signed up for the full dramathon this year for something different - wont be a race for me.
been a couple years since I've done a running event regular park running excepted.
5k is horrible as it's basically a flat out effort, there's no pacing, you just go out and hold on.
10k is worse as you feel like you should be able to do it at a pace not much slower than 5k pace. So it's twice as much pain.
A half feel like you can have some control in the pace, the pain is there but it builds slowly.
A marathon is an eating contest and a battle of attrition. If you fuel and pace right then it's OK. If you don't it's an absolute nightmare.
i am at the halfway point of my Southampton Marathon training. Runs are starting to get long! 23km last sunday, 26km this sunday, then a few more weeks at longer again.
Its going well though. And i have the London Landmarks half a month before (start of april).
Very much enjoying it, although it means i havent ridden my bike for a couple of months and i am starting to miss it.
lunge, that's sort of where I was a couple of years ago (Jan 2024), a slightly uncomfortable knee wasn't the only issue but it was the final straw that convinced me to give up on the marathoning for a while. After 18 months of light jogging I've started building quite gently and it's ok so far.
I have a vague ambition of returning to the marathon in a few years - sub3h aged 60 would be a nice target - but I'd rather be enjoying parkruns and 10ks for another 10 years (hopefully more) than try to train hard for another marathon and have to give up completely.
I’m doing an Ultra (50km) in October. Started running properly around October last year. Have done a half marathon in 1:37 just before Xmas (just running the distance on local roads) and a 5k in 20:31. I’m 42.
last year I did the Leadville 100 MTB. So my stretch goal in a few years is to go back and do the 100 mile run. Shorter term is the ultra in October and maybe look at a Bob Graham round in 2027. It all depends on whether the body can hold up to it though. We will see.
I needed a new challenge away from the bike. At the moment I’m doing bike and running training but complementing each other well. Yesterday I ran the 10km into work and then the 10km home.
Maybe run slower. Being able to just tap along without it being a struggle is a skill that develops over time.
Decent 5km at lunch, definitely nailed running slower 😂
Actually slightly more stops but shorter and more strategic, plus I definitely still felt some fatigue from Monday's big bike day, so I'll go easy on myself 😎
Ourea Events (Skyline, Cape Wrath Ultra, Dragons Backand others) has just ceased trading. They've released a statement pointing the finger of blame at Covid, Brexit and the general Cost of Living increases. I suspect there's a few folk about to lose out on their entry fees.
https://www.oureaevents.com/news/2026/ceased-trading
Anyone tried any of the Chinese shoe brands? Anta, xtep or Li-ning (which the winner of Seville marathon had on) traditional brands are so expensive, people seem happy to buy random EV's but not Chinese trainers?
I've got a pair of 361 something or others. They're fine. Tend to get used for runs back from school when I'm working from home. I know that's not one of the brands you mentioned, but they are Chinese!
Can we talk undercrackers? Gents' that is, sorry ladies of STW, our needs are different.
I favour a compression-type short worn under basic 5" running shorts, but the ones I have are getting a bit old and as my distances have gone up, I've noticed the odd bit of what could develop into chafing (not to be too indelicate about it). Never liked the shorts on their own, I like things to be held in place!
Ideally I think I want the same kind of compressiony short but with fewer seams around the bollocks area, if that makes sense. Anyone got any they'd recommend?
I am a cheapskate, so there's no way I'm paying 50 quid and up for shorts to go running in. Think the compression numbers I've used for years now might have come from Lidl, so that's my level.
The bulk standard shorts from decathlon work well. I've run marathons in the kliprun shorts that they do
I just moving into the summer though I really wouldn't suggest wearing anything underneath. They have a sort of mesh underpants sewn in just use that
As above, Decathlon stuff is good. I also wear Runderware, just because I love the name.
yup, just bought some under shorts and over shorts from Decathlon, and despite being less than a tenner each, they seem really good. Also, if you feel the chafe approaching, maybe some chamois cream or similar is worth a try. I smear a bit around when going far to be safe.
On a different note.... i have been training for the past 4 months for the Southampton Marathon which is on sunday. I am looking forward to it. But..... what next? I dont want to lose what i have built, but equally want to get back into riding. What is a good middle ground to keep my long distance ability, but not commit all of my free time to just running?
How was the Dart? I did the Fellsman and what a tough day out! Really hot with no shelter by day then hard nav in the bogs and clag at night. Was going to quit at 50km (the dart start) as the heat had destroyed me, but teamed up with a couple of top blokes and fast hiked the second half. It got lovely and cold at night and my body woke up. Took over 20 hours but got it done .
Anyone doing the Fellsman in April? I’ll be there for my first attempt.
Not the Fellsman but the Dart as an intro (the 'half' version) in April. If that goes well it might be the full Fellsman next year.
It is the Haworth Hobble on Saturday (which includes a trip around the edge of Todmorden and back up to Stoodley Pike; Looking forward to that !)
