Despite being up before the crack of dawn yesterday, I was once again up and out the door before the sun was up, this time on another fundraising mission via a car boot. Tricia was able to help me out a little later, but I was already doing a roaring trade when she arrived. Having tried out the rotary washing line last time, we decided just to 'dump' everything on blankets and let people rummage away. It had rained overnight so the ground was a little muddy and there were very quickly quite a few clothes in need of a turn in the washing machine!
We decided that the objective was to sell as much as possible so everything was priced at 50p. It soon caught on and we had lots of customers grabbed armfuls of stuff! We had also had a load of classical cd's given to us by John's dad and Jill and despite thinking that there was no way we would get rid of those, we were delighted by the way these were snatched up : one guy bought 60 for £15! Virtually all the shoes went, loads of clothes, a portable TV and a picnic table, all for 50p each.
We started to pack up at 11.15 as the weather was started to look a bit dodgy and it wasn't long before everyone was frantically packing things away as the rain started to fall. We managed to get everything back into the 3 big laundry bags plus 2 bin liners, definitely way less than I had unpacked but still enough left for at least one more boot sale before the end of the year.
Once again we did well on the cash front : £115.50 and as we didn't take less than 50p for any single item, meant we had dispatched around 230 pieces of 'stuff'. A very good mornings work!
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Marathon # 15 - Beachy Head
Saturday 27 October : OMG! What has happened to the weather - we have suddenly been transported to the Arctic. Ferocious northerly biting wind that didn't seem to want to blow just in one direction but would whip up and hit me from all sides. An early start to boot - picked Pat up at the unearthly hour of 5 am in pitch darkness (and it would remain dark for the majority of our journey) and headed off towards Eastbourne. Luckily the traffic was very light (well, what do you expect at that time....sensible people are still tucked up in bed, in nice warm houses) and we arrived just before 7.45 am. Numbers and timing chips duly collected, we rushed back to the warmth of the car for a last bit of breakfast before trying to decide what on earth to wear : I was already donning long winter sleeves and my charity vest but I could still feel the cold so decided to wear another long sleeved winter running top underneath my vest and topped it off with a buff covering my ears and a pair of gloves. I've never run a marathon in so many layers and at no time during the race did I have any inclination to remove any either!
It was so cold that we went from one loo queue to another and we were still in the queue when the 9 am start time elapsed...there were so many people milling around that we thought they must have decided to delay the gun. Nope...we got outside to find everyone streaming up the steep hill and we were left to join the walkers! Wasn't long though after crossing the start line before we were walking - 50 metres max! I'm not sure of the incline of the first hill but it looked at least 45 degrees! I ran with Pat for the first couple of miles as we traversed the edge of Warren Hill, where a lone bag pipper was playing the Highland Fling and headed towards the top of Willingdon Hill. The views over to Eastbourne to the right were stunning, if you could make anything out through streaming eyes : the wind was extremely strong and blustery from the word go, trying (and succeeding) to push you off the track.
After running downhill to Jevington, and the first refreshment station, it was then a lovely run through Friston Forest. The colours of the trees were spectacular, with the sun streaming down from a perfect blue sky causing dappled light effects.
It was then out into the open fields, to run around the edge of Windover Hill, two steep 3 sided valleys heading off on our left making for stunning views. Shortly after this it was a long, long downhill run in a deep trenched, chalky track to CP2 and more squash and Mars bars...unfortunately I was finding that whilst I was enjoying the latter, I couldn't run and chew them at the same time so had to walk a little bit before being able to break into a run again! The downhill gully continued amongst trees, before emerging in the bottom of the valley in Alfriston. After running along the side of water meadows, I then passed through the village but unfortunately got caught up behind a huge hay turning machine with the driver deciding that he was going to drive very slowly up a narrow side street - exactly the street we were running up! I had to revert back to walking until he picked up a bit of speed (he was a lot bigger than me and he had lots of spiky things hanging off the back of the tractor so elected to give him right of way!). After losing the village, it was then a steep climb uphill and once again into open fields. And this was where the Arctic blasts really hit home. It was so difficult to walk, let alone run and people were battling to stay on their feet. Plus it was virtually all uphill to Bostal Hill. It really was hard work and a bit soul destroying that you couldn't really run for more than a few steps without becoming absolutely exhausted. Lots of people around me were losing feeling in limbs by this time!
Finally, once reaching the tumuli of Bostal Hill, it was then a short downhill section to CP3 where we turned left and at long last, had the wind behind us...and boy did that make a difference! I was fairly racing along the grassy tracks, running freely for what felt like the first time. The track went on for at least 3 miles before eventually we emerged from a small wood to cross the road at Cradle Hill and CP4. I had to stop and take in the views from here, over the Cuckmere River as they were absolutely stunning...a real WOW moment. Steep downhill towards the river where we ran along the bank until crossing via a small wooden bridge and skirting the village of Litlington and CP5 where they were offering hot tea and coffee and hot cross buns! I elected to take half of the latter as my stomach was grumbling by this time (it had been hours since I'd eaten breakfast at home!) and ate this as I started to head into the hilliest part of the run (as if we hadn't done hills up till now!). After crossing a few open fields, we entered the west flank of Friston Forest, having to negotiate a couple of long flights of uneven steps. Before emerging at the top of the woods, the bag pipper was back! I've worked out that wherever the bag pipper is...there are hills! Over a stone stile and another WOW moment...this time the view over the estuary meandering down to Cuckmere Haven which signaled the start of the Seven Sisters Country Park. If we'd done hills already, then the mountains were coming up!
Up, down, up, down...get the picture!? I was actually able to run up two of the sisters (very slowly with tiny little steps, but I was most definitely running!) but the others were way to steep and long to get very far at that pace. I challenged myself to see how many people I could catch and overtake before the finish, trying to keep my mind occupied!
At Birling Gap and the last CP, we left the main South Downs Way footpath that went over the top of the cliffs and beside Belle Tout lighthouse, and instead headed around the bottom of an old fort settlement and through a quiet wood before picking up the coastal path again to run up and over Beachy Head itself. The wind came roaring back with a very mean streak at the top, straight in our faces or trying to knock us over with a side blow : it really was extremely difficult to move forward and even more difficult to do it in a straight line!. After another mile or so of buffeting, it was a real relief to then drop down onto a well worn path where we were relatively sheltered from the wind by a steep wooded bank. This path then met up with the very steep hill we had run up at the start so it was more than a welcome sight to see the finish banner just ahead.
I'd overtaken an amazing 54 people since setting myself that mini-challenge at the start of the Seven Sisters.
I also finished in a very good time of 4.22.35, 246th place overall out of more than 2,000 starters and 25th female so was very, very pleased with myself.
I didn't have too much in the way of warm clothing to put on afterwards, as I'd worn most of it during the race! So, I waited for Pat in the warmer area of the gym : she finished around 5.25 and had unfortunately been caught in a rain / sleet shower nearer the finish but she ran extremely well too, bearing in mind the atrocious conditions.
We decided not to join the long queue for free hot food, instead headed back to the car for some heater warmth to thaw us out. We stopped off for a meal at the first service station we came to, just outside Chichester, only to be joined by Ade, Paulo and Phil from Littledown Harriers and proceeded to recount stories of our marathon adventures!
It was so cold that we went from one loo queue to another and we were still in the queue when the 9 am start time elapsed...there were so many people milling around that we thought they must have decided to delay the gun. Nope...we got outside to find everyone streaming up the steep hill and we were left to join the walkers! Wasn't long though after crossing the start line before we were walking - 50 metres max! I'm not sure of the incline of the first hill but it looked at least 45 degrees! I ran with Pat for the first couple of miles as we traversed the edge of Warren Hill, where a lone bag pipper was playing the Highland Fling and headed towards the top of Willingdon Hill. The views over to Eastbourne to the right were stunning, if you could make anything out through streaming eyes : the wind was extremely strong and blustery from the word go, trying (and succeeding) to push you off the track.
After running downhill to Jevington, and the first refreshment station, it was then a lovely run through Friston Forest. The colours of the trees were spectacular, with the sun streaming down from a perfect blue sky causing dappled light effects.
