Capital Ring Run - Feb 2012

Rucking up to the start of a race having been running all night was a surreal feeling, seeing all the other folks limbering up and looking fresh. All I wanted to do was find a corner and curl up and go to sleep satisfied I had completed a good distance…



This little jolly jaunt started when I wrote a comment on Face book stating that I might ruck up and run the Tribesport London Ultra 50k, around 2 weeks prior to the event. Ian Berry replied inviting me along to a “nice 42miler prior to the event”. I thought yeah a nice 42miler on the Sat followed by 50k on the Sun would be good weekend of running. We exchanged messages and what Ian meant ‘prior to the event’, was immediately prior to the event i.e. a continuous run. This made it more interesting and certainly got my juices flowing. I had not done a single stage run over 50 miles for a few months so was probably due one. 


This one was the Capital Ring 74miles in a single stage.

My main fear was I would hold Ian back as I knew this run was an essential run for his JOGLE training, but I figured if I bonked then I could just catch a tube back (doh pants planning tubes don’t run through the night! Oh well I know that now just not prior to the event)

So happily armed with my dodgy info I readily agreed to the adventure. For me it was easy leave all the planning to Ian knowing he would have the route meticulously planned on his Garmin and probably with a backup plan. The Guy is very organised to his credit and I am in awe of his planning skills.

My plans consisted of throwing some clothes in a bag, grabbing some food and my trusty first aid kit and heading down to London to the rendezvous point that’s it…

So this was the plan:-Meet Ian at the finish point of the Tribesport 50k Ultra – Perivale Park. Start running at 9pm (loose pace 5mph) so 42miles plus 1hr for general stops should see us at the start point of the race at 6.30am. Plenty of time to get breakfast and change clothes etc. Ok I know you’re all thinking these things never go to plan, but let’s be fair I had absolute faith in Mr Berry’s forward planning so what could possibly go wrong.

Anyhow I dutifully arrived at the Premier Inn in Perivale; we were meeting Rory & Jen who had kindly agreed to carry our bags to the start so we could change. It was quite funny as we met up in their room - I swear the lady on reception thought there was an orgy going on! Any how it was great seeing the guys again its always great banter and mickey taking sessions. Ian and I did our pre run faffing - well I did, Ian just looked like he was going through the motions as his stuff was sorted.

Going back through the reception was even funnier seeing the lady now looking very nonplussed as we were dressed in suitable running attire!  Rory saw us off and we cantered off into the night.

It was great catching up with Ian and quizzing him on his JOGLE training and seeing what info I could glean for my now deferred attempt next year. We soon started comfortably clocking up the miles, to be fair Ian had his watch and had already tuned himself into spotting the capital ring signs. Me I was lazy and just let him do all the navigation. I had however tuned myself into them by about 1am I think.

Ian came out with a classic about half an hour into the run; he informed me that this part of the course was in fact towards the end of the Ultra 50k on last year’s old route. He then said from here its downhill from now until Wembley. Within 5 mins of coming out with that pearler we were faced with our first major hill, but the trouble was it was the wrong way round - it was up hill. These uphill sections seemed to appear with regular intervals until Ian was forced to concede that maybe he was wrong on the downhill comment..!

The idea of the route itself is to encompass and link as many of the green areas of London whilst keeping a loose ring to it. Obviously in order to do this there are plenty of twists and turns to link the points up. The area we were running in was really nice especially through Harrow. The route took you up some really nice hills which gave you some lovely sights of the London sky line. The only drawback was at times it left us fairly exposed on the hills; there was a keen wind and frosty conditions so it was pretty cold in the elevated positions. It quickly became apparent that the route purposely took you up on to the summit of the hills so you could appreciate what this particular part of London had to offer. Subsequently it had you running loops around the park again to showcase each element of the park. It was definitely a well thought out route, if you were running it during the day. Our problem was we weren’t, so consequently a lot of the viewpoints were wasted on us. One which did stand out on this section was seeing Wembly from Barn Hill. It was a picture postcard moment.
We were bumbling along nicely and the miles were ticking along nicely, when we entered the NOW infamous Finchely Borough. This particular borough stood out for 2 reasons, The first was we were confronted with the path taking us into a tube station. How cool was that a public footpath straight through the station naturally it was a photo moment.

 We came out of there laughing and very jolly;  this was short lived when we encountered a locked gate, directly on the path we required. Not just any old locked gate but a fort Knox style locked gate.

Well we thought, oh well we will take the next street and skirt round, only to find short of clambering through someone’s garden there was no way through (we did contemplate this for a few secs). Well Ian was then able to demonstrate his true planning skills he reverted to his plan B, which was basically all the OS maps of the route downloaded to his phone. The guy knows no limits, it proved invaluable, and we soon worked out the best solution (well I say we-  to be fair Ian did I just agreed!)

We were soon off and running again and it was then we encountered the other reason Finchley stood out this was the complete absence of signage for the capital ring. Had  Ian not got the route on his Garmin we would have been seriously in the brown stuff in terms of navigating. So Finchley Council get and put your signs up, stiff letter of complaint is being penned.

