hour finish, but I was just taking things too seriously and trying too hard for a PB. I got so annoyed with how whingey I was being, especially given how hard everybody else was working out there (not just phoning in their attempts like me), that I decided to pull out until I got my head back on straight.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I hit the NDW start line with two aims in mind - to have fun and to reach the Centurion Running finishing arch in Wye. Well, I say hit the start line, but I actually managed to miss the start due to an urgent call of nature that I figured would be best taken care of sooner rather than later. I wasn't too bothered though, as I was in no hurry - a very different approach for me. I was chatting to Dan Park and Bryan Webster (who were both on race 3 of the Grand Slam) when I heard the horn go, and said good luck before heading off through the field.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I skipped past a lot of the field over the next few miles, being careful not to undo this whole plan by sprinting past everybody. I bumped into Richard Felton from <a href="http://www.profeet.co.uk/" target="_blank">Profeet</a>, who helped me out before Spartathlon last year with my plantar fasciitis. It was great to catch up for a bit, and the chatting made us keep things comfortable. After a few miles together, I headed off to push a little up the field. I didn't realise, but my wife was actually a little concerned following along at home, as my position further back in the field made her worry that something might be wrong!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As it happens, I really wasn't too far back from most of the front runners. Ed Catmur (the current course record holder) was out ahead in record pace. Craig Holgate had set out ahead of everybody else to run the first 50 miles at some ridiculous pace to check the markings out, and I think Ed may actually have been trying to race him! Sometimes this works for him, sometimes it doesn't, but you have to truly admire his grit and determination whichever way it goes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The weather had been very kind to us, with a similar day to that seen at the SDW100. There had been some heavy rain the night before, but now the skies were clear and the path was nicely softened without becoming muddy. I would go so far as to say that the weather was perfect running weather, although as it turned out it was maybe a little on the warm side. As the sun rose, so did the temperature and it was pretty clear that it was making it tough going. If nothing else, it meant more drinking which was filling my stomach faster.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unlike the SDW which is characterised by wide open spaces, the NDW is much more secluded with much of the route stretching through woods and forests. In addition, unlike the SDW where almost the entire route consists of runnable rolling hills, the NDW is very much punctuated by sharp climbs. In some ways, this is actually preferable to me as it means that there is rarely any question of whether or not you should walk up the hill, whereas on the SDW100 I often felt like I was wimping out by walking up the relatively gentle inclines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first big climb comes at Box hill, after about 25 miles, and is quickly followed by Reigate hill for a nice double hitter. The Box hill checkpoint actually comes into site directly across a busy road after a fun downhill run, but runners need to head off along the road to cut underneath through the underpass so it's a bit of a tease. I remember this bit very vividly from running the Pilgrim's Challenge a few years ago, where I cut across the road and got penalised for it. In my defence I had been told by the RD Neil that the GPS route was "perfect" and it was following this that took me over the road. This time however I knew the score, and runners had been advised that running across the road (which was a bloody deathtrap this morning anyway) was a DQ offence. Russ was there anyway to point people in the right direction.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last section had been quite long, so I was pretty thirsty by the time I got there. I got topped up, drank a lot of juice, and headed out with a handful of fruit. I was trying to be relatively healthy today and was going for fruit over chocolate and sweets, and had a plan to avoid Coke entirely to see if that helped my stomach. I wasn't suffering any stomach issues yet which was good, although the heat meant that I was pouring a lot of water in there so I was conscious of avoiding getting too bloated. But ultimately this plan seemed to work and, other than later in the race when the hot food became available, I survived on gels, fruit and water.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Oh and squash. Well for the first few sections anyway. I started out with one bottle of electrolytes and one of water, and gradually diluted the electrolytes down until I managed to fill up with squash at one of the earlier checkpoints. This was a nice combination, alternating between refreshing water and sweet squash. But not a single bloody checkpoint had squash after that. Normally I'm not particularly bothered about what I get at checkpoints - I'll take what I can get - but I started to get a real hankering for squash in the heat of the sun, and I'll be damned if I just couldn't get any! So my one complaint/suggestion for future Centurion Running races - more squash!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I set off across the stepping stones at the bottom of Box Hill, then made the climb up the loose sandy path towards the wooden steps that would become a staple of the route. I still can't decide if I found the steps any easier than just hiking up the hill, but I made pretty good progress regardless. The heat was building, and I approached what I first thought was an air traffic controller waving planes in to land (but turned out to be a cheerleader) wondering if the heat was getting to me... She asked if I had had a dunk in the water by the stones, and I almost considered going back down as I regretted missing out. But no; onwards and upwards!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
About this time, I found myself running backwards and forwards with a few other runners, and in particular with James Brouner who I started chatting with. He had pulled out the previous year from this race at about 65 miles with a busted ankle, so had a score to settle today. We ran backwards and forwards a bit, but when he came into the Botley Hill checkpoint just as I was about to head out we decided to stick it out together.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was a nice refreshing change to run with somebody else, as I am usually a bit of a loner when it comes to running. Usually I am not in a state to converse, but the pace today was great - nice and comfortable, making good time, but enough that we could easily hold a conversation. When we came into the halfway stage at Knockholt Pound, we were hot but in great spirits. I saw Gary here, who gave me a raised eyebrow expression which I think said "why are you so late", and he very kindly pointed me towards the vats of iced water and even swabbed my brow with a cold cloth to col me down. He's a keeper!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ordinarily I try not to take too long at aid stations, but we weren't in any hurry. I had some pasta, and even changed my socks figuring that I may as well spend a bit of time making sure that the next half was as comfortable as the first half. In hindsight it was my chilled out reaction to the aid stations that cost us the most time, but since we weren't planning on winning the thing I don't regret that. It was nice to actually take a bit of time to soak in the atmosphere and get my money's worth from the food on offer!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We set off out and up a rather unpleasant climb involving a lot of road. Whilst the SDW is a very definitive route through the rolling hills of the South Downs, the NDW is much more of a hodge podge of randomly connected trails with plenty of alternative routes to distract the unwary runner. Not that we had any navigational issues though - I don't think that we really ran anything more than we set out to do which made a nice change! Unfortunately, I started to suffer from a pretty bad stitch which was making it tough to get things moving. The heat and constant climbing were not helping, and it was feeling like we weren't making much progress. James was taking it all in his stride however, but stuck it out with me which I'm grateful for. This was the section that he had injured himself on last year, and as we reached the bottom of a pretty gnarly hill he gave a little fist pump and muttered "yes" under his breath, telling me that he had made it past the hill that had prevented his finish last year. He was in uncharted territory now!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For me however, it was becoming quite familiar. I had run the first 30 miles or so on the Pilgrim's Challenge a few years previously, but the middle section was very much new to me. However, I have run several sections towards the end when I helped out James a few years ago by crewing and marking some sections. We came into Wrotham, which was the checkpoint where I had spent most of the night a few years previously, feeling a little better and on more familiar ground now. Again, we stopped for longer than we should, but hot tea was really helping my stomach and I wanted to let the food that I was eating settle before heading off again. I was starting to eat fewer gels now, and was eating more at the aid stations to make up for it. But other than a stitch which was getting better now, everything was going really well and we were feeling happy. I was definitely enjoying the experience!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was however starting to suffer with fatigue, as my lack of sleep the previous night began to catch up with me. We had driven to my parents house during the day on the Friday, hoping to get there in plenty of time for a chilled out evening and an early night. Unfortunately, various incidents along the way resulted in our 2.5 hour journey turning into a 6 hour journey, my daughter had an unsettled night so I didn't fall asleep until gone midnight, and then the overspill of a nearby garden party woke me up several times before my alarm went off at 4am. Not a great start, and I was feeling it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The sun was still up, and all I wanted to do was collapse and sleep. James could tell I was struggling a bit, and when I got into the Holly Hill aid station I just had to sleep. I told him to head off, and asked the checkpoint staff to poke me in 20 minutes. I stuck my headphones in to drown out the noise, and slunk down in the chair. I'm sure that everybody thought that was it for me, but this ain't my first rodeo! I was woken as requested, and jumped straight up feeling instantly energised. It's amazing how much benefit a small cat nap can have. I set off, and quickly found my rhythm again. In fact, I was now running faster than I had for a long time, and quickly caught up to everybody that had overtaken me during my nap.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I arrived at Bluebell Hill just after James, and found him just about to start a cup of tea. I think he was a bit surprised to see me, but hopefully it was a nice surprise! I also found Mark Perkins here waiting for me, who had agreed to pace me for the final marathon. Mark is incredibly fast, and recently attempted to run 100 miles in a 12 hour track race. That is world class stuff, and he was so close it was unbearable! He'll definitely crack it next time. He recently ran an amazing race at the Grand Union Canal, where he beat the previous course record by several hours (although was unbelievably not the winner in the end), but this had left his body slightly broken. This was going to be his first run back in a while, but as I pointed out - we weren't planning on pushing him too hard!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The three of us set off in fantastic spirits, and really enjoyed the next few sections. The three of us all have children, so that was a main focus of conversation, along with aspects of training, upcoming races and the usual fair. We were actually going a pretty good lick, and it was only the time spent at the aid stations that slowed us down (my fault - I was hungry). But since we weren't in any hurry I didn't care too much about that.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was still feeling pretty tired, and the fatigue was starting to creep back in again as the adrenaline that was fuelling me began to wear off. We came into Lenham at mile 90, and I managed to actually fall asleep mid ham sandwich to the amusement of everybody there. But after another little cat nap, I was back on form again and just hoping that it would carry me through to the end. Next time I should really run faster so that I can get to bed earlier...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As the miles flew by, we eventually arrived at Dunn Street at mile 98. There were about 5 miles left to the finish, but we were assured that all of the hills were done (heh heh, Dunn) now and it was a pretty easy ride to the end. After eating so much food that I got comments from the other runners, we headed out for the final push.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And we really were pushing now, alternating running at a pretty good pace (well, y'know, pretty good for 95 miles into a race) with short walking breaks to stop us from burning out. We managed to pick up more runners along the way, and ended up in a little train of runners, dragging ourselves to Wye with the finish line in sight. When we were a few miles out, James announced that he wasn't feeling great and was going to slow down, so told us to head off. But there was no way that we weren't going to cross the line together after the day that we had had.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sub-24 hours was pretty much guaranteed barring some catastrophe (famous last words...), but we could just make out the sun starting to peak over the hills. The race was now on to get into Wye before the sun rose. We plodded on, and soon made our way into the town. It was a fairly low key finish as we came through the finish line in 22:41:01, but I was perfectly happy with the lack of ceremony. We snapped a couple of quick finish line photos (It's been a while!), and wondered into the hall to get our true prize - a bacon sandwich! Totally worth it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The race had been won by Ed Catmur in 18:02:00, and we found him lamenting how on earth he was going to fit another Centurion trophy on his book case at home (#fastguyproblems). He had struggled a lot out there and lost the huge lead that he built up in the early stages of the race, with second place Ally Watson only 9 minutes behind in 18:11:15. Third was Jeremy Isaac in 18:56:54. The women's race was won once again by Sally Ford in 19:20:40 for 6th overall, making her currently 3 for 3 in wins in the 100 mile grand slam. If she wins at the Autumn 100, she will have a clean sweep! Second was Maryann Devally in 21:17:56, and third was Mari Mauland in 21:24:37.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was disappointed to see Dan in the hall, as this could only mean that he had had to pull out of the race. He had turned his ankle on one of the descents and was struggling to keep up with cutoffs, so had pulled out to avoid damaging himself further. He seemed in relatively good spirits considering the situation, and was pretty Zen about it despite this meaning the end of his Grand Slam goal for the year. The important thing was that he was not seriously hurt, and seemed to bounce back quite quickly in the weeks after. Bryan was still out there, and managed to finish putting him in for a shot for the Grand Slam with only one more race to go.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So all in all not my fastest 100 miler by a long shot, but I enjoyed it and that's the main thing. I was a bit worried that I was losing my love for the long runs, but I had a blast out there, and running with James and Mark was a lot of fun and made the miles fly by. My main issues this race were tiredness, which seems to be a general issue in my day to day life (I can barely make it through an episode of Great British Bakeoff without falling asleep - I'm so old), and a stitch which might be related to the amount I was drinking due to the heat. But otherwise I was pretty happy, and finished with nothing to show for my efforts; I was running after a 2 year old with no issues the following day. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm a bit late posting this report - I actually wrote it ages ago but have only just realised I never hit publish - and we're now only a few weeks away from the Autumn 100. I'm going to predict now that it will be another slower race, as I haven't really been doing any hard training recently with one thing after another taking precedence. I need to shift a bit of holiday weight after a trip away to Menorca with my family, followed by several alcohol fuelled conferences with work (scientists sure know how to partay!), but it should be a fun day out as ever. Then I will be having a crack at Mark Cockbain's suffer-fest The Hill in December, hoping to hit that in a good fit state and have a crack at the course record. But we'll see. The important thing is that the issues on the SDW seem to have just been a blip, and now I can get back to just running and switching off my stupid brain!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-82151142633103125142015-08-05T21:11:00.003+01:002015-08-05T21:12:24.066+01:00Oxfam Trailwalker 100K Race Report<div style="text-align: justify;">
A couple of weeks ago I got a message from one of my Facebook friends, Bryce Alford, who was looking to find somebody to join Team Jersey for the <a href="http://www.oxfam.org.uk/trailwalker" target="_blank">Oxfam Trailwalker 100 Km</a>. There was only about a week until the race, so it was very short notice, but one of his team members had pulled out at the last minute <a href="http://www.marathonmanuk.com/" target="_blank">to go and run 363 miles without sleep</a>. The race follows the South Downs Way from Queen Elizabeth Country Park (right round the corner from my parents), and finishes at the race track in Brighton. I know this route very well, particularly having run most of it only a few weeks previously. <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/south-downs-way-race-report-2015.html" target="_blank">Given my poor (non-) finish at the SDW100</a>, I thought this would be a good way to put a few demons to bed, so I decided to go for it with an aim to just enjoy myself! That is, after all, why I do this. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0xMig4g2jo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H0xMig4g2jo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This wasn't just a little jolly however, as we had a mission. The team put together by Bryce was aiming to beat the current course record of about 9 hours 50 minutes. This is about the same pace that I ran the first 100 Km of the SDW100, and that was a race that didn't go particularly well - so I figured that it was eminently doable under the right conditions. All we needed to do was hold a relatively steady pace of about 8 minutes a mile when we could, hike the uphills, and try and avoid spending a lot of time at the checkpoints. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So on Friday, with very little planning or thinking on my part (the way I prefer to do things), I threw a bunch of things in a small rucksack and jumped on a train after work. I met Bryce and the rest of the crew at the station, and we headed over to QECP for registration and some food. The crew consisted of Mike Robinson and Mark Nicol who made up the rest of the four-man team, Steve Blampied and Robert Bean who would be doing the driving and filming (respectively), and Russ Bestley and Sarah Dryden who would be taking care of meeting us at checkpoints, and general crewing duties. We would also be joined for the first half of the race by Russell Tullett and Sandra Hopkins. It was a pretty slick crew, and there was a lot of knowledge of the route from many of the crew members, particularly Russ who had finished the race many times before. In addition, Russ and Bryce were part of the team that currently holds the mixed team record. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7SDB9vcptXidZH64rNBVKNJj36BziVIofSgXaUfiCexbNyK2G3t2fzQ94R4xh65If_MOvWBAUr2abCHo6jv7JSVol-8gA5EQSI5XjCiKbo7T3OIdhWNxriSLwWe34pn_lc7v8SJPhbo/s1600/11807564_858669020877614_1673095457080834052_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7SDB9vcptXidZH64rNBVKNJj36BziVIofSgXaUfiCexbNyK2G3t2fzQ94R4xh65If_MOvWBAUr2abCHo6jv7JSVol-8gA5EQSI5XjCiKbo7T3OIdhWNxriSLwWe34pn_lc7v8SJPhbo/s400/11807564_858669020877614_1673095457080834052_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I look like I have a handlebar moustache here, and I have to say - I don't hate it! Photo c/o Robert Bean.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given that we were planning on running, our start time was later in the morning, so it was a nice gentle start to the day. Well, given that I'm usually up at 5 am, a 6 am start was practically a lie in! The race itself is not really a race so to speak. It is more of a team event, with the idea being to stick together and work to complete the challenge as one complete and cohesive unit. There were over 400 teams taking part, most of which were walking, but there were a few other teams running. The race is organised by the Gurkhas, and there were many teams from the various Gurkha regiments around the country, some of whom were also trying for that record. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We lined ourselves up at the start and headed out at a brisk pace from the gun, heading up through the newly redirected South Downs Way through QECP. We were clearly on a mission, and soon found ourselves breaking away from the few other groups behind us, and catching up with groups from the earlier starts. A slight mistake in navigation meant that we were almost caught back up again, but I don't take the blame for this mistake as it was on a section that was slightly different to the main SDW100 route that I know. Other than this, my navigation was pretty much spot on - not that it's particularly hard on the SDW of course...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKh6gaAnjuP9QOvft7ImCshyphenhypheniEY9qLzO12nYJqB8xhcq8wktlPYVONmU2NS4HWMBwnC0Jm5as4T056FnkEzH1U8HYnAql8UpTIOc1dv1M-zlw9qv20AXFH3OQ6j9Z98xSSdWoH5PQVm_w/s1600/11222617_10153373106226858_4271735792986012578_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKh6gaAnjuP9QOvft7ImCshyphenhypheniEY9qLzO12nYJqB8xhcq8wktlPYVONmU2NS4HWMBwnC0Jm5as4T056FnkEzH1U8HYnAql8UpTIOc1dv1M-zlw9qv20AXFH3OQ6j9Z98xSSdWoH5PQVm_w/s400/11222617_10153373106226858_4271735792986012578_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me pretending to be an aeroplane, while Mark fights as hard as he can not to floor me. Photo c/o Sarah Dryden.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were going well and the pace felt relaxed compared to my run a few weeks before. I was having an absolute blast, just running, chatting, and belting out Meatloaf songs to any poor person in my vicinity (Bryce, Mark and Mike must have been regretting asking me along pretty quickly). I was conscious of not pushing too hard from the start (which I had done at the SDW100), but at the same time we were there for a reason - these guys had come over all the way from Jersey and had raised a huge amount (<a href="https://www.justgiving.com/TeamJerseyOTW/" target="_blank">over £9,000</a>) for the Oxfam Nepalese relief fund - specifically to beat that record. That was our main goal, and at this point we were running just inside record pace (accounting for stops and the inevitable slow down later). Slowing down wasn't an option.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The hardest part of this challenge was the team aspect of it. One of the tenets of ultra running is that you sometimes need to be selfish to achieve your goals. Running with other people can be of huge benefit to get you through tough points, but at the same time it is an unwritten rule that a partner won't take it personally if the other person heads off without them. We all have bad points in races and it's unlikely that two people's bad spots will coincide. However, with this format you must all run together at all times, so one person's bad patch becomes <i>everybody's</i> bad patch. Add to that the fact that it's hard enough getting one person to the start line in good form, never mind four (I was the second replacement, with Mike already taking over for an injured Jersey runner), and the prospect of getting four runners to Brighton in a good time becomes quite an ask. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhnoxCfCFJ8GVIb9CcTyFbAXd2veiRtv4SMCZQE8nq-yYjXNgAll4T7PN1Jtqg2RcsD6QpIPSwPCKScYCTFkQhP_R__m6Tg9IEOx0Qt0iJcgSzBk4JcpNaZPuhKeszsDhdm_MRwVQBRM/s1600/11754825_858669194210930_8361882474300404197_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhnoxCfCFJ8GVIb9CcTyFbAXd2veiRtv4SMCZQE8nq-yYjXNgAll4T7PN1Jtqg2RcsD6QpIPSwPCKScYCTFkQhP_R__m6Tg9IEOx0Qt0iJcgSzBk4JcpNaZPuhKeszsDhdm_MRwVQBRM/s400/11754825_858669194210930_8361882474300404197_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the South Downs! Photo c/o Robert Bean.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And unfortunately the cracks began to show quite soon. Mark was struggling with his calfs after the first 15 miles or so, and later Mike's hip began to really play up. We were trying to skirt a line between encouraging a faster pace from Mark hoping that it was just a phase that would eventually pass, whilst not disheartening him with the thought that we were losing time. I wasn't too bothered about the slower pace however, as I was getting everything out of the day that I wanted - great weather (despite it pissing down with rain all the previous day), great company, and a chance to run on one of my favourite trails in the country again. The record wasn't my aim, although I would do everything I could to get it for the team. So I just bounced around trying to lift people's spirits, and probably served to just bug the hell out of the guys who were struggling. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The pace had really slowed by the time we got to Clayton Windmills at 40ish miles, where we would be p...p...p...picking up our Gurkha. Because Bryce had managed to raise so much money, we had the opportunity to have a member of the Gurkhas join our team for one of the sections. Mark stopped here to have a massage on his legs to try and get things moving again, but we decided that the record was well and truly out of the window so we should aim to just get to the end in one piece. We still had a pretty good shot of beating the civilian record so that became our secondary goal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirw1JnseSUHV9TG2hQNpgKp16pECv12xa9erPlhAcpPmcW3tYv60Fi_SUau0qzNykF19JPx03I1hqqOyqSxvaWNtLw5XYLokPujUUTrmPkqrf12GvqdIfJErnz0sqBDeukx-5LuhRBoM/s1600/11794621_858669090877607_7452535118750703450_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirw1JnseSUHV9TG2hQNpgKp16pECv12xa9erPlhAcpPmcW3tYv60Fi_SUau0qzNykF19JPx03I1hqqOyqSxvaWNtLw5XYLokPujUUTrmPkqrf12GvqdIfJErnz0sqBDeukx-5LuhRBoM/s400/11794621_858669090877607_7452535118750703450_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone trying desperately to get away from my singing. Photo c/o Robert Bean.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mike's issues were now getting worse as well, but his solution to the sore hip was to just run continuously on it as walking was making him seize up. So he set off at his own pace, while Bryce, Mark, the Gurkha (whose name I have embarrassingly forgotten as I have left this report far too long...) and I made what progress we could. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'd like to say that things improved, and that Mark was able to break through his bad patch, but unfortunately it was a bit more serious than that. No amount of pain killers (which were being shotgunned in a rather worrying way), or encouragement from Bryce were able to help what seemed to be a pretty severe mechanical malfunction, and Mark was bloody hardcore in the way that he pressed on through it. He was in as much pain as I've ever seen any runner I think, and by the end Bryce and I were helping him to stay upright in the final sections.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The course record was out, the civilian record was gone, and it was looking dangerously like I wouldn't even make my train home (which was my only real concern). But we pushed through to the end, and ran into the race course in Brighton together as a team (despite Mike having already turned up there, run across the line, then come back to meet us). We finished in just shy of 13 hours, so it wasn't at all the time that we were originally hoping for. But we still ended up as the first civilian team (well the first <i>complete </i>team anyway - Ian Goodenough and Gareth Fish finished just before us, but minus half of their team), so it wasn't too bad all told. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB1wlTldHdz8cOUSnQRzTl2EduSzkhhOCA6szOPPKc6c_1wUq42kVjcQYYpjOfCyECMdc5bZjoCc2klQtnbK8XUsFgNXGZYjD05gBleKR9YrJcarDdiYkbwDfDwmtvfrTgerCRniDxA0/s1600/11058579_858669984210851_6971641130780048842_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB1wlTldHdz8cOUSnQRzTl2EduSzkhhOCA6szOPPKc6c_1wUq42kVjcQYYpjOfCyECMdc5bZjoCc2klQtnbK8XUsFgNXGZYjD05gBleKR9YrJcarDdiYkbwDfDwmtvfrTgerCRniDxA0/s400/11058579_858669984210851_6971641130780048842_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's hard to see where the smiles end, and the grimaces begin! Loving my new scarf though. Photo c/o Robert Bean.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was in a bit of a hurry at this stage as I only had about 20 minutes to get "clean" (or as clean as one can get with a pack of wet wipes after having run in the sun for half the day), get to the station, and jump on a train. After some quick goodbyes and thanks to everybody who helped, and some photos, I jumped in Russ' car and we zoomed off to the station. I got back home just after midnight, having had a fantastic day out on the Downs. I know that Bryce was very disappointed, but for me personally I got exactly what I wanted out of the race. I was feeling great about my running abilities for my next race, and most importantly I had just had fun. This is exactly what I want to happen this weekend at the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/north-downs-way-100-2015/north-downs-way-100-2015/" target="_blank">North Downs Way</a>, so I am just going to stop taking things so bloody seriously and just have a larf!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4z2fuhERtqlPdW2Ire_XFA_zQM-p_k0y0oFzaQ587O4fRtjX6LrYhPNOOYnm9NscXOAZY2DtBKJMBu2Pe8XYGSPqGI0r9iGcvwwBciZYyjp8900VQm8-VpGWqt8GBPT_L3nTWwM7XxQ/s1600/11794168_10153373106556858_5454904231178309072_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4z2fuhERtqlPdW2Ire_XFA_zQM-p_k0y0oFzaQ587O4fRtjX6LrYhPNOOYnm9NscXOAZY2DtBKJMBu2Pe8XYGSPqGI0r9iGcvwwBciZYyjp8900VQm8-VpGWqt8GBPT_L3nTWwM7XxQ/s400/11794168_10153373106556858_5454904231178309072_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a larf at the end. Imagine having to share a seat with this guy on the train on a Saturday night... Photo c/o Sarah Dryden.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks again to all of the people involved in the race, to Bryce for inviting me to join Team Jersey, to Mike and Mark for running with us and putting up with me all day, and to Russ, Sarah, Rob, Steve, Russ and Sandra for helping us along the way. Now roll on Saturday for the North Downs Way 100!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-8529375641096811722015-07-15T21:27:00.003+01:002015-07-15T21:30:09.950+01:00Running Stupid<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The following is an article that I wrote last year for the rather splendid running magazine <a href="http://www.likethewindmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Like the Wind</a>. If you don't already subscribe, and you have even a passing interest in any type of running (if not, what on earth are you doing here?!), I thoroughly recommend giving it a look. It's not all idiots like me writing - some people know what they're talking about!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Running 100 miles in one go is a really
stupid thing to do. I know this because people tell me so on a regular basis:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">"I wouldn't even
drive that far!" </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">"Pheidippides died
after running only a marathon y'know!" </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">"Isn't it bad for
your knees?" </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You know the drill. Everybody knows these
things. Nobody could possibly run 100 miles. Except that they do. All the time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And the sport of ultra-running (superlative
etymology aside) isn't the sole realm of the genetically gifted übermensch of
this world; everyday people like you and me are achieving this
"impossible" feat on a weekly basis. And the more people do it, the
more people <i>will</i> do it. How many people running ultra-marathons today
got into it as soon as they heard that it was possible from the exploits of
Dean Karnazes? Or the Tarahumara Indians? Or the latest list of the Toughest
Races In The World (TM) in Runners' World? Would it have even crossed your mind
to try to run so far before you heard that others had done it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because, if you ask me, the main thing that
it takes to run 100 miles is... stupidity. If you can remain ignorant of what
we all <i>know</i> - that if you run a step further than 26.2 miles (the oddly
specific distance which has apparently been programmed into our brains as the
absolute limit of human endurance) then you will die - you will discover that
you can achieve what you originally considered impossible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I maintain that <i>anybody </i>can run 100
miles. I am certainly not special. Well not in <i>that </i>way at least... But
that's not to say it's easy of course. It takes dedication. It takes training.
