Race Report: Mortimer 10km

This is only going to be a short report as it was almost 2 weeks ago now! Mortimer 10km is a nice local race, cheap entry (£6!), which still included a medal :)

I wasn't aiming for a PB in this race, but had heard it was flat with a small incline at the end, so was hoping for a reasonably good time. Up until around 6km, I was actually on course for a PB, then the 'small incline' arrived! It was a 2 mile long hill that wasn't overly steep, but seemed to go on forever! The longer it went on, the more I was looking forward to a fast, downhill finish - which never arrived! I was so confused as to how I could be back at the start/finish line having gone up and up and up, but never gone down! Looking at the course profile after the event, it appears that the downhill came before the uphill, but was much more slight and not noticeable.

I finished in 1:05:58 (about 3 minutes behind my PB). I'll be back next year - its great value and the marshalls and organisation were great! :)

Length: 10km
Time: 1:05:58
Pace: 10:38 min/mile

Race Report: 24hr Thunder Run

Wow - this report is massively overdue! The race was 3 weeks ago :D My memories are already getting hazy from this event, so it will be a largely visual report methinks!

Our team 'Will Run For Cake' at the end of the race: Me, Suzie, Lauren, Mark, Nerina, Kathy and Katie

For those of you unfamiliar with the Thunder Run, its a 24 hour relay event that takes place off road on a 10km course. You can enter in teams of 1, 2 or 5-8, and the winning team (for each category) is the team that completes the most number of laps in the 24 hour period (no more that one team member can be on the course at once though!).

The amount of stuff required for a 24 hour race including:
tent, sleeping stuff, airbed, wellies, lots of food, two pairs of running trainers,
several changes of outfits, waterproofs, toiletries, fold away chairs...

There were 7 of us in our team (as well as two other pairs teams that were camping in our group), so we'd guessed on about 3 laps each, with maybe a couple of people running 4. So we drew up a rough schedule (handovers were easy in the day, but we didn't want to all be sitting up throughout the night, so the schedule was to allow some sleeping time!)

The start of the 24 hour race - 2pm

I was the only member of our team who opted to do a double lap, I knew the distance wouldn't be a problem (12.4 miles), and was more concerned about a) running in the dark, b) running on tired legs and c) not getting enough rest between laps. By doing a double run first, it meant I had about 12 hours rest before my next lap, while everyone else ran 2 single laps.

Me coming into the handover area after my first two laps

There were around 1100 racers, in addition to the friends and families that were camping as well, so the campsite was quite busy! There was quite a festival atmosphere - there were people milling around everywhere, a 24 catering tent, music and announcers (not through the night!), plenty of toilets and showers.

The campsite (well, about 1/4 of it!)

After I'd completed my first two laps (around 7pm), the BBQ was just about ready (great timing!), so after stretching I re-fuelled! Goodies brought to the event by everyone included; Toffee banana cake, burgers, sausages, pasta salad, rocky roads, chocolate coconut slices, cheese, rolls, ham, banana flapjacks, veggie pasties, potato salad, lemon drizzle cakes, pretzels, lime yogurt cake, crisps, brownies.......!

Cooking the BBQ!

There was a good mixture of serious and very speedy runners, crazy solo runners and cake eating runners (like us!). I found that people were much friendlier than in 'normal' races - we were all in the same boat, and many of the faster runners gave encouragement as they overtook me (unusual in normal races), people were quite chatty on the way round and many people who weren't running a lap were still near the course, clapping and cheering people round. It was also quite nice not to know how many laps people had done, or how many were in their team, so you couldn't feel too disheartened if you were overtaken, or compare your speed to those around you - they could be on their first or 10th lap!

By far the toughest element of this race was the planning and preparation rather than the distance itself. You were constantly thinking about eating enough to keep going, but allowing enough time for digestion, keeping hydrated, knowing when to rest, remembering to properley stretch as you only had 7 hours to recover, treat blisters etc quickly so your feet were ready for the next lap.

View from the top of the ridgeway at around 5.15am!

Dispite there being so many people there, becuase it was a relay, the course itself was quite quiet, it was a really nice off-road course - a few hills for interest, sections through forest, crazy maze-like bits through the trees, but nothing too crazy or difficult. My third (and last lap) started at 4.45am - never been running that early before! It was nice to see the sun rise, and was really peaceful. I forgot my ipod on this lap, but am glad I did.

Then it was back to the camp for some breakfast and then a nap. We headed back to the start/finish line to watch Katie, our last runner complete her last lap for the team.

Katie crossing the finish line at 24:03:41!

