Day 1 of 10 - it begins

So I finished teaching at 3pm yesterday and was straight out the door to catch my train up to the Lake District. I was picked up by Steve Edwards ('running god' would be a fair way to describe him) and he drove us round the last 6 miles of the course, to help prevent me getting lost. It also gave me a sneak preview of the nasty hill at 22 miles.

I was the last to arrive at Brathay Hall, but soon settled in and got a feel for the place. The other 11 runners make excellent company and the other people working on the event are great. We are extremely well looked after and I'm loving the way they refer to us as 'the athletes'. I had a pleasant massage this morning, between two courses of breakfast (there's plenty of good food here). We can leave drinks in boxes places every couple of miles around the course. Also, we're being studied for some research into endurance athletes, so they weighed us, took some blood and a saliva sample (it was the first time I'd come across the charming phrase 'passive drooling').

We did a fake start for the media, which will probably be on the video clips, then headed out to the real start just down the road. It was sunny and a little on the warm side for my liking, but an absolutely beautiful course. We ran through Hawkeshead: a very cute village, and saw lots of sheep and cows. A military jet flew by very noisily. The backdrop of the mountains is stunning (though I was glad not to be fell running). Having said that, it's a hilly route, including a 14% steep one at 7 miles. Windermere was looking pretty, almost making it worth the long climb up in the second half, where we rose up to gain a fantastic view over the water. I found it tough between miles 16 and 17, but not hitting the wall, just a bit tired.
I was thinking a couple of sub 4s during the challenge would be good and was aiming for 3:59. I was a tad quicker at 3:53, which was hopefully not too fast. There's a long way to go yet. Adam had rocked up looking like he was out for a jog, in 2:58, followed by Steve, Dave and Dave who were in not long after three hours. Shortly after me, Naomi and Ray came in under 4 too. Everyone completed it today and most of us took the option of an ice bath. It's VERY cold (actually 5 degrees) and ther was swearing. It really hurt my feet though otherwise it wasn't too bad. It lives in a horse box.

So not long now till dinner. The menu includes a different vegan option for me each day, some of them quite imaginative. We also need to learn how to use the machine that tells us our exact times for the run. Then another massage methinks. This is the life. I miss Jim (and our cat Tommy - he's an idiot, but a cute furry idiot) but I think I'm going to enjoy the next 9 days.

Sarsen about

After a thunderstorm on Friday night, I was pleased that it dawned dry and bright, making the motorbike an appealing transport option for the weekend. A lot of bikers find motorways boring, but I really quite like to put Haku (my Fazer 600) up into 6th gear and zip down the M3 towards the South West. I stayed in a cute hotel in Amesbury, close to Stonehenge.

On Sunday morning, they bussed us up from the henge to Avebury (which has its own, less well known stone circle), for the start of the Neolithic Marathon (also known as the Sarsen Trail). I've done this one 3 times before, so knew what to expect. It was muddier than previous sunnier years, but still had the expected strong winds - fortunately this time they remained predominantly tail winds with some cross winds. There are several hills of varying steepness on this beautiful trail course across the Salisbury plains. As I'm officially tapering for the 10in10, I aimed to take about 4:30 to 5 hours, so that my legs wouldn't get tired and they'd recover quickly. My plan was to jog gently, then walk lots of the uphills, making it a pleasant day out. I stuck to my regime successfully, though finished a bit quicker than anticipated in 4:13. I guess that's a good sign that my legs are over the exertion of Brighton a fortnight ago and happy to run an 'easy' sub-4:15.Jim had been camping in the New Forest and came to meet me at the finish, which was great. The winds stayed extremely strong for the ride home. It's always a bit disconcerting being buffeted by cross winds in addition to the buffeting you get on a bike at 70ish mph, but I was very pleased to discover the heated grips on my handlebars are still working. We stopped at the Ace Cafe for food and coffee on the way home.

At the run I met loads of folk I knew, including several I hadn't seen for ages so it was good to catch up. I chatted with Danny who'd been tripped over at London marathon last week. After the first aid folk patched up his many bleeding wounds, he went on to run 3:58. Not bad for a chap who'll be 70 next year! He overtook me today at about halfway. I was also approached by 6 different people I didn't know, who'd recognised me from being in this month's Runner's World magazine. It was almost like being famous. Fame is not something I'd enjoy though - I've had to put myself about a bit in the media to try to increase my fundraising, but I'll be very happy to return to complete anonymity soon.

Titus AndRUNicus

A fantastic weekend away in Stratford-upon-Avon. We got the train up on Friday after work and stayed in a lovely little B&B not far from the centre. We spent Saturday wandering around town, where there was Shakespeare's birthday parade, many brass bands, acting, cheerleading, morris dancing and drumming. We hired a rowing boat and Jim rowed me along the Avon in a manly fashion (as usual). Drinks by the river with comedy geese entertaining us. Pizza for dinner. And a beautiful sunny day.

Today, I had hoped to run a relaxed sub 4, but my legs didn't want to play. I figured that after running fast last week, combined with the cumulative effect of a huge mileage over the last couple of months, my legs deserved a rest. So I took it very easy and came in at 4:24:39. That'll do. The taper for the 10in10 starts now.

