Category: Race report

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Road Racing – A Love/Hate Relationship!

Road Racing – A love – hate relationship!

On Wednesday 11th May, 2022, I ran Clayton 10k – looking back this appears to have been my first proper road race since 2018, which quite frankly, for someone who used to race all the time, loved representing Stone Master Marathoners (SMM) and being part of the NSRRA (North Staffs Road Runners Association), is ridiculous!

How did I let it happen? Granted we had a couple of years of some pandemic which I heard about in the news, a change in career and things happening in my personal life but these were all just an excuse not to race (or at least run hard).

I don’t pretend to be a psychologist, there are things that go on in the human mind that are way beyond my comprehension, so to try and understand what people are thinking or how they react to certain situations it is not for me intervene but if I can be someone to talk to and encourage in the right way then brilliant, and that is why I love coaching and perhaps why my running took a step backwards.

Since I started running with SMM about 10 years ago people have let me know on more than one occasion that I could be a ‘better’ runner and deep down I know this but for some reason when it came to pushing on those excuses came to the fore and I took the opportunity to ‘ease’ back.

So why Clayton 10 km?

Why not? Earlier this year a good friend turned 50 and the plan was to run the Malta Marathon with a group of Bats and in my head I took this as an opportunity to train a bit smarter and aim to beat my PB – not too put too much pressure on myself but it wasn’t a tough target as only previously done 3 marathons but hopefully with some sort of plan it would help the shorter distances which I prefer. (I had done the cross country and a few off road things but mud, wind, puddles, uneven surface – ready made excuses for me not running to my potential!)

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks before Malta it was cancelled, on the day I had done a lap challenge around Oulton Park and had felt really positive about my prospects. Was I disappointed – sort of, but also relieved as I had been building up Malta and started telling myself to aim high… so great, an excuse had come just in time.

Jumping forward a few weeks I had continued to help some of my athletes with their race plans without actually looking at rebooking anything for me. They were getting PB’s, looking strong in training and entering more races. I was going to races and supporting people and then at the SMM Spring Treble whilst helping out you could feel the buzz of excitement about racing being back to normal and it got me looking at what I could enter.

Without telling anyone I re-entered the NSRRA and entered Clayton 10K about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

So why is it a love-hate relationship?

Up until 3 days before the race I had done a little bit more focused training, increased the intensity on some of the longer runs and knew I was running ok but had put it out of my mind that I was actually doing a race and this is where the hate part comes in!

Tuesday night, my sleep was restless to make an understatement, I was trying to think of legitimate reasons why it was a bad idea to run – I couldn’t think of anything. I had a work appointment 5 minutes away from the race headquarters a couple of hours before the race so I was in the area and couldn’t blame traffic. My wife was off work and sorting football and revision for the boys (and she knows I am less grumpy if I run) so couldn’t use that. To be honest I felt apprehensive all day on Wednesday but knew deep down I was going to race it, just how hard was I going to try.

My work appointment was a blessing in disguise really, they are an awesome runner but get even more nervous than me, so getting encouragement from them made sure I wasn’t going to walk around. I was going to at least try!

Now if you have seen me before a race I normally show quite a calm exterior, smiling and chatty, plenty of energy whilst in my head I am seriously questioning why I am there. I collected my number, spoke to a few people that I hadn’t seen for a long time, found my fellow bats and introduced myself to Helen, our leading lady this year in the championship. I was even quite positive in my responses to how I was feeling ‘running well’, ‘feeling good’, did throw in a few ready made excuses ‘not run a road race for at least 3 years’, ‘not sure I am up to Group C pace’ etc etc. just in case.

So as you can see – this is part of the hate side – the anxiousness, the sleepless nights, the excuses and then you have the race itself.

The race

So Clayton 10k starts on a field, with a short uphill, then a short downhill on uneven, freshly cut grass surface – so mad charge to get round the field onto the road avoiding bollards and pedestrians. Once on the road you have a short sharpish climb to the roundabout then ease into a gradual climb up the main road and then left continuing to climb – so after about 1 km I am already regretting my decision – I had forgotten Clayton was so undulating – why didn’t I enter a flat, downhill course to start?

Once you reach the top of the initial ascent, it levels of then drops down gradually down to Seabridge Lane via a narrowish footpath, a chance to catch your breath, pose for Mick Hall and Bryan Dale’s cameras (thanks Bryan for the photo – this was the first lap – no bat wings on the second). Guess what, another climb – I know we run around Stone and there are plenty of hills but when you are racing they seem so much harder. Fortunately, there was a runner from Gator AC helping some team mates so I focussed on them and just tried to block out the pain – how were we only 2-3km into the race?

Next there is a big downhill, relax, lengthen the stride, smile and make the most of it whilst still pushing on – Clayton is a two lap race so at this point you try and tell yourself that when you are next here there isn’t long to go – small wins. After the downhill another climb to and then drop back down to the start where you pass the 5k marker and start again.

I don’t tend to look at my watch during a race and just run – if I see my watch I will be tempted to change my pace to suit – normally slow it down as it looks too fast, it did beep and show my 3rd mile was 6.40 something so I tried to ignore it as knew I was about to start climbing again.

Basically the 2nd lap is the same as the first but on a positive note you know what is to come and you have warmed up and found your pace, negatively, you know what is to come and are knackered.

Anyway, I kept working, listened to encouragement from the ever dependable Lee Jones and focussed on pushing on until the end. Normally I have a sprint finish, not tonight as I rounded the last corner my legs felt like jelly and I couldn’t hold off the South Cheshire guy as he passed me in the last few yards (Chip time I beat him – hee hee).

I crossed the line and wanted to collapse, that was one tough course and I had forgotten how undulating it was. However, official time 42:46, which outside Stone 10K(41:51) and South Cheshire 10k (42:20) which are pancake flat courses and last done when I was 4 years younger is my quickest 10K so I was extremely pleased with my result.

It is this point that the hate part of racing starts to turn into love!

What do I love about road racing?

– I have just run 6.22miles, no matter how fast you run a 10k, it is an achievement – be proud.
– I have run around for 30, 40, 50, 60 minutes with like minded people just because I wanted to.
– Complete strangers cheering and clapping you.
– I had forgotten how much I missed chatting to these friends, before and after the races, the overall feeling of being in it together.
– No-one cares what your time was, everybody says well done.
– You get beaten on the line or you beat someone on the line, there are no bad words just congratulations.
– Everybody is in the same boat – absolutely knackered but buzzing – what is there not to love.

What next?

I got home after the race, looked at the results and as we all do analysed the run. Do you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing – now that has got to be a first. All of my thinking, worrying, talking before the race didn’t help – yes being nervous before a race and getting the adrenaline going is a normal response but at the end of the day I am supposed to be running because I enjoy it.

I ran hard, I socialised, I exercised and, you know what? I enjoyed the result.

I will be finding my next race shortly and I encourage you all to do the same. Let’s support our local running scene and get out there, meet people and make new friends.

Thanks for reading,

Paul Phillips – Kinisi

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My Manchester Half Marathon – 14th October 2018 (by Shaun Ashworth)

After feeling really disappointed with my performance at the potters Arf in June I made the decision to try and get myself in better condition and target the Manchester half for my target for the year of a sub 90min HM. Over the next couple of weeks Martin and Wayne had also signed up with the same target and the training started. I tried to train as consistently as I could with a couple of fast/hard sessions in the week and a decent long run on the weekend. Sometimes these were tough as I’d be running on my own but then I also got to run with some great runners, which make these tough sessions a lot easier when you’re all pushing each other.

All of a sudden results and performances started to improve, times that I thought would be out of reach were being achieved and everything seemed to be coming together. I knew I was running well but there was always this doubt in the back of my mind that I’d struggle to maintain the pace I wanted over the 13.1 miles, probably due to my disappointment at the potters Arf. Although at this point I knew that I’d rushed back from injury for that race and hadn’t done enough long runs in training.

In July I noticed a post from Lynda offering a Tissington trail place 2 weeks before Manchester. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get the speed and distance required and ease my worries about not being able to complete Manchester in my target time. As I completed Tissington in a time of 1hr 20.38 it helped in one sense that I knew I could do it but as few of you would of witnessed it completely confused me as to what was achievable and what I should be targeting. After a few conversations with various people I knew that I should just run as I always do, to go out hard and back myself and not have any regrets.

The night before the race I was nervous and knew I needed a good night sleep, which seemed to make it harder to sleep and resulted in me watching Die Hard until 2am and with my alarm set for 5am this wasn’t ideal. Surprisingly, I woke fine and went to pick Martin and Wayne up to travel up to Manchester. The chat in the car seemed to help and I started to look forward to the race, and even more so the planned food for after.

We arrived in plenty of time and walked to the Race village via the start line to familiarise ourselves with where we needed to be as it’s a 10 min walk from the race village back to the start.

