Alton Towers Half Marathon

Ages ago Kyle and I had signed up to the Alton Towers Half Marathon. Sadly when the time came around for it, Kyle was only just coming back from injury from his London Marathon. So he dropped down to the 5k instead, which was also on the Sunday. But to be honest, he was far happier with that distance anyway!

The great thing about these races are that after you’ve finished the race you can then go round the park and do all the rides. We both love theme parks and rollercoasters so this was perfect. And handily my grandad lives about 30 mins from Alton Towers so we could kill two birds with one stone and visit him as well. I don’t get to see him enough so this was really lovely.

After lots of thought, we decided to leave Isaac at home with the Nanas. The drive from Portsmouth is a long one (3.5 hours) which would be hard going for him and then be stuck in the running buggy for most of Sunday. Anyway the Nanas couldn’t wait to look after him so it worked nicely. Of course I missed him and it was hard leaving him… the longest time I’ve been away yet. He had a great time tho in the end.

We arrived at my grandad’s on the Saturday and had a lovely dinner catching up with him properly and then headed to bed early. We were shattered from an early wake up (Isaac doesn’t understand lie ins yet!) and a long drive.

The next morning, after breakfast, we drove up to Alton Towers. The race felt so well organised. We parked and walked to the race village. It was very misty and a bit chilly, but a lot warmer than you’d expect for mid-November.

As my race started first I said goodbye to Kyle and headed off to the start. We did a minute silence for Remembrance Sunday, which was a nice touch, and then the race began.

Having been to Alton Towers many many times in my youth (due to my grandparents living so close) I was well aware that it would be hilly. I mean, straight away, as we began the first 200m, it’s literally uphill. But it was such a cool race in that you were literally running through the park and past all the rollercoasters that I didn’t mind.

We ran past Oblivion and the Smiley, then headed off to other parts of the park. I was behind the 1:40 pacer, tho I didn’t think I’d go that fast. I was keeping to just under 8 min miles and felt comfortable there.

We whizzed through CBeebies Land where there were Telly Tubbies to high five. Then headed round past the gardens (thankfully not down into the gardens because that would be a very steep uphill!), past the Wicker Man and the rapids. There were lots of themed people wearing costumes cheering us on which was cool.

Eventually after going through the park, past all the rides and through the different themed areas and the castle, you head out to the less exciting part which goes round the car parks. To be honest it was fine. There was loads of support from spectators and volunteers so it didn’t feel boring. And you can’t expect the whole race to be exciting all the time. It’s a two lapper, which I quite like. It means you know what’s coming for the rest of the race.

The car park was quite hilly but there were also good downhills to get some speed back. Towards the second lap I put on some music to keep me entertained and I felt myself get far more into the race. I always find the further into a race the better I feel as I warm up. I naturally sped up and felt like I had more energy so this was encouraging.

As I hit the second lap I was really enjoying myself. During the week proceeding I’d felt very tired and demotivated running but now I felt back to normal and was loving it.

I saw Kyle a few times as he’d finished his race and had headed back to the car to get changed and pick up our stuff. He waved and cheered me along.

The crowds as you got back into the park after the car park section were really strong and the cheering was fantastic. It helps that none of the rides are open yet so all the spectators are just watching the race. I high fived loads of kids which is always good fun. Honestly, I had such a good time during this race!

I was so pleased to finish strong with 1:37:30. Far faster than I’d expected.

I met up with Kyle shortly after. He’d had a good race and finished with a time of 21:30. Coming back from injury without much training, he was really chuffed.

And then I popped to the loo, got changed and we headed to the rides that were now slowly opening up. We had such a good rest of the day enjoying all the rides and being like kids again. Kyle got a doughnut chicken burger. And I got a sausage baguette. It was a great day.

Then eventually after doing as many rides as we could be bothered – the queues were so short because there weren’t as many people in the park – we decided to head back home. That evening we had a lovely carvery with my grandad to coelenterate.

All in all it was such a good weekend. Seeing my grandad, doing a great race and enjoying Alton Towers. We’re definitely signing up for next year!

Do you enjoy roller coasters?

Would you do a race around a theme park?

