WFC Runners: October 2019

Monday 28 October 2019

WFC Runners - parkrun, AGM, race reports, dates for diary

Winchester Fit Club RC AGM

As we are now an affiliated club we have an obligation to England Athletics as part of our club constitution to hold an annual AGM. There is a strictly prescribed protocol to follow for this, so apologies if this all seems quite formal!

The AGM date is the 21st November at 7pm. Venue currently TBC. Anyone is able to attend, but only affiliated members may vote.

It is the opening of the Christmas Markets that night so we have decided to not hold the usual running club session and just hold the AGM.

If you wish to submit any agenda items for discussion at the AGM please submit them to Anne (alr_property@btinternet.com) by the 7th November. The finalised agenda will then be distributed by the 14th.

The AGM will have no AOB section so please submit any discussion points in advance!

Election of officers

All positions are open for re-election, and all members of the committee wish to stand again. The current committee is as follows:

Chairman – Michael Day

Treasurer – Laura Day

Secretary – Anne Arnold

Deputy Secretary – Karen Parker

Membership Secretary – James White

Head Coach – James White

Welfare and DBS officer – Sharon Smith

Membership representative – Rachel Mills

Membership representative – Simon Holman

However, if you wish to stand for any of the positions you are more than welcome to. Please submit the position you wish to be nominated for along with a proposer and a seconder by the 7th November. If more than one person applies for a position it will come down to a vote.

London Marathon Club Place

At the AGM we will be drawing the London Marathon club place recipient. There are 18 members in the draw and the first out of the hat will be representing the club in London next April.

Annual Award

Also at the AGM we would like to introduce an annual club award, the Tina Jury Belly button award. This award will be presented at the AGM to a member nominated by their fellow runners. Nominations can be for anything…It could be for an excellent performance/effort, it could be for being a supportive club mate, it could be for consistency across the year, it can be for anything!

Can we please have nominations in writing to Anne A by the 7th November. The committee will then review the submissions and agree the winner. If a committee member should be nominated they will not be party to the decision.

parkrun summary – 26th October

Despite the awful weather and the rugby being on we still had 19 Fit Clubbers at 7 different parkrun venues. We had 10 at Winchester, Alice and Issy at Salisbury, Lucy and Stefan at Severn Bridge, Katie at Tilgate, Shelley and Ben at Abingdon, Kathy at the Old Showground, Frome and Andy at Southampton.

There was a new course PB for Andy M at Southampton parkrun today running a speedy 20:23. Congratulations Andy!

Congratulations to everyone who ran and volunteered.

Here is a link to the consolidated club report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-10-26

Race Reports

The Rushmoor Wellesley 10km by Isabel Mansfield

In October last year, during an emergency visit to my new GP who I had visited for a dose of anti depressants and sleeping tablets, I received a slightly different prescription. C25k and park run - either volunteer or take part. I had never really run more than 100 metres, though had been a competitive horse rider as a teenager, so know what it means to train and endure physical pain! What I had been enduring however, was the most extraordinary emotional turmoil having been in an abusive marriage which I knew I had to leave. I had moved from London to Winchester and knew almost no-one. I was not able to reach out to a running group, but pushed through the training and within six weeks did my first parkrun. I don’t think I talked to anyone other than my children during that time. The exhilaration of being able to get round 5k gave me the boost I needed, so I slowly worked on increasing my distances and reducing my time.

By March I felt that I was able to find a group to run with and made those tentative first steps. I wasn’t particularly looking to lose weight, but am 10kg lighter now than this time last year - perhaps partly due to stress but also due to feeling better about what I’m eating and doing. I finished a course in massage and reflexology and firmly ended my marriage.

For me, Rushmoor marked the anniversary of my first run and was an opportunity to possibly get under my 60 minute 10k target. As we gathered on the polo fields for the start, the heavens opened. I positioned myself between the 55 and 60 minute pacers and we were off. The first 1k was around the muddy field, but then it was along the Basingstoke canal path which was beautiful. On Strava it looks like lots of tight bends, but actually there were some beautiful tracks through the woods and you were unaware of the bends. A few small hills but otherwise quite flat aside from tree roots and the odd bridge.

Just after the 5k mark there was a very welcome water stop where they were also handing out jelly babies. I’m not a sweet fan, but for the first time I really enjoyed the sugar kick! By the 6k marker, I felt a good rhythm, but it was hard with wet, muddy shoes and quite a narrow trail. The next couple of markers passed more quickly than earlier ones and before I knew it I was at 9 and my watch said I was at 52minutes, so well on target. Despite soggy shoes, and then a pesky lace undone I pushed onto the finish in the army rugby stadium. There is nothing like that feeling of reaching the finish - even though the rain was still coming down! It was a friendly crowd, but definitely would have been more fun to have had another fit clubber there. Was well organised and would definitely do it again next year. Sorry there are no photos, it was just so wet!

Great South Run by Simon Holman

So the morning of the race started as normal in the Holman household, have you seen my bra top, which top should I wear long sleeved or short, pink or grey WFC top? Do you think I'll be cold how about leggings, and that was just me Wendy was in a far worse state. Her words to me as we sorted the last few bits of kit "don’t know about you but I'm bricking it"!

