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The ‘2018 Tour of Britain’ Leg Seven – Knaresborough

Knaresborough, a couple of miles from where we stayed for our final destination on our three week holiday, is a market town of around 15,000 people,  four miles east of the larger Harrogate, in North Yorkshire. Lying on the River Nidd, the town has the popular tourist destinations Mother Shipton’s Caves and Knaresborough Castle.

Fountains Abbey.

We had just one full day to spend in Knaresborough. With many potential places to visit, we headed to the nearby Fountains Abbey. This popular National Trust  is a World Heritage Site and has one of the most impressive ruins of a building I’ve seen (I’m not usually that moved by them). It’s also a venue of what must be an awesome parkrun. One to remember for future trips!

Fountains Abbey – great venue for a parkrun

Day 19 – Monday 20th August 2018 – Knaresborough exploration and likewise in Nidd Gorge.

The relatively straightforward drive from Carlisle to Knaresborough – M6, A66 to Scotch Corner, then A1 South – was made more stressful by the anti friction pads on the caravan dying on us, which made for horrendous sounding noises whenever the caravan turned or hit a bump! Fortunately we made it one piece and after a quick lunch and set up I was on my way at 3:30pm for my nineteenth run in a row.

The caravan site leaflet recommended Nidd Gorge as an great place to go for a walk. Where there’s a great walk there’s usually somewhere good to run, plus it had the great benefit of nearly literally being just over the main road right next to where we were staying. Once I arrived in Nidd Gorge car park, I was able to peruse a map, which showed numerous footpaths in the Woodland Trust owned forest. One of them headed in the direction of Knaresborough which was my target destination for the run.

A bridge to where? In the Nidd Gorge.

I dropped down a wide gravel path, around a nice alpine style hairpin, and was offered the option of crossing the wooden bridge above. Over I went and I had headed left which I figured would take me to Knaresborough. The terrain quickly became more technical and more uphill – the opening miles of 8:02 and 7:21 not bad considering the terrain.

Signs for the Beryl Burton Cycleway. (Not a Strava Picture)

The speeding up of pace was partly thanks to popping out onto the Beryl Burton Cycleway after a mile and a half of running. This recently constructed route (Made partly by making Bilton Lane a no-through road for vehicles) takes cyclists and pedestrians from Knaresborough to Bilton and then on to Harrogate or Ripley thanks to the Nidderdale Greenway. I was much enthused to be in another part of the country with an abundance of seemingly well maintained and useful cycle paths.

Tribute to cycling legend Beryl Burton in Kanresborough.

I headed to Knaresborough, which was little more than a mile away, it wasn’t long before the Beryl Burton Cycleway ended, marked by a tribute to a cyclist who, were she born to a more recent generation, would surely have been one of Britain’s most famous sportswomen, but who is probably now unknown to most and better known to cycling fans now than she was when competing.

Tribute to cycling legend Beryl Burton in Kanresborough. (Picture not on Strava).

Having read all about Beryl I ran a few yards further on, popping out on the main road that takes cars the short journey from Knaresborough to Harrogate.

The scenic Knaresborough.

On a bridge next to the entrance to Mother Shipton’s Cave I spotted the great vista as shown above. Rowing boats, cottages, bridges, the River Nidd – idyllic!

One of several homages to the 2015 Tour de France in Kanresborough. (Picture not on Strava)

Running uphill I spotted another, more direct homage to the 2014 Tour de France, which passed through during Stage Two.

Although a good example of a Yorkshire Town, this was about as good as it got as I spent the next couple of miles or so running a largely fruitless figure of eight of the town, with an ultimately pointless detour down a cul de sac, which Google Maps suggested could link me to a small road by the river, but didn’t (I was on the wrong road).  I also managed to only just but completely miss the castle and its grounds as I searched for interesting places to discover.

Popping back out on the same main road I was on a couple of miles earlier and with less than five miles covered there had to be some more exploring to make up the remaining five miles. I went into the grounds of Conyngham Hall  which provided me a mile or so where I lost track of where I was before popping out of Foolish Wood and recognising the familiar surrounds of the Beryl Burton Cycleway.

I decided to head back the way I came, back along Beryl into the Nidd Gorge and crossing the bridge. After studying long and hard the map in the car park which I’d photographed on my phone, with over two miles left to run I opted to turn right rather than left which would take me – hopefully – to an alternative exit.

A fallen tree in the Nidd Gorge.

Some of the terrain on this route was even more technical and a little bit ridiculous – The Basterd as its known on the 0.04 mile Strava section has a entirely believable average gradient on Strava of 25%. My very slow time was due to stopping at top and bottom to work out where on earth I should be heading. Somehow I managed to pop out back onto the main road, before opting to head back into Nidd Gorge briefly again to exit at yet another exit (this time into a small housing estate).

