A review of the closely fought Club Champs 2015-16

Another Club Champs competition has come to an end, and what a close fought battle it was!

We’ve had 168 men and 138 women scoring in the Champs - with 350 members that’s virtually the whole club.

The Club Champs provides lots of opportunities to race together, like at this year's Festive 5

I just want to briefly remind us why we have the Champs at all. Yes, it recognises achievement, but as much as that, it also acts as a great backbone for the whole year of running, encourages participation, and gives us lots of chances to race together. What better advert for the club than to see a mass of yellow and blue at the start of one of our hand-picked races?

I should also mention everyone that gives their time for marshalling and other types of support that are so essential to run our events as successfully as we do, which is why volunteering points are integral to the Club Champs.

Graham Smith revealed the winners of the 2015-16 competition at the Annual Dinner

Over the year we’ve done very well, as Stuart highlighted at the AGM. We came away as the overall winners at the Mid Week League again, and won team awards at several of the Club Champs road races including the Festive 5, Fred Hughes 10 and the Hatfield 5k.

A couple of totally useless statistics: Between us all we did 1,147 Club Champs races over the year. This equates to 7,443 miles. Which incidentally is the target for next year’s Stampede course record.

AGE-GRADED COMPETITION

This is now the third year we’ve run an age-graded competition alongside the main Club Champs. Seven of the Club Champs races counted towards this and anyone who did at least three of them was eligible for the competition.

Everyone is graded as a percentage against the best in the world for their age, and the winner is the man or woman with the highest average across their best three races.

Deirdre Heydecker won the women's age-graded competition for the third year running

In 1^st place this year, unbeaten for the third year running, with an impressive average age graded score of 82.25% for her times in Fred Hughes, the Mid Week Mob Match and the Great Birmingham Run, Deirdre Heydecker. 

In 2nd place was Wendy Walsh, and 3^rd place Zoe Lowe.

It would be remiss not to mention the amazing effort of Lizzie Barber, who at the age of 70, ran in the Mid Week Mob Match in a time of 50:29 to get the highest ever age graded score we’ve had of 89%.

And now on to the men. 31 men ran at least three qualifying races, and a special mention here to Seb Rowe who was the only one to run all seven. 

In 3^rd place was Colin Braybrook, in 2^nd place, Steve Buckle, and in 1^st place, again for the third year running, with another impressive average score of 82.23% for the Festive 5, the Berkhamsted Half Marathon and the Hatfield 5k, Graham Foster.

WOMEN’S CHAMPS

Again, I’ll start with the ladies. For the first half of the year we had a dominant lead from a cross country loving Charlotte Holloway, before she decided to give everyone else a chance by taking a break to have a baby.

This opened up the way for a number of contenders. Caroline Skyrme and Clair Drage weren’t far behind, with an emerging Wendy Walsh pulling up behind.

Come the end of the Mid Weeks and Clair, Wendy and Donna Irwin were all looking good. But when it came to the crunch and the final furlong, a victor emerged.

The winner– putting in a late surge for the top spot, with a total of 473 points – your 2015-2016 St Albans Striders women’s champion is Amy Tanner.

The women's champion was Amy Tanner, with runners-up Wendy Walsh and Clair Drage

In second position, with 436 points, congratulations to Wendy Walsh.  

And in 3^rd position, with 433 points, well done Clair Drage.

MEN’S CHAMPS

On to the men. Paul Adams took the early lead with a dominant performance at the Festive 5, closely followed over the cross country season by Colin Braybrook and Graham Foster.

But then we witnessed a phenomenon - the rise of the Runsketteers, the legendary band of have-a-go heroes. By March, Seb Rowe found himself in second place, with Gareth Beavis close behind.

Jim King was the male champ, with Seb Rowe second and Graham Foster third

Strong turnouts at the races over the summer and Autumn meant the competition stayed fierce, but with one clear leader emerging.

The 2015-2016 St Albans Striders men’s champion – with a commanding 471 points - is Jim King.  

With 406 points, second place this year goes to Seb Rowe.  

And in 3^rd place – with 398 points – it’s Graham Foster.

All that remains is for me to say well done again to all our winners, and also everyone that took part in the club champs this year. I hope you enjoyed it, whether you realised you were taking part or not!

The new Club Champs year is already underway so get involved as it could be you winning the prizes for 2016-17! Full details and the race calendar can be found on the website.

