Final Grand Prix Race Dates Set...

Dates for the Victoria Park parkrun (a and b), Chatelherault World Championships and Vertical Mile have now been set. Refer to the Grand Prix race list here for the dates. Dates have now been set of all GP races this year. Remind yourself of the modified GP joker rules in this blog post.
Alan

ROUND THE HOUSES 10K

Tomorrow is the Round The Houses 10k
If anyone needs transport or wishes to travel with others Jim and Gordon will be leaving from the Sports Club at 10.30
Upon arrival collect your number and chip and seek me out to declare your jokers.

Russell

Last Person to Finish Gets to Sort Out Brexit!

Rewind the clock back to the Trossachs Training Camp last Autumn and specifically to the wee snug bar of the Lade Inn on the Friday night just before dinner.

Blowing the top off a well earnt – in my opinion, pint of Stella Artois, Jim Mearns sitting next to me, from nowhere made the rather unsolicited enquiry “Martin, have you ever run a marathon?” Deep within me as he asked the question and knowing, and about to acknowledge that, no, I hadn’t, there was a feeling of impending doom that those days were about to end such is Jim’s skill of influence and persuasion!

So as not to roll over and seem to have been had by a second-hand car salesman with 15% APR on offer – I immediately pushed back and retorted that marathons were/ are definitely not my thing, too long, boring, training is crazy, could never commit, I’m a lazy so and so, bad back, asthma, busy family life…………………. Give me a 10k, I said, a half marathon and my wee favourite Saturday morning Parkrun any time you like – but a MARATHON, nope, never, nada, no happenin’!

“But you’ve a crackin’ wee engine in you – you’d cruise it. What if we get a few of the guys lined up” he tried to convince me. “I’ll have a look and choose one that seems the easiest”

EASIEST – you having a laugh!

“Canny see it happening Jim”

“Listen, if you can run a half marathon you’ll cope no problem, and let’s face it you’ve done everything else, a marathon would complete the circle”

“Canny see it happening Jim”

 Sunday 7th April 2019 – 06.10 am.

“Wonder what shorts I should wear. I don’t want gels to be falling out of my pockets. Oh, cheers Mark, is that my porridge ready!"

Yip – my worst athletic fear (other than injury), the goliath, the one I usually sit at home to watch had become a reality and was looming. In a little under 3 hours I’d be lining up at the Old Trafford Cricket ground with a few thousand other people to take on the ASICS Manchester Marathon. Damm it – how did that happen?

The Lade Inn – Autumn last year.

Facebook Messenger is a great thing.

By the end of the main course that night at the Lade Inn I really felt as though I had been laid in to too! Not only had I tentatively agreed to run a marathon with Jim but had agreed in his choice of event, early in the spring, “flat as a pancake, real carnival, only a couple of hours down the road, you’ll love it, make a weekend out of it”!

Some of my fellow Harriers will remember that message and the feeling of dread upon receiving it. I won’t journal all of the subsequent teasers but suffice is to say it was posted to quite a number of individuals to whet their appetite with the view that we could perhaps get a few to bite and come along with us.

There was initial, well, I won’t say hysteria, but definite and noted interest with I think at one point up to nine expressing more than a passing thought of taking part. The messages kept coming – there was no going back!

The winter here, as you well know, is very unforgiving and the prospect of stepping up training (when we’re ordinarily snug and cosy under warm duvet’s) to a level where sufficient preparedness is achieved to take on such a run meant that in the end there were four left standing, notwithstanding the fact that a few others were already committed to training for London. 

Whilst training for me was sporadic and patchy at best, with a virus taking hold a month before the gun and lasting for two weeks, the others set about their task diligently and clocked some pretty decent miles.

The four making the journey to Manchester the day before the event consisted of me (of course!), Jim Mearns (of course!), Mark Saez, who like me was dipping his toe in the marathon abyss and our other seasoned marathoner David Wardrope, already with two events under his belt.

Arriving and settling in to our ideal accommodation in Eccles just before the other big event of the weekend, I became a bit frantic to find a pub (not like me!) with a tele so as I could see my favoured and invested on Rathvinden run to hopeful glory at the Aintree Grand National! Pub found (with a tele a size that wouldn’t have been out of place in an Odeon Cinema) we got our beers and found a seat only to become aware of murmurings among the other patrons that they couldn’t get the TV to work – “building works, they’ve cut the aerial cable, there’s no signal”! Tch. Making do with watching the race on an iPhone, I was encouraged to see Rathvinden coming home third (always take each way in the National my Dad always told me).

