Race Report - ThunderRun - 25th and 26th July 2015

This isn't an obstacle race, but it is a huge challenge to try and balance, sleep, hydration, fueling, alongside tactics, kit choices and some pure and simple trail running over a 24 hour period

I rolled the camper van up next to my teams tents, popped the roof and, that's it, I'm set up for the weekend of running, camping and general larking about. The race starts at 12 noon on Saturday and finishes at 12 noon on Sunday. Teams, pairs, and solo runners have 24 hours to clock up as many 10 kilometre laps of a stunning and challenging hilly, mixed terrain, trail route. I was in a team of 6 with mates from a local running club who are all experienced trail and cross country runners and one runner who only had ever ran on roads! The running order had allreadt been set by the time I arrived, and I was going to be running in the 6th position.

As I wondered round the event village, with food stalls, clothing stalls, massage tents and all sorts of kit available to purchase, I just kept bumping into familiar faces from the OCR community, I knew there would be a handful from posts made on Facebook, but I wasn't expecting to see dozens! I spent an hour making a short lap of the event village as I kept stopping to chat and catch up with so many friends, old and new.

My first lap was at 1610 and as the baton (snap-on wrist band) was passed to me I shot off hungry to get some running in, I had spent the last 4 hours watching and cheering runners around the course, and just wanted to get my shoes on a run this beautiful course. I went out way too quick, but it is so easy to do so as the start off the course goes directly through the camp site, and people a lining the first 200 metres, cheering and ringing cowbells in support. The course is a beauty, a mixture, of grass, technical woodland single track, wide forest roads, and tractor trails. ZERO tarmac, ZERO concrete, ZERO pavement and very little flatness. I was just loving the course and having such a great time weaving past slower runners and walkers.

When I got the start / finish line my team mate was waiting in the transition pen, so I quickly snapped the arm band round his wrist and went in search of food and water. It had taken 5 hours for all 6 of us to complete a lap each. which meant I had roughly 4 hours to warm down, hydrate, eat, change, rest, eat again and then prepare for my next lap. So I grabbed a jacket potato and headed back to the camp site and chilled out with my team and talked tactics, and course highlights and low lights. You can't have a bunch of runners sitting round in camp chairs with out a discussions on trainers either!

I was due to start my second lap at 2115, and dusk was settling in nicely, so I would be running with a head torch for lap 2. The open running sections through fields were fine without the head torch on, but the wooded sections were a bit sketchier in the dark, so it was time for full beam. My head torch is only average so I had to wind my speed down and concentrate on the ground in-front of me a lot more on the more technical sections. Running trails at night is so much fun and this was perfect as parts of the course were just light enough to not bother with the head torch either. After I had finished this lap I, changed grabbed some light snacks and necked a bottle of Lucazode and headed for the camper van to try and get a few hours sleep before my next shift at 0245. Turns out you don't sleep well and have crazy ass dreams when you try and sleep through a MASSIVE sugar rush.

It was pretty chilly, but the event village and transfer area was still buzzing with people and excitement. A steady stream of runners exchanging wrist bands and going off for night time laps was very impressive for half past 2 in the morning! Once I had been passed the baton I was off at a steady pace into the dark. My legs felt pretty heavy and the root and stones which I would normally skip over, kept catching my feet. So I walked through a few of the more technical section. At this point I also wish I had invested in a much bright head torch. My head torch is great for camping and general use, but just wasn't quite up to job of full night time trail running, so I was slower and more cautious than normal. It was great time time lap and this time I went straight back to the camp and only rehydrated with water before getting in a few hours sleep. I was woken a few times in the night to campers close-by been aggressively woken up with classic:
 "DAVE, DAVE, WAKE up its your turn to run"
"F***, F***ity, F***bags, F***"

I woke when it got light and had some breakfast fruit and coffee before a good session stretching and foam rolling. The camp site was alive with the smell of BBQs and bacon and people sitting around eating and chatting. I was REALLY looking forward to my 4th lap, and being able to attack the course in full day light. When I went out the ground was a little slippy from the morning dew, but it was just amazing to be back out on the trail again. When I got back from my 4th lap there was time for our team to put in 3 more laps, so MB went off for his 5th lap and I headed back to camp to see who else was up for a 5th. The other 4 team mates were packing down our camping area, but injuries and fatigue had put them all out of contention for 5th laps. So I decided I would do another one, so grabbed some water and a couple of flapjacks and headed back to the transition area.

