Any Runners On Here??

[smutchin]

'20:30'!!
At the moment, I can only dream of that pace/time
Not sure how flat your course is in comparison to my local (Pontefract Racecourse)

Whitstable is probably a bit flatter, if my memory of Ponty racetrack is reliable. There is a little slope to go up once on each of the two laps, but it also has about 2.5km of dead flat, along the prom. Probably no more than 20 metres "climbing". The course record is 16.10, which seems surprisingly slow to me - it's ripe for a proper fast runner to come and knock a good minute off.
This is what it looks like on strava if you're interested: http://www.strava.com/activities/124826763

I'm back to feeling that 20 minutes is a realistic target again. Determined to break it before the summer is out!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Should be out racing this evening, allbeingwell!!
It's the first round of this years 'Trunce' series (9 races)

http://www.undeadmonkey.org.uk/trunce/

Damned good fun, with anything up to 270 entrants!!! (not bad for a weekday evening race)

Cost = £1.20 (or it was last year)

Damned wet too!!, I even got my shorts wet in the 2nd crossing (wading) of the River Don!
Good fun though, with (I'd guess?) 250 starters!!

Still £1.20

Not a brilliant time/position, but it's early season; 33:23 (position not known), &I think, first Club-member back (7 of us??)

Last years 2nd crossing of the Don - I carried a camera round on one race..............

(deeper than that this time, water was full width - to wall at other side)

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Not a brilliant time/position, but it's early season; 33:23 (position not known), &I think, first Club-member back (7 of us??)

Time is officially same, & placed @ 73rd/322 Poor start, boxed in, so lost 20+ seconds to railway bridge (record field)

Also, it was faster than any of 2013's times (ran 8 out of 9 last year)

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

'What Woment Want!?'

No!!, not the Mel Gibson film of the same name, but....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/wo...un-up-muddy-hills-pelted-with-hailstones.html

I know Annabel Mason (& John, her dad), she's like a greased Whippet & generally not far off the top men!
Heck!, I've even seen her finish a (7 mile) fell-race less than 5 minutes behind Jonny Brownlee!!!!!!!!!!!!! (placing 11th/370+, to his 1st!!!)

As the writer stated (after running 'The Stoop')
"There was no medal, but a Curly Wurly instead, and a glowing sense of achievement.
After the race, my feet were black with mud. They stayed a funny colour for at least a week. Which is kind of a badge of honour.
Better than cheerleading any day"

The writer finished 382nd/402 @ 1.07:03
The first woman home was placed 35th @ 37:46, but the writer made the effort to see what it was all about - she did her research (even if belatedly!!)

The Race in question;
http://woodentops.org.uk/index.php?topic=stoop&subtopic=home


Plus;

I've just sent off entries for these 2 races;

1. 'Ilkley Trail-race'
7 miles/700 feet of ascent
There are absolutely wonderful views over Lower Wharfedale, especially on the return leg

I ran it in 2010, 2011 (missed 2012, due to knee injury)
In 2013, I really suffered, due to a lack of miles/poor training, with the Plantar Fasciitis (making me 10 minutes slower than 2011!!!)

http://www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk/index.php?page=trail
Map & photo-guide on the page



2. 'Bluebell Trail 10'
This is a nice scenic, mixed terrain race (10 mile, not 10K)
There's ancient pack-horse routes, canal towpaths, woodland
And, the fearsome Trooper Lane, which supposedly ascends over 570 feet in half-a-mile

I tried it for the first time last year, whilst suffering from the 'P-F', & it was hard, perhaps the downhills were harder than the uphills (barring Trooper Lane)

http://www.stainlandlions.com/Club_Races/2013/BluebellTrail/index.htm

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Re; the 'Bluebell Trail 10'

This is a link to photos/film-footage of the 'Trooper Lane' climb

http://thehelloftheworth.blogspot.co.uk/p/2-trooper-lane.html


Edit @ 10:55

Just found these, from Mondays 'Trunce'

Some photos of Race1

Don crossing 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92673091@N08/sets/72157643256243064/

Leaders return; Don crossing 3 (same place, opposite direction to '1')
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92673091@N08/sets/72157643263862954/
Yes, I'm in there somewhere

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

(Pontefract) ParkRun this morning (#149)

25th/203 @ 203

Quite a reduced field this morning

 

[Stig-OT-Dump]

Lochaber marathon today. Was expecting my legs to go wrong any time after 8 miles and although I didn't get close to a pb, I was happy with under 3:30. I reckon a GFA could be within reach at Loch Ness, as long as the arthroscopy goes ok

 

[Ian A]

Another raced missed. Had a bit of lurgy again so didn't run Baildon Boundary Way. We still went to visit family and I did get a few hours easy spin on the bike on the Sunday morning and drove home in the evening. One of my knees started to really hurt when we got home and was swollen the next morning. Went to the doctor the same morning and a graze on my knee has become infected, front of the kneecap swollen, red and warm to touch. On antibiotics now. Hopefully it'll clear up before the weekend. It's all fun .

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Oh dear!!
Not good at all!!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

So my ten months in Japan is at an end and I am once again, injured. We had a few days on the amazing island of Amami Oshima and I had an intensive 3 days of mountain running planned. However I didn't realised until I started the first day - a relatively modest 17km with a total of 250m of vertical ascent - that I had a bit of a cold coming on, and consequently I wasn't in any shape to push myself physically. Inevitably I did something horrible to my knee and had no option but to limp the 6km home, making it worse of course. I walked 12km the next day instead of running, and things seem to be getting better but I am waiting for the now full-on cold to subside before running again - probably when I am briefly back in the UK from Wednesday.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

2nd 'Trunce' of the series on Monday evening
Another large field - 335 finishers!!! (was 322 at first round)
Got stuck mid-pack & couldn't get out, so a poor run to the first kissing gate, so time lost queuing

Finished; 91st/335 @ 33:15 (faster than round 1, & better than PBs for 2012 & 2013 - both years saw injuries)

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Back in the UK for a few days in between Japan and Canada, and I've been out running on the Hampshire Downs around my folks' place: 11km yesterday and 17.5 today ona mixture of footpaths, tracks and road. My knee is getting better again and didn't start hurting until around the 15k mark today, which is good. Going to have a break tomorrow and then the plan is for 15km followed by a Half. Then I am in Barcelona for 5 days for work reasons (seriously) so I have to find some good running routes...

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

ParkRun 151 (@ Pontefract) this morning

Felt lousy - last nights Curry making itself known, after the 3/4 mile mark
Thankfully, it stayed where it was!!!

Managed a (at moment; self-timed) 21:35, with a quite reasonable sized field


Plus;
An album of Trunce pictures from Monday evening, at the first crossing of the River Don
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92673091@N08/sets/72157644009511884/

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

ParkRun 151 (@ Pontefract) this morning
Managed a (at moment; self-timed) 21:35, with a quite reasonable sized field

Officially 44th/286 @ 21:32

Blimey!!, I remember when that time would definitely get me a top 15!!
Far too many fast young (& old!!) runners now

Out of interest, our fastest lady timed 3rd @ 17:36 this AM!!
She is damned good though, & it's the first time I've seen her there, but have seen her in 10Ks

(Helen Singleton; 'Wakefield Harriers')

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Half-marathon distance today, much of it cross-country and very rolling terrain. About 15km in, a muscle in the arch of my right foot went, and it was very painful getting back - whether walking or running.