My Running For Two Half Marathon at almost 20 weeks

So this “race” recap is a bit delayed as it was actually back in Feb that I ran it when I was almost 20 weeks pregnant (I’m now 23 weeks pregnant). But hey ho!

With still being able to currently run fairly comfortably (*touch wood*) I’d said to Kyle that it was such a shame there were no races for me to plod round as I’d love to get a medal that I could later show our little guy and be like “I got this when you were inside of me”.

Obviously with the lockdown, races just weren’t being scheduled anytime soon (of course). The nearest races seemed to be late May or June. By that time I would be fairly heavily pregnant and I couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to run 5k let alone a half marathon.

I toyed with the idea of doing an official virtual one but Kyle said if I was going to have to do it on my own anyway I might as well just make my own up and really personalise it. It would save a bit of money and I could schedule it however I fancied. This sounded perfect.

I decided to go for a half marathon and came up with my own route round where I lived and created my own bib and name for the “race”: the Running For Two Half Marathon. I mentioned it to my parents and they said they’d come and support as well, which was lovely (strictly speaking breaking the rules a little but they would stand a distance from Kyle and obviously I’d just be running past).

I decided to go with the Sunday just before I turned 20 weeks, so almost half way, which fit nicely with the half distance as the little guy would be half baked. I had a pizza the night before, as is my pre-race tradition, and got myself mentally prepared. I’d been running 10-12 miles  for a few weeks so I wasn’t too worried about the distance – or how long it would take me as this wasn’t about times.

Unfortunately on the morning I woke up to aggressively windy and cold weather. As my route was basically along the coastline I knew I was in for a rough time. But it was planned, my parents were heading over to stand in the spot they were going to cheer from (about 9 miles – then the plan would be they’d walk down to mile 11, and then I’d finish near Baffins Pond and they’d walk down to see me, from afar), so I couldn’t back out now.

I’d dressed snuggly in two layers and my hat, gloves (and yes, shorts). Within two miles I realised I wasn’t warming up that much. Usually by half a mile I’m good but the wind was so icy and was tearing through my layers and stinging my legs. The wind was pushing from the side and I knew from the direction it was going it was going to be horrendous along the seafront.

I got to my three mile loo stop (my absolute saviour at the moment) and had a quick wee. No run can go without this anymore! I can pretty much manage up to four miles before it becomes impossible. Luckily all over Portsmouth there are some decent quality public toilets – especially in Southsea along the front. As I would in a race, I didn’t stop my watch.

Then I headed off through Old Portsmouth to then turn east towards the front. Ah jeeze. That icy wind was straight against me. It was AWFUL. Had I not been doing a race and had Kyle and my parents not been waiting at a certain spot, I honestly would have turned around and headed back home. I knew I had three miles along the front with this wind and it was soul destroying, not to mention freezing.

It was such a rubbish day. Normally if it’s windy or a bit overcast people still come and walk and spend time down the seafront but there was a sparsity of people on the prom, and those that were there looked miserable.

I just put my head down and counted down the 0.1 miles. Eventually I finally got to my next loo stop and thankfully turned the corner to head back north. The relief for both the loo and the wind to stop being full against me was incredible.

Now I was almost at 7 miles and knew it wouldn’t be such a slog to get to my parents. It was basically all north to them, so the wind was just be sideways on me not against me. But it was still cold. I just wasn’t warming up. It wasn’t even because of the pregnancy that this was hard, it was just an awful run because of the external conditions.

Finally I could see from about 0.5 miles away where my parents and Kyle would be. I could just make out their bodies. I felt immensely sorry for them. At least I was running so wasn’t absolutely freezing, whereas I knew them just standing there in the cold wind would be horrendous. I felt very bad indeed.

Eventually I got near enough to hear them shouting my name and cheering me on, like the absolute troopers they are. I could barely raise a smile to them though. I was cold to my core, so fed up and mentally drained. This was not the glorious celebratory run I’d hoped for.

I quickly told them I was changing my route as the one I’d planned  involved heading back to where I’d come from, and that was just utterly miserably in my mind. I wanted to keep moving to other areas and not head back to the hell I’d come from.