When MB returned, I gave him the option to run a second lap now or have a 60 minute rest while I do my 5th. He opted for the rest and I trudged off for my 5th Lap. This was going to be slow, I had little energy and my legs felt like lead. But my spirits were high so I chatted with walkers and slower runners. I didn't bother trying to run on a most of the hills and happily walked and took in the atmosphere and views. Things were going great until about kilometer 7 when a good mate caught up with me. We chatted as we ran, but DT is a beast of a runner and with out realising we had picked the pace up. I tried to encourage him to run off, and not let me slow him down, but he was here to run with a mate so he wasn't about to let me slack off. It was a brutal 3 kilometers to the finish line but DT and his mates were legends and we skipped across the line hand in hand. I pass the baton over to MB and off he dashed for his SIXTH lap!

This is such an awesome event. So many amazing people doing amazing feats of speed, endurance, and teamwork, so many people putting in their longest distances ever, and breaking their 'ultra-virginity'. This isn't a race, this is a genuine festival of running!

Strava:
Lap 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987833
Lap 2 - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987835
Lap 3 - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987843
Lap 4 - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987844
Lap 5 - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987842

Sneaked in a pre race parkrun too! - https://www.strava.com/activities/354987836

Kit:
HeadTorch - Petzl Tikkina
Shoes - Invo8 Terraforms Lap 1 - Brooks Pure Cadence Laps 2/3/4/5
Socks - Unbraded from Aldi
Top - Mudstalce running T-Shirt Laps 3/4/5 - Team Derby Runner Vest Laps 1/2 - BTwin Longsleave base Lap3
Shorts - Nike DryFit Running Shorts
Watch - Polar RC3 GPS
Extras - Mudstacle seamless scarf

Race Report - Road Race - Ashby 20 - 19th March 2017

I wasn't looking forward to Ashby 20. But the thing is; every runner I know, locally, seems to have done Ashby 20. They have the hoody and rave about the cheese cob. It sells out in hours too. So when the registration opened, I entered. I didn't do any training for 20 miles in the months and weeks before the race, I just stuck to my usual training of weekly intervals and runs of around 10k.

So as the race day approached I started to feel very under prepared, I've done 2 marathons before, but one of these was 4 laps of a 10k obstacle course, so not a huge amount of running, and the other was marathon du medoc, which was more drinking than actual running. So I don't really have the endurance for this distance.

I had no idea what pace to try and maintain, especially as I don't train or set paces or distances in miles. I only work in kilometres. So I sat with a calculator and worked out its about 32k, and thought if I can manage 5 min kilometres, that's 3 x 50 minute 10k runs back to back, which is should be OK. So with this, I set my self the target of 2h41m,

Once arriving at Ashby it all very easy to park up, and get ready for the race. I wasn't sure about feed / water stations so I opted to wear a race vest with a bottle of energy drink and some snack bars stashed in the pockets. Turns out there was plenty of water / feed stations and my pack was a complete waste of time.

As the race started I was pretty far back, which I was happy with, as I didn't want to get caught up,and rush off too fast. The first mile or so was great, chatted with old friends and new friends as the huge melee of runners found their pace and position in the opening stage. After the first mile I was happy turning my legs over at roughly 5 minute kilometres which was spot on for my desired pace. I caught up with a few Team Derby Runner team mates and enquired if any of them had seen Hicky.

Hicky is a great runner and a similar speed to me, although he has way more endurance and experience with longer races, so when I heard he was aiming for 2h45m I though I could find him, sit on his shoulder and use him to pace my race. So I picked up my pace a little and went on the hunt for Hicky.

I caught up with Janine, another TDR runner, at maybe around mile 8 or 9, and we had a friendly chat and carried on with my hunt for Hicky, At around the half way point I was still feeling fairly strong and good, and reached the 10 mile mark at just over 1h20. This was OK, I was still on target.

