Vanguard Way Marathon: Just a training run

On August 3, 2015September 18, 2019 By Girl Running CrazyIn Marathon Chat, Race Reports1 Comment

With only 4 weeks to go until my first ultramarathon it’s probably an appropriate time to panic. Since the London Marathon (over 3 months ago) I have only managed 3 runs over 13 miles with the longest at 17…and they were all on the road. Ideal prep for a 36 mile off road ultra, right?!

Yesterday was the Vanguard Way Marathon, an out and back trail route in Surrey from Lloyd Park to Limpsfield. I realised this would be an ideal opportunity to get some more trail experience and force myself to cover a good distance so, somewhat reluctantly, I signed up a few days before.

I was quite apprehensive about the distance, 26.2 miles is a long way and I had only run up to 17 in recent weeks, could I actually cover that distance? After a very restless night, we were on our way to Lloyd Park where I would attempt marathon #10 and my first ever trail marathon…

Bryn (enjoying a day out with the ladies) me, Daisie (who was on her 2nd marathon of the weekend), Jasmine, Cat & Frankie

It was a small field of around 100 people so registration was simple and we were on our way pretty swiftly. Luckily for me, Jasmine had made a last minute decision to join us and, as she’s preparing for the NDW100 next week (errr, yep, that’s a 100 mile run along the North Downs Way) she was happy to take it easy and we agreed to run together. This was the very best thing that could have happened!

Bryn, Cat & Frankie were planning to run together but there was no chance I could keep up with them so I had assumed I’d be running alone. I had also (wrongly) assumed that, as an out and back course, it would be pretty straightforward. The race organisers had posted a map but, as I was unfamiliar with the area, it just looked like a map that went through some green areas. Relying on course markings, I didn’t pay much attention to the map or the 5 pages of instructions they gave out.

We took a wrong turn early, there were at least 15 of us at this point, but we knew we were off course. After talking to some locals we eventually found a marshal and were back on track. The route was pretty, we headed through shaded woods, along gravelly paths, up hills, down (some very steep!) hills, over turnstiles and through fields, including a field full of bulls. Kinda wished my hydration pack didn’t have any red on it…although maybe being charged at by a bull was a legit reason for a DNF…

This hill was a lot steeper than it looks!

It was quite challenging, the sun was very warm and it was tough. We took it easy and walked a lot of the hills but I found it quite hard to get into a rhythm. By mile 11 I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through at all. Having Jasmine with me was a huge comfort. She’s an experienced trail runner, tough as nails and familiar with some of the route, I honestly think I would have given up and turned around if she wasn’t there and I most definitely would have got hideously lost.

We reached the turnaround with 13.7 miles on the clock, this would mean we could reach 27.2 miles before the finish line, not what I wanted to know!

Unsurprisingly, I felt mentally stronger on the way back but the miles were ticking by slowly. The steep downhills on the way out needed to be tackled the other way and it was a tough climb! Jasmine started to bribe me with sweets… ‘let’s just get to the top and we can stop for a drink and some sweets’, it worked and Shot Bloks never tasted so good!

Plodding along, we adopted a ‘little old lady jog’ approach which was better than walking but sounded very gentle and easy, it was all a mental game by this point! It wasn’t until around 26 miles that we weren’t sure where to go anymore, there were no course markings and the instructions weren’t helpful. I didn’t really know how far away we were from the finish but I just wanted to get back to Lloyd Park. A local pointed us the right way and I didn’t even care if we were off course, we just ran in that direction.

Eventually, after wasting about 10 minutes, we saw the finish and ran straight for it. We accidentally took a short cut across the field but I was way over 26.2 so I didn’t care. Grabbing Jas’s hand we went for the finish into the cheers of the others.

26.6 miles and 4,439ft of elevation gain, first trail marathon, DONE! Thanks Jas!

The point of this run was to give me some confidence ahead of SBU, some more experience on the trails and to learn a little something. So, what did I learn?

Do not worry about the time on your watch
Be prepared to get lost
Getting stressed when lost does not help the situation
Be prepared to run further than the race distance (due to point above…)
Talk to other runners, trail runners are friendly folk!
But trust no one…make your own decisions & don’t rely on others to guide the way
Take lots of sweeties – ideally plan ahead and place sweets at the top of hills, but this may not be practical…
It’s absolutely fine to walk the hills
It’s absolutely fine to be a little scared in a field full of bulls
Look forward to the aid stations, they have smiley people and sugar and Quavers and cola
Having a friend by your side is one of the most valuable pieces of kit you can take
Do NOT worry about the time on your watch
Do NOT give up
Give your all on the sprint finish – people will be watching you!
Do NOT give a s**t about your finish time, it’s pretty much irrelevant
Going to the pub after makes everything OK again

It’s less than 4 weeks until the SBU35 and I either become an ultrarunner, or crash & burn on the trails of the Lake District. It’s OK to be petrified.

The Vanguard Way Marathon is not only a lovely, scenic run with friendly marshals, but an absolute bargain at £20 with a medal and technical t-shirt at the end – I would definitely recommend it if you like a bit of off-road hilliness!

Thunder Run: All day, all night…

On July 29, 2015September 18, 2019 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports3 Comments

It was around 1.30am on Sunday morning when I was running through the woods with only my head torch to light the way, jumping over tree routes and skidding in the mud, that I wasn’t sure if I understood myself anymore. Trying not to think about what was lurking in the bushes, or if I was going to knock myself out by running into a tree, I realised this was a new level of crazy. This weekend I both loved and hated running in equal measures.

On Friday night I met 15 Chasers in Clapham Junction to jump on a minibus to Derbyshire. This weekend we were taking 4 teams to Thunder Run, a 24 hour off-road relay on a 10k loop. The first challenge was to get everyone and everything on the minibus…with 16 seats, 16 people and 16 people’s camping stuff, it was a bit of a jigsaw.

It had been absolutely chucking it down all day, with no signs of it stopping, so we were in for a soggy and muddy night. However, no amount of rain can ever dampen the Chaser spirit so we cracked open the M&S G&Ts and turned up the music. As our driver took us on the most convoluted way out of London, and refused to go above 55 on the motorway (Gemma & Martin had to swap seats so Martin didn’t kill him…), we realised we wouldn’t be arriving until quite late. But it was OK, because I was sat next to a drunk Frankie and we were singing along to Oasis at top volume. There would be no sleeping on the party bus!

We arrived at the campsite in Catton Park at around 11pm. It was dark, raining, and we (OK, some of us) were a little drunk. Ross took charge and found us a place to pitch up, we didn’t really know where we were but it would have to do. Thanks to help from Barry and Paul, I eventually got my tent up and it was time to bed down for a cold and uncomfortable night just after midnight.

The next morning brought sunshine, friendly people and tired, but excited Chasers. We put our flags up, got Ingrid ready for support duties, and checked out the campsite. Somehow we had managed to secure an ideal camping spot, we were a short walk from everything we needed and were directly on the race route just after the 2k marker, perfect!

We had 2 teams of 5, Frankie & the Clap Claps (going for the win) and the Clapham Beasts, a team of 6, Frenchie’s Midnight Runners, and a team of 8, Thunder Honks (nobody was up for the solo option…). I was in a team with Gemma, Barry, Ross, and the 2 Pauls which actually turned out to be an ideal number of people.

Having a schedule was absolutely key – with 6 runners, running day and night, we needed to know when to be ready so we didn’t miss the changeover or have to hang around unnecessarily. After forecasting everyone’s run time and allowing for the nature of the course, night runs and increasing tiredness, we had a target of 26 laps over 24 hours. This would mean that the 2 runners who were most up for it at the end would need to run 50k with the others 40k.