With another mile still to kill I crossed the main road and ran a small loop near Scotton, the small village where the caravan site was. By the time I was back at the caravan park I’d finally clocked up ten miles, winding up at 10.35. I averaged a leisurely 7:35, but given that mile eight alone took 9:05, being little other than walkable at times, and with plenty of other technical sections, the pace wasn’t too bad. Besides, I was deliberately taking it very easy after a tough weekend of running and with two more runs remaining. I didn’t want to blow a gasket now, being so close to achieving my goal!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 8:03(8:03/m) 125/148bpm 92cal 7.45/8.89mph
2) 1m – 7:21(7:21/m) 143/156bpm 104cal 8.16/9.12mph
3) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 134/152bpm 82cal 8.4/9.87mph
4) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 135/146bpm 82cal 8.41/9.02mph
5) 1m – 6:55(6:55/m) 135/145bpm 77cal 8.68/10.06mph
6) 1m – 7:32(7:32/m) 139/156bpm 89cal 7.97/9.33mph
7) 1m – 7:08(7:08/m) 139/155bpm 82cal 8.41/9.04mph
8) 1m – 9:04(9:04/m) 128/149bpm 74cal 6.61/9.93mph
9) 1m – 8:02(8:02/m) 136/158bpm 85cal 7.47/9.12mph
10) 1m – 7:20(7:20/m) 140/154bpm 85cal 8.17/9.29mph
11) 0.35m – 2:22(6:44/m) 147/151bpm 33cal 8.92/9.89mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  Scotton carpark drop – 2nd / 191

Day 20 – Tuesday 21st August 2018 – A bit of everything around Harrogate.

Having interrogated more  closely the map of Nidd Gorge that I Had photographed at the beginning of the previous day’s run, I noted that if, I had turned right instead of left when I crossed the wooden bridge, there was a fairly long path which would hopefully bring me out somewhere north of Harrogate.

I left the Caravan Park at 8:25am and set off for the penultimate run of my Tour of Britain. The legs felt fairly reasonable although, as always, the first mile saw the Achilles especially take a little while just to warm up and ache a little less. Into Nidd Gorge and turning right over the bridge the terrain quickly became very technical. There were fair chunks that had wooden sleepers covering the boggy ground underneath. Generally the going underfoot was good; I imagine in the winter time or when there has been heavy rain, the ground beneath your feet would be treacherous and requiring cross country spikes!

Tough running terrain in the Nidd Gorge.

The opening mile took 9:34 despite dropping over 100 feet in elevation and spending the opening half mile on good solid ground. Things were even tougher for the second mile, literally finding myself reduced to walking for short periods as the abundance of tree roots especially made planting your feet with any degree of security a perilously difficult task .

A painted stone in the Nidd Gorge – one of scores we spotted on the course of the holiday.

The second mile was 9:37. Despite concentrating very hard on the ground below me I was able to spot the ladybird in the picture above. The stone had been painted and carefully placed on a fallen tree. It was one of scores of such painted stones that we encountered on our holiday – apparently it has been something of a craze amongst the youth.  The natural scenery was pretty good too, I imagine the river would have been more impressive with some decent rainfall.

The Nidd Gorge.

The third mile was a touch faster at 8:46 as the terrain difficulty eased a touch and I was able to increase the pace. Shortly before leaving the Gorge an impressive viaduct stood out amongst the trees and water. Once carrying a railway I wondered what it was used for now.

A dissued railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge. (Picture not on Strava)

The next day I would find out, but for now I turned sharp left and uphill, scrambling out to exit the Gorge and through a park (Knox Country Park, to be precise) and a footpath behind some allotments before being spat out on a fairly unremarkable housing estate. By now I was loosely following signs for a Harrogate circular walking loop, which I followed for a mile or so before it attempted to take me over a field where someone who presumably resented the field being a footpath advised there were bulls in the field and you entered at your own risk!

On this quiet road which took me to a small village called Knox, I came across the only runner I got to follow except for when I was doing parkruns in my Tour thus far. I briefly considered following him when he turned right on the busy A61, but I opted to go with the road signs pointing me to Harrogate and bid him a silent farewell.

Running on solid, albeit undulating terrain, the pace picked up to a more familiar low seven minutes per mile.  Heading left onto the A59 which would see me avoid central Harrogate itself, I was very aware of how polluted the roads were with petrol and diesel fumes having been largely spoilt by mostly traffic free running for the past 20 days or so.