On the comeback trail! Jethro's running journey and 2017 targets

Jethro Offemaria, 26, who has been a member of St Albans Striders since August 2016 shares his story and his running targets for 2017...

Wearing my Striders vest with pride

I took up running in 2007 at the age of 17 during my time at Grateley House, a specialist school for people like me with Asperger's Syndrome and other associated conditions. I took part in the Salisbury Journal Mini-Marathon and went on to finish the adults and parents' race. After the race it was inspiring to meet Sydney 2000 Olympian Katharine Merry and the then Salisbury football coach and member of the 1976 Southampton FA Cup winning team, Nick Holmes.

A year later in 2008, I ran the St Albans 10K and finished in what was then a PB of 1:07:04. I was delighted as it was the first 10K run of my life. A few months later, I did a ten miler in Welwyn Garden City but I got my only DNF as I had to stop after four miles due to glute pain.

A few weeks later, I participated in the 2008 Great South Run in aid of Marie Curie and ran my 10 mile PB of 1:56:16. Prior to the race, I even had a chance to meet Cavegirl and Mile High actress Stacey Cadman and Olympic runner Paula Radcliffe who was taking part in the elite race!

In 2009, I set myself the hard challenge of running a half marathon by entering the Great North Run. I went on to finish in 2:55:01 and raised £800 for the National Autistic Society, who do lots of good work to help people with autism like me.

Taking part in the St Albans 10K

Then in 2010, I got a 10km PB in the Hertford Charity 10K with a time of 01:01:59. I was delighted I was able to finish this race by running continuously without having to stop and walk. In the same year, I also took part in the St Albans Half Marathon and broke my 2009 Great North Run PB by more than 11 minutes, finishing in 2:43:59 which I was happy with.

I then had to go into hospital so before I was admitted, I ran the 2010 Great South Run in aid of the Stroke Association, in memory of my late Grandad Max who passed away from a stroke in 2009. I finished in 1:58:42.

Finishing the Great South Run

After leaving hospital, I wanted to start running again and do some more races for charity. I joined St Albans Striders as I wanted to lose weight, make new friends and train hard in preparation for the Great South 5K and other 10K races. 

Training has been steady so far and I have set myself the goal to run the following races in 2017...

• Vitality London 10km (29 May)
• Great Newham Run (02 July)
• Supersonic 10km (07 October)
• Great South 5km Run (21 October)

In all of these races, I will raise funds for the National Autistic Society - plus race for the Striders!

If you would like to sponsor me, please visit my Just Giving page

Thanks for reading and I will do my best!

Jethro

Hills, heat and following in the footsteps of a brave Canadian amputee: Jack Brooks' June to September 16 race highlights

JUNE 2016 TO SEPTEMBER 2016

Running with Striders during Leila's Run, one of my race highlights of the summer

Whittington Charity Challenge Trail Marathon: 16th July 2016: This was a four lap trail marathon near Lichfield, which was organised by my friends Bill and Pauline Howes. The route was undulating and by the fourth lap the hills were hurting.

It was also extremely humid throughout the day, which made for somewhat difficult running conditions. However, it was an ideal event for me as it enabled me to gauge how my post injury recovery was coming along and I knew that if I felt bad at any time I could always drop out at the end of a lap.

As it was I felt fine throughout, although by 18 miles my legs were feeling very tired. Given that I was not back to full fitness I was happy with my finish time of 5:14:51.

Summer Around the Reservoir Trail Marathon: 24th July 2016: The usual course for this marathon comprises six laps around Brackmills Reservoir in Northampton with around half the route running along a tarmac cycle path and the remainder along a mixture of grassed footpath and stony track.

Unfortunately, shortly before the race date the Environment Agency closed off part of the route for flood prevention works and the course had to be changed to eight out and back laps along the side of the reservoir opposite the tarmac cycle track.

The temperature at the start of the race was around 20 degrees and increased to around 25 degrees by the finish. There was no shade and everybody appeared to be suffering in the heat. I finished in 5:25:57 and was exceptionally grateful that my car had air conditioning as I drove home. I had just about cooled down by the time I made it back to St Albans.

An enjoyable day out at the Darnley Challenge

Darnley Challenge Trail Marathon, Kent: 13th August 2016: This event was a two lap off-road marathon using the Gravesend Cyclopark as the race venue. The route was much more picturesque than I’d anticipated passing as it did through Jeskyns Woodland, The Darnley Estate and Ranscombe Wildflower Reserve.