We left home nice and early to beat the traffic. Things didnt start off well losing my brother in law before we even left Winchester! He was following us down to Portsmouth luckily he guessed which way we'd gone and drove past as we picked up fit clubber Sally Taylor. Once we arrived in Portsmouth we made straight for Costa. Ordered coffee and waited for Simon and Sally Boyden along with Izzy to join us. The lovely aroma of Relgex signalled the arrival of Mr B a lot sooner than the man himself. Before we set off we all made full use of the facilities and after another large application of Relgex and a top up of Tiger Balm Mr B was fit to go.

We joined the many competitors walking to Southsea we got to the front just in time to miss a photo opportunity with Ewan Thomas, Mrs B being the most disappointed. but in good time to see Eilish McColgen running by looking like she was gliding over the ground.

We made our way to the start to take part in the mass warm up, to what I was told were some banging 90's tunes. An excited Mr B could barely contain himself at the possibility of being whacked over the head by the ever annoying Timmy Mallet. His dream came true as we passed through the start. Then we're off heading down Clarence Esplanade and towards Portsmouth Harbour. Then into the Historic Dockyard where the Commander of HMS Victory is encouraging everyone, heading out onto the streets of Portsea all the time getting great support from the crowds lining the course handing out high fives and Mario power ups. Some also offer great words of wisdom like " your nearly there" knowing you haven't even run 3 miles yet this leaves you thinking unsavoury thoughts.

As I approach the water station I spot five WPC's from Hampshire Constabulary and high five everyone of them. From there on in everytime I spot some of Hampshire's finest the same follows. Miles 4 and 5 take you back towards Southsea heading towards the 6 mile mark. Sally B and myself start to pull away from Wendy. Then I start to pull away from Sally, approaching the canoe lake and nearing 7 miles. Entering Henderson Rd, my favourite part of the race, the residents are out lining the street. One has a scaffold built in his front garden on which he's set up his decks and is blasting out tunes.

Getting to 8.5 miles Wendy, the little minx, goes past me looking very comfortable so I tap her on the butt and say "you go Shines", knowing how nervous she was before the race I'm just so proud of how well she’s running. I want to kick to try and stay with her but I feel like I'm running in treacle.
Coming into the home stretch I find a little bit left I'm my legs. Driven by the crowd shouting out your name and everyone banging on the hoardings. Crossing the finish line and knowing I've got my fourth GSR under my belt. There's a tap on my shoulder and turn to see Sally B looking as fresh as she did at the start, when we meet up with Wendy she’s beaming.

Big thumbs up to everyone who ran the GRS in the end it doesn't matter what time you ran it in but THAT YOU DID IT!

Great South Run by Isabel Mansfield

What a contrast to the previous week! Waking to a crisp clear day was a perfect start. I was excited that there would be lots of fit clubbers to talk to! Arriving in Portsmouth soon after 9 having travelled by train with team Boyden, we headed for a crowded costa to meet Simon and Wendy, and Wendy’s brother Adam and sister in law (another Sally). Needless to say we didn’t need maps to find our way to the start. Crowds already assembling and creating a very upbeat atmosphere. It's a decent trek (1.9km i think) from the station to The Pyramid, by the time we got close to the start the elite runners were on their way. They clearly have a different dress code to the rest of us with their skimpy tops and shorts!!

After a quick team photo, we dropped our bags and then it was nearly time to start. I was in the white wave and feeling both nervous but also moderately confident that I could hit my target 95-100 minutes. It was very exciting to bump into Rachel and Elise, and also Anne and Sharon. The warm up was kind of fun and the excitement was clearly building. In no time at all we were off, Rachel and Elise quickly disappeared and the first few miles passed fairly quickly with lots of great music. The African drummers were particularly colourful and upbeat and the course took us past twice. There were choirs, a rock band and some great improvised DJ setups including one guy on scaffolding at the front of his house with a great set up.

The weather was amazing, perfect temperature, no wind, sunshine. The crowds were abundant, creating a great atmosphere. There were water stops at 4 miles and 7 miles, somewhere between the two was a gel stand - this was a new experience for me! Having read about Glenna’s experience at Richmond, I was mindful that its probably best to ingest it slowly. I think it worked, but from about mile 6, there were lots of people offering jelly babies and other sweets so a few of those were perfect not just for energy, but also for distraction.

Around mile 8 I thought I was flagging, but then we hit the esplanade and the sea air was wonderful and I knew we were on the home straight. There was encouragement on both sides all the way to the finish with more sweets and a flat, wide road. Finishing was a great feeling as I had never run that distance even in training, and somehow the last 3 miles were all faster than any of the first 7! It was hard to find anyone afterwards so after a quick team TJ meet up I headed back to Winchester.

It's a great event with a nice T shirt, medal and goody bag. Not sure if I’d do it again as it was very crowded and you cover a lot of ground moving between other runners, but the atmosphere was amazing and its a perfect step to doing a half marathon.