Watching the long boats putt putt past us as we had another beer, time, we decided to go back and get organised for an early dinner.

Dinner done and dusted and it was time to head back, cup of tea and in to our scratchers with clocks set for an early rise. Taxi booked for 07.20am.

 “Wonder what shorts I should wear. I don’t want gels to be falling out of my pockets. Oh, cheers Mark, is that my porridge ready!"

The 7th April 2019, an ingrained and indelible date on my mind to say the least had arrived, it was here and no sooner had I decided which of the 4 pairs of shorts I had in my bag to wear, than we were in a taxi, thundering towards Old Trafford. Nervous – me – yes! The others if they were, were doing a good job of hiding it. Doubt they were TBH.

Note to self – stick to the plan, stick to the plan, stick to the plan – er, whit plan! Remember to drink plenty but not too much – coach told me once that over hydrating can do you in! Remember to use your gels – don’t wait for the light-headedness to kick in and try not to dribble it all down ye!

There were millions of toilets near the start and when we arrived at 8am they were all empty – available, clean. Davy mentioned in passing that if anyone needed to use one there were thousands to choose from. I kinda did but favoured leaving it a while nearer to the start time so off we went to drop our wee bag and get “race ready” like the true international athletes that we are!

That done (half an hour passed) and I thought, yip, go to the toilet now. In the space of that half an hour the million afore mentioned convenience’s had a billion needy customers! The queue, I’m sure, went to Liverpool! Oops. 

It was all smiles for the pre run snap, I even managed to find a (sort of) co-ordinated) T-shirt.

That done we lined up in the green wave, well except Mark, he was standing beside some African fellas nearer the front. Vassos Alexander (who’s he?) (think he works with Chris Evans on a radio show and is a keen runner and Parkrun advocate), was giving an interview from the starting podium – that’s all I remember, that together with what seemed to be a 12 inch remix of Oasis’ Roll With It. It played for ages.

Wheelchairs away and racing in a blaze of blue smoke and fireworks and loud bangs (not their tyres mind, no drawing pins seemed to have been dropped at the start line) then it was the Elites, “I know the roads down which your life will drive” then the white wave “I think I’ve got a feeling I’ve lost inside” then the red which we had juked in to in order to avoid that toilet queue “Cause it’s all too much for me to take” and we were on our way.

The first three miles were round a few streets that eventually lead us back to Old Trafford and round past near the start line – you guessed it;

“I know the roads down which your life will drive

I find the key that lets you slip inside

Kiss the girl, she's not behind the door

But you know I think I recognize your face

But I've never seen you before”

……..was still spinning on the turntable.

Jim had said to me that he was only running a mile and if I wanted to I could join him. Magic. He then caveated that by saying that at the end of the mile we could decide if we wanted to do another, and so on. 

We kept that strategy going for no less than 15 miles, well through the half way mark which we completed in a swift 1.41.20, being buoyed on by the crowds, the choirs, the millions of offerings of jelly babies.

At mile 15 I really needed to make that toilet stop and so Jim continued on his way. I came back out on to the course and seemed to have lost some of the impetus I had managed to keep going to that point. I knew Jim would have been well up the road by now so didn’t attempt a catch up. 

Phew.

By mile 19 my wheels were squaring quickly and at mile 20 I saw the 3.29 pacer run past, then the 3.30 pacer followed by the 3.35 pacer. Davy ran past me as I was otherwise indisposed against a wall in not the most pleasant of poses.

Russell had messaged me the night before advising that it wouldn’t be pretty, you’ll be in pain, you’ll probably want to throw in the towel but under no circumstances should I stop. He was right on all of the above!

As I said to Davie Searil in a FBK message after the event, I had a devil sitting on my right shoulder telling me to quit, you’ve done enough, be proud of how far you’ve gone, you’re knackered. Fortunately, on my left shoulder there was a wee angel cherub speaking ever so more gently but more convincingly that it was nearly done, keep going almost there, a big medal, a T-shirt, a marathon. 

Then I saw someone in the crowd holding a lovely home-made banner which said “Whoever Finishes Last Gets to Sort Out Brexit!” then a few hundred more yards one which simply and succinctly advised “Don’t be Sh!t” That was enough for me! 