Anyone tried any of the Chinese shoe brands?
I'd love to be haven't found a supplier I can buy from that I trust to do returns. What I have found is the new Decathlon range is very well priced and very good indeed. The Kiprun Kipstorm Tempo is a phenomenal shoe for £100 ish.
Can we talk undercrackers
Whilst at Decathlon, pick up some of these, Men's Pack of 3 Breathable Microfibre Boxers - Black/Blue/Burgundy | Decathlon. They're dirt cheap and I think I've worn them for every run I've done for the last 5 years. If I'm going really long I still slather my inner thighs in BodyGlide though, and that works a treat.
Can we talk undercrackers? Gents' that is, sorry ladies of STW, our needs are different.
I favour a compression-type short worn under basic 5" running shorts, but the ones I have are getting a bit old and as my distances have gone up, I've noticed the odd bit of what could develop into chafing (not to be too indelicate about it). Never liked the shorts on their own, I like things to be held in place!
I bought some shorts from timetorun. Not these ones, but these ones have an undershort which you said you were after:
They are good quality & very reasonably priced. Or were you after separate undershorts? They also do those I think.
I tend to wear 'normal' running shorts with the mesh liner, so can't really comment on how good these are.
The only pair of 'undershort' shorts I have tried were terrible. A seam right on your barse that chafed & the way the liner gripped my leg seemed to pull them down so I keep having to yank them up. I don't use them any more for running.
Regarding chafing - I've got some cream from Decathlon that I whack on for longer runs which seems to completely disappear but magically stops any skin rub problems.
Random Decathlon cream was what I used for yesterday’s effort - first go at the Jura Fell Race. Had absolutely no idea what a big deal it is among fell runners!
I’m used to comparatively short local races and been getting better but yesterday was an eye opener! Only 28km, which I’m fine with these days, but about 2500m height gain, which is harder than I gave it credit for.
Made it but died 1000 deaths after getting a stone in my shoe on the descent of peak 5 (there’s 7 in all) and getting a level of cramp I’ve never experienced after trying to remove the offending shoe.
Finishes with about 3 and a half miles along the road and lots of people take road shoes to change into for that bit but I’m not sure I’d have been able to get them on.
About 5h 40m, mostly it was brilliant but lessons learned! I’ll be back.
Race was just the warm up for the main event today though - ride on the gravel bike up to the north tip of the island to fulfil a dream I’ve had since o-grade Geography: today I ate my lunch overlooking the Corryvreckan whirlpool, the world’s 3rd biggest. Just wonderful, that one’s for you Mr Shepherd!
Also stopped off at the house George Orwell wrote 1984 in, I’d have got all kinds of prizes for today if I was still at school.
The Jura Fell Race is one of the great amateur sporting events of the UK. The whole package is wonderful and the race itself is brutal. That last 5k along the road is soul destroying!
I had the pleasure of crewing an ultra this weekend. 145 miles from Birmingham to London on the Grand Union Canal. Spent Saturday moving bags and ensuring my mate was well fed then ran the last 25 miles with him. Really good fun and, assuming you’re good with a lack of sleep, an enjoyable way to spend the weekend.
I should have reported this one last week...
I took part in the Race to the Base, a trail half marathon from Lochinver to (almost) Suilven and back. It had all the right ingredients - iconic location, friendly organisation etc but, for some reason, I just couldn't get my mojo going. Maybe it was the nature of the trail itself, maybe I was just not feeling it that day.
We had a great turnout from our club, with almost two dozen of us making the journey up, some for one night, some for two or more. In addition to it all being in support of the local leisure centre, that was a wee chunk of money flowing into the local economy too.
You might get a feel for it from the video I made (mostly trying to spot clubmates).
I ran my first event in year yesterday, Edinburgh 1/2 marathon. Was doing it to support my daughter who is slow but determined, so proud of her for plodding around and really pushing herself. The level of support along the route was unreal, there were people everywhere cheering you by name, handing out sweets, spraying garden hoses, ghetto discos from front gardens, organised choir, brilliantly inventive signs. It was really inspiring to see so many people getting behind a sporting event.
Well, after not really running much for a while, I've decided I need to get back on it. I don't want to miss out on summer riding, so I've signed up to a couple of events over the winter.
In November I'm doing a trail 10k at Dalby with MrsMonkey, who has also found a love for running.
But because I can already run 10k comfortably if slowly, I've also signed up to a half marathon next February, called the Tibthorpe Loop. It's a gently hilly route on the Wolds not far from where I live, and I suspect the main challenge will be the horrible sticky mud.
Hoping it'll give me the push I need to get out and run over winter, and build up a decent level of fitness. I'm planning on a long run once a week, ideally in some mud, then one or two shorter runs with at least one hard effort on top of that. I'm not fussed about getting a decent time at this point, just getting round.
Half tempted to try a marathon in Spring next year, but I'm not sure I have the time to commit to training for that...
