Stockholm Marathon

Chase the Train

A nine mile run along the Bure Valley Railway line from Aylsham to Wroxham - the same route my school's annual sponsored walk used to take. The steam train gives you about twenty minutes head start before it heads off, taking about 40 minutes to get there so really you have to try and get there in an hour if you have any chance of "beating" it.

It was a small field of 66 which was lucky as it was a single track path the whole way so there was not much scope for overtaking. I went off a bit too quickly again - and got a pretty harsh stitch after about 3 miles, also the ground was uneven and rocky so my eyes were planted firmly on the floor in front of me - especially after seeing the man in front of me come down with a THUD in the first mile. However as soon as I got rid of the stitch and got used to the rocky, grassy path I actually started enjoying myself. In fact I may have even burst out into a line or two of the train song from Dumbo although for the last mile it was a bit more like the "i think I can I think I can I think I can... I knew I could" bit.

Unfortunately the train caught me in the last 2 miles (I may have done a comedy slow motion James Bond style "Noooooooooooooooo" as it did) but I was very happy with my time of 1 hour 10 minutes and it was a bonus to have my parents making their debut in the race support role (Mum on photos and snickers purchasing, Dad on driving, running tips and stressing me out about how quick he/other people would run it).

Time : 01:10:26

Position : 32nd out of 66

Broadland Half Marathon

I entered this race at the last minute as my training schedule said I should have been running 13 miles this weekend anyway. It was also going to be my last practice of a proper race day before Stockholm - though I did allow myself a few pints of Wherry the night before so wasn't quite a full on dress rehearsal. It was a lovely sunny morning, a very scenic course run on undulating country lanes (although the two times we passed the Woodforde's brewery did seem a little like torture) and I was happy with my time, especially as I definitely did it at "long run" rather than "race" pace. I think I am getting the hang of my pacing and feel that my legs and lungs are learning that they can go as far as I tell them to. I also managed to beat my personal best by one whole second after feeling like I hadn't really tried.

My personal race support team (Pippa and Daisy) were brilliant as ever with excellent cheering, driving, energising snack buying and a brilliant post race bacon sandwich and leg massage (Daisy was not part of this).

yes that is actually vaseline on my lense - mmmmm pornographic sandwiches

I think they are going to have to practice their race day photography though (you are just going to have to imagine me just to the right of this photo giving it the cheesy peace signs - let's pretend I look great).

Time : 1:48:01

Position : 110th out of 242

Full results (pdf)

City of Norwich Half Marathon

My first half marathon, I may have been a bit too eager at the start, getting dragged along by the crowd to a first mile of nearly two minutes quicker than my scheduled pace. Along with the effects of spending the previous night looking after a very poorly Pippa (excuses excuses I know) this over enthusiastic start meant that by 3 miles my legs felt like anchors being dragged along the country roads by a very sweaty boat with a knackered engine. Basically I felt as laboured as this metaphor!

As I progressed around the 2 lap course, that took in the Showground and surrounding villages (Bawburgh, Easton and Marlingford), I saw my initial lead on my target pace eroded away until I had to rethink my planned 1.45 time. In the end I was glad to finish amongst the cheering crowds in under 1.50 (and beat my housemate Rich).

The race was on the whole well organised, the only down side being the fact that getting out of the car park literally took as long as it did to run the race (Thanks to Tom Pinnington for liftage and for the general lesson he gave me in distance running - he finished in a very good time of 1:35 and managed to give me a rather patronising pat on the back when he passed me after my overly eager start) which in turn meant I couldn't meet my parents for beer and a roast afterwards (which had fuelled my resolve when I was running on empty).

here is a link to the full results. (PDF)

here is a drive by of the course

and a map :

Charidee mate

After a couple of people have asked if I was running the Stockholm Marathon for charity and I've felt a bit selfish responding "er no I'm just doing it for myself", I have set up a "just giving" website where people can donate their good will in the form of their hard earned digitised "cash". I have chosen to raise money for Macmillan Cancer care because I think it is a really worthy cause.