Fancy Dress Marathon, 2007

As the London Marathon approaches (which I'm not actually doing this year, I'll be at the Shakespeare marathon instead this weekend), I decided to dig out the video footage of me from the 2007 run (my 26th marathon, which explains the deely boppers a bit), having a quick chat with Colin on Tower Bridge, which was broadcast on the BBC.

Brighton Rocks!

The first ever Brighton Marathon took place today. A gloriously sunny day (when did I stop finding the sun horrible to run in?) and another new PB for me - 3:40:54. Yes, that's ten minutes quicker than at Paris last week. It's the first time I've decided to try to run a PB and actually been successful too (I tried it a couple of times before, but gave up after the first few miles of trying too hard). Running between Paris and Brighton consisted of five 10-mile runs, two of which were on my hilly route. Makes me wonder if that tapering lark really is really necessary.

The course was rather nice and after a few mildly lumpy bits in the first half, it flattened out for the second. The start was delayed quarter of an hour and the T shirt is cotton, but otherwise a top notch event. Great marshaling, loads of support, plenty of water, fantastic atmosphere. I reckon I might have to pop back next year to do it again.

After the event, we went tot he Fortune of War pub down on the seafront, where I met up with Jim, plus my big brother and two nieces, as well as several 100 Club folk and Fetchies. Roger Biggs presented me with my 100 Marathon Club medal. It's shiny. I also enjoyed wearing the 100 club vest.

A shiny new Parisian PB

Maybe it's because I'm so easily pleased, but I always have a ridiculously good time in Paris. We had 4 days there and spent the time wandering the streets to see all our favourite places, as well as seeking out a few museums that we'd not been to before. This time they were: Musee des Egouts - the sewers - pretty interesting and not nearly as smelly as expected; a le Corbusier house; Musee du Vin (yes of course it included a glass of red) and a small art museum with a Dali exhibition. We stayed near Notre Dame, handy for going out around Saint Germain in the evenings.

Conditions were perfect for the marathon on Sunday morning - sunny and cool with a light breeze. I'm not really a fan of big city runs, but as we ran through the Bois de Vincennes I decided Paris is definitely one of my favourite road races. I was running at an easy pace, grinning like an eejot and enjoying the scenery, so I was a bit surprised that I overtook the 4 hour pacers at half way, then ran a negative split to finish in a new PB of 3:50:25. Shiny. And long overdue - my previous PB was set back in 2006.I thought maybe my legs would complain the next day, but they were happy to trot out another 10+ mile training run from Notre Dame along the Seine and around the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower. I suppose I did find the steps up to the Sacre Coeur a little tougher than usual that afternoon.

A brilliant trip away - I think we'll have to go back in the summer, then again for the marathon next April...

100 is a very shiny number

So, on Friday was number 99 – the 27 mile Bletchley Enigma Marathon, organised by fellow Fetchie and 10in10 runner, Dave Bayley. It was a pleasantly flat and scenic route, with a lap around the lake in Bletchley Park, followed by 9 miles along the canal to a turnaround point, then back in the opposite direction. I ran with Fetchie Katie for the first half and we were joined by 100 club member Neil on the way back and we chatted the whole way. There was a strong wind, which fortunately was a tail wind for the return leg. The rain and cold kicked in for the last couple of miles around the lake, but we were pleased to finish in 4:29:04.Then I took a train up to Goring & Streatley, where I was collected, along with a couple of others, by Jan Kearn, the lovely wife of Dick Kearn, who himself is an amazing and inspirational character, as well as being the race director of the Compton Downland Challenge 40 miler. (He’s also the director of the GUCR and he and Jan also man checkpoints at the Ridgeway 85 and Caesar’s Camp 100). Some people might think it odd to arrive the day before a race, go out to the pub with the organisers and fellow runners, then sleep on gym mats in the school hall. But it works, with a great atmosphere and lots of interesting people around. I wore my compression tights overnight and was pleased to wake up with relatively fresh legs.

The race is on a figure of 8 shaped course (there is also a 20 mile options, making for a total field of over 200 runners) over the downs, including some steep hills up onto the Ridgeway and this year featuring some very slippery mud (and for some reason I didn’t take my trail shoes, so spent a lot of the day sliding around in my roadies). There are 8 checkpoints, well stocked with a variety of food and drinks, manned by enthusiastic and supportive marshals. This has to be one of the best-organised events on the race calendar. With a huge feel-good factor. I took it fairly steady, wanting to finish feeling happy. I enjoyed the run very much and chatted with various runners throughout the day. I finished half an hour quicker than last year, in 7:21:54. At the end lots of people were congratulating me on completing my 100th marathon and becoming a world record holder (unofficial so far, but I should hopefully be able to get it certificated by the Guinness people by sending them some evidence). There were many people there that I knew, including the three gents that ran with me through the night at the Ridgeway, the chap who did the last 60 miles of Caesar’s with me, lots of 100 club folk and Fetchies, plus I met more new fascinating people.
I had a brilliant day. But I mustn’t get big headed – training for the 10in10 and GUCR continues, so I’ve done my gentle 10 miler this morning…