General Announcements

WFC Running Club Calendar

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 31st Oct - Normal Session - River Park Leisure Centre - 19:00
Thursday 31st Oct - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15
Thursday 7th Nov - South Winchester Park and Ride - 19:00
Thursday 7th Nov - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15
Monday 11th Nov - Track session, Bar End 19:30
Thursday 14th Nov - C25K final run, both groups combined - 19:15
Saturday 16th Nov - Winchester parkrun - C25K graduation run and celebration
Thursday 21st Nov - Winchester Fit Club RC AGM - 19:00
Thursday 28th Nov - Dean Lane Park - 19:00
Saturday 30th Nov - Shelley's 1 year streak parkrun and team breakfast - 09:00

WFC parkrun Club

Winchester Fit Club Runners is set-up as a club with parkrun. If you go into your profile (there is a link to it on the parkrun results email and newsletter email) you can select your club. Change yours to Winchester Fit Club Runners and you will appear in the consolidated club report that we get each week.

WFC Runners WhatsApp Group

There is a WFC Runners WhatsApp chat group where we generally just wang on about running, races and cake. If you are not already part of this then please get in contact with Coach James or Coach Mike who will add you.

WFC Runners Strava Club

If you are a Strava user there is a Winchester Fit Club Runners club page. This can be accessed here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/WFC-Runners. Request to join and we will approve!

Booking onto sessions

Booking onto our training sessions enables the coaches to plan the session accordingly. You can book on in the following location: https://winchesterfitclub.simplybook.it/v2/

Race Calendar

The race calendar is now stored here: https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/race-calendar-2019-and-beyond.html

Race Kit

The full range of kit available to purchase and instructions on how to order can be found in the following link: https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/kit-details-and-prices.html

Monday 21 October 2019

WFC Runners - GSR, Amsterdam and Poznań Marathon, parkrun C25K update

News

The main news this week was of a stunning run by Sarah Lewis at the Amsterdam marathon. Sarah had to dig deep at times but pushed through for an amazing time of 4:43:44. She even managed a chat en route with Chris Evans and a jump shot at the end! Well done Sarah...phenomenal effort.

In other Marathon news one of the Running Club’s founder members, Adam Stachowiak, ran a sensational 2:58:02 at the Poznań marathon on Sunday, breaking his PB and going under 3 hours for the first time. Well done Adam, hope to see you soon!

A bit closer to home this week was the 30th running of the Great South Run. This iconic race attracted a huge field and the numbers were certainly buoyed by the 16 Fit Clubbers taking part! The great weather helped our runners achieve some fantastic times:

Colin B - 1:18:18

Amelia M - 1:22:30

Catherine W - 1:25:22

Elise G - 1:26:14

Rachel M - 1:32:43

Trish H - 1:35:10

Issy M - 1:35:22

Alex H - 1:36:16

Alf R - 1:39:55

Simon H - 1:40:59

Wendy H - 1:40:28

Sharon S - 1:41:39

Anne A - 1:41:39

Sally B - 1:41:42

Glenna G - 1:41:46

Simon M - 1:44:13

Simon B - 2:02:44

As part of the same running festival Alfie Rodway was taking part in the junior race on the Saturday. This is a 2.5km run which Alfie ran in a sensational 11:36. You better watch out Alf…he’s going to be breaking your PBs soon!

Cracking weekend of running again from the amazing Winchester Fit Club Runners. Well done everyone who took part or supported.

parkrun summary – 19th October

This week we had 18 Fit Clubbers at 5 different parkrun venues. We had 12 at Winchester, Glenna and Dave at Richmond, Mike and Anna at Frimley Lodge, James at Moors Valley and Pav at Gdańsk in Poland!

Congratulations to everyone who ran and volunteered.

Here is a link to the consolidated club report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-10-19

C25K Update

The C25K runners have now completed week 5! In those 5 weeks they have progressed from running for 1 minute and walking for 1:30 to running non-stop for 20 minutes, which is a fantastic progression. Despite the recent poor weather they are working hard and getting out there and doing their required sessions, and I couldn’t be more proud.

We are looking at their final run being on the 14th of November, starting from Abbey Gardens at 7:15. This will see them run for 30 minutes non-stop. We have decided that this will be a combined run with the main running club session and the C25K session coming together.

The graduation run will then be on the 16th November at Winchester parkrun. Please try and join us for both events!

Race Reports

The Studland Stampede by Alf Rodway

A nice early rainy morning start to get to Studland Bay via Poole (pick up!) to complete the Studland Stampede. This race is part of the Purbeck Trail Series and is my favourite alongside The Beast. A tough off-road running event that races over heath land and sandy beaches, in the beautiful location of Studland Bay in Dorset.

The 12k route offers stunning views of Old Harry Rocks, Brownsea Island and the Isle of Wight. Runners of all abilities enjoy the race and you see familiar faces every year, due to its popularity.

As we arrived to collect our running number, the weather was relatively good, a light drizzle with little breeze. The start is outside the Knoll Beach Cafe and you head along the beach for about quarter of a mile. Usually, there is a beach to run along but this year, the tide was in and high so immediately I got wet feet! After the small beach run, you climb a hill and into the coastal path areas.

