The Annual Running thread – beginners/ultras/whatever

The runners do a double bob.

Impressive stuff.

Even getting your head round the logistics and remembering the route must be tough, especially when yer hanging out yer arse.

I also did the QECP event in Hants yesterday, but only the half (not the full marathon).  Got 12th place (1hr 45mins) which I did not expect!  217 finishers.

Some serious climbing on that course (600mtrs per 13-mile lap).  The thought of doing a 2nd lap for the marathon – I have no idea how anyone did that.  Fair play to you, BB.

Now foaming at the mouth for another event to enter to keep the motivation up!

Decided on a recovery run at lunch, 5k, struggled to hold 8 minute miles and was blowing the whole way round. Upload to Strava to find my heart rate didn’t go above 130bpm which is at least 40bpm lower than I’d have expected. I suspect that either fatigue (likely) or imminent illness (hopefully not). Either way, my legs now feel shot…

I’m **** today ..

Needed a walk on the beach to stretch my legs and back..

It will be some time before I do another like that, there is the Northumberland coastal event that takes my fancy.. but the Eastbourne-Brighton is next.

I am definitely not turning into a marathon “specialist” I did this because it’s on my doorstep and I run at QECP three times a week (between 10-20ks) so thought “yeah, why not let’s see how I go”

As I said, it was a bit too busy for me.. I am really solitary when I run, or with my mate (but he’s too fast for me, don’t really know why he waits TBH)

I run mainly because I get very frustrated with work and life stuff, not anxious just frustrated. When I’m pacing out something happens in my brain and things clear out, or I discover other thoughts about how to approach tricky situations. Riding never did that for me, don’t know why because essentially pacing is the same.. So I trail run.

I have approached trial running with less structure than I applied to my training when riding. When riding I had all sorts of interval structures and tapering regimes, build programmes and the like and it became too much, I lost the love for just riding out.. I seemed to be chasing some far off nirvana yet at the same time I never entered any events nor competed.. ok I did the odd CXer event but that was just for fun.. I rode mainly for the freedom from sitting behind a desk and the need for discovery and freedom and sunlight..

Trial running is much more intensive and all encompassing. I’m so absorbed when running I can “feel” the environment.. that’s an odd thing to say, but it’s true.. it’s not spiritual, I just feel absorbed and cocooned within the moment of the plod and sounds and wind and crunch and stains..

A few days off, back over there on weds for a 10k loop..

This thread is way more enlightening than any riding thread I’ve ever commented on.

Well done all for your efforts, some days just getting out and plodding is enough.

☄️🥊

2nd Park run of the year, perfect weather and got a new PB and first sub 20 of the year, 9th overall and first in my age category which is my best yet too. A bit annoyed I didn’t break 19, went out really fast in a cluster of folk who were probably aiming for a sub 20, at around 3’45/km and when they began whittling down and slowing below 4min/km should have pushed on past instead of tailgating the leader for a bit.

But at roughly 70 miles in 22 hours or something..that’s not really running speed, though I’m sure he jogged sections.

The average pace you need to do one of the big 3 24hr rounds looks like walking pace but for some of the climbs you’ll be going at less than 1mph so you need to make up for that by moving a fair bit faster where possible. The strategy most people adopt is to walk all the ups and run (at a steady pace obviously) the downs / flats.

Yes, Bland walked the whole thing but it’s worth remembering that he was an exceptional athlete with unrivalled local knowledge and that he was by his own admission totally busted afterwards, more so than when he took the running record for the BG.

That said, there’s no doubt in my mind that an experienced hillwalker who can run a bit is much more likely to succeed on a BG, CR or PB than a good runner.

The runners do a double bob.

Er, eh? What’s that in reply to? Only two people have done the double Bob Graham  – Roger Baumeister in 1975 and Nicky Spinks in 2016.

Er, eh? What’s that in reply to? Only two people have done the double Bob Graham  – Roger Baumeister in 1975 and Nicky Spinks in 2016

Probably the chat about the Barkley Marathons. It’s about the same as a double BG in terms of height gain but less in distance (assuming the BM is actually the 100 miles they say it is).