And it takes shear pig-headedness. I have the last one in spades. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But training will only get you so far. Once
you reach the ultimate limit of your endurance, how do you go further? Belief
perhaps? Thinking positive? I prefer to think of it as simply ignoring the fact
that you can't go further. Run stupid I say! Ignore the things that we all
"know" and go out and learn these truths for yourself. Take common
sense and stick it where the sun doesn't shine! This sport isn't the place for
such trivialities as common sense - now is the time to step beyond your comfort
zone, reach for the very limits of your abilities, and then just keep on
truckin'.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You may think, "I can't possibly go any
further". But your next step will prove you wrong. Relentless forward
progress. One foot in front of the other. Just keep swimming. Pick your cliché.
The adage that ultra-running is 70% mental is probably about 95% true.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Piece of String Fun Run is a singular
race, held once a year as a way to torture unsuspecting ultra-runners with a
simple premise; how do you cope mentally when you don't know how far away the
finish line is? Competitors run to the next checkpoint, not knowing ahead of
time whether they will be greeted with a "congratulations, you've
finished", or simply directions to the next one. The race can be anywhere
from 1,000 meters to 1,000 miles. Only 2 people have finished it each year. This
race plays right into the hands of the stupid runner. "Run until we say
stop". It is simplicity in itself, and only the stupid need apply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the great ultra-runner Forrest Gump once
said, "Stupid is as stupid does". Running 100 miles in one go <i>is </i>indeed a
really stupid thing to do. I wonder how much further I can go?</span></span></div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-22344511597946864302015-07-08T22:34:00.003+01:002016-02-23T22:15:02.874+00:00South Downs Way Race Report 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
Eurgh. Okay, I wasn't really planning on writing anything about this race, but decided to use this post to get my thoughts in order and to record it for posterity. This blog is predominantly for me to look back on after all, and I don't want to introduce a publication bias in my own work! I'll try and keep it short, but I think that we all know that ain't going to happen!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/petzl-south-downs-way-100-2015/" target="_blank">South Downs Way 100</a> was the first 100 miler that I ever ran, doing it way back in the heady days of 2011 before it became a Centurion Running event, and was run in the opposite direction. It was a bit longer back then (about 107 miles I think), and started up Beachy Head and along the Seven Sisters (which was a bit of a shock given my lack of hill experience). I did pretty well, and in particular I pushed right the way through despite feeling like crap, and despite having a dodgy knee from about 80 miles in. For about 10 miles over night, limping along, being taken the wrong way by my Dad who met me to pace me, I felt like there was no way that I could I finish. But I pushed on - "one leg in front of the other", "run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must". Pick your cliché. The point was that I bloody wanted it. I was hungry to feel what it would be like to push through the barrier and do something that many others couldn't (or wouldn't). And do you know what? As the sun came up, as I got back into the rhythm, and as I smelled the finish line for the first time (I think the drains had gone...), I suddenly found that I could run after all. In fact, the last 5 miles went bloody well. "It never always gets worse", and as anyone that has done these kinds of races before knows, if you just keep making relentless forward progress you'll likely get a second (or third, or fourth, or fiftieth) wind and suddenly feel great again.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I mean bloody hell, that's the name of this blog!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, skip forward a year and I was having another crack at the SDW, this time in the other direction under the direction of James Elson from Centurion Running. It went well and I managed to pull off a second place finish. I've never really considered myself to be good at sports, but I seemed to be doing okay at running. I have no allusions to greatness, and get a little self-conscious when people talk about being at the "sharp end" of the field. But on a good day, I should be able to run a good race, and I'm convinced that I can get a sub 16 hour 100 miler. That's the goal one day, along with a sub 3 hour marathon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last few years have been a bit difficult for training, with fatherhood pushing running back in my priority list. In addition, a severe lack of sleep had a knock on effect to my ability (and willingness) to wake up early and knock out the long runs that I was doing regularly a few years ago. But I developed a pretty good routine, made possible by the fact that most of my training was integrated with commuting to and from work. A few injuries along the way didn't help matters either. I know it looks as if I'm always injured, but I'm honestly not. It's just that the couple of injuries I've had were badly timed with races, and because my legs are my main source of travel I have to be very careful that I can still run and cycle to and from work on a day to day basis. 99% of the non-racing year, I'm running fine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But this does have the effect that I'm a bit more selective about which races I'm willing to risk serious repercussions for. I dropped out of the Spine Challenger about 10 miles from the finish as I went over on my ankle. I could have hobbled on to the finish, but I risked turning a niggle into a serious issue. I was happy with what I had got out of the race up to that point - I wanted an adventure, and believe me I had one. I started both the South Downs and North Downs Way 100 mile races with a dodgy knee that was getting better, but both times I stopped as soon as I felt a problem. I was rehabbing, and it was getting better - just not 100 miles better. I skipped out on two Piece of String finishes - once due to slowing considerably from the same knee injury (annoyingly close to the end, but of course I couldn't know that), and once due to poor planning on my part that meant I had to leave on the last train of the first day (which, given that I would have finished in the evening, was a bit annoying).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I know I got a lot of comments from people about the DNFs I was racking up, but I really couldn't give a shit. I'm not a "death before DNF" kind of person. There are more important things in life. Plus I didn't <i>regret</i> any of these. I still don't. They annoy me, sure, but I wouldn't change my decision. On the other hand, I have certainly fought and won some battles out there. I ground out a pretty messy finish at the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/grand-union-canal-race-report-2014-guc.html" target="_blank">GUCR</a> last year, going from running really nicely for the first 100 miles to having my broken carcass dragged, half asleep, into Little Venice by my crew. My normal reaction when it gets that bad would be that it's not worth it, but this time I wanted the finish. I wanted to remind myself that if I wanted to I <i>could </i>fight through adversary and come through against the odds, particularly as I had the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/spartathlon-race-report-2014-highway-to.html" target="_blank">Spartathlon</a> coming up which was my main focus for the year. I was worried about a twisted ankle just before Sparta, but I pushed through some tough times to make the finish. In that race, the finish was most definitely what I wanted. I had the fire in my heart to kiss the feet of Leonidas whatever happened. Mainly because I was missing my wedding anniversary for it, and my wife had told me that I had better bloody finish... It wasn't pretty, but I bloody did it and making my way towards that statue will remain one of my fondest memories from my years of running.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, this year I was determined to get some good racing in. My daughter had finally started sleeping (it only took 2 years...), and I felt like I could get back into a good routine of training. I was slightly railroaded on the training front by buying a new house, thus spending most of my evenings and free time on various DIY projects, and getting a new dog resulting in a 5am wake up call every morning for a run. Still, a few extra miles each day couldn't hurt. So whilst I was not quite in the position I had originally hoped (training-wise that is - our new house is lovely!), things were improving and I was starting to feel a bit happier about my fitness.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I decided to focus this year on 100 milers as I wanted to see if I could run a good time and get a PB that I was happy with. So instead of arranging any adventures away in the mountains as I had in previous years, I kept closer to home and entered the Centurion Running Grand Slam of 100 milers. Statistically, one of them had to go well for me, surely?! Unfortunately I kind of fell at the first hurdle, pulling out of the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/thames-path-100-2015-race-report.html" target="_blank">Thames Path</a> after only 50 miles due to a stomach bug that had hit me right before the race. The race started well, but ended rather... unpleasantly. I tried to grind it out, but after not eating or drinking for most of the day I called it a day. And boom, I was a failure right off the bat, with the Grand Slam over before it had even begun.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right. That's quite a lot of preamble to a race report (I've failed at keeping it short...), and sounds like I'm setting up an excuse. Quite the opposite really. I failed at the South Downs, and it was entirely down to me.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I drove down the morning of the race with my dad, who kindly woke up at about 4am after 3 hours sleep to drive me to Winchester. As is the case with all Centurion races, the start line was buzzing with anticipation, with hundreds of runners set to head off on the trail towards Eastbourne. It is always great to catch up with friends and other runners that I have met through the wonders of social media. Unfortunately my DNF at the Thames Path was a common topic of conversation, but I was feeling determined that even though the Grand Slam was now off, I was still going to have a good crack at the race. My training had been back on track (if only for a few weeks), and I was feeling good. No niggles, no recent injuries, I had slept well, and most importantly I wasn't suffering from dysentery. The weather was looking pretty darn good as well, with rain overnight dissipating and making way for a warm and cloudy morning. Add to that a tailwind blowing all the way to Eastbourne, and the stars were aligning for a fast day out there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The race always starts with a run around the field at the sports ground, which is fun for a bit of showboating. With a final sprint finish I was able to take the lead as we entered onto the SDW proper. 200 yards down and it was looking good! Just under 100 miles to go...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first 20 miles to Queen Elizabeth Country Park went well, running a quick but comfortable pace along trails that I know very well having grown up in the area. I was trying not to think too much about position or time at this early stage of the race, as there was still a long way left to go. But I figured that as long as I could stay comfortable and my stomach didn't play up I could just run my own race and hopefully do okay in the rankings. As I was heading along the new SDW trail through QECP, I saw a runner heading towards me. Unfortunately he had been at the front but had somehow missed the checkpoint. Ah, bonus miles. I know them well!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I struggled a bit with my stomach over the next 20 miles or so, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as at the TP100. But it slowed me down, and wasn't helped by the rising temperature and increasing humidity of the day. I was getting through water much quicker than usual, but at least this time I was carrying plenty with me (having learnt from last time). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But ultimately I got into a rhythm and was just enjoying my time out on the Downs. And I really was - I love the South Downs, I had relaxed a little bit about the "racing" side of things (having realised I just don't have the endurance that I had when I was doing high mileage regularly), and was chatting to people along the way. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I came into Washington, the halfway checkpoint, I was feeling a bit resigned about things but was ultimately happy plodding along. Now here's the thing - I wasn't doing badly by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, as I have only just noticed, I made it to Washington faster than I did in my 2012 second place finish. I was in the top 10, and wasn't even that far behind first place (about half an hour). But at the time I felt like I was failing at what I set out to do, which combined with having already failed at the Grand Slam with my TP100 performance, put me into a bit of a funk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At this point I should have just pulled my finger out, cracked on, and pulled it back in the second half of the race. But instead I just felt sorry for myself and struggled to get going properly. The last half was less fun, mainly because I was struggling to pick up the pace between my negative attitude and continuing stomach issues. Then I got annoyed at myself because usually the mental aspect of things is where I do quite well - usually because I'm too stupid to worry about things. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I guess the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was my choice of head torch. I had brought a torch that I have used for plenty of night runs, so it wasn't crap or anything, but it wasn't my slightly heavier über powered Petzl Nao. So with the high levels of mist up on the Downs out of Southease, I simply couldn't see where I was going. I could just about make out the track, and followed the route on my Garmin, but it was a lot tougher than the other sections. This slowed me down even further and fed into my negative attitude. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And then I realised - I was just looking for an excuse to stop. What's the point in doing something like this if I was just going to look for excuses? Nobody was forcing me to run - I was supposed to be enjoying it. So when I came across Gary Dalton out marking the course, I decided there and then to jack it in. I honestly didn't feel like I <i>deserved</i> to finish. There were so many people out on the course who deserved their buckle, working their arses off following months of blood, sweat and tears, and forging memories that will last a lifetime. And here's me half-arsing my way through it, whinging that I wasn't doing better, but not bloody doing anything about it! I decided that I didn't deserve a buckle that day, and wanted to take a step back and take a real look at myself before I come back for another go. I wasn't injured, I wasn't ill, I could have just walked the last 9 miles - but I just didn't want to. What a pussy!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the first time that I have pulled out of a race for no good reason, and it's not like I didn't know at the time that it was a shitty thing to do. I don't <i>re</i>gret it - I <i>gret</i>ted it plenty at the time! I've had some time to reflect since then, which wasn't hurt by a week's holiday straight after the race. So here's where I think I'm going wrong:</div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I'm thinking too much, which is never normally something I'm accused of! But this post is evidence of just giving too much of a crap about what other people think rather than just getting out there and doing what I love. The irony is of course that people probably think less of me now than if I'd rallied and just got it done. I'll be honest, I really did not want to see anybody when I went to pick up my bag from the finish line.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to stop looking for excuses and MAN THE FUCK UP!!! I never used to have a problem with this, but I seem to be getting soft in my old age. Nobody is forcing me to do this after all, but the incessant whining is annoying <i>me</i> - never mind everybody else. Whatever happened to the incessantly cheerful guy who smiled while everybody else was in hell? I don't think I've seen him since Sparta.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to get back into my old routine to rebuild my endurance, as I think that the last two years of sporadic training (and even more sporadic sleep) have taken their toll. Don't get me wrong, my speed and endurance are pretty good, they could just be a lot better with some hard work. I'm probably faster than I've ever been (with some pretty good times at shorter races recently), but without the endurance to keep on going, that's not going to help. Some people will disagree, but I don't think I'm going out too fast at the start. I like to run on my own and at a certain comfort level, so that's what I do. I think I just need to get some nice long hard runs under my belt to hold it for longer. The last few weeks have been really good in that regard and I am back in a good routine with a good combination of speed and endurance work mixed in.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to decide what I'm trying to do when I race - do I want to get to the end or do I want to try and get a good time? With the SDW100, I have already finished a couple of times so there is less of an incentive to get to the finish just for the sake of it. I was there to push hard for a good time, but haven't put the work in to do what I had in my mind. Setting hard goals is a very good way to push yourself, but if they're too unrealistic you run the risk of getting into a negative mindset when you fall off the pace (which is why I never normally set pacing goals). If I can put a bit more work in, it may not be such an unrealistic goal, but it will take some commitment.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to stop DNFing. I'm absolutely not a "death before DNF" kind of person - I do this for fun, and breaking myself has serious repercussions on my home life. Apart from this one, all of my DNFs up until now have been calculated decisions to avoid making things worse. That said, I think that it is getting a bit ridiculous now. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to respect the distance and not just try and half-arse my way to the finish. I shouldn't be going in thinking "it's <i>only</i> 100 miles". It's never easy. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I need to find the fire again. I feel like Rocky III (only without the wins under his belt). I need the eye of the tiger man.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was a bit worried at first that maybe I just didn't enjoy it like I used to, but a week of R&R and a few weeks of awesome running have convinced me that this simply is not the case. I still love every minute that I spend out running! I just need to not forget that. Training is back on track, and I'm hoping to run a good 10K PB in a couple of weeks on my birthday. The only thing I'm missing at the moment is the use of my gym, having replaced my morning weights session with running with the dog. Their simply aren't enough hours in the day, and I already wake up at 5am every day so I think I just have to accept that I can't do everything! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right, anyway, no more feeling sorry for myself. MTFU, pull your socks up, and just get it done! Sorry for being shit, I'll try not to let it happen again. Normal service will now resume, and I'm going to work hard over the next few weeks to make sure that I hit the start line of the NDW100 with a positive attitude. Rather than forget that TP100 and SDW100 ever happened, I'm going to use those failures in a positive way to fuel a great run at the NDW100. And by great run, I mean one where I cherish every minute - from the euphoric highs to the crippling lows, and everything in between. Whether I get in in 16 hours or 29:59:59, I want to know that I have fought for it and earned it so that I can hold my head up high with the other fighters at the finish. I have never finished the NDW100 which is a good incentive to finish, but goddamn it after the SDW100 I bloody well want this finish!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As ever, the SDW100 was a fantastic event and the volunteers really make these events what they are. They genuinely can't do enough to help. Thank you so much to everybody that helped the runners along their way (even though I may have been a little sullen as I came through... Sorry!). Also thanks as ever to the Centurion Crew who, as ever, put on a slick event that did everything it could to get runners through to Eastbourne as efficiently as possible. The men's race was won by Peter Kaminsky in 16:50:36, with Luke Ashton in second and Graham O'laughlin in third. The women's race was won by Sally Ford in 17:28:49, with Annabelle Stearns in second and Kate Whitfield in third. Also, well done to my best friend <a href="http://dan-fattofit.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Dan Park</a> on finishing the second race in the Centurion Grand Slam, putting him one step closer to his goal this year! </div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-42571833443983623182015-05-04T20:41:00.000+01:002015-05-04T20:41:25.826+01:00Thames Path 100 2015 Race Report<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was all going so well. Leading up to the race I had avoided any niggles from training, had managed not to horribly injure myself, and had even managed to avoid the stinking cold that had taken my wife out the week before. I was feeling pretty confident, so you can imagine my annoyance when I spent Thursday passed out in bed with some weird stomach bug. Shit. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pun intended. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As an aside, can we please fuck off with the idea of "man-flu"? The point of man-flu is that the guy is not that ill, but makes out like its the end of the world like a huge pussy. I am completely the opposite, and my wife usually tells me off for refusing to accept that I'm ill. I ain't got time to be ill dammit! So she was genuinely concerned to hear that I had gone home from work - she knew it must be serious. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I felt awful, and there was no way I was going to make the start line if I carried on feeling like this. Miraculously however, I woke up on Friday feeling miles better. Not perfect, but I didn't feel like sleeping next to the toilet was my best bet any more. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
TMI? I'd stop reading now if I were you...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, by Saturday morning I was feeling much happier. It was obviously a 24 hour thing, and I was back in track. If anything, the extra sleep I had over the past few days might in fact prove to be a bonus. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I spent the night before the race with two of my best friends; Dan Park who was running, and Nick Hill who was crewing me. It wasn't quite like the Friday nights I remember from a few years ago, as we decided against the late opening bar. What happened to us man, we used to be cool?! I didn't have much of a race strategy, as I tend to prefer to just run on feel and go with the flow. I'm generally not too much of a diva with these things, so really it was a case of Nick handing me gels and water, and having some of my other kit on hand just in case. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a good night's sleep (thanks to snore-proof earplugs...) we were up and ready to go. A quick breakfast of sausage and egg roll (sans the roll) and we arrived at registration at Richmond Upon Thames. It's always good fun catching up with everybody in the Centurion Running extended family, and it was great to catch up with some of the many people I have met through the years at races and on social media. We lined up on the river, and after confirming with a few other people which way we should be going (could have been embarrassing) we were off!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xTBDpemjd0dH9VKeu9ZvTvFGPmcLGzBAl1gVXPrK7Btl2OSqTV6AQmYoADFElBFFULAc65OB863Cc6DkgINNa1qQxHdWM0TbJLp9LROn8as_8swPC1f8fntl9EhyphenhyphenOLw7agz9llF6NCI/s1600/CD_T_ZaXIAAp_5B.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xTBDpemjd0dH9VKeu9ZvTvFGPmcLGzBAl1gVXPrK7Btl2OSqTV6AQmYoADFElBFFULAc65OB863Cc6DkgINNa1qQxHdWM0TbJLp9LROn8as_8swPC1f8fntl9EhyphenhyphenOLw7agz9llF6NCI/s400/CD_T_ZaXIAAp_5B.jpg-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay I'm winning! C/O Nick Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: justify;">I felt pretty good at the start, and headed out at a comfortable but sprightly pace. Whilst I had no fine-scaled pacing plan, I was hoping for a good time, hopefully one less than 16 hours, and was hoping to get to the halfway point in about 7 hours or so. I feel like I've done enough of these things to know what pace is right, and was just aiming to run comfortably and see what happens. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I passed the first aid station at 11 miles but didn't stop. I was due to meet Nick at 20 miles for our first meet up, and thought I had enough water and gels to last me.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKb-b5Y9ROr8w20k9aiL0Beu0oLZ7SenvYpOeupOBYgGbxSWY_mYSE8zNrZ-rK8svuhlWCYJ3zJH3BzP73kP19wyN7yLYj8Oek44lUppofEOdWKc3XlEJdHZNM5ZwFSTRYYobaTq4j5c/s1600/11198849_10152887922177183_1828558813_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKb-b5Y9ROr8w20k9aiL0Beu0oLZ7SenvYpOeupOBYgGbxSWY_mYSE8zNrZ-rK8svuhlWCYJ3zJH3BzP73kP19wyN7yLYj8Oek44lUppofEOdWKc3XlEJdHZNM5ZwFSTRYYobaTq4j5c/s400/11198849_10152887922177183_1828558813_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying about 15 miles in. C/O Richard Felton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All in all those first 20 miles went great. My legs felt great, it was a fantastic day for running, the path was perfect and not muddy in the slightest, and overall I was having a great time! I slightly misjudged the heat, and found myself drinking a bit more than expected, so ended up running out of water at about mile 18. No worries though, in 10 minutes or so I would see Nick, and from then on we'd be meeting more regularly. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So you can imagine my confusion when I didn't see him. Apparently I was too bloody quick. Grr.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I rolled into the 23 mile checkpoint feeling thirsty, nauseous, and pretty pissed off. After shotgunning water and having a bit of a moan, I set back off. But I was struggling to get going with the water and coke sloshing about in my stomach. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My previous positive mindset had gone, and I knew I needed to get my head straight - especially so early in the bloody race! Cheer the fuck up, it's not the end of the world, you've only just started etc. Unfortunately my stomach wasn't easing, and was in fact getting worse. I was struggling to run as my guts were feeling... unpleasant. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I met Nick at our second planned meeting point about 28 miles in, and had at least worked out a good way to avoid feeling nauseous. Unfortunately, not eating or drinking is not exactly a sensible long term 100 mile plan. I stocked back up, tutted at Nick about the previous cock up (I'm British - tutting is the harshest criticism I can bestow), then headed back out again. And it just got worse. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjq7Gsymfha9VfozogCMB_CtOd4fZfqH1GejvQWPa1SkARGkBG_XtQlki7MvFqJtBQlSVEwpdC1ecYIe9vwJPV2dpqy-6sgWR0_2S-kI5DLsYPa8GKMF9N33wCR6S6dRjR4O4AUjdYUA/s1600/CEAN1D0XIAApA6D.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjq7Gsymfha9VfozogCMB_CtOd4fZfqH1GejvQWPa1SkARGkBG_XtQlki7MvFqJtBQlSVEwpdC1ecYIe9vwJPV2dpqy-6sgWR0_2S-kI5DLsYPa8GKMF9N33wCR6S6dRjR4O4AUjdYUA/s400/CEAN1D0XIAApA6D.jpg-large.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally meeting up with Nick. Can you see the anger in my eyes?! Grr. C/O Nick Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Clearly whatever had hit me on Thursday had not cleared, and I found myself slowing drastically, losing places, and basically alternating walking and stopping for the loo, with running becoming very much a rarity. There was a lot going out of my system, but not a whole lot going in, and Nick was starting to get very concerned. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A fast time had gone out of the window a long time ago, and now even a reasonable time was looking unlikely. In fairness, I had wanted to get to Henley in 7 hours and it was looking like it would be about 9.5 hours which was still pretty good all told, but I was already slowed to a crawl with no food or drink going into my system. It wasn't a sustainable plan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I resigned myself to walking and at least was able to enjoy the surroundings listening to my latest audiobook. Approaching the halfway point at Henley, I was suffering with serious cramps and needed another toilet break. By that point I had already sullied the beautiful countryside enough, so as nice as it was to see friends like James and Karen, I just wanted to be pointed towards the nearest plumbed facilities. And fucking bollocky fuck - the bloody things were closed! Ah shit. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pun intended. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKhwBfuTBj3PG2ghS7yy9pSUE9mPZqz8lvosi0gBc9jUo0EhGdUqFjXzG4-2R5ivHhuM-OoPBOtLJJBWe7E_CBgprvNiN-BH_D374CVf8WP5V42P5pi17UPjKyaDJ8VdmE4LfH96pxDw/s1600/CEAl8wxWIAEl3Jz.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKhwBfuTBj3PG2ghS7yy9pSUE9mPZqz8lvosi0gBc9jUo0EhGdUqFjXzG4-2R5ivHhuM-OoPBOtLJJBWe7E_CBgprvNiN-BH_D374CVf8WP5V42P5pi17UPjKyaDJ8VdmE4LfH96pxDw/s400/CEAl8wxWIAEl3Jz.jpg-large.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured - resignation. C/O Nick Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nick had to drive me to Tesco, and after partaking of the amenities I ran out of the door before the next poor sucker had to go in after me. We went back to the aid station, and I was given very strict instructions from Nick that I wasn't allowed to leave until I had eaten to his satisfaction. Now Nick isn't a runner, so his views on what runners eat is a little off. So I made my way through the middle class smörgasbord he had laid out for me, including humus, chorizo, smelly cheese and caviar. Just what you need to settle a dodgy stomach! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My plan was to try one more section and see how I felt, but when it became clear that I already needed another trip to Tesco (every little helps...), and my stomach felt as if it was eating itself, it became pretty clear that another 50 miles was going to be a tough ask. Walking had been fine up until now, but with the sun going down and rain on the way, not being able to run was going to become a serious problem. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, my own philosophy in these situations is that if I'm not having fun, I'll stop - unless there are some extenuating circumstances. Like, for instance, the Grand Slam of running - finishing all four Centurion Running races in one year, of which this was only the first event. By dropping out now, I would forfeit this accolade right off the bat. But I could see how worried Nick was about how shit I looked, and I most definitely was not having fun. But I already needed to find some more facilities, and goodness knew how much worse it would get. It was pretty clear that whatever had hit me on Thursday was not out of my system. My immune system was fighting it pretty well, but for some reason running for 10 hours kind of put a dampener on that...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZdcXVE1ZX7yPpITo1hybdw8nPSoQorWBms87wx5KJ68mC0PrvRBcXHzpOnvm1nBtOWCtVDPlQ6cILJx6x5Q6TlIkpOJWjM_p2ujG8z3Gs2Dc0oNfVkqbYfK_qx-rALpCqTVowZgmNp8/s1600/CEBLwCgWYAAmeCt.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZdcXVE1ZX7yPpITo1hybdw8nPSoQorWBms87wx5KJ68mC0PrvRBcXHzpOnvm1nBtOWCtVDPlQ6cILJx6x5Q6TlIkpOJWjM_p2ujG8z3Gs2Dc0oNfVkqbYfK_qx-rALpCqTVowZgmNp8/s400/CEBLwCgWYAAmeCt.jpg-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are worse ways to end a race. C/O Nick Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So that was it. I handed in my number, and headed home. The rest of that evening made it clear to me that I had made the right choice (it definitely got worse). I'm not entirely sure who I'm trying to convince here, but trust me when I say that this was not just a stomach ache, and certainly wasn't bloody "man-flu". </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So yeah. Not in any way how I saw the weekend going, but there was nothing I could do about it. It had nothing to do with training, or badly managed injuries, or any kind of stupidity on my part (In hindsight stopping at the first aid station to fill my water would have saved the slight dehydration, but in the grand scheme of things that really wasn't the main issue) - it was just one of those things. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's still fucking annoying of course, and I am starting to get a bit pissed off with the regularity of these occurrences. I know it <i>looks</i> like I'm always injured or ill, but honestly 98% of the year I run perfectly happily with no issues. Those other 2% just happen to always coincide with races. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right. Okay. Whatever. Stay positive. Here are 5 positive things I have taken from this experience:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol>
<li>As ever, the people involved in this race - the organisers, the volunteers, the other runners, and everybody following along at home - were incredible as ever! It always makes me smile to see how incredibly awesome this little community of ours can be, and race day always solidifies this in my mind.</li>
<li>Those first 20 miles were pretty tasty. I used my watch for navigation, but not for watching my pace, so this was done entirely on feel, and was a comfortable pace for me knowing that I had another 80 miles to go. This bodes well for when I finally pull my finger out and try and run a decent marathon time, and makes me feel happy about my current fitness levels.</li>
<li>There's now no pressure on the other three races in the grand slam, so I can take them all as they come. That's a bit of a shit one though, as it basically means I don't have to worry about failing as I've already failed...</li>
<li>It meant that I got to have an absolutely lovely day with my family on Sunday.</li>
<li>Other than my stomach, I have no issues so can crack straight on with training for the next race in 6 weeks.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So yeah. Let's stay positive, and focus like a friggin' laser on getting a great time at the South Downs Way 100 in 6 weeks time. With four 100 mile races planned this year, statistically speaking I should be able to hit one of the start lines in good shape right? Right?! One way or another, I'm coming out swinging! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The race was won by Max Willcocks in 16:35:11, with Nick Greene second and David Barker third in a nail-biting finish, with only a minute and a half between them! Sally Forde won the women's race in a new course record time of 17:33:42, with the previous CR holder Mimi Anderson coming second in 20:06:41 and Wendy Shaw third in 20:34:49. Dan managed to finish in 27:44:16, setting himself up to complete the Grand Slam with the SDW in 6 weeks. Well done to everybody that ran, and to everybody that pushed on and made it into Oxford. It's a lovely city I'm told!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-248555851403343102015-04-27T21:59:00.004+01:002015-04-27T21:59:53.083+01:00Thames Path 100 Preview<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's not long to go now until my first race of the year, and I'm really looking forward to getting going! This Saturday I'll be running the first race in the Centurion Running Grand Slam - the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/thames-path-100-2015/thames-path-100-2015/" target="_blank">Thames Path 100</a> miler. I ran this race back in 2012, but pulled up short about 70 miles in with a sore hip (having fallen off my bike on icy roads just days before).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the past couple of years my focus races (most notably Spartathlon, GUCR, Transvulcania and UTMB) have taken precedence over the Centurion races, and with early season injuries I have had to DNF or DNS a couple. This year I aim to put all four to bed in one go. They're always a fantastic experience, and are probably the premiere ultra races in the UK at this time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With 5 days to go until the start, I'm feeling... pretty good actually. My daughter now sleeps (for the most part), so I haven't got quite the level of fatigue that has plagued me for the past 2 years (although 5am starts 7 days a week probably aren't helping much). I have (so far) managed to avoid any horrific accidents or injuries (there's still time though). The plantar fasciitis that hit me before Spartathlon is now under control, so hopefully shouldn't be an issue. So yeah; all systems go!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last few months have seen a house move and a few changes to my work schedule that have shaken my training plans up a bit, so I'm maybe not as fast as I would like. I also like cake a bit too much, so I'm not what you would call "race weight", although I find that I skirt the line between being svelte and stuffing my face with chocolate with impunity. But the important thing is that running feels effortless and (more importantly) fun at the moment as it should be! I am currently running (sprinting...) with our new dog, Saphie, everyday which is a ton of fun! So the speed work is there, I'm just not entirely sure how I'll cope without the benefit of a wolf to drag me along... </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I ran a 10k a couple of weeks ago which, while a few minutes outside of my best time, was actually not as bad as I expected. So maybe there is a little bit of residual speed hanging around in the old legs. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, I'm feeling good about the race and really looking forward to getting going. All being well I'll have a good day out there, and a PB should hopefully be on the cards. I'm not stressing about pacing, so I'll just run and see what happens. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I even have a crew to help out on the day. Well, a Nick. But he's as good as a whole pit-crew (well, he probably eats as much anyway...) so we should have a cracking day! I think he's going to live-blog his experience of the race as well, so watch this space!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now let's just hope the river doesn't flood again...</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-40414668960161713472015-04-16T21:20:00.000+01:002015-04-16T21:22:33.368+01:00If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy, it's probably because of my high 2D:4D digit ratio and ERR gamma levels<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well of course we already knew it, but now science has proven it - runners are <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3029287/Are-marathon-runners-smarter-Study-finds-process-makes-running-long-distance-easy-boosts-memory-learning.html" target="_blank">smart</a> and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3030597/How-long-distance-running-makes-men-attractive-run-endurance-races-dates-higher-sex-drive.html" target="_blank">sexy</a>. Well, according to a couple of stories in the Daily Mail at least, and as I always say; you should absolutely believe everything you read in the Daily Mail <i>unequivocally. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But what is the actual research leading to these completely believable and plainly evident <i>facts</i>? Other than, y'know, mirrors and common sense? Let's take a look shall we...<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Running Makes You Sexy</h3>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't know about you, but I never feel more sexy than when I'm running. When I'm collapsed in a sweaty heap:</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXHxrw4m3K61cn6PfNimz-MaY7m6ei1R7hKD5axVleQEhkr2dnJ4Rxa1TQ8CWcK7sFLsrapxA6syE8mZrI_-oYKoYY-UE_TrwEiM7X4JmhFi0bbNXMdXe_qw3uvfQ-0S2DXj5hTqlfyQ/s1600/IMG_1230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXHxrw4m3K61cn6PfNimz-MaY7m6ei1R7hKD5axVleQEhkr2dnJ4Rxa1TQ8CWcK7sFLsrapxA6syE8mZrI_-oYKoYY-UE_TrwEiM7X4JmhFi0bbNXMdXe_qw3uvfQ-0S2DXj5hTqlfyQ/s1600/IMG_1230.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
And coughing and spluttering:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtmlxF-PGJ6Ks2JFKDHTbI1TB1sR9UFqwH5ZWOUDpwDXDlhgzeEbTAmUy4GvpM8F1SFFCh58Po5ErT2uMQ6CWb2eOmjM0-U2JTjVI2P4rnVX_qfIkWSCsKD1QFc4k1FjdILmbcp2J3_E/s1600/20130331-_25R0352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtmlxF-PGJ6Ks2JFKDHTbI1TB1sR9UFqwH5ZWOUDpwDXDlhgzeEbTAmUy4GvpM8F1SFFCh58Po5ErT2uMQ6CWb2eOmjM0-U2JTjVI2P4rnVX_qfIkWSCsKD1QFc4k1FjdILmbcp2J3_E/s1600/20130331-_25R0352.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
With my toenails hanging off:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXarwnymA7k27EWQjED8j3-UdO6yUg49gCbLDl_E5frsEfi8LQkdHj4bvNq_BGYUDABcqVxaTzZU25vnhFQYzVcT81b1kqk801-tYnCGwnV2nwn2k7FTwZBOFX3DqpQ946ARi6md0fUU/s1600/tmp3+(Laptop's%2Bconflicted%2Bcopy%2B2012-05-09).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXarwnymA7k27EWQjED8j3-UdO6yUg49gCbLDl_E5frsEfi8LQkdHj4bvNq_BGYUDABcqVxaTzZU25vnhFQYzVcT81b1kqk801-tYnCGwnV2nwn2k7FTwZBOFX3DqpQ946ARi6md0fUU/s1600/tmp3+(Laptop's%2Bconflicted%2Bcopy%2B2012-05-09).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Having to deal with blisters:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-LcoBjh82ZVZ3hX0Gbbg16NplC3WcGbbSXDkSfbbREAIj3x8cr4ssjgkoYUKUk0vuKORX_nPzf8vJXvrHsp2uP5jIERAo0JG_xKdt0q3R2HWPeWqHnArU5Ww0Mam0m01ZjQ321njqCs/s1600/SouthDownsWayRace2011_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-LcoBjh82ZVZ3hX0Gbbg16NplC3WcGbbSXDkSfbbREAIj3x8cr4ssjgkoYUKUk0vuKORX_nPzf8vJXvrHsp2uP5jIERAo0JG_xKdt0q3R2HWPeWqHnArU5Ww0Mam0m01ZjQ321njqCs/s1600/SouthDownsWayRace2011_2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
And smearing vaseline around my crack:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4m1ngm4P_XrnMUeceazGAyFcSS6SIwznHzFNKO1jBq8Iqa2Kr7LFQNnHj7x8W-o3ydLHI5YhpDLqZ3dEa-vaGrBaiqSApr0SeIg6KIA0ixNXO0wB3SOyPs6u215FnkaLkv0m_DfWcXvg/s1600/This-Photo-Intentionally-Left-Blank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4m1ngm4P_XrnMUeceazGAyFcSS6SIwznHzFNKO1jBq8Iqa2Kr7LFQNnHj7x8W-o3ydLHI5YhpDLqZ3dEa-vaGrBaiqSApr0SeIg6KIA0ixNXO0wB3SOyPs6u215FnkaLkv0m_DfWcXvg/s1600/This-Photo-Intentionally-Left-Blank.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can't help but notice all of the ladies staring on with lust and desire on their faces. </div>
</div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As my wife will attest, running (particularly trail and ultra running) is not glamorous. We dress in stupid clothes, we smell, we never shut up about running, we leave mud in the shower, and we create sooooo much washing it's unbelievable. Never mind if we end up roping them into actually helping with crewing:</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPRhXmFKVcZcw38RqdRSY6sEOmubgXZixAAaXDD2icGlwQrYabiJmLkVuKMd2_qzpIzNdEeVUtP6ofx8Czy1uBJaC3Z4v3jdtLgi70F8TgZ-QAQEYe23d4tkRXk0cLRJloppSCip8w24/s1600/tmp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPRhXmFKVcZcw38RqdRSY6sEOmubgXZixAAaXDD2icGlwQrYabiJmLkVuKMd2_qzpIzNdEeVUtP6ofx8Czy1uBJaC3Z4v3jdtLgi70F8TgZ-QAQEYe23d4tkRXk0cLRJloppSCip8w24/s1600/tmp1.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite how our marriage survived this, I have no idea.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But no, apparently running makes you sexy. Kind of. The paper that this headline is taken from is "<i><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0121560" target="_blank">Can Persistence Hunting Signal Male Quality? A Test Considering Digit Ratio in Endurance Athletes</a></i>" by Daniel Longman <i>et al. </i>(2015). In this paper, researchers looked at 439 male and 103 female runners of the Robin Hood Bay half marathon, looking at the ratio of the length of their index finger to that of their ring finger (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio" target="_blank">2D:4D digit ratio</a>). There is a lot of evidence that this ratio is affected by the levels of androgens (hormones that stimulate the development of male characteristics, e.g. testosterone) that we are exposed to in the womb. So the idea is that this ratio can represent prenatal testosterone levels, which many studies have linked to various physical traits in humans.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To get the digit ratio, you need to measure the length of your index finger from its base (mine is 75mm) and do the same for your ring finger (mine is 82mm), then simply divide them. So I have a 2D:4D ratio of about 0.91. More people have a longer ring finger than index finger, so the average digit ratio is less than 1. This is slightly more pronounced in males than females (perhaps not surprising if the theory of it representing male sex hormones is accurate). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the paper, researchers simply took hand prints from a bunch of runners, calculated their digit ratios, then plotted this against their finishing times. They incorporated gender into their analysis to account for the fact that the effects were different in males and females. What they found was that:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Digit ratio was significantly and positively correlated with half-marathon time in males (right hand: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">r</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> = 0.45, </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">p</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><0.001; left hand: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">r</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">= 0.42, </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">p</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><0.001) and females (right hand: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">r</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> = 0.26, </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">p</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><0.01; left hand: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">r</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> = 0.23, </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">p</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> = 0.02). Sex-interaction analysis showed that this correlation was significantly stronger in males than females, suggesting that androgenisation may have experienced stronger selective pressure from endurance running in males.</span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When they say "r = 0.45", this is a measure of how well they are correlated. A value of 1 means that they are perfectly correlated (as digit ratio increases, finishing time increases at the same rate), 0 means there is no correlation at all (i.e. digit ratio and finishing time are independent of one another), and -1 means that they are anti-correlated (as digit ratio increases, finishing time <i>decreases</i> at the same rate). A value of 0.45 means that there is a relatively modest correlation between the two, as can be seen in Figure 1 of the paper:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdZFMJ0PUfMLzAhC9PAdODlIH0ty9AVhPJqElnWqBhFHW6LhhZ6OzhcOyb4y7IvEXXo6Bzm8l_NiKNoN9-LTCSmawvYCOOWETAeg4uPsFq4wBS6JFRYAe0FmHDoZ-CwKnbB8AKdDUUR0/s1600/journal.pone.0121560.g001.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdZFMJ0PUfMLzAhC9PAdODlIH0ty9AVhPJqElnWqBhFHW6LhhZ6OzhcOyb4y7IvEXXo6Bzm8l_NiKNoN9-LTCSmawvYCOOWETAeg4uPsFq4wBS6JFRYAe0FmHDoZ-CwKnbB8AKdDUUR0/s1600/journal.pone.0121560.g001.PNG" height="234" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1, Longman <i>et al</i> (2015)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So whilst it looks as if the runners with the lowest digit ratios were also the fastest (and vice versa), there is a large amount of variation. Also it is pretty clear that this effect is more pronounced in the males than it is for the female runners (although the sample size is larger). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The "p<0.001" value that they state is the result of a statistical test known as a multiple linear regression analysis. This essentially produces a line of best fit to the data, then calculates how likely it is that you would see such a line from a random set of data (i.e. where the two measures are not related in any way). Basically if this value is small enough (e.g. <0.05), you can use the hallowed words "statistically significant" to describe the effect. So what we have here is a small but significant correlation between digit ratio (a surrogate for prenatal androgen levels) and finishing time. So runners that were subjected to more testosterone in the womb were generally faster.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The lead author, <a href="http://www.pave.bioanth.cam.ac.uk/longman.html" target="_blank">Danny Longman</a>, is an evolutionary anthropologist who is interested in human evolution and sporting performance. He actually worked with <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/" target="_blank">Centurion Running</a> at last year's North Downs Way 100 (so was interested in <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/centurion-running-end-of-year-analysis.html" target="_blank">my own research</a>), although unfortunately nothing ever came from that. Since testosterone is associated with reproductive potential (low 2D:4D ratios are associated with high sperm counts in males, and high 2D:4D ratios are associated with high oestrogen levels in females), the idea in this paper is that long distance running may have acted as a subconscious signal for mating partners that might produce good offspring, and therefore may have been a selective pressure in human evolution. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Also, with the whole <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting" target="_blank">persistence hunting theory</a> (which is far from universally accepted), males with good distance running abilities would potentially act as good mates in terms of their ability to provide food, and this may explain the increased effect on males compared to females. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can't really comment on the evolutionary hypotheses at play here (although I think it's a little bit of a leap), but I can get behind the basic concept that testosterone levels are (mildly) associated with performance. However, if you look at the faster runners (say those who finished faster than 5000 seconds - a 1:23:20 half marathon), whilst the majority had lower 2D:4D ratios some had the highest ratios of those tested. So it's not to say that your running ability is entirely dependent on your testosterone levels. Fear not ET!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But yeah. It doesn't really say that runners are more attractive. It says that performance at half marathons is mildly related to your digit ratio. The rest is all conjecture. Which is of course absolutely fine. That's how science works, and this fits in with a whole heap of additional evidence that builds up the theory. But just don't go looking to switch careers to modelling just yet. Well, unless you're this guy.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ridiculouslyphotogenicguy.jpg?w=480&h=320&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ridiculouslyphotogenicguy.jpg?w=480&h=320&crop=1" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Running Makes You Smart</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No it doesn't. Anybody that's ever tried to work out their splits while running will attest, running makes your brain turn to mush. And never mind the hallucinations...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No, what this paper, <i><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413115001072" target="_blank">Dependence of Hippocampal Function on ERRg-Regulated Mitochondrial Metabolism</a></i> from Liming Pei <i>et al</i> (2015) actually says is this: Neurons are cells and need energy to function, and they need more energy to do more complex tasks like learning and using your memory. Energy is generated in neurons by oxidative phosphorylation, where sugar (they cannot burn fat) is metabolised into ATP in the mitochondria. This ATP is the main "currency" of energy used in your cells. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What they show is that there is a protein - estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRg) - which regulates a bunch of genes that control this metabolic process in neurons. When you knock it out in mice (so that the mice no longer have this protein available in their cells), it impairs their memory and spatial learning. The mice had no problems with vision, motor control, balance, anxiety or anything like that, but when they took part in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_water_navigation_task" target="_blank">Morris water maze test</a> they struggled more than their wild type counterparts. The test is quite simple - the mice are put into a little swimming pool that has a small platform somewhere in it that the mouse can climb onto. This can be either visible, or hidden under the water. When it is hidden, they have to hunt around for it so their spatial learning can be observed. Then you can repeat it to see if they go back to the same place again the next time to observe their memory. The mice with no ERRg found the visible platform fine, but struggled to find the hidden one, then failed to look in the same place when the test was repeated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So what does all of this have to do with running? Well nothing really. They didn't then make all of the mice run a marathon. The link is simply that this protein, ERRg, is also involved in similar metabolic pathways in muscles. There may be a link between running (well, muscle metabolism) and memory, but it hasn't been studied directly. It seems plausible though - if you're good at running, it might be because you have increased ERRg activity, and therefore you might have better memory and spatial reasoning. I know that my memory is pretty damn good.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So what does all of this have to do with running? Well nothing really. They didn't then make all of the mice run a marathon. The link is simply that this protein, ERRg, is also involved in similar metabolic pathways in muscles. There may be a link between running (well muscle metabolism) and memory, but it hasn't been studied directly. It seems plausible though - if you're good at running, it might be because you have increased ERRg activity, and therefore you might have better memory and spatial reasoning. I know that my memory is pretty damn...<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<h3>
