Monthly Archives: October 2016

10K, Race report

Werrington 10k – 16th October 2016

Welcome to my last race report of the season, at this moment in time I have no plans to run any races before Alsager 5 next February so it looks like you will have to settle for second best with JK Rowling or Tolkien etc.
There was a slight change to my pre-race routine this weekend with Mick Downes kindly driving myself, Anne-Marie and the Chairman to Werrington so I wasn’t at the venue 8 hours in advance like I was (or so it felt) at Congleton, Mick picked us up about 9:15 and we set off following a car with New Balance kit in the back. After 5 minutes of conversation commenting on the fact we were following Sam Hodgkinson, Tim piped up ‘ Is that Sam in front’ !!.
Anyway it was a very wet journey over to Werrington and a miserable walk across the car park to collect numbers resulting in various comments as to why exactly we were doing this FOR FUN !
However, just before the 10:30 start the rain stopped and it was perfect weather for running and a good turnout of Bats gathered together for the off. Now the main reason for me doing this race was to improve on my NSRRA points for both the individual group and also the team prizes, I am pretty certain of a top two finish in my group but at Alsager back in February I only collected 45 points so any improvement on that would add to my tally and with the team being age group related I knew I could improve on that as well.
Off we went at 10:30 across about 100 metres of very wet grass which was quite entertaining before running out of the school and downhill to the lanes, a few of my group went out rather quick so I set about catching them up and also trying to keep Mick Downes and Tim Hulse in sight, this is my aim next year to be somewhere close to their pace. Once we got on the lanes I had caught all of my Group rivals up and after a quick chat I pushed on hoping to leave them behind with a quickish start of 6:45 m/m pace. At this point though Tim and Mick had shot off into the distance so I revised my plan and just set about keeping a good pace around 7 minute mile which I knew I was capable off on a flat course.
Werrington though is slightly more undulating than I remember and there were a few sneaky climbs in the first few miles (as well as descents) before the proper climb at 4 ish. With the marathon in Austria just over 4 weeks ago followed by my PB at Congleton 2 weeks ago I have been struggled with sore calves and a visit to Brian Coles on Tuesday and a week’s rest seemed to be doing the trick as once I had got over the first mile or two where you always question the wisdom of running a race I felt quite comfortable in the legs. So the first 4 miles I kept a steady controlled pace of 6:45 to 7:02 which kept me in front of any group D rivals before the long drag between mile 4 and 5. It is a long plod but not particularly difficult so I was a little disappointed at my time up the hill (7:42 ish) so something to work on over winter, before you have a nice flat and then steady decline before returning to the main road back up to the school.
When I got to mile 5 I chanced a glance back and saw Lee Jones from Trentham, who is Group D, not a million miles behind and I didn’t know how fit he was feeling so I couldn’t let up and kept pushing on.  As we climbed back up to the school I saw Paul Swan and Ben Gamble both of which encouraged me to keep working hard, although at this point I knew I was not going to be caught by anyone so I pulled the grimace face just to appease them !
Round the school and back over the grass to the finish line in 43:28 which was bang on 7min/mile according to Strava which was my 3rd fastest 10k behind Stone and South Cheshire which are considerably flatter and not so soon after long distances, so I was happy with the time and it gives me something to work on in the coming weeks. Lee Jones was second in the group about 30 or so seconds behind and we were then entertained by Olly Clarke who decided to do graceful slide over the finish line – 10/10 for style….
Tim and Mick had finished around the 40 minute mark and looked like they had hardly broken sweat but they had gained some valuable points for the men’s team, Kevin Uzzell, after running a 50 miler on Saturday, also ran along with Paul Swan, Tim Clegg, Richard and Mac, so hopefully we have closed the gap on the NSRRA team to try and nick second.
Amy was first lady in with Sam Hodgkinson, Anne-Marie (beaten in sprint finish by a Stafford Harrier who almost did an ‘Olly’), Pam, Bonnie and Joyce also gaining good points for the ladies who are looking good for at least 2nd.
After cheering everyone in we went back to the hall where I collected my Trentham Triple Towel (for running the 3 events they had put on this year), had a hot chocolate to keep warm before we set off back.
Unfortunately, I am not about for the Flying Fox 10 so that is me done for the season with respect to NSRRA but if you are reading this and not marshaling get yourself entered it is a great race and it would be fantastic to have a colony of Red Bats flying round the lanes on the 6th November.
On a personal note, I have hopefully done enough to get promoted to Group C next season which was my goal, I have achieved PB’s in all distances (except the marathon) for the second year running and I can highly recommend joining the NSRRA because there are some great races around the region, distances to suit everyone and you make some great friends along the way. Thanks to everyone in Group D who has run with me this year, you know who you are and thanks to everyone who has read my reports, hopefully they are fun and I’ll be back soon.
Have a good one !!
Go bats
Paul