Ah, ok. Ta.

Is Barkley really running though? Sure it sounds tough but 100 miles in 60 hours can’t involve very much running!

I haven’t heard the post match analysis yet but I suspect there’s much more to Barkley than the numbers suggest. The chap from our club that just tried it is pretty hardcore (think solo, on-sight, winter BG) and only managed 3 laps. He’s very much a runner but yes, that kind of thing isnt running as Joe Public would recognise it.

Spin – Thar Eoin ? Trying to find an update ?

He’s very much a runner but yes, that kind of thing isnt running as Joe Public would recognise it.

I was thinking about this as I was running this weekend. I consider myself very much a runner but I struggle to have ‘running’ conversations as I am pretty ignorant to the road side of things that Joe Public recognise.

I have had numerous conversations where people start talking pace, 10km times, sub 40 mins, sub 3 hours marathon, negative splits, looking for flat courses?, PB’s (not the trainers). Have you done this race or that. The conversation falls pretty flat with the honest answer of never having run a road race and I ‘think’ my time would be around x amount but??? I think at this point they think all the gear no idea and wander off with an energy recovery drink and a vegan paleo recovery energy bar

I have however done multiple marathon and ultra races, multi day stage races and some of the toughest mountain/fell races around. I think nothing of packing a tent and off I go over hill and dale and often come back battered bruised and bleeding, caked in mud and snot to sit in pub eating pies and drinking beer.

We are all runners but we are very different. I like that broad church.

@marcus Eoin pulled out with a broken shoulder. Made two laps before retiring.

Tweets by RichardDonovan7

That Barkley Marathon thing just strikes me as your typical USA made up “tradition”

I have ran in local races that have a better “pedigree” Lets just make it as obscure and esoteric as possible and people will love it. bull****

Cheers ajf – yeah, just found it on his Facebook page.

That Barkley Marathon thing just strikes me as your typical USA made up “tradition”

I have ran in local races that have a better “pedigree” Lets just make it as obscure and esoteric as possible and people will love it. bull****

Prejudices fully to the fore there…

Personally I think it’s more likely that the founder is a genuine eccentric.

I see this a few times, are Sweatshop not a ‘proper’ running shop / is their advice not good?

It was reflection on the comment from the original poster who received poor advice from a Sweatshop and based on the general disinterest from the teenager slave labourers in my local branch.  Given that the OP was able to provide a good qualitative account of his experience with another running shop that is local to me and my own poor experience of my local Sweatshop, I would rather take my hard earned elsewhere.

If your experience with your local Sweatshop is different and you are happy going there then that is great 🙂

First Trunce of the year last night.

It’s the signal for summer to begin 🙂 so obviously today its pissing it down!

The river Don was carrying a bit more water than usual and on crossing 2 I hit a hole in the river bed and went below knee deep stumbled, and just about managed to stay upright, but was pretty wet from then.

A change to the start, further back down the track meant times were down from last year but makes it a little bit tougher also.

A good turn out saw just shy of 400 complete the course.

South Yorkshire road leagues start Wednesday 🙂

That awkward moment when your runnning partner does a nostril-clear out, you feel a splash on your leg and just hope it was because he stepped in a puddle at the same time. FFS. Can’t people just slow down a bit before they do that shizzle. 🤮

If your experience with your local Sweatshop is different and you are happy going there then that is great

Ah, but that’s the point. I’ve only bought one pair of shoes in the past 20 years being new back to running, and while I thought the advice and info was good, how do I really know?   Attentive and friendly doesn’t mean factually correct.

Is it acceptable to take my shoes and insoles to an indy LRS and ask them if they think they’re right for me, or will they just try to upgrade me anyway?

That Barkley Marathon thing just strikes me as your typical USA made up “tradition” I have ran in local races that have a better “pedigree”

Do your research. The Barkley marathon exists in the format it does because of ingrained stuck-up attitudes like yours. That’s why the rules change, way it’s so hard to enter, and hard to win.

Do your research. The Barkley marathon exists in the format it does because of ingrained stuck-up attitudes like yours. That’s why the rules change, way it’s so hard to enter, and hard to win.