Conclusions</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can believe that good runners had a slight evolutionary advantage over non-runners, and that people with a good metabolism might see improved brain function. But do marathon runners "get more dates"? Probably not - we've already spent our money on new shoes and other gear. It's all interesting stuff, but sorry boys and girls it's nothing to start bragging about yet. I personally disprove <i>both</i> of those theories anyway! But both of these papers are very interesting, with a lot of potential for future work. Some slight sensationalisation from the Daily Mail, but to be fair that's their job, and public interface is a very important aspect of scientific work. If you can spin the science to make it of interest to the public at large, then that can be a very positive thing. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One point to make is that, whilst PLOS One (in which Danny's paper above was published) is a pretty good open access journal, the ERRg paper is published in a Cell journal (Cell Metabolism) so this is some serious science. Without sounding too disparaging, most sports science is published in much smaller journals. But this isn't sports science - it's a pretty in depth metabolic paper that somebody has managed to link to sports, allowing the Daily Mail to pick up on it (whether this is intentional public relations spin, or the Daily Mail jumping on one tiny part of a press release I can't say).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, there you go. Science bitches!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-26631052162724164042015-03-26T20:26:00.000+00:002015-03-26T20:27:02.073+00:00I've Bingoing round in circles all day, and all I got was a saggy ball bag<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other day, one of my work colleagues asked me for an example of an innuendo. So I gave her one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
True story (hi Cicik!). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/races/#/bingo-1/" target="_blank">Bingo Race</a> is rife for naughty punnage. Race Director (and possible psycopath) <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/" target="_blank">James Adams </a>and his wife spent the week before the race gently fondling the runners' balls, making sure that their ball bags were nigh on full to bursting. And so followed a week of testicularly-focussed Twitter posts from the man himself, and much giggling from all of the immature children present on the day (i.e. me).<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPr0fnkhLRxOooEQZOark59f9Fy_vdyT-Bb6nVrri_Qqg2iW9pSfSPk4_zbDy6PChAhSSdgm9XCd1PY4hEagKJ7Fv4A6iqqFLSCvFMIIv85TdjU9fv5dM6khXg7gYHwIsyAtD12tqbLDE/s1600/JamesAdams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPr0fnkhLRxOooEQZOark59f9Fy_vdyT-Bb6nVrri_Qqg2iW9pSfSPk4_zbDy6PChAhSSdgm9XCd1PY4hEagKJ7Fv4A6iqqFLSCvFMIIv85TdjU9fv5dM6khXg7gYHwIsyAtD12tqbLDE/s1600/JamesAdams.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ball bags swinging in the breeze. C/O James Adams</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Scrotums-aside (which incidentally is a good tip for endurance running...), the concept of the race was another psychological mind-fuck from the same deviant mind that brought us the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/piece-of-string-fun-run-november-2012.html" target="_blank">Piece of String Fun Run</a>. Billed as the World's Most Unfair Race (TM), the concept is to put your race finish into the hands of fate. Each runner was given a race bib with three numbers written on it, which were randomly selected from our own personal ball bags the night before. I was reliably informed that said three numbers had been replaced for the race itself, but I did wonder... </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Runners would set off on a loop of about 2.2 miles, return back to the ball-bagging area, where we would be assisted in groping our balls (alright, I'll stop now), picking one out of the bag at random. If it was one of the three, it would be ticked off and we would head back out again. If not, the runner would be ticked off instead, and would head back out for another lap with nought to show for their hard work. Runners would keep running until they had crossed off all three numbers. So we could get lucky but have a disappointingly short innings, or we might have to empty our ball bag for the happy ending (seriously, that was the last one). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The night before the race, I spent a little time <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/what-are-chances.html" target="_blank">looking at the stats</a> of what was likely to happen. I didn't really care about my chances of finishing ("never tell me the odds!"), but I was still interested to see what was <i>likely</i> to happen (stats are my livelihood after all). I was a little surprised at quite how many laps people were likely to be running, as it looked as if (statistically speaking of course) half of the runners would be running more than 23 laps, which given the 10 hour cutoff was going to mean a pretty hefty DNF rate.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaPFZmhkhoxJdK2vkFc0hR6ZZ8GPVIAHessrzrnaewuoVzI_fNhDl2rJWHqBgWc8jWe-PJV-B-C7Rnjd4OJvCbGXPdykGxlIPVcgI2KTkAICKF4GYnsVwDa4BB4R6shxo1iR4JLeBGnI/s1600/BingoRaceFinishers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaPFZmhkhoxJdK2vkFc0hR6ZZ8GPVIAHessrzrnaewuoVzI_fNhDl2rJWHqBgWc8jWe-PJV-B-C7Rnjd4OJvCbGXPdykGxlIPVcgI2KTkAICKF4GYnsVwDa4BB4R6shxo1iR4JLeBGnI/s1600/BingoRaceFinishers.png" height="240" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Percentage of finishers after each lap, estimated over 1 million randomised runners</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
It was also pretty unlikely that anybody was going to finish in the first 5 laps. A 1 in 406 chance in fact. Now can you imagine if 2 people managed it?! I mean, of course that didn't happen. That would be ridiculous.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nope. 3 people managed it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I make that a 1 in 66,923,416 shot. Winning the lottery is <i>only</i> a 1 in 14 million chance...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Human beings aren't very good at dealing with statistics, and the way our brains work (particularly being susceptible to <i>apophenia</i>, our tendency to see patterns where none exist) makes us fall for a number of statistical fallacies. For instance, I wonder how many people were genuinely worried that their 3 numbers had already been selected to be put onto their bib? I mean, what are the chances that they'll be picked again, right?! And that sort of thinking is exactly what James was going for. He wanted us to be guessing how many laps we'd be doing. He wanted us to have picked out 2 numbers then spend the next 20 laps thinking, "this is it, this is <i>definitely</i> the last lap". I can only imagine how annoyed he was when 3 people rocked up to the finish line in under 2 hours. Fuck you statistics! I want those guys with me the next time I head to the casino. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was just happy to be there, out for a day with nothing to do but run and chat to other people about running. It was good to see some familiar faces, and catch up with some of the amazing people I've met through the years. The <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/" target="_blank">Centurion Running</a> boys and girls were all on hand to help out with crewing, ultrarunning legend <a href="http://marvellousmimi.com/v2/" target="_blank">Mimi Anderson</a> was there to try her hand, Rich Cranswick is ever present at these events (never one to pass up an opportunity for stupidity), and didn't disappoint by starting in a Santa outfit, and disappearing later to "slip into something more comfortable".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZBWC27e68n0wJitCXtTh9a9nbF1jXwreXYU_Vd8aIdKA3LylSBmzXTPfEjKB1GU8oy7CaV6pLPZkruDEhbgk0S_EKAik0VYD36p4ZqoZqp_GwpyCRkM_MLLvm4jgdY81E0VmtpplsBQ/s1600/RichCranswick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZBWC27e68n0wJitCXtTh9a9nbF1jXwreXYU_Vd8aIdKA3LylSBmzXTPfEjKB1GU8oy7CaV6pLPZkruDEhbgk0S_EKAik0VYD36p4ZqoZqp_GwpyCRkM_MLLvm4jgdY81E0VmtpplsBQ/s1600/RichCranswick.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Something more comfortable. C/O Rich Cranswick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I turned up with my good friend <a href="http://dan-fattofit.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Dan Park</a>, who is also taking part in the Centurion Grand Slam this year. We were both possibly cheating a little, as we were quite happy to run all day and get a nice long run in. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My first few laps were very relaxed, and I spent them chatting with people and generally enjoying myself. A couple of runners had different ideas and went off at breakneck speed. Stephen McAllister wanted to add a Bingo finish on top of his Piece of String finish last year, and had figured that bagging as many laps as possible early on was the way forward. His natural competitiveness did the rest as he saw someone else doing the same. Of course, nobody told him that the other guy was part of a team, so had the benefit of resting between 2 mile sprints...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I spent some time running with Mimi and Paul Rowlinson, reminiscing about Sparta and discussing Big Data (I'm a barrel of laughs, me). I ran a lap with Dan, discussing the Grand Slam, I ran with Rich for a bit discussing how one goes about cleaning 100 miles of sweat and dirt out of a chicken costume, and I chatted to everyone else I met along the way. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWfc_FjT3YNZ2XjLvKYg_ZsjPNhQaMRmoyUQ_KDlUGJlvsVC4dZ_fPwYerPTQtF_u3kdVrI0-S9AMiyjlDZSo5jLfpYo89CsRm9TC858F-K7UmpIqQdZbps2VQkiapYk7Lsr8yjTcKe4/s1600/FionaMcNelis3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWfc_FjT3YNZ2XjLvKYg_ZsjPNhQaMRmoyUQ_KDlUGJlvsVC4dZ_fPwYerPTQtF_u3kdVrI0-S9AMiyjlDZSo5jLfpYo89CsRm9TC858F-K7UmpIqQdZbps2VQkiapYk7Lsr8yjTcKe4/s1600/FionaMcNelis3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich, Mimi and me - let the fun begin! C/O Fiona McNelis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The weather was cloudy and dry, but pretty chilly. In all honesty I didn't notice while I was running, but the looks on the faces of the volunteers was pretty clear. In a race, you have to be really careful at checkpoints. Spending a couple of minutes at each checkpoint can have drastic consequences to your finishing time, particularly when they're every 2 miles. Since this wasn't really a race I wasn't too bothered, so hung around yammering away at anyone who would listen after every lap. One girl who I kept passing commented on how fast I was as I kept lapping her. I wasn't really lapping her though - I was just spending so long talking bollocks in the aid station that she kept going past me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After a few chilled out laps I decided to pick it up a little bit. Due to a very annoying redesign, the headphones I usually use are now useless (they're too short to reach my shorts - thanks Philips), so I ended up running <i>au natural</i>. Also, given that we were back to HQ every 2ish miles I didn't bother taking anything onto the trail with me - just a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and some shoes. I do like keeping things simple! I picked up the pace and got into a nice rhythm, making sure to run the whole lap and take advantage of a bit of undulating terrain for training. This was kind of a benchmark race as I wanted to see how I was looking for the upcoming <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/thames-path-100-2015/thames-path-100-2015/" target="_blank">Thames Path 100</a>. Overall I was pretty happy with my endurance, my fuelling, and generally how I was holding up. The breaks after every lap obviously didn't hurt, but I felt very comfortable and was turning out some relatively good lap times. I hadn't run more than about 20 miles since the Piece of String last year, so it was good to see that my endurance was getting back on track. I've got 5 weeks of training left now, but with our house move all sorted, my garage gym now accessible, and having settled back into a decent training routine I feel pretty happy about things. Plenty of work to do of course (as there always is), but I feel like I should be able to put in a pretty good performance. We'll see what happens though. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EqAVm3HcRbuqsnkcsr0f6ynl2RHiu0ufydd0LFLELg6fB_nT-u8eY7zzcKJpxMZLaZ7FT0PF0k48u5iNKyEi3re2nSKkOGCvmINzNRsD5X1w1GOSO5MpYVOrKExq492zE2L_q2z7l7Q/s1600/NoelJones2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0EqAVm3HcRbuqsnkcsr0f6ynl2RHiu0ufydd0LFLELg6fB_nT-u8eY7zzcKJpxMZLaZ7FT0PF0k48u5iNKyEi3re2nSKkOGCvmINzNRsD5X1w1GOSO5MpYVOrKExq492zE2L_q2z7l7Q/s1600/NoelJones2.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me picking it up a bit. C/O Noel Jones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I thought that the route was going to get a bit tedious after a few repetitions. I cope well with the mental aspect of running (being an idiot helps), but I thought that even I might get a bit bored going round and round the same track. For everybody's sake I wanted to avoid resorting to singing to amuse myself. But it was a little more interesting than I had expected, was hillier than I would have thought (being on The River Ouse, whose pancake flat paths I know very well indeed), and it was great to regularly see all the other people on the course. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was kind of hoping to get to 10 laps without a single ball, but my plans went awry with a successful draw on lap 8. Damn. I thought that I was going to be running like Hitler for a while, but in pretty quick succession I ended up with another one. Legs 11! Or were they sideburns? Bollocks, I was getting dangerously close to finishing with a good 5 hours left. Luckily my good luck held out for a while and I managed to avoid pulling out the final ball for a while. Every time I came into the aid station, Lindley Chambers would tell me, "this is the last lap!" And I'd tell him, "I bloody hope not!"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was doing well with fuelling myself, and was coping quite happily on water, coke and chocolate biscuits. As I got to lap 17 or so I started to feel hungry, so told myself that I would treat myself to a few extra biscuits and maybe a pork pie at lap 20. I wasn't expecting to pull the last number out before then. Darn! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5HVVhNNmXt2d-kvl_uOx4rKWAI7n0i6NKXqf6wjF_DqedCE2JGpOj_KfRAceM4RxrvunMsQ7ABMfO77QN9JsrJvkubRCpnSNC_GS7aP8snQbob8teTmuHrRtBrplJfwpfkG7haXayFU/s1600/IMG_6746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5HVVhNNmXt2d-kvl_uOx4rKWAI7n0i6NKXqf6wjF_DqedCE2JGpOj_KfRAceM4RxrvunMsQ7ABMfO77QN9JsrJvkubRCpnSNC_GS7aP8snQbob8teTmuHrRtBrplJfwpfkG7haXayFU/s1600/IMG_6746.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a waste. I had 11 more laps to go! Nice medal though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Number 28. Two and eight, in a state. I kind of wish I was, but with 19 laps and just over 40 miles under my belt I was feeling good and wanted to carry on. But after sitting down, stuffing my face with food, and chatting to Alex and <a href="http://www.cockbainevents.com/" target="_blank">Mark Cockbain</a> who had brought their baby boy to cheer everybody on, I let myself get comfortable - and bloody cold! So instead of heading out for a few bonus laps, I went off for a bloody fantastic shower and got dressed into something a little more suitable for the dropping temperatures. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dan, Paul, Rich and plenty of other people were still running as the 10 hour time limit approached. Most had just one ball left to pull out, but Dan was lagging with only 1 ball. To be honest, nobody seemed too stressed about things, and continued cracking out the laps right up to the wire. Dan unfortunately DNFd at 10 hours with 1 ball, but with 40 miles under his belt he was happy with a good training run ahead of Thames Path. When he went home, he carried on pulling numbers out only to find that the last two numbers he needed came out as the final two that he picked. Fate can be a cruel mistress! So it helps if you just ignore the bitch.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So there we go. My first race of the year was a success, and not just because I finished in spite of the odds. I'm hoping to have some good results this year, and this was a good benchmark. I'm still not as fit as I have been in the past, but I'm back on track now so hopefully should be able to hit the start line in good shape. I have a couple of 10Ks coming up as well so will be working on some speed over the next few weeks. A PB would be nice, but again we'll see what happens. 5 weeks to go - loads of time!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-51420004091594206432015-03-20T22:24:00.000+00:002015-03-26T12:45:37.236+00:00Never tell me the odds!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just a quicky. Being a bit of a stats geek, I was interested to see what the probabilities of finishing the <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/races/#/bingo-1/" target="_blank">Bingo Race</a> looked like, and how we should expect tomorrow to pan out. As a quick primer, the plan is that we each have our own ball bag (giggle) with 30 numbered balls in. After each lap (about 2 miles each), we randomly select a ball. If it matches one of the 3 balls on our bib, it's ticked off (by which I mean a tick is physically placed over the number, not that the balls are somehow anthropomorphic and a bit miffed to be chosen). If not, we just run another lap and try again. Then we keep going until we have ticked off all three numbers. So we may be finished in 3 laps or it may be 30. Interesting stuff. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now to be clear - I really don't care about how many laps I will have to run from a racing point of view. Tomorrow is going to be fun, and in all honesty I would be perfectly happy running for the full 100 Km. I'm looking forward to a nice long run with some good friends, and I'll just run until I stop. Run Stupid (TM), and don't think about things as you go. However, it is quite an interesting question to answer - as you go along, what are your chances of the misery finally being over at the end of the current lap? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So being a stats geek, I thought I'd have a quick play. I won't go into the details, but in a nutshell I treated this as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urn_problem" target="_blank">ball and urn problem</a> - there are 30 balls in total, 3 of which I want to pick (green) and 27 of which I don't (red). I performed a random "race", where each lap I calculated my probability of pulling out the final green ball this time (using a hypergeometric probability distribution), then randomly chose a ball (using a pseudo-random number generator) and updated the numbers for the next "lap". I repeated this whole process a million times and averaged over all of them to get a good model for any given set of <strike>idiots</strike> runners. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Simple. Got it? Good.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNBxjKevfMLYHyCh_tGwnyUF-DVX03GO6dIJXURG59RpU5Ygw8etzxJW7Xar8v06mIJEssuf3o04yQ3oOuo41R2bmWPmkfGkjaVnom9vYGsA3CiufObIZMIWxUhHJjiZzN65O6oDCPT0/s1600/BingoRaceProb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNBxjKevfMLYHyCh_tGwnyUF-DVX03GO6dIJXURG59RpU5Ygw8etzxJW7Xar8v06mIJEssuf3o04yQ3oOuo41R2bmWPmkfGkjaVnom9vYGsA3CiufObIZMIWxUhHJjiZzN65O6oDCPT0/s1600/BingoRaceProb.png" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This figure shows the probability of completing your set of 3 numbers after the current lap. Obviously this is zero for the first couple of laps, and there is a vanishingly small chance of being done on the third. After each lap the odds improve, but really very few of us will be finished in fewer than 15 laps. In fact, if we look at this in a slightly different way and ask what percentage of finishers we should expect to see at each lap, we see that half of the runners will be running over 23 laps.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC_xA_RcEeqLLBan6XCwX7zrvsBegfDdSIjXhDNY9ukjFo-pj_D7g73arTTNHM1imJg0O4QEm7-xZG0mTtH0HQTtUCBsdWNCdh3-FsP8JZojUmRPyD_1bOzhqAJqQEa7NVp3vcQ1-q6s/s1600/BingoRaceFinishers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC_xA_RcEeqLLBan6XCwX7zrvsBegfDdSIjXhDNY9ukjFo-pj_D7g73arTTNHM1imJg0O4QEm7-xZG0mTtH0HQTtUCBsdWNCdh3-FsP8JZojUmRPyD_1bOzhqAJqQEa7NVp3vcQ1-q6s/s1600/BingoRaceFinishers.png" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The odds don't look good for a quick finish I'm afraid, but honestly that's what I'm counting on! But to everybody else that's running and was hoping to be at the pub quickly - sorry guys! I'll be interested to see how tomorrow actually pans out, and how closely it correlates with these predictions. Obviously it doesn't account for people stopping for other reasons along the way, but I couldn't be arsed including a DNF coefficient in the model. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right. Let's play Bingo!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-73468426976152128902015-03-18T22:44:00.000+00:002015-03-18T22:45:35.452+00:00New training partner<div style="text-align: justify;">
Phew! Well it's been a busy few weeks but it's starting to calm down a bit now. A couple of weeks ago, we finally moved into a new house after about 6 months of waiting, and it's been a bit hectic as you might imagine. But after a week and a half of decorating, ripping out bits of the kitchen, and "fixing" the electrics and plumbing, we're now just about sorted. This has slightly thrown off my training over the last few weeks, but now I can get back to preparing for the Grand Slam later this year. I have about 6 weeks now before the first race begins, the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/thames-path-100-2015/thames-path-100-2015/" target="_blank">Thames Path 100</a> (the "easy" one), so should probably think about doing some training...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To be fair, my laziest week is still pretty active. Even on my laziest weeks I cycle about 35 miles a day for work and run 3 or 4 times a week. But it will be good to get back to being able to use my gym (once it isn't crammed with boxes) and not feeling like I can't get a good solid run in as I need to get another coat of paint on the doors. Is there any more thankless task than painting doors?! They replaced all of them which we thought was nice of them, until I realised I had 8 fucking doors to sand, prime and paint. Fun times. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, it's all back to some semblance of normality now so hopefully I can get myself in some kind of shape for the race. Since we don't like to do things the easy way, we also got a new dog, Saphie, three days after moving. She has been rehomed from a family who were struggling to deal with her and 3 (soon to be 4) kids, which was perfect for us with our little girl. She is absolutely fantastic with Lottie, and seems perfectly happy to be hugged, cuddled, poked, prodded and ridden like a horse by her. She tends to get a resigned "sigh" look in her eyes that speaks to this being fairly standard for her, but at least she only has to deal with one little human now!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Also, being a husky cross, she is a big fan of running, so has become my training partner in the mornings. We start most days with a nice fast 5 Km run, and tried out a 10 Km run at the weekend which damn near killed the poor thing. She definitely needs to work on her endurance, but we'll soon sort that out! She's still only a puppy, so just needs to work on her pacing. My only worry is that it's a little like running with a weight bench or pulling a tyre, except the complete opposite; instead of it feeling easier when I take off the harness like with my tyre pull, I suddenly realise that it wasn't me that was pushing the 5 min/mile mark!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, I will be at the <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/bingo-race/" target="_blank">Bingo Race</a> this weekend (The World's Most Unfair Race) which should be an interesting experience. It will probably not surprise you to learn that this idea comes from the same mind that brought us the <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/piece-of-string-2014/" target="_blank">Piece of String</a> race. The concept is that you have three numbers on your race bib, and after every 2 mile lap you draw a new bingo ball. You finish when you pull out all three of your numbers from your ball bag (tee hee). You could be done in 6 miles, or you could be running for the full 10 hours. Knowing my luck though, I'll be finished in an hour! And where's the fun in that? If that happens, I think I'll carry on, or else go off for a long run nearby. It'll be good to see how my endurance is at the moment and what I need to work on over the next few weeks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last up, I am hoping to actually race these Grand Slam races and try for some decent times this year. The record for all 4 races is about 70 hours, which I feel like I should be able to beat if all goes well. I'm looking for a bit of help with crewing for some of these races, so will be hitting up some friends to see who fancies spending about 17 hours following me and forcing gels down my throat. I wonder if I'll have any takers...</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0efjp3Oo2h4sEuQ4nlSvd6JoO9BXxMvQW1L4R8Wzf36w1YS7Pmd_VXrTwXKpW2pGBZCPoBtS0ccQuh5266ZnQUb1VWV4IfaoS6pse6MpmGiiqQbhzDwBnDKofkYvHnqrFXhMaIE7qqsw/s1600/IMG_6687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0efjp3Oo2h4sEuQ4nlSvd6JoO9BXxMvQW1L4R8Wzf36w1YS7Pmd_VXrTwXKpW2pGBZCPoBtS0ccQuh5266ZnQUb1VWV4IfaoS6pse6MpmGiiqQbhzDwBnDKofkYvHnqrFXhMaIE7qqsw/s1600/IMG_6687.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmQ9R1kOYCGHugBGvvcCkQlyLLZ3SR7JC0Kle7bYF8EPhgxaMQ3_yTC3lm9F3ruxOzEsWjdNWkaqiwmHVJkcoDQs9Wh-esl_M0cGYOzjGgTNq7st2TOv9WcdcXuvskkLii9OpZ8f4slw/s1600/IMG_6693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmQ9R1kOYCGHugBGvvcCkQlyLLZ3SR7JC0Kle7bYF8EPhgxaMQ3_yTC3lm9F3ruxOzEsWjdNWkaqiwmHVJkcoDQs9Wh-esl_M0cGYOzjGgTNq7st2TOv9WcdcXuvskkLii9OpZ8f4slw/s1600/IMG_6693.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-86506281187041703612015-02-08T20:22:00.001+00:002015-03-26T20:25:48.157+00:002014 Review: Out with the old, in with the new<div style="text-align: justify;">
