Finally got the medal

Posted on August 4, 2012 by admin

There can be no worse feeling that having to drop out of a race before the end, especially when you’ve put in the training, recced the route and thoroughly tested your gear before hand. But that is exactly happened in last years Lakeland 100. Officially I was a DNF (did not finish) dropping out at Buttermere. Unofficially I managed to rejoin the race at the half way point and successfully completed the full Lakeland 50 in just under 17 hours. (There were special circumstances to my missing the cut off time and I rejoined the race with the organisers consent)

That 50 was one of the hardest races I’d ever completed. By the time I crossed the finish line I hadn’t slept in 42 hours, I’d ran a total of around 80 hilly miles on one of the hottest days of the year, my feet were blistered and I could barely take another step. Frankly I’m not sure if I would have finished at all if it had not been for the support of my brother to get me to the start and Grant Hamilton, with whom I ran with most of the course, but finish I did.

Lakeland 50 Finishers medal

Unfortunately while I may have ran the toughest 50 miles of my life, I had ran it unofficially. My time was not recorded and I did not get a finishers medal at the end of it. Of course i’d known right the start that there would be no medal at the end but none the less it still felt almost as bad as getting the DNF to watch the people i’d ran with all getting their medals while I sat outside the finishers area.

It was completely irrational to feel that way, I was really grateful that the organisers had permitted me to run the 50 at all and I’ve never been bothered about medals or certificates, I have draws full of those at home that I barely look at. But I still must have looked pretty miserable as I hobbled back to the car, mumbling about getting a damn medal next year.

Following my DNF I’ve went on to complete the 100k Northumberland Ultra and the 70 mile Race Race Wall, but I somehow hadn’t been able to muster the same enthusiasm for the this years LAKELAND as I had for last. I only made it over to the Lakes once for a training run, almost all of my training had been on the roads, with practically no hills at all, in fact I’d hardly thought about the race. It was as if something somewhere inside of me was stopping me from taking it seriously this year. Was I was preparing to fail, again?

All of that changed on the morning of the race. I was up at 3am, checking the overnight progress of the 100 milers as I ate breakfast my breakfast, then I was off driving through the dawn to Coniston, on arrival at the car park I wasted no time heading straight for registration, weighing in and going through kit checks. It suddenly seemed all to real… The magic was back. The adrenaline rush of the ultra, of facing the unknown, of pushing your body to its limits and trusting that you’d come through the other side.

I found Ian Young and David Best of Black Hill Bounders sitting outside their tent with the kettle boiling and sausages already in the frying pan. They’ve been running well all year and while I was going to start with them I wasn’t sure how I’d keep up. I joined them for a cup of tea and a last minute discussion on kit selection before we joined the others for the pre race briefing and boarder the busses to Dalemain.

Lakeland 50 start david coxon ian young

Unlike last year we set of at a much more sustainable rate and thankfully it was a little cooler this year which was making it easier going. My the time we’d reached Mardale Head I could feel myself falling behind, but once we reached the checkpoint and I got a bowl off soup and a couple of cups of flat cola inside me i was feeling back on form and the three of us managed to stay together pretty much the rest of the way around.

The Lakeland is regarded as one of the toughest Ultras in the UK and its for very good reason.The course really put you and your kit to the test, with a wide variety of terrain, your forced to constantly change tempo, from speed walking grassy hills, to rapidly descending rocky trails or pushing along pacey sections of road.

Possibly the one thing more varied than the terrain are the checkpoints going from a collection of tables in a farm in Howtown, to army style tents in Mardale Head car park, I’d go as far as saying Kentmere is infamous as checkpoints go with smoothies a mobile disco and even massage table, Ambleside is also a welcome site often with crouds of supporters at to an outdoor store and who could forget Chapel Style with its warm stew and open fire or the patio chairs at Tiberthwaite before that big final push. Each one a mile stone along the route, each one with its own character and charm, each one a part of what makes the Lakeland unique. [side note - Kentmere was a particular high point for me, as I not only got to have a much needed strawberry smoothie but I also got to catch up with Jo Allen of team Montane. - Jo and I used to work together].

Lakeland 50 finish Ian young david best david coxon

We finished in just under 13 hours and I finally got to picked up a finishers medal. I’d completed the course almost 4 hours faster than last year. While the medal will probably end up in the draw with all the others, I will wear my Lakeland 50 t-shirt with pride. The tech t-shirts from Sponsors Montane are amongst my favourite t-shirts and this year we even got a choice of colour. I went with red.

