Jack’s Marathons (& other races) - June to August 2014

Walled City Marathon, Derry, Northern Ireland: 1 June 2014: I was amazed how pretty the City of Derry and the surrounding countryside is. Unfortunately the Everglades Hotel had been fire-bombed by a dissident Republican group a few days before the start of the race, but the staff had worked really hard to ensure that the runners could still use it on race day. The marathon route comprised a number of loops passing through the City and into the surrounding countryside. There was no shortage of hills, but the crowd support in the City was phenomenal, especially just after Mile 20 when we came off the Peace Bridge and ran alongside the River Foyle and when we climbed the hill from the Bogside into the walled city area just before the start of Mile 26. I ran with a talkative bunch in the 3.45 pace group until they dropped me at around 19 miles and I finally finished in 3:48:14 (3rd vet 60–64 out of 19 and 415th out of 1323 finishers). This was a friendly, well organised point to point race in beautiful surroundings and deserves to become a lot bigger. The finisher’s medal is bigger and more solid than any I’ve ever received and the whole town seemed to have turned out to support the event. I managed to catch up with a number of Irish friends as well as friends from Liverpool and Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed the day. I’m already thinking that I might go back to run it again next year.

Striders at the Stour Valley Marathon

Stour Valley Marathon, Essex: 15 June 2014: This was an off-road route description marathon in Essex. There were 5 of us there from the Striders (Mandy Attree, Lucy Stern, Conrad Wild, Steve Elkan and me) and we decided to go round together. Steve stuck with us for 20 miles, but was obviously champing at the bit so we told him to push on at that stage with some faster runners. The rest of us finished in 5:20:48. Hot food and drinks were provided at the race finish and we all thoroughly enjoyed this event.

Wakefield Trail Marathon, West Yorkshire: 29 June 2014: This was another new trail marathon starting from Nostell Priory with about 35% of the course on road and the remainder on cycle paths and footpaths. Being Yorkshire there was no shortage of hills, but the route was marked and it stopped raining just before the race started. I had a reasonable run finishing in 4:10:23. Fortunately I was staying with friends in Sheffield after the race so the post race drive was not too taxing.

Stratford Grand Union Canal Trail Ultra, Stratford on Avon: 13 July 2014: The distance according to my Garmin was 29.56 miles although others came out with a figure of 31 miles. Whatever the distance actually was this was another excellent event staged by my friend Chris Seeney. From Stratford on Avon we followed the Stratford canal north before turning onto the Grand Union canal. The turnaround point was at a bridge just over 15 miles out. The whole event was brilliantly organised and even without marshals there was little opportunity to go wrong. All the helpers were friendly and supportive especially at the drinks stations and the race HQ. The towpaths were slightly muddy and overgrown in places, but were perfectly manageable in trail shoes and we received plenty of encouragement from the occupants of the numerous narrowboats navigating the canals. At the finish there was plentiful hot food, a medal and a good quality towel with the race name on it. Chris’s events are really popular and it was great to see so many good friends taking part. My finish time was 4:56:48.

Fairlands Valley Challenge: 20 July 2014: DNF: Starting this race was an exercise in stupidity for me. I knew I was dehydrated at the start and by around 11 miles I was peeing blood. I dropped out at the 3rd checkpoint (12.83 miles) and cadged a lift back to base with a friend from the Spartans. The remainder of the St Albans Striders group I’d been running with were fine and all seemed to have enjoyed their day out.

Bearbrook 10k: 10 August 2014: I enjoyed this club competition race although my time of 48:39 wasn’t brilliant. It was great to see so many Striders taking part.

Leila's Run Trail Marathon

Leila’s Run Trail Marathon, Wheathampstead: 17 August 2014: This is a 4 lap race run mainly along footpaths between Wheathampstead, Harpenden and Sandridge. It is run in memory of Leila Taylor who was a member of both Garden City Runners and the 100 marathon Club. I ran most of it with a friend, Dave King. As he’s faster than me I’m sure he managed to talk twice as much as me, while I endeavoured to catch my breath. I was pleased with my time 0f 4:08:34 given that there were plenty of hills to negotiate. The finisher’s medal was quite unique as it had a revolving centrepiece of a runner’s shirt with Garden City Runners colours on one side and 100 marathon club colours on the other.