Right, well we're over a twelfth of the way through 2015, so I should probably do the obligatory look back over the previous year and see how things went. Looking from the running side of things, it's been an okay year I guess. I'm certainly happy with the performances I put in along the way, but there have been some things which could have been better. But on the personal side, it was absolutely incredible. My little girl is growing up so fast, and I just love the time we all spend together as a family. She runs around like a mad thing now, and her favourite things are running (complete with crouching in the starting position and shouting "on marks, get set, gooooooo!"), eating, drumming and Batman. No idea where she gets it from. And now she sleeps! Huzzah! So much so that she actually told us off for having the TV on too loud, and slammed her bedroom door on us. Didn't think we'd be at this stage for another 12 years or so...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, the year started with a fantastic opportunity to run the <a href="http://thespinerace.com/spine-challenger/" target="_blank">Spine Challenger</a> - the "easy" version of the Spine Race. The full Spine Race follows the entire Pennine Way route for about 268 miles in the middle of winter. The Spine Challenger <i>only </i>covers the first 108 miles, so is obviously much easier to finish. Ahem. I had a fantastic time out there, and it was an incredible experience. I decided to pull up short a few miles shy of the finish after injuring my foot on the way down one of the mountain passes in the rain and ice, since I didn't want a repeat of 2013 where an injury at <a href="http://www.transvulcania.com/index.php/en/" target="_blank">Transvulcania</a> early in the year threw off a lot of my racing calendar.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I always say that, when it comes to DNFs, I always try and think what "future me" will think when he looks back on it, and try to use this to decide whether or not to drop. I really don't care about having DNFs on my CV (as if anybody cares) as long as it wasn't just because I was being a pussy. Well now I <i>am</i> future me, and I'm still happy with this call. I had a great time out there, was able to have a sleep and clean up before a 14 hour train journey home, and was able to get back to training pretty quickly afterwards. If I had pushed on, I would have had to go straight to my journey home after about 40 hours running, and would probably have been limping for weeks afterwards. But I would have got a medal to put under my bed and never look at again. It wasn't a tough call.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next up was the Centurion Running <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/south-downs-way-50-2015/south-downs-way-50-2015/" target="_blank">South Downs Way 50</a> in April. I originally hadn't planned any other races between the Spine and Grand Union Canal Race since I half expected to be a broken mess. But since I managed to avoid any serious issues, I decided to head off for a little jolly with a bunch of great people, and was able to catch up with lots of friends I have made along the way. It didn't go fantastically well, as some stomach issues cropped up making it a bit of a slog. And I lost a Buff. But let's not go into that. But hey, I had great fun out there and got to catch up with a lot of friends who I only see intermittently through the year.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://www.gucr.co.uk/" target="_blank">Grand Union Canal Race</a> was next up, and was one of my main races for the year. I had hoped to come into it strong and ready to actually race, having felt like I hadn't really <i>raced</i> for a while. Largely this was down to focussing my energies on my new family (so much more fun!), not helped by having a little girl who was not a fan of sleep. But leading up to the GUCR, things were getting much better, and I had had a few good podium results at local 10Ks that were a good boost to my confidence. My speed wasn't too bad, but my endurance was a little bit of an unknown quantity. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I went into the race feeling good, but not as good as I had hoped. For a few weeks before the race, I had the onset of plantar fasciitis, something that I had never had to deal with before. It may have been a result of trying to ramp up my miles in too short a time to get ready for the race. In hindsight, running 150 miles on it wasn't a great plan. I went out hard and things were going pretty well for a good chunk of the race. Unfortunately, after about 120 miles my knee went out, probably as a result of overcompensating for my PF. Normally that would be it for me, as I've got to the stage where I can't be bothered risking months of injury for the sake of finishing a race. However, I decided to push on for two reasons: 1) I wanted to remind myself that I <i>could</i> push through adversity and run through pain if I wanted to, and 2) I had the Spartathlon coming up in September which was my main focus race, and wanted to remind myself that I could run that far. I knew that it would probably cause problems, but I figured I had a few months to get fixed back up again. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last 30 miles of that race sucked pretty hard, but I got dragged through it by my awesome crew of Simon, Liz and Tim. When I decided to push through to the end, there was no doubt I would make it, but having friends there to keep my spirits up made things much more bearable! For me at least - for them it probably sucked having to deal with my whinging. I just managed to hold out for a top 10 finish, but it wasn't pretty. However, I was still very happy with the race. Pacing, nutrition, etc. all went to plan. Running with an injury - not so much. You live and learn. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had some other races planned, including the South Downs Way 100 and Lakeland 50, but these got put to the side as I aimed to get myself fit and healthy for the Spartathlon. I really wanted to hit the start line in good form, as the last thing I needed was a niggle or even a full on injury to make me doubt myself in Greece. The PF continued to be a problem, and nothing I was doing seemed to work. With only a few weeks left until the race, I was not feeling happy. I hadn't run much at all, was putting on weight (despite cycling a lot more), and was starting to wonder if I would ever see the start line. I ended up taking a trip to see the fine fellas and fellettes at <a href="http://www.profeet.co.uk/" target="_blank">Profeet</a> in London, who helped me with a new rehab program to work on. After a few weeks, it was looking like things were improving and that I might just make it after all.<br />
<br />
Then I twisted my ankle. Sigh.<br />
<br />
Regardless, this was my main focus race of the year, and I had already paid for everything, so I stayed off it until race day and hoped that would be enough to be ready to run 150 hilly road miles. Not the best preparation for an A race, but the worst case scenario was that I would get a nice sunny all inclusive holiday in Greece. Luckily all was well, the race went really well, and I got the finish that I had looked forward to all year. Huzzah!<br />
<br />
Lastly, there was a sub-optimal Piece of String race, which was great fun but which I had to cut short at the end of the first day. As it happens I would have been done by about 10pm if I had hung around, but for all I knew it could have gone on until Wednesday - and I had plans with my little girl on Sunday. Easy call!<br />
<br />
And that was that. Not the best results all told, but I had some fantastic adventures! So what's on the cards for 2015? This year I haven't arranged any big adventures or trips abroad, and am instead focussing on some more local races. I have entered in for all 4 of the Centurion Running 100 milers, so assuming I get a place on the Thames Path (I'm currently on the waiting list) I will be having a crack at the Centurion Grand Slam. I would like to get at least line good 100 mile race out of these, as I haven't really raced a 100 miler as a focus race for a couple of years. I'd like to see what I can do. Hopefully by concentrating on some "shorter" races I can focus on some good solid performances. I'm also having a go at James Adams most recent ridiculous event, the <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/races/#/bingo-1/" target="_blank">Bingo Race </a>(the World's Most Unfairest Race TM) in March. Knowing my luck, I'll only get to run 10 miles before all of my numbers get drawn though. Add in a bunch of local 10Ks and half marathons, and hopefully I'll have a nice fast injury-free season this year. And some sleep. That's not going to hurt matters at all!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-15007708185339456222014-12-20T12:51:00.001+00:002015-03-26T20:25:30.465+00:00Boo!How the hell do you avoid scaring the crap out of other people when you're running? I managed to scare some dude out walking his dog this morning - twice. Once on the way out, then again on the way back. You'd think he'd have had his wits about him the second time, but hey ho. I gave him a friendly shout of "morning" when I was about 10 meters away so that he wasn't suddenly confronted with a smelly, panting mess bearing down on him. But that just meant he was scared shitless a few seconds earlier. <br />
<br />
So what can you do avoid the (perfectly reasonable) response of abject terror from people that you pass out on the trail? What warning methods can be used to announce your presence in a nice calming way that doesn't make you look like a psychopath heading for them at speed?<br />
<br />
In the middle of the night, it's not so bad. There are very few people about, usually your headtorch is a good pre-emotive warning, and by that point in a race I'm usually coughing loudly enough to be heard from a long way off. In the mornings there are a lot more dog walkers about, but I feel like they are more likely to expect random idiots skipping past them. But the evening is my most worrying time, as it must be pretty terrifying to hear footsteps quickly approaching from behind. I try shouting, "Don't worry, I'm not a murderer!", but that just seems to make things worse for some reason. <br />
<br />
You just can't win with some people. <br />
<br />
Coughing doesn't work. Saying, "Approaching on your left/right" doesn't work. Shouting, "Don't be scared!" doesn't work. Singing Meatloaf songs at the top of my lungs doesn't work (well, it warns them, but they usually aren't happy about it). Maybe I should just install some kind of siren system in my running pack?<br />
<br />
If there's a good way to avoid scaring the bejesus out of fellow trail users I am yet to find it. I guess I'll just have to get to used to people being upset when they see me. But hey, I've had 32 years to get used to that. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-22084666753805229712014-12-17T22:11:00.000+00:002014-12-17T22:11:31.904+00:00What the Hell is an Ultramarathon Anyway?!<div style="text-align: justify;">
The phrase "ultramarathon" is gradually becoming a more ubiquitous term even amongst the non-initiated, as the sport gains more traction throughout the world. And yet, despite this, the term is still not particularly well understood, even by those seemingly in the know. So just what in the name of Satan's Hokas is an "ultramarathon" when it's at home?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You would think that it would be a pretty simple question to answer. Here's what <a href="http://dictionary.com/">dictionary.com</a> has to say on the matter:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ultra- </b>[uhl-tra]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Prefix</b></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, with the basic meaning “on the far side of, beyond.” In relation to the base to which it is prefixed, ultra-, has the senses “located beyond, on the far side of” ( ultramontane; ultraviolet), “carrying to the furthest degree possible, on the fringe of” ( ultraleft; ultramodern), “extremely” ( ultralight); nouns to which it is added denote, in general, objects, properties, phenomena, etc., that surpass customary norms, or instruments designed to produce or deal with such things ( ultramicroscope; ultrasound; ultrastructure).</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Marathon </b>[mar-uh-thun]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Noun</b></div>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">a foot race over a course measuring 26 mi. 385 yards (42 km 195 meters).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">any long-distance race.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance: e.g. a dance marathon; a sales marathon.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>First of all, let's ignore the incredibly unhelpful second definition of "marathon" there. What a stupid definition - how long is "long-distance"?! My wife was a 200 meter runner, and was once asked to go up to 400 meters by her coach. Her reply was, "Who the hell would want to run that far?!" Instead, let's use the standard definition of a marathon being a foot race over the oddly precise distance of 26.21875 miles (decided at the 1908 London Olympics based on the distance from Windsor Castle to the White City Stadium in London - plus a little bit extra to finish at the Royal Box because they were too lazy to move).<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So there we go. Pretty simple really - an "ultramarathon" is any footrace longer than 26.2 and a bit miles. How can anyone possibly have trouble with that?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But then come the questions:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"If I run back to my car after a marathon, does that make me an ultramarathon runner?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"My Garmin says that I ran 26.3 miles. Am I an ultramarathon runner now?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I ran 30 miles in a training run at the weekend. Does that count as an ultramarathon?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This whole concept of "counting" is quite odd. Who is doing the "counting"? Why does it matter if it "counts" as an ultramarathon? Is it purely so that you can say to your friends and family that you ran an ultramarathon at the weekend? Which is fine of course if that's your thing, but if you're looking to impress people you're probably better off just saying "I ran 30 miles", since Grandma probably has no clue what an ultramarathon actually is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The idea that we can use a single word to describe any distance greater 26.2 miles means that when somebody says that they "ran an ultramarathon", they could be talking about anywhere between 26.3 miles and hundreds of miles. That's a pretty broad range. Especially if we allow multi-day events to "count".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let's look at the <a href="http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/" target="_blank">Marathon Des Sables</a>, widely regarded by many as the Toughest Footrace In The World (TM). In total, runners cover over 150 miles through the Sahara desert - but over 6 days. I'm not trying to be derisive here, just looking at the semantics. There is actually only one "ultramarathon" of 50 miles in there. So does this "count" as a 50 mile ultramarathon with no taper? Or is it a 150 mile ultramarathon? It's certainly sold as the latter, but would it "count" as an ultramarathon if I ran a 3-day race with <i>just</i> a marathon a day? For instance, the <a href="http://www.votwo.co.uk/events/challenges/jurassic-coast-challenge/?ROUND=4" target="_blank">Jurassic Coast Challenge</a> (whilst it doesn't actually describe itself as an ultra) is down as a 78.6 mile multi-day ultramarathon on several lists of "UK ultramarathons" despite it "only" being 3 marathons in a row (on some of the toughest terrain in the country granted...). If that makes the cut, what about if I organise a race where you run a mile a day for 100 days. Is that a "100 mile multi-day ultramarathon"?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The phrasing seems far too open to technicalities. I mean, we all know what we <i>mean</i> right? But there's this whole grey area where people seem to concentrate on the minutiae of possible fringe cases on, say, the Facebook Ultrarunning Community page (although this is possibly only to bait James Adams and Gary Kiernan into a good moan - which is perfectly acceptable). Some people will say that "ultramarathon" shouldn't be used for anything less than 50K. So where do 30 milers fit in? And isn't that just as arbitrary as 26.2+ miles?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So here is the most important question: "Who cares?!"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, I mean obviously I do since I'm moaning about it here.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't get me wrong, I love reading about the running that my friends get up to, and I bang on about it plenty myself (I'm even banging on about banging on about it now). But I don't really care about how far people are running. I'm as impressed and inspired by my friends getting started on their first 5K as I am by people smashing course records on 100 mile slog-fests. And I love competition and watching people battle it out at the front of the race, aiming to get to the finish before everybody else. I'm not one who thinks that the competitive side of the sport is somehow against some sort of creed and ethos of the sport.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently there have been a couple of cases of people <a href="http://ultra168.com/2014/12/01/opinion-the-hand-holding-debate-should-we/" target="_blank">winning the race hand-in-hand</a>, and I'm not sure I really agree with this. I've done it myself further back in the field, and it is a fantastic feeling working together with somebody to push each other to the finish, and to show solidarity in your struggle. But if you're out to compete, bloody run through the line! Otherwise it is a bit of a cop out. I would love to see the South Downs Way 100 come down to a 100 meter sprint finish at Eastbourne Sports Centre. Competing isn't for everybody of course, and for many people it is being out there that "counts" (now <i>this</i> I can get behind). Enjoying the experience, and pushing yourself beyond your comfort zones - not necessarily in terms of speed and fitness, but mentally. And there is absolutely room for all of us in the sport - the slower guys and gals can be in awe of the elites tearing it up at the front of the pack, whilst the faster dudes and dudettes can be in awe of the grit and determination shown by the people out there for twice as long. That's what I love about this sport - the mutual respect from everybody involved.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So back to the original question - What "counts" as an ultramarathon? Here is my honest opinion - I think that the term ultramarathon is stupid. There, I said it. It is designed purely to act as a superlative; "Oh, you run marathons do you? I run marathons for breakfast!" This kind of dickishness may not be overt (most people I know are surprisingly humble about the amazing things that they accomplish), but it just kind of has an "I'm better than you" sort of feel to it doesn't it? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What's wrong with the word "running"? We run 5Ks. We run 10Ks. We run half-marathons. We run marathons. And then we run ultramarathons? I dunno, it just sounds a bit too all-encompassing. It would be simpler if we could just use standardised distances. We could run 50Ks. We could run 50 milers. We could run 100Ks. We could run 100 milers. Do we have to attach some unnecessary term to these to make them sound awesome?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, if most people's Garmins are to be believed (FYI they aren't), none of these specific distances are accurate anyway. But this isn't road racing. There are plenty of reasons other than the fact that the distances aren't exact to prevent these races from being comparable with one another. Realistically nobody is ever likely to compare the UTMB with the North Downs Way, even though they are ostensibly the same distance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But what about the races that don't fall into these specific categories? Well there are plenty of sub-marathons that don't fit into one of these categories. We just call them races, right? People still run them, right?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe one day an "ultramarathon" can become a <i>thing</i>. I suggest 57 miles, 372 yards. All we need is for the governing bodies to come to some kind of consensus. But there is no fucking way that this will ever happen. There's enough issues trying to work out where "skyrunning" stops, and "mountain running" starts. Skyrunning is "<i>an extreme sport of mountain running above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where the incline exceeds 30% and the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade</i>", in case you were wondering. Throw "ultra-running" and "fell-running" into the mix and you get a pretty interesting Venn diagram. It all seems far too complicated to me for what is supposed to be a pretty simple pastime.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, we could just go with this slightly, erm, esoteric definition of ultramarathon running as "r<a href="http://running on spermatogonia distance" target="_blank">unning on spermatogonia distance</a>."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ultimately, I wouldn't dream of telling people what they should or shouldn't say, and I can't see anything changing any time soon. But I am personally going to try to avoid this term when I can (of course it's so deeply ingrained now I'll probably fail tomorrow). Just call me a runner (or even a jogger, I'm not sensitive). Occasionally I might run a 10K. Other times I might run 100 miles. And at the weekend I'm just going to run.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Does that count?</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-22417572111765175062014-11-06T18:50:00.004+00:002014-11-06T18:53:19.543+00:00Piece of String a Race Report 2014 - No strings on me!<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I've got no strings</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>To hold me down</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>To make me fret, or make me frown</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I had strings</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>But now I'm free</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>There are no strings on me</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PieceOfStringFunRun" target="_blank">Piece of String Fun Run</a> is a singular race, with a simple premise - nobody knows how far it is until they finish (possibly including the organisers). It is, to assign the required superlative necessary for any ultra race, the Most Pointless Race in the World (TM). It began 2 years ago as the fevered dream of James Adams, with a little help from James Elson who is a little more au fait with the logistical management skills necessary to arrange such an event. Now in its third incarnation, it has become something of an institution (albeit a stupid one) in the UK race calendar.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0lDDvKmWtNKPFKyRkfRfO4Zw-SGi5Ixz9Ap0Tdy2PZlXJCh15_1RIjFU_0YqTfeDcxzxHFvEgwUHwUJhcP184K27p3caVzSRjlLlMhWH3e1r1zefBhxYanl4HHeex-3bkJEqf8NP1RJE/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0lDDvKmWtNKPFKyRkfRfO4Zw-SGi5Ixz9Ap0Tdy2PZlXJCh15_1RIjFU_0YqTfeDcxzxHFvEgwUHwUJhcP184K27p3caVzSRjlLlMhWH3e1r1zefBhxYanl4HHeex-3bkJEqf8NP1RJE/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty much sums up this race.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.it/2012/11/piece-of-string-fun-run-november-2012.html" target="_blank">first year's race</a> was a lot of fun, despite being in just about the worst conditions I have ever run in. 120 miles (and about 36 hours) later and I was one of only 2 finishers of the inaugural race. The <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.it/2013/12/two-time-piece-of-string-finisher-im.html" target="_blank">second year's race</a> was much nicer in terms of conditions, but the ante was raised with a trip to the other side of the country thrown in to keep people guessing about where and how far we would be running. An injury at about 120 miles meant I had to stop - as it turns out only 10 miles from the finish. But what would they throw at us this year?!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">As the race approached, I was in two minds whether or not to turn up. My ankle was still a little tender from twisting it before Spartathlon, so I felt I should probably wait until this was back to normal before doing too much. In addition, I was due to head away on a conference the following week, so felt bad at having to miss out on spending time with my wife and little girl (especially having buggered off for a week to Greece the previous month). Plus we have just bought a new house, so there's a lot of jobs that need doing prior to our move. I had pretty much made up my mind that I wasn't going to start, but with a day to go until the race I suddenly changed my mind - much to my wife's annoyance.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, in a 'having my cake and eating it' kind of situation (whatever the hell that means), I decided that I could keep everybody happy (ish) if I raced on the Saturday and spent time with my family and did my jobs on Sunday. This meant that I would still get to take part in the event (making me a 100% PoS starter) - but it was unlikely that I would make the finish. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I guess it was lucky that we were due a short one this year...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Friday night I headed straight from work to the <a href="http://www.likethewindmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Like The Wind</a> pop up event in London to see some fantastic talks on what running means to people like Robbie Britton, Wanda Summers, Steve Way, and Peter McHugh De Clare and British Olympic bronze medal marathon runner Charlie Spedding. It was a great event, full of inspirational discussions and some really interesting food for thought. Although the main take-home message seemed to be "runners these days are crap" from Peter...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I arrived late due to the joys of public transport (it was much easier <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B9LjP9yaEo" target="_blank">when I ran it</a>) and left early with James Adams to head back to his place where I was staying pre-race. Unfortunately my attempts at ransacking the house to get some insider knowledge proved fruitless. Although searching through his internet search history has given me plenty of ammunition for the future. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had a great night's sleep, and woke up to a beautiful day - which was a pleasant surprise. By the time we got to Wendover Memorial Hall it was positively glorious - shorts and T-shirts all the way! Well for most of us at least. Rich Cranswick was determined that he was going to run in full chicken costume. Because why not?!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The race started with the usual lack of ceremony, and we were on our way West on the Ridgeway. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"That's left, right?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iQxY_0fgi47j8Rl6JvXQS-VpRJUluDRNUcxivDZFMBjAOCXjEqbufPRaEDqZnafz_6GwnLZeIpxNgeTHh1fjBTD32XqSnSyRr4RHOceRhSYwkTUIdorhAP4VUAyox7zIwVgF6pLhFNU/s1600/IMG_0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iQxY_0fgi47j8Rl6JvXQS-VpRJUluDRNUcxivDZFMBjAOCXjEqbufPRaEDqZnafz_6GwnLZeIpxNgeTHh1fjBTD32XqSnSyRr4RHOceRhSYwkTUIdorhAP4VUAyox7zIwVgF6pLhFNU/s1600/IMG_0028.