It was then out into the open fields, to run around the edge of Windover Hill, two steep 3 sided valleys heading off on our left making for stunning views. Shortly after this it was a long, long downhill run in a deep trenched, chalky track to CP2 and more squash and Mars bars...unfortunately I was finding that whilst I was enjoying the latter, I couldn't run and chew them at the same time so had to walk a little bit before being able to break into a run again! The downhill gully continued amongst trees, before emerging in the bottom of the valley in Alfriston. After running along the side of water meadows, I then passed through the village but unfortunately got caught up behind a huge hay turning machine with the driver deciding that he was going to drive very slowly up a narrow side street - exactly the street we were running up! I had to revert back to walking until he picked up a bit of speed (he was a lot bigger than me and he had lots of spiky things hanging off the back of the tractor so elected to give him right of way!). After losing the village, it was then a steep climb uphill and once again into open fields. And this was where the Arctic blasts really hit home. It was so difficult to walk, let alone run and people were battling to stay on their feet. Plus it was virtually all uphill to Bostal Hill. It really was hard work and a bit soul destroying that you couldn't really run for more than a few steps without becoming absolutely exhausted. Lots of people around me were losing feeling in limbs by this time!
Finally, once reaching the tumuli of Bostal Hill, it was then a short downhill section to CP3 where we turned left and at long last, had the wind behind us...and boy did that make a difference! I was fairly racing along the grassy tracks, running freely for what felt like the first time. The track went on for at least 3 miles before eventually we emerged from a small wood to cross the road at Cradle Hill and CP4. I had to stop and take in the views from here, over the Cuckmere River as they were absolutely stunning...a real WOW moment. Steep downhill towards the river where we ran along the bank until crossing via a small wooden bridge and skirting the village of Litlington and CP5 where they were offering hot tea and coffee and hot cross buns! I elected to take half of the latter as my stomach was grumbling by this time (it had been hours since I'd eaten breakfast at home!) and ate this as I started to head into the hilliest part of the run (as if we hadn't done hills up till now!). After crossing a few open fields, we entered the west flank of Friston Forest, having to negotiate a couple of long flights of uneven steps. Before emerging at the top of the woods, the bag pipper was back! I've worked out that wherever the bag pipper is...there are hills! Over a stone stile and another WOW moment...this time the view over the estuary meandering down to Cuckmere Haven which signaled the start of the Seven Sisters Country Park. If we'd done hills already, then the mountains were coming up!
Up, down, up, down...get the picture!? I was actually able to run up two of the sisters (very slowly with tiny little steps, but I was most definitely running!) but the others were way to steep and long to get very far at that pace. I challenged myself to see how many people I could catch and overtake before the finish, trying to keep my mind occupied!
At Birling Gap and the last CP, we left the main South Downs Way footpath that went over the top of the cliffs and beside Belle Tout lighthouse, and instead headed around the bottom of an old fort settlement and through a quiet wood before picking up the coastal path again to run up and over Beachy Head itself. The wind came roaring back with a very mean streak at the top, straight in our faces or trying to knock us over with a side blow : it really was extremely difficult to move forward and even more difficult to do it in a straight line!. After another mile or so of buffeting, it was a real relief to then drop down onto a well worn path where we were relatively sheltered from the wind by a steep wooded bank. This path then met up with the very steep hill we had run up at the start so it was more than a welcome sight to see the finish banner just ahead.
I'd overtaken an amazing 54 people since setting myself that mini-challenge at the start of the Seven Sisters.
I also finished in a very good time of 4.22.35, 246th place overall out of more than 2,000 starters and 25th female so was very, very pleased with myself.
I didn't have too much in the way of warm clothing to put on afterwards, as I'd worn most of it during the race! So, I waited for Pat in the warmer area of the gym : she finished around 5.25 and had unfortunately been caught in a rain / sleet shower nearer the finish but she ran extremely well too, bearing in mind the atrocious conditions.
We decided not to join the long queue for free hot food, instead headed back to the car for some heater warmth to thaw us out. We stopped off for a meal at the first service station we came to, just outside Chichester, only to be joined by Ade, Paulo and Phil from Littledown Harriers and proceeded to recount stories of our marathon adventures!
Friday, 19 October 2012
Marathon # 14 - Atlantic Coast Challenge (part III) AKA to hell and back!
41st overall and 7th female in 7.21.31
Marathon # 12 - Atlantic Coast Challenge (part I)
OK, so I'm a little late to update my latest little adventures but the wait will be worth it!
Thursday 20 September saw me set off once again to tackle the next VoTWO Challenge Event, this time along the Atlantic side of the South West Coast Path from a point just west of Padstow, all the way to Lands End, hopefully a distance a bit closer to the total 78.6 than the earlier Anglesey Coast Challenge! This time the event HQ was based in a holiday park near St Ives although I went one roundabout to far and struggled a little bit to find the darn thing! But find it I did and wasn't long before I'd met up with a few recognised faces from the last couple of events : I was becoming quite a bit of a celebrity with people coming up to ask what 'number' I was up to!
Accommodation was in little self-contained chalets complete with TV! It was actually a tad on the chilly side so on went the heating! Unlike the Angelsey, food was all arranged by VoTWO so I indulged in a 3 course meal with a few of the others who were had already arrived but crept back for an early night in front of the TV.
Saturday dawned dry and sunny for a pleasant change and after a hearty breakfast, registered and received all the maps covering the 3 days....there were 4 for each day this time so it would require a bit of juggling to ensure that the current map was in my map case. Good to see that Michele Grainger was back for this challenge (if you remember, I'd met up with her on the Jurassic challenge back in March) as was Max from Anglesey! After kit check and safety briefing we piled into the mini-buses and set off in a long convoy (unlike Anglesey there were almost 200 mad adventurers!) to the start at Mackerel Cove where again, after the necessary 'loo' stop at the start (which was comical as all the blokes stood in a single line on the top of the ridge seemingly looking out to sea, whereas all the girlies were heading off towards all the dips and hollows as there was a distinct lack of bushes!), it was a very relaxed start with a simple 'dib' out and off...
Within the first mile we were plugging across sand which would become a very familiar feature over the next 3 days. I would spend most of today's run with Michele : it's really good having company as you keep each other going through the bad bits (of which there are quite a few!).
Check point 1 was at Mawgan Porth before we ran along the undulating clifftop above the very long Watergate Bay before hitting the outskirts of Newquay and CP2. Now it got busy, weaving down the narrow streets of Newquay trying to avoid tourists, dog leads and surfer dudes. We had to reach a huge turreted hotel high up on Towan Head before dropping back down to the National Surfing Centre at Fistral Beach where the surf was packed with people catching the waves. At the end of the next headland there was an amazing view back across towards Towan Head.
After hitting the road through Pentire (I so nearly tripped up along here as I was trying to read the map whilst running on the road and talking to the others and hit a sleeping policeman!), it was then a drop back down to cross a small footbridge in the middle of a tidal estuary : luckily for us the tide was out otherwise it would have been quite a wading job as the bridge certainly wasn't very high above the tidal channel! At this point Michele started to head off to the right towards a little gully leading up into the fields but our attention was immediately drawn to 4 or 5 blokes running across the top of the fields yelling at us 'that's not the way, keep going straight ahead'. Michele was convinced she was right as she had taken that route the previous year but the blokes were very insistent. Eventually we pulled Michele away from her route and continued straight on, which seemed to go on for ever before we eventually turned the corner and ended up running across the fields where we had seen the blokes earlier...Michele's route would definitely have been the wrong way but there were plenty of people who were taking that route which was a tad annoying...."Carole, remember, this is a challenge event not a race!!" Just afterwards we hit CP3 where I stocked up on marmite sandwiches, jelly beans and coke.
Just after this we hit sand dunes and there were loads of little paths you could take through them : I picked the wrong one and ended up heading towards the beach so had to back-track and catch the others up again (who had all stuck together like sheep and taken the correct route!). The undulations started to get a little bit more unkind from here on in but I was feeling pretty good and kicked on (probably regret that later). At Holywell Beach we hit amazingly high (and very soft) sand dunes and whilst it was nigh-on impossible to run up them, I loved the downhill bit, even providing vocal sound effects "wheeeeeeee" in the process! After a pull up and around Penhale Point, Perran Sands came into view....and stretched way, way, way into the distance and yes, there were little specs representing runners and walkers stretching into that distance too! So, there was no getting away from it. I dropped down the steep (painful by this point) concrete slope onto the sands and started the slog for home. I caught and passed a number of people and committed myself not to drop to a walk, however slowly I was travelling. Over a mile long that beach was! At last the end came into sight but not before the event photographer made an appearance so I put on my bestest show for the camera before eventually reached tarmac again. But then, cruel, cruel organisers had slipped a last steep hill in before the finish line : this I did walk up, at least for most of the way, before seeing Max standing near the top spurring me on. There was also the added concern that there was someone behind me, running up the hill that I had passed earlier on the beach and I was determined he wasn't going to pass me back! Dibbed in and finished! Phew! Bit on the tired and achy side but the feeling of finishing is really, really good.