At about mile 12 I was desperate for a pee, and nipped into to the bush to take care of business, as I rejoined the race, I saw Janine catching up with me, and promptly got back up to speed and continued my hunt for Hicky. Although catching Hicky is now looking very unlikely as i'm only managing to maintain my pace and not increase at all now.

At mile 15 things start to go down hill rapidily. my hip flexors start to hurt, my feet are getting sore, and I have armpit chaffing! ARMPIT chaffing! since when is that a thing! Not long after passing the 15 mile marker Janine appears at my shoulder, and is still very cheery, My mood isn't cheery anymore, and there isn't much time to tell Janine all my woes and pains, as she drifts on past looking very strong indeed.

I try to keep Janine in my sights, but at every single mile marker on the final 5 miles something new hurts, and legs get that little bit heavier. The crowds and marshals are incredible, encouraging every step of the way. But it doesn't make life any easier. The hills are just so hard now, I start to walk on one of the hills, but kick my self back into gear after only a few metres. Telling my self I can rest at the end.

I plod on and soon enough I'm at mile 19, and it's a fairly grim up hill run towards the end of the race. I try to just keep plodding on. I'm slowly loosing places as the wheels have just completely fallen off now. The final 800m of the race follows a lovely downhill path followed my a flat loop of the event village before the finish line. I couldn't pick up the pace for the descent and continued to loose places to people who had something left in their tank. But I managed to pick up the pace slightly look strong for the run around the edge of the event village and finally over the line.

I go and collect my finishers hoody, and goody bag before sitting on the grass, taking my trainers off and chilling out and chatting to fellow runners about the usual crap runners talk about. I then wonder back to the finish line to see if I can spot my sister finishing. After watching Sheena come over the line, I spot Janine sitting on the bank and wonder over to congratulate her.

This is one of the best things about running! The great people you meet and those moments when someones face is full of smugness, and they great you with 'A'right Andy, how you doin'?'' and then you sit and share stories and laugh at the mini battles you have on the race course.

Oh and Hicky! Hicky smashed it. He came in at around 2h30! I came in at around 2h47, so i'm bloody glad I didn't see him at the start of the race otherwise I would have blown up a lot earlier on, trying to keep pace with that! and would have probably have had to walk the final few miles!

Race Report - Trail Race - The Holly Bush Inn New Years Day race - 1st January 2017

This race always starts the year off in great way, A local race, organised by local people, from a proper English country pub.

There is absolutely nothing to dislike about this race. I love it so much. My kids have ran with me in the past, my sister runs it most years too, and there are always clubs mates from my running club, and mates I know from life too.

The classic start of Tim firing a double barrelled shotgun is a great tradition, and really fires you up and starts the race with a bang, and every goes off like a shot (see what I did there?). I wasn't really up for a race today, hungover and simply happy to run around with either my sister or my mate Chucky. Chucky and I were still discussing to wear a coat or not when the shotgun went off, so we were one of the last people to start the race, but this didn't really matter.

It's a narrow uphill start so the pace was fairly steady at the back but Chucky and I slowly weaved our way through. Once the path opened up onto the road neither of us could muster any more speed. I was really struggling on the road uphill, and Chucky just seemed to be in cruise mode, powering up the hill. Once at the top of the hill I was feeling much more comfortable but didn't push the pace as it was nice to chat and run. We then hit the final third of the race, which was pretty much all down hill on muddy fields.

Muddy downhill running, is my bag. I frickin' love it. So I ramped up the pace and started racing more aggressively and picking off as many runners as I could, I left Chucky and put about a dozen other runners in between us before the final steps and the finish back outside the pub.

The prize for completion is a bottle of real ale, custom made for the event. BOOM. Perfect way to start the new year.

Race Report - Shipley Country Park Orienteering - 11th July 2015

A story of over confidence and not learning from my mistakes.

Full of bullish confidence after a hard fell race at Cromford on Wednesday, I was ready to push hard at a friendly, non-league orienteering event on Saturday. I met up with a few mates there including JP who I beat by 5 mins at Cromford. I was hoping that my speed would balance out his higher navigation skills and orienteering experience to beat him again. These events are super slick and registration is a breeze, and all the information is enthusiastically  given by the volunteers and marshals.

