Year: 2015

Race Report: Tony Matthews

Sooty, sausages and strawberry ice pops !

This was my first attempt at running a half marathon so a PB guaranteed and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  It was great to see quite a few fellow club members beforehand and your advice was invaluable..thank you.

My overwhelming memories are seeing sooty at the top of Anchor Road, I thought I was hallucinating, a guy passed me in Bentilee with a pound of sausages round his neck (???) and then I had to slow …and well…stop on heartbreak hill to enjoy a strawberry ice pop! The nicest ice pop I have probably ever tasted.

People told me how special the atmosphere would be and it really was. So many people out supporting and I have to say the support from fellow runners also was pretty special too.

My time in the end was 2hrs 4mins, that ice pop probably cost me a bronze medal….oh well, there’s always next time. I did raise over £300 for BLESMA ( British Limbless ex Servicemen’s association) so all good in the end.

Race Report: Richard & Margaret Shaw

This year the Half Marathon was advertised as part of Bungay Festival of Running which also included a Marathon and for the first time a 10k. All three races follow the same route with the Marathon runners completing two laps of the course, Half Marathon one lap and 10k peeling off at around 3 miles and rejoining the main route at approx 5 miles. All three races were sold out prior to race day. All chip timing.

Bungay is an attractive village situated centrally on the Suffolk/ Norfolk border in the Waveney Valley and is just over 500 miles round trip from Stone. You may well ask, why compete in a Half Marathon such a long way from home? It is a race we have previously seen advertised and Suffolk is where my Mother was born and many of my relations still live. Also, this year as I have reached the ripe old age of 65, I decided to run a different race in a different county each month.The Bungay Marathon was one of the many Marathons run by our late club member Vernon Olivant and was included in “Vernon’s Stupid Heroes League”.

The races start and finish on the outskirts of Bungay with the Marathon starting at 9.00am and the Half and 10k at 11.00am. The route skirts the villages of Mettingham and Barsham before reaching the half way point in Beccles. The runners snake their way through the quaint streets of Beccles then over River Waveney which is part of Norfolk Broads into open countryside through the villages of Gillingham and Gelderston then at 11 miles the run takes you along the old railway line back to the finish in Bungay. The route starts in Suffolk, runs into Norfolk and back into Suffolk for the finish. A scenic route but not a P.B course.

The winning times were as follows:
Marathon. 2:50:22 runner from Ipswich Jaffa Running Club
Half Marathon 1:17:49 runner from Colchester Harriers
10k 35:32 runner from Colchester Harriers

My Chip time was 1:54:05 finishing 229/502 with Margie 2:20:27
A good club run as 10k and Half Marathon runners set off together for first 3 miles also the Marathon runners are at the start of their second lap roughly at same time as we start, so at some point all are running together. It was one of the hardest Half Marathons I have run and now know why it was included in the ” Stupid Heroes League”. However, a very enjoyable race and good to run with runners from numerous running clubs not usually seen in Staffordshire.

All finishers received a well stocked goody bag, medal and can of Adnams of Southwold Ghost Ship Beer which was well deserved and went down very well after the race.

As already mentioned, I am running a different race in a different county each month and so far have completed the following :

January. Twin Piers 10k in Llandudno Gwynedd
February. Alsager 5 in Cheshire
March. Stafford Half in Staffordshire
April. Bungay Half in Suffolk

The following races I have entered:

May. Market Drayton 10k in Shropshire
June. Kingham12k ( 40th Anniversary Race) in Oxfordshire
July. Bewl Water 15 miles (British Masters Multi Terrain Championship) East Sussex
August. Kimbolton Half in Cambridgeshire
Sept. New Forest Half in Hampshire
October. Tissington Trail Half in Derbyshire.

Only November and December to arrange!

Having run the Survival of the Fittest obstacle race a couple of times around the Etihad Stadium and velodrome (Man City), it felt like the right thing to do to run an event based at Old Trafford. I registered for the 2014 event but needed to defer which the organisers accommodated for a small admin fee.

I’d assumed it was a new-ish event and had heard that it had recently had a bad year that some of the club had experience of (2012 I think – wet baggage, organisation and steps at the end?). The blurb though indicated that 2015 would in fact be its 39^th year and in 2014 it scooped awards for ‘most improved race’; and ‘best marathon’. So indications were good.

I wasn’t with the club when I enrolled and am training for longer distances this year but as the 19^th got closer I began to feel the pressure of its being marketed as the ‘UK’s flattest, fastest and friendliest marathon’ – I’d have to give it a good go.

The football fans amongst you will know that there are a few pop-up car parks around Old Trafford that will charge £5-10 per day and the stadium is well served by public transport. The organisers allow you to book I advance the Man United car parks though so I did that for ease – it was £10 and was park N2 right next the stadium, village and finish-line. I’d recommend it, especially if lone-running. I got there for 6am but people were landing at 8am so if you are staying locally or are willing to take a risk on the M6, you could arrive later.

The event village (car park E2, M16 ORA) was superb with huge marquees for baggage, eateries, etc. and I’ve never seen as many portaloos at any event I’ve been to (these things matter). The beauty of the car park was being able to leave kit in the car though. I don’t think they catered for valuables like mobiles/keys, which felt like a gap given all the other services offered. The scores of marshals, cadets and volunteers were very friendly and couldn’t do enough for you.

Not having run in club colours since a teenager it was nice to hear someone shout ‘Stone!’ at me a couple of paces into the village. Turned out to be five friendly Newcastle runners; and during the race did a thumbs up with a Trentham guy and another in a Michelin vest that feels like Trent Vale but I don’t recognise yet?