Michele didn't finish long after me and after a lovely cup of their famous soup, we piled back into the meat wagons to take us back 'home'. Once there, I decided to go for a swim (not in the sea....way too cold!) in the pool, which predictably was way down at the other end of the park...still, the walk would do me good. By the time I got there, it was only 15 mins to closing so it really was only time for a few short 'laps' and then a walk back to the chalet before another 3 course meal and bed! And we get to do it all over again tomorrow!
When the results were posted, I'd finished in 22nd place overall and 4th female in a time of 4.47.35
Thursday 20 September saw me set off once again to tackle the next VoTWO Challenge Event, this time along the Atlantic side of the South West Coast Path from a point just west of Padstow, all the way to Lands End, hopefully a distance a bit closer to the total 78.6 than the earlier Anglesey Coast Challenge! This time the event HQ was based in a holiday park near St Ives although I went one roundabout to far and struggled a little bit to find the darn thing! But find it I did and wasn't long before I'd met up with a few recognised faces from the last couple of events : I was becoming quite a bit of a celebrity with people coming up to ask what 'number' I was up to!
Accommodation was in little self-contained chalets complete with TV! It was actually a tad on the chilly side so on went the heating! Unlike the Angelsey, food was all arranged by VoTWO so I indulged in a 3 course meal with a few of the others who were had already arrived but crept back for an early night in front of the TV.
Saturday dawned dry and sunny for a pleasant change and after a hearty breakfast, registered and received all the maps covering the 3 days....there were 4 for each day this time so it would require a bit of juggling to ensure that the current map was in my map case. Good to see that Michele Grainger was back for this challenge (if you remember, I'd met up with her on the Jurassic challenge back in March) as was Max from Anglesey! After kit check and safety briefing we piled into the mini-buses and set off in a long convoy (unlike Anglesey there were almost 200 mad adventurers!) to the start at Mackerel Cove where again, after the necessary 'loo' stop at the start (which was comical as all the blokes stood in a single line on the top of the ridge seemingly looking out to sea, whereas all the girlies were heading off towards all the dips and hollows as there was a distinct lack of bushes!), it was a very relaxed start with a simple 'dib' out and off...
Within the first mile we were plugging across sand which would become a very familiar feature over the next 3 days. I would spend most of today's run with Michele : it's really good having company as you keep each other going through the bad bits (of which there are quite a few!).
Check point 1 was at Mawgan Porth before we ran along the undulating clifftop above the very long Watergate Bay before hitting the outskirts of Newquay and CP2. Now it got busy, weaving down the narrow streets of Newquay trying to avoid tourists, dog leads and surfer dudes. We had to reach a huge turreted hotel high up on Towan Head before dropping back down to the National Surfing Centre at Fistral Beach where the surf was packed with people catching the waves. At the end of the next headland there was an amazing view back across towards Towan Head.
After hitting the road through Pentire (I so nearly tripped up along here as I was trying to read the map whilst running on the road and talking to the others and hit a sleeping policeman!), it was then a drop back down to cross a small footbridge in the middle of a tidal estuary : luckily for us the tide was out otherwise it would have been quite a wading job as the bridge certainly wasn't very high above the tidal channel! At this point Michele started to head off to the right towards a little gully leading up into the fields but our attention was immediately drawn to 4 or 5 blokes running across the top of the fields yelling at us 'that's not the way, keep going straight ahead'. Michele was convinced she was right as she had taken that route the previous year but the blokes were very insistent. Eventually we pulled Michele away from her route and continued straight on, which seemed to go on for ever before we eventually turned the corner and ended up running across the fields where we had seen the blokes earlier...Michele's route would definitely have been the wrong way but there were plenty of people who were taking that route which was a tad annoying...."Carole, remember, this is a challenge event not a race!!" Just afterwards we hit CP3 where I stocked up on marmite sandwiches, jelly beans and coke.
Just after this we hit sand dunes and there were loads of little paths you could take through them : I picked the wrong one and ended up heading towards the beach so had to back-track and catch the others up again (who had all stuck together like sheep and taken the correct route!). The undulations started to get a little bit more unkind from here on in but I was feeling pretty good and kicked on (probably regret that later). At Holywell Beach we hit amazingly high (and very soft) sand dunes and whilst it was nigh-on impossible to run up them, I loved the downhill bit, even providing vocal sound effects "wheeeeeeee" in the process! After a pull up and around Penhale Point, Perran Sands came into view....and stretched way, way, way into the distance and yes, there were little specs representing runners and walkers stretching into that distance too! So, there was no getting away from it. I dropped down the steep (painful by this point) concrete slope onto the sands and started the slog for home. I caught and passed a number of people and committed myself not to drop to a walk, however slowly I was travelling. Over a mile long that beach was! At last the end came into sight but not before the event photographer made an appearance so I put on my bestest show for the camera before eventually reached tarmac again. But then, cruel, cruel organisers had slipped a last steep hill in before the finish line : this I did walk up, at least for most of the way, before seeing Max standing near the top spurring me on. There was also the added concern that there was someone behind me, running up the hill that I had passed earlier on the beach and I was determined he wasn't going to pass me back! Dibbed in and finished! Phew! Bit on the tired and achy side but the feeling of finishing is really, really good.
Michele didn't finish long after me and after a lovely cup of their famous soup, we piled back into the meat wagons to take us back 'home'. Once there, I decided to go for a swim (not in the sea....way too cold!) in the pool, which predictably was way down at the other end of the park...still, the walk would do me good. By the time I got there, it was only 15 mins to closing so it really was only time for a few short 'laps' and then a walk back to the chalet before another 3 course meal and bed! And we get to do it all over again tomorrow!
When the results were posted, I'd finished in 22nd place overall and 4th female in a time of 4.47.35
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Marathon # 11 - Purbeck
Sunday 16 September was the date for the inaugural Purbeck marathon, destined to be a very tough and hilly route using both the coastal and inland footpaths.
Debs and I were the only BJs running and we arrived nice and early in Swanage to register and collect our numbers. It wasn't cold but certainly didn't want to leave our nice warm clothes at the baggage point along the seafront, instead choosing to walk up to the start above the harbour and have our bags taken back down to the finish point. There wasn't a huge amount of runners but they certainly came from far afield and many were hardened ultra marathon runners. Barry Light was there, completing this as one of his 60 marathons in 60 weeks in his 60th year...and after having run a marathon in Weymouth the day before...he's as mad as me! There were also some army guys complete with huge backpacks.
Right from the 'off' we were into the hilly stuff, working our way out to Durlston Point before picking up the coastal path proper for several miles to the Worth Matravers valley before heading north (and uphill) to the village. Along to Kingston (uphill) before running along the top ridge and valley above Kimmeridge and Worlston where we dropped down to the deserted village of Tyneham and the mid race check point (just to ensure no-one had fallen off the cliffs!). Once in the valley there was then a very long and steep drag out of it up to the 2nd ridge before running through fields towards Corfe. Several miles out there was, bizarrely, a lone bag-piper playing on top of one of the hills on our left :o)
After dropping down into the gully infront of the iconic Corfe Castle, we then run underneath the ruined battlements before winding our way through the busy village and then over the railway line. Unfortunately, we'd just missed taking a short cut via the steam train which would have enabled us to miss out the next long, slow drag up onto Nine Barrow Down which, however many times I walk or run it, never gets any easier. I used the various gates to steal a look behind to see if there were any other women in sight! All the way round the course I'd been told I was '2nd lady', 2nd lady', '1st lady', '2nd lady', '1st lady'...so whilst I assumed I was in the first 2, I really didn't know what position and was nervously conscious that someone could leg it past me at any time. I've come 2nd in a race a couple of times, most recently with the Salisbury 54321 but I'd never won one so definitely didn't want to miss the opportunity of doing so if I was actually in the lead. Once over the top of the Down, it was then a very painful sharp downhill on a chalky, boulder-strewn path towards Upwell. At the bottom of the hill the marshal was taking photos of me, adamant that I was in the lead!