The conditions on the ground were not great for running in places and everyone was very cautious in places, in some instances halting to a complete stop due to the fear of turning your ankle. A good 4 miles of the race is inland with amazing views, which is one of the reason why I love this event. At times, it became too much fun running through puddles as my running buddy and I decided to have a splash fight (I know what you're wanting to say!).

After tackling some marshlands, I hit some sandy paths, which usually are tough going. This year, it was great due to the weather and wasn’t as hard so before I knew it, I hit the beach again by the chain ferry and back towards the cafe. On a good day and if you're lucky, you may see a few naked people as you run through the nudist part of the beach before entering the safe zone!!. As the cafe becomes clearer in the distance, those around you start to up their pace to get big cheers through the finishing funnel. Not to be outdone, Durand (running buddy) started to push too and so I decided to follow, which created a semi-sprint finish.

This year, the goody bag was great, a gym towel, National Trust Whiskey Marmalade and a Soap medal. Also, very handy having a cafe on site for that all important coffee. A very well organised event, supported with good crowds in places and friendly marshals. You are also able to enter for next year race before they are open up to the public, which is really handy. This is certainly an event, I would recommend WFC to organise a day out and participate in good numbers.

General Announcements

WFC Running Club Calendar

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 24th October - Normal Session - Starbucks at Sainsbury's Badger Farm - 19:00
Thursday 24th October - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15

WFC parkrun Club

WFC Runners WhatsApp Group

WFC Runners Strava Club

If you are a Strava user there is a Winchester Fit Club Runners club page. This can be accessed here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/WFC-Runners. Request to join and we will approve!

Booking onto sessions

Monday 14 October 2019

WFC Runners - Royal Parks, Wellesley, parkrun, Bournemouth and Clarendon writeups

News

This weekend was a historic one in terms of marathon running. On Saturday Eluid Kipchoge broke the 2hr mark for the marathon running 1:59:40 in a specially staged event in Vienna. And then on Sunday Paula Radcliffe’s longstanding women’s marathon record was broken by Brigid Kosgei who ran 2:14:04 at the Chicago marathon.

We had our own set of superheroes out running this weekend in less than ideal conditions! Firstly we have Sarah L at the Royal Parks half in London. The webpage describes the route as follows “This stunning central London Half Marathon, takes in some of the capital's world-famous landmarks on closed roads, and four of London's eight Royal Parks - Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Garden”. Sarah ran with a friend and clocked a time of 2:25.

Running her first half marathon we had Cat M running the Dorney Lake half marathon. This is a fast and flat route around the rowing venue from the 2012 Olympics, unfortunately though, due to the weather, one half of the lake was run into a stiff breeze. Despite this Cat completed the run in a cracking time of 1:58. Congratulations Cat!

Last, but certainly not least, we had Issy running the Rushmoor Wellesley 10km. This race was a mixed surface race, which was also billed as fast and flat. The website describes it as follows “The route is flat and is mostly on Wellesley Woodland footpaths and along the Basingstoke Canal towpaths. Ideal for those with a who love trail running with some really lovely views”. Again in tough conditions Issy ran a cracking time of 57:13.

Well done to everyone who ran!
parkrun update - 12th October

This week we had 25 Fit Clubbers at 3 different parkrun venues. We had 22 at Winchester, Kathy and Graeme at Bath Skyline and Fran at Chichester.

Despite the miserable conditions we had more PBs at Winchester:

Vanessa - Winchester - 22:28
Sarah H - Winchester - 22:35

Congratulations to everyone who ran and volunteered.

Here is a link to the consolidated club report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-10-12

Race Reports

Bournemouth Marathon by Anna Hastie

It was this time last year when having been unsuccessful in the London Marathon ballot I knew I still wanted to set myself the goal of running a marathon in 2019 so signed up to the Southampton Marathon! With the race taking place in May, I had plenty of time to train, so rather than following a particular training plan I set myself monthly distance goals starting in December.

My training for Bournemouth was very different! Having run 50miles at Endure24 in June, I struggled to face running after, not enjoying it like I had previously. This meant I took most of July off running, resulting in a fast track training programme in order to get me to the start line!

The week before I was a bundle of nerves, and not the excited nerves I had before Southampton. I felt underprepared and knew I hadn't put in the training I should have.

Arriving at the start area, it was nicely compact and well set out meaning it was easy to find Karen and have a little catch up before the race. It was also easy to get to the toilets and we could leave visiting the bag drop until the last minute. It was fairly low key, with no warm up or pacers which suited me perfectly. (I never join in with a warm up as I don't want to be worn out before I start!! I'm also not a fan of pacers as I find they make me feel pressure - I'd rather just run at my own pace!)

Whilst waiting by the start pen, we were approached by a lady asking if we knew what the colours on our numbers meant. She was wearing white which was the first wave after the elites so I said so her she must be fast! We had a little giggle with her when it transpired she had thought she had signed up to run the half which meant she had put down her half predicted time for the full!! Oops!