Not particularly enjoying this polluted road, I chanced upon a cycle route sign that went off on a quieter road. Having consulted the Google Maps and gained its approval that this would be a potentially more pleasing alternative to the main road, I headed down Grove Park Terrace which soon enough offered a cycle path over the bridge of the main railway line and onto a dedicated, immaculate cycle path.

I ran along this for a mile, the pace coming down to 6:30 for mile seven. It brought me out at a cycle path junction – the Nidderdale Greenway continued straight on, the Beryl Burton Cycleway was a right hand turn. Familiar with Beryl and where she would take me I turned right, initially up a bit of a drag of a climb before it levelled off on Bilton Lane.

There was around half a mile of virgin territory for me before I recognised the path as that which I had run on the day before.  A 6:38 mile was followed by a 6:08 mile as the confidence of familiar surrounds saw the central governor free up some energy reserves to the legs. They would be needed when I hit Knaresborough and took on the main B Road back to the Caravan Park, for there was a cheeky little climb or three to tackle before getting back to the comfort of my caravan.

With mile 10 covered in 6:31 and mile 11 in 6:27, the 11 mile run, which was looking set to be the slowest of the Tour turned out to merely be one of the slowest at an average of 7:25. It certainly though won the award for the most variety with woodland, rivers, tough technical terrain, housing estates, footpaths, busy A roads, choked busy town centres, glorious cycle paths with gentle ex-railway gradients and more traditional Yorkshire ascents.

Run 20 down – just one more run to go!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 9:35(9:35/m) 117/141bpm 92cal 6.26/8.31mph
2) 1m – 9:38(9:38/m) 128/143bpm 105cal 6.23/7.39mph
3) 1m – 8:45(8:45/m) 126/145bpm 87cal 6.86/10.42mph
4) 1m – 7:19(7:19/m) 133/152bpm 81cal 8.21/9.46mph
5) 1m – 7:06(7:06/m) 145/159bpm 96cal 8.45/9.58mph
6) 1m – 7:02(7:02/m) 131/143bpm 67cal 8.54/10.35mph
7) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 136/146bpm 74cal 9.23/9.73mph
8) 1m – 6:34(6:34/m) 147/153bpm 93cal 9.14/9.96mph
9) 1m – 6:08(6:08/m) 144/153bpm 79cal 9.79/10.52mph
10) 1m – 6:31(6:31/m) 154/160bpm 98cal 9.22/9.83mph
11) 1m – 6:28(6:28/m) 151/160bpm 91cal 9.29/10.23mph
12) 0.03m – 15(7:19/m) 146/148bpm 3cal 8.2/9.14mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  The Bond End Climb – 2nd / 218

Day 21 – Wednesday 22nd August 2018 –To Ripley Castle on the Nidderdale Greenway

So this was it – my last day of running on the final morning of our near three week holiday. This day was always planned as no more than a travel day, so it was a case of running, finishing the packing and loading and then off to home we go.

If you’d have asked me some weeks earlier how I would be feeling having completed twenty consecutive runs of a minimum of ten miles, then I’d imagine by this last day I would have been exhausted, probably injured, and ready to do the bare minimum required to achieve the rather pointless goal.

To my surprise though, although the starts of runs were often a laborious, shuffling affair as I waited to the Achilles to stretch out and stop aching, the running had generally improved over the weeks, particularly in the past seven days, and I was feeling good enough to attempt something a bit longer for the final run. I’d seen a few signs for the Nidderdale Greenway and was keen to run more of it than I had done the previous day. If I had carried along it when I’d left Harrogate the previous day rather than head onto the Beryl Burton Cycleway it would apparently take me to Ripley and its castle.

Rather than take the Greenway from its starting point in Harrogate, I figured the quickest way to get to it would be to, once again, head through Nidd Gorge to pick up the Beryl Burton Cycleway which, if I turned right, would take me to the Greenway after a mile or so of running. The opening mile was predictably slow through the technical Gorge at 8:59. Once through the worst of it the pace soon picked up, 7:13 for the second mile as I ran along Beryl Burton and then a 6:32 as I turned right at a cycle path crossroads onto the Nidderdale Greenway.

Officially opened in 2013, the Nidderdale Greenway follows the route of the Leeds to Northallerton railway, which closed in 1969. Being an ex-railway line meant this section was pretty straight and the gradient was gentle and gently downhill for the two and a half miles or so to Ripley.