Once on the outskirts of Upwell it was then only a couple of miles back down to the seafront and the finish line in Swanage, to find out I was indeed 2nd!
Excellent goodie bag with a medel, a bright lime green techie t-shirt, ice-cream voucher, bottle of local studland ale and some fruit. Debs came through in 3rd place around 5 minutes after me, huge grin on her face as usual.
We waited around for the presentation as we'd already checked out the silverware and worked out we'd both get a trophy and....an envelope! However, how disappointed we both were when I was called up in 3rd place rather than 2nd, which meant Debs didn't get a 'podium' finish, instead winning the V40 age group. How could they get the results so wrong? The 2nd placed runner didn't even hang around to collect their prize. So I asked them to double check and to our joy, they agreed they'd got them wrong : the 2nd place 'lady' was actually a bloke so having handed back our initial winnings, I then received 2nd and Debs was 3rd. The envelopes contained vouchers for a local running shop : £15 for me and £10 for Debs. I later found out that the winner was a member of the Olympic Team GB sailing crew.....I certainly don't mind being beaten by an Olympian!!
Debs and I were the only BJs running and we arrived nice and early in Swanage to register and collect our numbers. It wasn't cold but certainly didn't want to leave our nice warm clothes at the baggage point along the seafront, instead choosing to walk up to the start above the harbour and have our bags taken back down to the finish point. There wasn't a huge amount of runners but they certainly came from far afield and many were hardened ultra marathon runners. Barry Light was there, completing this as one of his 60 marathons in 60 weeks in his 60th year...and after having run a marathon in Weymouth the day before...he's as mad as me! There were also some army guys complete with huge backpacks.
Right from the 'off' we were into the hilly stuff, working our way out to Durlston Point before picking up the coastal path proper for several miles to the Worth Matravers valley before heading north (and uphill) to the village. Along to Kingston (uphill) before running along the top ridge and valley above Kimmeridge and Worlston where we dropped down to the deserted village of Tyneham and the mid race check point (just to ensure no-one had fallen off the cliffs!). Once in the valley there was then a very long and steep drag out of it up to the 2nd ridge before running through fields towards Corfe. Several miles out there was, bizarrely, a lone bag-piper playing on top of one of the hills on our left :o)
After dropping down into the gully infront of the iconic Corfe Castle, we then run underneath the ruined battlements before winding our way through the busy village and then over the railway line. Unfortunately, we'd just missed taking a short cut via the steam train which would have enabled us to miss out the next long, slow drag up onto Nine Barrow Down which, however many times I walk or run it, never gets any easier. I used the various gates to steal a look behind to see if there were any other women in sight! All the way round the course I'd been told I was '2nd lady', 2nd lady', '1st lady', '2nd lady', '1st lady'...so whilst I assumed I was in the first 2, I really didn't know what position and was nervously conscious that someone could leg it past me at any time. I've come 2nd in a race a couple of times, most recently with the Salisbury 54321 but I'd never won one so definitely didn't want to miss the opportunity of doing so if I was actually in the lead. Once over the top of the Down, it was then a very painful sharp downhill on a chalky, boulder-strewn path towards Upwell. At the bottom of the hill the marshal was taking photos of me, adamant that I was in the lead!
Once on the outskirts of Upwell it was then only a couple of miles back down to the seafront and the finish line in Swanage, to find out I was indeed 2nd!
Excellent goodie bag with a medel, a bright lime green techie t-shirt, ice-cream voucher, bottle of local studland ale and some fruit. Debs came through in 3rd place around 5 minutes after me, huge grin on her face as usual.
We waited around for the presentation as we'd already checked out the silverware and worked out we'd both get a trophy and....an envelope! However, how disappointed we both were when I was called up in 3rd place rather than 2nd, which meant Debs didn't get a 'podium' finish, instead winning the V40 age group. How could they get the results so wrong? The 2nd placed runner didn't even hang around to collect their prize. So I asked them to double check and to our joy, they agreed they'd got them wrong : the 2nd place 'lady' was actually a bloke so having handed back our initial winnings, I then received 2nd and Debs was 3rd. The envelopes contained vouchers for a local running shop : £15 for me and £10 for Debs. I later found out that the winner was a member of the Olympic Team GB sailing crew.....I certainly don't mind being beaten by an Olympian!!
The BIG car boot
Judging by previous car boots Tricia and I had done, dvd's, clothes, shoes and bags had all been winners so I had put round several mass pleas for goodie donations, and we certainly weren't let down! I spent the Saturday (which was a wet, miserable day!) sorting out all the bags into mens, womens and kids and then somehow managed to stuff everything plus the rotary clothes dryer and very heavy base, in my car....OK so there was minimal room for Tricia but I'm sure we'd stuff her in somewhere too!
The Sunday we picked dawned dry and bright unlike all previous dates we had penciled in....good choice we thought!
We did manage, just, to get Tricia in the front seat, but only with her being blocked in on her left by the clothes dryer and having two big bags on her lap and one by her feet (I'm not sure we would have been looked upon too kindly had we been stopped by the police en-route!).
The clothes dryer turned into a winner : if we had £1 for everyone who commented on "what a great idea" we'd have made at least another £100. It still blew over a couple of times but didn't land on any passers by (only me!) so I'm not expecting to receive any insurance claims from anyone I'm pleased to say!
Jeans flew off the pegs at £1 a go...Jax had donated about 15 pairs of football boots and most of them didn't hang around long again at £1 a pair. It still surprises me at how much buyers quibble and moan : virtually all of the clothes we had on offer were fantastic quality, some even had their labels on when I'd been sorting through them yet buyers were trying to haggle down to the lowest price possible. I made some feel a bit guilty by saying everything we made was for charity and no, we're not a charity!
Still, we had a pretty good day, making £109 but the amazing thing was that we hardly toughed the sides and my car was still chocca on the way back (although Tricia did at least get the front seat back all to herself!).
We're planning on doing another on 28 October so everything is still stored in my garage but even after that, I think we'll have enough left to do at least another 3 or 4!
The Sunday we picked dawned dry and bright unlike all previous dates we had penciled in....good choice we thought!
We did manage, just, to get Tricia in the front seat, but only with her being blocked in on her left by the clothes dryer and having two big bags on her lap and one by her feet (I'm not sure we would have been looked upon too kindly had we been stopped by the police en-route!).
The clothes dryer turned into a winner : if we had £1 for everyone who commented on "what a great idea" we'd have made at least another £100. It still blew over a couple of times but didn't land on any passers by (only me!) so I'm not expecting to receive any insurance claims from anyone I'm pleased to say!
Jeans flew off the pegs at £1 a go...Jax had donated about 15 pairs of football boots and most of them didn't hang around long again at £1 a pair. It still surprises me at how much buyers quibble and moan : virtually all of the clothes we had on offer were fantastic quality, some even had their labels on when I'd been sorting through them yet buyers were trying to haggle down to the lowest price possible. I made some feel a bit guilty by saying everything we made was for charity and no, we're not a charity!
Still, we had a pretty good day, making £109 but the amazing thing was that we hardly toughed the sides and my car was still chocca on the way back (although Tricia did at least get the front seat back all to herself!).
We're planning on doing another on 28 October so everything is still stored in my garage but even after that, I think we'll have enough left to do at least another 3 or 4!
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Marathon # 10 - Anglesey Coastal Challenge (part III)
Sunday morning dawned fantastically sunny, inviting us out for a little jog. Normal routine ensued...breakfast, registration then kit check. Everyone has definitely slowed down in their actions by today and we're beginning to act a bit like sheep, following each other but making sure someone else makes the first move.
It took around 45 minutes to drive back out to our start point at Cemlyn Bay with views ahead of the nuclear power station!