The race kicked off at 12 so we all headed down to cheer on the first runners, Paul W was up first for us, before heading back to camp to see them fly past at 2k from our camping spot!

Bryn was first back off leg 1 and we knew immediately that the course was a lot tougher than any of us had anticipated, made worse by the heavy rain which had left some sections a complete mud bath. I was on the 3rd leg after Paul G so, as soon as we cheered him past us I started to get ready. Being located at 2k turned out to be invaluable for forward planning!

The transition area was busy and there was only a short section of 200m where you could see the runners come in so you had to be ready to move quickly. Paul saw me straight away, he slapped the baton on my wrist and I was off.

The course starts by taking you through the campsite and I ran straight past the Thunder Honks, it was great to get a huge cheer to send me on my way! The grass path continued out of the camp and turned up a sharp hill into the woods. It was muddy, narrow, and hilly and my pace dropped as we twisted round the trees. As the course opened out it became even muddier, really squelchy mud that was impossible to get any grip on, if the whole course was like this I was going to be way off my expected finish time.

Eventually it became a bit drier and I saw the 2k sign as we turned back into the campsite, I was going to see the Chasers! They spotted me coming before I got there and I could hear the cheers, it was just what I needed! The first 5k was pretty hideous, tough hills, severe muddy sections and blazing sun, at 5k my watch said 31 minutes, I was on for a huge personal worst in a team event. Brilliant.

We came to another hill which had been sectioned off with chip mats for a sprint competition (probs wouldn’t win that), then headed back into the woods for a windy section round the trees that involved a lot of ankle busting tree roots (ideal). At 8k we headed downhill onto a firm path that would lead to a lake and back into the campsite for the last kilometre, my favourite bit! The ground was firm, the support was good and I was relieved the end was near. Turning the corner I could see the finish and Gemma yelling at me with a big smile, I gave her the baton and wished her luck!

It had taken me 59 sodding minutes to run 10k and there wasn’t a single bit of it I had found easy. The course was muddy, hilly, technical and uncomfortable, even the flat bits were lumpy underfoot. I think it’s the toughest 10k course I’ve ever run and all I could think about was how the hell I was going to get round in the pitch black at 1am??? I needed a cuppa tea…

Back at camp I had to quietly admit my time, there was no hiding it, it needed to go on the spreadsheet of declaration! It was only 4 minutes off target so it could have been worse, but I couldn’t see myself getting any faster. I had some food and hung out with a cheerful Ingrid watching everyone run past.

After Gemma and Barry had ran their first legs we were around 10 minutes behind schedule before Ross set off. Ross is supposed to be taking it easy so, despite being a fast runner, we set him an easy target. However, Ross being Ross he smashed it 12 minutes quicker than planned and put us straight back on track! If Ross was going to be quicker than planned, which looked likely, it gave us some flex so we could still hit our target 26 laps even if some of us were struggling to hit the right times. Phew!

My 2nd leg was scheduled for 19:10 and we were on target, the changeover was smooth and I was off again. As I reached the 1k mark I was pleased to find the mud had dried out and I was finding it a lot easier. The run was much more comfortable, the Chaser cheers were louder and the air was slightly cooler – those hills hadn’t changed though! I only ran about 30 seconds quicker than the first lap but I wasn’t too worried anymore.

At the end, I took advantage of the hot showers, but the food queues were huge so I just had some snacks before trying to get a couple of hours sleep in my freezing tent. My night run would start at about 00:45 so Paul W made sure I was awake when he came back of his 3rd leg so I had enough time to get ready.

Heading down to transition I bumped into Diana from the Thunder Honks, they’d had a few drop outs so she was on a night-double, I didn’t envy her but was grateful for the company. It was evident that other teams were starting to miss their changovers (someone called Ruth was in BIG trouble!), clearly they didn’t have a spreadsheet and a flawless buddy-waking-system! Through all the head torch’s it’s difficult to see people’s faces but I heard Paul yelling my name and I was off on lap 3. The night one…

This was the lap I was really worried about, I couldn’t see a thing other than what the beam from my torch would allow and the cold air had made the grass a little slippy. I decided to take it steady and just get round.

Running through the woods in the dark was a surreal experience, although there were other runners around, it felt a lot quieter than during the day. I ran the whole way, quietly cheering the solo runners as I passed, it was actually quite exciting! There were some sections where I felt completely alone and I wondered if there were any mentalists in the bushes waiting to kill me. There weren’t.

Somewhere in the windy tree section I heard someone yell ‘Frenchieeeee’ and Martin flew past, it was hugely reassuring to see a friendly face. Not long after, I heard some music and another call of ‘Frenchieeee’ before Matt flew past me. I don’t know how either of them recognised me but I was grateful they did, I may have been running through the woods in the dark but I had friends and I was nearly finished!

Running into the finish area I could only see headlights so I yelled GEMMAAAA and was delighted she was there. Job bloody done! My next run was at 6:40 so I really needed to get some sleep but I was absolutely buzzing, I think I sort of enjoyed it! I took a cuppa back to my tent, checked that Barry was awake, ‘yeahhh, but I wish I wasn’t’ came the reply, and tried to sleep.

It was just gone 2am so, if I fell asleep straight away (unlikely), I would have 3 odd hours sleep before the alarm. I hate running as soon as I wake up, so I wanted to allow some snoozes to wake up gradually. I’m not sure if my system worked, or I was running off adrenaline, but I somehow managed to to be wide awake and ready for lap 4.

I was tired and my legs were heavy but I knew this would be my last lap so I just wanted to get it done. As I ran (ran, not walked…) past the Thunder Honks Kevin yelled ‘come on Frenchie, it’s called Thunder Run not Thunder Walk!’, so I swore at the cheeky git. The kilometres rolled by but the hills were killing me so I walked a couple of them and hoped I didn’t get spotted by another Chaser (especially Kev!)

The thing I found most difficult about this run was that I was running on empty, I’d had a few snacks after the 2nd lap and a handful of pretzels after the 3rd, but it wasn’t enough. Drained and tired, I pushed through the last km, Martin flew past again yelling some encouragement and I crossed the finish line and into the face of a smiley Gemma for the last time. 40k. I was done!

I had a shower, got some proper food and a cuppa and settled down to enjoy the rest of the race. We were running about 10 minutes behind schedule by this point but only Paul G was up for a 5th lap so we were happy to call it quits at 25 laps (or so I thought!)

It started to rain. It was chilly and miserable and the rain got harder and harder, everyone was tired and achey and really not looking forward to their last laps. I have huge respect to everyone who was knocking out their 5th, 6th and even 7th laps! Collectively we agreed it had been a great experience but we had done it now and wouldn’t be back next year.

After Paul passed the tents we headed down to the finish to welcome him home and go to the bar! Paul W and I waited at the finish for Paul G to come home but we didn’t know where the others were. With around 23:48 on the clock, a very muddy Paul rounded the corner and came into the finish. 25 laps done, we had finished!!!

We waited for the others to finish their final laps, Katie, Gemma and Frankie were still out on the course. Frankie & the Clap Claps were on for the mixed team win so it would be a big moment for them, as Frankie came in Martin and Alex jumped over to run the final stretch with her – WINNERS!!!

We all headed to the bar for some much deserved beer/cider…in the rain…and the cold. People were still coming into the finish and I happened to turn around and saw someone coming into the finish line that I recognised… It was Barry. What? Barrry? Barry’s running? BAARRRRRYYYYY!!! And there was our final team member coming into the soaking wet finish to bring us up to 26 laps and hit our goal, and we didn’t even know! I was completely gutted to have nearly missed him, I genuinely had no idea. Baz was the star of the team!

