Jack’s marathons – July–August 2013

Trail du Tombeau du Chevalier, Herbeumont, Belgium (55.3Km): 6 July 2013: I flew out to Brussels on 2 July, met up with Rich, Jeanne and Kathleen Holmes from North Carolina at the airport and we headed off to Normandy via Rouen (to see the spot where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake). After sightseeing in Normandy and viewing the Bayeux Tapestry we drove on to Paris via Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny. Then, following a busy 24 hours sightseeing in Paris we headed off to the Belgian Ardennes. In retrospect spending all of the Friday morning walking round Paris may not have been the best pre-race preparation. We had not been able to discover much about the race beforehand other than that it was a hilly trail race with 1,500 metres of elevation and that the distance was 55.3km (c.34.36 miles). At registration we discovered that there would be only 4 official drinks stations so I hurriedly obtained a bottle to carry round with me (although it turned out that a couple of extra water points were subsequently provided after the 30km point).

Trail du Tombeau du Chevalier

The race started in Herbeumont Castle at 11am by which time the temperature was already in the 70s. After a relatively easy first 10k the trails started getting markedly tougher and we started to encounter some much steeper hills, some of which were so steep that the organisers had provided ropes for hauling oneself up and to prevent falls on the descents. Even so, I came across a number of competitors who had fallen or twisted their ankles along the route and I was extremely thankful that I’d decided to run in trail shoes. I don’t think anyone in road shoes would have survived some of the steeper descents where ropes were not provided.

The temperature rose progressively higher during the race and I took the last 20k of the race fairly cautiously as I suspected that I was getting slightly dehydrated and the path was more rutted, stony and uneven for the latter parts of the race. By this time I was starting to come across the occasional runner sitting at the bottom of some of the steeper hills head in hands (obviously trying to steel themselves for the next ascent). With 7km to go we had to ford a river with the assistance of ropes. The water was over 3 feet deep and there was a strong current. Then most of the last 5km was along a very rough, undulating path (with tree roots everywhere), which ran roughly parallel to the river before climbing up a hill to the castle. After scaling a ladder to get into the castle ruins there was a final downhill stretch to the finish line. I finished in 8:22 125th out of 247 entrants and 191 finishers and fourth in my age group. The winning time was 5:25 and only 3 runners finished in less than 6 hours. Rich and Kathleen finished in 9:13. This was definitely the toughest race I have ever taken part in.

Ilmington Cotswolds Trail Marathon: 13 July 2013: I got let off lightly for the Striders midweek road race fixture as I was allocated the job of running as back-marker. Even so, my legs were still feeling the effects of my Belgian ultra at the start of the Ilmington race, but I really wanted to support this new marathon on an undulating course, which is organised by Chris Seeney, whose events are always well organised and interesting. I took the opportunity to start with friends Bill and Pauline Howes running the first loop more or less at their dog’s pace (which I knew in advance would be slow). By the end of that loop the dog made it clear that it was quite hot enough (the temperature reached 34 degrees) so while Bill and Pauline returned her to the race HQ I soldiered on with Jagit Singh and Surrinder Rattan, who were great company, but who made it clear that they were relying on me to follow the written route description. As Jag had a slight injury and the heat was getting to all of us we continued at a very leisurely pace and I only got us lost once. I finished in 7:26 and proceeded to imbibe copious amounts of cold water. Fortunately the weather was slightly less oppressive for the mob match 9k race at Trent Park the following Wednesday and I finished that in 46:15.

Fairlands Valley Challenge Trail Marathon, Stevenage: 21 July 2013: Once again we were lucky that the weather for this local event was kind to us and this year there wasn’t even any mud. The skies were overcast when a group of 9 of us (Mandy Attree, Judith Beard, Lucy Stern, Carol Ransom, Emma Ward, Conrad Wild, David O’Neill, Stephen Elkan and me) set off from Marriott’s School and the sun only really made its presence felt as we approached Checkpoint 4 at Chapmore End (16.6 miles). From Watton (20.6 miles) the route to the finish had changed completely meaning that extra attention had to be paid to the route description instructions and by the time we reached the finish at the school the temperature had climbed back to the levels that had prevailed for the previous 2 weeks. It was great to run one of my favourite races in the company of so many friends. We didn’t get lost once and took full advantage of the bread pudding and other food supplied at all checkpoints and the free barbecue once we crossed the finish line. After the race a number of people mentioned to me how impressive it was to see 9 of us finishing together in St Albans Striders vests. Our finish time was 5:48:00.

Summer around the Reservoir Double Marathon, Northampton: 27 and 28 July 2013: This was the second time I’d tackled this back to back marathon event. On both days the route comprises 6 laps of Brackmills Reservoir in Northampton. The problem with running this course during a summer heatwave is that there is virtually no shade. Consequently I really suffered on the Saturday and finished 30th out of 56 competitors in 4:52:44. At least there was some breeze on the Sunday and I was able to complete the second race in 4:29:54 coming 27th out of 61 runners. Also on the Sunday our former Striders men’s team captain, Graham Ridley (who had come back to the UK from Australia for a holiday) turned up to run. He finished well ahead of me in 14th place in 4:08:34, but it was great to see him there and to go for a drink with him afterwards. 

Vanguard Way Trail Marathon, Surrey: 3 August 2013: The Vanguard Way footpath runs from Croydon to Newhaven and this trail marathon was on an out and back course along the Croydon to Limpsfield sections of the trail. There were just over 100 runners in this event and whilst the route was marked with spray arrows and hanging tape I got the impression that nearly everybody went wrong at some stage. I certainly missed a couple of turnings and reckon that I ran well over 28 miles in total. Nevertheless, the weather was kind to us and there was plenty of varied (though undulating) countryside to enjoy. I finished in 5:52:31.

Leila’s Run Trail Marathon, Wheathampstead: 18 August 2013: This marathon was organised by members of the 100 Marathon Club and Garden City Runners in memory of Leila Taylor who died tragically earlier this year after a long fight with cancer. The course comprised 4 undulating laps with a mixture of trails and road and I was surprised that it covered several footpaths that I can’t recall ever running along. Being a local race it was inevitable that I’d bump into some Striders members en route, but I was surprised how many were out on the Sunday. The first person I bumped into was Dave Reid followed closely by former Striders Sue Arbon and Lesley Hooker. Also out were Alison Ryan, Carole Mooney and Sheryl Norman. The weather was ideal for running and the event was a great success. My time was 4:39:36.

Jack Brooks