The route was unmarked and unmarshalled so we had to rely on a written route description. Fortunately this had been meticulously prepared ensuring that it would be extremely difficult to get lost.

There was about 1,500ft of ascent and a few paths were somewhat uneven and difficult to run on, but overall I had a really enjoyable day out and finished in 5:30:55.

Leila’s Run Trail Marathon: 21st August 2016: This local race starting in Wheathampstead provided runners with the options of running one, two, three or four laps. I opted for four, but there were quite a lot of Striders running the three lap option. I ran with Gladstone, Katie, Carol, Mandy and Howard for a few miles, but they were running at a faster pace than I was comfortable with and soon departed off ahead of me.

It was great to see a number of club members out and about around Heartwood Forest while we were running, amongst whom were Andrew Maher, Pete Blackaller, Graham Smith, Sheryl Norman and Colin Braybrook. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and finished in 5:18:50.

With Dave King after Leila's Run wearing our unusual medals

Heart of America Marathon, Columbia, Missouri: 5th August 2016: Tom Detore, a running friend who I’ve known for around 20 years, invited me and Roger Biggs from Stevenage to stay with him for a week. This marathon is one of Tom’s favourites as well as being his hometown marathon. What he failed to tell us was that for many years it was classified as the hardest non-mountain road marathon in the USA!

We could tell as soon as we arrived in St Louis airport that we’d be in for a hot race and the conditions on Labor Day Monday as we lined up at the race start did not disappoint. By the time we reached the last six mile stretch the temperature had risen to around 90 degrees, the humidity was crushing and we had run out of shade. I crossed the line in 5:00:03 and was mighty happy to find a shaded area where I could sit until Tom and Roger finished.

This was probably the toughest marathon I have run in the States since Mount Rushmore marathon in 2005, and I was a lot younger and fitter when I ran that.

Roger and I with Tom at his favourite Heart Of America Marathon - he hadn't warned us how tough it would be!

Queen City Marathon, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: 11th September 2016: We flew into Regina airport on the Friday and met up with our friends Rich and Jeanne Holmes from North Carolina. Our flights were via Chicago and Calgary. The flight from Chicago was an hour late and we passed through immigration fairly quickly. After that everything went pear shaped. We had to pick up our bags, but the airport advised that these were being unloaded on a different carousel to the one they were actually unloaded on.

After a long delay we managed to locate the bags, but then were told we had to recheck them in at the Air Canada desk, which was two floors above and a fair distance away. We rechecked our two bags within 15 seconds of each other, but only one bag arrived in Regina. Apparently the other one “had been checked in too late”. It was delivered to our hotel around 1.30am that night.

Moving on, race registration went smoothly and the predicted rain and cold winds failed to materialise on race day. I had looked up the course description for a different Queen City Marathon and so was delighted as the race progressed to find that (whilst the altitude was around 1,900 feet) the whole route was on well surfaced relatively flat roads and paths rather than the compacted gravel hilly course that I’d been anticipating.

I was still unsure about how much fitness I’d regained since I’ve been back running and decided to start with the five hour pace group and see how things went. It soon became evident that I was able to go faster and I spent much of the first five miles weaving between large groups of slower runners until I found space to run at my own speed.

The race had drink stations virtually every mile and gels were being handed out as well at some of these. Apparently they had one volunteer for each six competitors (impressive).

I went through half way in 2 hours 8 minutes, but flagged a bit in the second half eventually finishing in 4:31:23. I was more than happy with that result as it was my fastest finish since before my knee injury.

Maritime Marathon, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada: 17th September 2016: Apart from a mix up over seating Air Canada got us to Halifax via Toronto late on the Tuesday without too much upset and the bus from the airport to our hotel location was reasonably inexpensive.

We then had a few days in which to chill, wash clothes, sight-see etc before the 5k evening race on Friday the 16th. That race started at 7pm and I ran most of it at a very relaxed pace talking to a guy called Earl who had relatives in Hertfordshire and had seen St Albans on my race vest.

I’d started towards the back with the intention of having an easy run and with around 2,500 runners there was little scope for fast times anyway. Having failed to start my stop watch I discovered later that my time was 30:23. There was a spectacular fireworks display after the 5k, which meant that we got back to our hotel quite late on the Friday evening.

The next morning we had to catch a bus at 6am back to the marathon race start at Fisherman’s Cove (just by the Eastern Passage). I had no preconceptions about what the course would be like, but it turned out to be hilly and, with few roads closed, somewhat dangerous in places (especially in the second half, where those of us running the marathon frequently had to step off the road onto a rough and uneven sidewalk in order to avoid oncoming cars).