Exhausted, happy, and a little emotional. 6 people. 24 hours. 26 laps. 260k. Thunder Run done!

The presentation ceremony wasn’t happening until 2 so we killed some time at the bar as everyone around us disappeared, I think it was only the winners that were actually left by this point.

Frankie & the Clap Claps. 33 laps, 330k. Team of 5, mixed WINNNNERRRRSSSSSS

Back on the soggy minibus everyone fell asleep, we were completely shattered, but when I got home it wasn’t long before the group messages started. Maybe we should do it again…maybe we should be more prepared…maybe Thunder Run 2016 is on!

They say:

Thunder Run will test your tactics, endurance, speed and team work. It’s an exhilarating, rewarding and tiring race with a great atmosphere. You’ll find TR24 physically challenging and mentally tough but an experience not to be missed.

I say, that’s bang on. I didn’t think it would make much difference who you were in a team with, but that wasn’t the case at all. You need to be with people who have the same expectations and are willing to work together. We knew we weren’t going to win, but we had a goal, we took it seriously, planned ahead and looked after each other, it resulted in a goal well and truly achieved and a successful weekend.

Thanks to the most fantastic teammates, especially Paul and Barry who willingly took on an additional lap in torrential rain, and thanks to all the Chasers for another epic weekend!

Pretty much all the photos courtesy of Ross McLeod and Gemma Brierley (thanks!)

Sometimes the most inspirational people are right in front of you

On July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General2 Comments

Like many people, I’m hugely inspired by those who achieve outstanding things, the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Kelly Holmes (the list goes on) are phenomenal athletes. But they are professional athletes, and, for clarity, I am not one!

I often think real inspiration comes from much closer to home. I only started running because my Mum and Dad were runners and, without that, I probably wouldn’t have much interest in the achievements of our nations elite to start with.

Mum & Dad coming to watch me run round the Olympic track

David was always the sporty one when we were younger, I was quite the opposite. Over the years, I was dragged out to all sorts of local races on a Sunday morning, rain or shine, and watched from the sidelines as he would take the outright win and come home with excessively large trophies. I had no trophies.

I was always encouraged to take part as well, it would take me 15 minutes to run a mile and I would absolutely hate it (in fact, the only thing I hated more than running was shepherds pie, I still hate shepherds pie, there’s nothing to like there) but I enjoyed the sense of achievement afterwards and David would sometimes let me hold his trophies…

Actually, I have my own trophy now…that time when I came 2nd!

Anyway, without that early support and encouragement I never would have taken up running more ~~obsessively~~ seriously when I was older and would never have even met the people who inspire me to push myself further and take on new challenges today. In turn, I’m proud to have inspired several friends to take up running who have watched me progress from plodding round a 5k to breaking myself in marathon training (I mean, who isn’t inspired by a friend who refuses to wear anything but compression tights and Ugg boots to the supermarket after a long run?!)

The Clapham Chasers have introduced me to people who have inspired me and given me the confidence to tackle things I wouldn’t have even considered before, from Tuesday night track to trail running in North Wales to an ultramarathon in a few weeks (errr, maybe..)

A couple of months ago when Cat organised an evening of training advice for the girls, 3 of our very own Chasers bravely got up in front of the group and shared their experiences and words of wisdom.

Gemma

Gemma is one of my favourite people and when I met her I didn’t realise how relatively new she was to running because she was always so excited about it! Within 3 years she went from a life of heavy drinking & smoking with just a pair of Converse for trainers to 3 x marathon runner.

Inspired by her boyfriends keen interest in running, Gemma invested in a real pair of trainers and went for a run. Red faced and out of breath she realised it was tougher that it looked and only made it up the road. Not one to give up, she persevered until she eventually fell in love with running.

Gemma stays motivated by picking out other runners in a race and trying and stick with them as long as possible to get to the finish line quicker. She says you need to think about how you’ll feel when you’ve finished, when you’ve achieved it, and that’s what keeps her going.

And then Gemma said something that captures her spirit perfectly:

What’s the worst that will happen? If I don’t finish I’ll just get up and try again

Always smiling, always positive and rarely letting anything get to her, there aren’t enough Gemma’s in this world.

Naomi

Next up was one of our successful GB Triathlon Age-Groupers, who started by saying, ‘when you’ve got your name across your boobs (of your trisuit) it’s a really cool feeling!’

Naomi believes women can achieve anything they set their minds to. She recognises that women can be defeatist, a trait not so common in men, and offered us her top tips for staying strong.

Surround yourself by ladies who inspire you, not only will you find it motivating but you’ll find you really want to please them with your own achievements
Get used to the pain in training so you know what to expect on race day
Have a carrot in front of you, whether it’s finishing your fist 10k or a new PB, dangle the carrot and go get it.
Make public declarations so you can’t back out if you get scared!
You’ll be surprised what you achieve when you don’t think you can so don’t say you can’t, just do it anyway.

Mel

Finally we had super-speedy marathon runner Mel. Mel has run 4 really bloody fast marathons with her last one coming in under 3 hours, a phenomenal achievement she worked really hard for. This is her advice:

Be brave enough to set goals that are challenging
Pressure in training, and on race day, can make you do crazy things like run through illness & injury…think about what you’re doing
Marathon training leaves you fatigued, try to benchmark progress against how you feel during a session rather than the numbers on your watch
Give your target finish time a range so you have a contingency to fall back on, flexible goals allow you to manage negative thoughts
When your legs hurt shift your focus to your breathing, remember you are actually OK and you can keep going!
Try to get excited about your race! Be nervous but use that nervous energy, don’t be fearful of racing
Be prepared to make decisions during the race, plan ahead and imagine what you would do if…
Finally, importantly, imagine yourself being successful!

I think it’s really important to surround yourself with people who inspire you, whether it’s Olympic champions, your best mate or your Dad. Hearing such motivational speeches from my friends made something I’ve known for some time crystal clear: The fabulous people who surround me inspire me every single day.

Chasers at the post London Marathon party. Photo: Shamir Patel

Naomi finished with a quote she keeps with her and reads on race day, I think it sums up everything perfectly:

20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

Review: FLEXISEQ Sport

On July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn ReviewsLeave a comment

During marathon training I tend ache a lot, funny that hey! I push myself through run after run with aching, stiff legs and weary limbs because it just has to be done – you can’t run a marathon without putting in the work right? I find that the more miles I run, the more I tend to get sore knees as well as achey muscles and I get really stiff when I sit at my desk for most of the day. Of course it eases off if I don’t run…but I like to run!

Recently, I was kindly sent a sample of FLEXISEQ Sport gel to try out – a product that claims to help with joint pain and stiffness. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical, but intrigued, it’s a product that’s endorsed by Saracens Rugby Club and they must have knee problems all the time so I was keen to give it a go. If this product actually helped relieve my stiff knees it could be just the thing I need, especially as I’m training for my first Ultramarathon in August!

What is it?

FLEXISEQ Sport is a gel that lubricates cartilage and damaged surfaces in the joints to help with pain and stiffness – they even say it’s proven to be as effective as a prescription painkiller, I think that’s quite a claim! Most importantly, in my opinion, it’s drug free.

Generally I’m not a fan of painkillers or painkilling gels – if something in your body is giving you pain there’s usually a reason for it and painkillers just mask the problem – you could make it worse. This kind of product appeals much more to me so I was looking forward to trying it.

The science bit

When you apply the gel to the joint, microscopic spheres (Sequessome vesicles they’re called) are absorbed into the skin and into the joint to replenish the depleted layer of lubricants that are usually found on healthy cartilage. I guess it’s like a 2nd layer of lubrication for the joint.

How do you use it?