Montane Lakeland 50 t-shirt

With a drop out rate of around 60% again this year on the 100, I guess I’ll not be the only one that has to come back a second year to pick up their medal.

If the truth be know, while I might say that I came back to finally get a finishers medal, the reality is I put myself through it again not because I missed out on a medal last year, but because at heart I’m an ultra runner and the Lakeland 50 and 100 are amongst the finest ultra races in the world, so why wouldn’t I do it again, and again and again…and who knows one of these day I might have another go at the hundred.

Posted in motivation, planning, racing, training, ultra | 6 Comments

Testing the waterproofs

Posted on July 25, 2012 by admin
My Montane Lakeland 100 t-shirt is probably my favourite top. In fact I  like it so much I recently went out and bought another just like it (without the Lakeland logo of course). They are a great fit, they feel substantial enough for the winter and yet are cool enough for running in summer. What’s that got to do with waterproofs I hear you asking, well while I was buying the t-shirt I couldn’t resist picking up a Montane Atomic Jacket.
The week after making this purchase we were hit by some of the worst storms we’d had in decades, with widespread flooding across the region. What better opportunity to but my new jacket to the test. Heading over to the Lakes the roads started to look like rivers, the drains unable to clear the driving rain as quickly as it was falling. As I parked at Pooley Bridge I watched a group of walkers from the car in front make their way over the road and onto the fells, my the time i’d changed into my fell shoes and checked my bag, they were crossing back over the road having decided it was too wet for walking. I ran the 10 miles to just short of Mardale Head via Howtown and then back again. The rain stopped for a while as I made my way up from Howtown to the Roman Road, but by that time like my fell shoes my base layer was pretty wet.

Unsure as to whether it was the weather or simply sweat that had caused this dampness I contacted Montane via there facebook page to ask ‘how waterproof a water proof should be’. Montane’s customer service was quite excellent. They posted a response almost immediately offering to test the jacket for me. I replied saying that I was actually more interested in finding out about the tech specs than returning the jacket. The response was a fantastic post detailing water resistance and breathability across their jacket range.
Basically there are 4 things to look out for when buying a running water proof.

  • Weight
  • Size
  • Hydrostatic Head
  • Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate (MVTR).
Obviously weight makes a difference as you have to carry it, as does size, you need to get in in your pack (when your not running in it).

Hydrostatic Head is basically how high a column of water you need before droplets of water start to seep through a sample of the fabric stretch across the bottom of a tube of 1 inch diameter left for 24 hours. The problem with this measures is it does not take into account factors like wind driving rain through the fabric, or the fabric rubbing against wet vegitation, your arms or pack. As a minimum european waterproofs have to have a Hydrostatic Head of 1500mm to resist light showers, but as activities just as kneeling can add up to 8000mm. So for use in active sports a fabric would have to be able to withstand at least 10,000mm to resist heavy rain and driving wind.

[The Atomic has 10,000mm while the Minimus 20,000 and Classic GoreTex 28,000mm]

Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate is a measure of a fabrics breathability, or the amount of water vapour the fabric will allow out in 24 hours. The average person will produce between 0.5 and 1L of sweat during 30 minutes of moderate to heavy exercise, depending on a number of factors like how hot it is, whether there’s a breeze, how many layers the person is wearing, how fit they are etc. If you multiply this by 48 you get to between 24 and 48L which is the sort of Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate that would be needed to keep dry under these condition. The Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate therefore as important if not more so than the Hydrostatic Head. After all there’s not much use in stopping water getting in, if your already wet on the inside.

[The Atomic has a MVTR of 8000g, the Minimus 20,000g]

So it was probably the Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate of the Atomic at 8000g that caused me to get wet on my run and not the Hydrostatic Head at 10,000mm. It would seem that I may have been better of spending a little more and buying something like the Air at 20,000mm and 21,000g which is better suited to the requirements of running in these more extreme conditions.

