Race Report: Great South Run

On Sunday I ran the Bupa Great South Run - a flat, 10 mile race with around 20,000 runners taking part.

Following on from last year’s race report, which ended with “Would I do it again? If you'd asked me two minutes after finishing I would've said no, but I think I've got to try and beat 2 hours haven't I..?”, I was back for my second time of running this race. I knew I was better prepared than last year (when my longest training run before the race had been 8 miles!), but I also knew that I hadn’t been putting in lots of distance training over the past few months. With those in mind, my goals for this race were;

A) Beat last year’s time of 2:03:11
B) Run under 1:55
C) Run under 1:50

With A being a very realistic target and knowing that C would be quite a challenge!

Some of the thousands of people running the Great South Run (source)

I wasn’t apprehensive about the race at all - I knew I’d be able to get round the course, and (for once!) the weather was good - bright and crisp - perfect for running. But it’s fair to say that I didn’t have the best of races - you know you have an ‘off’ run every so often? Sunday was one of those days; it was just unfortunate that it happened to be a race. I struggled mentally and physically for much of the race.

Miles 1-3: It took me a while to get into a decent rhythm, but I told myself I wasn’t stopping until at least the 5km marker. I found it hard mentally at the beginning - I just couldn’t motivate myself to get excited about the race.

Miles 3-6: The middle section was probably the best for me; I’d found my pace, had some water and some Shot Bloks and was feeling more refreshed and optimistic.

Miles 6-8: At this point I started to get bored, it’s the dullest section of the race, with few supporters, no bands etc. I could feel a couple of blisters on my feet that were starting to bother me and my right hip kept twinging (not an area I’ve ever had problems with in the past).

Miles 8-10: By now I was feeling tired (looking back, it may have been an under-fuelling issue - the race didn’t start till 11 and I’d eaten breakfast at 7:30!), and the twinge in my hip was bothering me almost constantly. The last two miles of this race are along the sea-front, I kept telling myself that the quickest was back to the start was to run the last two miles, despite the discomfort, I also knew that the more I ran and less I walked, the quicker it would be over!

I crossed the finished line in 1:54:14, so I managed goals A and B :)

After finishing the race I realised I felt quite light headed (again - probably due to lack of food, by now it was 1pm). I sat down for a while and hobbled the half mile to the pub, where I had a yummy and much-deserved veggie Wellington roast dinner.

Some of the amazing support on the way round (source)

I know this post is quite negative, but I also realise that it was only due to my issues that it was a bad race. The Great South Run is one of the biggest, well-organised and popular races I’ve been too. There’s support on the majority of the route, bands and music as well, it’s a completely flat course and the goody bags are well worth it! There was a ‘Bupa Boost Station’ at mile 9, which I thought was a really nice touch - they were blasting out cheesey, motivating music and handing out jelly babies and Vaseline - it helped to push through for the last mile. So please don’t let my whinging put you off this event!

Now I just have to figure out what to do about this hip pain, that still hasn’t gone away, and definitely feels like more than DOMS. I think I’ll rest it for a few more days and hope it passes. What do you do about niggles/twinges/discomfort? Do you seek help straightaway or try resting it first?

Length: 10 miles
Time: 1:54:14
Pace: 11:25 min/mile

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: Fetch Berkshire Mile & 100 metres

The Fetch Berkshire mile is, bizarrely enough, organised by members of the running website Fetcheveryone. It held four times each year, on an athletics track near Newbury (there’s other ‘Fetch mile’ events held at various locations and times around the country). Its free to attend, but its encouraged that you bring cake for afterwards!

At the start of the mile
Picture (C) Rachael Elliott

This was the first time I had been to this event, and my first attempt at running a mile! I had no idea how fast to go, what pace I should aim for etc. I decided to aim for around 9 minutes (my quickest pace in a 5km race is 9:26 minutes/mile).

On my way round the mile - are both feet off the ground?
Picture (C) Rachael Elliott

There were three groups for the mile (there were too many of us to go at once), the fast runners (sub 6 minutes) went first; I was in the third group. Many people, who had run before, had specific time targets, so the faster runners paced people in the other two groups. Although I didn’t have a goal, I ended up with my own personal pacer! I told him my goal and we were off! After 100 metres or so, I realised he wasn’t even wearing a watch, let alone a Garmin! I asked him how he was pacing, and he said he just knew from experience! After the first lap (a mile is 4 x 400m), he said we were going slightly faster than 9 minutes/mile, but if I felt okay, we should keep it going. The third lap was tough, but he counted me down from 500m to go, and I picked up my pace for the last 100m for a sprint finish. My final time was 8:40, which was well below my target time. :)

With about 150 metres to go, with my fantastic pacer, who was not only on his
third mile, pacing without a garmin or watch, but also ran barefoot!
Picture (C) Rachael Elliott

Most other people collapsed on the side of the track after running their mile, and I felt pretty much okay, so I realised that perhaps I could’ve given it a bit more! My pacer said that when I get to the point of running a mile without being able to speed up at the end, then I know I’m getting close to my fastest time!

Many people brought their children along, and there was one boy, of about 4 who ran the whole mile - very impressive! Then there was a 400m race - mostly for the children followed by several 100 metre races. I thought I might was well have a go - another distance I hadn’t attempted before!