The benefits are cumulative so they recommend you apply the gel twice a day – it doesn’t have a strong odor and isn’t sticky so fairly easy to apply, be warned though, it feels very cold when you put it on in the morning!

I used it on my knees, but you can use it anywhere you have stiff joints, you simply spread the gel over the soft tissue area in a circle around the knee cap, leave it to dry and you’re good to go.

Does it work?

I’ve been using the gel for 2/3 weeks now (although I haven’t remembered to use it every single day) and I have to say, I haven’t had the usual stiffness in my knees I often get from running despite running a 15 miler at the weekend. It’s been quite nice not to have to make excuses for taking the lift down the stairs at work! That said, my mileage hasn’t been as high as it has in previous months so I can’t give it the full seal of approval for heavy training, but I will most definitely continue to use it for the next few months. If you have trouble with stiff joints I would definitely recommend trying it!

Many thanks to FLEXISEQ Sport for giving me a chance to try their new product! All views are my own.

3 Peaks Challenge!

On June 24, 2015July 3, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General4 Comments

The 3 Peaks Challenge needs little introduction, the goal is to climb the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales within a 24 hour period. It’s been on my list for a while so when the opportunity came up at work to join a 3 Peaks team and raise money for mental health charity Mind, I volunteered without a second thought.

About a week ago I thought I should do some proper research on the challenge and started to worry about by distinct lack of mountain-climbing-specific training, I hadn’t done any. I was working off the (possibly naive) assumption that my marathon fitness and strong legs would carry me through, but everything I read about the challenge made me doubt that. In any case, it was too late to do anything about it now…

As with any event like this, it’s truly the people you share it with that can make or break your experience and I was fortunate to be with the best bunch I could ask for. The team was made up of myself, Hannah, Tara, Ellen, Pippa, Carmen and Jack (who became an excellent not-gay-gay-best-friend, GBF). Jack wanted to be the alpha male, but unfortunately that was firmly taken by our mountain guide Jake, he was also after the beta male role, but was pipped to the post by our laugh-a-minute drive Wayne, so GBF it was…

I only really knew Hannah when we all met at Euston for our 8.10 train to Chester, but by the end of the weekend, we were pretty well acquainted! We were picked up from Chester by Jake, our leader, and Wayne who would be our driver for most of the trip. We quickly established the banter would be plentiful and we couldn’t take anything Wayne said seriously, but, together with DJ MC Willy (Hannah) blaring out the tunes, and some laser light action, the 8.5 hour trip to Fort William was quite a lot of fun!

Fort William is a lot further away from absolutely everything than I thought, but the views driving through Scotland were worth it. We made it to our bunkhouse, Bank St Lodge, just after 8pm and headed out for a pre-climb dinner. After a fairly short and broken sleep (we had a snorer in the group…), the alarm went off at 5 and we were ready to go!

Ben Nevis

We were dropped off at the base of Ben Nevis at 6.20 am which meant we technically had until 7.50am the next morning to officially complete the challenge (due to driving regulations the time has been extended to 25.5 hours).

Ben is not only the tallest mountain of the challenge, and the highest peak in the UK at 1,344m (4,409ft), it’s also dubbed the toughest of the 3 so I was glad we were tackling this one first, on fresh legs and the most sleep we were going to get all weekend. We started off at a faster pace than I was expecting but I didn’t mind, apparently we were making good time! We got warm quickly so it wasn’t long before we were taking layers off.

There is one main route up and down the mountain, the Mountain Track, but I was surprised by how many people we encountered coming down at this time of day, it meant they must have climbed up in the dark, I definitely wouldn’t fancy that! Nearly everyone we met along the way wished us a good morning, mountain climbers are pleasant folk!

The path zig-zagged upwards and the terrain was a mix of rocky steps, pebbly slopes and loose scree which would later be covered in a thick layer of snow. I was enjoying the climb, it was early in the morning and there were some beautiful views as we made our way up. About half way there was a waterfall to cross over and we stopped for a photo!

The mountain got steeper the higher we went and it started to get really cold. It wasn’t until we stopped to layer up that I realised how wet we all were from the damp atmosphere. We came across a couple of patches of snow, which turned into may be a solid half mile of quite deep snow we had to trudge through all the way to the summit. Everything was pure white in the middle of June!

After just under 3 hours of climbing we reached the top, it was cold, windy, and snowy but amazing to reach the first peak. We stopped for a snack, a hug and a summit selfie (obviously).

The next challenge was to get down the bloody thing, or GTFD (get the f**k down) as we called it. This was not my favourite thing at all and I quickly learned that I was very, very bad at it. I got my walking poles out for the descent but still found myself at the back of the group sliding all over the place on the snow. We were warned to stick to the path or we could easily veer towards the edge where there was a big crack in the snow, errrr, noted!

When we reached the rubble I seemed to get slower, in hindsight I was relying too much on the poles than my own balance and leg strength, which I would later learn was much more reliable. My slow descent wasn’t helped by the volume of people who were now coming up the mountain, the path was quite narrow so everytime I picked out my route someone would be coming into it the other way.

I found getting myself down the mountain stressful, mentally exhausting, and frustrating, I was holding the group back and I didn’t want to be the reason we would fail, it wasn’t enjoyable at all. We got to the bottom at 11.50am after a 5.5 hour trek. They estimate 5-6 hours so we were well within that, but we were aiming for 5 so had already lost half an hour, I felt like I had let the team down already.

Getting to the car park I had never been so happy to see another person than Wayne, with a silly hat and a flask of hot water ready to make us coffee. We were back on the road for the 256 mile journey to Scafell Pike with the highest mountain already under our belt. Onwards!

We stopped a couple of times to make sure Wayne had his allocated breaks and took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine. We didn’t have any problems on the road and together with Wayne’s, errr, efficient shall we say, driving, we got to Scafell Pike at 18:50 and we were ready to go again.

Our only photo with Wayne!

Scafell Pike

There are a couple of routes up Scafell but we went for Wasdale Head, the steeper but shorter option, which should take about 4 hours. This mountain was definitely my favourite. It had been a gloriously sunny day and the views on the way up were beautiful, it was also very warm so we were grateful we weren’t climbing in the middle of the day.

Scafell Pike is the shortest mountain at 978m (3,209ft) but is the highest in England. I was determined not to be so rubbish on this one so I went for it on the ascent and really enjoyed the climb. There were some large boulders to navigate but there was also a lot of grass either side of the path which I thought would be useful on the way down.

It was also a lot quieter on this mountain, just a few other hikers and a lot of sheep (and lovely black slugs), the sun was setting as we made our way up and it got chilly again as we hit the cloud. As the view disappeared, all we could really see was lots of loose rubble, it flattened out as we reached the top and I felt a bit like I was on the moon. However, the flat did not mean we were at the top and it was another 15 minutes or so before we actually reached the summit.

It was now 9pm so it had taken us 2 hours 10 to reach the top, time for another hug and a summit selfie but no time for snacks because we needed to GTFD before it got dark! Luckily, we had picked Summer Solstice weekend so it wouldn’t get properly dark until near 11, hopefully we would make it…

At this point Jake literally confiscated my walking poles. He told me I didn’t need them and I’d be much quicker without them…errrr, really?? Turns out he was right, relying on my own balance and strength gave me much more momentum so I progressed a lot quicker than descending Ben.

Tara was in quite a lot of pain with her knees so we stuck together at the back. With the sun going down, darkness was closing in and visibility was starting to get poor so it was time to get my pink head torch out! Jake gave Tara a piggyback the rest of the way down to save her knees for Snowdon and we finally made it to the bottom at 11pm. It was dark. All in all it had taken 4 hours 10, not far off target.