We knew it was going to rain and the previous day I had suggested to the lads that maybe we should take a bin bag to keep us dry and warm while we walked to the start but this ended in me being mocked by the pair of them so I decided to not bother, only to find that they both had brought bin bags, although luckily for me Wayne couldn’t decide between a standard size and a wheelie bin size so he had a spare. (He even shared a selfie of himself modelling them the previous night). On the way to the start we bumped into our fellow SMM runners Anna, Matthew and Michael and Chief Supporter for the day Caroline who decided a bin bag photo was needed and then off we went to the start pen. After a few of Emma’s now famous balloon warm ups we entered Start Pen ‘A’ Ready for the Manchester Half Marathon.

I made my way to near the front of the pen to try and get a decent start only to turn back and find that Martin and Wayne weren’t there and I couldn’t see them. It turns out they didn’t want to get too close to the front. I was joined by Jo and Vic which helped as because of their previous encounters with the streets of Manchester they were more nervous than me and so instead of worrying myself, I was trying to convince them both that they’d be fine. Just in front was Chris Morgan, Craig Taylor and a couple of other Newcastle runners which I hoped would work in my favour for pacing as I knew these guys are top runners and would be targeting a finish time similar to mine.

After a short delay ‘Bang’ the pistol went off and the race started, I set off at a quick pace and the miles soon started to go by and I felt ok. After a quick chat with Craig discussing targets I went past him and carried on back through the crowds who had gathered at the start, this is when I heard the first ‘Goarn Shaun’ from Caroline which always helps and always makes me smile. Everything was going fine up until about mile 7 when my stomach started to feel a bit ‘dodgy’ and this affected my concentration which then affected my running. I dug in and got dragged along by runners who were passing me, I knew that we joined the straight road back to the finish at around 11 miles so this was the primary target and then look towards the final 2 miles to the finish. 11 miles came and went and then before I knew it I was on the short final stretch with the finish in sight. I kicked on to try and grab as many extra seconds as I could and this is when I heard ‘Goarn Shaun’ for the second time which again made me smile although the photo shows it as more of a grimace as my calf was starting to cramp at the same time.

Finished…… as I crossed the line in a time of 1.22.20 (11 minutes faster than the previous year) I was greeted by Chris Morgan who had finished in a brilliant time of 1.20, my first thought was to see if Wayne or Martin were in sight. I got ushered round into the finish area to collect my medal and goody bag and then it was a case of waiting and hoping that they both finished in under 90 minutes. Within a few minutes I saw them both in the distance and I knew they’d come in within the target. Happy Days!!! Within a couple of minutes both Jo and Vic came through again both pleased with their times and confirmed what I had tried to tell them before that they’d be fine and both do well. I would of liked to hang on to see my sister and partner finish their first half marathons and all the other SMM runners finish but unfortunately by this point my stomach was in bits and we were all freezing so we headed off to the restaurant where Vic and Jo would meet us. Unfortunately the meal didn’t go to plan for me as I was struggling to eat but everyone else seemed to enjoy the food and a good chat which was good and I will look to do this again next year and hopefully be able to eat a bit more.

So Manchester Half Marathon is done, I appreciate some of you reading this would of ran multiple Half’s, Marathons and Ultras and maybe think ‘all this worry over a half’ but I always push myself and set myself high standards which then ultimately turns into more worrying and nerves hence why I was so disappointed with the Potters Arf, although my time wasn’t that bad. I definitely need to start listening to my own advice sometimes as I’ve tried to explain to a couple of friends, sometimes those nerves can be a good thing and you should try and embrace it. This is something I’ll be working on leading to up my first marathon next year. Finally I like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has encouraged me over the last few months, whether it be commenting on a run post or to those people who messaged me in the couple of days before Manchester. I can’t explain how much it has helped and kept me pushing towards my goals for the year and, to my wife who sent me a lovely text as I arrived in Manchester that brought a tear to my eye and again helped settle my nerves down.

Thank you all,
Shaun.

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Bat Girls Win Thunder Run 2018

Thunder Run 24 2018 Race Report – Team of 5 ladies: The Bat Girls

by Fiona Bradley

Thunder Run 2017 had been my first experience of this amazing event and I’d absolutely loved it.  My team of five ladies, ‘The Bat Girls’, had had a little bad luck when one of our fastest runners, Kirsty, was unable to run after her first lap resulted in her having to spend a night in hospital!  Down to four, Amy, Angela, Victoria and I, ran as hard as we could before the horrific weather caused us to stop during the night, meaning we dropped to 6th place (a small price to pay for staying in one piece)!

As a club, we register our interest in the event and are then allocated a team a couple of weeks before it happens.  I won’t lie, I had unfinished business and was desperate for a place in ‘The Bat Girls’ again so I trained hard and managed to achieve a fair few PBs in the process.  I found out I was ‘in’ as I umpired a Rounders match – the children in my team were thrilled as they knew how much it meant to me!

So, the countdown began!  Multiple runs in a day started early – sometimes 5.30am(!!) so that Indira could squeeze in an early run before his long shift at the hospital.  This also worked well with our heatwave.  I struggled to make club runs but there are always friends up for running pretty much any time of the day or night!  Interestingly, none of the runners who spent a few vital weeks training with / dodging my lively dog, Betsy, fell over during TR24 – perfect ‘obstacle training’!

As my nine year old, Maia, was joining me this year (she’s far more practical than I am) we’d decided to camp out on the Friday night so, kindly chauffeured by Jonny and Ema, we arrived to a packed-out campsite with the entertainers well into the swing of things!  Great teamwork had occured as usual.  Huge thanks to Caroline, Matt, Jonny and anyone else who had arrived in the early hours to reserve our very special plot.  The Erection Team also did a fine job – although I did hear that it took three men (namely  JC, Mick and David) to pitch the tent that Maia puts up single-handedly… Great job, thank you!

It was lovely experiencing the inter-club social on the Friday – not least because a new ‘old boy’ band was born: Lee Jones, Drew, Churts, Mick and Bernie were the vocalists accompanying our legendary guitarist, David.  But if I hear ‘500 Miles’ one more time….

The night was unbelievably cold.  After hardly sleeping for weeks due to over-heating, I had stupidly travelled thinking we’d feel the same under canvas.  Seeing John Danahay’s blue-tinged skin proved it wasn’t just me who was freezing!  I finally gave in just before 4am when I searched for warmer layers, firmly regretting staying over as I’d been too cold to sleep!  The morning came and we knew we were in for a hot one when we could hear fellow campers discussing forgetting their suncream.  The clean, fresh and energised runners began to arrive. Anna H was our saviour – arriving with pillows and lunch.  A lovely catch-up and I was feeling better already!

After our annual 11am team photograph, the excitement began to build and the first-lap runners began to prepare themselves.  I’d been lucky enough to witness Phil winning the solo title last year and seeing him back for more inspired me to want to do well – surely running five or six laps is easy when you compare to running 24 hours??  I think that’s the joy of TR24 – whether you’re a crazy soloist; an almost as mad pair; in a team of five or eight, everyone matters – you don’t have to be the fastest or have the most stamina, sometimes it’s just a case of allowing somebody a break or breaking through your own barriers.  We just need to get out there and enjoy being a part of it!

I genuinely can’t imagine how Phil, Mark ad Jayne felt as they set off on that very first lap of their 24-hour run.  It very much shows that mental strength is equally (if not more) important than physical strength.  Our pairs, Indira and Martin; Laura and Trish; Aggi and Paul; Jonny and Drew had drawn straws and the (un)fortunate one had set off to begin their mammoth task too!  We non-runners (for then at least) assembled near to the start and witnessed the countdown before the hundreds of runners raced past – a sea of club vests, fancy dress, bare chests and even a bishop formed part of the crowd!

My team had received their running order courtesy of Captain Amy: Michelle, Amy, Jo, me and then Pip.  Michelle had stormed to a flying start and we were well on our mission for a podium place!  Waiting to run allowed me the privileged position of watching the outstanding support of our club offered to EVERYONE.  The cheering was incessant; encouragement second to none and, as for Grahame, ‘the weird cheerleader man’ in his dress – priceless!  Michelle had thought of everything and the red pom-poms were like energy gels to the flagging runners.

As my time to run approached, it was clear that we were doing incredibly well.  I adopted my usual technique of not thinking about my run in order to avoid anxiety.  Instead, I looked around me at each and every person – all putting themselves out of their comfort zone in some way.  Earlier in the year, I had worked on ‘motivational running quptes’ with my class and one sprung to mind: ‘If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you’.  With that in mind, I trekked down to the start.

I secretly love the waiting pen.  You meet all kinds of people, each with their own tale to tell.  The anticipation builds and there’s nothing quite like spotting your team-mate, orange band in hand, ready for the hand-over.  Jo ran in (looking amazing and effortless as usual) and it was my job to keep The Bat Girls flying.  I set off sprinting before reminding myself there was quite a way to go and the sharp right-turn naturally slowed me down.  I’d remembered snippets of the course: the winding narrow paths in the woods; the steady climb up the field; the welcome half-way drinks station and the subsequent climb; the circuit of the lake – I’m not sure if our soloists would agree but I could never tire (metaphorically as opposed to literally!!) of this course.  The colours, different terrains and beautiful scenes mean that the 6 miles pass quickly every time.  