Can you unpick that for me so that it is coherent? Why is my attitude “stuck up”? I would even say it is you who is “stuck up” selecting this as some great example of “inclusivity” It is simply Hollywood style faux “uniqueness”

I have no issue with the event itself but would you have singled it out if it hadnt been on Netflix?

The whole point of the marathons is to stick two fingers up at the sorts of races that you’ve mentioned; the ones that have tradition and pedigree. It’s set up solely to take the piss out of those sorts of events; the ridiculous entry barriers, the rules (that keep people away), the difficulty of the event itself, all of those things are a parody

You’ve dismiss it out off hand because you thought it was trying to be the sort of race you laud because of their pedigree, but you missed the joke, which I guess means he’s closer to the mark than I thought he was TBH.

It’s set up solely to take the piss out of those sorts of events; the ridiculous entry barriers, the rules (that keep people away), the difficulty of the event itself, all of those things are a parody

Wow, contrived, is that really what you think? You seem to have drunk the koolaid!

The races I “laud” have very low barriers to entry, you seem to be lumping “pedigree” along with “barriers to entry” not what I am talking about at all.

Anyway, back to the running. Checking in again as I think I am making progress having been in at the start of the thread and then not as I stopped running again for a month or so when my injuries caught up with me. I think the longest run I did was about 5km, but I tried going for a proper run and overdid it – sore achilles which took over a week to settle down, so I had a rest. Ran again a couple of weeks ago, instead of doing the continuous runs I’d done before I tried something like the c25k programme with runs and walks and I seemed to recover from it OK despite doing a decent pace. Last night I did something similar with two 1.5km runs and a final 1km run with rests between – probably pushed it a bit hard with a fast pace 500m in each run, the fastest at almost 4min/km pace (it seems strange that’s now a fast pace, I’ve run a half marathon at that speed!) A bit stiff today, but crucially no pain from my achilles, so I might be back on it. I have noticed my lack of ankle flex for doing other things and started to address that, so that’s probably helping.

Anyway, back to the running

Yes please.

My mate Jonny does those ultra marathons.. y’no those Sahara and across China things.. he did one last year in the New Forest running a circuit of 5miles and over 24hrs to see how many laps he could do.. He thinks nothing of running into work from Beaconsfield into Town.. Mans a bloody loony, good job he’s got his own company eh.

Anyway, he started running as a fat 19st lad back in 2004.. beer and crisps, pies and chips and all manner of MDMA abomination on the dance floor.. I remember it well, the conversation we had..

He said “shit night last night, I’m done drugs, I’m done pies, I’m doing the London Marathon next year”

And we fell about laughing, seriously if you saw this pasty looking fat lad you’d never have imagined the determination and motivation he had.. Was impressive but we all sort of said “yeah, wot evz” 2 months in and we caught up.. and he’s looking trimmer.. you can tell these things when you know someone well.. and he’s done nothing more than stop scoffing, dropped the beer and walking into work..

Then the story gets a bolster when his entry comes through.. and he turns up, we wait by the Appt Nr Canary Wharf and we see him run past.. We were ecstatic..

Time rolled on, he did more training and is where he is now..

All it takes is a change of mind, heart, planning and determination..

His advice to me when I took up trail running ? Take it easy, pace yourself down, enjoy the plod, one day at a time..

Managed a 10k PB the other day, even though I wasn’t actually trying for it – headed out planning on doing a brisk 5k on roads, nice evening so thought I’d extend it, went off road along river and through park, took a couple pictures, stopped for a piss. By the time I got back on roads at about 8k thought might as well keep going to 10, last k was down Aberdeen’s main shopping street so dodging in and out of shoppers n phone zombies, v surprised to have knocked a few seconds off pb. Reckon there’s a minute or two can be chopped if I’m not mucking about.  Bodes will for first race of the year (Kilomathon in Edinburgh). Interval training seems to be doing good.

I’m still suffering, bailed out of my recovery run yesterday so did it today.. not good sensations TBH.. blew up 3 times on the climbs.. I guess my heads not in it ATM.. some days are like that though aren’t they.

