1467 miles in 2012, with only a few injuries, mostly overuse/not allowing proper recovery types. Mostly run just to get outdoors, but managed to break a few PBs on the trail. Most chuffed with sub 40min 10k….Ihave never opened and shut gates/climbed styles so quick in my life 😀

Best run was driving 2 hours up to the peaks and doing the half skyline route on a whim at 6am. Pissing it down all the way there and when parking, but as soon as I got up to the first peak it was sunshine. Like I was running round the rim of a big foggy bowl.

One of those closer to god/woo-hoo i’m alive type situations 8)

Like most of my racing my running year started off steadily then picked up quite a bit and then the wheels fell off near the end!
I decided to complete the club fell champs and try to do all the races involved not just enough to qualify. This fitted in well with my training for 3 Peaks cx. I got fitter due to the amount of racing I was doing and so my results improved. One noteable race was Helvellyn and the Dodds. I was doing ok, drifted off course in the clag on the return and then beasted myself to get back up in contention (within our club, not overall!). Had a really good battle with a lad from the club and just caught and passed him at the very death. I did end up losing both big toenails though!
Turned my ankle at Ingleborough fell race in July and never fully recovered. Once the 3 Peaks cx was out of the way my motivation kind of died. I ended up 2nd in fell race champs for first time in years. Usually in the top 3rd at fell races. Not bad at 50 I like to think. Was part of our Vets team at Red Rose cross country league. We were 3rd overall.
Just managed to ruin my ankle even further on a little training run so running is out for the foreseeable. Overall probably the best years running I’ve had for a long time. Indian summer I reckon, my knackered ankles and arthritic knees won’t put up with much more abuse.

Both impressive stuff guys! I used to do a fair bit of running but an injury meant I stopped and haven’t really started again, that was until last week 😆

Do you find it helps you bike fitness?

Certainly plan on doing more running this year, mainly off road too.

Cemented my position as a donkey rather than sprinter. Really enjoyed running sandstone trail, traversing an entire OS map and finishing half a mile from home. Half decent cross country season, midway through another. Not checked but might pick up a trinket in the club champs (mainly a prize for turning up). Decent smattering of fell races, didn’t cock up the navigation in the British fell relays. One of my favourite runs of the year was 5 hours across the lakeland fells at night in Jan. When I met Mr Sparkle in a layby at midnight if I’m not mistaken 🙂

will – I find fell running helps singlespeeding helps fell running, if you see what I mean.

stever, 😀 Aye! Top man! I was talking to richpips Mrs about that jaunt yesterday at the Tod cross. She didn’t seem to have such rosy memories of it all. What was that song by Billy Connolly? “D.I.V.O.R…” 😉

Very bad year! After much deliberation I decided to give up running 🙁

Did my first running ‘events’ this year and did the Leeds and Cardiff half marathons, was pleased with my times and looking to do a sub 1.40 half marathon at the Wilmslow event in March 2013.

Really enjoyed them and can’t imagine not having a running event of one kind or another as an objective now. Signed up to the Edinburgh full marathon in May and am starting to put in some base miles for that now. I really need to be careful with ramping up the miles though due to strains and injuries so keeping a very close eye on my weekly mileage increases.

Definitely keen to do some trail and fell running now- going to purchase some trail running shoes this weekend and get some off road miles done, sounds like good fun!

So all in all a good year really I guess.

In a blatant bit of self promotion, here’s one for next year: http://www.alexbarnes1653.webspace.virginmedia.com/dashers/page35.html

Good and bad

2nd in club champs and award for “runner of the year” which was well embarrassing at the Xmas dinner!! Tried flat shoes and it was a disaster, twisted my anlke and missed about 8 weeks of running in the summer. Did the Oxford half which was great fun, took it easy and got 1’35” which I was pleased with. Now ankles better still aiming for long distance, did 28 miles the other week, so 30 is the next target. Keeping me sane LOL

just started to run, never really been in to it before so not the most natural thing for me to do and quite frankly I am shite at it (27min 5k) but I have a few targets and I am enjoying seeing improvements so going to sign up for a 10 mile great south run next year… have noisy knees though so want to learn to “natural” run whilst I am still able to try and adapt to what I hope is better habits.

Mixed!

35:30 10k. 1h21 half. A few fell races I was really chuffed with.

Then a big bike crash in September and a new job in Oct and I’ve got out of the habit of running.

Been for 4 short, easy runs this week and it’s going to be a long way back but I’ll get there eventually.

A bit off topic, but this was my first running race and it was amazing! Last did it in 2010 though.
http://www.dovedaledash.co.uk/

I’ll be back next year!

35.30 10k? Wow, fair play cocker!

“stile” cough!

Not bad, 6m quicker in my 2nd marathon, fancy trying flat shoes next year but may not be the wisest while training for Edinburgh marathon in May.

Poor. A bit too stop and start for me and a trip to the sandpit interrupted a fair bit of decent running. Mapmyrun tells me that I only ran 268 miles this year in 38 hours. That’s hopeless. Just checked the average speed… 7mph. More hopelessness.

Right, I’m off to book up a couple of local half marathons before I download the ultra training schedule I need for my Carlisle to Newcastle jaunt in June. That should get me back on track.

