Heartbreaker Marathon 28 February 2016

This event saw me back in one of my favourite parts of the country, the New Forest. I love it there, the open heathland is similar to our own South Pennine Moors but not just quite as bleak.

The weekend started off the Saturday in a very satisfying way, I drove down to see an old friend from my Rugby days who I haven't seen in 30 years. He lives within shouting distance of the Forest so we met up for a few beers and to watch England beat Ireland en route to their 6 Nations Grand Slam. Post match Dave and Hazel fed me up with the perfect carb loading pasta dish before I drove over to Fordingbridge which is only a stones throw from the race HQ at Sandy Balls holiday center.

The stupidly steep start.

The morning dawned and after a full English at the pub I went to register. The weather was clear but very cold and I went down to the start in three layers plus hat and gloves. I use the word down advisedly because the start was comically steep. "Just my little joke!" I was told by the event director, "and it also helps spread the field before you head out on the the roads."

The course is a 5km out to 3 laps of 10km before returning down the 5 km stretch and after the first 2.5k it's all trail running with some quite steep stretches. I had run the half marathon version of the course before as part of a middle distance triathlon and so I was somewhat familiar with it but I think this lead me to underestimate how tough it was going to be.

The road out was quite boring but once we left the tarmac and got on the trails we really got into the New Forest proper There was an aid station at the point where the out and back met the lap section and we were due to pass it 7 times. It was good to be able to dump my jacket and gloves at this point, the T-shirt went on the pile later and completed most of the run in just my base layer.

The first two laps went by and I was really happy with my pace even though the building wind was starting to become quite a significant factor. The course was quite crowded at this point as we had been joined by the half-marathon race but on our last lap the course was quite peaceful with the field now widely spread.

As I got the the aid station halfway through the last lap the old saying that "a marathon is only a 10k challenge you just have to run 32k before you start" came in to my mind as my legs started to hurt badly and 30 k in trail shoes was starting to have an effect on my feet as well.

Any way it was grit your teeth time and I completed the last upwind section of the lap, collected my stuff from the aid station and headed home down some very steep descents that really lit up my quads and hip flexors whilst wondering what enjoyment I actually get from this stupid game.

After the last 2k soen the boring roads I finally crossed the line in 2:18 although it seems from the finisher pic that I crossed in Disney Princess style!

I was really pleased with the time, not my fastest by a long stretch but the winner did it in 2:35 and he is a 2:15 man by all accounts and that shows just how tough the course and conditions were.

I was quite disoriented when I finished - I think I had got myself a little dehydrated and it took me a while to get sorted out and back to the pub for a shower, a pint and the long drive home stopping at just about every Costa between Hampshire and Yorkshire.

In conclusion it was a great event. The course is a good.one in one of the UK's most beautiful areas, the conditions were ok and I would recommend the race to anyone - but I don't think I'll be doing it again.

Garmin Trace
Strava trace
Results

The Rubicon Middle Distance (Ripon)

This could be a long post. I have done this three times and I love it. Every race has its own personal stories and this edition had a few. Check out the video below to get a brief flavour the race.

I was racing against my brother Robert and my son Sam. Neither had done a middle distance tri before and whilst Robert was only aiming to finish, Sam is competitive. He's a much faster runner than me but I am marginally quicker on the bike and I was expecting a close race.

The event is staged in the grounds of Newby Hall with its magnificent gardens and offers on-site camping which we took up. This took a lot of stress off the morning routine and although there were no showers the field was adequate for the event. The weekend also features a kids race on Saturday evening and a Standard distance, the Trident, this made the camping field busy with a nice family atmosphere. Mark tries to make the event family friendly and I think he gets it right.

Dam 'Ard Triathlon 2015

27th Sept 2015 

This is my local event, a sort of mid-sprint/olympic distance tri. The distances are 502m swim, 38k ride and 7.5k run. The finish and HQ are at Rishworth School near Ripponden, and the pool and transition are a few hundred meters away at Heathfield School.

The bike route goes over the Pennines and back on the rugged but beautiful South Pennine Moors and the run is largely Off road in the hills around Ripponden.

On the day of the race I turned up nice and early for an 8:00am start only to find my front tyre completely flat.

Las Vegas Marathon 2015

15 Nov 2015

Heading into registration at Las Vegas conference center you are greeted with a huge banner saying "You are kind of special, they're shutting The Strip down for you". And that sums up the race - it's totally Vegas, from the fact that it is a night race, to the Kid Rock gig at the start and the stretch limo courtesy of the Bellagio to the start.

There are three events on the Sunday, the marathon, the Half and the Half of the half, a 10k. In our group I was doing the marathon, Beckie was doing the half and Greg and Rachel were doing the 10k.

Hamburg Marathon

On the 26 April I finished my first race of this year. The.Hamburg experience was fun!. I'd injured my knee and then my back and hadn't run for three weeks. Joe the physio checked me over on the Tuesday and told me that a)I shouldn't do it and b)He knew I would and so he told me to try 10k on Thursday night and if I could walk on Friday I could walk to the start line. So on Friday I made the decision to fly.

I got to Hamburg on Saturday Morning (3.30am get up) and took the train into the city. I set off walking back to the Hotel after registration and promptly found a Bock Bier Fest. It would have been rude not to but on the down side there was not a beer weaker than 7% abv. Maybe not ideal preparation for a Marathon!

Race day dawned in a grey way and after all the usual pre race preparation (multiple toilet opportunities) the gun went and after 10 minutes us 4 hour people started our shuffle to the start.

I set off at about 3:50 pace and soon enough we were on the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's sinful mile. That was seriously seedy and I felt itchy at the end. I think if I'd run any slower I'd have caught something. From then the city had to get better and it did. Hamburg is a fantastic port city and once we'd left the center very green.

The Race was great with amazing crowds and bands which really helped. Samba bands were out in force and I love hearing them in a race.

I ran nicely for about 25km, my back and knee were fine but my quads and hip flexors were starting to protest and the trace tells the story. 30 km the heavens opened and I was feeling down. At 38 km I had to start walking, but I got going again over the line.

So that was it. I collected my medal and beer and headed back to the Hotel for a shower. It was slow, 4:20 but given that 2 days earlier I thought I wasn't going, not bad.

As for the Hamburg Marathon, would I recommend it. Definitely yes!