The muster for the start was different – there wasn’t an obvious voice directing the herd and the time-based colour pens weren’t pens like the Great North Run, but signs you kind of stood by until the off. It was a little bit confused at first. I’d been allocated to the second last group and was worried about how to get towards my pace group. The benefit of loose waves though was that we could edge up – there were people in the forward groups edging back at the same time.

Too far from the front to hear Ron Hill pull the trigger, we relied on a tannoy to relay that we were off. The next task was to spot the pacers. Running with big flags ranging from 3hrs to 5 hrs they were good visible targets. The blurb asked that you book online beforehand – I tried but couldn’t work out how to, so was easier to aim for the flag. Key bit of advice I’d give is to not forget like I did that if you are chasing a pacer in a wave ahead of you, you actually put yourself ahead of that pacer because you have caught them up. Steve Parker gave me some great advice to hold steady for 16 then give it some towards the end. That was my intention but chasing the pacers meant I pretty much got sucked into moving forward and did the reverse, which I wouldn’t recommend – it hurt in the last third! Another peculiarity is that with 15 minute interval pacers, there appeared to be a 3:15, 3:29 and 3:30 all this interval apart which didn’t compute.

The course involved a bit of out-and-in with two loops, one around Altrincham; and the other around Sale. Once away from the start the running was very residential with occasional town centres which felt very similar to the mid-section of the Great North. It quickly became striking how flat the course was. I’d not noticed before but hills do gently help regulate pace and their absence seemed to make for consistent running which could trap you if like me, you went out too hard. I counted five ‘bits’ of gradient all the way around that any of the club runners would take in their stride. If though you wanted to break yourself in, there was an option to run a relay in teams of two and four which appeared to be really well marked – it is a very accommodating event.

Support from the public and marshals really was second to none with bands and choirs that you would like to stop and enjoy, but had to keep moving. The numbers had your name on so you’d get shouts from all over which make a difference. There seemed to be sweets and water offered very regularly indeed. There was a gap around salt-based stuff though. I think there were two stations that gave isotonic drinks – I caught the last one just after the body started moaning at mile 22. I’m not a big drinker during a run but would take a salt supplement with me next time. Mile markers were there the whole way round and matched Strava well (if you use it).

Got to give huge thanks to Tim Hulse for his support, shout out and kind write up – really made a difference at miles 4 and 19. Great run by Elaine Hulse too.

Things went a bit wayward 21-25 as you expect. There was a little bit of countryside where things went very quiet then what felt like a long straight road in. I think it was at 25 when you could see the footie stadium again which was a good magnet. The road kinks a bit (still flat though) so you lose sight of it but the main supporters start at this point and the end seemed to come really quickly.

The finish was slick and very well supported – someone seemed to check each of us as we crossed to check welfare then it was on through the reception area. The sponsors were Asics, MyProtein and Erdinger so the offers were a foil blanket, cups of whey protein and then beer (with no alcohol in – never had it before but was ok). Goodie bag with nice T-shirt and huge medal as they all seem to be at the moment. The vast majority of finishers appeared really happy with their times – and about how they had qualified for other events on the back of this race. I’ve done a few events with RatRace over the years and tripped over one of the partners who blew up half way, walked a bit and still finished in 2:42 which reminded me that we only ever compete against ourselves!

It was a really well organised event that did feel friendly, if a little ponderous before the start. Would strongly recommend if want a qualifying time or PB and could be a good first marathon if like me, it was your first. Flip side is your time in pretty much any other race you do – be it Potters or London is likely to be slower. A lively event that felt more like a half than a full, I’d recommend giving it a go.

The organisers, Xtramile events (xtramileevents.com) also do a range of endurance events, triathlons mainly, so after you’ve done the marathon, you may get tempted to have a look at some other disciplines while you are on. Hope this of some use, cheers.

Race report – Pam Eardley

Thursday evening was a lovely night and what a good night for the first part of the Spring Treble. I didn’t run any of these  races last year being new to the club so not being a fan of hills I wasn’t quite sure what lay in store, but safety in numbers Julie McArthur Lucy Carter  and myself said to one another “well I will if you will”. To be totally honest we all run on a Thursday evening anyway so we thought why not have a change of scenery (with a few hills thrown in.)

I arrived just after six to see Richard Shaw and Chris Barlow doing a great job getting us all parked up. Walking to pick up my number and T shirt I  bumped into Joyce Edwards who warned me how to avoid a particularly boggy area of the course thanks Joyce. Was nice to see John too . It was lovely to see so many club members marshalling and all part of the organisation which  had me thinking perhaps I should of helped  you guys and not run it . There was a lovely informal atmosphere and it was great to see so many different club runners, everyone was very friendly.

I made my way to the start and met my  2 running buddies . Deciding to stay at the back we set off at a nice steady pace possibly doing more talking than running but we ladies are good at multi tasking. The course was great all off road and in stony places quite difficult to get much speed up on , well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I saw a few fallers and a couple of people who had pulled up so we stopped a couple of times to check the runners were ok.

I did think at one point we seem to be going down hill an awful long time which only means one thing, what goes down must go up.
What a climb it was too and a photographer at the top !!!!  Thanks!!!!!Then after that I can’t remember much else I remember Brian who was marshalling spurring us on by telling us we were nearly there !!! We all finished together so we made it around the challenging course. Bring on the next two.

Unfortunately things didn’t finish quite so well for Chris Eardley who decided on  a sprint finish and pulled a calf muscle, which possible puts him out of action for a while certainly Milford he will be marshaling now .

Huge thanks to everyone of the Bats too many of you to mention great job