I shot off at the start wanting to make the most of the early downhill! At about one mile a steward made a mess of re-directing the course by blocking the route completely. With some runners trying to jump over the tape, and others trying to go under, the tape ended up getting tangled around my ankle meaning I had to stop to unwind it!

The course was beautiful. I love being by the sea, and having it in sight for the majority of the race was uplifting. The course loops back on itself a number of times which gave Mike and I lots of opportunities to spot each other! I also managed to spot Karen on the first loop back!

The support along the course was amazing as well. Matthew was out to support Karen with their son and it was great to see them cheering at around mile 7. It was also much appreciated that James, Alice, Kathy and Graeme had hung around after running the half to cheer us on at around mile 17.

I had read an article prior to the race on Runners World which talked about breaking a marathon down into 10:10:10 (miles:miles:km) so I had decided to give this a go! The first 10 miles flew by nice and smoothly with only gentle undulations. It wasn't until mile 12 when there was a steep uphill. However this wasn't too long and the downhill following gave opportunity to recover. I was happy ticking off the miles until mile 17 when the steep uphill which lasted about a mile took so much out of my legs I found it hard to recover. When there was finally some downhill to the beach I had just got into my stride when I hit the promenade.

By now I had reached the last 10k and knowing that all the hills were behind me I was hoping to be able to count down the miles to the end. However, the headwinds along the promenade were too strong for my weary head and body and it was a real struggle to fight against them. This stretch of the marathon really dragged on and it was with so much relief when I reached the 26mile mark. It was around here when I heard coach James cheer my name, it was such a lovely surprise that he had stayed around to see us finish and much appreciated!

It was also really lovely to be able to cheer Karen into the finish and celebrate her fantastic achievement in completing her first ever marathon!

It's approaching 2 years since I turned up for my first WFC running session and I doubt very much that without joining I would have ever signed up to run a marathon, let alone completed two this year! Neither marathon was easy - they both had their tough moments - but the support of WFC friends throughout training and especially on race day made such a difference and got me through!

Special thanks to Rachel, Simon and Will Mills, PG and Alf, James, Alice, Kathy and Graeme for cheering me round at Southampton and Bournemouth!

Despite initially feeling that (unless I was lucky enough to get a place in London) I would want a marathon free 2020, I am now not so sure!.....

Bournemouth Marathon the limerick by Mike Hastie

26.2 around Bournemouth said our planner,
I hoped for beaches, sunshine and glamour,
But I soon hit some strife,
And left for dust by my wife,
Spent 4 hours shouting “Anna! Anna!”

Bournemouth Marathon by Karen Parker

Tina Jury once said that every runner should have a marathon in their bucket list. I pondered on this and realised that I would regret it if I didn’t do one... so with encouragement from Anna Hastie I entered the Bournemouth marathon.

I had completed the Southampton half in May so I was part way in the training, but I realised that getting fit for the remaining 13.1 miles would be tough. I ran my long runs on my own, but was encouraged by many of you Win Fit runners, particularly Anne.

I went over on my ankle on a run after I clocked up 19 miles. I had to miss about 4 weeks of training, and had to go back to 15 miles... this changed my target time from around 5 1/4 hours to a target of finishing and enjoying myself.

On the day I was nervous but glad to see Mike and Anna Hastie at the start area. After the obligatory photo we went off to our different start pens.. mine for the slow runners! I decided that I was going to enjoy the race... and I did.

The course was a challenging course with hills, sandy promenades, and windy conditions. My highlights were many, the views were amazing. When the running got hard (which it did), I paraphrased Tina’s advice, rather than concentrating on my navel I concentrated on the beautiful views.

It was lovely to see Anna and Mike running when I was on mile 6. It was so encouraging to have my family and James supporting and I saw them just after seeing the Hasties. Coach James was at mile 17. It was a surprise hearing his dulcet tones cheering me on. It took me a bit to find him, he was so high up!

Mile 18 was challenging to some, as it was hilly, but thanks to running up Old Kennels Lane in Oliver’s battery I knew I could do this hill without walking. I was concerned that every uphill had a downhill, and I hoped it wasn’t too steep. It was! It was far too steep, too long and too far into the marathon for me. I wondered if I should walk it, but I thought if I walked, I might not be able to start running again. I carried on running, but the ankle I had hurt in training just after mile 19, now rather poetically, was hurting just after mile 19. I wasn’t happy. I was running with a terrible gait, but at least I could run.

I ran hurting for about 2 miles, but at about the 22 mile flag I realised I was so enjoying the views again, that the pain had almost gone. Poole bay was so beautiful and also was the turning point. I was now on the home strait. I saw my family just past the 26 mile marker, and then just as I was about to finish, I heard coach James. It was so encouraging to have their support. I found the last 0.2 miles very hard.. I’m fairly sure it was uphill, but I finished. My finish time was just over 5 hours. I was so pleased. I had aimed to finish, and enjoy it.. and I did!

Bournemouth Half by Graeme Read

After running the Bath Half in 2017, I swore I’d never run long distances again, however, after a bit of jokey peer pressure and a few drinks on a Friday night, I signed up to the Bournemouth Half with around four weeks to go!