So I carried on running north until I roughly worked out if I turned back I could make the 13.1 mile distance if I just ran home. There was no way I wanted to be outside anymore. I wanted a hot shower, hot porridge and a cup of tea. I quickly rang Kyle and explained that was what I was doing. My parents could meet me there and we could chat from the front door. I felt bad but realistically it was no better than standing outside in Baffins Pond.

Happily they’d actually parked the car near to where they’d stood so they had been able to shelter in the car for warmth while I was running to them. So they drove back to our house (yes with Kyle masked up in the back of the car… it was just too cold to expect him to walk the mile back – at least both my parents had had the vaccine at this point).

I sped up on the final mile knowing I was heading home to warmth and shelter and then finally finished to them clapping me along the street which was lovely.

I ran 1:58:34 which I’m over the moon with, especially with two toilet stops. Under two hours was an unimportant goal I’d vaguely had in my mind so it was nice to achieve it. Long gone are the days of sub 1:40 or even sub 1:45 halves!

I’m really pleased I got the run done. It wasn’t what I’d hoped for and to be honest we were all feeling pretty rubbish afterwards. I felt terrible for my lovely supporters but they assured me it was fine and they were happy to see me achieve this milestone. To be honest, had I have known what the weather was going to be like in reality then I’d have changed the day. But it was what it was. It was certainly memorable!

And I got a medal! We had one made and I’ll be able to show our little man and say that I ran a very tough run to get this for him! And that’s something special to me at least.

Have you been running in the cold temperatures?

Have you been doing any virtual races?

Bournemouth Half Marathon

I’ve done the Bournemouth Marathon twice before, but never the Bournemouth Half Marathon. And it seemed like a great race to do the week before the Chicago Marathon. A last long run. A catered long run with a medal!

Considering how my training hadn’t been exactly how I would have liked it, a sharp build-up and not as many long runs as I wanted, I decided to do three miles before we headed off the half in the morning. Sadly this meant a very early alarm as the race was to begin at 8am and it would take us an hour to drive there. Ooof.

Happily (?) I woke up before my 5.40am alarm at 5.30am and decided to just get up and give myself a bit more of a buffer. It was warm outside (15 degrees) but dark so I grabbed my hand torch. The torch (from Nathan Sports) is fantastic. It has a front and back light, a rape alarm and attaches to your hand so you actually don’t have to hold it.

The run went well. As it was so quiet I ran mostly on the road (it’s a very quiet route in general) and saw several cats and a fox, who just stood and watched me run past. It was all very peaceful.

Then I got back, quickly swapped into some new running gear and my parents, Kyle and I headed off to Bournemouth. Kyle’s brother, Zack, was also going to be running the half as his first ever half marathon (and first actual race I believe) and him and his family were already down there staying in a hotel And happily my friend Emma was running as well. So lots going on and lots of friendly faces!

My parents dropped Kyle and I off and we headed to the portaloos where we met Zack, his mum, his sister, Lucy, and his other brother, Adam. The queues for the loos were huge and seemingly not moving. With only about 15 minutes before the start I was getting nervous. Eventually I gave up and found a well concealed bush nearby. Whew!

Then we headed to the start. We heard over the speakers though that the race had been delayed until 8.15am (we later found out due to the grim police investigation of a dead body).

We spotted Emma and wished each other well which was nice. Then it was off to our respective waves and then the start.

Kyle was planning on seeing what he could do, so I let him run off while I kept to my own more gentle speed. I remembered the course well from the other Bournemouth races I’ve done (the half follows a lot of the similar marathon route, but of course less of it). I had music going and just zoned out.

The first three or so miles went by nicely and I saw Kyle on the switch-back going the other way. I also saw Zack looking relaxed just behind me. He was aiming for a sub-2 hour half, but with a bit of sketchy training and a problematic toenail it was going to be a push.

As we got to around six miles I started to feel like things were harder than I wanted. My pace felt less relaxed and I suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired. As soon as I recognised that feeling I couldn’t get it out of my head. Like a niggle in my brain, all I kept thinking off was “I’m so tired. This is so hard”.