Back in the laser light party bus we were back on the road to Snowdon which was 211 miles away. We all fell asleep on this part of the journey and woke briefly to say goodbye to Wayne who handed over the driving Derek at around 2.30am at a service station somewhere along the way.

Snowdon

We arrived at Snowdon at around 4.30am. Having all been asleep, the last thing we really wanted to do was drag ourselves up another mountain but it needed to be done. It was very windy, but it was light again and spirits lifted when we realised we were actually on our way up the last mountain! To complete the task on time we would only have around 3 hours 10 to get up and back down again, it was going to be unlikely but none of us cared by this point, we would still have completed the 3 Peaks!

Snowdon is 1,085 m (3560 ft) high and we were led to believe this was the easiest mountain to climb…I’m really not sure it was! It’s difficult to pull apart how much of the inevitable tiredness and accumulation of mountain-miles in the legs affected the climb but I didn’t feel particularly tired so I think it was just the mountain!

It started off pretty easy with solid stone steps but they got a lot steeper as we went up. This was much more of a clambering up with hands type of climb, but I was grateful there wasn’t as many loose stoney areas as there were on the other 2.

There were some nice flat areas along a ridge with some awesome views of the lake below, but at some points the stones were very jagged and steep and I didn’t really want to look down! I was a little concerned about how the hell I was going to get down again…I might just have to live on the top of Snowdon.

When we reached the ridge at the top the wind was really, really strong. We kept going until we reached the final steps up to the summit where there was a big brass dial. Jack jumped on top of it and we had to cling onto him to stay steady! After more hugs and summit selfies I decided I didn’t want to live there so we had to GTFD before we blew away!

The poles came back out for this one, my left knee was hurting from twisting it on Scafell so I wanted the extra support. Jake decided to take us a different path back down, this would be a longer route but it would involve a much shorter, sharper decent so we could get back to the lake quicker and then the rest would be pretty flat. I liked the sound of that!

Clambering down, we all made it to the lake and took some time out to appreciate the view, it was stunning. It was fairly non eventful from that point and we all enjoyed being on the flat even if it did seem to go on forever as we curved round the mountain. Tara was still struggling with her knees so she had another piggyback for the last section…we think she had a little crush on Jake!

Seeing car park and cafe come into view at the end was the best thing I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t wait to take my boots off! Arriving at 10am, literally as it started to rain, we had completed the 3 Peaks Challenge in around 27.5 hours which we were all happy with, we’d bloody done it!!

It was then time for breakfast at Pete’s cafe where Hannah was devastated to have ordered a burger and became slightly deranged with jealously over everyone else’s food, the amusement never stopped!

Heading back to Chester we all fell asleep immediately, but we were greeted by a cheery Wayne on arrival to bid a fond farewell. Finally we were back on the train to London, we were all a little sad our victorious adventure was over but happy and completely exhausted.

The 3 Peaks Challenge is an epic experience which I would recommend to anyone, but don’t underestimate the challenge. It’s tough, mentally and physically, you need to be prepared for a lack of sleep and changeable weather and I would recommend going with someone who knows the mountains well. Situations can change fast and you need to be prepared for anything. Thanks so much to my fellow hikers, Jake and Wayne (and Derek!) for making my experience the best it could’ve been, I couldn’t have done it without any of you!

3 Peaks: In Summary

7 adventurers
3 Mountains
3 Countries
26 miles walked
9,800 feet of ascent
1 expert Mountain Guide (thanks Jake!)
1 minibus complete with disco lights
2 drivers (we love you Wayne)
880 miles traveled on the road
334 miles traveled by train
15 hours walking up and down mountains
Nearly 26 hours travelling
Snow, sunshine, wind & rain
Excessive amount of mountain selfies (80% by Jack)
67 little sheeps (approx)
167 strange black slugs (approx)
1 case of severe personality disorder (Hannah / Helen…)
Too much sugar to quantify
Challenge complete!

Post challenge, post breakfast team shot

Summer Evenings & Mid-Week Races

On June 18, 2015July 27, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race ReportsLeave a comment

I love summer. Doesn’t everyone? Long sunny days, warm evenings (OK…warm-er) and everyone just seems just a little bit happier. Amazing what a bit of vitamin D will do.

For me, there’s nothing better than throwing on my trainers for a post-work run in the sunshine, the sun is out but it’s not too hot, you can wear shorts and you don’t feel like the kind of crazy person you feel like when you’re training through the bitter winter. It reminds me why I love this hobby of mine.

The summer months also bring a flurry of mid-week races. They tend to be fairly low key, informal affairs but it’s a great opportunity to get people together for an early evening run and a late evening vodka. The Chasers love a mid-week race almost as much as they love a mid-week pub session.

About a month ago we took a record number of Chasers to the annual Thames Hare & Hounds Parkland Relays in Richmond Park. Parklands was my first ever race for the Chasers in 2013 so I think of it as my anniversary run. It takes place on a Wednesday evening in May and attracts a lot of local clubs for a lung burning 2.8 mile off-road loop near the south end of the park.

It’s a tough run and it’s hilly but, hey, it’s Richy P and it’s pretty damn good looking so you just have to suck it up. We’ve been lucky with the weather for the last 3 years so it’s always been a fabulous evening with friendly people, and we even won both the girls and the boys races this year!

Last night 50 Chasers, in a field of 600, represented at the London Business Houses Bridges Relay. Organised by Stock Exchange AC, teams of 4 for men or mixed, and 3 women, raced a 2.3 mile loop along the Embankment opposite the Houses of Parliament, over Vauxhall Bridge and back along the river to Lambeth Bridge before coming back on the home stretch. Short, sharp and over quick right? Pleasant easy peasy run right? Errrr, no.

Me, I was in a team with this fabulous bunch. Diana who is making a sterling return from a lengthy injury, Hannah who slaves away around the track with me and Phil, Phil loves being a Chaser and we absolutely love him for his infectious excitable energy! Team of little runner dreams.

Everyone congregated outside St Thomas’s Hospital for the start. It was very busy and I wasn’t convinced it wouldn’t be complete chaos. Looking around it looked like the standard would be high, and that was before I clocked the international team. I decided my race strategy would have to be run-as-fast-as-you-bloody-can-and-hold-on-as-long-as-you-can. A necessary approach.

The leg A runners set off and it wasn’t as much chaos as I thought, however, I was on the 2nd leg so had to hang around in a big crowd and hope I would spot Phil as he came in. Luckily the Chasers t-shirt is fairly easy to spot so as soon as I saw him I shoved my way to the front and pegged it.

I was running too fast and it hurt, probably not helped by my track session the night before, but something happened I’m not sure has ever happened before. I started overtaking lots of other runners! Spurred on, I just kept running as fast as I could, hugely appreciated the support from 3 Chaser marshals en route, and hoped I wouldn’t start to slow just as I ran past the crowds on the way back.

This is me, errr, pegging it. Many thanks to Liz Milsom for the photo!

I waved at Hannah to make sure she saw me and she headed out on the 3rd leg whilst I tried not to die, I finished in 17:34 so was quite pleased. Once I was sure I’d survive, I found Phil and the other Chasers and waited for the team to finish. Hannah put in a strong effort, also off the back of track the night before, and Diana brought us home with a sprint finish so fast the picture was blurry! I think she’s back from injury 🙂

I have to say this wasn’t the most friendly bunch, Clare was snubbed for simply asking a question and Phil got told off for cheering too loud, maybe that’s the difference between corporate running clubs and ‘ordinary running clubs’ as we were referred to. As if there’s anything ordinary about the Chasers!

Everyone home, we headed to the pub where Phil treated his team to a post race drink. Thanks Phil!