Tough first mile as it was straight across a shingle bar separating a lagoon from the sea : this reminded me of the Grizzly only this time I'd already run over 60 miles before reaching it! Then it was gently undulating fields until passing round the power station via a nature reserve which actually, was really nice before traversing through yet more fields towards Caemes. There were 7 of us running together at this stage and we got a tad lost, clearly missing the vital tern sign and ending up on a road where we shouldn't have been. No matter, we simply followed the road down into the village, probably adding a mile or so to our journey but at least we were back on track.
The days first check point was at Llanbadrig where we learned that Karl was a full 7 minutes ahead of us and clearing motoring (later found out that he had been badly injured in Afghanistan - remember that iconic picture of a soldier on fire desperately trying to climb out of his armoured vehicle?, and would be featuring in a TV programme the following weekend as part of Prince Harry's wounded soldiers attempt to climb Everest). After a brief recharge we set off back around the cliffs of the coast path, past a church and graveyard right on the edge and here the hills set in good and proper! There were lots of little gully's along this part of the coast and all required negotiation down steps and then up again the other side. One particularly memorable one was ironically called Hell's Mouth and it certainly lived up to it's name : there was a ruined stone building set right in the valley, surrounded by very steep cliffs. It was here that Melissa and Max started to put their foot down and forge ahead and I certainly was not going to go at their pace. Jon had dropped off the pace so it was me, Jenni, Meika and Andy in the pelaton. Jenni's knee had really been troubling her for a few miles and it wasn't long before she was unable to run anymore which was really disappointing for her having put in two fantastic performances on the previous days. She ended up walking to the next checkpoint and then having a lift to the end. Andy set off after Melissa and Max but kept getting lost and appearing from a totally different direction at several points when Meika and I ran past!
We lost Andy (again!) just before the 2nd checkpoint at Amlwch where we arrived in time to see Karl set off again, hotly pursued by both Melissa and Max. After topping energy levels up with cheese rolls, haribo sweets, jaffa cakes and coke (great running diet!), we set off again across the cliff tops. Just a couple of miles in, we caught up and passed Karl before we hit a hillier and much muddier section where it was a little difficult to stay upright. Another couple of miles along the path, we had to head inland and spied Melissa and Max just a couple of minutes in front of us stopped at the top of a hill. However, once she saw us that was it...left for dust again! We then got attacked by zillions of horseflies whilst running uphill (so slow, and we couldn't get away from the little biting blighters!) and before long there were quite a few open 'wounds' on our arms and legs. We got a little bit lost running through a quiet village and had to flag down a passing motorist to try to establish where we were. It was here that we found out we were actually further on the route than we initially thought so no wonder I couldn't tie in the houses to the map! Karl caught us up again whilst we were dithering around and this certainly made us put our foot down!
Long downhill to Dulas Bay where the lane abruptly stopped actually in the estuary! The footpath continued on our right but....in the estuary! The next few miles were a case of following the edge of the bay, occasionally over footbridges and through bogs before heading back uphill on the other side. Very, very tired by now and trudging ensued. We passed Karl again! Either he went the wrong way after the estuary and bogs or he has an identical twin brother!
Jenni was cheering us in at checkpoint 3 where more welcome food and drink were thrust in our hands (I think if I had just opened up my mouth like a baby bird, they would have fed me too!). We then set off again on the last leg, less than 10km from the finish. After passing round the quaint little harbour of Moelfre it was then a case of running the downhills and walking the uphills and going round one last headland before dropping down to Benliech. Once again my garmin gave up, this time at exactly 27 miles. The weather was glorious by this time and each of the bays and coves we had run through were very busy with people enjoying the water and sunshine.
We could see the finish line after coming over the last hill but then had to drop down onto the beach and cross a stream before heading onto the promenade and crossing the finish line, hand in hand. Exhausted!
We'd just run another ultra marathon, this time of 29.5 miles in a time of 6:44 finishing in =3rd place.
It was almost another hour before the next runner finished : we were certainly well strung out today.
I didn't get back to the outdoor centre until well after 6pm and then had a quick shower before saying goodbye to those that were back....would only be 4 weeks before I would see Ian, Richard and Chris of VoTWO again at the Atlantic Coast Challenge.
Had a good drive home but craved a Big Mac before I left Wales! Got home at 1.30am Monday morning and back in work at 9am!
Following my exertions the cuts and bites on my legs gave me quite a bit of grief and, after suffering with one particular nasty wound at the top of my ankle for 2 weeks, eventually went to the doctors for some help in clearing it up. Not surprisingly, having had an open sore and then run through everything from farmyards to bog and estuary water (and not forgetting the nuclear power station on day 2!) I developed an infection that required antibiotics to help clear it up in time for the next adventure....
It took around 45 minutes to drive back out to our start point at Cemlyn Bay with views ahead of the nuclear power station!
Tough first mile as it was straight across a shingle bar separating a lagoon from the sea : this reminded me of the Grizzly only this time I'd already run over 60 miles before reaching it! Then it was gently undulating fields until passing round the power station via a nature reserve which actually, was really nice before traversing through yet more fields towards Caemes. There were 7 of us running together at this stage and we got a tad lost, clearly missing the vital tern sign and ending up on a road where we shouldn't have been. No matter, we simply followed the road down into the village, probably adding a mile or so to our journey but at least we were back on track.
The days first check point was at Llanbadrig where we learned that Karl was a full 7 minutes ahead of us and clearing motoring (later found out that he had been badly injured in Afghanistan - remember that iconic picture of a soldier on fire desperately trying to climb out of his armoured vehicle?, and would be featuring in a TV programme the following weekend as part of Prince Harry's wounded soldiers attempt to climb Everest). After a brief recharge we set off back around the cliffs of the coast path, past a church and graveyard right on the edge and here the hills set in good and proper! There were lots of little gully's along this part of the coast and all required negotiation down steps and then up again the other side. One particularly memorable one was ironically called Hell's Mouth and it certainly lived up to it's name : there was a ruined stone building set right in the valley, surrounded by very steep cliffs. It was here that Melissa and Max started to put their foot down and forge ahead and I certainly was not going to go at their pace. Jon had dropped off the pace so it was me, Jenni, Meika and Andy in the pelaton. Jenni's knee had really been troubling her for a few miles and it wasn't long before she was unable to run anymore which was really disappointing for her having put in two fantastic performances on the previous days. She ended up walking to the next checkpoint and then having a lift to the end. Andy set off after Melissa and Max but kept getting lost and appearing from a totally different direction at several points when Meika and I ran past!
We lost Andy (again!) just before the 2nd checkpoint at Amlwch where we arrived in time to see Karl set off again, hotly pursued by both Melissa and Max. After topping energy levels up with cheese rolls, haribo sweets, jaffa cakes and coke (great running diet!), we set off again across the cliff tops. Just a couple of miles in, we caught up and passed Karl before we hit a hillier and much muddier section where it was a little difficult to stay upright. Another couple of miles along the path, we had to head inland and spied Melissa and Max just a couple of minutes in front of us stopped at the top of a hill. However, once she saw us that was it...left for dust again! We then got attacked by zillions of horseflies whilst running uphill (so slow, and we couldn't get away from the little biting blighters!) and before long there were quite a few open 'wounds' on our arms and legs. We got a little bit lost running through a quiet village and had to flag down a passing motorist to try to establish where we were. It was here that we found out we were actually further on the route than we initially thought so no wonder I couldn't tie in the houses to the map! Karl caught us up again whilst we were dithering around and this certainly made us put our foot down!
Long downhill to Dulas Bay where the lane abruptly stopped actually in the estuary! The footpath continued on our right but....in the estuary! The next few miles were a case of following the edge of the bay, occasionally over footbridges and through bogs before heading back uphill on the other side. Very, very tired by now and trudging ensued. We passed Karl again! Either he went the wrong way after the estuary and bogs or he has an identical twin brother!
Jenni was cheering us in at checkpoint 3 where more welcome food and drink were thrust in our hands (I think if I had just opened up my mouth like a baby bird, they would have fed me too!). We then set off again on the last leg, less than 10km from the finish. After passing round the quaint little harbour of Moelfre it was then a case of running the downhills and walking the uphills and going round one last headland before dropping down to Benliech. Once again my garmin gave up, this time at exactly 27 miles. The weather was glorious by this time and each of the bays and coves we had run through were very busy with people enjoying the water and sunshine.
We could see the finish line after coming over the last hill but then had to drop down onto the beach and cross a stream before heading onto the promenade and crossing the finish line, hand in hand. Exhausted!