Looking back I could have done a couple of things to ensure I stayed drier longer. Firstly I could have taken a base layer off when I put the water proof on. I was warm enough running without the jacket, so adding an additional layer just made me sweat more. I could have also tried to reduced the amount of pressure on the fabric by not brushing past vegetation as I ran or adjusting my back pack so the straps didn’t flap against the jacket.
rain illustration
Even by English summer standards we’ve seen some pretty extreme weather this year, which has been wet enough to put any waterproofs to the test…So if you like running in the rain but not necessarily getting soaked to the skin, then my advice would be…go for the highest MVTR rating you can afford when buying your next running waterproof .
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The art of running

Posted on July 21, 2012 by admin

After last years Lakeland 100, I received an email from my Himalayan 100 room mate Paul Stoneley, saying I was in the Trail Running Magazine race photo. I’d just out missed out on being able to buy a copy as it was now last months issue and no longer available, so Paul sent me his copy when he’d finished with it. I was in the far background, the tiniest of dots really. I barely noticed myself, even when i’d been told I was in the photo. When I asked Paul how on earth he’d spotted me, his response was that he recognised by Baseball cap and running style.

To be honest I hadn’t really thought of myself as having a running style, much less one that was recognisable from a tiny dot on a photo in a magazine. I didn’t  think any more of the photo or the comment until last week when I was asked to do some drawings of runners for an art project in a couple of weeks time. The project was a printing project being ran by Northern Print,  at Sage the Music Venue next door the the Gallery I work at. They were looking for solid black and white images of runners that they could print.

Over the years I’ve collected plenty of photos of myself running  in various races and events i’d taken part in, so it was an easy enough task to take a few shots into photoshop to crop myself out and paint my profile into solid black. After completing a few images, I got the idea to copy and paste a few profiles together to create a sort of group shot of 4 or 5  me’s running together.

They say a picture says a thousand word and this one certainly was no exception. Seeing myself as a  black and white outline really highlighted just how high I hold my arms, how far my elbows stick out, how far my legs cross over and how much I tilt my head as I run.

It’s funny whenever I see another run I instantly analyse their technique, thinking that they need to extend their stride, push their knees out more, lean a little further forward, hold their arms lower or fasten their pack tighter. It turns out I should have been taking a closer look at my own style.

The bridges festival will be taking place in a couple of weeks and i’m looking forward to seeing what they’ll do with my drawings. The image above of course will not be one of those produces as some shades of grey and some blurring to the shadows for this blog post.

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Hitting ‘the Wall’

Posted on July 18, 2012 by admin

This year saw the inaugural running  of  ’The Wall”, a 24 hour, 69 mile race from Carlisle to the Millenium Bridge. Billed by organiser Urban Rat as “the UK’s most scenic ultra” it was always going to be a tempting race, even with the £150 price tag. The fact that it was being ran over my birthday weekend and that the course came within 1/2 a mile of my house finally tip the scales in its favour and I signed up, way back in October just after completing the Northumbrian Ultra.

Back then I had no idea that running wise it was going to be a pretty poor winter. Having strained by hamstrings yet again during the Northumbrian Ultra, I look it easy for a few months to allow them a full recovery, then we were into Christmas, then there was flew and a succession of colds after which things went a bit mad at work with the resignation of a colleague. Before I knew it, it was mid march and my monthly milages were barely into double figures. With 10 weeks to go I was barely scraping round a 1/2 marathon. I would love to say that I put everything into training for the next six weeks but I simply didn’t have the time or energy. A couple of weeks before ‘the wall’ I’d invested in a new pair of trainers, which while feeling great to begin with, suddenly started giving me calf problems with a week to go. I did the only thing I could at that point, booked myself in for some sports massage and crossed my fingers. At this point I was thinking that it couldn’t get much worse, but then came the rain.

The rain seemed relentless we drove west. The Tyne was higher than i’d seen it and it had burst its banks in a couple of places as we passed flooded field after field. When we eventually arrived at Carlisle the car park looked different to the way it had looked the day before, when we came over to register, we soon realised that was because 1/2 of the car park was underwater, with water still rushing in from the nearby railway track which itself was under 4 feet of water by this stage. Barely having got out of the car we realised that the whole car park could soon be under water and headed for higher ground. I driver abandoning their car altogether when it got stuck. Unsurprisingly the start was delayed to give runners a chance to get to the start with the weather.

carlisle flood

As the race got underway the rain began to ease off. Of course the ground was still water logged, so it was wet feet from the off, but it didn’t seem to dampen anyones spirits. There was plenty of banter between runners as people swopped stories about previous races and theirs plans for the next ones.

The initial pace was deceptively fast on the relatively flat roads around Carlisle. Without really intending to I completed the first 13 miles in not much less that my great north run pace. I still had 56 mile to go.