Poole 10k: That race you do time & time again

On June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race ReportsLeave a comment

Running round this lake has inspired me, made me a stronger runner and broken me in equal measures. This is the place I ran my first ever race of a mile at 8 years old, my first ever 10k and my current 10k PB.

This was the sunrise over Poole Park last Sunday morning – it was going to be a warm day.

The Poole Festival of Running has been going for as long as I can remember. Each year, on the first Sunday in June, Poole Runners host a series of races in the park, from children’s 1 or 1.5 mile ‘Minithons’ for 8-14 years olds to 5k or 10k races for 15+. It’s a real family day out and I’m hugely supportive of any event that encourages participation at all ages. The only problem with the 10k is that it’s the last race of the day, and therefore doesn’t start until 2pm, which is something I think they’ve got wrong.

The 10k is positioned as the main event and is referred to as the ‘prestigious Poole 10k’ that attracts top international runners, club runners and fun runners. Why on earth they decide that 2pm is a good start time for a race in June is beyond me.

Many a time has the sun been high in the sky as runners wilt helplessly below, visions of water dancing before them, wishing it could have been a 9am start. However, that doesn’t stop nearly 1,000 people taking part each year and it was the festivals’ 34th anniversary last week so they must be doing something right!

The Boating Lake

I think this was my 9th Poole 10k. there’ll always be that one race you’ll do time and time again and this is mine, I have more Poole 10k t-shirts than I know what to do with! The first was in 2003, I don’t really remember it but I’m pretty sure Dad did it with me and it was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I can’t find any results older than 2010 so I have no idea what time I did but I was over the moon just to have finished!

It became an annual event for me, sometimes Dad would do it, sometimes Mum would do it, sometimes it was stifling hot, sometimes it was raining, one year I ended up with a stress fracture in my foot and one year I came away with a PB I’ve still not been able to beat. I’ve got no idea how I managed a 45.24 10k. It was a much cooler, slightly rainy Sunday in 2011 and all I really remember was targeting a man in front of me and desperately trying to keep up with him!

After a 2 year hiatus brought about by frustration of the late start, and fact that they dropped chip timing, I found myself back in Poole for the weekend and lining up under the heat of the 2pm sun (the chip timing is now back!).

I love Poole Park, I love the local feel of this event, I love the history it has for me, I love the view, and I can’t deny it is well organised, I couldn’t stay mad at the Poole 10k for long.

This year I brought my little niece along for good luck, it was her first spectating experience and she loved it – don’t let the snoozing fool you, she was the biggest cheerer out there! One day I’ll run the Poole 10k with Chloe…

The course is 2 laps that weaves round Baiter, Whitecliffe and the Boating Lake in the park, they seem to think it’s pretty flat…I beg to differ! Sure, it’s not hilly, but it’s not flat, especially for runner used to London streets – there are 2 or 3 inclines just waiting to zap your speed on each lap, laughing at your foolishness for believing it was flat…

Last Sunday was warm, very warm and I was anticipating a helpful wind on the far side of the lake (during the winter this wind can knock you sideways), but the wind never came and the sun was relentless. I started too fast (obviously) even though I really hadn’t planned to, I knew I wouldn’t be breaking any records so just wanted to enjoy it. I felt really comfortable so was surprised when the first mile came up at 7.33, I’d probably regret that then.

Mum’s getting better at race photography, i.e. I’m in it…and it’s not accidentally a video…

I got progressively slower as each mile passed, cursing my eager start, and I melted in the heat, I could try to blame this on the sun and, errm, rolling hills (?!) but really it’s because I have the pacing skills of an excited puppy. I really do. It’s shocking.

Coming into the finish I was actually a bit quicker than I thought I might be so I wasn’t too annoyed with myself. I met my family at the end and went in search of a Mr Whippy. I didn’t get my Mr Whippy…the ice cream stall was manned by the slowest ice-ceam server in the world and the queue made me cry a little bit inside. I was OK, I got over it eventually.

I’ve never had a single digit race number before!

The course record was broken this year, an international runner from Uganda came over the line in an impressive 29.05 – I guess the ‘hills’ didn’t bother him too much then!

I randomly entered another 10k on Saturday to see if I could pace a little better, this one was held in the Chasers favourite stomping ground Battersea Park, so I knew that flat meant flat. I ran about a minute faster…but the excited puppy inside me is still very much in charge…. *sigh*

Wimbledon Half: The search for Wombles & my usual self

On June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General, Race Reports3 Comments

The weekend before last was my birthday. I ran a grand total of 5 miles across the whole Bank Holiday and drank all the alcohol and ate all the food. I had a great birthday, I really did, I had an amazing time with some amazing people but it left me a shadow of my usual self.

By Monday, after 3 nights out, I was hungover, tired and fat…I hated myself, and I mean I absolutely loathed myself. I realise that sounds a tad dramatic, it’s really a really difficult feeling to describe and might not make sense, but that Monday was really not a happy day.

On Monday evening I decided my goal for the week was to get to next Sunday feeling my usual healthy and annoyingly energetic self. I made a commitment to spinach and my trainers – everything was going to be OK. Probably.

So, I had spinach, orange, banana and chai seed smoothies for breakfast everyday, and kept my promise to my trainers, squeezing in a workout around my job and seeing friends:

Tuesday – 5 mile run
Wednesday – SOFunctional Athletic class at the gym – it was a high intensity class with lots of squats and lunges and jumping and punching and stuff…
Thursday – Spinning
Friday – Spinning
Saturday – 5 mile run
Sunday – Wimbledon Half – just so we’re clear, this had absolutely nothing to do with a Womble medal. Cause that would be silly.

On Thursday, a post from Run Through popped up in my Facebook newsfeed advertising the Wimbledon half on Sunday. I’ve done some Run Through events before, they’re fairly low key but very well organised, cheap to enter and offer a t-shirt and pretty awesome medal to finishers, definitely value for money. So, on a whim, I entered 2 hours before it closed – this would make sure I stayed out of trouble this weekend (ie. no booze, no dancing on tables) and force me to run further than I would have by myself (ie. more than 5 miles)

I haven’t really run much since the London Marathon 5 weeks ago. Partly because back to back marathons left me in a desperate need for a little break from running and partly because I pulled my hamstring a few weeks ago and would have done anything to make sure it was better for Green Belt. Also, partly because life just got in the way…sometimes that’s OK you know.

I then started to wonder if I could actually run 13 whole miles…without stopping?? The furthest I’d run since London was during the Green Belt Relay which was just under 10 on the Saturday and 9 on the Sunday – what if I couldn’t do it?

The race would be 2 laps of the Common, it was all off road, there were some hills, and the forecast was heavy rain. I decided my only goal for the race was to just run the 13 miles, enjoy the route and, ahem, add a Womble to my medal collection.

Sunday morning was grey and dreary, but it wasn’t raining. I live down the road from Wimbledon so it didn’t take long to get to the start on the NW side of the Common. Registration was very quick which left some time to visit the free Lucozade stand (they have a new flavour, mango & passion fruit, it tastes like Um Bongo!) and loosen up my legs with the music booming over the loudspeaker.

Today, all I wanted was to be just another anonymous runner so I left the Chaser vest at home and wore a black t-shirt. I didn’t want anyone to recognise me, I didn’t want to race, I just wanted to go for a jog. I think this has been the first event I’ve been to in 2 years where I haven’t worn my club vest and it felt a lot stranger than I thought it would, but I just didn’t feel worthy of the vest today.

The race started on time at 9.30 and we ran up the grass for about 200m before turning off onto the trail path. It was a 2 lap course and we were warned that the first 1.5 miles or so would be up a hill before hitting the flat and a coming back down a hill for the last mile. Everyone started off quite fast but I held back, determined to stick to my jog pace and enjoy the run, especially if we were about to head uphill!