We'd just run another ultra marathon, this time of 29.5 miles in a time of 6:44 finishing in =3rd place.
It was almost another hour before the next runner finished : we were certainly well strung out today.
I didn't get back to the outdoor centre until well after 6pm and then had a quick shower before saying goodbye to those that were back....would only be 4 weeks before I would see Ian, Richard and Chris of VoTWO again at the Atlantic Coast Challenge.
Had a good drive home but craved a Big Mac before I left Wales! Got home at 1.30am Monday morning and back in work at 9am!
Following my exertions the cuts and bites on my legs gave me quite a bit of grief and, after suffering with one particular nasty wound at the top of my ankle for 2 weeks, eventually went to the doctors for some help in clearing it up. Not surprisingly, having had an open sore and then run through everything from farmyards to bog and estuary water (and not forgetting the nuclear power station on day 2!) I developed an infection that required antibiotics to help clear it up in time for the next adventure....
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Marathon # 9 - Anglesey Coastal Challenge (part II)!
Same routine this morning - up at 6.15 then down for food at 7 followed by registration, kit check and safety briefing. A few were now in need of medical attention for blisters, sore knees and such like so the on-hand VOTWO medic was certainly kept busy. I only had a few scratches to show for my efforts yesterday and although I was tired, as is now becoming usual, I didn't ache (well, sat down I didn't, not sure what was going to happen when I try to get into a pace faster than a walk).
Amazingly the sun was out and there was very little wind - it was supposed to be almost 30 degrees down in Bournemouth : certainly wouldn't be anywhere near that in Wales but sun would be nice for a change!?
By 8.30 everyone was milling around outside the hostel 'raring' to go and the sun had gone, replaced once again by fine mist. And off we went, back down the road to the coast once again. The first few miles were over gently rolling heather clad hills before we started to climb on a quiet lane towards Holyhead Mountain. Here the sea mist really rolled in. Melissa, Max and Jenni were well ahead already and there was a 'gang' of around 10 several minutes behind me. It was like running in a snowglobe - I could only see around 15" all around me and this area of visibility moved when you did. Luckily the footpath itself was pretty well marked across the mountain either by slabs of rock or regular posts with the familiar tern. The checkpoint was supposed to be around 9km into the route so when my garmin showed almost 8 miles, I was beginning to panic...seriously! I'd gone all the way up, over and down the mountain yet still hadn't come across anywhere (within my 15" of visibility) where a checkpoint could be. Hadn't seen anyone else for the last hour so it was a huge relief to finally see the USN banner.
It was then a relatively flat run around Holyhead itself before running down the side of the ferry port to once again pick up the coastal path. Just before checkpoint 2 the path went through the woodland of Penrhos Coast Park where I passed a mass graveyard for pets! You never know what you'll encounter...
After refuelling, it was then a very long stretch along the shoreline so by now I'm getting pretty adept at rock scrambling! Max was having real trouble with his hip and I caught up with him fairly quickly. Andy also had a quick pit stop behind me at the checkpoint and then caught the two of us up as we were trying to decipher where the path went once we got to the end of the muddy estuary...apparently straight through it and then up over a field of young heifers! At least that's the route we took.
We then caught up and passed a guy who hadn't been infront of us before so again, people were having trouble reading the map or missing signs but that's not the point of the event - just to finish, via whatever route, is a success. It was here that Max dropped back quickly, experiencing a lot of pain with his hip.
After reaching the small village of Llanfrachraeth, Andy and I hit yet another estuary so yet more running in bogs before reaching the long sandy beach with great views back to Holyhead on our left. The sun was also starting to break through the temperature began to creep up quite quickly. The route now took us through a variety of grassy fields and dramatic cliff tops with several drop downs to quiet little coves and beaches. The fuel tank suddenly got very empty and we were hoping (against hope) that the next checkpoint would be over the next hill....then the next...and the next until finally I dragged my weary body into the welcome car park at Church Cove. After scoffing a cheese sandwich, coke and plenty of biscuits and jelly babies I reluctantly ventured out again just as Andy came round the corner into the car park looking just as exhausted as I had 5 minutes ago. That was a long 19k section from checkpoint 2.
Refreshed I seem to have a bit of extra spring in my step and quickly covered the next few miles. A 'wow' moment welcomed me around 3 miles after the checkpoint where I suddenly had to work my way round a maze of brightly coloured heather and gorse bushes : every variation of purple was here, before dropping down a steep slope to be faced with a rock walled reservoir and a thick forest of pine trees. I could have been in Scotland rather than North West Wales. All I needed was a red deer stag to complete the picture.
After this the terrain reverted to gently rolling pastures filled with sheep and cows...up, down, up, down. Once again my garmin ran out despite my willing it to hold on for just a few more miles. It already registered 29.97 miles covered in 6h 30m so today was going to be the furthest I had ever run in one event. A couple passed me going in the opposite direction and announced I was in "bronze medal position" which had a nice Olympic ring to it!
Eventually the very welcome sight of the VOTWO banners came into sight on my right but cruelly, I had to continue to run straight ahead through another couple of fields before then turning right then right again to reach the finish. Melissa and Jenni had, amazingly, finished almost an hour before. Then I tucked into the food and hot soup and laid out in the sun waiting for the others and cheering them home. Karl was next home.
Massive ultra distance today of 32 miles in exactly 7:00, finishing in 3rd place.
After a couple of hours there were enough of us home to fill one of the mini-buses back to base with first priority being a lovely cuppa! I decided that, although I wasn't particularly sore (other than now having quite a number of cuts to my legs from the brambles, twigs, heather, horseflies and other biting and scratching things) it might be prudent to have a massage to give myself a better chance of not being too stiff tomorrow and this turned out to be quite a wise move and a well spent £12! 30 minutes later I was feeling much better and after everyone had returned and chilled out for a bit, 7 of us headed back down to The Paddlers Return for some much needed food and hydration and sharing of the day's war stories! Turned into a right party and we didn't roll into bed until the unearthly hour of 9pm!!
Amazingly the sun was out and there was very little wind - it was supposed to be almost 30 degrees down in Bournemouth : certainly wouldn't be anywhere near that in Wales but sun would be nice for a change!?
By 8.30 everyone was milling around outside the hostel 'raring' to go and the sun had gone, replaced once again by fine mist. And off we went, back down the road to the coast once again. The first few miles were over gently rolling heather clad hills before we started to climb on a quiet lane towards Holyhead Mountain. Here the sea mist really rolled in. Melissa, Max and Jenni were well ahead already and there was a 'gang' of around 10 several minutes behind me. It was like running in a snowglobe - I could only see around 15" all around me and this area of visibility moved when you did. Luckily the footpath itself was pretty well marked across the mountain either by slabs of rock or regular posts with the familiar tern. The checkpoint was supposed to be around 9km into the route so when my garmin showed almost 8 miles, I was beginning to panic...seriously! I'd gone all the way up, over and down the mountain yet still hadn't come across anywhere (within my 15" of visibility) where a checkpoint could be. Hadn't seen anyone else for the last hour so it was a huge relief to finally see the USN banner.
It was then a relatively flat run around Holyhead itself before running down the side of the ferry port to once again pick up the coastal path. Just before checkpoint 2 the path went through the woodland of Penrhos Coast Park where I passed a mass graveyard for pets! You never know what you'll encounter...
After refuelling, it was then a very long stretch along the shoreline so by now I'm getting pretty adept at rock scrambling! Max was having real trouble with his hip and I caught up with him fairly quickly. Andy also had a quick pit stop behind me at the checkpoint and then caught the two of us up as we were trying to decipher where the path went once we got to the end of the muddy estuary...apparently straight through it and then up over a field of young heifers! At least that's the route we took.
We then caught up and passed a guy who hadn't been infront of us before so again, people were having trouble reading the map or missing signs but that's not the point of the event - just to finish, via whatever route, is a success. It was here that Max dropped back quickly, experiencing a lot of pain with his hip.