I ran the last 7k with a guy called Marian, who is the only person I’ve ever met who shares John Wayne’s Christian name.

My schoolboy error for this race was forgetting to switch off my stop watch. However, my published chip finish time was 4:53:28, which placed me 2nd out of 8 in the 60/69 age group. Whilst the sea views were beautiful in places for this race I was disappointed that traffic safety was such a problem for the last 12k and also that the only distance markers were every 5K.

HuffinPuffin Marathon, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada: 25th September 2016: I was injured last year, but had already booked the trip and so I walked the half marathon. What I remembered from this course was that it was undulating and that there was one particularly vicious hill that we’d have to run up twice in the marathon.

A memorial to Terry Fox, an amputee who tried to run across Canada after losing his leg to cancer

When we went to check out the location of the Terry Fox memorial I realised why the route goes up this hill. Terry Fox was an amputee who set off to run across Canada to raise money for cancer charities after losing a leg to cancer. He never completed the full distance, but his gallant attempt inspired the nation and the fund he set up has raised millions of dollars for charity since he founded it. The memorial is by the harbour in the spot where Terry dipped his foot into the ocean at the start of his epic run and is also at the base of the really nasty hill. This once I can forgive the Race Director for designing the course to follow this particular route.

On our way to view the memorial someone shouted at us and we realised that it was two other runners from Fairlands Valley Spartans who had also come over for the race. It was cold on race day, but thankfully the rain held off and I finished the two laps in 4:30:05.

The course of the HuffinPuffin Marathon takes in a route run by Terry Fox in a fitting tribute to him

It was a bonus after the race to meet up with a bunch of St John’s runners who had provided great entertainment at the previous week’s event in Dartmouth. As with any long running trip the tedious part of the holiday will be the long flights home via, Halifax and Newark.

Return of the mud! Striders guide to the 2016-17 Cross Country season

Cross country season is nearly upon us again and what better way is there to spend your Autumn/Winter weekends than running through the mud with your fellow Striders?!

There has been a great uptake in cross country running in the club over recent years with more and more of you discovering the joys of racing offroad.

Below is a fixture list of the forthcoming races we are competing in, so please put the dates in your diaries as we would love to see as many of you there as possible.

Join your fellow Striders at cross country events this Autumn and Winter

If you are completely new to the club and/or to cross country running, scroll down for further information on the various leagues we compete in and how you can get involved (it's all completely free for club members).

Cross country captains Graham Smith and Wendy Walsh will email and post on Facebook with the full details on each race the week before they take place.

OCTOBER

Saturday, 15 October, Chiltern League, Oxford

Saturday, 22 October, Southern Cross Country Relay, Wormwood Scrubs

Sunday, 23 October, Sunday League, Cheshunt

NOVEMBER

Saturday, 5 November, National Cross Country Relays, Mansfield

Saturday, 12 November, Chiltern League, Milton Keynes (Teardrop Lakes)

Sunday, 13 November, Sunday League, Grovelands

DECEMBER

Saturday, 3 December, Chiltern League, Luton

Saturday, 10 December, Cross Country Masters & Inter Counties Championships, Oxford

Sunday, 18 December, Sunday League, TBC (Willian or Stevenage)

The cross country season runs from October till March

JANUARY

Sunday, 8 January, Herts Champs, TBC

Saturday, 14 January, Chiltern League, Keysoe

Sunday, 15 January, Sunday League, Watford

Saturday, 28 January, Southern Champs, Parliament Hill

FEBRUARY

Saturday, 11 February, Chiltern League, Milton Keynes (Campbell Park)

Sunday, 12 February, Sunday League, Royston

Saturday, 25 February, National Champs, Wollaton Park, Nottingham

MARCH

Inter-counties Champs – date and venue TBC (usually on a Saturday at the start of the month in Birmingham)

Herts Vets Champs – date and venue TBC (usually on a Sunday in the middle of the month)

CROSS COUNTY LEAGUES WE COMPETE IN

The men's start at a Chiltern League fixture last year

THE CHILTERN LEAGUE

Comprises clubs from Herts, Beds and Bucks, open to all abilities. Men and women race separately - approx 6k for women and 8k for men. There’s also junior races earlier in the day where St Albans AC athletes compete for Striders. The juniors, men and women’s scores are all combined to reach our league position.

