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:
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.
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!)
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!
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!
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.
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:
Now back to chasing down my parkrun PB…
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.
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?”
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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/
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
Bournemouth Marathon the limerick by Mike Hastie26.2 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!
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.
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
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.
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 !
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 !
General Announcements
WFC Running Club Calendar
Dates for your diary:
Thursday 17th October - Normal Session - Abbey Gardens - 19:00
Thursday 17th October - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15
WFC parkrun Club
Dates for your diary:
Thursday 17th October - Normal Session - Abbey Gardens - 19:00
Thursday 17th October - C25K - Abbey Gardens - 19:15
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
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