Shoelaces

I've recently helped my Dad self publish his running memoirs, Shoelaces. It follows his running career from 1980 to 2009, including the amazing feat of running thirty marathons in under three hours and all the achievements in between - including the year that he gained silver in the European Veteran Athletic Championships. I found it very interesting seeing his perspective looking back over his life, both in terms of the ups and downs of his running and, more poignantly perhaps, those of his personal, non-running, experiences.

I am running the Stockholm marathon in May (my first ever marathon) so found the following extract very interesting (and scary! - if he hit the wall I am going to be catapulted towards it at such a rate it may be hard to tell where the wall ends and I start!) :

Saturday 5th June 1993 Stockholm Marathon

This was a long way to go on my own. A beautiful setting with most of the race run through parkland and along the water's edge. But the city was expensive and a bit too clean for my liking. A little like I found Norway some years later. For some reason I always much preferred Denmark and Finland to the other two - which I felt should be run by happier, more fun-loving people like the Australians or the Kiwis or the Brazilians. I did stay at a great hotel, the Globo Arena, a very modern edifice where major sporting and music events are held. I also met Hugh Jones, previous winner of London and some other major marathons and still quite close to his peak at that time. I tried to inveigle my way onto the bus for the elite runners by attaching myself to Hugh's coat-tails but they were having none of it. A far cry from being in the elite area with Frank Flowers in Miami all those years ago.

This was a Saturday afternoon race run in very hot conditions. I liked neither as there was a long time waiting around and getting hotter. I was going well until 30k but then I hit the wall big time and just struggled home in under three hours. Stockholm itself seemed dull after all this and I am not sure I made the most of it - though I did recall the Gamla Stan underground railway station in a quiz recently.

Finishing Time: 2 hours 59 minutes 22 seconds

Position: 332nd out of 8170

The book is available on amazon or you can buy it directly from www.lulu.com (click the button below)

Reedham Ten Miler

My first run over ten miles, I had been worried that my legs wouldn't have the strength to go further than the six miles I'd pushed them to previously. I could tell my will power was strong though when I bumped into my old friend Patrick Colby at the start line and "allowed" him to speed off into the distance - ignoring the childhood competitiveness that had fuelled our adolescent friendship and would no doubt have lead to me not being able to get further than half way round. Instead I coasted around the undulating course at my own pace along wet muddy country roads, avoiding suicidal earth worms and the solid wafts of manure that slapped me in the back of my nostrils.

Main highlights of the race were :

Shouting to Pippa (and Daisy) to remind them to cheer for me when they hadn't noticed me.
ME : Oi!
PIPPA : Woo! Yay! Go Patrick!
ME : Thank you!

A woman watching from a window wrapped up in her duvet. I saw her watching and waved, she waved and her duvet fell down. She had clothes on underneath but it was still quite Carry on / dodgy 70s comedy porn

A strained conversation with a depressive runner at about four miles, he had a hilariously depressive tone of voice. He moaned about the fact that we could see the leaders coming back the other way, showing how far behind we were. I kept him company for a while but when I said I was going to press on, he sighed "oh, okay then" as if he was Droopy dog.

Around seven miles getting "stuck" behind a leggy lady or more precisely her hypnotic lycra painted buttocks.

Avoiding eye contact with my old athletics coach who was working as a marshal, embarassed at how relatively un-athletic I am compared to my sporty seventeen year old self.

The final corner and especially hearing Pippa's brilliant cheers before I saw her.

The final sprint for the line to pip an old (all be it very healthy looking) codger to 222nd place.

Conversation with the man who finished behind me, he thanked me for speeding up in the last mile and, he said, "dragging" him to a new PB.

Sweaty hug and snog with Pippa at the end.

The tastiest bar of snickers I have ever eaten.

Time : 1:22:48:37

Position : 222nd / 402

Results