Where & when: Women’s race starts approx 1.15pm, men’s approx 2pm

Saturday 15 October, Oxford
Saturday 12 November, Milton Keynes (Teardrop Lakes)
Saturday 3 December, Luton
Saturday 14 January, Keysoe
Saturday 11 February, Milton Keynes (Campbell Park)

What to do: We need to declare with the organisers who will be running the night before each race. We’ll send an email and post on the message board the week before each race so please let us know then if you intend to run. On the day, collect a number from captains (Graham Smith for the men and Wendy Walsh for the women). As with the Midweek Road Race League, you must keep this number for the whole league.

NB: This season the number of female scorers for the team has increased from four to six so we need we more women than ever to take part!

More info: www.chilternccl.co.uk  

Hills and mud don't stop Striders!

THE SUNDAY LEAGUE

Slightly lower key league so a good introduction if you have never done cross country before. It’s suitable for all abilities and just like the MWRRL but on offroad courses. Clubs from the local area take part with men and women competing in the same race which is approx 5-6 miles. If you take part in four or more races you will be in with a chance of winning an individual age group prize at the end of the league. Individual trophies are awarded as follows: Senior Men, M40, and M50 - first five places. M60 - first three, M70 - winner. Senior Women, W35, and W45 - first five places. W55 – first three, W65 – winner.

Where & when: All races start at 10.30am

Sunday, 23 October, Cheshunt
Sunday, 13 November, Grovelands
Sunday, 18 December, TBC (Willian or Stevenage)
Sunday, 15 January, Watford
Sunday, 12 February, Royston

What to do: We’ll advertise further details on each race in advance. You don’t need to wear a number so just turn up and race. At the finish, you’ll be given a ticket with your finishing position on which should be handed to the captains so they can record the results.

More info: There’s no official website for the league but results and pictures will be posted on www.runherts.com.

Spikes and trail shoes at the ready!

CHAMPIONSHIP RACES

Herts County XC: Sunday 8 January TBC

Individual and county medals up for grabs here and the chance to qualify to represent Herts in future races. Approx 8k for women and 12k for men.

The men weaving round the Herts County Champs course in Stevenage

What to do: You must have been born in Herts or have been a resident in the county for at least nine months prior to the race to compete. Captains have to enter teams in advance so look out for details on the message board or via email in order to sign up. On the day, collect your number from captains.

More info: http://www.hertscaaa.org.uk

Southern Champs: Saturday 28 January, Parliament Hill, London

Regional event made up of clubs from the south of England. Approx 8k for women and 15k for men.

What to do: Open to all club members of all abilities but you must be EA registered pre-entered by captains. Look out for posts/emails to sign up nearer the time. The event is chip-timed so you must collect your chip and number from captains on the day.

More info: www.seaa.org.uk

The National Champs: Saturday 25 February, Wollaton Park, Nottingham

Prestigious and historic event which clubs across England take part in. Approx 8k for women and 12k for men.

What to do: Open to all club members of all abilities but you must be EA registered pre-entered by captains. The event is chip-timed so you must collect your chip and number from captains on the day.

More info: www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk

Vet Champs: There are also a couple of Vets only championship races (age 35/40 and over for women depending on the event and age 40 and over for men) across the season including the Southern Masters Champs on Saturday 10 December in Oxford, and Herts County Vet Champs in March, date and venue TBC. You must be pre-entered so look out for email/Facebook posts nearer the time.

The Herts County Champs women's race in 2016

RELAYS

Southern XC Relay: Saturday, 22 October, Wormwood Scrubs

Team event involving clubs from the South which is a low key, fun start to the cross country season.

Teams: Women, 3 x 3k, Men, 4 x 5k

What to do: Open to all club members of all abilities but you must be EA registered and pre-entered by captains. Look out for emails/posts from the captains in the near future.

All runners contribute to the team effort/spirit in cross country races

National XC Relay:  Saturday 5 November, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire

Well-supported national event where clubs from around England compete in teams around a course that’s not challenging and is great for spectating.

Teams: Women, 3 x 3k, men, 4 x 5k

What to do: Open to all club members of all abilities but you must be EA registered and pre-entered by captains. Look out for emails/Facebook posts in the near future.

Further questions? 

Check out last year's Guide to Cross Country on the blog which has reasons why you should take part and a list of essential items. 

If you want tips on how to run well over cross country, check out this blog post.