A Grade II listed railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge. (Picture not on Strava – taken on the run the previous day)
View from the former railway viaduct in the Nidd Gorge, now part of the Nidderdale Greenway. (picture not on Strava)

Feeling fairly sprightly I continued at a fair old lick, only stopping briefly to take the picture from the former railway viaduct that I had spotted on my run the day before. Apparently I was not the only one struck by its grandeur, it is apparently a Grade II listed structure. Once the bridge had been crossed I decided I would not stop running until I had to, thinking there could be some Strava segments en route to have a go at. This meant I even attempted a once only attempt at taking a photo while running. Actually the result wasn’t too bad – as shown below, but it did fail to make the cut for Strava.

On the Nidderdale Greenway – taken while running!

Mile 4 was 6:25 and mile 5 was 6:32 – involving as it did a little bit of climbing, road crossing and another stop to take a picture of another tribute to the 2014 Tour de France.

Ripley’s homage to the passing through of the 2014 Tour De France.

I ran along the cycle path for another half mile or so before I reached the entrance to Ripley Castle. There was just time to take a quick photo of the castle and of the picturesque road it sat on before turning around and heading back.

Ripley Castle – the out point for my final run on the Tour Of Britain.
Ripley – could be from a different era.

The return from Ripley was a little tougher than the way out as it was now gently uphill. Despite this the pace was pretty good really, I had stopped worrying about taking photos and was instead concentrating on maintaining good pace. Mile 6 slowed to 6:43, but then miles 7, 8 and 9 were 6:26, 6:20 and 6:31 as I opted to not turn left on Beryl Burton, instead carrying on the Greenway into Harrogate.

Mile 10 slowed a touch to 6:41, labouring a touch briefly, while I left the cycle path, spitting me out on the busy main road in Harrogate I had turned off the day before. Having subsequently driven on this road I knew I could get back to Knaresborough and the caravan site by taking the next main road left, which I duly did. Feeling rejuvenated, presumably by the knowledge of being only a few miles away from finishing, miles 11 and 12 sped up to 6:15 and 6:14 as I ran mostly gently downhill, before slowing to 6:30 for mile 13, which involved a fair bit of climbing and negotiating stationary traffic.

The final mile of my Tour of Britain was most pleasingly a 5:58, helped by having another stab at taking the Strava segment on the B road the caravan club site sat off. I didn’t quite get a KOM, but did bag second spot. It did though mean that the final run of the three weeks away was the longest at 14.18 miles and at an average pace of 6:39 per mile the equal quickest too with two other runs on the trip.

On finishing back at the caravan, there was no fanfare, no medal, no t-shirt, no real acknowledgement of the achievement at all. But that was never the point of this. The goal was to see if I could run 10 miles every day of the holiday and, more importantly, to enjoy and fully appreciate the varied landscapes, terrain, topography, and even the weather that a three week holiday in northern Britain would bring. And to that end it was very much mission accomplished!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 9:00(9:00/m) 126/152bpm 102cal 6.67/7.83mph
2) 1m – 7:13(7:13/m) 142/152bpm 100cal 8.31/9.52mph
3) 1m – 6:32(6:32/m) 144/150bpm 92cal 9.19/9.75mph
4) 1m – 6:25(6:25/m) 144/153bpm 87cal 9.34/9.85mph
5) 1m – 6:33(6:33/m) 145/153bpm 87cal 9.16/9.93mph
6) 1m – 6:41(6:41/m) 135/148bpm 71cal 8.98/9.91mph
7) 1m – 6:25(6:25/m) 149/153bpm 91cal 9.34/10mph
8) 1m – 6:20(6:20/m) 152/155bpm 91cal 9.49/9.91mph
9) 1m – 6:32(6:32/m) 153/156bpm 95cal 9.2/9.77mph
10) 1m – 6:41(6:41/m) 152/158bpm 95cal 8.99/9.54mph
11) 1m – 6:15(6:15/m) 146/151bpm 77cal 9.61/10.42mph
12) 1m – 6:14(6:14/m) 148/155bpm 80cal 9.64/10.56mph
13) 1m – 6:30(6:30/m) 153/161bpm 87cal 9.24/10.54mph
14) 1m – 5:57(5:57/m) 161/168bpm 94cal 10.07/11.48mph
15) 0.19m – 1:11(6:16/m) 157/160bpm 17cal 9.57/10.48mph

Best Strava Segment Performance:  The Bond End Climb – 2nd / 218 (again – I was second the day before too!)

Leg Seven Summary

Distance Run: 35.6 miles. Average Pace: 7:09 per mile. Accumulated Time: 4:14:18. Average HR: 139; Total Ascent: 681 meters.

Overall Tour Summary

Distance Run: 227.6 miles. Average Pace: 7:00 per mile. Accumulated Time: 26:32:39. Average HR: 139; Total Ascent: 4034 meters.

