A postcard from Addis Ababa

… or: one way to stay on top of your training plan when away from home – Martin takes up the story: 

‘I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on business, and the company I was visiting arranged for me to meet with Haile Gebrselassie. What a lovely bloke! Very friendly, tiny and with the biggest smile!

‘We chatted for a while about his marathon times, my times, his Olympic & World gold medals, and his world records. I told him about Striders and some of my PBs for various distances, and I’d been in a few of the same races as him – marathons in Berlin, London and Rotterdam - but a good 45 minutes behind him! He was very diplomatic!

‘We took a few photos, and then I asked him if he could recommend somewhere to train as I’d be in Addis Ababa for a few days. That’s when he invited me to train with him the following day. I was stunned. 

‘We met at his gym, where none of the other gym goers seemed the least bit interested in the superstar in their midst, and took to the treadmills. This was a good idea, given he trains at 4:30 pace and I’m at 6:30. After 10K we did some spinning on the bike, followed by another 10K on the treadmill. 

‘It was tough: Addis Ababa is at altitude, making running hard work - it felt like a constant, invisible hill. We finished with some stretches and a massage. 

‘He has invited me to meet up with him again if I’m back in Addis Ababa and I gave him an open invitation to run with the Striders if ever he needed somewhere close to London to train! 

‘I wished him luck against Mo in the Great North Run – the race will have three generations of great distance runners, with Bekele there too. 

His response: do you realise how old I am now?!”’

Martin

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 

Jack’s marathons: April–June 2013

Canberra Marathon, Australia: 14 April 2013: I stayed with former Striders, Graham and Jo Ridley for most of my 3 weeks in Australia. They live in North Avoca on the Central Coast and I had an early introduction to their local running club (Terrigal Trotters) when we did a short run with them on the first Saturday before we drove down to Canberra. We enjoyed an Italian meal on the Saturday evening with those Trotters who had travelled down for the marathon and half marathon.

I was relieved that the race started at 7am as the forecast was for temperatures of around 26 degrees. The undulating marathon route comprised a 10k loop through the Parliamentary Triangle followed by two loops along the southern and then the northern shores of Lake Burley Griffin with crossings over King’s Avenue Bridge on the outward section and Commonwealth Avenue Bridge on the return stretch. Jo provided much appreciated support at several points around the course and then I got some very vocal support from former Strider Anne-Marie Wilkes during the second half of the race. My pace was 5:07 per k for the first lap, 5:17 for the second lap and 5:26 for the third lap, which roughly reflected how much warmer it was getting as the race progressed. I was pleased with my time of 3:43:55, which was my fastest time since 2010. Graham continued to complete the 50k race in 4:38:55 (not bad for someone who’d been advised over 13 years ago that he’d have trouble walking within a year if he continued running!). Anne-Marie, the Ridleys and I celebrated afterwards in a local hostelry with the other Terrigal Trotters.

On the Monday Anne-Marie took a day off work to show me the sights of Canberra and in the evening we joined the Ridleys and Peter and Angela Wilkes for a drink and an Indian meal. It was great to meet up with Anne-Marie and I still find it hard to believe that she left St Albans over 5 years ago.

I did a number of runs with the Trotters during my holiday including their Anzac Day breakfast run and a hilly 10k time trial. Unfortunately, on my last run with them, which was meant to be a 47k run in the bush, I twisted my ankle and bruised a rib after only about 10k and had to cadge a lift back to base. However, they were an extremely friendly and welcoming club and I felt privileged to have got to know so many of them. It is good to know that Graham and Jo have found such a great club so close to where they live.

Orpington Half Marathon: 11 May 2013: I quickly discovered that my rib and ankle were far from healed and dropped down from the marathon to the half marathon distance. My time was 2:06:08 and it was very painful even once I’d consumed a fistful of painkillers. However, on checking my race records I noted that this was my 100th half marathon so there was a sort of silver lining to this event.

Leiden Marathon: 26 May 2013: Having not run for nearly 2 weeks I was apprehensive as to whether my injuries were healed enough to permit me to run. Fortunately the rib was fine and my ankle seemed substantially better than it was at Orpington. The course was flat and rural, but it was very windy. I managed to stick with the 4 hour pace group up to about 29k, but struggled for the last 13k mainly due to how little training I’d managed while injured. My finish time was 4:12:43.