Classic taper weekend for me. Nice and easy 10 miles, marathon pace with a little injection of pace for the last mile to get the heart rate up. Long warm down, lots of stretching, lovely stuff. Felt awesome, marathon pace was easy, fast bit at the end felt good, really chuffed by how I felt as training as not been going to plan.

Then I walk from my house to the garage, 5 metres and feel a twinge in my calf, the same calf that stopped me running over Christmas. Said twinge has now got to the point of discomfort when sat doing nothing.

So, once again, the week before a marathon will be spent with feet up and calf iced. May try and do some mobility work and perhaps 20 mins on the turbo later in the week to make sure my legs don’t get too languid. For the 2nd marathon on the bounce I’ll spend the eeek hoping that whatever it was that twinged was not important and heals in good time. FFS.

Not been back to this thread much since I damaged my ankle ligaments first week in Jan. Which meant I  missed the Gloucester half I’d been aiming for. My first (and possibly last) official road race and I was seriously cheesed off I couldn’t even limp to the start line, never mind run.

So after 12 weeks (been riding for the last five) I headed out on a flat, easy 5km to test the ankle. It’s a little uncomfortable but not sore and didn’t get any worse. My running fitness appears to have gone back to zero tho.

See how it is tomorrow. If it’s okay, going to try a few more short, slow runs. Not risking injuring it again. They do the gloucester half in Aug, so I might aim for that.

Really good to read this thread tho. Some amazing stories and achievements.

Doing my first marathon at the weekend – Manchester. Anyone else’s?

my training hasn’t gone to plan due to illness / bugs / flu. Ran up to 20m once last week ( but late ) and a few 15s, plenty of halves and regular weekly miles.

Bit it concerned about the lack of training – any tips? Just crack on?!

Yeah I’m looking forward to Manchester and physically in great condition though personal stuff is intervening…hope I can put it out of mind for 3h as it’s a shame to train all winter for nothing!

Sorry to hear of injury worries from others too.

Woke up and my calf is feeling much better, an evening of lethargy and ice seems to have done the job. Mobility work in the gym today and lots of stretching and I think, hope, that it’ll be OK…I bloody hate tapering…

Best of luck to all doing Manchester!.

Had a week off last week, then did a 10k training run with the wife yesterday, first time she’s run the distance, and in pretty brutal conditions, driving sleat, she was great, just dug in and got it done.

I’ve been super proud of her running, she’s hardly been running log at all, only 6 months and now loves it. Went out with her a couple of weeks back as she wanted to get below 30 for a 5k, I said I’d help pace her, but she basically nailed it herself, and ran a 27.12. I was buzzing all week after that, so chuffed for her.

Signed up for race at your pace 100 miles again this month, I find it a great motivator, and a 10k round Culzean castle grounds at end of the month to target.

Just got back from what turns out to be my first 5k for 8 weeks!  I hadn’t run at all for 6 weeks, resting completely for three before restarting yoga and exercises for lower back and hips.  Over the last two weeks I’ve done 3 runs a week of ~2.5k to get some fitness back and after a 3k on monday decided to push on a bit more today and go for 5.  Plan is to rest now until saturday/sunday and then have a gentle 3 and the repeat again next week and see how things go.

Fingers crossed back and hips seem to be holding up well but will take a Naproxen after my warm down yoga just to be on the safe side.  Nice to be out running again, will be even better to get on a bike again!

The weather in Harrogate over the weekend was atrocious.

I took my running gear (as I always do) planned to run over Simons Seat and back, ended up ditching all plans due to snow/rain bloody horrible wet weather.

Sometimes, sometimes you just gotta leave the kit in its bag.

Between illness, crap weather and work that’s my first run in 10 days this morning.

Great to be out but by heck it felt hard work (and was slow) and slippery on all the ice.

Sorry to anyone in Dunblane who witnessed me coughing up a week’s worth of phlegm on the way round.

Thankfully nobody was out along the river yesterday to witness me blowing out my arse and snotting everywhere.  I did find an enormous spread of wild garlic though so will be making pesto and garlic oil at the weekend 🙂