Keep going I did – albeit at a snail’s pace and a jog in for the last two miles, I kept reminding myself at 24 miles that all I had left was three laps of the Heritage Park at Stewartfield, a favourite training place of mine. I even managed to get a bit of pace going for the last half mile.

I crossed the line in 3.55.21, four and a half minutes ahead of my red-line time of 4 hours and absolutely shattered.

Mark had a solid block of training leading to this event and even managed some 20 milers along with Gerry and some others. He was running well and arrived ready and prepared for the event with only his old skeleton in the cupboard. Yip, his back. Having run a swift first half in 1.35 he was on course for his targeted finish of somewhere in the region of 3.15. His ailing spine once again curtailed his ambition, losing vital pace from mile 16 as a result and nursing it home to finish in 3.39.

Davy, with already two marathons done and dusted this year had a plan of steady and consistent and that is exactly how he executed the challenge going through the half way mark at 1.47.09 and finishing strongly in 3.43.49. Davy like the others has stuck to a strict training regime and it certainly paid off.

My first half running buddy Jim, had a mile by mile plan and stuck to it. Aiming for an average of 7.45 m/m during the early stages, he went sharper than that, crossing the half way mark as I mentioned in 1.41.20 very near his half marathon PB! With the G33 completed a few weeks ago and a busy season of Ultra’s on the calendar Jim’s training has been on point and he is running really well. Jim brought the yellow and black vest home first in a time of 3.29.41, a time he says would have been a PB had the course not been 0.2 miles longer than billed.

Bringing up the rear, you’ve read my story.

And so, it was in to the finisher’s enclosure, a massive blingy medal, a t-shirt and an alcohol-free beer which for some went down a treat. It went down a treat for me too but only for a wee while! Irn Bru, I needed IRN BRU. By now lactic acid had gone to work and my legs were like concrete! The others seemed remarkably unfazed by their achievement coping well with having just run the distance, me on the other hand, a bag of spanners, just needing a lie down and an IRN BRU! 

A snack van readily supplied me with a Coca Cola “will that be diet, love?” the lady cheerily and expectantly asked. No, sugar, I need the sugar!

Of home to Eccles in our taxi and once there Jim presented us with a dram to toast our day. That went down nice.

A rest, followed by a lovely warm shower, glad rags on and we were off up the street for a hearty Bangladeshi curry. The guys, able to further toast and celebrate their occasion stayed out for a couple of more beers – me, off home to bed!

Up the next morning – all looking remarkably refreshed we set about hatching a plan of finding a greasy spoon for the biggest fry up known to man. A couple of miles up the road and we tucked in to exactly what was needed. Then our journey home.

A great weekend with the guys, great banter and laughs, ideal accommodation and a 26 odd mile run in to the bargain! 

So – the marathon tale goes. Done it. Ticked the box. Nobody can take it away now. Do another? At the end of the race I was as convinced as Theresa is of her deal that there would be no other. Then the wee motors start to go around in the head. What if;

• I had trained more

• Gone a bit slower in the first half

• Sorted out my regime of nutrition and fluid intake

• I had trained more

• I had trained more………………………………

Watch this space.

Martin.

Chatelherault Training Resumes

Our fortnightly training session at Chatelherault Country Park recommences on Monday 22nd April and fortnightly thereafter, the final session (daylight allowing) being on Monday 26th August.

This is a 7 mile undulating loop on trails. Meet in the car park (see this Google Map) on the right hand side of the drive when entering Chatelherault Country Park off the Fernigair Road entrance at 7:30pm ready to run. For those without transport, meet at EK Sports Club ready to leave at 7pm and some of the Harriers will come by to give you a lift to Chatelherault.
Alan

MANCHESTER MARATHON

If anyone is trying to follow the Manchester Marathon there are issues with the tracking and the live feed. For your info I am able to track Mark Saez and Martin Howell but if anyone has any info on Jim Mearns and David Wardrope please let me know and I will update this page.

At the moment Mark is at 19.2m and on course for a time of 3.10 approx. and Martin is at 18m and on course for a time of 3.23 approx.

Mark has now gone back on the tracking as he crossed the 30k mat and is now running at a pace for a time of 3.28

Martin has now gone through 30k and also slowed a little and now on pace for 3.29 finish

Now have Jim and David on tracking
David is at at 22.2m on pace for 3.39
Jim is at 23.7m on pace for 3.24

Jim now finished 3.29.42  Well done Jim.
Mark now finished 3.39.29  Well done Mark.
David now finished 3.43.49   Well done David.
Martin now finished 3.55.21  Well done Martin.