The next borough we entered seemed to do signage so we were back on track and happily going on our merry way. We were met at some point on our travels by 3 youths out for the crack so to speak (their words). They chatted for a bit and told us of a new strength exercise for helping with the art of dart throwing (suffice to say it probably involved tissues and certain magazines). Ian in fear of his Garmin decided we were heading off left, so we hastily made our retreat while they went right. Once clear Ian then checked the route, and was very upset to learn we needed to have gone right. So sheepishly we headed back into the clutches of these lads.  When the next turn did come up we did manage to shake them off. Much to Ian's relief he was really worried about his Garmin, not for monetary value the fact that without it he would not be able to complete the run…

Well by this time we had completed nearly 3hrs running so the topic of conversation seemed to naturally move to food and when do we eat. So it was decided that we would try and find a garage or something at around 1am… Well it’s obvious isn’t it, 1am came and we were in the middle of a long path (a disused railway line. ) Where on earth were we going to find a reputable establishment to buy food from down here?   So we did what any sensible person would do, we speeded up to get to civilisation quicker thus compounding the low energy issue.  (to be fair we kind of got a little spooked on this section as it was fairly eerie-  I think this was the reason for the increase in pace)

We soon got back into civilisation and navigated our way round to what looked like somewhere with some night life.


 We turned the corner and were greeted by the giant yellow M sign, no words were required the deviation from the route was automatic, coke and chicken was on the menu. 






















Once we had got our goodies from a takeaway window, we realised that we needed to keep moving as we were both getting very cold just standing for 5 mins. We ate on the go - all too quickly the food was eaten, so suitably full and content we broke out into a run (little did we know that it would be over 6hrs before we saw proper food again. Eating bars are ok but they do get boring and it’s only a short lived sugar hit).

The next section was a bit scary, we were running by the side of a canal where the path actually sloped towards the canal, obviously to make it more interesting the terrain was wet grass and slippy mud, oh and some lovely tree branches set to trip you up! At one point I was on my knees crying (with laughter) as Ian tried to free himself from a particular branch that seemed to have him in his clutches and would not let go, I was too weak to help from laughing so much…

At this point in the run my memory gets a little hazy there are a few miles where things happened and we saw stuff, but I am unsure as to the order of these events, so I will just detail them. There was an area where it was quite built up and I guess we happened to coincide it with club throwing out time (great timing) Consequently we had to run in the road a fair bit to avoid being bear hugged by some interesting sights so to speak! At one point Ian shouted at me and barged me towards a group of ladies (used in a loose form) I thought he had gone mad until I saw the Double Decker bearing down on us. We witnessed the aftermath of an RTA which seemed to have involved a car and a pizza delivery bike. All I could think of was how inconsiderate that the police cordon made us go at least 50 yards out of our way.

Another thing I remember was the fact Ian had been saying he needed a toilet stop for a number 2 (sorry Ian ). Well how cool was it that the next street we saw a portaloo stuck on the street and it was open! So while Ian helped himself I decided to take the opportunity to rearrange my bag as it was digging in a tad. Whilst doing this I heard a car approach and stop, so I looked up to see a large person looking at me suspiciously.  It was then I realised I was knelt down on the pavement rummaging in a bag right next to the front door of a rather expensive Merc, So I stood up, he took one look at me in my shorts, shook his head and drove off..

Well after such fun we were soon heading into Hackney area, both Ian and I commented on the fact that the area seemed really nice. Its funny how you get a pre conceived idea of somewhere - we both thought it was going to be fairly run down, so it was a pleasant surprise.

Sub consciously we began to notice a rather large chain link fence that had appeared to the left of us.  On investigating the signage we realised we were heading for the Olympic park region. It had been a topic of conversation earlier in the night as to how much we would see. We carried on with the anticipation growing, then we rounded a slight bend and there we saw the Olympic stadium in all its glory. It was lit up and seemed to glow from within.  It was truly a stunning sight and one that took your breath away. We continued to run by the side of it for what appeared an age.  It finally disappeared from view and we concentrated on our next bit of navigation.

We needed to get on the Greenway - Ian had informed me that the greenway was basically an old Victorian sewer and we were going to be running on top of the mound. After much deliberation and working the diversion signage out, we got on to the Greenway, and we soon realised that we were going to get even closer to the stadium, so the camera had to come out for this tourist moment! 

Another diversion took us off the greenway, and we had to run through the middle of the Olympic construction site - we were waved through by a couple of security guards, it was very cool but a bit surreal.

Finally we got back onto the greenway and settled back into a comfortable run. This was short lived however when we came across a gate across the greenway and it was locked. There are several roads which cross the greenway, at these intersections there were gates so for each road there was a gate either side. You get the picture we had 4 of these roads to contend with (I think I might have lost count, there could of been more) so in all 8 gates to climb. The gates themselves were fine it was the fact that they had spikes on the top which gave it the added interest. We did manage to negotiate them safely apart from one where my shorts got caught, safe to say I now have a pair of shorts which are good for the rag bin…

I was glad to see the back of the greenway although in a strange way it was fun as it was our bit of night time law breaking in the capital! We carried on and the next section was a bit tricky as we encountered another locked gate into a park (not one we could climb over). Ian’s maps came to the rescue and after a bit of a debate Ian figured on the best possible route round, and we were off running again. I must admit the next half hour or so was a bit of a blur for me as I was experiencing my first real Bonk of the run. I can remember thinking we had reached the Thames for Ian to inform me it was some kings Dock, which we had to run around in order to reach the Thames.  How inconsiderate of them, they could have built it the other side of the Thames!