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straight on?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We set off with stalwart Centurion supporter Claire Shelley showing us the way. Just to keep things fun, I started to race her, not expecting her to bite. But bite she did, until I pointed out that we had left everybody else behind and she remembered she wasn't actually racing. Not that I'm competitive of course. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We ran along the Ridgeway, and everybody was in great spirits. It was a fantastic day, and we had nothing to worry about except running. As we approached the monument on top of Coombe Hill, we met Nici Griffin who would be our torturer for the next section of the race. We were sent down a leaf-strewn gulley towards the road at the bottom of the hill, then straight back up a very muddy incline back to the monument. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ek4o-tNWyUzL-vQWRfAQ8V5klWZqlS3j4-0jv6bXmXgmcSeKdb8j6_zejvHDMTBZeLzNfWM8YiXvInREp71UsGXg-qMOBaE9UAakOt-XfALy0IC2e37hY_FDgi6k90Hh5iRTQyKn5YU/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ek4o-tNWyUzL-vQWRfAQ8V5klWZqlS3j4-0jv6bXmXgmcSeKdb8j6_zejvHDMTBZeLzNfWM8YiXvInREp71UsGXg-qMOBaE9UAakOt-XfALy0IC2e37hY_FDgi6k90Hh5iRTQyKn5YU/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a lovely monument this is!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And repeat. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5As2h6_g48eW9IBaEFAuthNm4bhACRh0kpHZSGmpG3DPf37PX9hVljw9NSnyroTXc_jpn38sQsxrCH5SH0COeoXm3FVE5dGWkS5WsYXwXGikFkIRci29MTuuMmPRqa4eXxjp0yxZK5M/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5As2h6_g48eW9IBaEFAuthNm4bhACRh0kpHZSGmpG3DPf37PX9hVljw9NSnyroTXc_jpn38sQsxrCH5SH0COeoXm3FVE5dGWkS5WsYXwXGikFkIRci29MTuuMmPRqa4eXxjp0yxZK5M/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello again old friend.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And again.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KvV9nAOyLLS2S_VXxyTBT10pU-E76K5t2esad11d4g5UuB53yBxQ-DJtzrJHe-3eFwuOJbOK4725qQggPFuqbPG-sKSHgBayVkgcFO83v0fH3FC2tsSXJ718Odeu5Ki00edO6VRigTU/s1600/IMG_0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KvV9nAOyLLS2S_VXxyTBT10pU-E76K5t2esad11d4g5UuB53yBxQ-DJtzrJHe-3eFwuOJbOK4725qQggPFuqbPG-sKSHgBayVkgcFO83v0fH3FC2tsSXJ718Odeu5Ki00edO6VRigTU/s1600/IMG_0011.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy seeing you here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And, well, you get the idea. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpqkV8N7xyXlp9YnId3_gMYJHCG0sAu2iu_8vlkKjJRvqwYv_I2zvjvCL9PZyIUACrLnANwipTomdWKjKA5b2dQoJdpl15OUqREM2Odri_8qFWCIi-9650OfvARmJ6KW17qZQn1pbovY/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpqkV8N7xyXlp9YnId3_gMYJHCG0sAu2iu_8vlkKjJRvqwYv_I2zvjvCL9PZyIUACrLnANwipTomdWKjKA5b2dQoJdpl15OUqREM2Odri_8qFWCIi-9650OfvARmJ6KW17qZQn1pbovY/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm sure this will be the last one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although occasionally we went in the opposite direction. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdBdhFwWmwsK_alnPg3obe4Z1NTJ1_byFjjypmKfRuPdArOV6ftdij1joaJUILFxzGgOS-H7prIJQgLL5cu9LPzLLxiq1VYeMOOimXVGSjK49KPQD83Gz8L_IaH0zGcLiKxPjd5iXbJk/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdBdhFwWmwsK_alnPg3obe4Z1NTJ1_byFjjypmKfRuPdArOV6ftdij1joaJUILFxzGgOS-H7prIJQgLL5cu9LPzLLxiq1VYeMOOimXVGSjK49KPQD83Gz8L_IaH0zGcLiKxPjd5iXbJk/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The big question here is, "What the hell are you doing in third place you loser?!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After about 10 reps, we were suitably warmed up and were sent back to the hall in Wendover. After making a slight error at the high street (not my fault I must stress, I was the one calling others back which makes a change!), we got back to our drop bags. After a quick snack, we were sent back out with the same brief as previously - head West on the Ridgeway until we tell you otherwise. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"That's still left, right?"</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6whQ6_q8tLTEmaKZEpQNqZFdUvuCP4x9l3XVX63GVucpa-FMrmn3Dlf_ShlIDWbe2VWRQeinBmZN6de9w29DfrjHVrUqI1dlEI_eEAl9fYm4XH1S6QChDTfH5ObJnAGvDyfwiUwFWGCM/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6whQ6_q8tLTEmaKZEpQNqZFdUvuCP4x9l3XVX63GVucpa-FMrmn3Dlf_ShlIDWbe2VWRQeinBmZN6de9w29DfrjHVrUqI1dlEI_eEAl9fYm4XH1S6QChDTfH5ObJnAGvDyfwiUwFWGCM/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't believe I got chicked...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This section was a lot of fun, as I ran in a small group with Bryan Robb and David Pryce. It was a lovely day and we were basically just out for an afternoon jolly. I don't often run with other people, but it was good to just chat and enjoy the day. It also didn't hurt that David knew the way, although to be honest the Ridgeway is a really well sign posted route anyway so I think that even I would have been alright. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I half expected to be heading to over to Streatley, where the first two PoS races were centered, but we were intercepted by Claire and Nick Greene and sent off along a bridleway with the simple brief to run until something happened. At the bottom of the hill, we found James and Nici and a mini checkpoint - handy as I was in desperate need of a water refill. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrfdyixsy0OE_dq_PWjk_TTB2y1BCYv1L6jqNneWHTnVbg-r6kMyMYZ6SO00kqhggTD0zVli-6pxNVakNPsImMMpK7l2EobsSipwVTNksEIeN0G_f7tqlY360vUi7S5uEm0NyYWxHGao/s1600/B1XU3c2CUAAS5XK.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrfdyixsy0OE_dq_PWjk_TTB2y1BCYv1L6jqNneWHTnVbg-r6kMyMYZ6SO00kqhggTD0zVli-6pxNVakNPsImMMpK7l2EobsSipwVTNksEIeN0G_f7tqlY360vUi7S5uEm0NyYWxHGao/s1600/B1XU3c2CUAAS5XK.jpg-large.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure you're taking this seriously Sam! Photo C/O Nici Griffin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our next instruction? "Back the way you came". Okie dokie! I grabbed a handful of food to graze on and munched on some nuts (*snigger*) while Bryan and David headed off ahead. I started running back from whence we had come. I was given strict instructions not to spoil it for the others as I passed them on the way back, but I guess it was pretty obvious. Rich had since lost the chicken suit, having lost half his body weight through sweating. That suit must have smelled lovely - a real secret blend of herbs and spices. Just don't ask about the state of his nuggets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had picked up from Nici that there was some kind of Trick or Treat to come that was being voted for by people on Twitter. "You really don't have many friends" didn't entirely fill me with confidence... This year's race seemed to be very similar to the format of the first year, with each new section centred in one location, but there was also a real emphasis on audience participation. God knew what I was in for, but my guess was that we would be stopped at the monument on Coombe Hill for another series of hill reps. Knowing what my "friends" are like (seriously, you guys suck) I mentally prepared myself for the worst.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was great running on my own as the sun went down, and I found myself really enjoying my surroundings. Usually I like to listen to an audiobook as I run, but today I was quite happy with the sounds of nature. I have a habit of not living in the moment, so I made myself turn around and sit down for a few minutes to watch as the sun began to disappear behind the hill I had just come from. It was a lovely experience, and I was a little sad thinking that I was going to have to cut things short now. My plan was to stop at the next main bag drop, as if I left it any later I wouldn't be able to make it home on the train. However, if there were a few little hill reps before then it would be rude not to do them...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2qOuGWDeWhPQoUjWhfh1UksHzIrxZe08qlV57c_DxgQZbTsWTuePF3k7O2Uh0t2VYPUrXcCZt6SzgH0Ggy6zOu2dI1r4g0kQJ1af-PcJY5vfsO_CaWurBxD3xA7YWnugA2icc5OAjqo/s1600/IMG_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2qOuGWDeWhPQoUjWhfh1UksHzIrxZe08qlV57c_DxgQZbTsWTuePF3k7O2Uh0t2VYPUrXcCZt6SzgH0Ggy6zOu2dI1r4g0kQJ1af-PcJY5vfsO_CaWurBxD3xA7YWnugA2icc5OAjqo/s1600/IMG_0032.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A perfect sunset to end a lovely day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I caught up with Bryan and David about halfway back, and we chatted about what to expect next. My thoughts were that, since it had not been super short, it would instead probably be super long and possibly even unfinishable. Not that I wanted to scare them of course...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As we approached the monument at Coombe Hill, it became clear that there was nobody there. I guess it was straight back to the hall then! The sun had gone down now, so it would be head torches from here on out. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSd2u6ipeTPxOboblXzsmgt9ZyjFdUV_fJSDMx-koMjUUJYsCidlbohznP5k9NE9wwseg48v3AkgMXONrhlA6fizqKJNSBlfsmwjb_irXodrZoWsuBoSQzD4A8sugYpspvlVqdP3fhkE/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSd2u6ipeTPxOboblXzsmgt9ZyjFdUV_fJSDMx-koMjUUJYsCidlbohznP5k9NE9wwseg48v3AkgMXONrhlA6fizqKJNSBlfsmwjb_irXodrZoWsuBoSQzD4A8sugYpspvlVqdP3fhkE/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So where to next?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But not for me. We came into the hall and received our next directions - a little jaunt along the Grand Union Canal. It would have been nice to head back along a route that I knew quite well from running there in May, but I had to go. "I wasn't lying when I said I had made plans!" It felt a bit crap and everybody was very surprised, but it was the right call. With so many trips away, including a conference in Rome the following week, I had to prioritise time with my family. I had been a bit selfish going for the one day already, but at least it meant that I got the chance to take part in another fantastic event. And my 100% start rate is intact. Although I really should do something about my finish rate... </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's fine, because next year will only be 10K. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was lucky enough to even get a lift home from Debbie, who had unfortunately dropped after getting a bit lost. So in the end I was indeed home for tea, and even got the chance to see my daughter and put her to bed. Perfect timing!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As it happens, the race was quite short in the end, with 6 finishers by midnight. It was a shame to miss out on the night time fun of Trick or Treat loops, including the now infamous "Hoka Hill" (49% incline at one point), but having seen how many Trick loops I was due to get I kind of feel like I won this year's Piece of String.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9rK1jET9qpf8RFkNlGWyeCLeJZlvO8gGhDAP78qrJ_z5r18zz-Ewsc9h5Qrr8oCYsiBGxCZHlsaG_wEtZ2MrUZrSPBfOxV_b0wHzxdEFbT0o81QuDGilVmkbq5QKDCfXSiT_buqwduM/s1600/10169405_10152389349660877_8582133600750910336_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9rK1jET9qpf8RFkNlGWyeCLeJZlvO8gGhDAP78qrJ_z5r18zz-Ewsc9h5Qrr8oCYsiBGxCZHlsaG_wEtZ2MrUZrSPBfOxV_b0wHzxdEFbT0o81QuDGilVmkbq5QKDCfXSiT_buqwduM/s1600/10169405_10152389349660877_8582133600750910336_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fuck you all very much... Phot C/O Nikki Mills</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So anyway, there we go. Not the greatest attempt ever (and I apologise to the organisers for half-arsing it), but I can honestly say that it was one of the most fun days of running that I have ever had (sorry again - I imagine "fun" wasn't really what they were going for...).<br />
<br />
As ever, huge thanks to everybody that helped to make this day the awesome event that it was. The incredible part is that these guys were told nothing more than that they could be needed for anything from a few hours to a few days, and yet were still willing to come and help out! So thanks to James Adams, James Elson, Nici Griffin, Drew Sheffield, Claire Shelley, Nick Greene, Richard Stillion, Nikki Mills, Chris Mills and Louise Ayling. You guys rock!Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-13932914614923434492014-11-03T08:54:00.000+00:002014-11-24T09:18:47.593+00:00The Wisdom of Pooh<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you've ever run for over 24 hours in the arse-end of nowhere, you know that Pooh is an inevitability. But I had never really fully appreciated the poignancy and philosophical leanings of the little yellow bear until I had a child. Now, reading through the many adventures of Pooh and his friends on practically a daily basis, I see many lessons that can help us all to become better runners.<br />
<br />
With the third edition of the Piece of a String Fun Run due to kick off tomorrow, I have found myself taking advice wherever I can get it. For those who don't know, the concept of the race is that runners do not know in advance how far (or indeed where) they will be running - until they finally cross the finish line. How do you plan for a race like this? Therein lies the game. <br />
<br />
Only 2 people have finished each year, making it one of the Toughest Races in the World (TM). I was one of them in the inaugural event, after surviving 130ish miles of floods, mud, wind and rain. Last year's conditions were much more pleasant, but I pulled up short only 10 miles from the finish after a day and a half of running with a knee injury. Tomorrow I will see if I can redress this balance and go 2 for 3 with the World's Most Pointless Race. <br />
<br />
In last year's event, the stakes were raised considerably, with bluffs, double bluffs, and general evil conniving on the part of Race Director James Adams. What could he possibly have in store this year I wonder? I have my suspicions...<br />
<br />
The beauty of this race is its simplicity; run until we say stop. It really is no more complicated than that. So for somebody whose running philosophy revolves around maintaining an air of general stupidity, who better to advise me than that silly ol' Pooh bear. Here are a few words of wisdom from the willy, nilly, silly old bear:<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSRqoOLwajzEQJOgCSg5hcUL4SZl1cLNNsuqYA0I4O50WhaIVmaoLA208d2lT6r-FML8UKb1jjP37-I9u1Vh5wv0FyyhaI9guE5fzPHOnMUpdhoUVscZZewr5DXV5gnD4aiTYhJnNd1A/s1600/IMG_4993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSRqoOLwajzEQJOgCSg5hcUL4SZl1cLNNsuqYA0I4O50WhaIVmaoLA208d2lT6r-FML8UKb1jjP37-I9u1Vh5wv0FyyhaI9guE5fzPHOnMUpdhoUVscZZewr5DXV5gnD4aiTYhJnNd1A/s1600/IMG_4993.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching my little girl philosophy from a young age (yes that is hand painted)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
1) One of the advantages of being disorganised is that one is always having surprising discoveries</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Generally speaking I am a very organised person. I'm sure that there is at least some level of OCD in there somewhere, although everybody probably says that. Still, don't get me started on the order of cutlery in the drawer debate (it goes "knives, forks, spoons" people). But when it comes to races, these days I'm really not very organised at all: I don't plan out my splits (I play with data for a living, and life is too short); I don't pore over maps and route descriptions and instead rely on figuring it out as I go (probably explains a lot); and I try not to think too much about kit, other than how little I can realistically get away with without genuinely risking death.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Now in races I am sure that you can improve times by knowing the route inside and out, but when training the real fun lies in just making shit up as you go. My favourite type of weekend runs are ones where I end up in the middle of nowhere and just go exploring. There are so many areas near my house that are yet to be explored, and even more outside of my little local playground. Why limit yourself to the same run week in and week out? Turn your GPS off, head out the door, and go and discover the world!<br />
<br />
The Piece of String is the perfect race for the disorganised runner, since organisation is not just fruitless, but is positively frowned upon. Point me in the right direction, set me off, then let me go. I'm sure that I will be surprised to discover that I have no idea where I am...<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
2) I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">I have a bit of a reputation for my sense of direction which I feel is a little unfair. Yes, I have ended up lost on several races, but this quote sums up my feelings on the situation perfectly; I knew exactly where I was - it was the course that was in the wrong place!</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The Piece of String is almost the easiest race in the world (don't let James hear me say that) since it requires no forethought whatsoever. Well, you could plan stuff, but it will ultimately prove pointless anyway. Instead I just need to rely on my natural innate sense of direction and hope that where I am has the good grace to remain where it should be.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
3) Did you ever stop to think, and then forget to start again?</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">This is perfect advice for the Piece of String; disengage brain and just go with the flow. Don't think about split times; it's pointless. Don't think about how long it is until the next checkpoint; it's pointless. Don't think about how much further it is until you can finally stop running; it's pointless. Don't worry about how much food you'll need; well, you get the idea. I'm just going to rock up with the required kit, and run until somebody says stop.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
4) You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">This is just a great philosophy for life. Don't wait for cool shit to happen. Go out and make it happen. This is actually the quote that originally got me thinking about this post. Originally I wasn't going to run the Piece of String this year, since I'm not really at full training strength and we have a lot on at home at the moment. But this quote reminded me that I like doing these things for a little bit of an adventure, and I would probably feel a bit sad if I missed the chance at taking part in something that I know from my previous experiences will be a helluva laugh!</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
5) If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember: you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you.</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">This is a piece of advice that I want my daughter to always remember. My whole philosophy to running can be summed as "run stupid". The main tenet of this is to not let the things that we all "know" get in the way of trying crazy things. We all "know" that 100 miles is a really long way, and that nobody could possibly run it. But that didn't stop me giving it a go, and y'know what? Turns out that what we all "know" is wrong. Whatever we think our limits are, we should ignore this and strive to go beyond them. The innovators and the explorers are the ones who test these boundaries every day, and thanks to them our horizons have been expanded beyond our wildest dreams.</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
6) Always watch where you are going. Otherwise you may step on a piece of the forest that was left out by mistake</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Seriously guys, watch your step out there! Tree roots can be a right pain in the ankle!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
7) A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">One of the nicest things about ultra running is the sense of community between runners. I feel like people are generally very relaxed, and always willing to help other people in whatever way they can. Case in point are the volunteers who give their time to make sure that runners don't die and as many as possible make the finish. Be nice to them, even if you're having a bad time, and don't forget to say thank you for what is ultimately a pretty thankless task!</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Ultimately, just don't be a dick. </div>
<br />
<h3>
8) It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "what about lunch"</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Nutrition is important after all!</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
9) Let's begin by taking a smallish nap or two.</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">I can attest to the power of the power nap. 20 minutes sleep in a car on a hill in the middle of nowhere after 48 hours awake was enough to give me a new lease of life to finish the first Piece of String Fun Run. 10 minutes nap at a checkpoint in the middle of an olive grove in Greece as the sun came up was enough to give me the energy to throw down a 2 hour half marathon at the end of the Spartathlon this year.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Life with a child who didn't sleep for a year has taught me the skill of catching quality sleep in small bursts. A great skill for all ultra runners!</div>
<br />
<h3>
10) How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard</h3>
<span style="text-align: justify;">And speaking of children, the only thing that I dislike about running is the time I take away from my beautiful wife and daughter. I feel like I maintain a very good balance, and my wife is incredibly supportive, but it's still sad to know that I won't be there tomorrow when they wake up to get a cuddle.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
However, I know that I'm incredibly lucky to have them both, and it just makes it all the better to look forward to seeing them when I'm done.<br />
<br />
Anyway, it doesn't matter as it'll only be 5K anyway. I'll be home by tea time!</div>
<br />Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-5818220655207332002014-10-07T21:22:00.002+01:002014-10-07T21:48:05.170+01:00UltrAspire Quantum Waist Belt Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
Generally speaking, I'm not much of a gear junky and don't really go out of my way to buy all of the newest gear to add to my collection. Quite the opposite in fact and I would usually rather make do with whatever I already have lying around than shell out money on anything if I can help it. However, leading into the Spartathlon I decided to spend a little dough to ensure that I had the perfect kit for the race. I initially expected to be running in 40 degree heat, so figured that I wanted to run with as little kit as I could possibly get away with. As it happened it pissed down with rain all morning, but I still think I made the right call! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the Grand Union Canal Race I used my <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/ultraspire-impulse-waist-pack-review.html" target="_blank">UltrAspire Impulse pack</a> which is a very good lightweight pack when you need to take a couple of bottles with you, but for this race I wanted to go the handheld route since the heat would mean that I was likely to need to access my water more regularly. I decided to try something a little more lightweight. I tried the <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/salomon-advanced-skin-s-lab-belt-set.html" target="_blank">Salomon Skin S-Lab belt</a> last year, but didn't really get in with it. I liked the idea of it, but I just couldn't get it to stay tight enough on me (a few extra pies might well solve that issue of course).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So I decided to have a go with something similar - the <a href="http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/UltrAspire-QUANTUM-Waist-Pouch-Belt-p/uaquantum.htm" target="_blank">UltrAspire Quantum waist belt</a>. Here's what I thought:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauZWLzoBLzwGBgDCJcN6rajYAetHVT2NG7oDf9fgvNU3j8LxpsujWURQGf15PtKsNL23Wzmjl-IJmLFIrLV9qkX9bZPnt9KmP6kTdM2NXhQRT0XbnqrcA4sR7wS65usB0Ek6QJ1DDwiA/s1600/IMG_5743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauZWLzoBLzwGBgDCJcN6rajYAetHVT2NG7oDf9fgvNU3j8LxpsujWURQGf15PtKsNL23Wzmjl-IJmLFIrLV9qkX9bZPnt9KmP6kTdM2NXhQRT0XbnqrcA4sR7wS65usB0Ek6QJ1DDwiA/s1600/IMG_5743.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<h2>
<a name='more'></a>Description</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Quantum <i>belt</i> is aptly named, and comes in a solid design that you actually step into and slide up over your waist. There are no connection points or clasps to worry about, so the problem that I saw with the Salomon belt (the fact that I could not get it to stay done up) is avoided. This may make it a little more cumbersome for some if you need to take it on and off in the middle of a race, but it's really no more difficult than attempting to make cold and tired fingers work to undo a buckle. There are even a couple of clips to attach to a race number which can be folded out of the way when not in use. These are really well designed, and makes this essentially a number belt with a bit of storage - perfect if you're likely to be changing layers overnight and can't be arsed repinning your number every time.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Fit</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The belt comes in three sizes: small, medium and large. I'm a 28" waist and the small works great for me. There is a simple fastener on the back of the pack that can make it tighter or looser as required. I found the fit to be pretty damn perfect, and I don't notice that I am wearing it at all. The soft mesh material is even comfortable enough to wear against your skin, so if you prefer not to look like you're running with a bumbag (a genuine concern for some, but I made my peace with looking like a dick when I run long ago) you can slip it under your shirt and nobody would be the wiser. The belt is tapered slightly to fit comfortably on your bum, with the front pouch sitting nicely under your belly (although I guess that really depends how much belly you have). Even when fully loaded, there was zero bounce, no bulging, everything was easy to access, and I really did completely forget all about it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO0BFowUTFRuMMbQD3GkbP1EQ5mBwzhrwThioC6XYqJwmlgXRh9HFZznAzVyapD72gGH5f0DgUypdaqG6NSD5rl46aXSzNBCHD4x7PG-ZsBJkA6pyaQenfWMs288KG8Tk1bcTPGh9UmM/s1600/IMG_5744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO0BFowUTFRuMMbQD3GkbP1EQ5mBwzhrwThioC6XYqJwmlgXRh9HFZznAzVyapD72gGH5f0DgUypdaqG6NSD5rl46aXSzNBCHD4x7PG-ZsBJkA6pyaQenfWMs288KG8Tk1bcTPGh9UmM/s1600/IMG_5744.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
Storage</h2>
<div>
Storage wise, this is most definitely a no-frills piece of kit - but that's kind of the point. The front pouch is big enough to hold all of the essentials that you might need with you, and on the Spartathlon I ran with my iPhone, a tube of Lanacane, some Nuun tablets, my epilepsy tablets, some Compeed and my Spartathlon ID card (and even a pair of socks at one point) without any issues at all. For running to work it is perfect to shove my ID card, phone, keys and some money in when I don't want to take a whole bag's worth of kit in. The pouch is quite stretchy, and there is an easy to grasp rubber zip fastener that feels sturdy and easy to find when you're brain isn't really in gear. There are two stretchy pouches on the back, each of which can easily hold 3 or 4 gels, or even one of the smaller soft flask handhelds if you want to carry some water with you (although I have not tried this). The pouches are tight enough that there was no bounce, but I found it quite easy to access the gels whilst moving. The fastener on the back could also probably be used to hold a very lightweight jacket, although I would be nervous of it falling out along the way. If I needed a jacket, I probably wouldn't be using this belt anyway.</div>
