"The Stafford Half"

It's 9.00am on a warm and sunny early spring morning as I sit in a McDonalds just outside of Stafford. An athlete walks in, clearly a runner, and makes his way over to the counter to order a coffee. The voice is unmistakeable, I would have heard it now 101 times (if I had listened to all the podcasts), its Nigel from "Running from the Reaper". We had arranged to meet up for a quick chat prior to him entering his local half marathon on his road to London next month.

After a quick chat about all things running he kindly guides me through the early Sunday traffic to find a parking spot near to the race start and thirty minutes later we are off in the Stafford Half Marathon. Four thousand runners have towed the start line in what are now becoming very warm and unseasonal conditions. The early miles were hit at an almost metronomic eight minute pace (photos are at five miles, I am 218 and Nigel 71) through miles six to nine the rolling road was more challenging and for me as a none road runner these days with my last half being ten years ago I was going into unchartered territory. However the last few miles were along a disused railway and then by the local river. The last mile Nigel really picked up the pace ending with a fantastic last quarter mile turn of speed. The clock stopped at 1.48.31. Not Nigel's quickest by a long way but he was comfortable enough to take confidence away from today as he ramps up the training for London.

For me it was a great day of running and has given me the confidence to attack the Wilmslow Half in two weeks. At the end we had time for a quick chat, put on our hard earned t-shirts for a photograph then it was off. I have run many races over the years but this will certainly be one to remember.

To see how Nigel felt about the run go to http://runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com/ or better still visit itunes and subscribe to his brilliant podcast.

"Over the Hollins"

Another quiet week on the running front with only twenty miles logged. This time of the year is always a strange one, the cross country season has finished but the track season has yet to start. Nevertheless I got some good runs in this week particularly on Monday with a six mile trip over the "The Hollins". Viewed from my office window they are always a challenging set of hills that are forever calling me out for a run!

The remainder of the week was a mixture of tempo runs and a short fartlek session this afternoon when it decided to turn to winter again with a mixture of rain, hail and sleet all in the space of fourty minutes.

The focus of this week will be a return to the track on Tuesday with easy running for the rest of the week, leading to next weekend when I aim to meet up with Nigel from "Running from the Reaper" for a Sunday morning run in the Stafford Half Marathon.

"Running HIGHlights"

The title of this post may be a bit misleading. For the first time this year the running went off the rails this week and the Bosley Cloud Hill Race I was hoping to run this morning was given a miss. After the efforts of last weeks English National XC race, a short recovery run on Monday signalled that everything wasn't quite right, and by Tuesday morning I had the first real head cold of the winter which then went onto my chest. For once I listened to my body and had five days off only going out for a VERY easy 50 minute run in the Spring sun this afternoon.

Whilst out on the run today I tried to think positively (as opposed to what a great race I had missed out on this morning!) and started to think about what have been the running "highs" in my career. After over twenty years of running and racing there have been many memories but in the space of one run there were only a few that really jumped out without too much effort, so here they are, the top 10 -

1. Finishing my one and only marathon at London in the mid 1990s in 3.14.21 (and vowing and meaning never to do it again!)

2. Being chosen to carry the baton (representing Macclesfield Harriers & AC) as part of the baton relay around the United Kingdom before the start of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester

3. Running a sub 4 minute mile as part of a 4x400 relay squad to celebrate Roger Bannister's first sub four minute mile.

4. Achieving a club vet high jump record of 1m 42 in 2006

5. Everytime I line up to run the English National Cross Country Championships particularly when it is run at the home of XC, Parliament Hill fields on London's Hampstead Heath

6. Cheering my son home to second place when he was 10 in the local inter schools cross country championship

7. Cheering my daughter every time she runs (because she has a running style and ability that I can only dream about) but I won't tell her this just yet!

8. Completing any tough track session on a Tuesday night when the coach says "well done"

9. Competing (and finishing) the World Masters Mountain Running Championships when they came to Keswick in the UK in 2005

10.Finishing the "Tour of Tameside" in one piece in the early 90's (pictured above). Regarded at the time as the toughest test in British athletics, organised by the legendary Ron Hill and featuring a double marathon distance covering six races in seven days.

Next week will be another base training week as I build up to a visit to the Stafford Half Marathon and hopefully a run with Nigel from "Running from the Reaper"

"The English National XC"

After months of cross country league fixtures and regional championships the biggest race of the season finally arrived yesterday. The English National Cross Country Championships the oldest and most famous of all xc races returned to its spiritual home, the testing mud bath that is Parliament Hill Fields on London's Hampstead Heath.

In glorious sunshine at 3pm the 122nd running of the senior men's race got under way. For me, as with many cross country runners this is one of the focus races of the year. For spectators the site of over 1400 runners aiming for the first corner of the course is a usually a sight not to be missed (and quite worrying for the ahletes as well!), however the difference on Parliament Hill is the start which starts on a slight rise & which keeps rising! This really sorts out the field, but whatever speed you start at you are still going into oxygen debt as you reach the top of the first climb and drop sharply down to race a very hilly, muddy two lap course. It was great to have the family there though to shout support although I never knew where they were going to pop up next so couldn't slack off at any stage!