The four of us head off to the start point, cleared our dibbers, and line up in the starting pens. TH went off first and I was second. This was quite handy as TH is pretty good at navigating, so I broke rule 1 of the orienteering hand book. 'Don't follow other people' (they probably are going somewhere different). Anyway I watched TH pick his route and jog off. After a minute had passed I dibbed the start control, grabbed the map and quickly found my self on the map, and confirmed that TH had gone the right way and followed his path.

The first control was pretty easy to find and the route to the second was pretty obvious too. As I approached control 2 I had already made up the minute gap on TH. I took a slightly different route to control 3, and again reached it slightly after him. After consulting the map I decided on a direct route to number 4 and ignore the path around 'woodland fight' section. Bad Idea. I ended up crawling through a thick hawthorn  hedge, dropping my sunglasses and then struggling through a meadow with grass and wild flowers up to my chest. This was a much slower and more painful route.

I then took a less direct but much quicker route to control 5, and then hacked through another meadow to a wide path ready to get control 6. It all went horribly wrong here, it was only 300 metres from control 5 to control 6 (as the crow flies) but I went off in the wrong direction trying to find a break in a high fence (that I didn't need to cross) I went round and round in circles trying to get a fix on where I was on the map to try and work out a bearing to the control. But I just compounded my issues by running faster in the wrong direction, rather than settling down and calmly reading the map properly and getting sorted. Luckily I was in good company, with JP and KL both struggling blindly. We all started to converge on the same point and then realised we were, finally, in the right area. A shout from KL and we all raced over and dibbed the dastardly number 6. I then rushed off to get back to a known path on the map to re orientate and settle.

I learnt NOTHING from the 20 minute nightmare and went off with gusto and stupidity, and went flying past the the path I need to take and ended up completly off the map fighting though grasses at head height, fences, marshland before getting back on track, and dibbing control 7. Looking at the map life seemed a lot easier, with less choices to make, and slightly simpler terrain. I even managed to open up the legs and get some real running in also. I even made some cracking navigation decisions, going longer but on more accessible path. After a bit of trouble finding the final control. It was a blistering sprint to the finish.

I finished in just over an hour, with my legs, and arms covered in scratches, bites, nettle stings, all glowing red with nice swollen white bits too. I must invest in some gaiters, and take some anti-histamines later too  It was a valuable lesson in the perils over confidence and the need pick a route carefully!

Strava: (Didn't hit start until I had found the 3rd control - Doh!)

Thanks to
www.dvo.org.uk

Kit:
Shoes: Salomon Fellraisers
Socks: Decathlon running socks
Shorts: nike Dryfit running shorts
Top: Mudstacle Running Vest
Watch: Polar RC3 GPS (not used for any kind of navigation)
Extra Kit: Generic Flat base Compass, Seemless scarf worn as a sweat band on wrist.

Race Report - Cromford Fell Race - 8th July 2015

That hurt! That Hurt A LOT, And it just kept hurting more and more.

I rocked up at Cromford rugby fields with JP and quickly got registered and ready to race. We stood and chatted and caught up with few other runners before mustering at the start line. After a short briefing we were away. A quick lap of the field helped thin out the runners before hitting the canal tow path. The path was wide enough for 2 or 3 runners a breast and he first flat kilometre was spent finding my pace and settling in and was fairly painless.

Time to bring the pain, as I crossed the canal bridge I started the uphill section. The high peak trail is a stunning bridleway that stretches from the Cromford canal rising steeply above the Derwent Valley before cutting a path into the heart of the Peak District. Today's course only followed that steep incline out of the valley. The path was wide and well maintained but was a hard grinding slog. Relentless as it was beautiful, It was a struggle to just keep running, walking would have been just as hard, I dropped to a slow jog and just kept plodding away. The course then took a diversion of the broad bridleway,onto a single track footpath that was steep, rocky, root strewn, and full of twists and turns. I couldn't maintain my slow jog and had to slow down to walking pace for the more technical sections.