Despite having had reservations as to whether my calfs would be up to running at all right up until the day before, I was feeling pretty good. My only problem was that my hamstrings felt a little tight, I was having to hold back a little on the descents, but other than that all was good.

As alway I found myself running with the same group of people some passing each other on the various up or downs depending on our individual strengths, and chatting along the way. Its amazing how much you get to know people over 70 miles and company makes the miles pass quickly.

While they called it ‘the wall’ not much of the course is actual along the roman wall itself with much of it on the roads. Wall or no Wall the scenery along the route is stunning, and although i’ve lived in Northumberland most of my life the route took me to a couple of places i’d never seen before.

the wall

This was my 3rd or 4th ultra, and by by comparison to races like the Lakeland 100 or the Northumbrian 100k Ultra, there had been very little information about the exact route or what sort of food was going to be available at the feed stations and checkpoints along the way. I was’t quite sure what to expect. In the end I was pleasantly surprised by how often the checkpoints and feed stations came up and how well the route was marshalled.

I’d left a drop bag at the half way stage and was glad of a change of shirt and to restock on gels after 35 miles. I didn’t really want to hang around too long, so passing on the offer of soup I headed straight out again and began climbing the steepest incline of the day. During the long section along the road towards fourstones the field had spread out a little and I found myself running on my own for the first time all day.  That didn’t last long though as the route soon took a turn off the road and onto a section of trail for a miles or two, at which point I caught up with the guy in front of me. We ran the next few miles together.

Before I knew it we’d reached Hexham, where I’d arranged to see my wife. I arrive shortly before she did. The sun had just come out and I sat and changed into dry socks for the first time in 40 miles. Its amazing what dry socks, an iced coffee and a few minutes with your loved ones can do to re-motivate you.

The next 26 miles would take me past our house and along the track I regularly run to work. In theory it should have been a piece of cake, but without having put in as much training as I should have it was going to be pretty slow going. Luckily my brother, his wife and their 2 kids came along to meet me along the next section, which was lifted by spirits and pushed me along the final few miles around the river to the final check point.

The last 6 miles seemed to take forever, by this time my legs were stiffening up and I could hardly move them past my centre line. I was having to take twice and many steps and not getting anywhere fast. Overall I’d made good time upuntil then and it wasn’t yet getting dark as I made it to the quayside and had the finish line in site.

My wife had arrived just in time to see my come over the finish line in 14 hours and 12 minutes. Collecting my t-shirt I sat down on the steps with Lucinda to catch my breath as we watch a few people coming in behind me, before I finally headed off for a long awaited shower.

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Running books

Posted on July 15, 2012 by admin

I’ve always saw myself as the kind of person that went out and did stuff rather than the reading about it or watched it on TV.  I rarely even read papers let alone the sports sections. So I think I was as surprised as anyone when I looked back and realised just how many running books i’d managed to read. The majority of these books have been received as gifts and possibly would never have been the ind of book I would have bought for myself, but in their own way most have affected my running.

Looking back on it, it wasn’t until I was inspired by ‘born to run’ that I truly believed that I could take on my first big Ultra. So its maybe about time that I wrote a few words of my own about these inspirational books that have entertained and motivated me to run to new levels.

running books

Feet in the clouds – A tale of fell running and obsession, Richard Askwith.

This is Richard Askwith’s first book, but right from the first page, his passion for the sport, his abilities as a writer and a his jounalistic research skills are very obvious.

The book alternates between the compelling stories of the autor’s attempts to run the notorious Bob Graham round in under 24 hours, the history of english fell running.

One of the things that inspired me most about this book was that the author, while managing to achieve his goal of running the Bob graham, was a very ordinary middle of the pack runner, he hadn’t won any medals or set any records.

Shortly after finishing the book I started fell running, one of my first races was Borrowdale amongst the greatest Lakeland fell runs and where I met the legendary Joss Naylor for the first time, it was almost as if the book was coming to life.

Born to Run - The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the greatest race the world has ever seen , Christopher McDougall.

This is has to be one of the most popular running books ever written, paced more like a action adventure novel than a running book it tells an amazing tail of finding Caballo blanco and running against the Tarahumana.

Like ‘Feet in the clouds’, ‘Born to run’ alternates between the main story and background information on the greatest ultra runs and runners telling each as its own small tale, but ‘born to run’ also tells another story the story of how we evolved to be the ultimate running machines.