Four weeks isn’t the greatest amount of time to complete a comprehensive training plan, so I’d have to rely on my stamina from previous running experience to get around. A few weeks passed, and my motivation to do long distance training was limited. I’d managed to get up to 7 miles with several stops, and then up to 10 miles, also with a few stops. My ambitions for the half were extremely pessimistic, to the point where if anyone asked my aim, it was to get around in under 2 hours, but in my head, I was thinking just to get round would be a win.

Despite me pretending the day would never come, race day enviably came around. An 8am start time meant getting up at a spritely 5.45am (no Sunday lie in there then) in order to prep for the adventure ahead. The pre-race atmosphere was full of the usual; nervousness, excitement, and ridiculously long queues for the loos.

In the days building up to the race, I’d been checking the weather forecast hoping the running conditions would be friendly towards us. At the beginning of the week, the weather looked terrible, with the combination of rain and wind. Fortunately, a few days before race day the gods smiled on us, and the weather ended up being perfect – sunny with a slight headwind (by my estimates I reckon it would add at least 17 seconds onto any time which was unfortunate for coach James who recorded a time of 1.40.16).

The clock started, and we crossed the start line (I crossed one second behind Alice which appeared to be vital come the end of the race). The beginning section was very flat, as we explored the local delights. There was some support, but I suspect the majority of residents were fast asleep due to the early start. After 5 miles, I felt surprisingly good, I’d somehow actually kept to my pre run plan of running at an average of 8.45/mile, which never happens. As we approached the seafront, there was a gradual hill taking us down to the beach, this is where the slight headwind started. Whilst not hugely noticeable, I realised my average splits per mile were going down. This was a concern considering we hadn’t yet reached the half way point. I reverted back to running basics, remember to breath, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll get there eventually.

The seafront made for very scenic running as we gradually worked our way towards Boscombe pier, where an extremely short, but steep hill welcomed us. This was brutal, after 8 miles running, this wasn’t ideal. I managed to continue running, despite the temptation to walk up it (as many other runners decided to do). I’m not sure I ever fully recovered from running up this hill, my splits suffered significantly afterwards. We ran towards Bournemouth Pier where there were hundreds of people lining the streets in support, this was a real morale boost into the final 5 miles.

The final section of the race was a back and forth from Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier. I could see all the runners who were in front of me returning back to Bournemouth Pier as I was heading jealously in the other direction. At this point, I was struggling. My lack of training was catching up with me, I didn’t necessarily feel out of breath, but my legs were in significant pain. I needed some help, so turned my music up, and just tried to focus on getting through each mile.

I reached mile 10, thinking just a parkrun to go. My half marathon PB time had already been and gone, so it was just a case of trying to finish strong and trying not to stop. As we got closer to Bournemouth Pier the crowd really started to pick up, with both sides of the path full of support. We ran around the pier (which felt so much longer than it looks), and headed towards the home straight, where Alice and I crossed the finish line at the same time.

It had finished. All my worries in the preceding weeks were over, and all in all, apart from some pain in my legs, it wasn’t all that bad. It taught me some valuable life lessons, which I’ll take with me into my next race, which are:

13 miles is quite far, if you want to run it, train for it
If the PB isn’t happening, and you realise well into the race, don’t get downbeat, just enjoy the run
Having a few beers with great company, after the race has finished makes everything worth while.

Now back to chasing down my parkrun PB…

Bournemouth Half by James White

When I started off running I was an eager beaver and I would enter any race that took my fancy. This meant that I might be running a 10km one weekend, a half the following week and then a marathon, all in short succession. Whilst this was fun I started to see my performances dropping off and niggly little injuries becoming increasingly frequent. I started to change my approach a few years back when I was training for the Manchester Marathon, and I cut back on racing and focussed on one main race in a six month period. I did other races but they all complemented the training rather than hindered it. This approach worked and I had a really successful start to that year and managed to achieve my goal at Manchester. Shortly after though I got injured and spent a long time on the side-lines, however this approach is now my go to training method when I am focussed on a specific target.

After a good first half to the year and a rare long spell of being injury free I decided I would have a go at breaking my half marathon PB, which has stood since March 2015, at the Bournemouth Marathon Festival. My target was sub-1:40. I decided to structure my training slightly differently to better suit my personal and work circumstances. I therefore focussed predominantly on running fast over shorter distances (3-5 miles) and getting comfortable running at the pace I was aiming for (7:36 a mile). Once a week I would do a longer run at a much slower pace. Around the end of August/start of September I started combining the two i.e. trying to do my longer runs (6-10 miles) at or near my target pace. This approach worked well and I started to see my ability to hold the faster pace for a longer period increase. As my last long run I had signed up for the Winchester Half a couple of weeks out, and after a good performance there, I knew I was ready!

The Bournemouth half is an 8am start and so it was an early start to get there for 7:15am. I met up with Alice and Graeme and we talked race strategy whilst we nervously awaited the start. I also had a friend from work, Ed, who was pacing me round the route. We dropped our bags off and headed over to the start, which was delayed by 15 minutes (later found to be because a body had been found in a park en route). There was a slightly disappointing start with no music and no count down, but we were off and running!