This path soon levelled out and I could get on with some running, this was only a short run before tackling some gnarly steps back to the comfort of the wide trail path. Even though I was back on a wide flat trail, my legs and lungs were suffering and I was struggling to keep up my usual pace. The flat section wasn't any respite from the pain and effort required to keep running. The next section of uphill was steep and the trail underfoot was broken and loose. It was just too hard to keep running. But even walking was painful on the legs and didn't give a chance to catch my breath or lower my heart rate.

After passing though a gate the views and terrain changed to bleak moorland above the tree-line. The path was narrow and littered with large boulders. It was now a huge challenge to pick a route that would keep me from twisting an ankle and going arse over tit. This part of the course was shared with runners coming back down from the trig point, which marked the highest part of the course. They seemed to be cruising down the hill with speed and grace, whilst I was bumbling and bouncing from boulder to boulder. But after I looped round the trig point I knew it was DOWN HILL ALL THE WAY!

This gave me a great boost and gravity was finally on my side. There was no time to take in the views or even lift my head up. To go fast down the path took so much concentration. Picking a route on and over the rocks was incredibly challenging and all-encompassing. The added distraction and challenge to avoid bumping into runners climbing up to the turning point exacerbated the task in hand. Soon enough the path split and it was back to one way traffic. As I descended back below the tree line, the terrain settled back into less treacherous beautiful, woodland paths and wide farmers tracks.

It wasn't long before I was back on the high peak trail. The footing was smooth, firm, and now the incline was in my favour. I was picking up speed and focussing as hard as possible on my running technique and form. Remembering all that advice I had read about running downhill. This all went out the window as I passed a runner in red shirt on the left as a gentleman from Wirksworth running club past him on the right. We ran shoulder to shoulder after passing Monsieur Rouge and he was running bloody fast, but I wasn't about to let him cruise past me. I stopped thinking about leaning into the hill at the ankles, not over stretching and not slapping the ground with my feet. Instead I was in full 'fuck it' mode.

I matched the Wirksworth runner stride for stride, and ran in perfect unison, we soon gathered a very impressive amount of momentum and caught up with another runner. He, incredibly, put on and extra burst and slipped past the runner. I managed to stick to his shoulder and then regain our synchronised cadence after passing the other runner. Running downhill should be fun and a chance to ease off. But now I was engaged in an epic downhill dogfight, and was really struggling. We approached another runner but it was my turn to make he first move and burst past. The Wirksworth runner returned the favour, slipstreaming and then re-syncing at my shoulder. With only 100 metres of downhill left my core muscles were on fire, I was breathing heavily and pretty much emptied the tank.

As we hit the bottom of the hill and reached the final flat section, the gentleman from Wirksworth carried on with his amazing pace, but I was exhusthed. I've walked in races, I've ran through the overwhelming desire to walk in races. But I have never wanted to walk or stop and get my breath back after running downhill, before moving on to a pancake flat section! But this race was making me hurt in ways other races haven't. I plodded on at a slow steady pace and didn't give into the desire to walk.

On any other day this final kilometre would be an amazing experience. Running alongside a glassy flat canal flanked with beautiful trees. The evening sunlight dancing through the leaves and boucing of the water. Running through the Derwent valley towards the birth place of the industrial revolution should be an incredible run. But today after an epic climb and descent, this final flat section was just a drag. A painful, demoralising, trudge. JUST END! HOW MUCH FURTHER? Even when you can see the incredible Arkwright's mill and Willersly Castle the pain just doesn't abate. You even pass the finish line before doubling back 50 metres to finally cross the line.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED this race. The challenge, the atmosphere, the terrain, the views, even the pain were all what made this such a great event. It took a couple of hours, a pint of beer and a very nice single malt whiskey before I felt normal again.