Well we reached the Thames and it gave me a huge lift and I was back on the game again. We ran along thankful in the knowledge that we would soon be reaching the Woolwich Foot tunnel - this was our driving force all night (how many miles to the tunnel). We safely negotiated 2 locks on subsidiary waterways, I'm used to locks from the GUCR but these were serious monsters and the drop on the one looked pretty scary. We were soon back on the Thames following the path, until we encountered another locked gate. Again this was not one you could climb over safely, it was really frustrating as we could not see the point of the gate, let alone why it was locked, it’s a public footpath at the end of the day. So we worked our way round and with a few detours we finally made it to the tunnel, a defining moment in the run.

It was great in the tunnel it felt really warm, I don’t think it was it just highlighted the fact it was cold outside. Ian informed me that it was illegal to take photos in the tunnel, whilst getting his phone out in order to take said illegal photos! 

He also informed me that some mad runner had decided to try and get a licence to run a marathon in the tunnel, it sounds daft but then again strangely appealing hmmmm!

Well after our nice warm feeling it was a shock to step back out into the night air again, although it was close to morning by now. We ran by the side of the Thames for a while, and it was with some gladness when we headed away from the river as there was a keen wind whipping across the open water.

At the tunnel we had completed 38miles so by our calculations we had 4miles (maybe 7 max allowing for errors and detours) to go, so with high spirits we shot off running fairly easily still. We hit a fairly big hill in the next mile or 2, at which point we both thought pffft this is hard. For me it was the start of a downward spiral, I just wanted to get this section completed now, so I could get some food in me and think about the next 30+ miles. We had to negotiate another locked gate which kind of knocked me again, as we had to do a fair detour to skirt round it.

Once negotiated we had some nice off road section which culminated in a fairly large climb through some trees . It was at this time that I then realised that I was probably feeling a bit low as we had steadily been climbing since we left the river so I just put it down to low energy (I needed food).

When we came out of the tree line we were greeted with a superb view of the London skyline in the Pre dawn light. 

We savoured the moment then pushed on both eager to see the end of this section now. I lost count of the times I asked Ian “Are we there yet?” and equally his reply of “Cant be more than a mile and bit left” (I never did get clarification on how far ‘a bit’ was!)

We finally found ourselves at 47miles at 7.40am thinking we need FOOD now. We saw a garage and ran for it to find it closed. We trudged back to the route and then spotted a couple out walking, Ian asked if they knew of a Cafe to which we heard the magic words “Its just round the corner”. We sprinted to the cafe (well it felt like it) and finally we could sit down and eat. To be fair I did not taste any of it but it was doing the job it needed to do.

By the time we finished it was around 8.15am, the race was due to start at 9am so we figured we need to get a wriggle on if we were to get any faff time. Ian dutifully informed me we had just over a mile and a bit to go.  I just smiled and donned my running pack. To be fair once I had ironed out the stiffness I started running quite nicely, and was just bumbling happily knowing that very soon I could ditch my now some what stinky running clothes and clad myself in some fresh clothes.

We were running down a road and saw a guy running in skinny jeans and a back pack. It turned out to be Robbie, who could not find the start. Ian led the way with his trusty watch, and we rucked up to the start at 8.45am (15mins to go). It was a bit strange turning up to a race feeling battered, dirty but strangely elated that 50miles was in the bag, yes Ian 50miles not 42miles hmmmm logistics.



ULTRArace Tribe Sport London 50K




Anyhow Faff time was used to get changed, briefly meet some old friends, then Rory said the race time had been delayed to 9.15am. This was great as I could now relax a little and compose myself for the task ahead. It was not that it appeared daunting it was more the fact that things were aching now, so it was going to be more a case of managing the pain levels and controlling the mental games.

Ian and I had agreed at the start of our adventure that as we started this together, we going to finish it together, so suitably armed with a water bottle only, (I had had enough of my running pack as it was starting to dig in and cause some sores) we headed for the start. Of course it was natural for both Ian and I to make our way to the front, as we felt we could both go for the win at this stage.

Rory gave Ian the honour of starting the race and I believe that was our undoing as by the time we got running the front runners had a good 20 – 30mtrs on us, just too much to claw back on this race I'm afraid.

In all seriousness we started off and I guess we both got pulled along by the fact we were in a race, I think the first 2-3 miles we were 9min miling, which is not JOGLE pace and was quickly reined in.

To be fair the first few miles I was bumbling along just happy to be running further than I had run in a single stage for well over 6 months. The first CP came and went fairly quickly and we carried on our merry way. The capital ring signposts were more than adequate, and if they were slightly confusing you always had the reassurance that there were red arrows spray painted on the ground.

There was one point when Ian and I were chatting and not concentrating and I turned the corner left as I had subconsciously seen a runner go that way. Ian soon reined me in and said “No, wrong way”.  We went back to the junction looked at the signage, and I realised I had made a school boy error of following the person in front - not to be repeated I hasten to add.

I think it was at around mile 8 where I started to seriously flag my body was at a point where it was screaming “No enough, now you have had your piece of me, now leave me alone to hide”. However it was a question of playing the mind games and taking each mile as it came, forget the total. I had to endure this ballsing out (so to speak) method for the next 8 miles, It was tough but it was a very valuable lesson for me. Ian was very supportive through this section and I felt very grateful that he stuck with me.  It’s not that I complained about it, but I think he knew I was suffering a bit. I guess that’s the advantage of running with someone, you help each other through the tough patches.