Finishing the Thames Meander

Thames Meander Trail Marathon: 23 August 2014: This is a trail marathon along the Thames towpath between Kingston and Putney Bridge. The path is quite narrow and it took a while for the field of 334 marathoners and 269 half-marathoners to spread out a bit, but once it did I was able to maintain a steady pace and was exceptionally pleased with my finish time of 3:46:10, coming 2nd vet 60–69. The route is flat, but the towpath surface is quite rough in places and quite a few runners took tumbles. However, there were plenty of drink stations (all handing out GU gels as well) and the marshals were all friendly and supportive. Striders Mark Travers (4:20:38) and Kathryn Hall (5:19:48) also completed the marathon and Ian Hirth (1:48:50) ran the half. Unfortunately Si Fraser had to drop out of the marathon at 24 miles with an injury. He had been well up with the front runners at the turnaround point. Ironically I was just 11 seconds away from running a time of 3:45 for my 345th marathon.

Halifax Marathon, Yorkshire: 31 August 2014: The good news about Halifax was that the return train fare was £17, the hotel was 100 yards from the station and the race started and finished 0.4 miles away from the hotel. The bad news was hills. The marathon route comprised 2 laps and was through very pretty countryside, but for the first 7 miles of each lap we were faced with a series of sharp ascents (one very steep hill had a cobbled surface and there was a handrail along the adjacent wall) and descents. There was then a stretch of just over 5 miles alongside a canal before a final climb back up to the race HQ. The route was generally well signposted although on the second lap there was one point where I had to shout at the group in front of me as they were all about to take a path to the right instead of to the left. I was surprised that my time of 4:26:55 was sufficient to gain me the 1st vet 60–69 award, but I guess most people suffered on the hills as much as I did. My quads were still very painful for several days afterwards.

Jack Brooks 

May update from Stuart

Target Races: As you are aware, the committee has identified a number of target races throughout the season, with a maximum of 50 Club Champs points available for competing. Don't forget that these races also form the framework for the Age-Graded competition and you have to run in at least three of these events to register a final score. The next two 50-point target races for members are as follows:

• MWRRL Mob Match, 10K Welwyn Garden City (17 July 2014) No entry required (See below)
• Bearbrook 10K, (10 August 2014) Enter online for £12 at https://bearbrookrunningclub.primo-solutions.co.uk/ps/event/Bearbrook10K

Mid-Week Road Race League: Thank you and well done to everyone who turned out to the first league race at Fairlands Valley. It was a great night for Striders with a team wins in all categories, but there is no room for complacency and we would like to see even more Striders at the next race in Chingford on 4 June. As well as a great race, don’t forget that you will earn 20 Club Champs points for every race you run. The remaining dates in the league are as follows:

• Wednesday 4 June – Orion Running Club – Venue Chingford (6M)
• Thursday 12 June - Barnet/Trent Park – Venue Trent Park (9K)
• Tuesday 1 July - St. Albans – Venue Highfield Park (10K)
• Thursday 17 July - Mob Match - Garden City Runners/Herts Phoenix – Venue Welwyn Garden City (10K)

Bodybalance workshops – Mel Orchard and her team at Bodybalance are holding a series of talks for members. The talks and Q&A sessions will last for around 45 minutes and take place at 8.15pm in the Sea Cadet Hut at Westminster Lodge. The Bodybalance team specialise in sports and sports-related injuries and work with some of the UK’s top athletes across a wide range of sports, so this is a fantastic opportunity to get some first class advice completely free of charge. The future sessions are as follows:

• Thursday 26 June - Flexibility and Foam Roller Work. 8.15 start.
• Thursday in July (TBC) - Q&A, Recovery, Compression Garments, Common Injuries. 8.15 start.

Club championships – It’s still all to play for in the race for the Club Championships with Colin and Deborah leading the way in the men's and women's competitions. At the end of April the top 5 standings were:
1. Colin Braybrook… 352 Pts
2. Gary Warren… 292 Pts
3. Joe Dunn… 273 Pts
4. Steve Buckle… 261 Pts
5= Mark Travers… 250 Pts
5= Paul Adams… 250 Pts

1. Deborah Steer… 348 Pts
2. Wendy Webster… 295 Pts
3. Jo Sharples… 266 Pts
4. Zoe Lowe… 256 Pts
5. Wendy Walsh… 251 Pts

Leadership in running fitness course – For a variety of reasons, finding a suitable date and venue to stage the Leadership In Running Fitness course has so far proven elusive. Undeterred we are now looking at options in July. If you are interested in attending the one day course on a Saturday in July, please email me (chairman @ stalbansstriders.com)

Shelving in the lock-up – And finally, a plea to any DIY enthusiasts within the Club, that might be able to spare a couple of hours to install some shelves in the Lock Up. We have a lot of equipment stored there now and the catering equipment in particular could do with being off the floor. If you can help, please email me on the same address.

