Bovington half marathon 2017

At 26.6km, this was by some way my longest ever half marathon.  A full-on, good-humoured, quirky, eccentric and very British event, this was a lively trudge through a wasteland of tank tracks and highly technical forest paths.

The lovely Mrs S was in support mode, still recovering her knee.  We arrived in Bovington in good time on a cold December morning.  It was a carnival atmosphere with equal numbers of Christmas and military fancy dress, to the point where I felt I was rather letting the side down in straight club kit.  We met a few familiar faces at the start and we were off.

With the Winkworth boys

At the start line

I had absolutely no idea what to expect.  Mark and Ian Winkworth had advised me that the course was 14.8 miles long, which with a bit of mental maths I reckoned was a little under 24k.  Soon enough we were into forest paths, up some sporty hills and then on to the tank tracks.

Think poorly maintained gravel tracks and then magnify them.  Huge puddles and ruts everywhere.  It was quite a job to pick a path that avoided going into these fearsome lakes.  For mile after mile it was these strange post-apocalyptic gravelscapes alternating with really tricky paths through pine woods.  I managed to stay on my feet, but only just.

For much of the race I was shifting places with Chris Chambers and Jo Meek, which kept it interesting.  We went on and on, and it was difficult to retain a grip of time or space in a weaving course and no discernable sense of direction or landscape.

Here he is!

The last 5 miles or so were tough.  The signage deteriorated, and a few times I was very doubtful of the route.  But the killer was that we actually covered 26.6km.  Once we reached 24, I was already panting and straining for the finish and tried hard to keep it going, but it was mentally tough.  I was gaining on the runner ahead (I'd managed to lose Jo and Chris by this point) but I finished 10 seconds behind him in 4th place, tired but happy.

Here are the results, my Garmin stats and the Strava flyby.  This was, apparently, the last Bovi half, and I was delighted to have experienced it. 

Tadley xmas XC, 2017

This time last year, this was the lovely Mrs S's first ever race, on a bright frosty morning.  But today it was a sodden damp day, 2 degrees and periodic rain and sleet.  Mrs S was in support mode, rehabilitating her knee, and luckily on hand to lend hat and gloves because like an eejit I had failed to pack mine.

It was a cold and muddy trudge from race HQ to the start, in an exposed grassy field.  It was a bit grim at this stage, rather Type 2 fun, with lots of grimaces and semi-ironic what-are-we-doing-here and whose-idea-was-this discussions.  We stripped down to as few layers as we dared and stamped about on the start line.  The briefing was mercifully brief and off we went.

Lovely day for it

I had asked some bloke at the registration desk whether spikes would be a good footwear option. He said they'd be fine, so I gave them a go.  I'm not sure they were ideal, as it was hard to keep from slipping on the steep downhill sections.  They were great uphill, but I lost a couple of front spikes... I think there was a bit too much gravel on the course.  Lesson learned.

It was a glorious mudfest, and highly technical.  The conditions were very, very wet.  There was a lot of swerving, ducking and balancing on a variety of tight turns, overhanging vegetation, a few water splashes and deep ruts.  I picked off a few and by halfway was more or less on my own.

It was in the second lap that it went wrong.  The path took me to the edge of the woods.  I missed the sharp right turn and carried on to a path across an open in field.  No one in sight; no tape, no hi-vis.  I carried on for a bit and then heard a shout from back in the woods.  I turned around, and it dawned on me what had happened.  I scuttled back to join the course, cross at my lack of concentration.  Seven or eight runners had got ahead of me in the meantime, and I reckon it had cost me about 50 seconds (check out the Strava flyby - go to about 11:24:30).  I pressed on at full throttle, hoping there was enough distance remaining for me to regain a few places.

Back to the final leg to the finish... over the water splash (sorry I never saw you, Mrs S), and then up the long hill and onto the windy field.  I finished alone, in 5th place.  If I hadn't gone wrong I might have had a good chase with Stephen Ridley, who finished 48 seconds ahead of me.  Here are the results and my Garmin stats.  I was about 6 mins longer running than last year, with a longer course, slightly extended by my little detour, and about 10s/km slower in the mud.