It was great to see other clubs / teams putting their effort into supporting everyone too – I loved the ‘Boss Duck corner’ (even holding a Strava segment for all of 20 minutes!); the ‘Bubbles Disco’ and the general encouragement / compliments.  Nothing, however, matches the feeling of coming home to see The Bat Cave.  Turning the corner past Trentham RC, seeing the sea of red was like a boost of energy being injected into you – no matter how much your legs / lungs / head hurt, you’d summon up every ounce of effort to show your thanks to your team by running your heart out.  I felt great coming past our camp and, after the short uphill just past it, love nothing more than letting my legs go crazy down the uneven hill and then, as Bill calls it, ‘running off the hill’ continuing my sprint right in to the finish before confidently handing the band over to Pip, in the knowledge she is an absolute machine!

I had my ritual after each lap: breathe(!); drink a few cups of water; check the results so far and then head back to ensure Michelle knew she had 40ish minutes before she was to run again.  This arrangement worked well for our team and ‘transitions’ ran like clockwork.  The consistency of my team’s times was fantastic – even as I slowed, they seemed to speed up to compensate!  I ran my laps at 2.20pm, 6.20pm, 10.20pm, 2.50am, 7.20am and then…  The second placed team were a lap behind us after a number of hours but even when the screen told us we were two laps ahead, we wanted to make sure we weren’t caught out.  I started Lap 5 knowing that I might possibly have to run again but after several hours sleep, I felt reasonably refreshed – and our lead position spurred me on; I couldn’t let The Bat Girls down!  Finishing Lap 5, I was met by our grinning captain, Amy, who gave me a huge hug and said: “That’s it – you’re done!”  I was taken aback as I’d been doing the Maths during my  run (a common time-passer for me) and I’d realised that if I finished by 8.15am, then each of my team were to run a 50 minute 10k, I’d be off out again at 11.45am, so half-relieved, half- puzzled, I asked: “Really??” to which Amy replied: “Well, you might be…”  I could do nothing but laugh!

Our next few laps were tough.  Pip was feeling the strain of running 30 miles and her hip began to ache; Michelle’s feet were in tatters (I have so far been spared the sight but Tim insisted they were bad!) and poor Jo had struggled to eat / drink more than water for 24 hours and unbelievably ran her 6th lap completely empty.  The vision of her pale figure being supported by her husband (and our team manager), Dean, really touched us all and the emotions started to flow.  Only Amy, our tough leader, seemed to be okay but who knows what she was really thinking… Her experience in running showed as her mental strength appeared untouched.

As I sat watching the tiring runners coming past, faces lighting up as they heard cheers and saw the pom-poms, I found myself overcome with every emotion I could think of!  I was so grateful to everyone for their consideration; proud of everyone for their perseverance; elated at our performances yet worried for those friends who were battling exhaustion.  Heading down to meet Aggi after her final lap was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Knowing how hard she has worked and the battles she has encountered made her achievement all the more special.  I thought I’d hid my tears well but an eagle-eyed Shaun had spotted me and, as always, offered his support and encouragement.  Being part of The Bats, and running in general, has given me so many life-long friends – the people I turn to when I’m feeling low / anxious / worried as well as happy / elated / proud.  They have brought me through tough times and celebrated with me during the great times.  TR24 was definitely a highlight in my running life so far.

Anyway, back to my saga!  So, I sat around, milking the pity from everyone as a potential 6th lap loomed… It appeared that we had won by two laps but dared we risk stopping in case there had been an error?  It was time to man-up and hopefully seal the deal with one last lap.  As I set off, my greatest concern was missing the presentation, so although everyone was telling me to just walk, my FOMO (Michelle’s favourite phrase: Fear of Missing Out!) caused me to run as fast as my tiring legs (and throbbing toes) would allow.  Coming into the Bats’ area, I was met by Jo, Amy and Pip, who (flip-flops galore) ran in with me towards the finish.  Joined by Michelle, we Bat Girls crossed the line as one – 29 laps in the bag and we were the TR24 2018 Team of 5 Ladies Champions!

The presentation was fantastic.  Within the eight categories, Bats took five podium places and other local teams took quite a few too!  But the thing with Thunder Run, it’s not about winning a Dry Robe big enough for an entire team(!) or a trophy for the mantle piece, it’s about the cameraderie, the laughter, the friendship and support; each and every one of us should be proud and happy to have ‘made the difference’ in our own achievements and in the TR24 experience of so many people.  Keep up the great work, team!

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Aggi & Paul – Thunder Run 2018

Thunder Run Mixed Pairs.

So the crazy idea of doing Thunder Run as a pair came after last years Solo effort. I managed to do 13 laps by myself in 2017 which considering the very wet weather conditions I was happy with. During a conversation some days afterwards Aggi asked if I would do Solo again next year, jokingly I said no but we can do it as a pair? Aggi, being Aggi, straight away said yes ok….. I did ask on a few occasions before registration open that she was sure? Each time was the same answer… So October came round and the registration window opened, this event sells out in a matter of hours so you have to be quick to secure your place. I sat at my keyboard hitting the F5 button in the minutes leading up to the 10am entry open time. It wasn’t long before the queue had opened and it was a waiting game to see if we could get our place. After around 15 minutes the window changed and I was able to secure our place. Brilliant! As TR24 was another 9 months away we didn’t really worry about it at this stage as we had Manchester Marathon to train for before this.

Skipping forward to May 2018 and both having a great start to the running calendar. We made a decision to step things up a level, so enlisted the help of Ben Gamble. His training plans and sports treatments really helped us to further improve. We were both running well and felt great. So it was at this point we thought to take TR24 seriously and go for a podium place. With Ben’s help we devised a plan of attack, I managed to get hold of the last three years mixed pairs results and found that if we made 20 laps, this would have been a podium spot. So our target naturally became a minimum of 20 laps.

Any endurance event or ultra-marathon needs more than just being able to run for long distances. The nutritional side is a very important factor, but can also easily be overlooked. Get it wrong and you could soon run out of energy and miss out on your target. For this, we looked towards former Thunder Run Solo winner, Janson Heath of INnutrition. Janson was happy to work with us, create our nutritional plans and he even came along with us to TR to make sure we followed his plan. He was so confident with his plan and us that he said we are not going for anything else other than to win.. We knew we were up against last years winners, so it was not going to be an easy task.

As Catton Park is only an hours drive from home, we had already made the decision to pitch the tent on Friday but not stay over for the night. We needed a good nights sleep. We arrived back at camp on the Saturday morning ready to go. I was to take the first lap, there is a bottleneck after around half a mile, if you get there too slowly it can easily cost you some valuable time.

Our start plan was to do a lap on, lap off, and try to average 1 hour laps, but mainly to run at a comfortable pace. The sun was out and another very hot day. This was going to be challenging! 12 noon soon came around and before I knew it I was off. I purposely started my first lap at a good pace, as I wanted to be clear of the bottleneck that can happen after the half mile point. Runners make a right turn onto a narrow hilly path into the woods. Last year I waited for over 5 minutes at this point, not this year though! I was straight through this section and slowed my pace down to something more sensible for the job ahead. Support as always was fantastic on the well marshalled and supported course. The first few laps in particular are always some of the best, as everyone is still fresh and excited.

My first lap was completed ahead of time in 53:27. Aggi was waiting at the changeover, so I handed over the baton and she was away with her usual excited smile on her face. The first few laps passed very quickly with both Aggi and myself very consistent on the times. Always sub one hour laps, which was ahead of our target but we both felt excellent. Janson made sure we stuck to our nutritional plan on and after the laps, this was definitely working to keep our energy levels high. The first main obstacle came up when we got to our main meal time. It was very important to make sure we had a good meal before the night laps, but this would also mean that we must be able to eat and digest the meal before running. The best option for this would be to do double laps. We had already completed 4 laps each when it got to the meal time and I would be going first while Aggi ate. We were both still feeling very good and spirts were high. As I reached the end of my first lap of the double I was passed my headtorch, although it was still fairly light we had to have our headtorch’s equipped after 8:30pm (event rules). Darkness quickly falls, especially through the woodland sections. I managed to complete my first double laps in 54:44 and 55:11 then handed over to Aggi again so she could do double laps. I had a quick change of clothes and then made my way to the camp. I enjoyed the extra long break while I ate and recovered, but before I knew it, it was time to go and meet Aggi as she completed her double laps in 57:01 and 59:10. These were night laps with the headtorch which made these times even more impressive. At this point we had completed 12 laps and all sub 1 hour. Team talk was always short but Aggi made it clear she was not keen on the double laps, and would need more time to recover. So I just said ok, let’s stick to the original plan of one on, one off and see how we go.