Strava:

Thanks to:
Matlock Running Club for hosting the event - www.matlockac.org.uk/
The Derby Runner for supporting the event - http://www.derbyrunner.com/

Race report - The Hairy Helmet - 12th June 2015

This report will have no twists, no shocks and definitely no surprises. I LOVE this race. No, I LOVE everything about this event. The ethos, the atmosphere the motivation, the spirit and all the untangable awesomeness that happens around this event

The event team, are so incredible and passionate about their local community, they invite all the local running clubs, local businesses, and communities to put together a team of four runners for this 2 and a bit mile relay race. The sponsors are the local brewery, the local knife maker, the local running shop, the local health care centre, a local fashion outlet, oh and a popcorn manufacturer from miles and miles away. They support the local cricket club, and choose a local hospice to give all the proceeds to.

I feel I've already over hyped this event, but I haven't even started. I haven't even given you the greatest part of this event. I did say there would be no surprises, but I need to tease you in for a boom-bash-bish finale too, and this is a real doosie. I would normally run for team derby runner at local, non obstacle related, races. But hairy helmet is a family race. My team is my sister, me, and my two stepsons, Izaak and Rudi. Rudi had to miss out this year due to being out of the country on a French exchange. Luckily a mate stood in for Rudi and we had a full team ready to roll.

When you arrive on site the meadow is buzzing with people eating burgers and hot dogs, chatting, warming up, talking tactics, and pinning race numbers on. It's does take long to before you immerse yourself into a conversation about pace, overtaking opportunities and baton change overs. However it wasn't long before the start and everyone was gathering at the start line. The pack was hilarious, with people politely, and sometimes humorously impolitely, adjusting there position in the pact to reflect there intended position.

'Whoa, what are you doing here? get to the front with the rest of the Kenyans'
'Oi, asthma boy! Get ya' sen behind us, you'll only slow us down'
'Don't mind you being behind me, but just don't run over the top me at the first corner'

The air horn blasted, and drowned out all the jibes and jeering, I was sitting on the outside, and quite near the back of the pack, so I made a 50 metre sprint round the outside looking for open space, and a clear path. The hairy helmet course has hairpins, hills, grass, tarmac, gravel paths and muddy paths, so you never have the chance to get into a rhythm, or settle in. You never pick up a running buddy, as everyone has strengths and weaknesses and you loose and gain places with every turn, or change in gradient or terrain.

2.2 miles is such a hard distance, too far too go all out, too short to try and be clever with negative splits and intricate pacing. 2.2 miles is 'go as fast as you can until it hurts, and then try and ignore the pain and taste of blood in your mouth, and then try for a sprint finish without throwing up'. It's not a classic tactic you read about in Steve Cram's autobiography, but it is familiar tactic to most hairy helmet entrants.

Once I had negotiated the 2 miles, and just had the final meadow loop and handover to complete. I was feeling terrible, everything hurt, but you have to finish strong in front of the crowds and fellow runners. Luckily Izaak was in bright orange, and easy to spot in the exchange area, I passed the baton on and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Done. I can now relax and watch other people's suffering from the comfort of my grass lined boudoir.

As promised earlier on, here is that ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong finale. Free beer. Yup a beer token for every member of the team. Forget protein shakes, chocolate milk, or steamed fish and bagels, a nice drop of real ale is just what you need to recover after a 2 and bit mile race. Oh wait, Izaak is only 16, better be a responsible parent and drink his beer too. Along with the, 'hey Andy, I've got to shoot off, do you want my token?'

You know it's a GREAT race when the next morning your hangover is worse than your DOMS.

Huge thanks to:

Detwent Runners for providing so many Marshalls - www.derwentrunners.co.uk/
The Derby Runner - www.derbyrunner.com/

Port;ebay popcorn -  www.portlebaypopcorn.com/

Canopy - www.canopyonline.co.uk/

Blok Knives - www.blok-knives.co.uk/

Derventio Brewry - www.derventiobrewery.co.uk/

Central Helth - www.centralhealth.org.uk/

Hide Burger - www.hideburgerbar.co.uk/
Fluid Ideas - /www.fluid-ideas.co.uk/

Darley Abbey Construction -
and the charity of choice, Rainbows Hospice - www.rainbows.co.uk/

Strava:

Kit:

Shoes: Inov-8 303 Ultras

Socks: Quechua running socks

Shorts: Nike Dry Fit

Top: Ron Hills / Team Derby Runner Running vest

Watch: Polar RC3 GPS

Race Report - Ramathon 2015 - 7th June 2015

Today was all about the battles!