A very strange thing happened as I read ‘born to run’ without thinking about it my running style changed very sightly, the length of my stride extended, my arms droppen a little and my times gradually it wasn’t something i’d consiously set out to do just little things i’d picked up while reading the book.

Like ‘Feet in the clouds’ before it ‘Born to run’ again inspired me to push my running to the next level, moving from marathons and fell running on to Ultra, completing the Lakeland 50, Northumbrian 100k and the Wall 70 mile races.

Barefoot Runner – the life of Marathon champion Abebe Bikila , Paul Rambali.

Part sports biography, part political thriller, the ‘Barefoot Runner’ tells the story of Abebe Bikila, the first African to win an Olympic gold medal and his swedish coach Omni Niskanen.

Unlike many of the other running books, ‘Barefoot runner’ is not trying to become some sort of running bible, nor is it told by the author himself (Abebe having died some years ago).In fact you have to read almost 1/4 of the book before you get to the first mention of a race This book simply tells the remarkable story of Abebe Bikila, from his growing up as a child in Africa to his winning Olympic glory in Rome in 1960.

This book did not inspired to get up and push my running to a new level as much as the previous 2 books, but it was certainly a very interesting read and it gave me a new level of respect for some of the distances that some runners will go to achieve greatness and some of the obstacles that they may have had to overcome to get to the podium.

Ultramarathon Man – confessions of an all-night runner, Dean Karnazes.

In this the first of a series of books by the now legendary ultra runner Dean Karnazes, we learn about Dean’s first experiences as a cross country and track runner about the death of his sister and a night on the town that triggered a return to running and the awesome fetes of endurance that followed.

The book is  step by step account of the ups and down of some of the toughest races the planet has to offer. The boston globe describes it as ‘a tail of ordinary people doing extraordinary things’ and for me that sums up its charm. Dean Karnazes comes across as an every day guy that fits his running in around his job and his family like the rest of us, he simply puts on his trainers after work and goes out and runs, and boy can he run.

I have only just finished reading ‘Ultra Marathon Man’, and already I’ve bought the follow up ‘RUN!’  I am a little scared that after being inspired to run ultra races by ‘Born to run’ that i’ll be equally inspired to just go out and run crazy distances into the night by ‘Ultra marathon man’.

Eat and Run – My unlikely journey to Ultramarathon greatness, Scott Jurek.

Scott Jurek is one of the greatest ultra distance runners around today, He’s one of a growing number of vegetarian runers and was featured in Chris McDougll’s ‘born to run’, he now has a book of his own, which includes a number of recipe’s.  I’ve yet to read the book having only picked it up yesterday, but I can recommend the recipe for Red Curry Almond Sauce, which I made last night.

With the growing popularity of Ultra running there seems to be a growing appetite for these kinds of running books, which are in turn inspiring more of us to get out and push our running to new levels. If you have any recommendations for running books or would like to share experiences that these books have inspired you to, please leave a comment below.

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The all new Nike Plus website.

Posted on July 13, 2012 by admin

It’s no secret that i’m a bit of a stats freak or that I love Nike plus for ipod/iphone. In fact i’ve logged over 270 runs and nearly 3000 miles since I got mine.

Those people that follow me on twitter or facebook will know that I have been equally vocal about my dis-satifaction of the Nikeplus.com website, which I have always seen as a huge missed opportunity. The find a friend feature has never worked and its pretty much impossible to use a social site without either the ability to share with friends or to comment on each others workouts. For these reasons I have tended to log my miles with a Nike plus device and then import them into dailymile which has a far better social structure.

Over the past few months Nike have completely rebuilt the website using java instead of flash and getting the basics right. While they are still working on challenges and sharing route information, at long last I can find friends from my other social networks.

Nike plus website

The new interface is simple, polished and intuitive. The iphone app has also seen some great improvements with switching between split mile times and colour code pace maps simply by rotating the phone. There’s also a graph of elevation, although I have no idea of how you see the total elevation of your run on either the iphone or website.

Nike Plus website

Its a great improvement and it shows fantastic potential, I just hope that they continue to maintain and improve it this time around.

Posted in gear, routes, social, training | 1 Comment

A runner’s dilemma

Posted on September 4, 2011 by admin

As far as running goes this year can be summed up in a single word for me, Dilemma.