Running the 100m (in white) - almost all of us with both feet off the ground!
Picture (C) Solitude Fairy

It was an odd distance to run - didn’t really have time to think! But I was aware that neither my lungs nor legs were sore/tired, but it was the fact that I couldn’t get my legs to move quicker that slowed me down! I ran it in 18.45 seconds - which, as someone told me, is quicker than Usain Bolt can run 200m, so I’m happy with that! :D

The running was followed by lots of cake, crisps and goodies, and much chatting about local events, upcoming races and PBs :)

I’ll definitely be back in December for the next event - with my sights set on a sub 8:30 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: Every Woman's Duathlon

One of my goals for 2010 was to take part in a duathlon, just to expand my racing ‘horizons’, and on Saturday I completed my first one! The race was held in Bristol - Every Woman’s Duathlon - and was aimed at first time duathlon-ers. I entered with two other friends (one a duathlon virgin like me, and the other quite a bit more experienced ;o) ).

I’ve really enjoyed training on my bike over the past couple of months, and although apprehensive, I was looking forward to the race. That was until I woke up on Saturday to the hottest day of the year so far! We left at 7.30 to cycle to the race (only about 10 minutes!) and it was already sweltering. We decided to take it easy on the first run, and ran it at a comfortable pace, and finished the ‘5km’ course in around 22 minutes - a 7 minute improvement on my 5km PB ;o)

Getting my sweat on! ((C) 21C Photos)

Then onto the bike section. My mountain bike wasn’t the most ideally suited for the tarmac based route, my only goal was to complete the distance in under an hour. The cycle route was four loops, so it got a bit boring after a while, and with two 180 degree turns per loop, it mean slowing right down eight times over the course. Was very annoyed at completing the course in 62 minutes, but as I my average pace was around 14 miles per hour, I suspect the distance was a bit longer than the 20km advertised. Boo :o(

Cycling away! ((C) 21C Photos)

The second run was not fun, my legs were tired, and by this point it was about 1000 degrees (no really!), but it was nice knowing that I only had 3.5km to run rather than 5! I didn’t take anywhere near enough to drink with me, and was starting to feel quite weak half way through this run. After some walking, and stern words, I finished. My overall time was 1:48:05. Not really sure how I feel about the time as my goal was to finish in under two hours, which I wouldn’t have done if the distances had been correct, but it’s a PB nonetheless! :oD I also came third in my age category (whadya mean how many people were in my age category?!)

Finished! (At last) ((C) 21C Photos)

Overall a good race - brilliant for first timers (like me) and the option of two distances was nice as well (5km/20km/5km or 2.5km/10km/2.5km), just a shame about the distances. The race was well organised - everything was well explained (as for the majority of the entrants this was their first duathlon), free massage before and after was a nice touch and there were a fair few marshalls too - all of which were very encouraging and supportive. The goodie bag was really good (perhaps where the £36 entry fee was spent!), including a medal, t-shirt, magazine, keyring, pen and several food samples.

Not sure I’d be in a hurry to do another duathlon, but am pleased I can now tick it off my list. A certain someone is trying to persuade me to enter a triathlon next, but I think I’ll save that for next year!

Race Report: Guildford Race for Life

Yesterday I completed Guildford's Race for Life. This race had me in a reflective mood as it was my first race ever, this time last year (read last year's race report here), and was what motivated me to start on the couch to 5km plan, as I decided I wanted to be able to run the whole way. And now, here I am a year later, which a fair few races under my belt and several stone lighter! I think even the fact that I haven't had to 'train' to cover this distance (5km), shows how much things have changed!

Me at this year's race, and at the same event last year.

Although the purpose of these events isn't to PB, I wanted to make sure I beat last year's time of 35:00! My 5km PB (set in March) is 29:20, so allowing for the crowds I was really hoping for a finish of 31-32 minutes. I was prepared for the crowds at the beginning, so I set of quickly and weaved my way through the crowds - a bit too quickly it seems as I hit the first km marker in just over 5 minutes (25 minute for 5km pace!), I kept pushing it and got to 3km in 16 minutes, I realised I wouldn't be able to keep this pace up, but didn't want to walk, so slowed right down for 3 to 4km. Before I knew it the '500m to go' sign was there and I could see the finish, so I picked up the pace again. The only steep incline of the course is about 300m before the end - I ran to the top and thought I was going to be sick!

Just about to cross the finish line!

I glanced down at my HRM as I crossed the line, and did a double take - 28:15! I couldn't believe it - a huge grin spread across my face as I realised I'd PB'd and take 6minutes 45 seconds off last year's time! Now I have a goal to aim for the next time I go to parkrun (a weekly, free, 5km time trial).

Me, my sister and neice after the race (no, my 3 year old neice didn't run it, but they kindly gave her a medal as she ran the last 20 metres or so with my sister!)

It was nice to come 'full circle' and return to the race that 'started it all' - I feel I've proved (to myself more than anyone else), that I am a runner now - I've been doing this for a year now! I'm sure this is a race that I'll return to time and again - I've got my eyes on a 25 minute finish time for next year! :D

parkrun: A Different Perspective

At yesterday's parkrun, rather than running, I helped out as a volunteer. For those of you unfamilliar with parkrun, its a free, weekly, timed 5km run open to everyone and anyone. You can find out more here and find your nearest event here.

It was my first time volunteering at parkrun. I remember being told the first time I attended a parkrun, that if every runner volunteered three times each year, that would be enough for the events to remain free and ongoing, so I decided it was about time I chipped in!

Runners walking to the start of the race

parkrun is a simple set-up and there are several types of volunteer roles including timer, marshalls, photographer, funnel management and handing out positions chips. I was in charge of scanning in runner's barcodes and position chips at the end of the race (which would later be matched up to give them their times).

It was really interesting to see the event from the 'other side'. And it made me realise just how fast some of the runners are! The first child came in at just uner 11 minutes 30 seconds (children run a 2.5km route) and the first adult runner (the full 5km route) came in at 17:45 - something to aspire to! :D

And the best part? You get your name in 'lights' on the website!