The first part of the route is through Southbourne and out on to the cliff top. As the roads are fairly wide we were into our stride quickly with very little congestion. Our strategy was to try and run between 7:20 and 7:30 a mile to get a little bit of time in the bank for the hill at mile 8 and we soon got into a good rhythm at this pace. Once on the cliff top you hit the first of the long out and back sections. This section is slightly up hill to Boscombe before the turn around point and is then a lovely long downhill all the way to the beach front.

At mile 5 we hit the beach front for the first time and had a couple of miles along the prom to Boscombe Pier. There was a breeze in our faces and large patches of wet sand on the prom from the previous night’s storm, this made it hard going but runnable. From about mile 7 it was starting to become hard work. My heart rate was up and I was conscious that it was getting harder to maintain pace. I made the decision to take a gel at mile 8 to try and give me a little boost for the final few miles. Whilst I hadn’t trained with gels the brand used by the race were one I had used before with no issues so I felt I was safe.

Around mile 8 you turn off the prom and head up the hill in Boscombe Gardens. This is a fairly steep hill, but only short. As we had banked some time I didn’t push too hard on the way up and then took my time recovering on the cliff top. About half way along the cliff it starts heading downhill, you then join the big hill down to Bournemouth pier round the corner and back along the front, with wind behind. This was my quickest section, but also the point at which I was really starting to struggle. We saw Kathy by the pier, which gave us a great boost. The section along the front to Boscombe pier was really hard. My legs and lungs were both burning and my energy levels were really low, and I knew I still had a couple of miles to go. By mile 11 I was off the required pace, but I knew that two 8 minute miles would see me come in just under the 1:40 mark.

Mile 12 was incredibly difficult. No matter how hard I tried I could not keep my pace up. I was really hurting and I think my head had also gone. Everytime I looked at my watch I was getting slower and it felt like I was shuffling. I was now really noticing the wind and was struggling to acknowledge the runners coming the other way. Alice and Graeme both said I looked awful at this point! Mile 13 was more of the same and it seemed to take an eternity to get on to the pier. As I ran down the pier I knew my target time had gone, but that I would still beat my previous PB. I had decided that once I got to the end of the pier I would go for it into the finish. I was pleased that I did manage a sprint finish. I stopped my watch at 1:40:16.

Despite having beaten my PB I was very disappointed not to have achieved my target. It would be all too easy to blame the wind or the sand or the hills, but I think I just didn’t have quite enough endurance at the tail end of the race. More long runs needed! On reflection though I am incredibly proud of myself for the way that I approached my training, how hard I worked and what I achieved.

I headed back round to the finish and cheered Graeme and Alice through the finishing line. We then all headed for breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the pier where we could cheer on the marathon runners. It was such a fun day and I was immensely proud to be there to see all the Fit Clubbers finish their runs. The marathon runners, Anna, Mike and Karen, were superb on the day. All posting wonderful times and working hard in tough conditions.

Thank you to everyone for your messages of support before and after the race. They are much appreciated and really help.

Clarendon Half by Allen Westoby

Saturday evening I received a text from my friend Tom who I was planning to run Clarendon with:

Tom: “Thoughts on running ill? Feel like s&#$, blocked up and have and a bit of a chesty cough. Came on yesterday so probably at the worst of it today. Keen to run still. What do you think?”

My response: “dose yourself up today and in the morning, and I bet you’ll feel fine once you start running”

The short story is, he lived. The longer story is Clarendon half is a tough but very enjoyable race and you’ll ache a fair bit afterwards (possibly not recommended if you have a chest cold)! Neither me or my friend did a lot of long distance running in the months before so set out with the aim of running to feel and just enjoying the experience.

In the days leading up to the event, things were looking great weather wise. Considering how rubbish and rainy it’s been recently, to be going into the weekend with the prospect of clear sky and no sign of rain race morning was a welcome reprieve.

For those of you who haven’t looked up or heard of Clarendon before it comes in a few formats, full marathon, marathon relay (in teams of 4), half marathon and mini marathon. The route runs along the Clarendon Way between Salisbury and Winchester. For the half marathon route you catch a bus from Winchester park and ride to the start at Broughton and run back cross country to Kings School in Winchester.

The park and ride had a great buzz to it when we arrived in the morning, there were a few buses full of teams of runners, people on their own, runners with dogs and many people who looked both experienced and complete beginners. An hour waiting and travelling on the bus wasn’t ideal but it was nice to be travelling with other runners and soaking up the slightly nervous/excited atmosphere.

At Broughton, after a briefing from JJ (who helps run the event) we set off along a short flat road section before starting on the trail which would take us back to Winchester and immediately went up a steep farm trail. Heading up hill was a theme repeated many times over the next two hours. In total my Garmin clocked 425 meters elevation gain across the course and we definitely felt it. Apart from sections where we were briefly passing through a town, on the rest of the course we were either heading up or going down hill, there was barely any flat on the route.