We collected our medals and headed back to 'base camp' for some lunch and to take down the tents etc. It was a really enjoyable, if mentally tough, event, and I ran a total of 30km (18.6 miles) in the 24 hours. The winning team overall ran 35 laps in the 24 hours as a team of 8 - that's an average of 41 minutes over 10km loop - pretty darn speedy! But we were still more than happy with our 210km in 24 hours between the 7 in our team.

The goody bags were really good (given to us before the start of the race) and included a technical t-shirt, gels, gummy bears, a thermos-style mug, all the camping and amenities were free and the catering tent (although we didn't use it) proved popular with other runners, as did the massage tent. For ~£30 (price depended on number of people in the team), it was good value for money.

I would do this event again, but perhaps in a smaller team, to feel as though I was pushing myself a bit more in terms of number of laps - maybe 4 or 5 next time! :D

Race Report: Brooklands 10km

Brooklands was my first 10km race this year, and my third 10km ever. I was hoping for a PB, having spent the past three months half marathon training, I knew my stamina (and hopefully my speed) would have improved. With that in mind, I did a bit of looking around before deciding which 10km to enter (didn't want it to be really hilly!).

I found the Brooklands 10km in Weybridge - its held at Mercedes Benz world and you run around the race track - smooth tarmac and as flat as a pancake! Definite PB potential! :D (no - its not cheating, just 'tactical planning'! :P).

So the short report is; felt really strong for first 5km, got stitch, wanted to stop at 6km, ploughed on, felt much tougher for the second half - felt I was putting in a lot more effort to maintain the same pace, a big push for the final 1500m and it was over. My chip time is 63:03 - 3 minutes 42 seconds off my PB :)

I think there may be a few milimetres between my foot and the ground,
so this may well be an elusive 'both feet in the air' picture! :D
Picture (c) www.sportcam.net

Would recomend the course for PB chasing, but very dull as its a 2 lap loop of the circuit, with nothing pretty to look at apart from the odd Mercedes car if you're into that sort of thing (I'm not!).

Next goal; sub-60. It will be mine! :D

10km - Swindon 10km

Despite the clear skies and sun this morning when we left home to travel to Swindon, by the time we arrived it was pouring and very windy!

We sat in the car for 30 minutes as we were early and too scared to brave the weather! Thankfully the rain stopped just before we started, but it was still soooo cold!

It was a pretty uneventful race for my second 10km - I just wanted to beat my time from my first 10km (68:26). The course was mostly flat, with lots of puddles for splashing in! :D


I kept a really even pace throughout - aiming for 6:30-7:00 minutes for each kilometre, and I managed 6:15 - 7:00 for each one. Just past the 9km marker we turned back onto the main road to be met with gale-force winds! (If anyone has done the Great South Run, it was like the last two miles of that!) The last km was a real struggle - slightly uphill and into those winds. Turned the final corner to see Amy, Dave, Anna, Kathy, Jay and Julia cheering me on! Dug my heels in for the last 100 metres and finished in a time of 66:45 - over 90 seconds faster than my previous time :D

Anna, Julia, Andrew, Alison, Julia, Kathy, Jay and Amy

We headed back to chez Glencross for a quick shower and tea and then out for a yummy roast lunch followed by apple pie and custard - it was great to see so many familiar faces there and catch up with everyone again.

Only two weeks to the *GRIM* now... :D

10km - Cancer Reseach Run 10km, Hampton Court

Well today was the day of my first 10km run. I was feeling pretty okay about it - I've run walked the distance a few times and did a 5 mile race a few weeks ago in 59:30, and as usual I'd set myself two finish times - under 80 minutes for 'not disappointed' and under 75 minutes for 'very pleased'!

I was soooo hot today, but a lovely flat course. Felt quite nervous at the start - all the usual 'what have I done', 'why did I enter this', 'I can't run this far' niggles! Took my a while to get into in - around 3km I really wanted to walk, but told myself I wasn't stopping before 5km as I know I can run at least that far without walking.


But I got to 5km and I was feeling good - I was only 20 seconds off my 5km PB at this point, and so I carried on running to 6km and then 7km. I was running pretty consistent 7 minute kms, so could predict when the next km markers were coming. Slowed down a bit around 8km - thighs were a bit tired. But carried on running. Got to 9km and thought 'there's no way I'm stopping to walk now!'. Checked my watch - 63:30 if I could run the last km in 6:30 I'd get a sub-70 time!


So I picked up my pace a bit - legs feeling worn by now. Then saw the '500m to go' marker and kicked up a gear into a fast run. Crossed the line in 68:26. I still can't believe it! :D

I was trying to decide if I'm more please about my finish time or the fact that I ran the *whole* way, and you know, I think its actually the fact that I ran all of it.