The course was lovely, all off-road along the trail paths around the common, we ran through trees, jumped puddles, ran past the windmill and the golf course and barely saw any cars, perfect! Despite being so close to home, Wimbledon Common is fairly uncharted territory for me, I know Richmond Park inside out but Wimbledon seems much more closed in and therefore easier to get lost!

The rain mostly held off and the cool air was nice to run in, the marshals were friendly, there was plenty of water and I even high-5d a real life Womble (fact!) The miles ticked by and I tried not to look at my watch, I was going to put some tape over it so I couldn’t see but I forgot! I felt comfortable and knew I was running slowly but I was fine with that, I was just another anonymous runner right?!

The last mile was mostly downhill, I saw my Womble mate again and then there was a small section on an incline before we turned back onto the grass to finish where we started. I didn’t even pick up the pace for the finish, I really was happy just to jog. Over the finish line and I got my hands on my Womble medal and t-shirt – I was sooo pleased that I could still run 13 miles, order had been restored.

The power of a good run never ceases to amaze me, I wish more people knew. Just the woods, fresh air, my own thoughts and a few other runners around me. With a familiar stiffness in my legs I feel like me again, and I don’t hate myself so much anymore. Thanks Wimbledon.

Womble Medal!!

Green Belt Relay: The one where we ran round the M25

On May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn Race Reports2 Comments

When you’re in the pub on a Friday night, how exactly do you explain to your colleagues you have to go home because you’re getting up at 5am to spend the weekend in a 220 mile running relay round the M25, spending most of the time in a sweaty minibus, before spending the night in a classy Essex hotel called the Miami, then getting up at 6am on Sunday to do it all over again….and you’re just soooooo excited?

My colleagues think I’M WEIRD

Luckily for me I know a fair few other weird people, 46 to be exact, so at 6.45am last Saturday morning we all met in Clapham Junction to head over to Hampton Court to start our 220 mile journey around London’s Green Belt…

The Green Belt Relay is a fantastic event and is made even more fantastic by the fact it’s the Chasers annual weekend away, we’ve all been embarrassingly excited about this for weeks! In short, it’s an 11 person relay ran across 22 legs over 2 days around 220 miles of London’s green belt. There’s lots of river running, greenery, a fair few hills and brambles to negotiate and you need to be familiar with the route to avoid getting lost but the course is pretty and scenic.

Last year we entered 3 teams but word spread about how much fun it was so there was enough demand for 4 teams this year, that’s a lot of Chasers on tour! Rather than putting all our fast runners in one team and competing for the outright win, we were mixed into teams of weighted ability to create a bit of banter between ourselves (much more fun!). We had Blue, Simply Red, Deep Purple and Green Day…

The banter started early, which was mostly Alex demonstrating he clearly has too much free time at work during the day…but it succeed in getting everyone even more excited!

The race starts at 8.30 from Hampton Court (although not actually within the grounds because they wanted to charge a shameful amount of money) so we all headed over to cheer off the leg 1 runners, there were 30 teams in total.

Everyone runs 1 leg on Saturday and 1 on Sunday of various lengths from 6.6 miles to 13.5 miles. Each leg is given a difficulty level of 1 to 10 which combines distance, course profile and navigation so a 10 means there’s a fairly high probability of getting lost if you haven’t done your homework!

Organising an event like this is hugely challenging both for the Stragglers, who run the event, and for the clubs that participate (in our case Bryn, who does an outstanding job of ensuring everything runs smoothly which we are all massively grateful for). We had 4 minibuses, each with a clear schedule for the day and list of people who needed to be on it at different times. You get dropped off at the start of your leg by one minibus and picked up at the end by another before heading off to the next location. If that wasn’t enough to plan, the event is also self-marshaled so each team has several marshaling duties to make sure other runners get round safely. It’s a logistical nightmare, and that’s if everything goes to plan!

Can you spot Ingrid…?

The course is marked with sawdust and orange stickers but locals find it hilarious to tamper with them so, if you haven’t studied the route, or foolishly follow someone else, you could be in trouble. Naively, I failed miserably to memorise my route last year, relying on on-the-go navigation so this year I spent some time learning my legs and writing myself step by step instructions!

Although Green Belt is a relay, it wouldn’t be practical to run the event in the traditional sense and wait for your runner to come in (the first day is already quite lengthy) so each leg starts at the time of the previous leg’s course record. This means, unless someone breaks the course record, you will start before the runners arrive. Each runner is still timed individually for a cumulative team time.

I was on the 2nd leg on Saturday, a 9.64 mile stretch from Staines to Boveney through Windsor, I also ran this leg last year so I was already vaguely familiar with it (plus it only had a difficulty level of 3!). My minibus headed over to Staines to drop Ruth, Natalie, Hannah and myself off for our 9.42am start and pick up the leg 1 runners who would be finishing around the same time.

After injuring my hamstring I hadn’t actually run for 10 days and was really worried I wouldn’t be able to do it, it definitely felt dodgy. We had quite a few people pull out due to injury and had struggled to fill the places at short notice so I knew I had to run, plus there was no way I was missing this weekend! I just had to hope I wouldn’t be limping my way round.

We headed across Staines Bridge and along the river on the towpath but within the first mile my hamstring was getting tighter, I’d only just started! Trying not to panic, I made a conscious effort to slow down and hoped it would ease off…if I could at least make it to 7 miles it would be fine right? Luckily, I think a combination of slowing down and warming up worked and I actually started to enjoy the route at my slower pace.

I even sort of knew where I was going…right at the fork…across the bridge…away from the river…so I didn’t need to follow anyone else. I was a bit confused at the end but, relying on memory from last year, and asking the odd random if they had seen runners, I made it to the finish. I saw Adam and Alex a few metres from the end and tried to give Alex a high-5 (I missed and it was more of a high-1 but encouraging all the same!)

It feels a bit odd finishing the leg. Unlike other races, because there’s only 30 of you, you’re likely to be running on your own and finishing on your own with a crowd of people waiting for you. Everyone cheers and claps (and no one makes a noise like the Chasers!) but it’s hard not to feel a bit self-conscious.

Our bus had a bit of spare time before we needed to drop anyone off for their leg so we headed to Great Kingshill to cheer on the leg 4 runners coming in and leg 5 heading off. Leg 4 is one of the hardest at 12.2 miles and rated a 10 so it was pretty awesome to see Cat come in on a head-to-head sprint finish against a man, she totally nailed it! Sorry mate, you’re chicked.

We then headed off to St Albans to send off James, Steve, Dan and Louise and pick up those running leg 6. We were really lucky with the weather considering how much wind and rain we’d had so we got to enjoy some sunshine while we waited.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up staying in St Albans a little longer than planned, we’ll call this ‘nameless blameless incident’ to protect the identity of those involved…but eventually we were on our way to drop some people off for marshaling duties.

Finally it was time to drop off Rob, Simon, Ellie & James for the final leg of the day (which didn’t even start until 6.58!) before heading over to the finish to meet everyone else and cheer everyone home. There were some very drunk Chasers to be met (case in point, see above…)

It had been a looooong day and was time to head to the grand Miami hotel for dinner, drinks and a couple of hours sleep. Perhaps the best part of the evening was an appearance from a VERY special guest. Yep, we only had Spiderman (ACTUAL Spiderman) pop along to present some fetching gold spoon awards for various achievements throughout the day such as Drama Queen, Loose Women, LAD!, Least Likely to be a Getaway Driver… around midnight, it was time to sleeeeppp.

Welcome to Miami…

Not for long though, the alarm went off at 6, we were out the door by 7 and leg 13 was off at 8! Sunday saw much of the same with each bus heading to various legs to drop people off, pick up those coming in and completing our marshaling duties.