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Race Report – Robin Hood Half Marathon, Nottingham, Sunday 24th September 2017

This report comes over a month after the event. This is because I only recently found out where I finished…. More of that later. The reality too is that the race was less interesting than the training that preceded it, so forgive me if this is a little heavy on preparation and a little light on race action.

Mentally enthused after success at Thorney in August, I visioned a good month of training before the end of September race in Nottingham. I had no races planned, other than the club handicap 10K which, on a lumpy course, I ran at marathon heart rate in 36 and a half minutes. Although there were the odd exceptions, the training focused on big efforts over the weekend with easier paced running and cycling during the week. The Saturday in particular became the focal point of the week – the first two of them of them I competed a ten mile ‘straight outta bed’ run which averaged something pretty close to sub six minute miles. The  following week I ran Melton Mowbray parkrun in a slightly disappointing 17:28, but the following Saturday, straight out of bed once again, I kicked off with some Stravalek intense effort before running around six minute miles until seven miles, when I ran Belton House parkrun in 17:30, closing the run with five K in something close to 18 minutes again. It all felt very easy as I ran a half marathon with minimal interruption and effort in 1 hour 19 minutes.

What made me even more enthused is that for all the straight outta bed runs on the Saturday I backed that up with a run of at least 13 miles at 6:40 pace or quicker. I felt like I was running into the sort of form I had when I bagged the 1:14 at the Grunty Fen Half Marathon at the same time of year two years previous.

And then just like two years ago and last year, four or five days before the half marathon I came down with the first of the winter colds the kids brought home with them from school. To feeling fantastic to feeling lousy in no time at all. Just like last year the worst of the cold had past come race day but I wasn’t feeling by any means fantastic.

As I’d been burnt before by the pre-race traffic jams, like last year I arrived over two hours before the start of the race to ensure a good easy parking slot. I took a little walk around the race village, laughed at the insanely high prices of goods on Sale at the Sweatshop tent, used the toilets a couple of times and went for a one and a half mile warm up along the Trent which was wholly unremarkable except for a very pleasant calf stretch which rid me of the niggly Achilles discomfort for the entirety of the race.

Grantham Running Club members taking part in the Robin Hood Half and Full Marathon . Photo courtesy of Stuart Cresswell.

A little fortuitously I bumped into my fellow GRC runners who were having a pre-race photo, and I was able to dive in for one last pic. With that done I returned to my car to have one last swill of drink before making my way to the start. I lined up just behind the elites, of which there appeared to be just two or three – a little disappointing for a race which has the subtitle of the British Half Marathon Championships. I didn’t spot upon the eventual race winner Chris Thompson, who brought a bit of quality to the race as a bonafide worthy recipient of National Half Marathon Champion.

The start was the usual affair of some trying to go off at a steady but brisk pace while those around me either shot off and all around at a pace that would never be sustainable or went so slowly as to strongly suggest they had no place standing so close to the start. The opening few hundred meters are in the heavy shade of tree cover on the Victoria Embankment, it wasn’t long before we turned left onto a wide main road and I could assess the race situation and settle into the run.

In the first mile I closed on and passed the eventual women’s winner Emily Waugh, who looked serene running at 1:16 pace. The Dubai based runner (I soon followed her on Strava) was running with her Rugby & Northampton AC team mate, who shortly after the opening mile (5:42) cruised alongside and past me, wishing me well as he did. He would be the only runner who passed me.

The opening mile and a half is pleasant enough, but as in 2016 it wasn’t long before we were sent off the path of the old course and up past the castle. By no means a savage climb it is nevertheless steep enough to undo all the good work in the opening mile. The second mile was a 5:57 (5:38 on Strava GAP). The next mile and a bit must rank as some of the least satisfying in city marathon history. Of all the comments I read on Strava they all described this section in less than complimentary tones. Rhythm sapping is the most polite I can call it, something like a road based version of a twisty, hilly cross country course, as we tackled numerous short sharp climbs punctuated with sharp descents and tight bends. The course was the same as last year, I had blocked out how bad it is. That said, I fared better than others and picked off a fair few runners en route to a 6:03 mile (5:33 GAP) and an 18:27 first 5K.

As if to apologise for the twists and hills of the past mile and a half, the fourth mile is a mostly flat, fast downhill drop to the University campus. I pulled up to another runner and sat briefly in his shelter before pulling past and clear as the road flattened. A 5:30 fourth mile was followed by a 5:42 fifth mile as the field really thinned out and all I had for company were the odd runner somewhere far in the distance and, it must be said, really good crowd support as they enjoyed the great weather conditions for spectating.