The temperature was increasing but not crazily so. It was a lovely clear day and the crowds were out in force. Annoyingly there was a head wind directly against us as we headed down the promenade. I felt this chip away at my good vibes and the demons set up camp in my head. What if Chicago felt like this? I felt a deep dread in my stomach.

To be honest, I ran this race badly. I wasn’t racing it but my strategy was appalling. It was meant to be an easy run and I (wrongly) associated pace with effort. My watch was saying 8-8.20 and I found it bizarre that this felt hard, but I didn’t slow down. I realise I should have just backed off and actually reduced my pace to the real easy pace for that day.

Easiness can change – the weather, the course, how you feel, how you’ve slept etc. etc. can massively impact what pace is easy for you. But like a newbie I ignored it and pushed through. I knew my parents, and Kyle’s family, would be mile eight and I got a horrible déjà vu from when I ran the marathon the first time and ignored my dad at this point saying I should stop because I felt a lot of pain in my knee. I wasn’t in pain, I wasn’t suffering any niggles, but I was feeling so drained. Should I stop?

As I got to my dad I did stop. He looked very worried – I don’t normally do this during a race. I said how I felt and how hard I was finding it. He suggested maybe I drop out? Or walk a bit? But I was resolved to finish. I had a little cry, a big hug and then headed off. This hugely helped. I felt like I’d had an emotional pick-me-up gel. A hug in a gel if you like.

Then I was hit with the hill that I was very familiar with during the marathon. Thankfully not the 18 miler hill which is horrific, but a shorter and less sharp hill, but tough nonetheless. I felt a new lease of life and pushed on up, smiling as much as I could remembering reading an article that smiling triggered happy feelings in your body. What a loon I must have looked like.

Then it was a lovely downhill which I fully embraced and a long slog to the Boscombe Pier. The sand underfoot that had blown over from the beach made for an annoying running path… the wind dead against us… the sun in my eyes… it all felt so very hard. But I spotted Kyle’s dad and he gave me a big cheer as I headed onto the pier, then back down the other way to the Bournemouth Pier. Now the wind behind us and I felt strong and picked it up a gear. I was almost done!

I finally managed to overtake people (having spent most of the race being overtaken) and whizzed along the pier and to the finish. Done!

I was so glad to stop. I felt exhausted. 1:45:58.

I collected my medal and saw Kyle. He’d finished in 1 hour 40 mins and 12 seconds, sadly about 20 seconds off his PB. He had had a hard run too. But still, a fantastic time. Zack finished in just over 2 hours 1 minute and 18 seconds – oh so close!! He was happy though, as well he should for his first half marathon.

I also saw Emma. She’d had a tough race too but, like me (or like I’d planned anyway) had used it as a last long run before Chicago.

For my race, in retrospect I should definitely have slowed down. My ego got in the way and I paid for it by having a miserable run. I was pleased to have gotten 16 miles for the day though – my last long run before Chicago. And I will definitely relax the pace if it starts to feel like that. Lesson well and truly learnt! Chicago is about getting to the finish uninjured without issue. No heroics or pushing through anything crazy.

We had a few photos, celebrated finishing and then headed home. Whew! I was tired, hungry and mentally drained.

Next stop now, Chicago.

Have you ever run a mentally tiring race?

Have you ever done the Bournemouth Half or Marathon?

Southampton Half Marathon 2019 recap

I won’t lie, I was properly nervous about this race. Though I do of course get nervous about marathons, it’s not that same.

With a marathon the nerves are more “ooof it’s such a long way, it’s going to be boring at times and mentally tough at others”. I don’t fear the pain or the exertion though. I know I can cope.

With a half marathon it’s different. I know I can run the distance, but it’s more can I run the distance going a lot faster? For most of a marathon I’m “plodding” (a very relative term him – plodding for me varies greatly according to my training), so it’s actually not that tough. It gets tough, of course, later.

If I want to “go for it” in a half marathon it’s a whole different bag. I can’t let my mind wander, I have to focus, I have to hold on to the speed, keep my legs pushing, embrace the pain. Something I hate doing.

So I was nervous. I had no excuse not to race this half marathon. I was in relatively good shape, I had the mileage under my belt and nothing in the near horizon to be careful about. As I rarely ever “go for it” during a race, this would be an ideal opportunity.