Will update as I get more info.

Russell

Alloa Half Marathon

Having first entered the race in 2017 and having had to pull out due to an injury, I agreed to give it another go this year with Sharon (who actually managed to run it in 2017). I heard the race was hilly in parts so decided to do a 12 week hilly training plan. Hilly reps and long hilly runs where the order of the season. Much to the pleasure of my training buddies (thanks for doing these with me girls).

Training was going well until ten days before the race when a piece of kitchen panel fell on my foot. I was worried that was me out and leaving Sharon to run solo for a second time. Luckily with a few days rest and ice I seemed to heal quickly.

The day of the race came it was perfect conditions. We set off the start was really congested with parked cars and speed bumps to contend with was hard to get pace going.

Pre-race number filling

After about a mile and a half it filtered out. And was generally flat with a few minor inclines. Until the hill at and for most of mile ten which was when I was glad I done all those hill reps! I managed to run up it but it took till mile 12 to get my breath back.

As we approach the final 400 meters I realised I was on to a good time. As we crossed the line I was delighted to have got a time of 1hour 55 min and 37 seconds (a 2 minute and 59 seconds pb not 3min as I first thought) but more so that I had been able to take part with Sharon this year!
Julie T

(Really) Warm Weather Training

The distinctive silhouette of Alan on a morning
run on the beach (Photo 2:09 Events)

March for me means the Algarve and the 2:09 Events training camp at Falésia. This would be my 21st or 22nd consecutive year here, burning off the winter blues with 10 days of running and conditioning in the company of fellow Harriers Frances and Eddie and about 105 other runners from all over the UK.

Whereas last year's event had been unusually wet for the Algarve, the forecast for this year showed wall-to-wall sunshine for the duration and so it turned out to be, providing the most consistently sunny weather I have ever experienced on this training camp.

Frances, Eddie and I had arrived a couple of days early to tie in with the Glasgow flights and to give me time to do a few domestic chores around my apartment after the winter. This also provided Eddie with the opportunity to immediately pick up a new injury when he tripped over a tree root on our first acclimatisation run and skint his knee. With Frances consigned to sun bathing and light cycling due to her pre-existing knee injury and me carrying a virus which had reduced my legs to jelly, I was worried that Eddie would also be absorbing more rays than miles, turning the Harriers' contingent into a doctor's waiting room rather than a pack. This was a situation that could not be allowed to happen! Fortunately, a liberal dose of nae sympathy from Frances and I soon cured Eddie's skint knee and he was declared fit to train. I was also confident that I could run gently in the heat and drive the virus out of me. On our first pre-training day, we also met up with Stuart Gibson who was out for a short break before returning home for a wedding that weekend, Stuart promising to return next year for the full training camp.

Eddie, Stuart and I take in the sun's rays

This year's head coach was the UK's second fastest ever female marathon runner (2:23), Mara Yamauchi, retired from international competition since London 2012 but still competing for her club in cross country leagues and relays and, as a young F45, still fast enough to run me into the ground. All hope of me having an easy, virus friendly first official run on the camp went out the window when Mike Gratton asked if I would lead the way on that first cliff top run and show Mara the route as I was virtually local. I survived, finding out in the process that Mara is a totally down to earth runner, very approachable indeed and can chat whilst running at a fast pace. This would be Frances' only run of the camp, her knee not reacting at all well to the run. However, Frances was soon booked in for the first of three visits to the camp's miracle worker, Sue, who was providing massage therapy to those bringing injuries to or acquiring injuries on the camp (but not skint knees!). Eddie also completed this run without falling.

Mara Yamauchi takes a stretching session

Over the space of 10 days we did a huge amount of training as usual. Except for long run days, we had an easy run of about 5 miles (trails and/or beach) at 8am each morning and an afternoon session which would be some sort of effort session on the track or the cross country course. Most days there would be a core stability, yoga, drills or pilates session before the afternoon running session and most evenings there was a talk about nutrition or some aspect of training. On the long run days (the first Sunday and the last Saturday), we did only one run, starting at 7:30 in the morning before a day of "nutrition" and relaxation.