I have a long standing grudge match with a good friend and fellow runner, Rob. He very generously paced me around the course last year, until the final 400m where I managed to out sprint him. Rob could have easily left me for dead at the 9 mile mark last year but dragged me on for those final 4 miles. Recently Rob changed running clubs (Dirty Splitter) so I've been keeping an eye on his Facebook and Strava posts in the weeks coming up to Ramathon, and he has been getting quicker and really putting the miles in. But he had unusually poor performance at a 10k just a week before the big day, so it wasn't clear how he would perform here.

The day before I had raced at an obstacle race, which was pretty tough on the body. I also had a couple of glasses of wine, and a BBQ in the evening, coupled with a bad nights sleep due to a whining dog and restless baby. I wasn't confident of a good time or winning the grudge match.

It was a 4 Weetabix breakfast, with some extra fruit; and lots of water for breakfast, before heading off to event. Team Derby Runner had borrowed Zibrant's canteen area for the day, which meant we had close parking, bag storage and somewhere to prepare. With about 15 minutes to go, we headed off to the start line and ran into Rob and we joked about times, niggles and all the usual banter. Rob is now running for Derwent Runners and it was odd seeing him in his new colours, but it all helps maintain our healthy competition. Rob admitted he wasn't on top running form today, and wasn't expecting a quick time today, which was a huge shame, as it would have been great to have him at full strength to battle against.

Rob and I ran shoulder to shoulder for the first couple of kilometres at the usual 'too fast, too early' pace, before rob decided to slow down to a pace he knew he would maintain. I was feeling bullish and strong so kept at my 'unlikely' pace and pushed on. It was always niggling at me that I had gone out too quick and Rob would come cruising past in a few miles. But thing were going well. At the first water station at roughly the three mile mark I took a few sips and carried on moving. The road straighten out for a while now and I could see a team mate out in front. Richard is another really strong runner and had gone off like a rocket and was surprised to see that I was making gains on him. It took me another 2 miles and an energy gel before I reached his shoulder.

"Make sure you beat Rob too" were my final words to Richard as I pushed on looking for my next target. There was another Derwent Runner vest in a pack of runners about 50 metres ahead, so he was my next mission. As I slowly gained on the pack a runner from Wolves and Bilston club was also gaining on them. He was a tall, broad shouldered guy, and was making great progress through the pack or runners that included the unknown Derwent Runner. This W&B runner never stayed with other runners, or packs of runners he just kept picking them off and passing them. This is just the motivation I needed and stuck with him as we past half mark. At the 2nd water station I over took my running buddy to take my turn in front, but he wasn't having any of that and stepped it up and pushed past me.

This is the way it was for next few miles, I just kept on his shoulder as much as possible, and at mile 9 I was still feeling strong, and keeping up my 'maybe I can' pace. Last year mile 9 was where I could have quite happily stopped and walked, so it was a massive psychological win to still be strong at this point, this year. At Mile 10, the amazing Mark was marshalling, and handed me an ice pop! What could be better at this point than a sugar filled, chemical cocktail, frozen in ice! This boost and buzz was doubled when we entered the wooded area of Elvaston castle, The beautiful woodlands just makes running an absolute pleasure! With a mile to go before the 3rd water station I spotted another friend From Derwent Runners. Nick! Nick had cruised past me in the last mile, at the final Derby Runner cross country race of the season. He left me for dead, I had forgotten to congratulate him for having such a great race that day (through gritted teeth of jealousy), so I was stoked that I was gaining ground on him today.

I had my second gel as I went through the 3rd water station. This was the caffeine one too! I must thank my sister, Sheena, as she had a stack of spare gels in her car and I hadn't brought any with me. A very friendly chap from Belper running club gave me predicted finishing time, pace notes and even encouraged me to push in front of him to take the racing line for the upcoming corner. Was a star! I didn't have the heart to let him know that I only work in kilometres and would need to crack open a spreadsheet to start making the translations from miles to kilometres. I couldn't stop and talk numbers as my 'offensive blocker' from Wolves and Bilston was still cutting a path through runners that I had to follow.