The dictionary defines a dilemma as a situation necessitating a choice between two equal, or equally undesirable alternatives to a problem that seems incapable of solution.
You may think i’m being a bit melodramatic when I say that the word dilemma sums up my year, or be wondering what sort of dilemma I could possibly have faced as a runner.

The first set of dilemmas I have faced have all been based around a single race, the Lakeland. This started with a relatively small dilemma, do I sign up at all and if I do I sign up to the 50 or the 10 (the longest race i’d ran at that point being 32 miles). Encouraged my Iryna a friend that i’d ran with in India last year, I opted to enter the 100 and we agreed to run together. As time went on it became obvious that I was putting in far more training than Iryna, I faced another little dilemma, should I say something to her, should I question her commitment or her ability, should I suggest that we not run together after all, even though she’d told me that she couldn’t navigate, so I knew if I said I wouldn’t run with her, I might as well be saying the race was over for her. In the end I didn’t say anything and in late July we stood together on the starting line with a 100 mile run infront of us. By the first checkpoint we were in last place and it was becoming more and more obvious that I was facing my biggest dilemma yet, do I stay with my friend and face both of us timing out or do I leave her at the back of the field, in ever darkening surroundings with a very real risk of her getting lost. In the end I guess there was no dilemma at all, safety was always going to come first and I got Iryna got checkpoint 3 where she dropped out. At this point we were 2 hours behind the last runner and very close to the cut off time at the next check point with 7 miles yet to go, so I faced yet another dilemma, do I retire or do I push on alone in the dark with a huge gap to make up. Not being a quitter I pushed on and managed to catch James an american that had been in front, but with only seconds to spare a small navigation error ended up putting an end to my 100 dream.

The other big dilemma that I faced this year (which I guess is probably fairly common amongst runners) was that of, whether to run on an injury and risk making it worse or to take time out to recover and risk not being fit enough to complete the race. In my case this was in the form of a ham string pull sustained during the Blaydon race just six weeks before the Lakeland, meaning i’d miss the peak of my training and go into an extended tapper.

In addition to the big dilemma’s i’m beginning to learnt that running these longer ultras involves facing a series of mini dilemmas; Do you invest your time in travelling to somewhere hilly to train or do you simply run further on flatter ground closer to home, Do you take a little extra kit just in case you need it or do you take the bare minimum to keep your pack as light as possible? Do you push yourself harder that you ought to, to keep the runner in front in sight where navigation may be difficult? Do you follow the runner in front trusting they’re on the right track or do you take the extra time to check the map yourself? Do you go the longer way around to avoid a steeper track? Do you keep running down a track when you’re not 100% sure it the right track ?

At the end of the day, I guess we will always have tough decisions to make, but it’s the way in which we respond to these choices that teaches us the most about ourselves and out priorities, and they allow us to learn from our mistakes and to grow as individuals.

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The Northumberland Ultra

Posted on August 30, 2011 by admin

This August bank holiday saturday, saw the first ever running of the Northumberland Ultra a 100km (62 mile) run around the stunning Northumbrian hills. The race followed a circular route starting from Wooler and going as far South as Alwinton before looping North again, taking in sections of the Cheviots, the Pennine Way and St. Cuthbert’s Way trails.

At around 6.30 a group of about 30 runners sheltered in the little white tent that served as race HQ, to receive the pre race briefing from AdvertureHub, the organisers.

Half an hour later briefing over, we were heading out into the rain, climbing the gentle slope into Wooler. It was a month since my disappointment in Lakeland 100 (officially timing out at 36 miles, but then unofficially running the 50 later that day). I was just a little worried that with such small number of competitors that I might find myself in danger of running a lot of the course alone and at the back again. There seemed a reluctance for anyone to lead on this one, with most of us seeming happier chatting to fellow runners than competing for places (which is generally my kind of race).

As we descended to the first checkpoint after seven miles one of the runner had broken off and was a little way ahead of the leading group, but to my surprise I still found myself in amongst that leading group. There were around 6 or 7 of us, that would generally stay together for most of the day, we all had our own strengths and weaknesses and were constantly passing each other throughout the run. I got to chat to pretty much all of them at one point or another, and very much enjoyed their company.

The rain eased off as the day went on and while the sun didn’t exactly shine, we were treated to some spectacular views as the cloud lifted. Northumberland hasn’t quite got the drama of the Lake district, but it does have a rugged charm of its own, and the route planners seemed to find a course that took in a wide variety of terrains including everything from long exposed climbs to wooded sections, with a wide variety of river crossings and long sections of stone pavement and duckboards. [side note: I'm not sure its really politically correct to admit this, but I especially enjoyed running on the sections of stone pavement that have been put in to protect the path, there is something very satisfying about running over those slaps of rough hued rock that I just loved.]