It was now pitch black so the headtorch was a vital piece of equipment. The course seems so different at night, in particular the sections through the woods were challenging, the trees had lots of exposed roots on the well run course. A lapse in concentration and you could easily trip on the roots and that could mean the end of the race. On more than one occasion I nearly lost my footing, kicked a tree root and stumbled. There were a few choice words spoken out loud to myself. As I approached camp I knew Aggi had said she would need more recovery time after her double laps. So I made the decision to go again. As I had two laps rest previously I felt good and needed Aggi to be as fresh as possible. I had a quick word with Aggi to say I was ok and for her to have the extra rest before making my way out for the second lap. Again these laps were both under the hour mark; we were flying. I had resisted temptation to look at the live scoreboard, although I had received a couple of updates previously from camp. At one point we were 5th. Then we were 3rd. Now I felt the need to check for myself. It seemed an age for the different categories to scroll through. Eventually the mixed pairs came up. We were in 1st place!!! I had to double check, just to make sure.. Yes, it was down to us now. We had to keep pushing and not give in. I didn’t mention our placing to Aggi as I knew she intended not to look and wouldn’t want to know at this point.

As night eventually turned to day we had managed to run through the night pretty unscathed, still running the lap on, lap off strategy, but we were both tiring now. The lap times had started to drop to over an hour for both of us, but not by much and we were still in control. We just needed to keep an eye on second place as they had gained some ground on us but were still a lap behind. Second place were last years winners, and we knew that they wouldn’t give up without a fight. Now it was a numbers game, we just had to keep moving. The problem now was that we were both hurting. Aggi was really feeling it and no wonder, she had already completed 9 laps. As I completed my 11th lap Janson asked me to go again. Aggi was asleep, she really needed an extra rest. This lap was going to hurt, but I knew we were still in with a good chance of winning. We had done too much to give up now. So I set off on what was my 12th lap and 3rd double lap, I just had to keep moving and hope that Aggi would be good to do another lap on my return.

21 team laps done, 1 more than our initial target but we still had several hours to go, Janson had been looking at the times and said if we can do one more lap each it should be enough to secure the win. Aggi was now up and about but was not in a good way. Janson had convinced her to go again though, I said just take your time and get back in one piece and we will be good. I had another change of clothes and tried to eat some food but really struggled to take anything on. I really hoped Aggi would take longer than she did to get round as I needed a rest myself. I don’t know how she managed it but came in on her 10th lap at just over an hour. 22 laps total. Second place were still fighting away at the minutes between us, I knew I had to go again. Hopefully this would be our last lap but mathematically there was still enough time for Second place to catch us.

I came in on lap 23 in just over an hour, we checked with Janson and second place had 21 laps on the board but it were just about to complete their lap 22, it wasn’t a clear enough gap for me to risk stopping. I was really struggling to move as was Aggi, but we both knew it was ours now, all we needed was one more lap on the board. It wouldn’t matter if it was a walking lap. Aggi said she would go again, Shaun Ashworth stepped forward and said he would go round with Aggi again. This definitely made a difference and Aggi completed her 11th and our team lap 24 in a slightly slower time, but that was it we had secured the top position. As Aggi came in before 12 noon I had the option to go again for one final lap… so obviously the competitive side of me won. I thought I’ll just have a walking lap with no pressure and thank all the marshals for their time, these guys had also been out on course for the 24 hours. So that’s what I did. A nice easy no pressure lap. As I approach the Stone camp for the final time, Aggi was waiting for me, we were able to complete the final few hundred yards and cross the finish line together, as the mixed pair winners of Thunder Run 2018.

25 laps completed with an overall average time of 1:00:08 bang on target for the event. We would both like to thank Ben Gamble, Janson Heath and everyone connected to Stone Master Marathoners for having by far the best set up at TR24.

Aggi Pope and Paul Glover

Stone Master Marathoners

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My Running Journey – Cleo Acraman

An absolute beginner… by Cleo Acraman

Early 2016 I completed couch to 5k and promptly stopped running being confident that I was not ‘built’ for running and that it was not something I could ever enjoy.

Fast forward to 2017 and I decided to mark my 40th year by ‘ enduring’ the St Michaels 10k race – ie do something I have no natural ability for, in front of people that I am likely to know. Bizarrely as I made this decision a few friends pointed me at the 10 weeks SMM beginners course.

So on 4th January 2017 I put on my big girl pants and crept in to club, heading straight to the back of the crowd with my head down feeling pretty sure the ‘real’ runners would be smirking at this ‘new’ girl who would obviously never be an athlete. I was quickly welcomed and given the appropriate forms to fill in. And then Bill starting speaking – no idea what he said apart from for the beginners would be running 3ish miles!!! (I text my husband at this point and got a laughing response) And we were off, I approached it very slowly, with Ann as back marker being very supportive and kind, and the various runners who mustered back multiple times all smiling and giving encouragement (they could actually run and speak – I was in awe!), I left feeling amazed with what I had achieved.

This was the start of my beginners journey – I turned up each and every Thursday, and quickly got to know most of the other runners who were all positive, encouraging and keen to share knowledge – and very slowly it got a tiny bit less painful. I also went out twice a week alone to do 5km as advised to try and improve – although I had to do this in the dark as I was terrified someone I knew would see me being very purple faced.

After a few weeks I realised 3ish could be very ish, and learned that a ‘long’ run was required if I wanted to get up to 10k – so I started running alone on a Sunday morning – in the daylight!

By the end of February I ran my first 10k distance one Sunday morning – and then, because I had been so inspired by the SMM members I decided that I might as well enter a race – and on 26th March I completed the Cheshire 10k at Arley hall (the flattest one I could find – I’m still scared of hills) – it took me 1 hour 11 minutes and 48 seconds and afterwards I was amazed and delighted that I had done it, I had earned some bling and even more amazingly I wasn’t last, various expletives were however muttered not so quietly during it…

The 10 weeks had flown so I joined SMM as a member, and after various conversations before and after runs (still hadn’t mastered speaking during) I decided that my original challenge wasn’t enough – it wasn’t a challenge anymore, I had already done one race – and so I decided to make it a ‘proper’ challenge and so 10 10ks in a year it had to be, and could I manage to keep up this new hobby for a whole year?

I carried on coming on a Thursday – taking advice, sharing turns in motivating each other, being cajoled by Bill, and making some really nice new mates – I even mastered running and talking. And by the autumn I felt brave enough to join the Tuesday night speed sessions.

And all year I kept entering 10ks… by the end of the year I managed to earn bling at the following:

26th March Cheshire 10k
14th May Delamere forest Race for Life 10k
21st May RAF Shawbury 10k
25th June St Michaels 10k
16th July Chasewater 10k
3rd Sept RAF Cosford Spitfire 10k
24th Sept Stafford 10k
4th Nov Cheshire 10k
11st Nov Tatton 10k
25th Nov Chasewater 10k Pudding run

I started off entering races alone, a bit further from home and being supported by my little family, but as the year went on I got braver, I started wearing my SMM top to races and started to bump into other SMM along the way.

The best 10k for medal alone has to be the Spitfire 10k at RAF Cosford (and I found a few bats at the start line too). I’ve entered again this year and really recommend it – know lots of other Bats are going.

But my favourite 2 races are the last ones, not for the races but for the fact that I’m a member of our lovely club, and I had fun with people that support and challenge you to be your best.

Tatton 10k: Some of the ‘fast’ runners extended an offer go to Tatton 10k with them and make a weekend away out of it, pretty sure I heard a whisper of Prosecco so I was in – and turning the corner to the final stretch to cheers from Ros, Pip and BGW, who had all had to hang around for quite a while for me, was lovely – and I’m pretty sure the fact that these ladies make it look so effortless was what inspired me to dig a bit deeper and get my current PB. Bizarrely our Chair seems to think I survived a weekend with them – but I’m pretty sure it was the other way round ?.

And for my very last 10k in 2017 several of the beginners group booked just to support me, and I was so grateful of the camaraderie at the start and the end – particularly as it snowed and was probably the coldest I have ever been. Not a PB for me but Dave offered great support on the way round and it was awesome to see Matt’s result in the 5k.

 

 

I’ve learnt that I do actually like running, and that all the ‘real’ runners want to be better (even the ones that make it look easy!).

However I’ll be honest and I really don’t understand the difference between running and racing – I’m still working on keeping my legs actually moving and breathing at the same time – so I’m happily still a beginner and I will be for some time to come – and that’s absolutely fine. While I’d love to be a racing snake (I’m naturally pretty competitive), I don’t think I’ll ever win a race – but I am beating me each time I get back out there and I’m very proud to belong to our club.

So if anyone wants a challenge 10 10ks is actually achievable for anyone new to running and comes with a pretty awesome sense of achievement at the end.

I’ve already been asked several times what my new challenge is, and the current answer is to do stuff that scares me (2 half marathons, Thunder run and a Hilly 5 mile) – not quite sure that’s enough yet – but it is only January….

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David Dunsmore – Compleat NSRRA Runner Report 2017

Running (or as I called it, jogging) was something I’d see people do early in the morning, quite often in dreadful weather conditions and I’d just think…why? What can you possibly gain from putting yourself through this, and by choice?