After reaching the small village of Llanfrachraeth, Andy and I hit yet another estuary so yet more running in bogs before reaching the long sandy beach with great views back to Holyhead on our left. The sun was also starting to break through the temperature began to creep up quite quickly. The route now took us through a variety of grassy fields and dramatic cliff tops with several drop downs to quiet little coves and beaches. The fuel tank suddenly got very empty and we were hoping (against hope) that the next checkpoint would be over the next hill....then the next...and the next until finally I dragged my weary body into the welcome car park at Church Cove. After scoffing a cheese sandwich, coke and plenty of biscuits and jelly babies I reluctantly ventured out again just as Andy came round the corner into the car park looking just as exhausted as I had 5 minutes ago. That was a long 19k section from checkpoint 2.
Refreshed I seem to have a bit of extra spring in my step and quickly covered the next few miles. A 'wow' moment welcomed me around 3 miles after the checkpoint where I suddenly had to work my way round a maze of brightly coloured heather and gorse bushes : every variation of purple was here, before dropping down a steep slope to be faced with a rock walled reservoir and a thick forest of pine trees. I could have been in Scotland rather than North West Wales. All I needed was a red deer stag to complete the picture.
After this the terrain reverted to gently rolling pastures filled with sheep and cows...up, down, up, down. Once again my garmin ran out despite my willing it to hold on for just a few more miles. It already registered 29.97 miles covered in 6h 30m so today was going to be the furthest I had ever run in one event. A couple passed me going in the opposite direction and announced I was in "bronze medal position" which had a nice Olympic ring to it!
Eventually the very welcome sight of the VOTWO banners came into sight on my right but cruelly, I had to continue to run straight ahead through another couple of fields before then turning right then right again to reach the finish. Melissa and Jenni had, amazingly, finished almost an hour before. Then I tucked into the food and hot soup and laid out in the sun waiting for the others and cheering them home. Karl was next home.
Massive ultra distance today of 32 miles in exactly 7:00, finishing in 3rd place.
After a couple of hours there were enough of us home to fill one of the mini-buses back to base with first priority being a lovely cuppa! I decided that, although I wasn't particularly sore (other than now having quite a number of cuts to my legs from the brambles, twigs, heather, horseflies and other biting and scratching things) it might be prudent to have a massage to give myself a better chance of not being too stiff tomorrow and this turned out to be quite a wise move and a well spent £12! 30 minutes later I was feeling much better and after everyone had returned and chilled out for a bit, 7 of us headed back down to The Paddlers Return for some much needed food and hydration and sharing of the day's war stories! Turned into a right party and we didn't roll into bed until the unearthly hour of 9pm!!
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Marathon # 8 - Anglesey Coastal Challenge (part I)!
Thursday 19 July saw me leaving work at lunchtime and heading to the most north western part of Wales...Anglesey, or to be more precise, Holyhead. 320 miles later I arrived, in the rain, at the outdoor centre that would be my home for the next 3 nights. After making myself comfy I headed down to the onsite 'bar' where I was very surprised to enjoy a great home-cooked pasta meal then, after packing my mandatory kit into my backpack, I turned in for the night...at all of 9pm!
Didn't actually get that much sleep : my head was right next to the shared toilet and clearly lots of people were really hydrated as there were quite a few nightly visits! It also poured with rain all night...great!
Up at 6.15 for a shower then headed downstairs to meet the rest of the guys who had accepted the challenge...all 24 of them (surprisingly there was an equal split of male / female so this should be interesting!) and enjoy a full cooked breakfast before the mandatory kit check and safety briefing. It was still raining.
Just after 8.30 we set off in minibuses for the start of today's challenge at Aberffraw. The Anglesey Coast Path isn't as undulating as the Jurassic but there were to be plenty of changes in terrain, starting with sand dunes and a little jaunt along the beach itself. Wasn't long before we were soaked from head to toe as we encountered a huge flood in the first couple of miles and no way was there any opt out option! Most people were getting to know each other and chit chatting, and with that comes the 'follow the leader' mentality with the result that most of us missed a vital turning and got lost...not to worry, we climbed over a couple of barbed wire fences and headed towards the cliffs once again and picked up the coastal path.
Between check points one / two we had to skirt around the now famous airfield of RAF Valley (where Wills is based!)..Kate did invite us in for a bacon sarnie but we politely declined as we had a challenge to complete! At points a few of us were running together, trying to ensure we stayed on the right path so there were plenty of stop / starts to check out the map and ask directions from locals but at other times I would find myself running on my own. Parts of the route were really coastal ie they were under water and I don't believe they ever dried out enough to really call it a footpath - you would need waders!
The weather was still pretty bad : very low cloud and plenty of drizzle but it certainly wasn't cold at all. At one point I tripped over a grassy tussock and fell flat on my face (didn't even have time to put my hand out to break my fall), but luckily only my pride was hurt. I was running with a guy called Andy at the time who apparently was always falling over - he thought it hilarious that someone else was doing that instead and promptly told me to tell his friend Melissa (who was an amazingly fast runner and left the rest of us all for dead each day!) that for once, he wasn't the one dusting himself down....I turned around to thank him, only to find him flat on his face having fallen over exactly the same clump of grass :o) nice one Andy!
Despite the lack of really hilly terrain, the fact that it was so challenging to run on meant that it took so long to complete each day. My Garmin actually ran out of life after I hit 25 miles and I was still a long way from the day's finish line. In the last few miles we kept having to deviate from the road to do a small circular route on the cliff top in order to truly follow the coastal path but again, had to keep your eyes peeled for the Arctic Tern route signs in order that you didn't go the wrong way....by the end of the day a lot of people had totally different distances registering on their watches!
The finish for day one was back at the Outdoor Centre and the last 1/2 mile certainly felt a lot further than it was signed! Melissa finished almost an hour before me and I came in joint 4th! The field were definitely well spread out and by the end of the first day we unfortunately had two casualties..not injured but pulled out as they had got quite drastically lost whilst walking the route, ending up at checkpoint 2 but for day 2 rather than checkpoint 3 for day one....oops!
Definitely more than the expected 26.2 miles : today was confirmed as 30 miles which I had covered in 5:44.
After a lovely welcome cuppa tea and shower, a group of us trekked all of 100m down to the bar for another scrummy meal and review of the day's war stories before I was tucked up in bed well before 9! It's still pouring with rain and blowing a gale out there!
Didn't actually get that much sleep : my head was right next to the shared toilet and clearly lots of people were really hydrated as there were quite a few nightly visits! It also poured with rain all night...great!
Up at 6.15 for a shower then headed downstairs to meet the rest of the guys who had accepted the challenge...all 24 of them (surprisingly there was an equal split of male / female so this should be interesting!) and enjoy a full cooked breakfast before the mandatory kit check and safety briefing. It was still raining.
Just after 8.30 we set off in minibuses for the start of today's challenge at Aberffraw. The Anglesey Coast Path isn't as undulating as the Jurassic but there were to be plenty of changes in terrain, starting with sand dunes and a little jaunt along the beach itself. Wasn't long before we were soaked from head to toe as we encountered a huge flood in the first couple of miles and no way was there any opt out option! Most people were getting to know each other and chit chatting, and with that comes the 'follow the leader' mentality with the result that most of us missed a vital turning and got lost...not to worry, we climbed over a couple of barbed wire fences and headed towards the cliffs once again and picked up the coastal path.
Between check points one / two we had to skirt around the now famous airfield of RAF Valley (where Wills is based!)..Kate did invite us in for a bacon sarnie but we politely declined as we had a challenge to complete! At points a few of us were running together, trying to ensure we stayed on the right path so there were plenty of stop / starts to check out the map and ask directions from locals but at other times I would find myself running on my own. Parts of the route were really coastal ie they were under water and I don't believe they ever dried out enough to really call it a footpath - you would need waders!
The weather was still pretty bad : very low cloud and plenty of drizzle but it certainly wasn't cold at all. At one point I tripped over a grassy tussock and fell flat on my face (didn't even have time to put my hand out to break my fall), but luckily only my pride was hurt. I was running with a guy called Andy at the time who apparently was always falling over - he thought it hilarious that someone else was doing that instead and promptly told me to tell his friend Melissa (who was an amazingly fast runner and left the rest of us all for dead each day!) that for once, he wasn't the one dusting himself down....I turned around to thank him, only to find him flat on his face having fallen over exactly the same clump of grass :o) nice one Andy!