Any way it was just after 16miles that we came across a bar that sold coffee so we dived in and sat there while the guy made up some very nice strong coffee. I think we both contemplated getting a beer at this stage but decided against it. Some runners went past and saw us in the shop.  They probably thought we were mad, but needs must. So suitably armed with our takeaway energy drink we carried on our merry way.

This next part for me was the high light of the race itself.  There were some lovely views and some really nice areas that we were running through be it parks or commons, and even the road sections had lots to look at and admire.

We soon came upon the next CP after running through a lovely park with lakes, with lots of children feeding the ducks it looked really attractive. I met up with Andy there - I had run with him 2 weeks prior at Rory’s birthday bash. He had pulled out as he wasn’t feeling fit, he looked very blue with cold. We chatted briefly, but I knew I had to keep moving otherwise I would start to go blue with cold.

So off we went heading our way to Wimbledon common, this was very nice running on trails which were through woody areas, I loved this section.  I think Ian was enduring them as he is by default a road runner - oh and a FLAT road runner, hills and trails are not his bag, not that I was reminded of that too often.

We soon came upon Richmond Park, I must say Ian had been filling me in on this particular section since we started the night before. He ran the London Ultra last year and this was the section he hated the most, he just remembered it as one huge hill. So as we approached it I was a little apprehensive of what to expect. For me though I loved this part, the views were fantastic, there were deer grazing in the park and did not seem spooked by people in close proximity. We passed some lakes which were picturesque and there were lots of folks out just enjoying the sun and walking in a great park. The route itself was lovely and even Ian concurred after we left the park that it was not as bad as he had remembered it.  He decided he must have been bonking badly last year at that point.

We left the park knowing that yet again we were approaching the Thames to cross back over, it was nice to see it again. I was pleased that the route allowed us run by the side of it for around a mile or so, there is always something calming running by water that’s flowing, and to see the hustle and bustle that goes with the river is always nice to see. Well the crossing this time was just a simple road bridge so we made our way across and headed down the other side and into the arms of the final CP (so to speak) It was good to see Dan Mullins there, I had spoken to him briefly at the start , we had a chat and a bit of banter as you do.

Well it was nice to know we had 10k to go. At this point I had the chance to repay Ian for his support of me through mile 8 – 16 as he was suffering a bit. I didn’t do a lot but I guess just the fact of controlling the  when to walk, when to run always helps. That way the person suffering can turn that aspect into auto and concentrate on the demons in their head.

It just turned into a game of ticking each mile off as it came, this strategy worked and we were soon down to around 2 miles to go plus Rory’s infamous added extra bit (we had reckoned on three quarters of mile to make it an even 32mile course) We saw some runners in the distance who were looking around as if lost, so we went sailing past saying follow the green arrows.  Let’s be fair here the course was easily marked but the amount of runners we had encountered who were scratching their heads was amazing.

Then suddenly we saw a painted arrow painted in the road and we knew this was it.  The run into the finish was on. To be fair I think I speeded up and Ian to his credit pushed on as well.   He was seriously depleted now and had got double vision. Well we turned the corner and we saw the running track and that was all we needed.  We ran on to the track arms aloft knowing we were about to complete an epic run.

It is always a fantastic feeling to finish a race know matter where you come, but this one seemed more poignant with the fact that for 50miles it was just Ian and I battling the conditions and navigating our own course (well Ian did I followed like a lost sheep)..

Rory and Jen were there to greet us, with a double medal for a double effort, we had completed our 50 50 race. In total 82miles in around 19hrs.

Well there was just the small matter of driving home, which I must say had to be done in stages for fear of falling asleep at the wheel..

I feel I need to say some thank you’s :-

Ian J Berry for organising the whole adventure and for being fantastic company for 19hrs. At no time did I think God I wish this bloke would shut up. It was great fun all the way round and I think the photos prove that.

Rory & Jen for letting us share their room while we faffed and sorted our stuff out. Also for transporting our bags around for us, and even phoning us at just gone midnight to check we were ok. Oh and Jen the lift back to my car was fantastic. Thanks both very much…

Thanks also has to go to Greenwich Council for leaving the Woolwich Foot tunnel open, if that had been locked I did not fancy the swim.

Thanks to the couple out walking who pointed us in the right direction to the Tasty Cafe

Thanks to my Guardian Angel (you know who you are) for carrying me through the tough patches.

Oh and if you read this thanks so much for reading this and I hope I did not bore you….




Here is the profile of the course. It was a bit steep after the tunnel. The tunnel is the negative section.

Ironing Boards and mad physio's

I figured it was time for an update.

Well my on-going injury saga is still on going, since my last update on that front I have been having extensive physio.

This included pelvic realignments and various manipulation in the groin area, very painful but apparently necessary as part of the rehabilitation program (hmm I swear my physio is sadistic)

Any how my running with in this period took a back seat as I was really concentrating on beating this injury.

Since the middle of Jan my physio has been concentrating on my back and now seems to think that all my frontal lower ab pain is posture related (The Jury’s out on that one but I will bow to his superior knowledge)

He has had me doing all sorts of strange exercises. But I think the one that made me realise I am in fact dealing with a mad man was when he said I had to strap myself to my ironing board.