The water splash before the final hill

This was a proper XC race with lashings of hearty British awful weather and good humour.  Lovely job!

EnduranceLife CTS Dorset 10k

I really had no idea what expect from this.  I've heard of EnduranceLife before, but I've always been a bit reticent about going in for branded runs, suspicious of corporate glitz and razzmatazz.

The lovely Mrs S and I arrived at Lulworth Cove yesterday morning; a cold, calm, overcast day.  The whole area of abuzz with tough, capable-looking runners.  The registration tent involved an industrial process of getting number and dibber sorted.  Behind the tent was a monstrous hill, down which ultra-runners were descending.  I was up for the 10k, the shortest of the 5 distances on offer.  A big crowd of half-marathoners (running a 16-mile version of a HM) set off.  Alice and Julie, both running 33 miles, came past with much waving.  Then we met up with Anna and Wendy, who were also doing the 10k.

With Anna and Wendy

And then we set off up, straight into the first hill.

10kers starting, while half-marathoners complete their first leg (of 16 miles)

This being the Purbeck coastline, it was all hills as we headed west.  After the first ascent I found myself near the front.  I felt strong and I managed to get past a couple more, until I could only see one runner ahead. 

The hills were exhausting and draining, and my lungs were absolutely working at the top of their capacity at the summits.  But I've raced so many hills this year that they all felt within my grasp and I recovered quickly.

At 5k a friendly bloke waved madly and did a dibber time check.  I pushed on, now mostly flat or slightly downwards, trying to squeeze in the seconds where I could.  I seemed to be gradually gaining on the bloke in front, and I focused to reeling him in.

With a mile to go, we were downhill into Durdle Door caravan park and then up for a gentle ascent to the final hill.  Game on for the denouement of this particular drama.

The path on the right is the final descent to the finish

The final descent was utterly extraordinary.  I can only describe it as the chase of my life.  I'm not at all brave going down steep hills, but I was utterly driven by the pursuit and I caned it.  At one point I nearly lost it, which could have been catastrophic, but I stayed upright and got onto the gravel where I gave it everything I could.  I was closing the gap.  I charged on... but suddenly the course was at an end and I finished 4 seconds behind him in second place.  Check out the my Garmin stats and the Flyby. 

One of my more unusual prizes - a box of chocolate protein bars

Symon - thank you for giving me a thrilling, exhilarating challenge!  Sue was agog with the excitement of it, and afterwards I had strangers coming and telling me how much they'd enjoyed watching the battle. 

I had been completely wrong in my fear that this would be a bit naff and corporate.  It was a tremendously well planned and organised event, full of good humour and really gutsy runners of all kinds.  We'll be back for sure.

Avebury 8, 2017

Can anywhere beat Avebury for dramatic scenery, monumental historical heritage and charmingly bonkers village-ness?

The lovely Mrs S and I arrived there this morning in near-zero temperatures and bright sunny skies.  The Avebury Sports and Social Club was abuzz with people in varying states of dress and undress.  Inside, hot and humid, outside, really rather raw.

Absolutely no razzmatazz.  A low-key, informal event.  The starting process was delightful.  'It's muddy, sticky and slippy out there.  Have fun.  Off you go!' shouted the race director and off we went.

All very relaxed at the start line

 1km in, and it felt like we were doing a club run, with a tightly-knit knot of about a dozen of us packed together.  One bloke in front faded, and then the pack shifted and I was in third place.  It was a long run northwards, including a fantastically tricky ploughed field (photos courtesy of Mrs S).

Comedy gold

 And we had long stretches of open landscape... thankfully very little wind.

Classic Wiltshire countryside

The first two guys disappeared into the distance.  All the way around I was aware of a presence behind me, sometimes closer than others.  I tried to shake him off but it wasn't happening.  With less than 5k remaining we had a sharp climb around the edge of Windmill Hill, and he edged past.  400m later, and we crested the hill and headed downward I overtook him.  I really didn't want to lose out on third place.

Craig is just about to overtake me... before I take him... before he edges ahead again

The last 2km or so was a series of stiles and bridges made of slippy wood. 