As always I finished well down the field, tired but elated after being cheered in by my family and really enjoyed hearing how the rest of the team had faired, most in front of me but some behind!I have also made myself very popular again this evening washing off copious amounts of mud in the kitchen sink! The short video clip shows me in the final sprint to the finishing line. And yes I did beat the chasing athlete despite the lack of faith shown in me by my son who was commentating!







So that's the cross country over for another season and I can now start to focus on the summer with the aim of targeting some of the county track and field fixtures whilst also aiming to run in some of the summer fell races. To that end the first hill race for me will be the very tough nine mile "Bosley Cloud" race next weekend so I suppose I had better get some hill training done quick!

"Back to base training"

After several weeks of focussing on races the last fews days have seen a return to general training and putting back into the body what the races have taken out! This didn't however mean a relaxation in training as Tuesday's track session returned to six sets of 800m fast (30 seconds recovery) 400m at full tilt, with three minutes to the next rep! The weather also improved and although very cold and frosty, at least it was possible on the recovery runs to loosten up tight hamstrings to actually feel the ground! It's now only one week to the big one, the English National Cross Country Championships, the oldest and most famous cross country race in the world which is making a return to the spiritual home of cross country at Parliament Hill Fields on London's Hampstead Heath. Seven miles of mud and rolling hills await. Bring it on!

Although my daughter Sarah was also not competing this weekend, like me running is never far from anything she does. This week she was delighted to hear that a short story she had written as part of a school project (maximum fifty words) had been accepted for publication! Based on a cross country race we had both been involved in before Christmas here it is -

KILLER HILL

The mist was rolling in and the runneres could just be seen as they ran the dreaded course through mud and rain. Katie was lagging behind at the back. She struggled to keep up with the others as they entered Killer Hill. The pain was immense, would it beat her?

Finally, a fortnight ago I gave a mention to one of Macclesfield Harriers top under 17 runners Lloyd who had become North of England 800m Indoor champion. Well today I have learnt that he has now added the English Championship title to his expanding list of honours. A fantastic achievement, well done Lloyd!

"Wythenshawe Park XC"

As I sit here typing, the snow is starting to come down again finishing off a week that has seen the country in the grip of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Running conditions both on the track and on the pavements have meant that my running shoe soles haven't touched firm ground all week! A track session on Tuesday on what felt like an ice skating rink coincided with the toughest session of the winter. On a night when the coach was stranded on her farm in the foothills of the Peak District, a group of half a dozen of us self coached a session of 1 x 2 miles plus 4 x 1 mile with two minute recoveries. With a warm up and cool down the session covered over 8 miles and there was no-one else left on the track by the time we had finished with the snow started to fall again!

The 30 mile week was focussed on the final round fixture of the Manchester and District XC League at Wythenshawe Park. This was the race that required everyone to be at peak performance to help the club stay in the top division for another year. Although I love this fast flat course the only time you get some respite is through the wooded section of the course where concentration is key to both staying on your feet and not breaking an ankle! After years of having this section of the 6 mile race pre-programmed in my head, this year the organisers totally change the trail taking the athletes through several ditches that saw you up to two feet deep in mud if you took the wrong line through them. Several athletes did and paid the price, namely retirement! I for once stayed under control and took the best lines through I could and despite coming in behind two of my nearest club rivals managed to shake off my friend and fiercest rival Jack from Salford Metropolitan AC who took a fall in the final lap and finished a totally different colour than he started! He has vowed revenge during the track season!

So another good training and racing week where I finished by leaving everything out on the course yesterday, always a great feeling, especially as it's now only two weeks to the biggest race of the season the English National XC.

"Alsager 5"

Well it's Sunday afternoon and I have just completed one of the best weeks of running and racing for some time, culminating with a great run at the Alsager 5 road race earlier today with shouts of encouragement from none other than Phil Moneypenny of Runcast TV fame!

The week started with some good speedwork at the track including a session of 8 x 600m with 200m jog recoveries, averaging around two minutes per rep. Whilst that felt quite sharp for me so early in the season it was nowhere near as quick as some of the younger club members on the track that night, in particular Lloyd who a couple of days before had become Northern of England Indoor 800m Champion at Under 17 age group in a tiime of 1.58.5. Running from the front I understand that Lloyd pulled away from some of the country's best young runners to record a newPB and take the championship. Brilliant running and well done Lloyd!! Apparently according to my son Lloyd occasionally looks at this blog. He must be the only one who does!

A mixture of off road steady running and a shorter interval session on Friday got me to this morning's Alsager 5 which is a fast flat and very popular race in the north west which is always full before race day. Despite bright sunshine temperatues were hovering around freezing point and the gusting wind made it felt much colder than this. It was great however to see Phil, host of Runcast TV at the start to wish me well. Originally he had planned to run as well but as he is still coming back from injury decided to give it a miss and come back in another couple of weeks. I ran 33.40 which is one of my best times for quite a while, particulalry as I tend not to race on the roads much these days. It was also great to be cheered over the line by Phil and then interviewed afterwards, and here's a link to the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh24o6atOUM&eurl=http://www.runcast.tv/&feature=player_embedded