If you have got this far, thanks for taking the time to read and hope to see you running soon!

Stu Middleton (Chair)

Jack's marathons - March 2014 to May 2014

Jack, Big Sur, April 2014

Borders Marathon: 2 March 2014: This was, I believe, the first marathon ever to be staged in the Scottish Borders. Disappointingly there were only 36 starters, which may have been the result of people worried about weather conditions in Scotland at this time of year. As it was, while a friend of mine encountered heavy snow on his drive from Glasgow all that the runners had to contend with on the day was a strong (albeit cold) headwind on one half of the23.5 lap course. The full marathon was run entirely around the safety track on the inside of the Kelso horseracing course. The track was mainly comprised of hard-packed gravel although there was enough sand, stones and loose gravel to present a hazard for the unwary. The marshals were really supportive and there were drinks available on each lap. I enjoyed chatting to other runners on the way round and was pleased with my finishing time of 4:05:35. It was a very long way to drive for a race, but I’m really glad I made the effort.

Pitsford Water Trail Marathon: 16 March 2013: I decided to run this undulating 4 lap marathon in Northamptonshire again this year as it is such a well-run and friendly event. This year it was much warmer than in 2013 with the temperature climbing to around 16 degrees. However, the headwind was particularly strong in places. I was pleased to get under 4 hours for a trail marathon for the first time since Kasterlee Marathon in 2005. My time was 3:59:20 placing me 35th out of 113 finishers.

Hastings Half Marathon: 23 March 2014: Had I realised that this race used to be rated as one of the top 10 hardest halves in Europe at one time I might have thought harder about entering it. Suffice to say that the 2 mile long hill from 3 miles to 5 miles was a true test of character. I was content with my time of 1:46:36 (which was 3 seconds faster than my chip time at Watford Half this year), but it was great to see Howard Bull improving his times yet again with a PB run of 1:36:50.

Bratislava Marathon, Slovakia: 6 April 2014: Having flown into Vienna Airport we got an airport taxi into Bratislava at a very reasonable cost. The marathon package included a 2 way transport pass for buses and trams and free entry to many attractions. There was also a free 6km ‘History Run’ around the main sites in the old part of the city. The marathon comprised 2 laps of a flat course, the only uphill section being fairly easy. The cobbles just after the hill were not particularly user friendly, but didn’t last for long. There were several out and back sections and from time to time I spotted Strider Leigh Ecclestone, who was well ahead of me (finishing in 3:19:54). I’d started well behind the 3.45 and 4 hour pace groups. It took me about 7k to catch up the 3.45 pacers and I stayed with them until around 22k. After that I ran ahead of them, but they were close enough behind that I could hear their group cheering as they went through each kilometre until I finally left them behind as we turned to run along the side of the Danube at 39k. Happily, my time of 3:40:48 will give me a guaranteed ‘Good for Age’ entry for London Marathon for 2015 and 2016. London Marathon: 13 April 2014: It was a bit of a shock to the system to run a big city marathon again. On the one hand the support from the crowd (and particularly the large contingent of St Albans Striders) was tremendous and I also saw loads of people I know at the start and on the way round. On the other hand there were so many runners there that it was impossible to run at a set pace and one constantly had to concentrate hard in order to avoid being tripped up or twisting an ankle on discarded half-full water bottles etc. My legs felt tired from the start so I was pleased to finish in one piece in 3:49:04.

Good Friday Cricket Club Trail Marathon, Stratford on Avon: 18 April 2014: This was another thoroughly enjoyable race organised by my good friend, Chris Seeney. The first loop went out towards Alscott Park and the second loop went out towards Loxley. Much of the route was new to me and it was great to once again be running through the beautiful fields and villages around Stratford on Avon. There were around 100 runners and, as with all Chris’ races, this was a friendly well organised event.