That was until I started running. As with many of us in the running community, this was initially as an attempt to improve my mental well-being. There’s no doubt that for me, the benefits were almost immediate. A change in routine, combined with physical exercise, a sense of achievement and self worth were literally just what the doctor ordered. Now that I’d seen the light, I was happy to put myself through the pain of early morning weather-beaten runs.

I’d been trying to build up distance on my runs (with music as my only running companion) and so decided I would enter my first race, the 2016 Stafford Half Marathon. The performance will never go down as my finest hour but it was enough for me to catch the racing bug!

My sister, Kirsty Stephenson, a seasoned campaigner in the Staffordshire running scene, eventually persuaded me to join her club, The Stone Master Marathoners at the end of 2016. I’d been hesitant about joining a club for fear of being too slow or lacking long distance stamina. But the support, encouragement, training and most importantly, the banter provided by The Bats has been invaluable!


By January 2017, talk at The Club had turned to who was going to be competing in something called Road Runners. As a new member and a relatively new runner, I didn’t think this was something that concerned me and so contentedly waited for the next Stafford Half to come around (as far as I was aware, there were only a couple of local races – The Potters’ Arf, The Stafford Half and the St Michael’s 10k).

Then, on a club training session, I spent a while speaking to Victoria Hughes about what exactly Road Runners was and whether it was something in which I should be competing. I didn’t have long to decide – the Alsager 5 was a week away and I figured I’d be better front loading the races to the first half of the year.

And so it was, on a cold February morning, with my “E” firmly pinned to my back, I lined up with the other runners in Alsager ready for the off. Not only was this my first foray in to the world of NSRRA, it was also my first race for The Club. I chatted nervously with Fiona Bradley (who was also running her first race as a Bat) while trying to identify other runners in our groups. Thirty six minutes later and I’d crossed the line, 48 points the richer.
Celebrating the start of the NSRRA season with my fellow Bats in the pub, I was thinking “1 down, 11 to go!” My intention was to pick 12 races and just see how I got on with those – this being my first year, I just wanted to find my feet. With that in mind, I entered the Knighton 20 and Newcastle 10k. I didn’t have “a great day at the office” on either of these, but was still happy to pick up a couple of 49s.

Next up, The South Cheshire 10k – a nice, flat PB course. Such was my love for The Bats, I‘d been toying with getting inked with the Stone Master Marathoner’s distinctive bat logo and decided that I would only do this if and when I achieved a group win. As I crossed the finish line, I was handed a group winner’s mug and so didn’t have to wait to find out if the 50 points were mine. Over the moon with the group win and a PB, I headed to Raymondo’s tattoo parlour to get my bat-tat / battoo – short of an appearance on Tattoo Fixers, I was now a Bat for life!

It wasn’t until later in the week that I discovered my good friend and fellow Bat, Indira, who had finished just ahead of me, had quite rightly been promoted to group E and so my precious 50 points became 49 and the tattoo should never have been!

A family holiday in North Wales had meant the Uttoxeter Half was never going to be one of my 12. As I trained in the rain around the foot of Snowdonia, race withdrawal symptoms kicked in and I was resigned to missing out on the 13.1 miles, the Bats’ banter and the celebrations at Uttoxeter. So when Katie, my incredibly understanding wife (and I mean above and beyond all levels of understanding), suggested we leave two days early as a result of the inclement weather (in North Wales? Never!), I had the car packed and ready to go before you could say Llanfair¬pwllgwyngyll¬gogery¬chwyrn¬drobwll¬llan¬tysilio¬gogo¬goch!

Boy, was I glad I never missed this one! The course was stunning, challenging but very rewarding and I finally got the 50 points that in my mind, justified being inked. Five down, seven to go.

Even after completing the Clayton 10k a few weeks later, I still had no intention of running more than 12 races. Next in the series was the Flying Fox Marathon and I was nowhere near ready to take on a challenge like that so decided this would be one of the races I’d drop. That was until Bernie Priekulis, The Bats’ team captain and race organiser, started parading the finishers’ medals on Facebook and so it was that race 7 was entered. I knew the risk of running a marathon without training properly – Westbridge 5 and Potters’ Arf were in the following weeks and I would be putting my fitness for those races in jeopardy.

Blinded by the beauty and promise of that medal, I set off nonetheless. Accompanied by Aggi Pope, the first 18 miles flew by but the lack of training and fitness soon took their toll and as Aggi disappeared off in to the distance, I inevitably hit The Wall. I’d never DNF’d before, but this was looking more and more likely. However, with the support of the amazing Bat marshals and fellow runners, I finally crossed the line in 4 hours 2 minutes and gained another 49 points. I dare say that this will be perceived as being more than slightly biased, but from start to finish, this was undoubtedly the finest race in which I’ve competed – not in terms of my own performance, but the atmosphere, camaraderie, support, celebrations, organisation were all second to none. To top it all, fellow Bat Paul Swan had finished first male.

Time would tell what damage I’d done. Despite managing a recovery run and some hill work, I was putting on a brave face. I appreciate that marathons should be treated with respect but what was done was done and it’s not a mistake I will make again. I did manage a 35 minute PB at Westbridge 5 the following week, but had one of my worst performances to date at the Potters’ Arf – nothing felt right, physically or mentally and I found myself barely able to walk up Heartbreak Hill, never mind run.

Indira, whose speed and stamina seemed to be improving exponentially, had been picking up the 50 points in all of the recent races and this continued through to The St Michaels 10k and The Cheadle 4 – always seemingly just in front of me, I could never find the strength to catch him when required.

After a weekend of running through mud and torrential rain at Thunder Run 24 in July, it was back to NSRRA. While away, Indira and I had been examining the points situation and we’d worked out that if he won the next two races, the group was his. With this in mind and full of grit, steely determination and TR24 mud still clinging to my legs, I proceeded to finish second to Indira yet again at the Staffs Knot 5.

I was still happy with being the runner up in the group, especially to such a good friend and fellow Bat. This was my first year in NSRRA and I would learn from the mistakes I’d made and push to improve next year. So, onward to Meerkbrook 15k and I finally felt the pressure was off. I still had an outside chance of winning the group but it would mean taking 50 points in all of the remaining 8 races. Given Indira’s current form, I didn’t fancy my chances.

As I’d discovered with all of Mick Hall’s races, he loves his hills and Meerbrook is no different. Since joining the Bats, I’d learned to embrace the hills as a necessary evil and as the season had progressed, I found myself able to tackle them with greater conviction and speed (I’ve got John Clemens to thank for this!). For the first 8 or so kilometres, the race went the way of the previous few – me chasing Indira before he got so far ahead that there would be no chance of catching him. As the steep inclines took their inevitable toll on my calves, I felt the energy drain from my legs and with it, the last chance of winning the group. I’d pushed myself to collapsing exhaustion over the finish line of every previous race and so I was still proud of what I’d achieved and that I’d run to the best of my ability. In the distance, I could still just about see Indira who seemed to be slowing slightly – had the hills hit him harder than they’d hit me? There was one long steep downhill on the course before the finish and so I convinced myself if I managed to catch up before then, I might still have a chance. Luckily for me, this is exactly what happened – as steep as the inclines were, the down hills were magnificent. I’m pretty fearless on descents and so managed to get far enough ahead to cross the line and claim my second group winners’ mug and the 50 points.

Ecstatic as I was to have kept the group alive, I soon realised that I still had to repeat this 7 times, all the while aware that just one more win for my friend and it was all over. I was now going to have to complete all 20 races and the initial 12 race plan was well and truly out the window.

With this glimmer of hope, I pushed myself harder and harder in the next few races, managing group wins at The Trentham 10k, The Leek Half and The South Cheshire 20. Fortunately for me, these are undulating, country road courses with some fantastic descents – my kind of race!

Lining up at the start of The Ipstones 5, I was eager to keep up the momentum I’d gained from the previous races, but from the off, I could tell that Indira meant business. As we rounded the top of the field, I could see that he was the lead runner. There was no point in trying to chase him at this stage, I just had to have confidence in my race plan – tackle the inclines strongly and then play to my strengths by sprinting on the descents to the point whereby one false step and I’d be a goner. Thankfully, the risks were rewarded and another group win was in the bag.

I carried on with this same winning strategy through The St Thomas 7 and Congleton Half Marathon – both wonderful courses that really suited my style of racing. I’m not going to lie – by now I was thinking I did have a chance of pulling the group back. The only niggle was that being Scottish, we’re not famed for comebacks – more often than not, we’re grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory!
Going in to the last two races, it was all square in the group. Unlike other recent races, Indira and I ran The Werrington 10k together and by the 9th kilometre, it was still anyone’s race. Over the tannoy system, I could hear Ken Rushton announcing the finishers as they crossed the line, a comforting indication that the end was just around the corner. As I sprinted back through the school grounds towards the finish, I was aware of chasing feet pounding behind me. However, when I allowed myself a brief glance over my shoulder, Indira was nowhere to be seen. Fiona finished shortly after me and said she’d passed him on the last ascent, so we waited at the finish line for our friend to appear. What we didn’t expect was the chilling sight of a severely exhausted and dehydrated Indira being held up by Paul Glover and Vince Coyne as they supported him down the home straight. As the medics attended to him, it was a relief to see he was still adequately compos mentis to stop his Garmin – runners’ priorities! Thankfully, Indira recovered sufficiently to return to the race HQ at the school where he was plied with cake, Lucozade and sweet tea while being attended to by Nurse Bradley.