The ground remained wet most of the day and our feet never really got a chance to dry, and as we left the last check point the sky started to darken, both with the return of the rain and the coming of nightfall.  Leaving that final checkpoint it came as a pleasant change to have a section of road to run along at least for a while and as we past a large marque in one of the little villages along the way a couple celebrated their wedding, I can’t tell you how tempting it would have been to have stopped for a pint, but had to soldier on into the dark.

The route was well marked and while navigation hadn’t been bad during the day, (especially with Peter’s expert local knowledge to guide us a lot of the time), it became a little harder in the dark and Peter, Martin and I decided to stay together for the final stage, which I was very glad of especially at the point where we lost St. Cuthberts Way and had to cross a little bit of open fell to get back on course. In fact it was only the last mile or so that Peter and Martin pushed on ahead that I found myself alone for the first time in the day, but by that point I had a magical trail of glow sticks guiding me in through the woods.

Despite the Lakeland being further and probably having more climbing in total, I think I actually found the Northumberland Ultra a more challenging event, whether it was because the checkpoints were further part, because of the terrain or simply the weather, I’m not quite sure, but it was the toughest run i’ve done to date.

Thank you to the Organisers for their support and for putting on a fantastic event in Northumberland, and to Peter, Borris, Martin and the 2 Irish lads (who’s names I unfortunately never did get), all of your company was very much appreciated. I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to speak to Nick, Frances, Maxine or Sean as much as i would have liked all of your posts on facebook persuaded me to sign up in the first place so thanks for that.

[side note: I hope that Borris wasn't in too much trouble with his wife for being in late and that they made it over to the Lake District to meet their friends for the rest of the weekend]

Posted in racing, routes, ultra | 5 Comments

Facing my first 100

Posted on July 29, 2011 by admin

Its 8.30 in the morning on the 29th of July, a day that I have been preparing for for the last 7 months. I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about what lies ahead of me. In 9 hours time I will set out from Coniston with the single aim of getting around the 100 miles of hilly land standing between me and the finish. I have 40 hour to complete the run, and at this stage i’m not even sure i’ve got what it takes to go the distance, but i’m ready to give it my best try.

While ultimately your on your own running for such a long way in such harsh conditions, and i know that the greatest struggles may be ran in my mind, I hope that on the longest hills and in the darkest parts of the nights ahead that I will find inner strength from the support, love and best wishes I have received from my friends and family.

[Side note:I found out about this race from Paul, with whom I shared a room my Himilayan adventure last year, sadly it fell during his summer vacation so he couldn't make it, but Iryna and Dianne persuaded me to enter anyway. Unfortunately Dianne also has had to pull out, leaving myself and Iryna the only competitors from team India. I'm sure that much of the 40 hours in the hills we'll be thinking of all the runs and races that got us to this point and the friendships we made along the way and again i'm hoping that they will lend me some of their strength to get me through.]

…unfortunately my race did not go exactly go to plan. After setting off from Coniston, we slowly go further and further behind. By the first checkpoint we were trailing behind in last place, but we were in it together and I ran with Iryna
at far as the third checkpoint were she unfortunately decided to call it a day, at this point we were a couple of hours behind the last competitor. I struggled on alone over blacksail pass in the night, pushing hard to try and make an almost impossible cut off. Eventually I saw a single head torch lighting the trail some way infront of me, I had made up quite a distance would it be enough to save me from timing out? In my desperation to stick to 8 minute miles I took a wrong turn and ran down a flat cycle track instead of having to go over the hill to the next check point. By the time realized my error it was too late. I reluctantly back tracked along the trail, jogging towards Buttermere and beautiful sunrise over the Lake.

After checking into the Checkpoint, the Marshall – Charles Sproson someone reluctantly told me what I already knew, that the race was over – at least for me. Everyone else had either checked in or dropped out at this stage so all that remained was to close the checkpoint and get back to the start. The return journey was in the back of a campervan, sitting on the floor with Charlies dog, another marshal and a fellow DNF. During the journey i had the crazy idea that i could still possibly salvage a little dignity from the weekend if i could make it to the half way point and still no the 50. When we reach Coniston i went to see the race organisers who explained that they could not programme a new race chip so it would not be possible to officially run the 50…but as i had officially retired then there was nothing to stop me doing a little training run in the Lakes on a saturday afternoon, but as i was not officially running there would be no medal or t-shirt and that if i were to get lost they would have no way of knowing were i was so i’d be on my own.