Jack, Big Sur, April 2014

Big Sur Marathon, California, USA: 27 April 2014: I have wanted to do this race for some time. It has been called the USA’s most scenic marathon and The Ultimate Guide to Marathon Running scores it as 10+ for beauty (out of 10). Hugh Jones describes it as ‘unforgettably scenic’, but the views with mountains on the right and the Pacific Ocean on the left come at a price and Hugh rates the course as 8 out of 10 for difficulty. The 2 mile climb to Hurricane Point (520 feet of climbing) may be the worst of the many hills, but none of the point-to point route was flat so far as I could tell. There were a number of bands and musicians entertaining us along the route, but the highlight for me was Michael Martinez in full evening dress playing the Grand Piano as we descended to the halfway point at Bixby Bridge. We were incredibly lucky with the weather as the customary headwind failed to appear and, if anything, it was too warm towards the end of the race. I finished in 4:05:36 (830th out of 3338 finishers) and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

Avenue of the Giants Marathon, California: 4 May 2014: Incredibly, this race is also one that has been on my wish list for some time so it was good news when I spotted that it was one week after Big Sur. The Ultimate Guide to Marathon Running scores it as 10 out of 10 for beauty and whilst there are hills they are much more manageable than those at Big Sur. The route is along a paved road that winds through the giant redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park and comprises 2 out and back sections with the Bull Creek leg first and the Avenue of the Giants leg second. Running beneath a canopy of prehistoric redwoods is a truly mystical experience. To top this off I discovered that I’d come 3rd out of 24 in the 60/64 age category and 169th out of 636 finishers with a time of 3:54:57.

Copenhagen Marathon, Denmark: 18 May 2014: I stayed with former Strider Mette Brink in Copenhagen and discovered that, in addition to huge areas of open space, plus lakes and canals everywhere, there seem to be more bicycles there than in Amsterdam. Mette was the perfect hostess and put up with me for 5 nights. On the Friday she scared the hell out of me by taking me go-kart racing in Roskilde with members of her cycling club. I nearly burnt the brakes out. Back on 2 legs I made the start of the marathon wondering how much the Stevenage mid-week road race had taken out of me. The course was flat and scenic, but it was very warm for the first half. Towards the end it started to rain and by the finish I felt like a drowned rat. Stupidly I’d put sun-tan lotion on my forehead before we started and the rain made a great job of washing this into my eyes so that I could barely see for the last mile or so. I was happy with a finish of 3:49:11.

Jack Brooks

Jack’s marathons - December 2013 to February 2014

The Cricket Club Trail Marathon, Stratford on Avon: 7 December 2013: The Race Director, Chris Seeney, is an old friend of mine. He organises quite a number of route description trail marathons around the Stratford on Avon area and they are always well supported. There were 85 participants in this event and I reckon I knew half of them. The race started in central Stratford and followed the canal to Wilmcote. After passing the Mary Arden Centre we turned into fields and ran a couple of interesting long circuits around the Oversley Woods area before heading back to Stratford. The weather was perfect for running, the company was good and the scenery was great. I finished in 4:56:38 having thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Pisa Marathon, Italy: 15 December 2013: Last time I tried to get to Italy for Pisa Marathon I spent nearly 2 days sitting on planes at Gatwick Airport in heavy snow at which stage I gave up and returned home, so I was relieved when our plane touched down in Pisa Airport in sunshine. About 30 of us made the trip, which was mainly to celebrate a friend, Danny Kay’s, 72nd birthday and 500th marathon. Our hotel was only a few hundred yards from the leaning tower, plenty of good restaurants and the race start and the weather was perfect from Friday to Monday. The only part of the marathon course, which presented any problems was the first section through the city as it was difficult to spot some ruts in the road when in the middle of a large crowd. Once we got onto open roads and headed towards the sea the going was much easier and then the stretch beside the sea was very pleasant. My original plan was to run just behind the 3:45 pace group, but at about 13k another British runner, Gareth Hare, joined me and we gradually moved ahead of the pace group. At 39k Gary slowed down, but urged me to go on and I was amazed when I crossed the finish line in 3:39:38, my best time for over 3.5 years. I’m very tempted to go back to Pisa next year. Danny finished just behind me comfortably ahead of all other competitors in the 70/74 age group. The celebrations on the Sunday evening were not to be missed!

Portsmouth Coastal Trail Marathon: 22 December 2013: It rained constantly throughout both the Saturday and the night before this marathon so everybody knew at the start that all of the footpaths would be muddy and waterlogged. The race starts at The Pyramid Centre on Portsmouth Esplanade and then follows footpaths around Langstone Harbour until the turnaround point at 13.1 miles. In good conditions this could be a very fast course, but both times I’ve run it have been after heavy rainstorms. This year we had the added pleasure of having to wade through knee-deep freezing cold sea-water where the tide had come in and then run nearly 2 miles along the Esplanade into a strong headwind to reach the finish. This meant that Mark Travers (the only other Strider there) and I both missed out on getting an under 4 hour time with him finishing in 4:02:27 and me in 4:03:19. Given the weather and tide conditions I was happy with my run.