Started off a bit shoyte. Then did some sprinterval and threshold stuff alongside circuits which sped me up. Unforeseen stuff meant I couldn’t take advantage of the free place I’d been offered in the Bristol HM 🙁 Almost didn’t do the BMF Major (off road sufferfest-type event) through lack of enthusiasm, but as I was nominated driver from my park, I got up and did it anyway. Little did I know the work earlier in the year must have had an effect as I came 28th out of 500. 8)

Wish I’d done more miles during the year. Probably down in the low hundreds for me. 🙁

Right, that’s two half marathons booked up. Bring it on 2013!

my Carlisle to Newcastle jaunt in June

Is that the Hadrian’s Wall thing? My brother-in-law has signed up for that. He’s not done much running but did walk from Mexico to Canada with my sister this summer and that included some 35+ mile stints with full backpacking kit, so I think he’ll manage it 🙂

Yeah, that’s the one. I felt like a challenge and that fitted the bill. If a friend of mine can do the Vienna Ironman, I can do that.

Training starts in earnest for that tomorrow, so the two halfs I’ve booked should fit into that quite nicely. I’m also thinking of the Ely to Cambridge 16.5 miler at the end of March, but I do have to be careful that I don’t annoy my wife too much at this early stage of my training.

stever and MrSparkle – I was just thinking about that BGR in Jan as it’ll be a year this weekend I guess. Thinking how much fitter I was this time last year!

A good year here though – Allendale Challenge, Old County Tops, Scottish 4000s and Welsh 3000s were the highlights. Then a cold after the 3 peaks cx which took a month to shift and a coast to the current parlous state. Use of a HRM in preventing cramp has been this year’s revelation.

Good luck willard and wave as you go past our house 😉

Not a bad year, started with a dodgy right foot, which hasn’t ever got better, but I’ve kind of accepted that it’s going to hurt, and not let it stop me. So I’ve signed up for the Madrid marathon in 2013 🙂

Managed a new PB in 10K, 42min. Looking to break 40min in 2013, though it’s going to be tough…

Ok, another question. When running I seem to really suffer with stitches. Anyway to prevent this?

42m 10k is a great effort, i’d be happy with that!

Will, I’ve had that and found that core strength helps a lot. Try the two minute planking challenge and see if that helps.

Not a bad year for me. Just over a 1000 miles. The sub 20 5K still eludes me, but I’m quite happy being a racing donkey than snake.
I was pleased to get joint 1st place in a local 12 mile trail race though. A position gained not so much though fitness, but because none of the faster runners had memorised the route and thus had to wait at each junction for me to catch up. 😀 But it was a nice sensation at 8 miles out to realise I was in the lead. Never had, and probably never will get that again.

Hello Mr S – had an eye on your race as I’ve heard great things about it but Darwen’s tricky to get to at the moment. Might try to have a run out with the bedlamites soon tho.

Some great efforts here. Well done all.

2013 targets are Coledale Horseshoe and Snowdon. Longer stuff in 2014 when the kids are a bit bigger…

There have been good races and bad races, but I’ve been glad to run all of them and have stayed injury free. Final race of the year today up on Penistone hill in bloody awful conditions and I am now enjoying the race beer. All race won beer must be drunk while you can still feel the race in your legs.

And a Christmas light from the missus means more night races next year. Woo hoo, I’ll see you on one of the Thursday-nighters, Teaboy!

Ah, you did the ALS did you? I hope you got near the front when Dave had his throw out in the Sun after!

Sadly I missed the throw-out as I had kids to collect from my mum’s. Twas a great race as usual though.

Going to start in the new year – I am a big lad so under no illusions that I will do anygood, but set a challenge of a 10km fell race in December. Not staring training until Spring though as I want to get a bit more weight off first to help my knees!

Final time this year…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPdb7ZDJKS4[/video]

<smug mode>

I had a cracking year. First full proper year of training and some racing. PB times at 5k, half-marathon (by 25 minutes over the same race in 2011!), and marathon. PB distance-wise with my first ultra (JW Ultra). Had a cracking trail race at the Broadway Tower Half-marathon (hope they run this again in 2013).

And notched up over 1000 running miles for the first time too…

Looking forward to Brighton Marathon as my first major target, hoping for 3:30:00 in that. And depending on how things go, would like to do a 50 miler in the summer, followed by Broadway Tower Marathon in the autumn.

550km run, one race which was a 37:33 10km.

Aiming to run a sub 3 hour marathon next June so in the process of increasing my running from one session to three a week and reducing my cycling to two.

Should be an interesting journey.

Good one for me!

Took up running this year in the summer with the aim of doing my first ever marathon in October. Managed to complete it in terrible conditions in 3.37 which I didn’t think was too bad for a first attempt.

This year will probably see me keeping doing a bit of running with the aim of entering a few mountain biking duathlons in the spring time then going to hopefully enter GNR in September. Will be aiming for 1.30 in that I think. Should be do-able!

Started running a few months ago. Really enjoying it – would have gone crazy this Christmas without it as my trails are practically flooded.

In the London marathon in April so am doing a fair amount of it at the moment.

Training wise just hard to get motivated but getting better did my first sprint triathlon this year when.it came down to it i ended 37th out of 98 starters so really happy with result so at it again to better my finish position

no idea of annual mileage, but knocked out 250+ miles and 45000ft ascent for December. Year as a whole was poor as i picked up a virus that knocked me out for the summer. Bring on 2013 though, theres a long day out in the Lakes that I will get round this year.