Though I knew I’d never PB and realistically I wasn’t even certain I could get close to a previous PB (1:34ish). But 1:37? This could be doable.

Kyle was also going to race it. It was a bit of a question mark for him how well he’d do. His only other half marathon had been during ridiculously windy and stormy weather along a coastline and he got 1:48ish so on a better day but a harder course? He much prefers short distances so who knows! He did say though, rather perceptively, that the race was too short for me and too long for him. It was all to play for.

Kyle and I headed out early and drove to Southampton. I forwent breakfast as I wanted more sleep. This was an error. Though all my long runs are done fasted, this was going to be a sustained effort and not fueling myself correctly was stupid of me. I don’t know quite what I was thinking.

We’d planned to park in the Solent Uni car park but had a quick change of mind as we thought we could sneakily park in a road outside of the city and then not be stuck with delays getting out. Another mistake. We parked somewhere that the course ran straight past, meaning we were deadlocked until 2.30pm!

Anyway it was nice to have a 30 minute walk beforehand. I hate driving to a race and literally just starting. My legs do not appreciate this. We hadn’t actually planned to have a 30 minute walk so this did leave things a little bit rushed though. Kyle still had to pick up his bib and we realised we’d need to go to bag drop as his dad wasn’t arriving in time for us to hand over our coats and bag. And of course we needed a final wee!

We literally had 5 minutes to get to the start funnel. We had to jump over the barrier which was all very dramatic. But actually nicely done as we ended up right next to Martin Yelling, Marathon Talk podcaster extraordinaire and someone I consider a friend after all the various times bits and pieces we’ve done together. I also saw my friend Dave and another lovely girl who I knew through Instagram. A nice friendly bunch!

We chatted and I mentioned I was too far forward but Martin assured me I was fine. He mentioned that he entered the race literally last minute that morning – he was just going to support his friend. Blimey!

Then we were off. Martin wished us well and zoomed off into the distance. I cranked up my speed and went for it. Far. Too. Fast. I was 7 minute miling. Ooof.

The first few miles have a few nice downhills and with big crowds cheering us on I just got carried away. Before the race I’d hoped to be 7.15-7.20min/mile pace… when I saw my watch I just decided to hang on. I felt good! (Two miles in feeling good, haha of course I did).

There were also some cheeky inclines as well. But I was riding on a fantastic wave of crowds cheering and adrenaline from the frantic start that we’d had. As I started to settle down I realised I might have overcooked it.

Mile three saw us going over Itchen Bridge which was grueling. A long incline that seems to just go on forever. But thankfully a decent downhill to loosen the legs after. I spotted some people I knew which was nice and tried to keep a smile on my face.

We ran past the water near Western Parade and it was lovely and flat for a moment. The weather was chilly and slightly breezy but otherwise perfect.

Mile 5 I was worrying now. I’d been running next to a fellow Hedgie, who I didn’t know. He looked to be running strong and running next to him pushed me on. But as I realised I’d gone out too fast and the hills seriously started sucking my energy he started to drift away from me. He kept looking behind him as he pulled gently away as if to say “come on, keep up” but I couldn’t.

Then back over Itchen Bridge again. I’d grabbed a water just before as I started feeling the heat. It was one of those pouch things and for the life of me I couldn’t work it out. Eventually I managed to tear a small hole in and squeezed out a tiny stream. Better than bottles or plastic cups though!

As I hit 10k and saw 43:xx it really hit me that I was running too fast too soon. I wasn’t going to sustain this. My official 10k PB is 42:52!

Mile seven and we were going through the Southampton St. Mary’s football stadium. It was a fantastic part of the race. Obviously I’m no football fan (though if I had to choose it’d be Liverpool I’d support because of my dad) but this was quite an experience. We ran into the stadium and along this very bouncy red turf. It was very quiet as no one was in there (asides from runners) and almost eerie.

Then we were back out and into the crowds again. A great thrill! As I headed off though that moment drifted away and I was back to thinking “oh God this hurts”.

We crossed another bridge and ran somewhere near Bitterne. My legs were tired now and my brain had fogged over. Negative thoughts clouded my mind. I’d screwed up. My pace had dropped. I also ran past the road the car was parked on and realised we wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon. Oh dear.

