London Vitality 10k, 2019

It was an early start to catch the 0730 train from Basingstoke to Waterloo.  The lovely Mrs S and I collected Ali and Jo (of the Hampshire Hares) in Romsey and an hour or so later were walking through Trafalgar Square and up The Mall as teams were busy assembling roadside barriers.  We should have had Neil Hare with us too, but he'd caught a later train.

Outside Buck Pal

I think we'd all underestimated the size and scale of this race. 23,500 runners on a single 10k route - it was massive.  There were about 6 waves, and I was in wave 1.  I stripped down, stashed my bag and did a few warm ups, to the general mirth of the ladies.

Shooing the chickens

I had a cold coming on, having woken a couple of nights earlier with that unmistakable back-of-throat feeling.  Reluctantly, I acknowledged that blasting around the course wouldn't be terribly sensible.  Mrs S gave me the idea of running it to a consistent pace.  Brilliant, I thought - I'll try to do precisely 4:00 min/km pace and finish in 40:00.

Waiting at the start, it was a nice surprise to bump into Jamie Foster of Itchen Spitfires.  He was also expecting to go steady after a recent injury.  The elites turned up (there was a very impressive GB lineup, including Mo Farah), the wheelchair runners set off, and then it was our turn.

There were a few runner congestion challenges in the initial minutes, but not as bad as I'd anticipated.  I spent much of the first km looking at my watch and clocked 4:00 min/km exactly.  But I quickly got fed up with this game - I didn't want to be staring at a small screen the whole time - so I abandoned this tactic and instead kept my exertion level a few notches below ordinary race pace; it was more of a tempo run. It was cracking to be running around central London, joining together locations and views and getting a better sense of the geography of this place.  I have a strong affinity with London and all its history and it was great to be part of it and running sufficiently below threshold to be able to pay attention.

I caught up with Jamie in the second half, and had a bizarre political argument about Theresa May with some guy as we ran past Downing Street.  Good riddance to a useless leader who'd made a right hash of everything, or sympathy for a PM who gave everything she had in am impossible situation?  After a couple of exchanges (which the other guy started) we abandoned the argument, which was probably just as well.

I enjoyed cruising up Birdcage Walk, remembering the exhaustion of marathons at this point.  I crossed the line in 39:02 gun time and 38:38 chip time, which was as quick as I dared go.  I would have loved to have been able to push hard for a sub-37 on this flat course, but this wasn't going to happen today.

The Hares all met up, tired and happy, in St James's Park.  Mrs S was thrilled that she'd knocked over 2 minutes off her PB.

The Famous Five

This isn't the kind of race that we'd choose to do very often, with all the corporate plastic flimflam that tends to accompany them, but we all had a smashing day out.

Romsey relay marathon, 2019

My goodness, how this event has grown and caught people's imagination. This year there were 161 teams of 10 runners taking part.  It was beautifully sunny morning and Broadlands was looking at its best as the lovely Mrs S and I arrived to a hive of preparation.

Having run for the victorious Romsey team last year, I had promised to run for OS this year. Well... I somehow ended up agreeing to also run for Romsey B team and the Hampshire Hares.  I was determined to give the first leg my best shot and was looking forward to seeing how well I could match my time in subsequent legs.

The Hares basking in the morning glow

I was running Leg A for OS.  The first leg in a relay is unlike all the others because you all start together and it's a straight race. I was next to Matt Hammerton on the start line. The gun went, Matt glided ahead and a few others rushed off but quickly faded.  I went off a bit faster than I intended, and worked hard to fend off some early challenges to second place in the first km.  I was on my own as I ran through the tunnel of spectators at the north end of the park.  Everyone was shouting like mad, and it was quite an intense experience.  The second lap was quite tough, with no one to chase and feeling the burst of initial adrenaline fading. I finished Leg A in 14:18 (with laps of 7:05 and 7:14), almost 30 seconds up on last year. Here are the stats.

The OS team

About an hour later I ran Leg F for Romsey. It was mentally a much easier run, with plenty of folk ahead to chase.  I eased into the two laps, clocking 7:27 and 7:13 for a 14:40 overall leg.  My stats.

Bringing it home for Romsey

And after this I ran the Leg K, the final hurrah, for the Hares.  I ran 7:26 and 7:19 for a 14:45 result.  My stats. 