The game was back on. With the help of my brother getting me to Penrith, I ran the first few miles with Ian and Wayne of Blackhill Bounders, then suffering from the miles of the night before I let them get off coming out of howtown. Shortly a leaving the guys I bumped into Grant Hamilton (who i’d met the night before at the 1st checkpoint where he was ont supporting a friend) and we completed the rest of the 50 together. It would have been an altogether harder race without Grants help, and a pleasure to run with him.

Iryna had left Coniston by the time I got back from the 50, so after a short sleep I got in the car and head home. I’d failed to complete my first 100, but i’d ran further than i’d ran in my life, and made some great new friends.

Posted in racing, routes, training, travel, ultra | Comments Off

Discovering the benefits of sports massage

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

It might be because I’m getting older, or because I’m training more and resting less or even because I’m running further and faster than I’ve ever ran, but I’m currently carrying several injuries, and they just don’t seem to be getting any better.

In fact, having rested for nearly 3 weeks and with a 33 mile run planned for this weekend, followed by the Lakeland 100 three weeks later, its got to the extend that i’m having to consider more drastic measures…

To be honest, I’ve always been a bit old fashioned when it comes to doctors and medical stuff, avoiding doing anything about injuries until they becomes pretty unbearable. When I suffer an injury, I tend to adopt one of two approaches, either grin and bear it, hoping to ‘run through it’ or opt for ‘complete rest’,  avoiding any running altogether for a couple of weeks.

So yesterday it felt a bit out of character, to find myself in the reception of Physio Plus in High Heaton asking to see a lady by the name of Kate. Kate is a Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist, with a whole stack of letters after her name, that I’m assume means she is something of an expert in the field.

As I stood filling in a forms authorising them to perform whatever treatment might be required, I really wasn’t at all sure what to expect or how quickly I’d see any results, but Kate seemed quite nice and she looked like she knew what she was doing as she led the way to a treatment room.

We briefly sat down and discussed what sort of sports I did, and the problems I’d been having as Kate scribbled down some notes, I watched as the page started to fill up and it began to dawn on me that this treatment might be just a little overdue.

When the talking was done, Kate asked me to take off my shoes, socks and trousers and to lie on the table. After applying some cream that felt a lot like sun tan cream, Kate initially checked the overall condition of my muscles, before moving on to concentrating on my calfs. She trace the outlines of individual muscle that I hadn’t previously even been able to distinguish a difference between, first moving her hands one way then another. At times it seemed that the there was no order at all in the mass of muscles in my lower legs, but as I lay face down on the treatment table and Kate continued to manipulate each of these tiny little areas, I could start to feel the direction of the different muscle fibres, like grain in wood and it began to make sense.

Different pressure was applied. in different ways, to different areas, each stroke evoking different feelings,  some were quite relaxing while other were a little less comfortable,  quite a few lot of which involved feelings of heat or burning. Some of this heat was friction caused by the movement, but some of it was caused by blood flowing deep within the muscles. Kate told me that some of what she was doing was deliberately causing inflammation, in order to encourage blood flow not only to aid repair to the muscles but also to take away some of the toxins that had build up there.

After concentrating most of the session on the right calf that had been causing most of my problems, I turned over and Kate worked on my quads for a bit, as they were also apparently a little tight. I could still feel were my calfs had been worked, and I half expected that when I stood up  to leave, I was going to end up a jelly legged mess on the floor. To my relief I did manage to make it to my feet after the session, though it feel more like I’d ran a marathon than i’d spent an hour lying around. It wasn’t until i’d got half way down the street outside that I realised that by achilles was moving smoothly and fluidly without the slightest bit of discomfort or tightness, something it hadn’t done for a quite a while.

It’s a little early to say just how effective my first sports massage has been, or how long the results might last, but I think the chances are I’ll be back for more, and at this stage I can’t recommend Kate or Physio Plus highly enough, for those of you that are interested they are based in High Heaton, charge £35 an hour, and can be contacted on 0191 281 2021.

www.physioplusclinic.co.uk
Physioplus on facebook

Posted in injuries, racing, training, ultra | Tagged | 3 Comments