Eddie on the trail to Vilamoura

Our non-running sessions were really diverse this year. Mara brought a range of running drills and strength and conditioning sessions which were different to those we had experienced previously. Needless to say, they need a bit of practice to perfect and to train the neural systems to trigger the right muscles (or even the right legs and arms) at the right time! Eddie played the injury card for the main drills session and instead was roped in as videographer. Here is the resulting director's cut of Eddie's film.

As always, every run was followed up with a stretching session to ensure a pain free start to the next session. An important point to reinforce; many believe that stretching increases flexibility (it might do a bit) or prevents injuries (it might do) but the main thing it does do is reduce the stiffness and aches felt the next day. That's why I stretch. Eddie took one of the group stretching sessions on the track and put a handful of runners (including Mike Gratton, who rarely stretches) through our usual club post-run stretching routine.

"Hot" Yoga on the hotel's track infield (photo from 2:09 Events' drone)

With such fantastic weather this year, all the non-running sessions were outdoors on the hotel's track. This provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate the only multi-tasking I am capable of, where one of the tasks is sun bathing and the other can be yoga, pilates, etc. The yoga sessions were taken by Sue Wainwright, the multi-talented sports masseuse and saviour of several Harriers over the years, were geared towards runners and took account of the fact that we were in the midst of a heavy week of training and were mostly on very tired legs.

Core stability Algarve style - my core is very stable here - its going nowhere!

The pilates session was taken by Algarve resident and former English National Ballet ballerina, Michelle Goyens. These sessions are also geared towards runners and were very well explained and demonstrated. We may even be bringing some of our findings to a session near you very soon.

Ready for 5k marshalling action

On some of the morning runs, we ran to the orange grove circuit, a flat loop on trails accessed by a set of high rise stepping stones (or an ankle deep run through the river). It was during this run that Eddie's knee packed in (not the skint one) and he had to walk back. On the same run I had one of my dizzy spells and also had to abandon early and jog back. Meanwhile, Frances was trying out various routes on my mountain bike. The Harriers were doing well!

The Falesia 5k road race took place at 10am on the first Tuesday of the training camp as usual. With various training groups from club to international level in the village at this time of year, the quality is always high. As the only Harriers' survivor by the Tuesday, I was the only one intending to run, although even that was a morning of the race decision as this was the first day when the headaches and dizziness had gone. However, Frances and Eddie were not at a loose end as they were gladly swept up by the race organisers to help marshal the race!

End of lap 1 of the 5k

This is a benchmark race for me each year and gives me an idea of where I am form and fitness wise. Well the answer is a not unsurprising rubbish! As I found at the Scally, from the word go I could not get a deep breath in and was struggling throughout. So not only did I record a course worst but also a personal worst 5k road race time of 19:07, over a minute slower than last year in around 30th position. The race was won in 15:30 by one of our (younger) training camp members. Although I was the first M50 from our training group, there was one other M50 from another group a full minute ahead of me. So a bit disappointing but not surprising.

The race was soon forgotten after a post-race swim in the sea, not something I usually manage in March as the sea is normally much colder. I am pleased to say that the two Calderglen race marshals also cooled down with a swim.

Post-race cool down Algarve style (Frances is behind the wave, Eddie is behind the camera!)

Nutrition always plays a huge part in an intensive training camp such as this, as illustrated in the following photo:

Long run #1 recovery breakfast - breaking in gently

Considerable restraint is needed on these training camps. It is easy to get carried away and do too much. So whereas we had the choice of this:

We showed remarkable self-control to order only this:

However, fuel is still required for the long-run:

Long run #2 - recovery breakfast

It wasn't all just running and eating. My good friend Dr Jonothan Williams, roped me into an improvised Casualty emergency scene to demonstrate what to do if a fellow runner collapses whilst out for a run. With my stage name "Mark" I did my very best impression of an unconscious runner (something that comes naturally to me):

DRS ABC

Of course there were other sports, not least the post farewell BBQ pool competition but there was too much cheating this year for my liking:
Bu

Doesn't look legal to me.

But most of all, despite all the training, the training camp is mainly about the relaxation and fun:

Taxi for Reid (his helicopter is too small!)

No wonder my heid is spinning!

And so we leave the pine cliffs for another year (or less hopefully).

An edited selection of photos from Frances and I are here with a few explanatory captions and some more photos from Frances are here.
Thanks to Frances and Eddie for making this another 10 days of fun in the sun (despite the various ailments).
Alan