We had about 6 wooden hazards in the last mile

I couldn't shake off matey (I later found out he's Craig Rumble... great runninmg, Craig) behind me.  I was keeping an even pace, but he accelerated past me.  As we got back into the village of Avebury he was 100m ahead of me.  I came home fourth place in 1:00:40, a really annoying time, but I don't think I could have gone any faster, and I got an M50 trophy and bottle of wine, which I was really pleased with. Check out the Strava Flyby.

Thank you, Marlborough RC - this is exactly what a race should be.

No muddy shoes in race HQ

Meon Valley Half, 2017

Somehow I forgot to write about this, and now it's a bit of a distant memory.

Lovely and hilly, deliciously muddy in parts and on a couple of downhills really quite lethal.  Gorgeous weather with great views.  I was chuffed with the pacing and managed to come in 7th overall and scoop M50. 

Super, good-humoured event. 

Results and Garmin data.

The Stickler 2017

I ran this race 11 whole years ago in 2006, as a tender 30-something, but I really can't remember it at all, except that it was fearsomely hilly.  I managed to find the results; apparently I finished in 10th place in 1:11:43.

Back to the here and now.  It was a bit squally this morning, with a mix of blue skies and portentous black clouds. It was quite a hike from the carpark to race HQ and it started to rain as I arrived so I hurried inside.  There was an almighty crush of people in the small, cramped hall, with long snaking queues for numbers and pins and plenty of other folks just wanting somewhere to keep warm.  I met the RRR contingent (Alice, Julie, Abby, Jim and Paul) and the OS duo (Rob and Naomi) and decided we'd be better off warming up in the cold outside rather than in the stuffy and shouty hall.

The start was all a bit chaotic.  All of us (guessing 400) were corralled into a little field and then led out into a lane.  A horn blasted and we were off.  There were about 100 others in front of me, and I had a terrible start.  I shuffled, and then trudged, and then rushed along bits of grass verge to try to gain some spaces, fearing a single file situation ahead.

I knew it was going to get quite exciting quite early on - check out the course profile.

A mile in, and we duly hit the first hill, Okeford.  It was OK at first, and I kept on running, and passing a number of walkers.  But then it got properly steep, and walking was the only sensible option.  We emerged out of the wood into a field with fabulous views of north Dorset.

The view from Okeford hill

Lots of interesting trails and then, soon after the 3 mile marker, was the most glorious chase downhill on gravel track that went on and on.  Exhilarating!  A short but sharp little hill and then more downhill on road into the Stour valley, through the lovely village of Stourpaine (where there was a water station manned by a few elves and Father Christmas, naturally) and then back uphill.

This one (Hod Hill) was not quite so severe and I kept running.  I passed a sign saying 'Hod hill fort', which was surely evidence of the top of the hill.  It wasn't.  Unrelentingly upwards with a never-ending summit... and then another fabulous view, this time with much clearer skies.  Another whoosh downhill, arms flailing over a field, across a road and then straight into Hambledon, the last of the hills.

Hod Hill

The first section of this one was a walker for sure.  My legs were getting wobbly by this stage and my breath was ragged.  Onwards, upwards... all a bit of a blur now... running again and then on to the crest and then downwards, easily at first and then a vertiginous plunge.  I overtook a few people at this point.  Down, down, and then onto a road.

Hambledon hill

Not far to go now, and I tried to keep the pace up.  A gentle uphill slope now felt like really hard work.  Through a field and over a bridge, and onto a disused railway track.  I could see orange bibs ahead and I accelerated.  Then a 10-mile marker, and then a railway crossing gate, which I took to be the finish line, but it wasn't.  I kept heaving on and on, and eventually approached the finish line, done for.

Working hard

I finished in a time of 1:14:05, two and a half minutes slower than in 2006, but barring the slow start, that was as fast as I could have managed.  I won the M50 prize which I was chuffed about, and more precious, it turned out that I had got the closest time to a departed Dorset Doddler called Nick Bateson and as a result the Doddlers would donate £100 to the charity of my choice.  How moving, and how humbling.  Thank you, Dorset Doddlers, for staging such a wonderful and iconic race, and for your donation to the Woodland Trust.