The sixth mile (5:50) was literally a long drag, somewhat spirit crushing as I made my way to and into Wollaton Park and the big hill that I had managed to forget about running last year. I went to take a drink from the pouches handed out, cursing loudly at the uselessness of them as I battled in vain to get any more than a dribble from them. The hill comes after a tight left hand bend, the crowd that lined either side of the climb very reminiscent of cycle fans clamouring to see the suffering on a tough climb. I dug in deep and made my way to the top, happy in the knowledge that, for the most part, the course is much easier in the second half. What was less happy was my stomach, which was rueing the too long queues for the portaloos before the start of the race and beginning to send some ominous distress signals.

I went through 10K in 36:14, laughing again at how the gates for the park exit had again not been opened, forcing us off the path and over some heavily rutted ground thanks to an abundance of tree roots. At least the seventh mile marker was somewhere near accurate – once again the fifth and sixth mile markers were so far out as to be totally useless. For a big city race to not correct on obvious mistakes from the previous year is not acceptable really.

Back on the open road and the seventh mile covered in 5:52, I tried to push on like I did last year. It was made tougher because of the dodgy tummy and the lack of runners to run with (Last year – I got into several useful trains which helped keep the pace ticking). I was though closing and passing runners which kept the incentive to keep pushing high. Mile 8 was 5:37 and now we were running alongside runners heading in the other direction, which I always find inspiring. Mile 9, back through the University and an awkward out and back via a tight hairpin, was a 5:44. I passed a Strava ‘friend’ Craig Taylor, who beat me at the Rockingham Duathlon last year. He would go on to run just under 1:18. Interestingly at the Great Eastern Half a couple of weeks later, he ran 1:14:30 or so. Food for thought as to how slow this course is and what I could do on a quicker course.

The tenth mile has the penultimate drag of the race, I survived that with a 5:45. The last comes when we rejoin the old course. My stomach was at its worse and I went through a little bad patch, but managed to drag out a 5:50. I don’t remember this section last year, but we were pulled off the main road down some quite residential streets to make our way back to Victoria Embankment. Passing another couple of runners as we continued to twist and turn, the twelfth mile was a pleasing 5:36.

The first half of the final mile saw me being inadvertently paced by a car that had found itself on the closed roads (I think it was being guided by an official car out of harms way). I found myself almost on its bumper before it thankfully pulled off the road I was on. Coming into the final stages, like last year, I was reeling in another runner. With the memory that last year I passed the moved up into the third V40 spot with my final overtake, I kept pushing. The last mile was slow at 5:50, but the lure of another position saw me run the final stage of the race (0.3 mile on my Garmin) at 5:15 pace. I left it late but a sprint on the final straight saw me pass the runner who put up no resistance.

I finished in 1:16:43. This is 13 seconds down on 2016,but given the paucity of runners to race with, in many ways it felt a better performance. I rushed through the post race medal and goody bag collection as quickly as possible to find the nearest portaloo. With the relief of a calm tummy I managed a mile warm down. The legs felt good, a sign that perhaps, with less of a tummy issue especially I could have gone quicker.

Knowing that the traffic out of the race can be a nightmare, I didn’t hang around and left not long after my warm down. Later that evening provisional results were posted on the Nottingham Post website. Pleasingly I was twelfth, much higher than in 2016 with a slightly slower time. My suspicions that plenty had shunned the race, either due to the new course, or because no details of any prizes had been forthcoming, were borne out.

A day or two later the provisional results were posted on the website. It confirmed me as twelfth and had me as second V40. I was happy with this, one place better than last year. I also noted that the first V40, Alastair Watson, not only finished over eight minutes ahead of me, he finished the race third overall. I know my races well enough these days that normally if Vet runner finishes in an overall prize giving position, the Vet place rolls down to the next runner. I looked forward to receiving my prize!

Three weeks later and with no confirmation of any prize, I emailed the organisers to clarify the prize structure (Still not made available) and the prize winners. I was swiftly emailed back to be told the results were hopefully going to be made official in the next few days due to issues. A week later the official results were finally posted in Athletics Weekly, complete with fairly damning criticism of the time taken to produce results for a race which was called the National Half Marathon Championships, and a race which still had no team results.

Another week later and I was beginning to give up hope of seeing any prize, when an anonymous looking envelope appeared in the post. Thinking it may be a race number, I opened it immediately to find a letter from the Robin Hood Half Marathon explaining I’d received a prize, with a hand written 1st, V40, scrawled unceremoniously on it. Attached to the letter was a cheque, made out to me for £100! So the longest wait for a prize was kind of worth it as it was the most I’ve received for my efforts.