After a couple of miles of inner grumblings about how I hate running fast, hate half marathons, hate my stupid over-excitement… I realised how stupid I was being. I could claw this back. OK 1:37 might not be on the cars but who cares? Don’t give up, you lemon.

It also massively helped that on mile 10 as we ran through Riverside Park I saw lots of friend cheering friends. I slapped a big smile on my face, picked myself up and thought “just a parkrun to go”.

Then mile 11 happened and my god that was horrendous. Literally all uphill. It was so hard. I was familiar with the area so I knew just how long this godforsaken hill was.

When we finally reached the top I was onto mile 12 and recovering from the grind. My friend Mike breezed past and asked if I was OK – I said I was dying. Then as he overtook me, my brain kicked into gear and went “TWO MILES YOU CAN DO THIS”. The legs got on board and off I went.

I was able to scrape back some decent pacing and just road the “nearly finished” enthusiasm. I overtook Mike (he was marathoning, what a champ) and caught up with a guy from work. I spluttered “well done” and pushed pushed pushed. Someone yelled it was all downhill now and that spurred me on. Sub-7 minute miling! I was on fire. My work friend caught me back up and sped past – power to him! And I tried to keep up but he was long gone. That’s cool though as I wasn’t fading.

Finally got to the finish straight and WOW what a finish. The crowds were SO GOOD. They were banging on the barriers in a rythm that just got my feet going even faster. I knew Kyle’s dad, his partner, her son and Zack would be in the crowd so I smiled hard and tried to ignore the burning fire in my legs as I got myself to the finish.

WHEW. 1:35:44 – how on earth I have no idea! But what an absolute grind. I really had to fight for that. I walked to the medal and goodie bag area – spotted the brother of my lovely running friend Jo and had a nice chat and then hung about to wait for Kyle.

Kyle turned up not long after. He SMASHED his PB by almost 10 minutes by getting 1:39:52. Considering he wanted a sub 1:40 he was very jammy (this seems to be a trait for him with his 42:59 10k PB and 3:59:35 PB).

We had a lovely coffee with Kyle’s family and then headed off to see if we could try and get the car out early. After a 30 minute walk back down there we were told (very poitely) we couldn’t. It was our own fault so I wasn’t mad. So we turned around and walked back to go and get some food (after all the walking we did over 40,000 steps that day!!)

Kyle had a KFC and I had a naked burrito from Tortilla which was CRAZY GOOD. It was full of rice, pulled pork, pulled chicken, guacamole, sour cream, cheese and salsa. My god it was good.

We were pooped by the end of the day! So many steps! I have to say, I was quite surprised with just how hilly the Southampton Half was but it was well supported, well organised and a fun day.

I’m over the moon that I got the time I did – it was far faster than I thought, even without knowing how many hills they’d be! Not sure I’m tempted by the marathon though…

Have you ever done Southampton Half?

Have you ever made a parking mistake with a race?

What do you prefer to drink out of during a race?

Marathon Talk Run Camp 2019 – part 2

On to the second part of my Marathon Talk Run Camp recap.

Catch up with Part 1 HERE.

After a fun evening I was up at 7am to get myself ready for the Carsington Water Half Marathon, which most people from the camp were doing too. To get in some extra miles, a few of us decided to run there. It was about 5 miles away so this would make a solid long run.

It was very misty that morning and a bit chilly, but I knew it would clear up and get warmer later so I decided to wear a vest and arm warmers. Though it was quite amusing that the guys I was going to be running with had somewhat overdressed, the wusses 😉 They regretted it within a mile!

I forwent breakfast and had a black coffee – as is my usual pre-long run standard. And then we got going. The first part of the run was back up the giant hill that we’d done hill repeats on the day before. It went on f.o.r.e.v.e.r. We tried to maintain a jog but it turned into more of a walk as the hill goes on for a fair way (we only did a small section of it during the session).

Then we got going properly. We ran down the long trail which was, for the most part, flat. As the trail had originally been a railway, it cut through hills and there were pockets of cold and warm air, which were very bizarre to run through.