Needless to say, Paul and Vince sacrificing their races to help a fellow runner in his time of need is undoubtedly one of the most heart warming, endearing and selfless acts of the year. You did yourselves and the running community proud guys!

I do hope Indira doesn’t mind me writing about this, but it was such a pivotal part of my season. Seeing my friend suffering in that way was as much a wake up call as it was distressing. We’d been running, supporting and pushing each other throughout the year, but through points and PB chasing, I’d missed the bigger picture – this is supposed to be fun!

19 down, 1 to go. I am writing this the day before the Flying Fox 10. I was going to finish the report on the Sunday afternoon after the race, but there is no need – it really doesn’t matter about the result and who won the group. I still get emotional when I think about what I have taken from my first year as a runner, a Bat and being part of the NSRRA community. Putting aside becoming a running bore, it has undoubtedly changed me for the better – both my physical and mental health got a much needed shot in the arm (maybe not the best metaphor in the context!). I also forged what I consider to be some of the most important friendships of my life and their support, encouragement and ability to listen to me wittering on about the highs and lows of every race while still feigning interest is very much appreciated!

My only regret? The fact that I never ran The Rugeley 10 – so close to it being 23 out of 23! Next year.

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Dave Clarke 5 2017

Dave Clarke 5k 2017 Race Report – Alison O’Mara

Hi my fellow “Bats”,

When Emma posted “can you help, we need a race report….. I reacted straight away without hesitation, almost a sense of urgency & said I’d be happy to do one, although I had no real idea of what was expected so I hope this fits the bill. The urgency came from me still feeling on a high from completing the “Dave Clarke 5” race and I felt I wanted to share the positive feeling with, well…. everyone but more so with some of the newer members of the club, in the hope it will encourage them to give a future race a good go.

And this is why:-

After only my 3rd official race with the club I arrived home and walked up my driveway with a very big spring in my step, having dropped Jools (Julie Hargreaves) off after the race, my beautiful friend that got me to do my first race some 15 years ago when I couldn’t run for a bus!!!!

On Thursday evening I had a feeling of happiness, achievement and complete elation, and absolute belief I can deal with anything that gets thrown at me. I kind of know that sounds a bit over the top but you know what it’s so true, so it doesn’t matter does it…???

I don’t want to harp on about issues I’ve had recently and goodness knows folk have much bigger traumas to deal with but life throws some pretty big emotional boulders at us sometimes so we need a coping mechanism. Running has become such a means to me.

I’ve said recently that before I go out on a club run I feel like someone has filled my brain with thick treacle…!!!! Everything is cloudy and weighs heavy. BUT… when I finish a run it’s as if someone has poured the purist spring water through my mind and everything is ok with the world. AND you know what’s even better..!!!! After a race the feeling is even more special.

You put on your club vest, fasten on your race number and become one of the team immediately. At the Dave Clarke 5k race there was a real mix of long-standing fast runners, to intermediate runners and new members that were almost scared stiff of what was ahead, but once you spot another Bat the camaraderie is amazing, old and new mixing together, it doesn’t matter about your speed or your capability, we are all one Team.

The sense of belonging is very powerful.

To all our new members, never fear about entering a race, the moment you make that decision you will experience something very special. You will feel part of a group of like minded people who will want to encourage you and bring out the best in you.

Pop on your SMM running top and start something amazing, run to your best ability, remember it’s the taking part that makes you special, feel that unique buzz as you cross the finish line with other “Bats” screaming your name and words of encouragement, ( it’s never great to finish first anyway because there’ll be no other runners there to cheer you on….lol )  collect your medal and I promise you, you will be signing up for your next race in no time…

I’d like to give a special shout out for Jacqui Bennett who posted about how nervous she was days before the race, only to go out there and absolutely smash it, and Cleo Acraman, Kay Porter and Ellie Holmes…amazing running. Sara Buckley and Sandra both had a fantastic race with their next 10k just around the corner (see it’s infectious)

I’d like to thank each and every one of the club members I run with and those I don’t, I have said on more than one occasion that becoming a Stone Master Marathoner is one of the very best things I’ve done in a long time, I feel very blessed to have made such wonderful new friends.

A special thank you to Bill Clarke for all your time and encouragement, I’m becoming a more accomplished runner because of your coaching and guidance and the absolute ability to make me feel guilty whenever I miss a session…..lol and of course a special mention to Anne Griffiths who was amazing, staying towards the back of the group as a support to runners who are new to racing.

My new racing mantra….” Keep the spring water flowing to melt the treacle”. Ooooh and Jane Weston, “It’s your fault”….. x

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Thunder Run 24, 2017

Thunder Run 24 2017 Race Report – Martin Cross

The first thing I will say in this report is wow! What a weekend, what an atmosphere, and what was the weather playing at?!?

Before we get to the exciting stuff, here’s a little about me, how I got into running and joined the club.

During my childhood, I was one of the least athletic, active people you could ever meet, always finding any excuse to get out of PE. My idea of a good time was sat inside playing FIFA, watching TV, practically allergic to fresh air and exercise. About 4 years ago I realised the pounds were piling on sat around in an office based job, completely inactive.

That’s when I made the mistake everybody has made, signed up for a gym for a year, went for 6 weeks and gave up. Although a fairly costly mistake, I discovered that I enjoyed running on the treadmill.

At the same time, I was part of a development programme at work, and we had chosen to raise money for the Donna Louise Hospice who were holding their annual 10k run at Trentham Gardens. A bit of peer pressure later, I signed up for the run with 3 weeks to go, only having run 5k on a treadmill before this. 3 weeks training for the first time on roads is not a solid training plan, however it stirred something inside me, and I was very proud of my accomplishment.

Fast forward to March 2017. I had trained quite a lot more in 2017 than any year before, determined to improve my running and get a decent time at Stafford Half. Ran it, got a decent time (by my standards), once I’d finished retching after the finish line headed towards the free massages and bumped into a bat. I know most of you know will Fiona as a bit of a shrinking violet, but I would never have guessed as we had a good chat in the queue. Joining a running club hadn’t really been an option for me, being a bit nervous about whether I’d be considered a bit ignorant on the runs due to my hearing loss. Fiona took my email and gave me a bit of confidence to get myself to the club and give it a go.

If you are reading this, uncertain, nervous, apprehensive about giving it a go and joining a running club. Trust me, go for it, you will surprise yourself! Joining Stone Master Marathoners is one of the best things I have ever done. I have made many friends in just a few short months, and improved my running considerably gaining PB’s in every race I’ve done (until this weekend). There are closer clubs to my home, but SMM is close to my heart.

Now to the Thunder Run 2017

I was a bit of a latecomer to this party. It was an event that was so popular it sold out in minutes. My first thought turned to training, for what I guessed would be 3 or 4 10k laps in the 24 hours. That’s almost marathon distance, which is further than any distance I had done before.

The great thing about SMM is that everywhere you look there is experience and knowledge. There is support everywhere so I felt confident that I would be ready for the distance and terrain that Thunder Run would throw up. I made sure I had a good mix of off-road training in my schedule, and got multiple runs done in a day to prepare.

Nothing could have prepared me fully.

In the weeks leading up to the TR there was a great buzz around the club, with plenty of teasing from the club’s higher echelons over the teams. The weekend finally came round, I got there on Saturday morning to set up camp, thanks to all those who put in the effort getting the camp set up on the Friday. I can’t report on the happenings on Friday night but I was informed we had somebody serenading and winning the hearts of all clubs around.

The atmosphere was brilliant, there were bats as far as the eye could see, and many supportive family and friends. I was especially grateful that my wife and little girl came to support me even if it was only for a few hours. We got together for a club photo, then those kicking off for their teams got to the starting line for 12:00.

If you don’t know how Thunder Run works: it is a continuous 24 hr race, on a set 10k off-road course. The aim is to do as many laps in the 24 hours as a team as you can. Only 1 member of each relay team is allowed on the course at any time. SMM was one of the biggest clubs there in terms of runner numbers. We had 5 teams of 8, an all-girl team of 5, 2 pairs, and 2 solo runners. 51 runners in total, and the famous red of SMM was everywhere to be seen.

I was in the Vampire Bats team, led by Captain Paul Phillips and kicked off on the first leg by Mike Keeling. All teams were there to do their best, and we could see from early on that our A team (Flying Fox) had the ability to be one of the best at the whole event. I’d like to say more about each team that entered as everybody was awesome, but there was so much going on to keep track. Thankfully those of us running didn’t have a lot to think about, all our thinking was done by the brilliant support team. They kept us organised, hydrated and fed so that we could just enjoy ourselves. Thank you to everybody that helped to make this happen.