An excellent day out with lots of friends in warm spring sunshine.  The final tally: Romsey A took the top spot, OS 2nd place, Romsey B 5th and the Hares 65th out of 161 teams.

Harewood Forest 10k, 2019

This was always going to be a bit of a leg-stretch after yesterday's half marathon. It's a really charming off-roader in beautiful chalk countryside, part of the Wherwell PTA village fete - a complete contrast to the noise and bustle of Southampton.  And it's also Poppy's chance to show off her canine racing prowess.

We met a bunch of RRR friends at the start and tried to loosen up on tight legs.  The horn sounded, and we headed off around the rec ground and up into the hills.  A couple of guys with big dogs went whooshing forwards from the start, and it was a competitive field from the off.

The course was a lovely mix of bluebell woods, open fields and sheltered tracks.  I caught a few guys up and felt OK.  I finished in 4th place 40:15, almost a minute up on my last outing in 2017.  A super way to spend a May day holiday.

The lovely Mrs S and Poppy push for the finish

Derek and his ladies finish in style

Southampton half marathon, 2019

Another cold, bright, early start.  This year the Southampton marathon/half/10k was clashing with the Isle of Wight Randonnee.  Rather than risk a travel and parking nightmare, the lovely Mrs S and I caught the train from Totton, and met up with a variety of OS, Romsey and Hares runners at the Guildhall Square.  This was an especially big day out for Rob and Jo, who were doing their first ever half marathon.

This was my third half at this event.  In 2017 I finished in 1:24:53, but I was really chasing my 2016 time of 1:22:08.  I was also hoping to chase down Alex Prinsep, who has been consistently beating me by just a second or two over recent races. 

With the Hares at the start

I was told stories about a bit of a scrum getting to the startline last year, and I was quite anxious as the procession of runners inched towards the start zone, but in the event I had plenty of space and even managed a few dynamic stretches.  The temperature was cool, but it was very pleasant out of the wind and in the May sunshine.

We endured some terrible music (someone had let the teenagers loose on the selection) and a lady on the PA system endlessly hectoring us about exactly where our race numbers should be pinned.  And then at last we were off.

A race this size really needs some policing of the start line.  As we shuffled into a run, I nearly tripped over several very slow folk who had chosen to put themselves right up front.  Then past Carlo in his Cookie Monster costume ('I can't see a thing in here, mate') and through the old part of Southampton and on to the Itchen Bridge.  It's only 20m high, but it's quite a feature of this race.  I glided past Alex on the way up, and he went past me again on the way down the other side.

The trip around Woolston was a new feature on this race, and I really enjoyed the path along Southampton Water.  Heading back north again, there were plenty of opportunities to wave at folk on the way out, including Mrs S, who was pacing OS runner Dave Ball (who was getting infuriated by spectators failing to pronounce the name 'Bally' on his race number incorrectly).

Back over the Itchen Bridge, through St Mary's stadium, and up a long gradual incline over Northam Bridge to Bitterne.  Somewhere around here I took a water bladder, a funny floppy thing, and by the time I looked up after a bit of a drink and a headspray, Alex was some way ahead.  I kept a reasonable pressure up through Riverside Park and got a great slingshot from a metal pole while taking a hard right on to Cobden Bridge.

Not far now.  Up the hill through Portswood and Highfield to the Common.  I was mentally prepared for a long old drag, but it was actually fine.  It was great to see the Allans cheering outside their road, and it was soon after this that I realised that I was catching Alex.

I took him just after the underpass leading onto Southampton Common.  I sensed that he was flagging, but I was nonetheless nervous about breaking too soon.  It was all downhill to the finish from here, and I tried to capitalise with long strides.

The final few hundred metres seemed to go on for ever.  There was a cacophony of noise at the finish line, and I was done for as I crossed it.  Alex arrived a few seconds later and we both congratulated each other - it had been a tremendous battle.

Without having arranged a rendezvous point, there was a lot of subsequent shuffling around a rammed Guildhall Square to meet everyone, but we got there in the end.  It seemed that everyone had something to smile about on a terrific morning.

Correction... Mark T wasn't doing any smiling

The Hares had all done famously, including the HM debutants

My head looks strangely huge

I finished in 16th place with a time of 1:21:36, about 30 seconds faster than in 2016, and respectably close to my time on a flatter course in Bath.  Here are my stats, and here's a flyby of the tussle between me and Alex.