Top of the hill

Eventually we moved off the trail and onto the road and then across a field with a giant hill on it. Dave’s magic route cutting off a corner of the road, I think I’d have preferred the road 😉 The views, however were beautiful.

We got to the race start area and I picked my bib up and met up with the others who had driven there.

We had a quick photo of the Marathon Talk group and then everyone headed to the start.

I sort of wanted to run with my friend John but I was getting vibes from him that he wanted to do his own thing, and no one likes a clingy hanger-on that you feel you have to politely run with 😉 so I decided to just run however felt comfortable.

The resevoir

The Carsington Water Half Marathon is one loop around the reservoir and then a 10k out and back bit. It was described as undulating and compact trail underfoot. It was dry and quite warm now the mist had cleared. It was very scenic – such a perfect day for it (albeit a leeeetle warm after being so used to cold weather).

I started running and got myself into a nice rhythm of around 8 min/miles. After 5k runners who were doing the 10k started coming back the other way as it was an out and back race for them. It was fun watching them come the other way – it’s like people watching but for runners: “ooh love her leggings”, “wow look how he runs” etc.

But then I got a bit bored. I didn’t have my music, I wasn’t especially pushing the pace and I really wanted to talk to someone to take my mind off the monotony. Sometimes I feel like a fake runner when I feel this way. I don’t always rely on music or podcasts to run but sometimes running is DULL and I need some external entertainment. Yes it was beautiful and peaceful, but I was bored. Though admittedly this is good training – training the mind for the monotony of a marathon.

I heard a man catch up with another man behind me and start chatting so I was able to listen in to their conversation (somewhat creepy I guess) and found they were both at the run camp too. This was interesting! And then one of the men pushed on… and I dropped back to chat to the other man (who I later found out was called Gareth).

Ahh and what a relief! He was happy to chat, we were running the same speed and now the miles were flying by. It’s amazing how much two people can waffle on about running having never met before.

The undulations were fairly hard going but with someone now to distract me it went a lot easier and quicker. I was hot and my lovely arm warmers were now annoying me and causing a bit of chafing. I worried we were going to have to do the entire loop of the reservoir again but then realised no we would do an out and back section.

We then started to see the faster runners heading back towards us and knew it wouldn’t be long. I cheered on lots of people from the camp – including the very speedy Sarah (from Art of Your Success – her designs for running goodies are amazing FYI). It was also INCREDIBLE to have Dave Moorcroft (and his lovely wife) cheer us on too. As well as Tony Audenshaw give us a cheer as he ran past (what a legend).

Photo Credit: Paul Andrews (thank you!)

As we go to mile 11 I could feel myself speed up. I was going into race mode without even being aware. Gareth wasn’t quite in that mode and told me to go ahead. I felt a bit bad but I thanked him and headed off. I put the hammer down and felt ready to stretch the legs a bit.

It was amazing to run to the finish feeling strong (some might say because I sandbagged 80% of the race… but heyyyy ;-)) . I finished 1:42:41 which I am so pleased about considering I’d run the miles beforehand (and the day before!), it was warm and hilly and I hadn’t been trying particularly hard until the end.

Holly Rush came first female (I mean she’s just incredible) and Sarah came third, so very well done indeed to them.

Thank you to Max for this photo 😉

John very kindly gave me a lift back to the centre and I was able to grab a shower before the masses and so actually have hot water. I was also then one of the first in line for lunch… priorities eh 😉

Jacket potato, chili, cheese and salad

I also found the stack of chocolate cake – I mean WHAT.

All in all the weekend was so much fun -as always. I’d fully recommend people to go to it if it sounds like it’s something they fancy. It might be basic accommodation but it’s really not the point of it. It’s the least important part.

Martin, Tom and Holly

Having gone to the different events over the years I’ve gotten to know so many other runners. And actually meet people I only really talk to via social media (like the lovely Anji Andrews – she’s an incredible human!).

It’s just so nice to spend time with like-minded people who you can have a giggle with, run with and talk running shizz with. And with these camps, as always, it’s not about the running – that’s kind of additional to the fun of it. On to next year I say!

Have you ever done a run camp?

Do you ever get bored while running?