Despite the lack of really hilly terrain, the fact that it was so challenging to run on meant that it took so long to complete each day. My Garmin actually ran out of life after I hit 25 miles and I was still a long way from the day's finish line. In the last few miles we kept having to deviate from the road to do a small circular route on the cliff top in order to truly follow the coastal path but again, had to keep your eyes peeled for the Arctic Tern route signs in order that you didn't go the wrong way....by the end of the day a lot of people had totally different distances registering on their watches!
The finish for day one was back at the Outdoor Centre and the last 1/2 mile certainly felt a lot further than it was signed! Melissa finished almost an hour before me and I came in joint 4th! The field were definitely well spread out and by the end of the first day we unfortunately had two casualties..not injured but pulled out as they had got quite drastically lost whilst walking the route, ending up at checkpoint 2 but for day 2 rather than checkpoint 3 for day one....oops!
Definitely more than the expected 26.2 miles : today was confirmed as 30 miles which I had covered in 5:44.
After a lovely welcome cuppa tea and shower, a group of us trekked all of 100m down to the bar for another scrummy meal and review of the day's war stories before I was tucked up in bed well before 9! It's still pouring with rain and blowing a gale out there!
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Marathon # 7 - Salisbury 54321
OK, so I've had a bit of a breather since my last marathon but now they really kick off....4 in one week to start with! I honestly didn't plan it this way - it just sort of happened. I'd already entered the Anglesey Coastal Challenge as I'd already completed the Jurassic one but I then entered the Salisbury 54321 as I just love this little jaunt in the Wiltshire countryside - it just so happened that after I'd entered, it dawned on me that they were all in the same week...oh well, no pain, no gain!
The 54321 is so called as it crosses 5 rivers, 4 hills, 3 large country estates, 2 castles and 1 cathedral and is extremely popular, catering not just for marathon runners but also a 50k, 30k, 20k and 10k option for runners and walkers.
There was a very quick sharp shower about 15 minutes before the 'off' and Pat, Caro, Dory and I just sat in the car waiting for it to stop but after that the weather was just about perfect for the rest of the day. After launching ourselves up the slippery chalk slopes of Old Sarum castle, we then joined the Clarendon Way for a while before dropping down to run through the amazing private estate of Longford, complete with a castle and clear chalk river where plenty of huge trout could be seen from the bridge as you run over. After this we crossed the main A338 (still early Sunday morning so very little traffic around as 'normal' people would only just be getting up and having breakfast!) and picked up the Avon Valley Path. By this stage I'd only seen one other female runner who had passed me around 3 miles but just as I hit the slow slog uphill to Clearbury Ring another absolutely flew past me and disappeared in a cloud of dust! However, not long afterwards I caught up and passed the woman who had originally overtook me.
After hitting Clearbury Ring where there was a very welcome water / jelly baby station, it was a fantastic run steeply downhill through a wild flower meadow adorned with loads of different kinds of butterflies to then run along a grassy track and eventually to a Swiss-style cottage and a thick yew tree forest straight from a fairy tale. Another refreshment station, this time serving huge chunks of bread pudding before heading into the forest, so thick that you would quickly lose your way had it not been for a piece of red string that you had to follow! I went through a really tough period here, feeling as if I had absolutely no energy and could hardly put one foot infront of the other and whilst it lasted for around a mile, it passed eventually and by the time I hit the road section again, all was OK.
A lovely long downhill into Coombe Bissett and the next water station before a long draining uphill to Salisbury racecourse then across fields before dropping down into Wilton. After this it was a couple of miles on quiet country lanes and a nature reserve before reaching the outskirts of Salisbury. I still hadn't seen another female runner and even the blokes were few and far between and those appeared to be the same ones either overtaking me or me overtaking them!
By the time I reached Salisbury cathedral, the 'normal' people had clearly got out of bed, eaten their breakfast and decided to invade Salisbury for the day...it was packed and would they move out of the way for a runner?!?! Would they heck....by this time I was really tired so my 'excuse me' soon turned into more of an angry 'MOVE' sort of request! Students were the worst...they take up the whole pavement and just walk into you...can't they see or something? Do they assume I'm going to suddenly leapfrog them?
Anyway, I made it back to the finish in one piece and then went to congratulate the woman who had shot past me at Clearbury Ring only for her to tell me that I was 2nd! OMG!! I've never come 2nd before in a race...ever!
Shortly afterwards I collected my prize of a lovely medal embossed with flames in the 5 Olympic colours so very topical bearing in mind the amazing London 2012 Olympics finished on the same day.
So, number 7 duly completed...I'm still in one piece and writing this 3 days later, can confirm that I didn't ache too much afterwards and managed (sort of) to do a speed session yesterday.
I also received the final information pack for this weekend's Anglesey marathons...for the Jurassic there had been a mix of around 200 or so walkers / runners tackling the event but this weekend there's a massive.....25!!! Definitely going to be the 'loneliness of the long distance runner' me feels this time round...imagine if 24 of them were walkers and I was the only one running...I'm sure that won't happen and there will be quite a few running but it's a long way to drive tomorrow if that is the case!
I'll let you know!
The 54321 is so called as it crosses 5 rivers, 4 hills, 3 large country estates, 2 castles and 1 cathedral and is extremely popular, catering not just for marathon runners but also a 50k, 30k, 20k and 10k option for runners and walkers.
There was a very quick sharp shower about 15 minutes before the 'off' and Pat, Caro, Dory and I just sat in the car waiting for it to stop but after that the weather was just about perfect for the rest of the day. After launching ourselves up the slippery chalk slopes of Old Sarum castle, we then joined the Clarendon Way for a while before dropping down to run through the amazing private estate of Longford, complete with a castle and clear chalk river where plenty of huge trout could be seen from the bridge as you run over. After this we crossed the main A338 (still early Sunday morning so very little traffic around as 'normal' people would only just be getting up and having breakfast!) and picked up the Avon Valley Path. By this stage I'd only seen one other female runner who had passed me around 3 miles but just as I hit the slow slog uphill to Clearbury Ring another absolutely flew past me and disappeared in a cloud of dust! However, not long afterwards I caught up and passed the woman who had originally overtook me.
After hitting Clearbury Ring where there was a very welcome water / jelly baby station, it was a fantastic run steeply downhill through a wild flower meadow adorned with loads of different kinds of butterflies to then run along a grassy track and eventually to a Swiss-style cottage and a thick yew tree forest straight from a fairy tale. Another refreshment station, this time serving huge chunks of bread pudding before heading into the forest, so thick that you would quickly lose your way had it not been for a piece of red string that you had to follow! I went through a really tough period here, feeling as if I had absolutely no energy and could hardly put one foot infront of the other and whilst it lasted for around a mile, it passed eventually and by the time I hit the road section again, all was OK.
A lovely long downhill into Coombe Bissett and the next water station before a long draining uphill to Salisbury racecourse then across fields before dropping down into Wilton. After this it was a couple of miles on quiet country lanes and a nature reserve before reaching the outskirts of Salisbury. I still hadn't seen another female runner and even the blokes were few and far between and those appeared to be the same ones either overtaking me or me overtaking them!
By the time I reached Salisbury cathedral, the 'normal' people had clearly got out of bed, eaten their breakfast and decided to invade Salisbury for the day...it was packed and would they move out of the way for a runner?!?! Would they heck....by this time I was really tired so my 'excuse me' soon turned into more of an angry 'MOVE' sort of request! Students were the worst...they take up the whole pavement and just walk into you...can't they see or something? Do they assume I'm going to suddenly leapfrog them?
Anyway, I made it back to the finish in one piece and then went to congratulate the woman who had shot past me at Clearbury Ring only for her to tell me that I was 2nd! OMG!! I've never come 2nd before in a race...ever!
Shortly afterwards I collected my prize of a lovely medal embossed with flames in the 5 Olympic colours so very topical bearing in mind the amazing London 2012 Olympics finished on the same day.
So, number 7 duly completed...I'm still in one piece and writing this 3 days later, can confirm that I didn't ache too much afterwards and managed (sort of) to do a speed session yesterday.
I also received the final information pack for this weekend's Anglesey marathons...for the Jurassic there had been a mix of around 200 or so walkers / runners tackling the event but this weekend there's a massive.....25!!! Definitely going to be the 'loneliness of the long distance runner' me feels this time round...imagine if 24 of them were walkers and I was the only one running...I'm sure that won't happen and there will be quite a few running but it's a long way to drive tomorrow if that is the case!
I'll let you know!
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