That said, my patience with the Robin Hood race I think has worn a little too thin. I don’t like the course, it’s not quick, and the length of time to produce results is not good enough (Plus the lack of any details of what the prizes would be). Chances are though, depending on my calendar, I will probably be back to defend my dubious title of National V40 Half Marathon winner!

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Race Report – Holme Pierrepont 10K, Thursday 29th June 2017

With the Holme Pierrepont 10K in mind immediately after the Summer Solstice 10K, I was determined to prepare for the race better in the six days I had available than I’d managed for the Long Bennington Race. Work over the weekend meant that I was restricted to a short run on Saturday evening, and a ride on the bike club’s chaingang route on the Sunday morning (with a mile brick run to follow). There was the obligatory jog to the gym, spin, and jog back on the Monday, followed by the other big effort of the week – Witham Wheelers 10 mile TT on the Tuesday evening, which netted a new course PB. Wednesday could have perhaps been a touch easier, but the legs felt good so I went on an easy 10 mile loop on my familiar route, albeit in very wet and unseasonably cold conditions. With no damage done, come Thursday evening the legs felt pretty good!

The Holme Pierrepont 10K was the second in a four race Holme Pierrepont GP Series. The winner is the runner who accumulates the lowest time over all four races – held on consecutive Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. It’s a long established series and is pretty popular, with 285 runners taking part in all four races. Because of work I could only commit to this one race. The event meant a return to the National Water Sports Center, just a few weeks after my first visit for the Notts 10 Mile Race. This race was a lower key event in terms of organisation, but there were many of the same familiar faces around as I warmed up, which would ensure a good, competitive race.

The warm up was unspectacular, two miles in length. As it was up and down the dead straight rowing basin path, I used the opportunity to re-calibrate my Garmin footpod. It measures a KM before performing it’s magic. I was slightly bemused to see me head some way past the 1KM marker, but didn’t think too much of it. On my return I headed to my car to finish changing into race kit, then headed indoors to take some shelter for five minutes or so from the cool, slightly wet conditions. For a late June evening the weather was very disappointing and far cry from the balmy, sunny conditions we enjoyed at the recent Notts 10 mile race at the same venue. Tonight it was very overcast with light rain, only around 14C and a light breeze. For spectators and photographers, the conditions were miserable. For running races though, conditions were nigh on perfect – it would only be that nagging breeze which would perhaps hinder us along the rowing basin coming part way through the opening lap and on the 2km run to the finish line.

Moments before the start of the race. Picture c/o David Greenwood.

I made my way to the start just a minute or two before the scheduled 7:15 start. Mercifully the pre-race briefing was short and it wasn’t long before we were sent on our way. Determined to not repeat the mistake of Long Bennington and the too hard too soon approach, I lined myself just shy of the front of the pack, and found myself probably outside the top twenty in the opening minute or so.

The start of the race. Picture c/o David Greenwood

At the front it was a familiar face in Ben Livesey leading the field away – which he has done now at my last four races! The other familiar face ahead of me was Ian Boneham, who was making his race comeback after a more than seven year absence. The talented Grantham runner, who has a 29:30 road 10K PB, has trained a bit with Grantham Running Club and members from it, and had donned the green GRC vest for no other reason than he didn’t have another singlet to wear! I knew he was targeting something around 34 minutes and so was happy to see and attempt to track the familiar vest ahead of me.

The start of the race. Picture c/o John Oldfield.

As I’d promised myself I kept my powder dry for the opening mile or so and attempted to keep the effort in check. I was therefore somewhat alarmed when I went through the 1km marker in 2:58 which, even with my dodgy maths, is sub 30 minute pace! A minute or two later and my Garmin clocked the first mile at 5:31, and I was satisfied that the KM markers were perhaps not quite in the right positions. Compared to the opening mile at the Solstice, it was only three seconds slower, but thanks to a slight tailwind rather than a stiff breeze to run into, the effort (perceived and looking at average HR) was significantly lower.

The second mile was run partly into a headwind as we turned at the far end of the rowing basin and came back down the other side. By now I’d picked off quite a few runners who had gone off too exuberantly and found myself behind one runner – who I believe was Matthew Nutt of Holme Pierrepont RC. Employing similar tactics when at the Notts 10 (The wind direction was near identical) I stuck resolutely on his tail. After a minute or two he began weaving from side to side in a clear attempt to shake me from his slipstream. I would have considered helping with the pace, but with the second mile a 5:29, I knew I was somewhere near my limit. The awkwardness of the situation was soon resolved when Matthew shot off with a Kenyan inspired burst of pace to almost literally sprint clear of me and catch a group of three runners who were around 20 meters up the road. Initially I laughed at his folly, but to be fair to him, he stayed ahead of me for the entire race, albeit winding up around the same distance ahead as he was when I tailgated him come the finish line.