Luxembourg Marathon: 8 June 2013: This race started at 7pm on a very humid Saturday evening. The organisers appeared to have gone out of their way to incorporate every hill in Luxembourg into the marathon route and the second half of the course was particularly tortuous. Large numbers of half marathon and relay runners also meant that there was considerable congestion at the start and at all of the relay changeover points. Right from the start I felt as though I wasn’t firing on all cylinders and I really suffered during the second half of the race. Nevertheless, the support that all runners received when the race went through the centre of the town and when it finished inside the Luxexpo building was tremendous and the race was generally very friendly and well organised. My time was 4:13:45.

Dodging midges....

Trail Marathon Wales: 22 June 2013: This race started from Coed y Brenin visitor centre in the Snowdonia National Park with a long hill and we soon discovered that the only variations on the course would be the steepness of each successive hill. The wind was really strong throughout the day, but when we found sheltered locations the midges were out in force and they particularly seemed to favour Lucy Stern and me. 

All smiles.....

While Abby Reilly, Fiona Snailham, Melanie Orchard and Peter Rogers disappeared into the distance Lucy, Carol Ransom, Mandy Attree, Luke Hart and I proceeded at a more leisurely pace having decided that most of the hills were too steep for anything but a mountain goat to run up. Some of the descents were also challenging with rocks and tree roots in abundance and we were all happy to cross the finish line in 6:40:03, especially as Abby, Fiona, Mel, Claire Sharp and Alison Ryan were waiting there to cheer us in. On the plus side the views were fantastic and the company was great, but this was a truly gruelling event.

Jack Brooks

Training blog (April-May): Race day – beware the speed bump!

By the beginning of April, I’d been following my training plan for just over four months, and I realised I only had about six weeks to go until my target race: the Edinburgh Half Marathon. 

In essence, I’ve been doing four sessions a week, building interval training (mainly the Striders track session), hills, ‘race pace’ running, parkruns, and long slow runs. This has largely been building up – further, or more quickly – though with regular weeks in which I took it more easily, or licked my wounds.

Best thing to do six weeks before an A race? Quit my job and go on holiday! Running in Chicago and New Orleans made a refreshing change from the streets and fields of St Albans. In Chicago, we ran alongside Lake Michigan, which was beautiful although it’s clearly not called the ‘Windy City’ for nothing. Ever run towards skyscrapers? They’re much further away than you think!

Back in Blighty, I went to cheer on friends at the London Marathon, and was properly inspired by their awesome efforts to keep pushing on.

But with a week or so to go, I began to feel a little niggle. No need for too much detail, but let’s just say it was a pain in the backside. I found it quite tricky to distinguish between slight niggles and actual injuries. Which did I have? I would soon find out.

at mile 13.1...

And so to race day. Edinburgh is a beautiful city, and the course shows it off to great effect, as long as you’ve got time to look up. Starting near the centre, we rounded Arthur’s Seat before heading east along the coast. It was a beautiful day. For much of the race, I had Gill for company, and we were boosted by the support of our spouses in at least three locations (to be clear: we each only have the one spouse).

My target was 100 minutes, and we set off at a fair lick. Along the way, I came close to beating both my parkrun and 10k PBs. And I went through halfway in almost exactly 50 minutes.

Ironically, it was a speed bump that slowed me down. I tripped slightly over one after a few miles, and it was at this point that my niggle turned towards injury. I slowed a bit thereafter, and then achieved the remarkable feat of running every single mile slightly more slowly than the previous one!

I finished in 1:46:09, a time I’m really proud of, and while I know I could maybe have gone faster without the niggle-cum-injury, I also know that my many weeks of training gave me the strength to push through the pain.

And my advice to all readers thinking of taking up a training plan? Go for it. It really helps. Just beware of the bumps along the way.

Richard Sved

Colin's report: Milton Keynes Marathon – 6 May 2013

I am following on from my last blog post about the London Marathon. I said it might be time to find a new marathon. I did not have to wait long to find one. But maybe I ought to have waited a bit longer than I actually did.