Let’s just work that statement through I am a single bloke living on my own, owning an ironing board is fairly low on my list of buying priorities.

Ok joking aside I did and still continue to do the exercises given to me, and surprisingly slowly but surely my running although not totally pain free is getting easier.

I have to really concentrate on my posture when running, I naturally run with my back stooped forward hence why I am getting the lower ab issues. Mentally the concentration ebbs and flows when I concentrate its pain free, as soon as I start running stooped for a prolonged period, I have ruined the run as the pain is back and even if I run with a straight back for the remainder of the run the pain stays until I stop.

I think the sensible thing to do would be to stop running completely for around 3 months to give my body time to heal.  Well my brain can’t compute that statement as it has words like sensible and stop running in it.

So my plan is to carry on with the posture running slowly building up the pain free mileage. (I wonder how long it takes for a new running stance to become your natural stance?)

Then every couple of weeks have a blow out and run a decent distance just for the hell of it. I have no races booked as such this year although I have a few I would quite like to have a bash at but I will have to be patient and see if I am fit enough to really have a crack at them…

My first blow out run is this weekend, which hopefully I will be happily blogging a successful albeit painful run….

Happy Running....

Time For Reflection

Well 2011 has been a hell of a roller coaster for me.

I have experienced my Ultimate Runner highs and lows in one race the GUCR.
I have experienced the depths of despair when you get an injury which does not seem to go away no matter how much rest you throw at it....

But I guess it all pales in to insignificance when you are faced with challenges in your personal life which are effectively out of your control.

Just after the JOGLE tester weekend my wife Anna told me that she was having serious thoughts about our relationship and where it was heading. We talked and agreed to keep going with it hoping things would pick up.

We really tried to make it work but realised that we had grown apart over the last 2 years. So we agreed that things were not going to change and it would be best to separate before we ended up hating each other.
It was not an easy decision to make compounded by the fact we have 4 beautiful children to consider.
We are and will remain good friends as we get on really well with each other just not as partners any more.

To be fair I has taken me a while to comes to terms with this I (more so because not seeing the children every day took some getting used too) and certainly made this transition a lot harder than it could have been (raw emotions take you to some very dark places).

It has certainly made me think about my life though. Anna said that she has felt fairly neglected for the last 2 years and although she did not like to say at the time but my commitment to running has caused probably the majority of the break up.

That is a a big wake up call does that make us Ultra runners selfish?
I guess the simple answer is answered with another question do you see Ultra running as an addiction.
If you do then as with all addictions you become obsessed to the exclusion of everyone and everything else.

So does that make me a bad person if I was obsessed with running?
In some ways yes it does as I lost focus on the important people in my life and that is not a good way to go....

I think the crux of it is though we are/were two very different people with very different outlooks on life.
Anna had/has no real interest in my running to want to live and breath it day in day out and I guess that can become very claustrophobic.


 For me now its time to re focus myself and when I'm not looking after the children find time to rediscover me and who I am and what I want for the future, if it means less running then so be it.

One tough choice I have had to make is that I am not going to be taking part in the JOGLE 2012.
This was not an easy choice to make but I have focus on the here and now and rebuilding for the future.

So Happy New Year All

Bring on 2012 the year of discovery.......

JOGLE 2012 Tester Weekend

Having signed up to do the JOGLE weekend tester, my thoughts quickly turned to the logistics of getting to the start and from the finish point on Saturday morning and Sunday night.

My options were fairly limited and were going to rely heavily on the fact of friends or family being able to drop me and pick me up from train stations (the joys of having only one car). However my Brother in law kindly allowed me the use of his car for the weekend so problem solved I thought.

Then I turned my attention of finding suitable public transport from Church Stretton to Preston. Due to family commitments my somewhat limited options basically meant I would be travelling through the night.

So come Friday evening after leaving the family enjoying a  party I made my way to Church Stretton for my Train which was due to leave at 10.40PM.

Having safely negotiated a change at Crewe Station I found myself at Manchester Airport at 1.15AM Saturday Morning, my connecting train to Preston was due to leave at 4AM.

I decided that I was going to take a walk around the airport as there was no way I was going to sleep. I must admit after 3 circuits of the same deserted corridors and sky walks I got fairly bored although my Garmin (yes I know sad isn’t it) had said I had covered 3.2 miles.

Finally after negotiating some late night revellers on the Train I arrived at Preston Station at 5AM. Having some time to kill before meeting the others I decided to walk the first part of the course as the station was somewhat depressing.

It is very strange walking along unfamiliar streets carrying a hydration pack and an overnight bag being followed by a man who walked as if he had a wooden leg. I found an excuse to stop which involved a very complex method of tying my shoelace which involved a considerable amount of time. By then peg leg was in the distance and it became a role reversal.

Any way I digress I managed to cover around 1.5miles before I realised I had better head back to meet the others.

DAY 1

So at 6.30am I was sat outside Preston Train Station having walked over 6 miles through the night with no sleep trying to eat a pot of rice pudding  without a spoon, when I saw a chap suitably attired ready for running alight from a Taxi.

It was Ian who I had had Email correspondence with but had not met (he must of thought whose this idiot who can’t even remember a spoon).