As we left the grounds of Elvaston castle a very cheerful man caught up with me and we chatted about the little battles you imagine while racing, and I pointed out my target runner and continued on in race mode. I saw the last 5k on the river path as 'home stretch', knowing that come rain or shine I would finish the race and would probably know weather I would win the grudge match with rob by this point. The pressure was off but the the headwinds were certainly on. I though that the gentleman from Wolves and Bilston had done enough work in front and so I decided to push hard past him and let him draft off me for the closing miles. No sooner had I passed this chap, I had picked out my next target. The red and white harlequin shirt of a Massey Runner, stood out in sea of plain, hopped and sashed running vests, and he too was cutting his way through runners. I tried to keep up with him and and drifted to and from his shoulder until mile 12 where I managed to pass him.

Now I had picked up a shadow in a brown HAVAK vest and we exchanged positions for while but with about half a mile to go there was pack of 4 people to pass, so I put on a burst of speed and skipped clumsily through them all. I must apologise if I nudged people here, I certainly didn't meant be aggressive or impatient, I just wasn't very light of foot at this point. So now with about half a mile left to run, and for the first time in the entire race there were no target runners in front of me. For the first time in 12 and a bit miles I had no one to focus on chasing down. This felt really weird. Right this means its hammer time! Start emptying the tank, and push as hard as possible for final few minutes and see if I can hunt some more runners down.

As I came off the river path a small boy was very impressively calling out positions
"201"
what!? you mean there's a chance I can get in the top 200! forget GPS! Forget Stava! Forget chip timing! its all about what this little kid just told me! a bunch of 3 runners are out in front and reachable, so put my head down and attack, as I get past them I see the very familiar face of Darley Parkrun's race director, Ian. A flyby high five and a shout from Ian, and its just like Saturday morning, and sprint finish time. The burn is really kicking in as I run along side the iPro stadium, thoughts are flying round my head
'you've gone too early'
'you're going to blow out'
'you're going to throw up'

As I rounded the penultimate corner the crowds have really swelled, and they are cheering, and shouting encouragement. Kids hold out there hands for high fives, so I swing wide to reciprocate the gesture, which distracts me from the pain, Right enough fun, time for the final corner, and with the finish line now in sight it's time for BEAST mode. Grunting and gurning I managed to overtake one extra runner in the final 20 metres, but keep kicking all the way to the line to make sure I hold on to this position.

Crossing the line I find the nearest barrier to collapse on before being cheered by fellow team mate, Will, who was volunteering, at the medal and banana hand out area. What an awesome race, everything came together really nicely for me, being able to spot friends and find people going at the right pace for me draft, chase and pass was just what I needed to get into 'race' mode. This is why I love racing, for me it's not about the bling or times, its about getting my competitive fix, it's about about pushing as hard as I, even if it is just to over take one person, or stick to someone's shoulder for as long as possible. I hung around the finish line to thank the guy from Wolves and Bilston and a few other people that had unknowingly helped me round the course. Rob hadn't had a great race, hampered by a churning stomach and 2 minute pee stop. So it turns out I only won this grudge match because Rob had 2 cups of tea in the morning and I had forgotten all about my breakfast coffee, and left it sitting on the Nespresso machine that morning

Result:
189th 1:32:23 (the little kid was about right)

Huge thanks to:
All the staff and volunteers involved with Ramathon - www.ramathon.co.uk
Team Derby Runner for all the support on race day - http://teamderbyrunner.co.uk/
The Derby Runner for all the advice and kit over the years - http://www.derbyrunner.com/
Zibrant for letting us use their facilities - www.zibrant.com/
Sarah and Richard for the photos, and epic imagery for the one I stole

Strava:



Kit:
Shoes: Brooks Cadence
Socks: Quechua
Shorts: Nike Dry Fit
Top: TEAM DERBY RUNNER vest
Watch: Polar RC3 GPS
Gels: SiS x 2
Accessories: seemless head scarf worn on wrist used as a sweat band and to stash gels