One rule, as agreed with my friend Tom at the start of the race was no walking up hill. I think it’s down to this rule that helped us creep under 2 hours over the full distance! It shows how good hill training and generally running up hill all around Winchester is when it comes to races. I’d never say hill training makes a steep incline any less daunting but you feel more prepared for the discomfort of running up hill and can keep running when it gets tough.

Being such a warm day, we were regimented in taking on water and the odd jelly bean at every water stop of which there were loads! I think over the half there were at least 6 stops for water/food and plenty more marshalls across the course. The support was excellent.

My friend and I agreed on the bus to Broughton that it would be great to break two hours and we managed only just by about 20 seconds. The final few hills almost broke us and the trail got wet and muddy right near the end. Heading into Kings School and seeing the finish line with my watch at 1:59 was a great feeling. Clarendon is certainly a tough race but gives you a hell of a sense of achievement at the end. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Clarendon Relay by Glenna Greenslade

This year was my 5th consecutive year running in a Clarendon Relay team. It is a great event with lovely views starting in Salisbury and finishing in Winchester, it is well organised and marshalled but very hilly in parts!

Fran was on leg 1, Trish on leg 2, Ruth leg 3 and I was on leg 4. Our team worked well together and, with friends of ours in another team, we were able to sort out the transport arrangements of the runners to and from the sections of the route.

Dave and I arrived at Farley Mount just after 1pm to see the first of the marathon runners it is a good spectator spot and I was waiting for Allen, with phone in hand to take a photo, but must have missed him coming through.

Fran and Trish arrived at Farley Mount, having completed their turn and both enjoyed their respective runs, albeit that it was rather slippy and muddy. We all waited together for Ruth to hand over to me. During the week Ruth had said that if she were feeling OK she would hand the timing chip to me and then carry on to the finish to complete a half marathon distance. I could see her approaching so went into position for the handover and she let me know she was carrying on. Dave then took Trish and Fran to cheer me on at one of the water stations in the country park then onto the finish and waited for me to come in.

I ran leg 4 on my first Clarendon relay so knew what to expect, although it is the shortest leg it is by no means the easiest, there are still hills to climb and I did feel stronger than my first attempt. Jo was stood at the top of Clarendon Way, where it joins Sarum Road, and she was there in the same spot this year supporting and encouraging me up the last hill. Just after that I arrived at the school where Fran and Trish were waiting for me so we could run to the finish together (minus Ruth) to get a time. Once the timing wristband was taken off we headed back to wait for Ruth to complete the half marathon route and then we all ran into the finish as a complete team.

More than 90% of the route is off road, with the trail following country tracks and paths, it is both picturesque and challenging.

The great thing about a relay team is that involves people in a full marathon event but working together as a team.

Burger King Miami Beach 10km by Anne Arnold

Sooo what's the first thing that springs to mind when you book a holiday to the States? Book a race...obvs! Well that is what I did in May last year. Still wallowing in the smugness of having done the London Marathon I thought I would check Boston, Washington and Miami to see if there were any races I could enter…how cool would that be? I was pleased to find a 10k Beach Run in South Beach Miami sponsored by Burger King in aid of their charitable educational fund supporting student’s to go to University. Perfect so off went the application and fee.

Roll on 5 months and the day of the race and our last full day of holiday arrived. The start time was 7.30 am and I had to get there by 7am to pick up my race pack. Pete and I set off from our Hotel (we were luckily staying just down the road) it was pitch black but really warm already. But with a breeze coming off the sea… I could hear Coach James saying in my ear ‘perfect running conditions’.

I got to the start picked up my pack and joined the other 1000 happy participants enjoying music, Miami soccer mascots and burger and nugget shaped sandcastles. All going well until sunrise which was about 7.25am and boy it was like someone had opened the oven door..we started in heat and much worse humidity. I took the first 3 miles really easy and it didn’t feel too bad. The start was down the beach along compacted sand onto the prom and then around a block in the south beach Art Deco area just beautiful and what a cool place to run.

All was going well until mile 4 when it was about 80 degrees and 80% humidity I literally had sweat running off my finger tips and dripping off like someone had poured a bottle of water over me…. Always attractive! At this point even the locals were struggling (two weeks of eating and drinking didn’t help) and got chatting to a few of them who were just laughing at me doing the run and didn’t I appreciate the humidity? I then ran with my new best friend, Ernesto, who was just lovely and complimentary (he told me I looked great for my age!) so we jeffed the last couple of miles and I did my usual chatting as I ran.

I got to the finish line and collected my goodies a fab medal, a T shirt, cool sunglasses and a burger King Crown (obvs) and headed to the shade to recover. Thank god for a dry t-shirt to put on. Once I had cooled off a bit there was breakfast of BK burgers, croissants and Hershy Chocolate cream pie what else!

All in all a fantastic experience I met some lovely people, ran in the most amazing place and had a guilt free crap breakfast...memories made !

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Dates for your diary:

Thursday 17th October - Normal Session - Abbey Gardens - 19:00
Thursday 17th October - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15

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