Very soon all the other runners appeared from various directions, and after a quick phone call we met up with Rory, Jen and Dave Miles.

Soon we were off, my plan for the day was to take it easy and not get drawn into any body else’s game plan. It quickly became apparent that a few of the guys wanted to give Ian a run for his money (I knew before hand he was a quick runner therefore out of my league) so I was not tempted.

I settled into a rhythm which was comfortable and soon found I was running with Dave which was very pleasing as I was hoping to get a chance to pick his brains a bit.

So for the first 10 miles we were chatting away and to be honest that 10mile section was probably the most single important section for me out of the whole weekend. I learnt a lot of useful things from Dave (I learnt a lot of other things over the weekend but spread out and not as intense as that first 2hr section), the man is top draw totally unassuming in the achievement of completing the JOGLE.

Well we soon found ourselves at the first checkpoint at 10miles with Rory scolding us like naughty school children. I found 3 of the other guys there Tom, Tim and Sean unsurprisingly Ian was too quick for them.

When I left the CP we all seemed to fall into step, the pacing was comfortable and everyone seemed in good spirits. We had Dave’s company for a few more miles and then he left us promising to meet us later in the course to support us.

To be fair the course was easy to navigate and we had no real issues quickly navigating are way through Wigan onto the 2^nd CP. A quick pit stop with the usual banter was had and we were on our way out of Wigan and onto Warrington.

To be fair I have never really been in these areas before (apart from Blackpool) and to be honest I have no desire to go back. The area is featureless and quite frankly depressing; Dave said this day on the JOGLE was the worst one in terms of scenery and frankly motivation.

We found ourselves heading out of Warrington after having a bit of an extended walking session through it; I think lethargy had set in.

We found ourselves walking up a hill to then see in the distance the Ultrarace Motor, why does he always park on the top of a hill, I suppose to catch us walking for an unflattering photo (Oh well I guess I will need to get used to walking photos). So CP3 was reached were more food was consumed I had been eating breaded products all day so I decided to have a milkshake, how stupid of me I had forgotten it had made feel rubbish on the GUCR.

So for the next 10miles I was battling with a really dodgy stomach, there was a period of around 5 miles that I really wanted to throw up and did try to force myself at one stage hoping it might help the stomach cramps. I battled through on my own for a fair bit as my pace had dropped enough for the 3 others to have gone out of sight.

Then I saw Dave in his car so had a quick chat and carried on, suddenly that seemed to pick me up because within a few minutes I had caught the other guys, ok they had stopped to talk to Dave but I will take it.

Although the pains were still there it was easier to run so we carried on and soon saw Rory again at a petrol Station to be told we had 5 miles to go, result.

The next 4 miles or so were just head down and grind it out, then with a mile to go we knew we had a bit of navigation to do.

We stuck together at this point for fear of getting lost which became apparent fairly quickly that this is exactly what happened. We consulted the paper map and i phone and phoned Rory. All did not really give us the info we wanted, where on earth were we and where was the hotel.

We stopped a couple of folks who told us where to go so we went running. Tom then had the bright idea of cutting across a golf course as it was part of the hotels (on a footpath I hasten to add), this proved to be his best idea of the day as it led down into the car park of the hotel and to a 10hr 15min finish for 47miles (with detour around 48miles).

A very satisfying day at the office. I must admit with no sleep Friday night I was looking forward to my bed.

DAY 2

Today was a staggered start with Katherine going off at 6am (Rory & Jen somewhat sheepishly confessed they had overslept and missed her going) 4 of us were going at 7am and Ian was going at 8am.

We set off and to be honest I felt very good considering the lack of long runs in the last 2-3 months.

My groin injury had hurt a fair bit from around 10miles through to 26 miles on Day 1 but had then gone away. Normally after a long run I would struggle to get out of bed as the injury would basically stop me standing upright I would be stooped for a while until my posture adjusts and then I could stand, but normally in considerable pain. Today this did not happen, can you actually cure a misaligned pelvis just by running 50miles?

Any how we soon found ourselves on the A49, which was the primary road yesterday and once again was going to be our main companion through out the day.

We settled into a rhythm which once again was working well eating the miles at a steady rate.

We then saw that the A49 was closed ahead and it was a bridge closure so possibly a potential issue. We consulted the map to work out where the detour would take us and decided that it added far too many miles and we thought we could blag our way through the road works if need be. I informed Rory who assured us we would be ok to get through as Katherine had gone that way. We soon came to the closure and found a sleepy watchman who let us through, to then find that Rory had blagged the watchman the other side to let him through. So CP1 was reached bang on target and feeling really good. I decided that today I was going to avoid breaded products as I had felt fairly bloated yesterday afternoon, plus I figured grab a banana and chocolate bar and you can carry on walking.

So on we went over the makeshift bridge and on our merry way to Whitechurch. One thing that was becoming fairly clear yesterday was very featureless and fairly flat, today was in stark contrast much more scenic but also a lot more hills.
Don’t get me wrong there were no monster hills to speak of just frequent hills which disrupted your running pattern a little. Inevitably there was more walking involved, ok normally I would have run a lot more of the hills but in the spirit of the whole weekend I wanted to approach it as I would if it was the event for real. Besides I wanted to see how I would wake up Monday morning, could I go running again if I wanted to or would I have crashed and burned….