The Milton Keynes marathon this year was exactly two weeks and a day after the London Marathon. It was also exactly fifty-two years after I was born. What better way to celebrate pre-senile decay than to spend a morning running round a town several years younger than I am?

The good news: even though the MK marathon was two weeks and a day after the London Marathon, I did not have to get out of bed for MK until two weeks, one day and two hours later than I got out of bed for the London Marathon; i.e. 7am instead of 5am. Very good news.

The bad news: gone are the days where I can run two marathons with a gap of two weeks in between and get away with it! But I had to find that out the hard way. 

Birthdays nowadays can make me look back at what I have not achieved in life rather than celebrating the achievements. So I decided to annihilate such nostalgic regrets with strenuous activity to take my mind off the non-achievements. 

It was a risky decision. If I were not careful, I could end up with another non-achievement to look back on in future years. So really I would have no option but to complete the marathon.

Originally I had entered the MK marathon as a backup plan in case my London Marathon finishing time was not good enough. To be honest, I was reasonably pleased with my 3:11 at London, even if it had been a bit of a struggle (it always is). As a result I would not need to do another marathon for the next two years under 3:20 to get a ‘Good For Age’ time.

So I can say that it was probably just vanity, fear of growing old or an insane belief that I might magic a good finishing time out of thin air that made me do Milton Keynes. Well, I had paid for the place, hadn’t I? And I was not expecting great things. Just to get round really. It might take about three and a half hours, on the other hand I might inexplicably get an undeservedly good time for no reason, a sort of unexpected birthday present. That had to be worth the risk. I had even given myself the option of turning over in bed and going back to sleep on the day if I did not feel like doing it. 

Race day morning arrived, happy birthday to me. It took next to no time to roll out of bed and get to Milton Keynes. There was a bit of an anxious moment, when I discovered they had closed some of the roads near the start. For a few confused minutes I drove in circles around a block of flats. But once out of that little dead-end, I miraculously found the industrial estate with free parking close to the football stadium that was the start and finish of the race. 

A few minutes later I was walking towards the stadium past a 24-hour McDonalds. It had to be worth dropping in there for a pre-race lavatory stop. Miraculously again there was no queue. I need not have worried. Inside the football stadium there were lavatories a-plenty with no real queues to speak of. Likewise the baggage drop had no real queue. So with half an hour still to go till the start of the race I was pretty well ready to go. There were several other Striders there too! 

So there was time for some quick sunbathing while waiting for the start. It was going to be quite a warm day. But there is only so much water you can take on board before the start so I just tried to relax and enjoy the sunshine. 

The race start was in zones with faster runners at the front. It all seemed pretty-well organised really. Before long we were on our way. The first few miles were along dual-carriageways that had been closed to traffic. These took us through the centre of MK before doubling back towards the start, then on a huge loop round the town. After a while the roads gave way to cycle paths but by then the field had thinned out so there was no real congestion on the route. There were plenty of drinks, energy drinks and gels on offer round the course, so even though the weather was hot, there was never a shortage of refreshments. 

After 11 miles I had the feeling of slowing down, that I normally get around 18 miles. Thoughts of dropping out or walking went through my head. I could feel myself slowing down, but in the end I decided it was probably better to slow down and get a finish time than to drop out completely.

After a while I could not take any more water on board, and it was just a case of digging in and getting round the course. There were some annoying bits: arched footbridges over the canal felt an effort to negotiate; a couple of hills after 20 miles needed some will-power to get over. But the stadium finish made up for this, although I could not muster the same sprint finish that some of my fellow runners conjoured up. En route there was some great support from several Striders and local residents, including former Striders’ Chairman Andy Wasdell. 

My 3:30 was somewhat slower than London, but it was a warm day and my legs did not feel fresh. I would definitely consider this as an ‘A’ race next year and maybe do London in fancy dress, depending on how the winter’s training and weather go. I think MK is going to be on the May Day Bank Holiday again in 2014 so, you never know, I may be there again! I can recommend it.

Colin Braybrook