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Weight</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is not much to the belt really, just the main front pocket and two back pockets, with a lightweight breathable mesh connecting them. This makes the belt very light, and at only about 80 g it is very easy to forget that you're wearing it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVxAbEvzrEa0mxuMEXw7UDQKuaGvT08Mj4YxXBExW1zk5ge36K5BoCIJg7LkBWtzf0JaICx9_ldGOUFcX0tSegKIPJ_zeu4jq8pd_U5nirLSFZOVO5j1BorVT2SOgf0F3aJzsco2NEmI/s1600/IMG_5746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVxAbEvzrEa0mxuMEXw7UDQKuaGvT08Mj4YxXBExW1zk5ge36K5BoCIJg7LkBWtzf0JaICx9_ldGOUFcX0tSegKIPJ_zeu4jq8pd_U5nirLSFZOVO5j1BorVT2SOgf0F3aJzsco2NEmI/s1600/IMG_5746.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<h2>
Price</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At £25, I thought that this was a real bargain. I will probably find myself using this belt in most of my commuting runs and weekend training runs since I usually feel far too over encumbered with my Salomon race vest.</div>
<h2>
Overall</h2>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I purchased this belt specifically for the Spartathlon, along with a Salomon hand held flask which I will also review soon, and I have to say that it worked perfectly. I needed a lightweight, comfortable belt to carry a few gels and other essentials, and that is exactly what I got. I did not remove the belt at all for the entire race, and never really noticed it the whole time. It was easy to access the gels in the back, and the items in the front pouch were kept secure and steady the whole time with no bouncing whatsoever. I will probably find myself using this belt for most of my runs in the future, where all I need is a phone, a couple of gels, and my car keys. </div>
</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-16203758003957590202014-10-02T09:30:00.003+01:002014-10-03T12:46:16.111+01:00Spartathlon Race Report 2014 - Highway to Hellas<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The cheers surround me; envelope me; consume me. The drivers that cross my path show their support through blaring horns, enthusiastic shouts, and wild gesticulation. People from all sides shouting, cheering, willing me to finish. They know the journey I have made. They know the suffering. But all of that is a distant memory, washed aside in a torrent of elation at the journey's end. I look up to the sky, at the radiant sun that has shone its rays to both aid and hinder the crossing. As I squint in the dazzling glow all pain is seemingly washed away, leaving a a feeling of sheer elation. I come back to myself. Live in the moment. Soak in the atmosphere. Take in the experience. Make memories to last a lifetime. We turn the final corner, and there at the end of the road I see my goal. He stands aloft, in defiance of the world, daring me to approach. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Molon labe; come and get it". </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will. </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will...</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfNdBsgkziGkKI3ThKvC1RbD4jztqGdSKmsEK1JLXNTLkclqn_rtcepSmhI90_1LTQVuhdizsXq8VvyXeWJBnNo8HtcAFPn5xskZi9ZRY4-_E01w5CcdzFAih3JvhPzDGULMYUHpDo-w/s1600/STE_9175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfNdBsgkziGkKI3ThKvC1RbD4jztqGdSKmsEK1JLXNTLkclqn_rtcepSmhI90_1LTQVuhdizsXq8VvyXeWJBnNo8HtcAFPn5xskZi9ZRY4-_E01w5CcdzFAih3JvhPzDGULMYUHpDo-w/s1600/STE_9175.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come and get it! Official Spartathlon photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I've got this great idea for a race. It's a road race starting in London. I reckon we should start in </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> morning during a Friday rush-hour. Don't worry, we'll ask really nicely for the commuters to not drive into anyone - they'll be fine with it. Then the runners can head through central London, off onto the M25, then along the M40 towards Birmingham...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://www.spartathlon.gr/en.html" target="_blank">Spartathlon</a> simply could not be held anywhere else in the world. The sure audacity of it is incredible, and yet there it sits - one of the most highly </span>prestigious and toughest races in the world. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The race itself was created when several officers from the British RAF decided </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">to see if Heroditus' accounts of the messenger Phiedippides running from Athens to Sparta before nightfall the </span>following<span style="font-family: inherit;"> day was possible. They chose a route that was likely to match the one chosen by the messenger, including passing over Mount Parthenio, where Phiedippides was said to have conversed with the God Pan. Three of the runners (including </span>John Foden who came up with the idea) completed the route in under 36 hours, and the following year the race was born.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now in its 32nd year, the race has become one of the most prestigious and iconic ultra races in the world. For about €450, plus a cheap flight, you get one hell of a package. Food, accommodation, and drinks are all covered. Oh yeah, plus the race as well, which has 75 checkpoints spaced a couple of miles apart each on average, meaning that you are never far away from assistance. You really can run this race without taking anything with you at all to Greece. To be honest, it's almost worth entering every year just for a cheap holiday!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I was definitely here for the race. More specifically I was here for the <i>finish</i>. For most of the races that I enter, it is the journey that interests me the most. At the Spine Challenger earlier this year I dropped due to turning an ankle with only about 6 miles to go. I could have limped to the finish, but I had had a great experience up to that time, and didn't want to risk being put out of running due to injury for months to come, all for the sake of a medal. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This race however was different. The journey, all told, did not excite me. 153 miles on busy roads in the Greek summer isn't really my idea of a good time. But hearing the reports from friends like James' <a href="http://www.runningandstuff.com/" target="_blank">Adams</a> and <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/blog/" target="_blank">Elson</a> ignited something in me. The final approach to the statue of King Leonidas of Sparta; supporters lining the street and cheering you on; kissing the foot of the statue which so few runners have ever reached; a ceremony that few in the world would ever experience. I wanted that. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I arrived Wednesday into Athens airport with no idea how the hell to get to the hotel. I collared a likely looking runner (easy to spot as he had that same crazed look in his eyes), who it turned out was Irish - making my frantic attempts to make myself understood seem a little silly in hindsight. Anton and I shared a cab, and after frantically waving the address at the poor driver we were off to the Oasis hotel in Glyfada. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We survived (just), but I did decide to get a bus back. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I checked in at the hotel and dumped my bags in my room. The room was very nice considering the cheap price tag. A little drab decor-wise maybe, but who really cares when we were only likely to be in there to sleep. I wondered downstairs for a late lunch where I bumped into a few other Team GB members, Lawrence Eccles (who I would be sharing the room with) and Sean Maley. After some good hearty grub (no complaints about food the whole trip - if you're a quantity over quality sort of person like me you'll be laughing), we headed over to registration to get our numbers and chew the fat with some of the other runners. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9a86DbFm2bJMNdfpLXwC6E1JiD2PxdjS2p7ZItAizl1joYxfb0mRSJN39onm6Nr2iRQugcp9UzSgU1712Mt0sccngESL1LU57eDcV361sSEhW906B_1BagOs0h2BKrZ6y-fuxfv5lIQ/s1600/IMG_5684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9a86DbFm2bJMNdfpLXwC6E1JiD2PxdjS2p7ZItAizl1joYxfb0mRSJN39onm6Nr2iRQugcp9UzSgU1712Mt0sccngESL1LU57eDcV361sSEhW906B_1BagOs0h2BKrZ6y-fuxfv5lIQ/s1600/IMG_5684.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team GB ready and raring to go! Man I'm short...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The atmosphere was fantastic, and everybody was really looking forward to setting off. The race didn't start until the Friday, but it would have been a bit of a rush getting there on the Thursday evening. Plus it was nice to just chill out and relax for a couple of days with everybody. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Going into the race, I had decided that I wasn't going to stress or think too much about things. The cutoffs are very tough, but rather than constantly trying to work out and adjust my pace to match the cutoffs, I figured I would just run - if it was fast enough, great. If not, tough. It's all part of my "running stupid" mentality - don't think, just run! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, I did cock about a bit over my drop bags, in particular trying to work out the best place to leave my head torch before the overnight stage. There were checkpoints every 3 or 4 Km, so judging which one you would be at at any given time was tough. Plus because there were so many, I wanted to keep the drop locations memorable. Unfortunately 30 seemed too early and 35 was probably too late. I just split the difference in the end after chatting to some other people for a sanity check. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was keeping things light kit-wise, and planned to wear only a small <a href="http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/UltrAspire-QUANTUM-Waist-Pouch-Belt-p/uaquantum.htm" target="_blank">UltrAspire Quantum</a> waist pack to hold a handful of gels and some Lanacane, and one of the new <a href="http://www.centurionrunning.com/store/product/salomon-park-hydro-handset/" target="_blank">Salamon Park Hydro</a> soft flask hand-helds. I'll review them both soon, but they were both outstanding! In total I only used 5 drop bags, each containing a couple of gels. I also stuck a warm top and head torch in the overnight bag, a spare pair of socks at the mountain, and a change of clothes (which I never touched) for the morning. Keep it stupid simple. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDJkmqSMRv_UgdC9zsOswBzWW7CbJiAvBGEd-dYhWThXnCZrV4GYroz63oyY8WZ1h8P1_Amk7rRe_ODuaGRfG4YmKHshpUUH928aM1pzP4YlaZZejGMYGZj8ovdkcRMtcIR9kOThOydI/s1600/IMG_5679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDJkmqSMRv_UgdC9zsOswBzWW7CbJiAvBGEd-dYhWThXnCZrV4GYroz63oyY8WZ1h8P1_Amk7rRe_ODuaGRfG4YmKHshpUUH928aM1pzP4YlaZZejGMYGZj8ovdkcRMtcIR9kOThOydI/s1600/IMG_5679.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took far too long to put these couple of bits together.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After dropping these off, I met the other members of the team; Mark Woolley, Terrence Zengerink, Sammy Kirpatrick, Jon Steele (the greatest name in Ultrarunning), Rob Pinnington, Lindley Chambers, Russ Bestley, Martin Illiot and Martin Bacon, and collected our team T-shirts from Mark. There was a slight issue in that there was a massive advert on the back which was expressly forbidden in the rules, so at least I knew where my race number was going to go. After a few photos (and wondering why there were attack helicopters and typhoon jet fighters circling overhead - probably Dean Karnazes' crew) we headed off to the pool. My suggestions for a night out on the town fell on deaf ears, so we retired to bed early (at what was technically 7 pm our time I think...) for a good night's sleep before our 4:30 am (2:30 am our time) start. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I woke up refreshed and raring to go </span>after a pretty good night's sleep all told, despite the band that was playing into the early hours of the morning. So glad I took my ear plugs with me!<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Lawrence and I got dressed with minimum fuss, and headed down to join the others for breakfast (which was kindly put on early for us by the hotel). After slinging down a couple of bananas, we hopped on the bus to the Acropolis for the off. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the (many) difficulties faced by runners in this race is the weather. At the end of summer it can be pushing into high 30s, and sometime even into the 40s. It started pissing down when we got there. How typically British. Still, while others were running around getting wet and whinging, Team GB were in their element! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After catching up with some of the people that would be following along helping the various members of the team throughout the day (Russ, Sandra, Sarah, Julia, Maxine, Nick, Tina and David), and dodging the video cameras, we were off!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q7V7dgy12hYhALbqWj-leqx99zMtxCiY2LPUgfVCgn56Jl-9Gf9WW_lKrNlGgi9cDNyoVmBu6RKO00H7N6Eu1SAO-PUtCw4MxhTjuToZScHXIuEeAH-bupM6Q0wYhF5ZAnQ5TYVQUSc/s1600/10653330_850490054981315_7303206153863142916_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q7V7dgy12hYhALbqWj-leqx99zMtxCiY2LPUgfVCgn56Jl-9Gf9WW_lKrNlGgi9cDNyoVmBu6RKO00H7N6Eu1SAO-PUtCw4MxhTjuToZScHXIuEeAH-bupM6Q0wYhF5ZAnQ5TYVQUSc/s1600/10653330_850490054981315_7303206153863142916_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of rain never hurt anybody. Although thin white T-shirts may not have been the best plan... Photo CO Maxine Lock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Running down the stony path into Athens was a little treacherous in the wet, and stopping off briefly behind a tree (I couldn't bring myself to piss on the Acropolis) put me dead last. Oh well, no rush! The clouds had cleared up and the sun was coming out as we approached the main road. The traffic was held up by the local police and there was a lot of honking (whether in support or defiance was never entirely clear for the whole race), what with it being rush hour in one of the busiest cities in Greece. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's utterly ridiculous, but in a truly fantastic way. It seems as if everyone in Greece knows of the race and is generally incredibly supportive (despite the disruption). The international media interest must be fantastic for the country as a whole. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTzJN0AaWUmVuR-ip7ATJW2vB8vldPxzXlKSVqLSXmjrv-6sbYO4i7btj6v-XAkp3nPRCaWV_g-mm2I8JToTtY67N_XAtJ-eytQMQaIJwxJXYGVLxV5BN3oQP-t9K4XIm8wnUl_dflYs/s1600/15202337288_492e74e810_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTzJN0AaWUmVuR-ip7ATJW2vB8vldPxzXlKSVqLSXmjrv-6sbYO4i7btj6v-XAkp3nPRCaWV_g-mm2I8JToTtY67N_XAtJ-eytQMQaIJwxJXYGVLxV5BN3oQP-t9K4XIm8wnUl_dflYs/s1600/15202337288_492e74e810_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it time to go yet? Photo CO <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1634678670"></span>Advendure<span id="goog_1634678671"></span></a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As we made it into the </span>centre<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of Athens, the sun was up and the cloud had parted. The first miles of the race are actually not particularly pleasant - running along main roads in one of the most polluted cities in the world isn't nice, and when a car came skidding out of a side road in front of a group of us with their brakes on full lock, the true danger of dealing with fucking idiots on the road really hit home. Oh well, not long to go now...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Things improved vista-wise when we reached the coast, and whilst we were still running with heavy traffic, the sea looked absolutely beautiful in the morning light. It amazes me how the sea here can be so pristine, with the beautiful azure sheen of the </span>Mediterranean<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (or possibly the Myrtoan) Sea, when the streets and roads are so full of shit. I mean, seriously - I had heard stories of dead dogs on the road (a combination of many feral dogs and a more, erm, relaxed driving style) and was going to see how many I could see. I lost count. I saw 3 half tortoises (so 1.5 tortoises I guess), easily 20 dogs and cats, birds, a porcupine, and I'm pretty sure a diamond-back snake. It seems like there are no birds to eat them, probably because they're all dead on the side of the road somewhere. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">In general, the first 50 miles was all much of a muchness really. We followed the coast, it alternated between very hot, and pretty hot with pouring rain, and after starting dead last I was sitting comfortably in the top 50 and cycling backwards and forwards with a few of the same characters. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of the international nature of the race, conversation was not entirely forthcoming. I found myself chatting with some of the American guys quite a lot. They were a really nice group, and very friendly. <a href="http://davekrupski.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Dave Krupski</a> from Miami had done the same as me and headed out a bit quick because of the cooler temperature (trying to run with team mate Jon Olson, who was aiming for the win), so we were both reigning it in a little. <a href="http://www.bryceacarlson.com/" target="_blank">Bryce Carlson</a> was a cool guy who works in anthropology and was in great demand for interviews, including from National Geographic. Rob Youngren was a southern boy who was really relaxed and easy to chat with and probably the guy I ran with the most. And Andrei was a really interesting guy who, by his own omission, "hates running and just does it to punish himself". You wouldn't know it to look at him as he seemed to be enjoying himself!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_x15SUwhShlubu1cM0lDyqJoVv6glprdAOJwoZG7Ml2pyguOPP7Nc5Qm1DPlujaxFIIovFXGW4SqhBphTXC93doiCSWYm6Ww3a1ko29zO0ylKQrZgkhSo0v2FRBkLxucZFGVclagQ0I/s1600/10505467_10152355453040286_323209880986379399_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_x15SUwhShlubu1cM0lDyqJoVv6glprdAOJwoZG7Ml2pyguOPP7Nc5Qm1DPlujaxFIIovFXGW4SqhBphTXC93doiCSWYm6Ww3a1ko29zO0ylKQrZgkhSo0v2FRBkLxucZFGVclagQ0I/s1600/10505467_10152355453040286_323209880986379399_n.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come to Greece they said. See the beautiful sights they said. Photo CO Lindley Chambers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also found myself chatting with </span><a href="http://www.ultramarathonman.com/web/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Dean Karnazes</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, who is quite a polarising figure in this sport. This is the first time he has run this race despite having Greek heritage and a lot of family out there. It was incredible that seemingly everybody along the route knew him, but as he pointed out it's a double edged sword. He has the fame and money from his self-promotion (which some people seem to hate him for, but it was his writing that first really gave me a taste for this kind of stuff), but because of that there is a lot of pressure on him to perform. I confess that one of my goals was to beat him, and I suspect a lot of people were thinking the same thing. After nearly having our heads taken off by a lorry, I took off and didn't see him again until the end. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-E2LksEWdzZ4mkZlq8wdMFNnKkNOgMSMjWG8aO8vAHI0nTxt7xGMR3dYxl8OnGjDmNlu1GVudGIex9X7KL6jxMw1VNwo77pt1LvMFCl_AzBfSK7LEW3A5vJPfcNK3uOy0Izw61uG168/s1600/15202329308_023003b7bf_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-E2LksEWdzZ4mkZlq8wdMFNnKkNOgMSMjWG8aO8vAHI0nTxt7xGMR3dYxl8OnGjDmNlu1GVudGIex9X7KL6jxMw1VNwo77pt1LvMFCl_AzBfSK7LEW3A5vJPfcNK3uOy0Izw61uG168/s1600/15202329308_023003b7bf_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To be fair, it's kind of like feeling impressed that I overtook my Dad. Photo CO <a href="http://www.advendure.com/" target="_blank">Advendure</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My breakdown of the race was quite simple. There were 3 parts: First it's a 50 mile warm up run to Corinth. This is the least pleasant section where the cutoffs are tight and there's not much to see. Time to bank some fast miles before the heat really kicks in. Second, it's a 50 mile run to the mountain. This is the crux of the race since the cutoffs get easier after this point. If you make the mountain you can pretty much walk the rest of the way. This section was about keeping myself in good shape and staying comfortable. Lastly, it's 50 miles to Sparta. But apart from one or two climbs, it's almost all downhill. Great, free speed!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">No matter what, I wasn't interested in the times. That way lies madness! I think I asked the time once in the whole race. I came into Corinth feeling pretty good and comfortably inside the cutoffs. Just before the checkpoint I overtook Lawrence who wasn't feeling so great and was thinking about dropping. He was well inside the cutoffs so I tried to encourage him to stop for a rest at the aid station, and warned David and Tina, who were waiting at the canal, that Larence was on his way and wasn't feeling it. He pushed on through a few more sections, but ultimately decided to call it a day. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_qc0J6X2JvRrDuU-PQ0LEsWnCCkA7S4rJbmMKiTm3Z-dk9ZJQj7xN84DSSdhNZyi1NNmxTUM43hyphenhyphenlHirUqVx_isvQAlyW4tsccZYLgAgglMJL3pfmonPvYk-jTKWUO1tZosgZYjv2Ts/s1600/15365846226_f96eb5436a_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_qc0J6X2JvRrDuU-PQ0LEsWnCCkA7S4rJbmMKiTm3Z-dk9ZJQj7xN84DSSdhNZyi1NNmxTUM43hyphenhyphenlHirUqVx_isvQAlyW4tsccZYLgAgglMJL3pfmonPvYk-jTKWUO1tZosgZYjv2Ts/s1600/15365846226_f96eb5436a_o.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The canal at Corinth. Photo CO <a href="http://www.advendure.com/" target="_blank">Advendure</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The city of ancient Corinth was fantastic, with revellers at the bars and restaurants cheering us on. I saw a banner of British flags, and surprised the British supporters who hadn't seen one of their own come through yet. After Corinth, route became much more pretty despite the fact that we were still on roads. Many of the roads now were minor tracks through olive and fig groves, and all the time we were surrounded by the incredible Greek mountains. I had no idea that Greece was so hilly. I had a brief moment of insanity (because doing this run in the first place was perfectly sane) and almost veered off to crest one of the peaks, but figured that there would be a mountain to run soon enough. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My entire plan here was to keep myself in good shape, so I was making sure to eat at aid stations, and sorting myself out whenever anything cropped up rather than leaving it and hoping it would go away (hotspots, stones in shoes, bathroom breaks, etc). I never mastered the "pissing on the run into the traffic" technique favoured by one guy I was running behind (ballsy, and I don't just mean the drivers' view), or the "shitting down the back of your leg" technique favoured by another runner (who I very quickly passed and put some distance on). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzoK5z2usx14Dyyn1QD-3iVa6H3C9NHdt4R_G3KC8uk1X3PdbvN8XIdxHn1j68D_81sWNsH8cqriOK-2s5cmWGfSrox_MqsnH56istWHLA0l7Bg0zQxWHSqBFqrnjaS5fUity0-wIJlE/s1600/15388595672_8ff4976341_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzoK5z2usx14Dyyn1QD-3iVa6H3C9NHdt4R_G3KC8uk1X3PdbvN8XIdxHn1j68D_81sWNsH8cqriOK-2s5cmWGfSrox_MqsnH56istWHLA0l7Bg0zQxWHSqBFqrnjaS5fUity0-wIJlE/s1600/15388595672_8ff4976341_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just keep your head down and plough on through kid! Photo CO <a href="http://www.advendure.com/" target="_blank">Advendure</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Running was feeling good. A week before the race I had turned my ankle on a little training run, and was genuinely worried that I was going to have to pull out. Just the day before I had tweaked it in a funny way and </span>suffered a shooting pain in the ankle. This had played heavily on my mind leading up to the race, but I had decided that I was just going to have to give it a go and hope for the best. I was trying not to think about it, and 50 miles into the run it was feeing fine. I had dropped very lucky<span style="font-family: inherit;">. I found that if I got myself up onto my toes, not only did it hurt less but I could run much faster and more comfortably than resorting to the typical "ultra shuffle". </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The only thing feeling crap was my stomach. More specifically I was feeling quite nauseous, and was worried that if I tried to eat too quickly I would vomit and suffer for it. I didn't have as many gels as I originally planned (bloody airport security), so was supplementing what I had with food that just wasn't sitting comfortably. After seeing the Jackson Pollock that Robbie Britton made of the roads last year, I tried to take it steady and walked out of all of the aid stations until I felt comfortable. It felt pretty slow and like I was haemorrhaging places as everybody shot past me, but in hindsight this probably helped to maintain myself during this portion of the race and stay feeling comfortable - we weren't even halfway yet!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As it started to turn a bit more dusky, Sean came flying past. He was absolutely storming and looked happy and strong as he sped away up the hill. My only concern at this stage was to get to Checkpoint 33 for my head torch before it got dark, and I pulled in just as the light disappeared through the trees. Boom! It was still warm, but I put my long sleeved top on underneath my T-shirt anyway to save carrying it. I stuck my headtorch on, turned it on, and... nothing. Erm, what the actual fuck?! These were brand new batteries! I had some spares, but they were at the mountain for halfway through the night. Not good. After a bit of magical battery twisting and the old secret of "smack it until it works", I was back up and running. The guy at the aid station very kindly leant me a small handheld torch in case I ran into issues, but luckily the torch behaved itself for the rest of the night. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A little further down the road I bumped into Rob who was running with Kim Allan from New Zealand. I had spoken with her at the start, and she was aiming to be the first Kiwi ever to finish. She had recently done a 500km run <i>non-stop</i> for a new record (even I think that's nuts), so this should be a walk in the park for her. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The night section went really well. My feet were feeling good, the nausea was subsiding allowing me to get going a bit quicker each time, and I was generally feeling very happy. I had a lot of comments from people at aid stations that I seemed far too jolly. I had taken up singing to myself to keep me entertained (no iPods allowed), and was taking requests from some of the volunteers. I left one checkpoint feeling particularly good, singing "The Womderful Thing About Tiggers" (my song reportoir has changed significantly since Lottie bounced into my life) and bouncing down the road like a loon. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I came into the checkpoint at Lyrkia, and it was like there was a party going on. Runners were everywhere, with cameras and crew milling about taking in the action. I grabbed some soup, and had a chat with Barney and his cameraman. They were filming Mark Woolley and Rob Pinnington, along with Dean Karnazes and Angela Tarzi on their <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-road-to-sparta--3" target="_blank">Road to Sparta</a>. I noticed that the cameraman (I didn't catch his name but he was a lovely chap) was surreptitiously filming me, and before I knew it I was being interviewed. It was going well until the question "what's with the sideburns, is it a Bradley Wiggims thing" came up. That guy has ruined sideburns for me! Ever heard of Elvis? George Best? Goddamn Wolverine?! But I forgave him, and when the cameraman said his leg hurt from crouching I quickly offered up my chair for the poor dear. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQSKBcnfGoXzZ2AChV4Z0p_wp0SyfWwiZ21m81pLNIN8SVWxdNVPBqWZnbhqsGtPb56Gy9jzDRwK7_zSMwfbXW8DBTQZlVYZZy0pXJ_altthiU_76eSC7Of4ldyqG_mEauDLtIGLzm20/s1600/15202101499_2122aa7feb_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQSKBcnfGoXzZ2AChV4Z0p_wp0SyfWwiZ21m81pLNIN8SVWxdNVPBqWZnbhqsGtPb56Gy9jzDRwK7_zSMwfbXW8DBTQZlVYZZy0pXJ_altthiU_76eSC7Of4ldyqG_mEauDLtIGLzm20/s1600/15202101499_2122aa7feb_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clear skies up over the mountain. Photo CO <a href="http://www.advendure.com/" target="_blank">Advendure</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next big stage was the mountain. I arrived at the bottom of the pass with Rob and Andrei, and we walked up the winding road together towards the base camp which would mark two thirds of the race. Most people who have done this race say that if you make it over the mountain, you're pretty much home and dry. Being a short-arse, I couldn't keep up the pace, and dropped back slightly, then decided to stop briefly at the base camp to put a new pair of socks on. My feet were actually feeling okay so I was tempted to leave it (if it ain't broke...), but there was a small hotspot I could feel and there's just something nice about a fresh pair of socks. The guys at the aid station were really helpful, and promised me a beer in Sparta (amazingly they actually delivered the following day!).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The mountain pass is the only non-road section of the course, and is actually quite tricky. I was glad here of my footwear choice. I don't really have road shoes, so had decided to stick to what I know and used my Salomon Sense Mantras. They're not really designed for this much road, but there was enough cushioning to keep things comfortable. But the grip was coming into its own here. I passed Andrei and Bryce on the way up the pass, wanting to get up and off the mountain as quickly as possible. I had been warned it gets very cold up there, and particularly as it hadn't been so hot during the day, but in all honesty I wish I hadn't bothered with the warm top and just stick to my T shirt. Andrei disagreed - he was from Florida and was freezing!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I made it over the top and went straight down, not stopping at the checkpoint. Still very conscious of my ankle, I took it very gingerly down the other side. There are a lot of loose rocks, and it is very easy to slide. The last thing I wanted was to fuck it up now! It's probably genuinely safer to run it, but if something goes wrong then you're boned. Julian Jornet I am not! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I survived and came into another big checkpoint at Nestani and stopped to take stock. They had tubs of roasted potatoes in olive oil and salt that were an absolute godsend, and I wolfed them down along with a coffee (which I never normally drink) to help stave off the impending sleep monsters. As I was getting up to go, Russ and Martin arrived. Martin was chomping at the bit to catch up, and did so a while later. He had first Brit in sight, and shot off like a rocket to catch up with Sean. I honestly thought there was no chance I would ever catch either of them again, but by that point I wasn't particularly bothered. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My gleeful exuberance was starting to dissipate (I certainly couldn't have come up with that sentence), and as morning came the tiredness hit me. I found myself drifting as I ran along the road, and if I slowed down at all I simply fell asleep on my feet. Fine on backwood roads at 6 am, but not so great if we ended up back on a highway again. I came into the next checkpoint and said I needed a quick nap, so passed out for 10 minute. When the volunteer woke me up, I felt fantastic. It's amazing the difference such a tiny nap can make! As far as I was concerned there was nothing in my way now. It was about 40 miles to Sparta, and almost all flat or downhill. I headed off and picked up the pace. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The finish was in sight now, but there was still a long way to go. With the start of a new day came a real rejuvenation of purpose. That finish line was in my grasp and I knew that one way or another I was going to kiss that foot. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final part of the race was fantastic. I solved my nausea problems using a tried and tested method of not eating any more food. I still had gels, and this was enough to see me through. I felt better. I felt great! I ran. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With only a few exceptions, I ran the entire final 30 miles. I ran the long drawn out highway, around precariously placed blind bends with the sun beating down in my eyes, overtaking David, Bryce, Andrei and Kim in the process. I caught Martin climbing up a long straight road, struggling with the heat having pushed too hard to catch Sean. I caught Sean pushing up a long hill in the baking heat, and whilst I originally suggested we run in to the finish together he could see that I was feeling good and told me to push on. I just wanted to get there now as quickly as possible, and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was flying. The highway ahead of me was an open road to the finish. And now not only was I going to finish, but I was going to finish stronger than I had thought possible only a few hours before. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The route into Sparta is long and winding, with the city visible off in the distance down below via a curving downhill road. With about 15 Km to go, the end was well and truly in sight, but I was definitely feeling ready to wrap things up. Well, there's only one way to do that - run faster! I pushed on downhill, stopping only very briefly at each of the checkpoints to get a little water. Despite the heat, I intentionally wasn't drinking too much, being sure to only drink to my thirst and using the water to cool my head down instead. I was quickly eating up the distance, and taking back many of the places which I had lost earlier in the race.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The road wound incessantly down through small villages and hills, until finally signs of civilisation appeared. As I headed into Sparta itself, I was looking out for the final checkpoint which crept up after passing over the River Evrotas. "What happens now", I asked. Two young boys on bicycles were ready to escort me through the town centre towards the final destination. The sign said 0.8 Km to go, but I was reliably informed by the boys that it was easily over 2 Km. I prefer the ugly truth to the beautiful lie, so was pleased that I knew that there was still a little way to go. But not far. Not far at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The final approach to the finish is probably one of the most incredible experiences of my life. As we ran through the city, the support was amazing, with almost every single person that I saw cheering me on my way. With a beaming smile on my face, I waved my thanks to everybody that shouted and cheered as I passed. The residents of Sparta make every athlete that passes through their city feel like a hero. I chatted briefly to the young boys about how they felt about the race, and it seems as if it is a huge experience for them to be a part of it. After seemingly turning right a few too many times and going full circle, we came out onto a long concourse with world flags lining the street. "Up there is your finish", said the older of the two boys. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was it. Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more. I picked up my feet for one final push to the finish. I usually like to finish strong with a sprint finish, and today was going to be no different. I could not see the statue yet, but I picked up the pace. Ahead I could see the Brits in the road cheering me on. It was a shame to see some of the guys there who had set out the previous day with me as it meant that their journey's had prematurely come to an end, but the support and enthusiasm that they showed me was incredible despite their own misfortunes. I tossed my bottle to the side as I prepared for the final push. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgs9Hg_XJUFfIc69RAwJYP9kgNYv3RTt5Y2kT2VUHXzAJ4pEerl4cuk20pG6MpEhblFwSoiL2idDwVs2-aOB3vBYYjVzGzpvU3zUqS3GEKPy_LvmISjVvw3HFpI35OaTccqdVNvzKm_q8/s1600/10671421_10152357244400286_7540880733079523392_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgs9Hg_XJUFfIc69RAwJYP9kgNYv3RTt5Y2kT2VUHXzAJ4pEerl4cuk20pG6MpEhblFwSoiL2idDwVs2-aOB3vBYYjVzGzpvU3zUqS3GEKPy_LvmISjVvw3HFpI35OaTccqdVNvzKm_q8/s1600/10671421_10152357244400286_7540880733079523392_n.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's not as tall as I expected... Photo CO Lindley Chambers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I set off, a group of kids on bikes joined me. Then I noticed a small boy pulling up next to me, running along with a big smile on his face. "I'll race ya!" I shouted. He gave me a funny look, so I picked up the pace. He matched it, so I picked it up some more. Then I launched into a full on sprint, feeling like I was approaching the end of a local Parkrun. I was elated and as I sprinted I was shouting at the other kids to come and join the race. Like some kind of hairy, sweaty Pied Piper of Hamelin, I ran with a train of kids trailing behind. It was an incredible experience, especially as I was somehow able to muster the strength to hold them all at bay. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Suddenly, there was the statue. King Leonidas of Sparta standing tall and gazing out at the attacking forces that dare to defy him. The engraving on the plinth reads <i>Molon Labe</i> - "come and get it". And so I did, with gusto. I ran and took the steps in a single bound, threw my arms up into the air in celebration and slowed to approach the base of the statue. I reached the foot, took it in my hands, closed my eyes, and kissed it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Spartathlon 2014 finished in 32:04:48 for 51st place, and first British finisher.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfTqxJghEqbTIU2e-MPTbyq0tX8Ux70IkX6z_mUEBppQLFvTWRzJKu1r8N9ok6g0G8Z7Pe4DbgCJLCWoIRHvg1AsuT8ccXzAse2JCpqYABtRrUr3xfhfqNe8ah-ysCNIhIpi_a6ev5AY/s1600/10645074_10152357244200286_7466987401124102103_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYfTqxJghEqbTIU2e-MPTbyq0tX8Ux70IkX6z_mUEBppQLFvTWRzJKu1r8N9ok6g0G8Z7Pe4DbgCJLCWoIRHvg1AsuT8ccXzAse2JCpqYABtRrUr3xfhfqNe8ah-ysCNIhIpi_a6ev5AY/s1600/10645074_10152357244200286_7466987401124102103_n.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm. Cheesy. Photo CO Lindley Chambers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The ceremony at the finish is really quite something. After kissing the foot, I was handed a ceremonial bowl full of water from the River Evrotas. After taking a sip, an olive wreath was placed on my head and one of the most impressive medals I have ever seen was presented to me. Ordinarily I am not overly fussed by medals, but I have to say that this is one that I will definitely display with pride. Also, the kids from the local schools were all involved in the race, with each one given a different runner to prepare a personalised drawing and handmade clay pot for. The little boy who had my number handed me his presents and joined me for some photos, although he looked pretty terrified. It was probably the smell...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhEyWkRBizcDm7p0iAekhE3IhOKI2-F6888hyphenhyphenK0NiOvEdNh8hmxLL3vpbFeFxW7qgF4L9XlvoTTDH8R9dUilGoObtCoIdWIDnGwtVQseRUX6W7yrYqWU3Ua5_OEqjpAnMNuHayoQ-yb4/s1600/STE_9176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhEyWkRBizcDm7p0iAekhE3IhOKI2-F6888hyphenhyphenK0NiOvEdNh8hmxLL3vpbFeFxW7qgF4L9XlvoTTDH8R9dUilGoObtCoIdWIDnGwtVQseRUX6W7yrYqWU3Ua5_OEqjpAnMNuHayoQ-yb4/s1600/STE_9176.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you imagine doing this from the River Thames?! Official Spartathlon photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Afterwards I was led away (literally - they wouldn't let me walk on my own even though I felt great) to the first aid tent where my feet were checked (one small blister between my toes, but otherwise surprisingly fine) and I was given a beer and a massage. Lovely! Unfortunately after this I ran into my only dodgy moment of the whole weekend. I was told that I would be taken by taxi to a hotel around the corner, where I could shower before joining my friends to cheer in the other finishers. Unfortunately what actually happened was that I was chucked out 2 minutes down the road and told to get on a coach. With no further information I did as I was told, anxious to get out of my sweaty clothes and get back for a well-deserved beer. Through various problems with communication, I ended up stuck on the coach not moving anywhere for over 2 hours, before I decided to just sod it and go and join everybody as I was. Thanks to Russell's kind use of his nearby hotel room (when he finally found it), I was able to at least clean up a bit, although I ended up stuck in a pair of his running shorts, my finisher's t-shirt, and the shoes that I had just run 153 miles in for the next 2 days. Pleasant</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1xQSjvbKZXe6CaJs2gfwbBicevEiD-VCjav8W6tIyF1jvTZttBrd0uicLOc2QDDm1mPHW2Vg5FCr5wEb0zgAnBKHceLkDnKmw7pN__1Cz1fgfPkUI5_BhtUCtQrXX409BzHA0JR9K-E/s1600/STE_9177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1xQSjvbKZXe6CaJs2gfwbBicevEiD-VCjav8W6tIyF1jvTZttBrd0uicLOc2QDDm1mPHW2Vg5FCr5wEb0zgAnBKHceLkDnKmw7pN__1Cz1fgfPkUI5_BhtUCtQrXX409BzHA0JR9K-E/s1600/STE_9177.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't envy this dude his job! Official Spartathlon photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was really crappy planning on their part and was in fact quite dangerous. Shoving knackered sweaty runners who are about to have an adrenaline crash onto a boiling hot bus for several hours is a really bad idea, and in fact one poor guy had to be taken away by an ambulance. I never saw what happened to him, but hope he was okay. For next year, I recommend them addressing this.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe8CahN7-oMyyqWRkm9zAFqAnO4Kbr6x_jJaled3nR5dr4NhOa7CHmiJLLutBcIpmGtdn9ATa00QbBamZeyixRMKyJzM7ob7tOvcLl2fszFKs4SM8SmPYbZfl3Uxy3yc-_Bpj3eYqdDM/s1600/STE_9180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe8CahN7-oMyyqWRkm9zAFqAnO4Kbr6x_jJaled3nR5dr4NhOa7CHmiJLLutBcIpmGtdn9ATa00QbBamZeyixRMKyJzM7ob7tOvcLl2fszFKs4SM8SmPYbZfl3Uxy3yc-_Bpj3eYqdDM/s1600/STE_9180.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Daddy! Daddy! He smells really bad!" Official Spartathlon photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, this really is my only gripe. The rest of the event is outstanding, and this event is absolutely the best value ultra that I have ever taken part in. You could enter every year for a cheap week's holiday, drop out at the first aid station, and still be happy with the value of your week away in Greece. The next few days consisted of eating, drinking and generally being merry, and I was sad to leave early Monday morning to head home (not least because it was basically 2:30 am, and I was going to miss the prize-giving ceremony). But I was anxious to get home to see my wife and little girl, and when I finally made it home to Cambridge and picked Lottie up from nursery, it was a fantastic ending to an amazing experience. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYzngmtq5PhpBjU_a1_NeWWzB5Vq3ifJv9UVTSNTK9MaMsT_-BMTYmHXC_0b3BMn8b_f107Dchn-Zaq8EmekRzUt-9Illj2O_864tpfWpbQsaQmRxXoRPpfH0Z45jY10eYde_P19I9rc/s1600/IMG_5718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYzngmtq5PhpBjU_a1_NeWWzB5Vq3ifJv9UVTSNTK9MaMsT_-BMTYmHXC_0b3BMn8b_f107Dchn-Zaq8EmekRzUt-9Illj2O_864tpfWpbQsaQmRxXoRPpfH0Z45jY10eYde_P19I9rc/s1600/IMG_5718.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lottie was so excited listening to daddy's stories.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then it was back to normal. The next day I was back to work, and with seemingly no obvious issues from the weekend's exertions. I even managed to do my usual cycle ride without any issues, and my ankle actually feels better now than it did the day before the race. Weird. I'm sure that there is a lot of damage done though, so I am being </span>sensible<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and won't be running for a few days to be on the safe side. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX50dx4KwitAsO_CiP-qEM07dOKaXxkb0LDJAr6-SFenrwOHhxiRkXFkThm9lHmhr0g95Y9S-4b3-msWj1Lc5c1BuIEdlDNJK8CeP5X8gF2kGGo43hzOWlAmTsUjSNFxzB1N4yid-Osb8/s1600/IMG_5732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX50dx4KwitAsO_CiP-qEM07dOKaXxkb0LDJAr6-SFenrwOHhxiRkXFkThm9lHmhr0g95Y9S-4b3-msWj1Lc5c1BuIEdlDNJK8CeP5X8gF2kGGo43hzOWlAmTsUjSNFxzB1N4yid-Osb8/s1600/IMG_5732.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heck of a chunk of metal. Almost took my bag over its weight limit on the flight home!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all I was really pleased with my performance. It wasn't a super fast time overall, but the way I ran in the final 30 miles of the race makes me confident that I can improve on that if I ever go back. I could probably shave over half an hour off just by not being so tentative on the mountain descent (although the flip side to that is that if anything went wrong it would end things there and then), and if I wasn't having to walk out of every checkpoint (a couple of minutes lost at all of those checkpoints really adds up) that would also shave time off. But then again, I might not have been able to maintain things. I might have felt more knackered later in the race. It's difficult to say. It's all very well wondering what could have been, but the important part in this, my first attempt, was to finish. Everything else (beating Dean Karnazes, coming top Brit, etc.) was all just icing on the tasty, tasty cake.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was great to be part of the GB team, and I had a fantastic time with the boys and girls out there. Congratulations to Martin, Sean and Sammy who all finished, but it was a real shame that everybody didn't get a chance to experience the finish firsthand. Talking to everybody about whether they will be back in the future, the fire already seems to be burning in a lot of them so I have no doubt that they will do it if they return. Every single person there has the running skills to complete the race, and next time they will kiss that foot!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So now I guess the question is; what next? Will I return to Greece? Honestly I don't know, so I'll have to have a think about that. I suspect if I turn up again to do better, I will crash and burn. But hey, that's the game right! For now I will be chilling out, putting my feet up, and enjoying some time with my girls. Ah, bliss!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSxcnHxHFs4En-izKas_G1dF14Xw6ncXSg8AFBe6hnLoHwUTAxUS6yIgi9et8RTvtMPd6UGQuQgEYqx0zgcKgnZ_PZ1P5PqVVDjucNiDZ4lDNuszL00-t54hS6QR-lkIXsxiFb1mBcTY/s1600/IMG_5712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSxcnHxHFs4En-izKas_G1dF14Xw6ncXSg8AFBe6hnLoHwUTAxUS6yIgi9et8RTvtMPd6UGQuQgEYqx0zgcKgnZ_PZ1P5PqVVDjucNiDZ4lDNuszL00-t54hS6QR-lkIXsxiFb1mBcTY/s1600/IMG_5712.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ha ha ha!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6370694228518207700.post-9032140692257189762014-09-18T19:39:00.000+01:002014-09-18T19:40:01.078+01:00The road is long<div style="text-align: justify;">
This time in a week I will be in Greece preparing to run one of the most iconic ultra races in the world - <a href="http://www.spartathlon.gr/" target="_blank">The Spartathlon</a>. As we all know (hashtag sarcasm), the Greek messenger Pheidippides ran 26.2 miles, told everybody in Athens that the Greek's had won the battle of Marathon, then dropped down dead (hence how we know that 26.2 miles is the precise limit of human endurance). However, other historical accounts have him running a little further than this - about 500 Km from Athens to Sparta and back again. The Spartathlon aims to recreate this epic journey (well, half of it at least - only crazy people like <a href="http://marvellousmimi.com/v2/" target="_blank">Mimi Anderson</a> would think of heading back again) by following the route as closely as possible. Runners therefore have to head from the Acropolis in Athens to the statue of King Leonidas (AKA Gerard Butler) in Sparta about 153 miles away.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After my run at the <a href="http://www.gucr.co.uk/" target="_blank">Grand Union Canal Race</a> a few months ago, I was starting to get a little worried that I wouldn't even make the start line. I developed some issues with my foot that didn't seem to be responding to physio. My worry was that there could be something like a stress fracture underlying everything, but after 2 months of no improvement, a last minute post-work trip to Profeet proved to be very fruitful (except for the bit where my bike got nicked, but that's a story for another time). After a bit of jiggery-pokery, my fears were assuaged and they were pretty confident that with a bit more rehab I would be good to go. True to their word, after another week of strength exercises, I felt I could run again and have been steadily building back up over the past few weeks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm feeling really good right now - back on track with both my speed and endurance (cycling a lot during the down-time from running helped me to keep a lot of my base fitness), and I can finally start looking forward to the race now. When there was a worry that I wouldn't make it out there I didn't want to think too much about it, but now I am getting incredibly excited. Flights are booked, kit is sorted, and I have been reading plenty of blog posts to get advanced warning about what to expect (although generally I prefer to go in blind - I'm not much of a planner with these things).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As with the GUCR, I'm not going to think too much about planning my race. I'm just going to run at a comfortable pace for as long as I can and see where that gets me. One of the toughest parts of this race is the cutoffs, with runners constantly running against the clock as the "Death Bus" approaches relentlessly from behind. I would like to believe that I won't have to think too much about this aspect of the race as I should be well inside the cutoffs at the pace I am hoping for. All being well, I am hoping for a good 30ish hour finish time, similar to my aims at the GUCR. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I'll just play it by ear on the day. The heat will be a very big factor with how well this goes, along with that whole "mountain" thing in the middle... But I am feeling fitter at the moment than I did before GUCR, and have had some really good runs recently which have really bolstered my confidence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In fact, except for the fact that I almost broke my ankle the other day by being a complete spanner (nothing impressive like falling down a mountain, I just tripped on a perfectly flat paved path), I would have been feeling great. Goddamn it - it was going so well! I was planning on using these last couple of weeks to get some last few solid runs in, including really working on my speed again. Whilst this probably won't help in the Spartathlon, using speed work as a way to stress your muscles so that they get stronger is a very important part of getting better. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a typical week, I will do a functional speed session on Tuesday consisting of an 8 mile run in the morning at about 80-90% of my 10K pace (essentially trying to get into work from the Park & Ride as fast as I can, trying to beat my previous week's effort), followed by a Fartlek style interval session on the way back in the evening. On Thursday I run about 16.5 miles into work in the morning, again trying to beat the previous week. Then one or two longer runs at the weekend, usually running on feel rather than aiming for any specific pace, but really trying to keep up the effort. These are my more fun runs, and I usually use them to go off exploring. I fill out the rest of the week with cycling to and from work, using the gym, and I occasionally throw in a hill session with my tyre-pull on a Wednesday if I can be bothered. This tends to keep me pretty prepared for any distance, and I like to mix up my racing a bit. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had originally planned to do a long run on Saturday, followed by the local <a href="http://bourntorun.com/" target="_blank">Bourn To Run 10K</a> on Sunday, but twisting my ankle about half an hour into my Thursday run to work put that out of the window. Luckily I seem to have come off okay; it is a little sore to the touch but there does not seem to be any issue walking, cycling or running on it. By the Sunday the swelling had gone down, so I went along to the race to test it out and managed a pretty good result with (more importantly) no negative consequences. But the important thing now is to make sure that it is as good as new for Sparta, so I will just concentrate on cycling for the next week to be on the safe side. Realistically losing a week of running won't affect me that much, and if I'm not ready now then another week won't change that!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Going into the race I'm feeling pretty confident. I have had experience of running in the heat at <a href="http://constantforwardmotion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/transvulcania-2013-race-report.html" target="_blank">Transvulcania</a> and managed without too many issues. I have my kit sorted, aiming to be as unencumbered as possible throughout the race so I can just concentrate on running. And I know from the GUCR that I can do the distance, even when things don't quite go to plan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For me, this whole race is all about the finish. The experience of running up to kiss the foot of the statue of Gerard Butler, having the laurel wreath placed on my head, and drinking from the waters of the Evrotas River will probably be a once in a lifetime experience for me. One way or another, I <i>will</i> kiss that foot. So assuming that nothing unexpected happens (and that I have not done something to my ankle) I think that we're all good. Bring it on!</div>
Sam Robsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14568965712756700275noreply@blogger.com0