 

We soon found ourselves heading out of Whitechurch Jen had caught and passed by then in some springy shoes called Hokas which had been dubbed the tweenie shoes. We had much discussion about these shoes over the weekend and the general consensus was negative rather than positive.

By this time the sun was out and we were really enjoying jogging along country roads, we had to keep our wits about us as the roads were narrow and the cars fast. For me I am used to this type of running as I run a fair bit down unlit country roads, I think it was an eye opener for a couple of the group though.

Soon we saw some folks wearing high viz  ahead and realised it was probably Jen and Katherine, we spotted them crossing to a car so knew CP2 had been reached.

On arrival we learnt that Katherine had been hit a glancing blow by a passing car, she was suffering a fair bit so decided to call it a day.

We gathered our sustenance and was quickly on our way munching as we walked. Jen soon passed us again running up hill and then soon followed by Ian who had caught us up from his later start.

This section for me was quite hard but this seemed to follow a trend because it was the same the day before. I found myself lagging behind the other guys, which was fine; I was sticking to my own pace and not trying to force myself to run at a pace that did not suit me. Mentally I was fine I just knew my body was going through I tired patch and providing I kept going my pace would pick up again.

The day before I had plugged myself in and had listened to music as a distraction, but today I chose not too, to see if I could manage without. To be fair I don’t think I would want to have anyway as the A49 called for full concentration and alertness.

I was amazed by the amount of road kill we had seen in the 2 days of running, one which stood out for me was badger on the side of the road fully intact but with his mouth open and teeth bared as if defiant at the very thing which had probably hit him.

Soon I was crossing a roundabout to find CP3 was the other side, I was surprised to see the other 3 guys at the cp as I assumed they were well ahead of me.

I grabbed the same food banana, chocolate bar and can of coke, it had served me well all day with no stomach issues so I was not about to change it. I headed off a bit behind the other 3; jen had decided to jog with me for a bit still in her hokas although I think they were making her feet hurt a bit by then. She left soon after as Rory was lurking on a street corner ready to pick her up.

It had been decided earlier due to the clock change and some folks not having high viz wear that we would run until 4.30pm and Rory would pick us up at whatever point we had got to.

Any way I carried on my merry way knowing we were coming to probably the trickiest bit of navigation of the day negotiating Shrewsbury. I roughly knew the direction I required and decided that broadly speaking I would head that way knowing full well the road signs would not be very useful to me.

I caught and passed Tim he said he was struggling with his knee and was going to stretch it out.

I headed into the centre getting some strange looks from shoppers, at one point I got disorientated and was unsure of the direction to take, I headed off in what I thought was the correct way. I soon spotted a Traffic Warden who I approached and he assured me I was heading in the right direction and to keep going.

So on I went the road seemed to go on for ages and I had another doubt moment, I spotted a chap clipping his hedge so I asked him for clarification. Big mistake he was very interested to know what I was doing and why, I felt obliged to tell him, after around 5 minutes I managed to get away with the knowledge that the A49 to Ludlow was just ahead.

I soon found myself on the A49 heading out towards Church Stretton, I had about an hour to cover as much ground as I could before Rory was due to pick me up.

I soon found that progress would be hampered a little as the road was fast and the verge was a little overgrown in places. As always when you’re faced with it you dig in and battle on. To be honest I started to enjoy it as it became a battle between me and the other road users and I was not going to loose. I developed a strategy that seemed to work for me I just started singing and the closer they got to me the louder I would sing. Anyone looking in must have thought I was insane!!

My phone rang it was Tom to say that they had just started down the part of the A49 with no path. I was surprised as I assumed the 2 were ahead of me as I had only passed Tim, it later transpired that they got lost badly in Shrewsbury.

Soon Rory appeared to pick me up and inform me I was around 7 miles short of Church Stretton, so 39miles covered on Day2 in 9.5 hours.

All in all it was a great weekend of consistent running at a pace which was comfortable and sustainable.

For me it is the confidence boost I needed knowing that although some of my endurance fitness has gone I have not lost too much due to my injury over the summer. More importantly I have learnt a lot off Rory, Jen & Dave which will hopefully help towards a successful completion come April 2012..

I used my UK GEAR PT1000’s for both days and I had no issues at all they performed just as I wanted them too.

pond water

Since my last update training progress has been slow well you could say stagnant to be honest. I have managed a few 20+ mile runs but nothing to get excited about.

You can always come up with what you consider to be very valid excuses to not to run but lets be fair they have no substance to them, and when you pull away the veil all your left with is an attitude of I cant be bothered.

This is not a good rut to get into and I need to snap out of it very quickly otherwise before I know it will be Christmas and 2012 will be on us. For too long I have kept using the excuse of this long term injury I am carrying but the bottom line is if I keep things slow then the pain is manageable.

So this weekend sees me joining some fellow JOGLE entrants where we will be travelling to Preston. From there we are basically running down the Country  to Church Stretton roughly covering 2 of the JOGLE days. I am hoping that this weekend will be the kick up the backside I need to get back to some regular training.

I received some great kit from Aldi my clothing sponsor for the JOGLE.  I will be testing some of it out over this weekend.

This will also be the first big test for my choice of shoes for the attempt; I am running in my UK Gear PT1000 shoes. This will be my first back to back road runs I will have done in them so hopefully they will perform well.