Hitting the climb on the start of the outer loop. Picture c/o John Oldfield.

The third mile, at 5:41, was the slowest of the race. Unlike at the Solstice however, this didn’t mark a deterioration in form. This section of the race included the small rise out of the rowing basin and onto the road that took us out of the Water Sports Center for the section along Adbolton Lane – all of it continuing to be into the slight headwind. Mile 4 was the run to the left turn which took us back onto the Canal Basin. Familiar with this section from the 10 Mile race, I pushed on the effort a little. I was feeling good, running alone but with some vests to attempt to chase down, including Mr Boneham’s, who I perceived was coming back to me a little having been around 30 seconds down the road at one point.

The fourth mile was 5:29 and the fifth saw me push the effort again, clocking a 5:24, despite this section being partially on gravel and featuring the second climb of the race, albeit a very small one. Back on the canal path and I was in a very happy place. I love races where I feel stronger the longer the race goes. I was seeing my average pace get quicker and this inspired me to keep on pushing. I think too reverting to the Nike Frees after a couple of races in the Hoka’s helped – they feel just that little bit faster.

Coming around the top of the rowing basin and onto the near 2km dead straight run to the finish, I sighted two runners ahead of me and made an effort to close them down.I clocked another 5:24 for the sixth mile and there was now just the question of the final 0.2 miles to the finish (or 0.3 as my Garmin was overestimating again).

Trying to chase down Matthew Nutt at the finish of the race. Picture c/o David Greenwood.

I caught and passed, briefly, Marlon Dunkley and had my sights on the runner ahead who I sensed was the same runner who I’d tailgated earlier in the race (Matthew Nutt).

Sprinting to the finish with Marlon Dunkley. Picture c/o David Greenwood.

Coming into the final 200 meters Marlon came back past me. I could see the finish clock in the distance and it had just clicked past 34 minutes. There would be no PB but a strong finish could see one of best times over the distance.

Sprinting to the finish with Marlon Dunkley. Picture c/o David Greenwood.

I didn’t have the sprint in me to get back past Marlon but I was able to follow just behind him as I ground it out to the finish.

Coming to the finish. – who says I never look like I’m trying! Picture c/o John Oldfield.

I was working hard, evidently unusually so, given the pained expression on the photo above! This battle with Marlon allowed us to close on Matthew Nutt, closing the gap to just a couple of seconds. Marlon was a second ahead of me and I came home seventh in 34:33. This meant I’d clocked my third fastest ever 10K, one second ahead of  the time I first broke 35 minutes at the 2013 Leeds Abbey Dash.  I was the first V40 finisher too, To my chagrin there would be no prizes on the night, just for the winners in the series overall. All I had was my good time and a new WMA age grade PB of 82.85% (2010 values) to come home with.

For the record, Ben Livesey came second (again), clocking 31:39, 40 seconds behind Michael Cotherd. Mr Boneham finished fourth in 34:15. Not bad for a near 8 year layoff from running!

As far as my racing is concerned, that is it now until a planned 5 mile race in late August (I’ll be continuing the cycling time trials) with summer holidays and other things to factor. Hopefully I can take this good summer form, both running and on the bike, with me into the early autumn season and beyond!

 

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Trainer Obituary – Nike Free 4.0 V2 (Grey and Yellow) – 28 August 2013 – 20 September 2014.

Nike Free 4.0 V2 (Grey and Yellow)
Nike Free 4.0 V2 (Grey and Yellow)

Replacing a long succession of Nike Free shoes, the Grey and Yellow Nike Free 4.0 V2 were the first Free’s I’d worn that were more minimalist than the 5.0 or equivalent. Any initial fears over their suitability were quickly dispelled and they became a favourite and much worn pair of trainers – amassing 860 miles and just shy of 103 running hours.

Originally intended as a fast run pair of trainers, they proved so comfortable they were regularly used for long runs and recovery runs too. Their shining moment came at the end of July 2014, when, at the Lincoln Wellington 5k, they were a last minute substitute for the Nike Lunaracers that were aggravating an Achilles blister. They raced to a 16:55 PB and so currently hold the distinction for having the quickest average pace for a race I’ve currently run.

Making their swansong at the Grantham Running Club Handicap 10k in September 2014, and run in for the last time on an easy paced 10k run on September 20th 2014, they were retired for running purposes, to be replaced by a black pair of Nike Free 4.0 V2s. 

Despite being heavily worn and with the uppers beginning to fall apart, they are seeing a life beyond the running grave as they are being used on the elliptical trainer while I convalesce from long-term injury.