If you need to know anything else, contact XC captains Graham Smith at men @stalbansstriders.com and Wendy Walsh at ladies @stalbansstriders.com 

Now go and get those spikes out!

Helen Cartlidge reports on her first (very muddy) long distance trail race at the North Downs Run

North Downs Run, 30k, 26 June 2016

Unique, scenic, iconic, tough, brutal, hilly, challenging, uplifting... that's how it was described on the T-shirt.

It certainly ticked all those boxes... and muddy, really muddy (it should have given me a clue when it was on the same weekend as Glastonbury!)

The day before, we drove down to my in-laws, who live 10 minutes away from the course. It rained on the journey round the M25, and when we arrived it rained a bit more. I started my pre-race-whinge ritual (often this doesn't start till race day but surprisingly for me,  I was well prepared and started the night before). 

It was going to be wet, muddy, hilly, I didn't have trail shoes, I would end up falling on my bum etc etc. Probably to stop the moaning, my hubby, Arnie, offered to buy me a pair of trail shoes. So, against all general race advice, we went to Bluewater at 8.45pm the night before and purchased my first pair of trail shoes. Gotta love a bit of late night shopping!

Race morning arrived and the weather was... raining (again!) At the race HQ the marshals were wearing head torches and finding race packs in the dark due to a power cut at the sports centre. This, coupled with the fact we met Arnie's cousin, Adam, who knew the route and described conditions as "horrendous", did little to calm my nerves.

I had decided, as this was my first reasonable length trail race, and my training had been a lot skimpier than planned, I would race anonymously, and not in a club vest. However, as I lined up at the start, I felt conspicuous as one of the few NOT wearing a club vest and wearing a new pair of trainers - all the gear, no idea.

The first few kilometres were not too testing, a lap of the sports field and over a golf course. Nothing too bad so far, or too muddy.  The first challenge came at around 7.5-8k where the first steep hill was. It made the St Albans Half look tame in comparison! 

The course was varied with footpaths, through and around fields and meadows, woodland sections, some roads through villages and tracks with gates, stiles and wooden barriers along the way. The marshals were fantastic and  gave  extra info on potential hazards, and even other people using the course, to be aware of. Through the woodland section, each protruding tree root or large rock was highlighted in neon orange spray paint and over hanging branches had tape hanging from them (not that I needed to worry about that!)

8-12k was not undulating but proper hilly! The steepest uphill sections were often a single track path through a field and most people (in my time bracket anyway) walked up. It was somewhat limited to whether the person immediately in front was walking or running, but I was not in any position to overtake anyway.

The weather for the race was ideal - it had eventually stopped raining and was the sort of boring, dull, offensive weather that you wouldn't really enjoy during the summer for anything other than running (or maybe cycling). It was cool, breezy and threatening to rain, although it brightened a little towards the end.

13-20k were more bearable with flatter paths through the woods, albeit with mud and ankle-deep puddles (the new trail shoes were properly tested). The scenery was stunning when it was safe to take your eyes off the ground - wild flower meadows, rolling hills, farms and villages. Around 20k there was another steep climb and (another!) Serpentine lady overtook me but then started walking. We ran at a similar pace for the next 4 kilometres and chatted briefly, until the next water stop. And then she disappeared into the distance and I didn't see her til the finish. Here I wished I had my Striders vest on, so I could try to convince her (and myself!) that I was a more stern opposition for her! Can race vests actually help you run faster or give you a psychological edge??

The last 5k seemed particularly harsh. Although I knew more or less where I was and there was "only a parkrun to go..!" it felt like a long slog. I took a walking break at each incline (only when I saw people ahead stopping to walk, so conceded it must be ok!) I had optimistically convinced myself on the way out, that the last 3k was predominantly downhill. Rather disappointingly, it wasn't, although I did manage to overtake a few runners in the last km, and finished in 2.45.

Being a new experience, I hadn't known what to expect or what target to give myself, but vaguely aimed at under 3 hours so very pleased with the result. As well as a new pair of trainers (which were fine - no blisters), I also wore a different Garmin. I looked at it once, didn't register what info it was giving me, and decided I couldn't really pace a race of this kind so I didn't look at it again. I found it really liberating not to give myself any time goals for each kilometre.

It was tough, it was brutal, ( did I mention it was muddy?) the recovery was worse than a marathon... but I want to do it again, if only to partake in the free cake and post race massage that I managed to overlook at the finish!

Next time I might even do the training I pretended I was going to do... oh, and wear a club vest.