Due to the organisation of the support team, and their estimates of lap times, as I was 4th in the list to go out my ETA for the first lap was around 3pm. My first lesson, and advice to anybody who wants to take part next year. Try to rest, and don’t pace around in excitement for over 3 hours! I was begging to go down to the pen and wait for my relay. Captain Paul relented and told me to go and wait. Half an hour of pacing on a different patch of grass to before, I saw the fantastic Aggi racing towards the finish line/pen, on snapped the relay band and off I went.

46:47 was my first lap time, a time I was happy with as I came to realise that it was quite a hilly and difficult course, and in context this was a time that would have been a 10k PB before I joined the club! Next up was the determined and speedy Indira! The laps settled my nerves and excitement enough to be able to rest my legs a lot more between the laps. About half way through my lap it started to rain. Take note of what time that was, about 15:25.

Pom Pom Guy

Time flew all afternoon, we had a fantastic cheerleading team with lead cheerleader Grahame putting in an endurance performance that the solo runners would have been proud of. As the afternoon wore on, we were hearing more and more stories about the condition of the course. I was due to run around half 8, and rain hadn’t stopped pouring since. I pulled on my bat t-shirt, puffed my chest out, and got to the start line to hand over from another great run from Aggi. This was my first run with a head torch as rules state that any run after 20:20 must be run with one.  My lap time was 50:13, again, a time I was satisfied with as once I got going I only had a target of an hour knowing what the course was like.

The legs felt surprisingly fresh after the second lap, and everybody was still in great spirits around the camp, and course, with the cheerleading squad still putting in a sterling performance. I thought this would be my opportunity to freshen up, have a shower and clean off all the mud before my next leg. Since having my little girl, it is very rare to see this party animal up past 9pm, so thought best to get a few hours kip around this time. I let the support team know I needed a wake up call, and that I would be leaving my hearing aids in so that when they shout me I could hear. I honestly do not know how all you normal hearing people get any sleep! The sound of runners going past, and the patter of rain on my tent ruined any hope of getting any sleep. If nothing else I’m determined though, which is why I spent 3 hours staring at the roof of my tent.

My wakeup call came, and up I shot, already eager to get my next lap in. I pulled on my fresh running kit and headed towards the communal tent to a stern faced captain. The conditions were somehow worse than my previous run from an additional 6 hours of rain fall. I had the option, some teams had sensibly delayed their next runner until there was a bit of daylight, and I know that had I said no that nobody would have thought any less of me.

So I said yes, there’s nothing more I’d like than to run in the pitch black, up and down hills in wooded Staffordshire countryside at 3am. Everybody’s time had been affected by the conditions on the course, with everybody expected to arrive in 10-15(at least) longer than normal. It was chilly, so I kept wrapped up in the bat cave resting until my turn. Thinking I had around another 5-10 minutes before I had to head down, there was a shout coming from the track next to our camp…

“AGGI, AGGi, AGGi”

I think Aggi was expecting an “OI, OI, OI”, instead of “was that really Aggi? Oh ****”.  For those that weren’t there. The bat cave was set up just a short killer hill and corner away from the finish line. I didn’t expect to have to sprint to the start for my 3rd lap. All credit to Aggi for a great time in the pitch black in those conditions.

This was probably the most dangerous of the laps, as for me the pitch black actually gave a false sense of security, which meant my lap time was quicker than the following one in the morning. In the dark, you can’t see that you are about to leap into a foot deep puddle, or step over one of the many fallen bodies on the course (kidding), you focus more on what’s further ahead in front so you don’t clatter into another competitor, a tree, or a barbed wired fence, all of which I was extremely close to doing. Don’t let this put you off if you plan to do it next year, it was great fun! Despite the many false alarms, I only ended up slipping just the once when I was trying to avoid wading through a very slippy patch next to a barbed wire fence. The option was to run alongside it and pretty much guarantee if you fall to your left you’re going to get caught, or run a little bit up the hill with a greater risk of slipping, but a chance to hang over for dear life before you get to the fence. Getting back up was a challenge in itself, and I’m glad it was too dark for anybody to see me.

A bit of advice for anybody wanting to take part, try to plan your nutrition properly as I had an SIS energy bar before this, and nearly had a visit from the poo fairy. Not sure why I was too concerned though as my backside was already brown.

I completed this lap in 57:23, and to be honest, it was the proudest 10k I’ve ever ran! Handed over to Indira with a truly emphatic and heartfelt good luck.

Fatigue was starting to set in now, but it was around half 3 in the morning, and I didn’t feel there was much point trying to get some more sleep. I headed over to the showers and waited for around half an hour before giving up, the water had ran out, and the tanker changeover was taking a long time to complete. When I headed back to camp, Indira had decided instead of cleaning up and then going back out, to run again after the next team member. It was a good idea as it had started to get light, and meant we could get our 4 laps done, and enjoy the last 4/5 hours cheering everybody on.

After a last minute check-up on the dodgy stomach, with just an hour between my 3rd and 4th lap, off I went. I could tell within 5 steps that it was going to be one of the most difficult runs I had ever done. My legs were tired, I was hungry and the conditions meant that this was no normal 10k, it was going to be rough! The only positive is it has just stopped raining, meaning that 12 hours of non-stop rain had pounded the route.

It was this lap when I fully realised how bad the course was when I could see it, and it made me much more apprehensive about approaching at speed when you can see fellow competitors hanging off trees. It’s very hard to describe what it was like to people that weren’t there, hopefully this picture is a bit of a taster…

If I had to describe, I’d say it was like a muddy ice rink. There were many times that I had to slow down from a jog, and walk around corners, or over sections. It also gave me a bit of rest from jogging as I was really struggling with this last lap. Another note about the course that a few of us had agreed on, was that the first 5k felt like it went on for ages! Once I had got to around 6k, there was light at the end of the tunnel and then I started buzzing about the achievement of doing 4 laps of this course, I could sense the finish.

I was extremely glad to see that Grahame and his cheerleaders had come back out in force after a couple of hours of much needed rest, they helped me get around that last corner and hand over to Indira who was also going out for his second run after only a short break.

1 hour 4 minutes and 15 seconds is my recorded time for this last lap. Which for me (no disrespect to anybody) is slow on a normal 10k run. I still put it up there as one of the most arduous and challenging 10k runs I’ve ever done. In fact, give me Potters ‘Arf over that last 10k any day.

I got cleaned up, and treated myself to a bacon sausage and egg bap (my egg fell out), and a latte from the stalls, then settled in to the bat cave for what promised to be an exciting last 4 hours!

All throughout I had tried to cheer on any solo runners I saw around the course, I have so much respect for these guys that braved this course nearly non-stop for the 24 hours. There were 2 solo runners that represented our fine club, Phil Cape and Paul Glover. Well done to both of you on your amazing achievement, you are an inspiration to all of us.

As we went into the last stretch, although we already had an inkling, we were getting word that we had 2 potential winning teams at this year’s event!  The Flying Fox were flying, and kept pounding the course, looking for their win, and Phil Cape, although retired from the course, was leading by most laps.

It was obvious now watching the runners with a nice warm cup of coffee, that although the rain had mainly stopped, the conditions were not getting any better, and that fatigue was getting to a lot. It was also funny to watch the reactions of many runners that they ran through the cheerleading squad. Many loved it, some ignored it! There have been a couple of messages from other clubs saying how much they loved it. The 24 hours were up, but under the rules of the event, anybody on the course within this time, is entitled to finish, so we stayed and cheered the last runners through, each and every one of them amazing.

So, on to the awards. My team finished 28th out of 226, and completed 24 laps between 8 of us, which we were happy about. The main boys and girls in the Flying fox team however, were looking for that podium place! From what I can tell, there was a bit of controversy about a lap not being recorded for Flying Fox, but thankfully it got sorted, which meant that they were crowned Thunder Run team of 8 champions!!!

Well done to captain Ben Gamble, Tim Hulse, Ryan Nokes, Michael Downes, Tom Wilson, Phillippa Steele, Mark Neeld and Craig Pilsbury on your amazing achievement. Also, well done to the beast Phil Cape who won the solo male category, with an unbelievable 17 laps (100 miles)

Well done to everybody that ran and supported this event, we can’t all be on the podium, but we should all be proud of our achievements this weekend. It was honestly one of the best weekends I’ve ever had, and I’m already anticipating 2018. I’m so glad I joined the club, so if there is anybody out there that is in two minds to give it a try, please do.

I’m a broken man today, so it’s been a treat visit to Oatcakes and Milkshakes, then my feet up to write this essay. I may see some of you to put in a recovery performance at Tuesday’s FUN session.