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Half Marathon, NSRRA, Race report

Congleton Half Marathon – 2nd October 2016

This was the first time I had ran the Congleton Half Marathon as it falls on my youngest’s birthday weekend but he agreed to have his birthday party on Tuesday, his actual birthday thus allowing me to run 13.1 miles on a Sunday morning  – Thanks Ben !!

For some reason I had gotten myself wound up more than usual and didn’t sleep very well for a couple of nights preceding this race. I suppose my competitive side had well and truly kicked in and knowing 50 points would all but see me promoted from Group D and also the possibility of a PB made my head do funny things in the lead up.

Anyway, set off to Congleton nice and early and halfway there realised I was going to get there ridiculously early so had a quick comfort stop in Sandbach services to make sure the sun had risen before I arrived !! (I wasn’t the first to arrive but not far off).

First job was to collect my race number and chip and then back to the car to get sorted and keep warm as it was a bit fresh and then the long wait before other Bats started appearing.

The race start was 9:30 so by about 9:00 there were a few bats hovering round and we managed to get a couple of pictures, then comfort stop before a planned  warm up. However, about 10 past there was a call to go to the start so the warm up didn’t happen other than a gentle trot of 200 yards to the start area.

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It was quite a crowded start area but I lined up with Jo, Kirsty and Mick hoping they would drag me round for a bit before disappearing into the distance. The first mile or so is relatively flat before dropping down (the future ‘Sting in the Tail’)  and then a steady climb back off before levelling off. It was quite steady start and when we passed Bryan Dale at about 3 or 4 miles we were all still together and managed a great Bats in Flight photo, however very shortly after that the others started pulling away and I did all I could to keep them in sight for the following few miles.14519931_10207549313870641_1467317158645578447_n

Unlike other races this year there was no-one near me that I knew, mainly because a lot of Group D runners weren’t present but also going off a bit quicker the ones I did know were left behind so it was a bit of a lonely slog on slightly undulating but not hilly lanes avoiding tractors and one particularly rude driver who decided it was okay for her to weave between us and the marshals !

After about 10 miles I had well and truly had enough, the marathon a couple of weeks previous was taking its toll and I gave up any thoughts of a PB and just settled for the fact I was in front of all other group D’s and should get my 50 points. At about 11.5 miles there is a big downhill which caused a bit of a pull in the thigh so I had a brief stop to stretch off before turning the corner and starting up the Sting in the Tail. Now anyone who runs round Stone in the summer knows we climb much bigger hills so this Sting was nothing more than an irritating itch but after 12 miles it feels much worse.

The last mile was a bit of drag as the sun was quite warm by now but I crossed the line in 1:35:03 (chip) which was over a minute better than my PB at Uttoxeter earlier this year and my goal of 50 points and a PB was achieved, the only annoyance was why did I stop for a stretch…it could have been sub 1:35…..next time !

I made my way over to Jo Bentley who was first in for the club and also 1st F40, Mick Downes and Kirsty ‘Pocket Rocket’ Stephenson who all looked fresh. We then watched as the other Bats came in, I have put all the results on the website so sorry for no mentions here but work keeps getting in the way….how rude !

Once we were all in we managed a couple of photos and then made our way back to the school to pick up goody bags and T Shirt and then all went our separate ways.14470436_10211011265896756_153102930136414119_n

It was a great race and although I left feeling a bit annoyed at myself on reflection my Garmin said it was my quickest 10 miles, 15K and 3rd fastest 10K and of course PB for a half so perhaps it wasn’t all bad.

Later that evening when the #thumbsupforemma photos started appearing it made the hard work worthwhile and that running with the Bats is absolutely fantastic and the camaraderie we have is one of the main reasons I run.

Go Bats !14600983_10211012610290365_2762022607217806749_n

 

Half Marathon, Race report

Tissington Half Marathon – 9th October 2016

This is one race that I’ve had booked for nearly 12 months following the high recommendations from Richard Shaw.  After another season of NSRRA races the appeal of a ‘downhill’ race was too tempting to pass up and being held in the best county of Derbyshire (I was born in Chesterfield) meant that it was one that I had to do.