Winter Tanners (30.5 miles), Leatherhead, Surrey: 12 January 2013: This event follows a circular route from Leatherhead along Surrey footpaths and bridleways. The route description is pretty complicated and the organisers emphasize in the instructions that minimal support is provided. On the 30.5 mile route there are only 3 checkpoints so it is essential to carry your own water and anything else you might require. After several weeks of torrential rain I guessed that the route would be muddy and it was. The mud made progress slow and we also went wrong in quite a few places and had to retrace our steps. We completed the last 4 miles in the dark with one torch between 7 of us. The organisers said it was a tough event and it certainly was. My time was 8:51:00.

The Viking Coastal Trail Marathon, Kent: 18 January 2014: This race starts by the end of ‘The Parade’ in Birchington and heads out on the Viking Coastal Trail for just under 3.28 miles to the turnaround point just short of Reculver Castle (which was built by the Romans 2,000 years ago to guard the channel separating the Isle of Thanet from Kent). This loop is repeated 4 times and because the tarmac and concrete path is fairly narrow and is shared with dog-walkers and cyclists the number of competitors was limited to 50 (half of which I knew). The route was totally flat, but the wind made the return part of the loop quite tough and seemed to get stronger as the morning went on. I didn’t feel particularly strong throughout and finished in 4:11:59. However, it was nice to spend the morning running beside the sea. 

Watford, 2014

Watford Half Marathon: 2 February 2014: This was a little confidence booster before I turn 62 in March. My time of 1:46:39 was the fastest I’ve achieved on this course since 2005 and was good enough to get me the 2nd vet 60 Herts County Championship medal. It was great to see so many other Striders there, many of whom achieved PBs even though parts of the course were flooded. 

Genk, 2014

Genk Marathon, Belgium: 16 February 2014: Incredibly for my 6th running of this 7 lap hilly marathon the weather was so much better than in previous years that I was able to run comfortably in shorts and a T-Shirt. 11 of us made the trip this year (apparently with a total of over 5,400 marathons between us). I had a good run finishing in 3:46:16 coming 70th out of 188 and 2nd vet 60/69. After the race we just had time for a few post-race celebratory beers at the race HQ before catching the train back to Brussels. 

Jack Brooks

A Muddy Shade of Grey

It is a fact universally acknowledged that mud is preferably enjoyed in the relative comfort of a luxury spa for skin cleansing purposes, as opposed to the down-trodden, slushy – frankly, plain miserable – experience that the Southern Cross Country Championships on Hampstead Heath’s Parliament Hill offered on Saturday 25 January.

While I had previously – as it turns out erroneously – assumed that Parliament Hill was just a bit of a ‘fun run’ in a bit of mud, it turns out that actually it’s a bit like Marmite: do it and love it forever, or, do it and vow to never ever put your lethal 15mm spikes on again!

Two years ago I loved it. I can’t think why now. This year I can shamelessly admit that I hated it!

And here’s why….

I was never one to lead from the front, which might have made the experience a notable success by collecting points for the Club or even winning (yeah, right!). I plod, propping up the persistent league of ‘back runners’ – as results and iPhone videos on Facebook will prove – I discovered a new hatred for all things ‘dirty’.

The German in me is a bit of stickler for cleanliness and orderliness, so the disorder of runners charging up the hill from the Lido, resembling a scene from the Grand National, did not sit well with my nature. And the inevitable mud bath, aided by the predictably unpredictable British weather, was diluted into an even murkier substance, eager to squelch through socks and in between one’s toes.

Not to mention the innate worry about cleansing the better-left-unmentioned toenail crevices and the extra detergent polluting the environment required to clean failed performance socks, once known by their distinct shade of once-to-often-washed-with-darks-grey.

While fellow Striders embraced the mud and thought it was such fun, I lied and nodded while secretly thinking: ‘…so not doing that again!!!’

Suffice to say, that once the woman’s 5 mile race was over, the men had to struggle through near enough 9 miles enduring an impenetrable mud-fest that must have surely beaten the manliest man at his moderately toned core! (….and bring tears to their eyes, perhaps?)

And as if that wasn’t enough! The journey home added to the soggy misery by sending thunder, lightning, more rain, and train delays. We eventually rolled into St Albans: dirty, wet and cold.

So, did I enjoy it?

No!

Will I do it again?

Certainly not!

Am I going for a long run this weekend in the wet, cold and muddy conditions known as the British weather?

Probably…..:)


Petra Grosse