I will blog next week on how the weekend pans out….

The Summer That Never Was

Well it’s been a while since my last blog, a lot has happened over the summer some good some bad.

I must say congratulations to James Adams for keeping a lot of people entertained during the summer with his blog of his exploits and successful completion in the LANY2011.

For those that don’t know it was the Los Angeles to New York Footrace 3200miles in 70days, somehow I don’t think I could quite justify this one not only to my self but to my family and work.

Well after a bit of wallowing in self pity after my DNF in the Ultra100 I decided that my running was going to take a back seat during July and August (forced a little by my subsequent injury I guess)

I think my longest training run in the summer was 12miles so not ideal training for the Ultra Peaks. To be fair I was not going to do it as I felt the injury would play a significant part in this race but I felt that if I could finish then at least I would be able to complete the 9bar championship, I was certainly not looking to get a top 10 as in previous outings just a finish would be nice.

It was good to catch up with various folks before the race, and to swap running related stories. I seem to be recognising more and more faces at these events now which is all good.

I had a good chat with Dave Miles about his experience in the JOGLE 2012 which was certainly very valuable, any information or tips I can glean I am filing away as I am hoping these will prove to be invaluable.

The race itself for me was all about pain management, but the red mist descended at the start and I foolishly shot off with the front runners until we got to the first hill and I decided to walk it. Then from that point to the first CP it seemed ok I was bumbling along not fast but certainly a reasonable pace, the wheels started coming off around 12 miles when the pain was getting more intense but I was determined to not pop any pills as I wanted to experience the pain level in its raw state. By 16 miles I was reduced to a shuffle, and by 17.5 miles I was walking with no hope of running any more, I was still determined to finish but by mile 19 every step was painful.

So I took the decision to pull out at the second CP realising that it would not be a fruitful exercise to continue. Not a good day at the office, and one to quickly forget.

On the plus side from what I saw of the course it has the makings of being a true classic.

I have now had to make the difficult decision to pull out of all my races for the foreseeable future as I do not want to potentially jeopardise my JOGLE Training.

So now the kids are back at school my new 32 week training plan is kicking in.

Everything running on my plan is based on around 10min milling,  I have decided to train specifically for the JOGLE, normally my training pace even for long runs would 8min milling or less so this is certainly new territory for me, gone are the days of running 22 miles in a sub 2hr 30 time

Although my plan is based on mileage I am focusing on hours rather than actual mileage

My weekly hours spent running will range from 8hrs to 25hrs on my heaviest weeks; I think I only have 3 really heavy weeks planned the average works out at around 13hrs a week.

I am under no illusion this whole process is going to be tough to fit in around family life but if I don’t do it then I won’t have the necessary training required to complete the JOGLE.

Without the support of Anna and my family then I would be doomed to failure from the start, having said that there will still be a lot of tears and difficult choices to make of that I am sure, BUT there will be times of joy and happiness along the way also.

If there wasn’t then I would not even bother starting this journey

Some exciting news to come soon  (hopefully)

The joy of running again...

Well it’s a new month and hopefully for me a turning point for me regarding my running.

July was not a very good running month for me in fact I had 3 weeks were I did not run at all. It was all about finding out what my injury was and if I could train with it.

After a few appointments the general consensus is that I have a sports Hernia (Gilmore’s Groin). This needs to be formally diagnosed yet but I am waiting for a CT or MRI scan.

Once I had an idea what my injury was I did some research into the possibility of running with the injury until I could start a formal treatment program which potentially will be surgery.

I found out that it is possible to run with a hernia but the advice is to invest in some compression shorts (Warm Pants).

I decided to start running though without them so I could assess the level of pain without any aids. I did a couple of 10k’s and boy did the first 2-3 miles hurt on each run then it seemed to settle down. It still hurt but the pain was a more manageable level.

My warm pants dutifully arrived, I tried them on and was a little disappointed as first impressions seemed to be that although they were thicker than standard lycra shorts I could not feel or see how the compression was going to work in the lower abdominal  area.

Still not loosing faith I grabbed the dog and we went for a run, and to my surprise I did not feel the level of pain that I had been experiencing, there was still pain there but it was like having a dull ache (a bit like a used leg muscle ache after 50miles of running). For me this was the result I wanted as now it opened the door back up for me to resume my training.

I finished July with a flourish and managed a reasonable 52 miles in the final week.

While I had been inactive I had decided to look at what my major race plans would be for next year. I find that if I don’t plan ahead then I quickly loose focus and my training becomes very aimless.

I kept getting drawn to the JOGLE, but kept dismissing it as the financial outlay is huge when you have a family to consider.

Then Anna dropped a bombshell she suddenly said one evening that she had signed me up and I was in the JOGLE 2012 race, it felt like all my birthdays and Christmases had come at once. I think I am going to owe her for this one for years to come….

I am under no illusions I have a huge task ahead of me to get the right training in to give myself the best possible chance to finish this race. I am going to have to learn to go slow on all my long runs and also I need to put some solid training weekends in where I am running 60 miles a day for 2 or 3 days.

Its exciting times and I am very much looking forward to the next few months, although this hernia is a slight thorn in the side…

I have even managed to secure a sponsor to provide me with clothing for the JOGLE attempt.

This Saturday is my birthday so I intend to put a long training run in, if my warm pants can take it

More soon…..