It was decided that this was going to be one of those races that the family, including doggy,  would tag along to and we’d talked about the arrangements for it weeks before however when talking about having to leave at no later than 7.45am to get there on time the appeal of having to get up at 7am on a Sunday morning was not great.  As you may know I, like Paul Phillips, like to be at a race nice and early and for me a 7.45am departure left me worried about being late.  According to calculations I needed to be at Ashbourne Leisure Centre to board the bus by no later than 9.15am and I would need to ‘use the facilities’ before then so that means arrive by no later than 8.25am.  Justin assured me that even though ‘aarouteplanner’ predicted 40 minutes that he’d get us there way before that, oh yeah but you didn’t predict roadworks and cow herds did you dear!!  We eventually get there in silence, surprisingly park up with no problems, had to plead with the woman at Reception to change a tenner for parking then a couple of loo stops, quick drink, kiss the dog and board the bus.  Fortunately Richard and Victoria had saved me a seat at the front – thank you.

It was a lovely clear but cold morning and as the bus arrived at the start we all shivered our way up to Parsley Hay.  We met up with the other Bats running and the general feel was that it was a really good race to do, a lucky thing given that the bus had gone.  The race started a little late and we were set off in waves.  Victoria, Richard and myself got off in wave 2 and I was determined to try and practice my race pace ready for Dublin marathon in 3 weeks.  My long runs have been rubbish in training so I was really worried about whether I would even get round today.  There was no congestion like at some races and the trail just let you get into a good stride early on.   I hadn’t taken a drink or fuel as the promise of goodies at the drinks station was enough for me.  Jelly babies, Jaffa Cakes, Coke – yum and no bananas yay!  The stations were well spaced out so before I knew it we were passing through the last one at 9.5m.  You would think that one relatively straight trail would be boring but there were so many changes of scenery that I never got to the stage of “oh god there’s another sheep”.

I never tend to look at my watch during a race, rightly or wrongly but at just after 12m I thought I’d have a little peak and was a bit confused as to why it said 1.41, maybe it had stopped but the mileage was bang on.  Maybe I was on for a whopping PB and finally get the sub 1.50 that had evaded me for so long.  The last stretch was the only uphill part of the course and was well supported so I pushed on and felt strong going over the finish line.  I was so pleased not only to bag a PB but to actually feel like I’d had a good run which leading up to the marathon is worth a lot.  14519912_1884313131796995_6030840218449421942_n

Victoria, Richard and me regrouped at the finish line and I became a serial hugger, much to the kids’ disgust, from the elation.  There were more goodies to be had at the end but I’d been promised a pub lunch.  There were many other PB’s on the day – well done to everyone!

In summary, the race was well organised, on an excellent fast course and definitely one that I’d do again.

Anne-Marie

Marathon, Race report

Wachau Marathon – 18th September 2016

My journey to complete my first ever marathon started in Paris this year, supporting some of the bats as they made the long slog round the course. It was the day after sitting in the hotel reception whilst Bernie & the others entered the Wachau marathon for Bernie’s birthday. At this point the longest race I had done was the Westbridge 5 the year before but for some reason when asked the question I thought it would be a good idea to run the full marathon so agreed & entered there and then.

My friends Dad had just lost his short battle to cancer so in memory of Malcolm & for my friend I decided to use the race to raise money for St Giles hospice which was also my motivation during training.
May came with my first half marathon and training was going well.

It has been a hard summer training and some days have not gone well to the point where a few weeks before I could not be sure I would even get around the course.
Austria arrived, it was such a good weekend I almost forgot about the small matter of the marathon, that was until we were sat in the taxi on our way to the start. Nerves started to appear and I realised there was no way out, I had to get to the end.

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The marathon was a point to point race that ran along the river which was a lovely site at first, however the longer the road went on the less I liked looking at the river. For me I found the second half quite lonely as there were clearly not as many runners going as slow as me.
I remember going into Krems which was where the race ended, I had never been so happy to see the finish line until I realised that I was to run straight past it as I still had a big loop of the town to do before finally crossing the line.

I owe a big thank you to Paul Phillips who ran with me for the first half of the race & encouraged me to keep going.
I should also thank Jim who has been like a personal trainer to me but also the Sunday morning 8 am runners who always muster back for me & never complain.

14390675_10154387756102211_6728892174542164418_nOn a positive note I raised over £400 for a great cause & can honestly say that I am not completely put off by the idea of another marathon!

Lisa Holland