The OS crew - Naomi and Rob

Blenheim Palace 10k

A lovely undulating, scenic race.  The lovely Mrs S and I arrived in the grounds of Blenheim Palace on a rather chilly morning at a well-attended and busy event.  There was a real mix of people, with some serious-looking young men doing comedy warm-up drills ranging to plenty of have-a-go runners who were dressing against the cold.

Lots of people set off a fast lick, but it was obvious that many of them were being rather ambitious (qv note above).  The estate path was good and wide, so kms 2-4 were good fun cruising past runners who were starting to regret their exuberant starts.  There was a short dog-leg towards the palace front, and I counted about 9 runners ahead of me. 

Then we were into the wind and the start of the hill.  It was a good bracing progress upwards to the top through pleasant woodland, and then a zippy descent back into parklland.  We had a diversion around a ha-ha (this being a posh sort of venue) and then a good blast to the finish.

I finished in 39:01 on my watch, which is a bit annoying, but 7th place and 38:58 chip timing, so let's go with that.  Mrs S had a blast of a run too.  A lovely morning out on a bright autumn morning.

Hants XC - Bournemouth

This was my first Hants XC league event for ages.  Romsey has – hooray! – decided to affiliate to this competition.  The inaugural event of the 2017/18 season was King’s Park in Bournemouth, and Becky and I drove down to be part of it.  Poor Becky, with a bad back, was just watching, so it was just me running for Romsey.

It was a warm and humid day – 16 degrees or so.  I met up with Peat, and we ended up close together on the start line in a position which, in retrospect, was way too ambitious.

We shot off at an earnest pace.  I was hoping that, 2 weeks after Clarendon, I’d have plenty of oomph in my legs.  It was a 4-lap course, and for the whole of the first lap we were all packed tightly together on the narrow tracks.

One lap down, and I was feeling the strain.  Three more to go; crikey.  My heart rate was way up in the 170s and I was struggling to keep my breathing under control.

And that’s how it went on.  Becky, together with James and Vicky Clark, shouted encouragement at every opportunity, but I was hanging on with my fingernails, panting, heaving and being frequently overtaken.

I collapsed over the line in a mess.  104^th position, 9.5km in 36:58.  I can’t say that it was terribly enjoyable, but that was entirely my fault for setting off too fast.

Stinger 2017

I spent last night wondering what on earth I’d done to myself at the XC in Bournemouth and whether I was being completely stupid in doing back-to-back races over the weekend.  But the Stinger is much more my kind of course – no pesky laps, wild and open countryside – and I was reasonably hopeful that I’d be ab; to find my own pace.

Romsey RR were out in force, covering a mix of the 3 races (5m, 10m, HM).  It was another mild day (15˚) but with a cool breeze.  We set off, and immediately I felt comfortable with a pace that felt familiar and sustainable.  We headed downhill, then uphill, and I knew that it would be OK.

The 3 races all set off on the same course together, so it was hard to judge position.  After a couple of miles we 10-milers were on our own.  I thought I could pick out a runner ahead at one point but I couldn’t be sure.

The rest of the race was more or less a solo effort, save for catching a handful of 5-milers at the end.  There were a few short muddy sections, but otherwise a succession of undulating tracks, with some fast downhills and corresponding log uphill drags.  Somewhere around mile 6 there was a really steep section where a marshal clanged a bell.  I waved, pounded on, and couldn’t hear any bell ringing behind me.

I was all on my own and a bit clueless how I was doing

Back through the underpass beneath the A31, then a right turn and in to the final km down and hill and the uphill through woodland the finish.  It went on and on, and I kicked myself for not doing a recce at the start; I remembered the hill, but it was longer than I expected.  I saw light at the top of the hill but got directed around a final little loop at the top.  There was the Lovely Mrs S, shouting encouragement.  I pushed for the line and finished in 1:08:03, a bit slower than in 2015.  ‘How did I get on?’ I asked the guys in the chip timing tent, hoping for a top 5.  After a bit of confusion, they told me I was the first one home.  I was astonished – I really had no idea!  We stayed to watched Neil come home 2^nd in the half, and Sue (Sleath) finishing first lady. 

This is a super local race – a firm favourite.  An utterly different experience to the XC yesterday.  Looking forward to next year!