For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to sign up for the very last leg, aka the glory leg, but this would mean I wouldn’t be running until 5pm and I was starting to get nervous about finishing in front of absolutely everybody. The finish is at the Hawker Centre in Ham and is also where the end of event BBQ is held and everyone meets back up again, there were going to be a lot if people!

My hamstring was tight, and my legs ached in general, so I was glad of the maximum recovery period, but as the day wore on I was getting more and more nervous. Instead I focused on helping Gemma navigate our way around for most of the day (Gemma was also on the last leg so we tried not to think about it).

Eventually, after travelling round a lot of narrow country lanes, it was time to head to Walton Bridge for the start of leg 22. Our leg was 9.15 miles and was apparently the easiest route to navigate, but I was worried about my leg giving out, worried about being too slow, and worried about finishing in front of 300 odd people when I knew I was likely to be running alone. Stupid glory leg.

I was running with Gemma, Hannah and Nikki and we had a bit of a team huddle pep talk before we started. Alex had also been trying to tell us calming stories (inbetween singing Oasis and rapping Fresh Prince) about how everything would be just wonderful but all I remembered was something about seaweed.

Then we were off running along the river. We’d only got up the road before Gemma was chatting away about how she was going to shove me in the river and I started to doubt how genuine her pep talk was… Anyway, my hamstring didn’t feel too bad and after a couple of miles I picked up the pace and caught the girl ahead that I had been chasing. All I could think as I passed was ‘yes, my seaweed is greener than yours!’, but then she offered me some encouragement and I felt bad about my greener seaweed.

The route was lovely and there was another girl not far in front that I was trying to keep up with so I had a reason to keep pushing. As the miles ticked by I started to feel nervous again about coming into the finish so I slowed down a bit to conserve some energy for a sprint finish, I had to finish strong!

At 9 miles I could see the big yellow finish line and see everyone up ahead, stomach churning I just ran as fast as I could and didn’t make eye contact with anyone, I don’t even think I smiled (sorry!)

Finishing on the glory leg was amazing, although I was nervous having all those people cheer me home was the most fabulous end to the weekend I could have asked for.

And that was that, my 2nd Green Belt relay done! When everyone was across the line we headed back to Clapham for a well earned drink, everyone was shattered!

So….in summary

46 Chasers (2 of which couldn’t run due to injury but didn’t want to miss out!)
880 miles run
6 leg wins
1 course record smashed by our leader (Bryn, if you weren’t sure)
Several sprint finishes
1 furious Alice after Marcus sent her the wrong way then casually ran the right way himself…
1 sweaty Adam insistent that he had no moral responsibility to call back a runner who had taken a wrong turning a couple of metres ahead of him (we all thought Adam was a nice guy)
Several surprised guests at the Miami hotel who had smelly Chasers walk in on them after being given the wrong key
1 surprise visit from the best superhero ever
1 ever so slightly dented minibus (nameless blameless)
46 completely exhausted people

Once again, Green Belt weekend was bloody ace! Thanks to the Stragglers, thanks to Bryn, thanks to all our drivers, and thanks to everyone who made it such a great weekend. See you next year!

Men. Women. What’s the Difference?

On May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 By Girl Running CrazyIn General5 Comments

Women are not physiologically capable of running the marathon distance. At least that’s what the race director of the Boston Marathon told Bobbi Gibb in 1966, she was categorically not allowed to compete. Because she was a woman.

On 19th April that year Bobbi did something that would change everything in womens running forever…she went and ran the Boston Marathon anyway.

We let out a roar that day, sensing that this woman had done more than just break the gender barrier in a famous race…

Diana Chapman Walsh – 1966 Boston Marathon spectator

The race official tries to pull Bobbi off the course but, in a move of solidarity, her fellow runners wouldn’t let him.

That day, Bobbi successfully challenged archaic gender stereotypes and prejudice and proved that women were more than capable of competing it long distance running alongside men. She finished in 03:21:40 with two thirds of the pack still behind her. What a woman.

Of course, change didn’t happen overnight, it took 30 years for Boston to officially recognise Bobbi’s 1966 (and subsequent 67 & 68) wins, but today, women compete in all distances, and indeed all sports, at both a professional and amateur level.

However, it begs the question, do physiological differences between men and women affect athletic performance?

Arguably, yes. Paula’s 02:15:25 marathon world record is over 12 minutes slower than Kimetto’s 02:02:57 and no one has even come close to taking that record from her which was set in 2003…

Recognising that women are different to men, Cat arranged an evening of female-specific training, nutrition, performance & recovery advice for the Chaser ladies. It was a great excuse for a cocktail and a catch up!

Whether you’re male or female doesn’t always determine who will be the fastest runner (hey, I beat 58% men in the Brighton Marathon…just saying), but men do have some physiological advantages over women that give them greater capacity to go faster and this is evidenced across all distances at a high level. Amy and Laura, physiotherapists from Body Logic, explained to us what these differences are.

Body composition

Firstly, women naturally carry more fat than men simply because that is the way we are meant to be, women need more fat to be healthy. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do us any favours when it comes to running… Not only this, but men also have a greater percentage of muscle mass than women making them naturally bulkier, stronger and often leaner.

So we’re a little bit fatter and a little bit weaker, not a great start. However, we can help to combat this by increasing the amount of strength training we do, this is especially important as we get older because apparently after the age of 40 we lose 1/3 lb of muscle every year!

Amy suggests 2-3 sessions per week strengthening the arms, legs and core and you only need 8-12 reps once or twice per exercise to make a difference.

Aerobic capacity (using oxygen to produce energy)

Men have larger hearts than women which mean they can pump more blood round the body with each beat. Within this blood, they also have 10% more hemoglobin than we do (science bit: hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to body tissue). So, women are getting less blood and less oxygen being pumped round the body with each heartbeat.

The good news is we can help improve this through interval training. The bad news is we have to do interval training…

Skeletal / Muscle Structure

Skeletal structures differ between men and women and our structure makes us more prone to knee, hip and foot injuries.

Men are stiffer round the hips making them more quad dominant and overactive on the hamstrings. Women tend to be weaker in the hips which can lead to crossing when running, a bit like trying to run on a tightrope, and cause ITB issues.

Unfortunately, wearing high heels has a negative impact too and can contribute to an increased arch in the back which leads to a weaker core. Sadly, pretty shoes always come at a cost.

So, strengthen the hips and do some planks, and if you love your heels…double plank work!

The Mind

Men tend to have an advantage of the mind – they often believe they can do something much more than women can and I think there are many, many reasons for this.

In the workplace, I was once told that men put their hand up 6 months before they’re ready, whilst women put their hand up 6 months after they’re ready. Ever since I heard that, and realised it was in fact true, I’ve forced myself to be much more confident in my abilities because it was the only way my career was going to move forwards.

That confidence doesn’t transpire into my running. I often don’t believe I can do something, sometimes I genuinely know I can’t, but more often than not I just don’t believe it. I know the reasons why I think a certain way but it doesn’t help me change them.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re standing on the start line or turning up to a job interview, if you don’t believe you can achieve the goal, you’re already at a huge disadvantage.

The Body – Conclusion

So, women are a little bit fatter, a little bit weaker, working with less oxygen, having to do double core work just so we can look good on a Friday night and struggling to believe in ourselves…that’s quite the challenge, doesn’t that just make chicking someone all the more sweeter?!

It’s not alllll bad news for us ladies because we’re able to burn more fat than men, very useful in the tough stages of a marathon – hurrah!

The night didn’t end there, there’s more to follow later, but MASSIVE thanks to Cat for arranging such an informative and useful evening (especially when you chose a venue with 241 cocktails…)!