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St Michael’s 10k 2017 Race Report – Marianne Stopka

St Michael’s 10k 2017 Race Report by Marianne Stopka

In June 2015, after running for about 4 years, on and off on my own, I entered Stone St Michaels 10k. I had never classed myself as ‘a runner’, I had completed Stafford Half Marathon 3 times and had trained hard each time, my first one after only starting to run 3 months before. I’d also completed a Race for life and a 5k race with friends (both of which were very wet and muddy), but generally wasn’t very consistent with my running. Stone St Michaels 10k was to be my first 10k race. I had no doubt I could run the distance, just hadn’t bothered entering many races. I was a 13 minute miler who walked up the slightest hill, but that didn’t bother me, as I was still enjoying it. After training for Stafford Half Marathon in 2015, I decided I needed to give another race a go, and wasn’t brave enough to enter a different half marathon that I wasn’t familiar with the course. I saw Stone 10k advertised, which was described as a flat course so I thought I’d enter, as it would keep me motivated to carry on.

It was a hot day, and I remember thinking on the first slight incline ‘How the hell am I gonna get through this, I thought it was flat!’ I’d trained by running consistently 4 times a week, but concentrated on distance rather than speed. I got through it, although I’m not gonna deny it was really hard work, somewhere I hadn’t ran before, but I completed it in 1hr 11min s11secs and I was happy with that. When I finished the race someone handed me a flyer with details of a running club on, Stone Master Marathoners, I had never heard of them before. I’d thought about joining a running club but I also thought that I wasn’t good enough and that they would be really expensive to join. I also wanted a change of scenery from running round near where I live and to meet new friends with similar interests. I’d been through a difficult time in my life, running had helped but I really needed more from it now. I kept the leaflet, had a look at the website, along with other running clubs, I eventually plucked up the courage to contact the club secretary and ask if I was good enough, and find out more about the club a few months later. I was shocked to discover that runners of all abilities could run with Stone Master Marathoners and it was a lot cheaper than joining a gym then never using it which I always did. I went along on a Sunday morning, everyone was so welcoming and friendly!

I’ve since made lots of friends, my running has improved , I’ve entered many more races including lots of 10k’s and I’ve grown in confidence. However in 2016 I was unable to run Stone 10k, due to being on holiday at the time, but this year I entered it, and so glad I did cos I got a PB of 58:28 it was no where near as hard as it was 2 years ago either and yes it was flat. I’m so glad I joined SMM.

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Flying Fox Marathon – Laura Slack

Flying Fox Marathon 2017 Race Report by Laura Slack

May 27th 2015. This is the date that will stick in my head as it was the date that I, (all by myselfJ) went for a run of my own accord. Not running to catch a bus, not running around teaching PE at work. A run. An actual I want to improve my fitness run….and I hated every last second of it! It was a measly mile that took me 10:43 to complete. That mile as much as I despised it started something. It started my love affair with running. I say love affair as I do so often feel guilty going out on a training run with my other man (coach Bill Mac) whilst leaving my partner at home on his lonesome!

Fast forward to 2017. January 2017 to be precise. I had completed 32 races since that May 2015 and was looking at how I can push my running further. This is when after toying with the idea of joining a running club I became a Bat! Stone Master Marathoners newest recruit. To accompany my new ‘affiliated runner’ status I also joined the NSRRA and after submitting my previous year’s race results I was placed in group ‘M’.

So I had my support in place and now I needed some target races to train for. So I signed up to race the Flying Fox Marathon.

I was down at the ‘Bat Cave’ as much as possible, training with the Wednesday group and completed a dozen or so races to keep my legs fresh. One race in particular that comes highly recommended would be the Market Drayton 10K. Well marshalled race; well supported race and for me it gave me my coveted sub 50 10K time I had been chasing since last year.

The month of May arrived in no time and soon enough it was 27th May. This was now my 2 year anniversary since my first mile run, and it was now the eve of my first road marathon! How time flies when you’re having fun!

My wonderful parents have supported me so much in the past two years, and they have just recently started to partake in the strange sport of ‘marshalling’ or standing around in high-vis jackets and pointing left and right to runners. So of course they had agreed under the watchful eye of Bernie to marshal the Flying Fox Marathon. We all arrived at Knighton Social Club including the one and only Sammi ’the bat’ dog to begin what would be a long day.

Sammi keeping a watchful eye in high-vis

Although the weather during the week had been positively tropical, it was seeming like near perfect running conditions for the race. A nice breeze and cloudy… still being a red-head, the factor 50 sun cream would be needed as all I have to do is hear the word ‘sun’ and I burn to a crisp.

Race ready and on the start line, I can see the newest addition to the ‘Bat Cave’ Aggi Pope is here. But trying to run along with her is near impossible…the lady has got some serious speed in those legs! So I stick to the back where I will be able to run and not have a cardiac arrestJ

The route starts the same as the Knighton 20 which I completed earlier in the year. This also meant that I knew that at the finish I would have an incline to compete with…but best not to think of that at the minute!

I had my times in my head and an overall time I was aiming for, sticking around the 9:30minute mile mark to get a finish time in the region of 4:10-4:15. I did a comfortable first mile and then another but then the runners ahead started to spread out. This continued for another mile until at mile 4 I had no runners in sight either in front or behind. Then my brain starts to pester me. ‘You sure you’ve gone the right way? There’s nobody else here. You must be going really slowly to have lost the other runners.’ So, myself and I argue with each other whilst smiling and thanking the marshals along the way.

I am approaching a water station and I can hear whistling? I am certainly warm but I don’t think that I am suffering from heat exhaustion or any other condition that would make me hear things. Yes there is definitely whistling. But in a 90’s rave style rather than the wolf-whistle of a pervy builder (apologies to any un-pervy builders). It’s Penelope (aka Victoria Hughes) dancing around with her high-vis, first aid bum bag and blowing a whistle! A truly welcome sight and utter bonkers at the same time. After not seeing another runner this has lifted my spirits and stopped the arguments I was having with myself in my head. Carry on Laura. Keep going.

Penelope Pitstop raving it up

Now as much as I enjoy road running, my natural inclination is to be out trail running, x-country or just being anywhere that’s green and away from civilisation. The Flying Fox marathon although packaged as a ROAD marathon is an ideal compromise. Yes there is the road to run on but the views that surround you mile after mile compare far better to your city marathons. Rolling fields and tiny lambs bounding around to make you feel almost at one with your surrounds. It was at this joyful thought that I realised I would now need to become one with my surroundings and dodge into the hedgerow for a wee! Relieved, I carried on to the shock horror that had I miss-timed that by a mere minute I would have given some oncoming cyclists an eyeful…oh dear.

It was now coming to mile 12/13 and I can hear heckling in the distance…Fiona Bradley. Fiona and I joined Stone together in January and are coached by Bill Mac. From my brief recollection of my time at Fiona’s drink station she managed to tell me I was on target for my time (1:52 at the moment) and that she had been having a dog jumping all over her. I didn’t question that and she looked happy enough about it so I let it be.

So now I had just passed the halfway point, in the distance I can see two runners. I was going the right way after all! Two gentlemen with 100 marathon runner vests on. They congratulate me as I run past, on the fact that I am able to run up the hill we’re currently tackling. Again in the distance I can see another runner.

The miles roll along and then there is yet another delightful hill to climb. The temperature has increased and I am feeling strong but too damned hot. Around mile 18/19 I can see another marshal in high-vis at a water station…with a bike. Oh no. Now I’m in for it! Bill Mac. Coach.

If I had any plans to ease off on the pace or complain I was feeling too hot or tired, they went out the window when I saw Bill. An outstanding runner and coach, Bill was the one who came up with the times and pace for today and so there was no chance now that I wasn’t going to achieve it. Imagine having ‘Jiminy Cricket’ on your shoulder for the last 7 miles and that would sum up how the rest of the race was going to pan out.

We saw some more runners as we went along and then I knew I was approaching my holy grail… the focus point that I was hoping would give me enough of a boost to get me through the final few miles. My Mum, Dad and Sammi-dog were marshalling at water station 8. As I came round the corner I saw them and got my usual jeering from Mum. Quick re-fuel and a kiss off your parents can do wonders for the energy levels. In fact the pace for that next mile dropped to 8:54. Still on target.

The miles kept coming, I kept running, Bill kept coaching and the sun kept shining. Mile 25 and the last hill. This is the finishing hill of the Knighton 20 so I knew it was coming. Up the hill and left into the Social Club past the 26 mile sign. 0.2miles to go. 0.2 of a mile seems like nothing after just running 26 miles right? Wrong. That 0.2 miles felt never-ending. Past the caravans to cheering campers. Around the outside of the field and I can see the finish line and stood next to it my running-widower partner Scott. Keep going. Last push.

Done. 4:12:21.

Laura flying high at Flying Fox Marathon

There was a good show of Bats out running the course who all did amazing. Our very own Paul Swan was first male finisher with a winning time of 2:53:27. For the ladies we had Joanne Bentley coming in third lady finisher with a time of 3:22:45; And as I mentioned our newest bat Aggi Pope earlier has some serious speed in her legs, well she didn’t disappoint with a 3:59:50 finish.

So what’s next for this flying bat…..well let’s see what all this ‘Thunder Run’ talk is about!

Laura xx