We’re in unprecedented times. Races are being cancelled like never before and exercise is being rationed to once a day which is leaving many people with missing motivation. So I had an idea to resurrect something I did a few years ago to offer something to focus on and provide an opportunity to come together while we’re forced to keep apart.
After enjoying chasing a summer of short stuff last year I’m set to do similar this year so if you’re looking for something a bit different, want to test yourself over a shorter distance or just want something to sharpen your pace then these are great events:
Running shoes aren’t cheap but they’re probably the most important piece of kit to keep your running on track and injuries at bay. They don’t last forever so when should you change your trainers?
On Friday night I ran my second Mile PB in 6 days and today I came second in a marathon. Running a sub 2:10 marathon would normally win you the race but I was up against younger opposition who edged the 26.2 mile race by just 40 seconds.
As any of you that know anything about me or running in general will realise, I’ve not quite shared all the details of my marathon exploits today so let me set the record straight.
With the frustration and fatigue of my London Marathon result fading, it was time to focus on the next chapter of my running career. Mixing it up, I’m concentrating on the short distances from a mile to 4 to get those legs going again.
Searching the online race directories (including RunBritain and local race info compiler OxonRaces.com) I found there was a 3 mile race in just a couple of days, it was local and would cost just £3.
It was part of the “self-transcendence series” inspired by an athlete and spiritualist named Sri Chinmoy.
The four-race series uses the Peace Mile around Oxford’s Cutteslowe Park and comprises of 2, 3 and 4 mile races.
Looking at last year’s results it appears to be a quiet series, with only 30 to 40 people at each race but a range of paces that I’d sit nicely within. The only drawback was that the first race was on my wedding anniversary and I was due to go out for a meal with my wife.
Fortunately I have an amazing wife (that’s why I married her) who could see that this 3 mile race could kick start me again following my marathon disappointment. And we could go out once I got home. Result!
There were some familiar faces from the local running scene but no-one that I knew to talk to and no-one from my own club, Witney Road Runners. There was a real mix of runners and a relaxed, low key feel with some of us opting to wear club vests with others just wearing plain shirts.
After a simple sign up and depositing the £3 entry fee (£5 if you’re not EA affiliated) I had a quick warm up before we assembled on the start line, with what felt like half of Abingdon Road Runners – they made up more than a third of the field! There was still a little congestion as we all tore off towards the grass but the field soon thinned.
The loop has a mix of grass, gravel and tarmac and is mostly flat, with a hill after half way, but that means you’ve got a downhill toward the finish line!
As you pass the start/finish line the organisers are counting out the race clock so you have an idea of your pace. I was positively surprised and slightly alarmed at a six-thirty-something given that I had no idea of what I was going to be capable of.
A controlled second lap followed where I was joined by a face I recognised who then helped to motivate me round the rest of the race. A very encouraging Andy Phelps of Headington Road Runners acted as a great pacer, a marker to hang on to.
Heading into the last few hundred metres my pacer instructed me to push on to the finish and I crossed the line in 19:46. Quicker than I expected, even taking into account that the course appears to be slightly short. And on reviewing the results, I was second Senior Man – admittedly, 2nd out of 2!
There are no medals but there was water and jaffa cakes to enjoy so I stayed to applaud the remaining runners home and found myself part of friendly impromptu running conversations with other runners. And then realised I had an anniversary dinner to get too so rushed back to the car!
Despite the small field and relaxed feel, the atmosphere was welcoming and supportive and I can’t believe more runners aren’t partaking in this very cheap accessible race series.
I shall definitely be taking on the 2 mile race on 22 May as well as the 3 mile race a week later (celebrating the 30th anniversary) and am gutted that I won’t be in the UK to complete the series with the 4 mile race in June. Hopefully I’ll see more clubmates join in at the future races.
I’m not sure it has anything to do with Sri or his principles but this race has really lifted me and provided a spark to my running again. I look forward to seeing what I can do at the future races.
“Running offers us the message of transcendence. In our running, every day we are aiming at a new goal….. … every day we are running towards a goal, but when we reach that goal, we want to go still farther. Either we want to improve our timing or increase our distance. There is no end. Running means continual transcendence, and that is also the message of our inner life.”
Two years ago I became a marathoner as a charity runner and in the London Marathon ballot I was fortunate to secure a place to run it again this year.
Off the back of a superb 2016 (PBs at mile, 5k, 4M, 10k and half marathon distances) I started training for the tricky second marathon. The first had been an adventure into the unknown; a journey of firsts all the way to crossing the finish line. Like a younger sibling, the second had big shoes to fill and a benchmark had been set.
Training was great fun again and went virtually to plan; even losing a week of training and a little confidence thanks to a mystery cricked neck hadn’t prevented me from feeling ready and confident of beating that benchmark of 4:04.
My marathon weekender started with a trip to the Expo on Friday after meeting up with a chunk of the Witney Road Runner crowd for lunch. Saturday was chilled with friends for lunch in Covent Garden, a trip to see the new flagship Lego store and an evening picnic by the Thames with Tamsyn.
A surprisingly good night’s sleep was had and we set off for what the jump across London to Blackheath. It transpired that TfL wanted to keep me on my toes making it harder than it needed to be to enter Westminster station and choosing the furthest platform for the overground train at London Bridge.
After an immediate toilet trip, I had a chance to relax and soak up the atmosphere and finish getting ready. It was great to bump into fellow Witney Road Runners Adam Leary, Tony Burkett & Laura Davies to say hi before heading to our start pens, via the toilet again of course!
When I’m in the start pen for a big race I get the same feeling as I used to get when waiting to go into an exam. I try to keep myself to myself. I don’t want to hear how well prepared others are. I don’t want to hear other people’s anxieties. I don’t want to hear the inane, time filling drivel. I just want to keep calm and focus on what’s to come.
I could see the big screen from the start pen and saw Will, Kate and Harry start the race. We slowly shuffled forward until the start line was in sight. I clocked the clock as I crossed the start mats – 00:04:30 – not bad.
The first 3 miles were new to me, having started at the Red Start last time. It wasn’t as spine tingling as that first marathon feeling but you knew you were part of something special.
Passing through the first couple of mile points is an opportunity to check your pace and make sure you’re running calmly. I got my maths wrong (by adding the 4.5 minutes, rather than subtracting) and started to wonder how I could have been so slow but soon realised and got into a rhythm that was a reasonable pace.
Just after 3 miles, the entire field comes together and to my surprise I heard a familiar voice yelling from the left in an Alan Partridge style, “Dan! Dan! Daaaaan!”. It was only Andy Church with Jamie Jones and Jade Hewlett. I would later see Andy and Jade looking strong as they passed me, I think at Mudchute, around 17 miles.
It was also great to run for a stretch with two runners I’d helped coach for the London Marathon. Both fellow WRR Lucy Harris and Andrew “Grundy” Smith, the Headington Road Runner who was running for African Children’s Fund, were in good form and spirits. I was happy to stick with them for as long as I could. While I was with Lucy we saw clubmate Heather Smith; you woudn’t have known that she’d run Boston Marathon just 6 days previously!
Turning the corner to see Tower Bridge is a special moment for any London Marathoner but for a Witney Road Runner it’s extra special knowing your club mates are on the other side of it, ready to give you a boost. A special big thanks to Jacqui Gamage who was full of energy (and even ran with me for a bit on my way back along Tower Hill)!
As I passed halfway my legs weren’t as fresh as they should have been but at mile 14 I knew Tamsyn would be there to send me towards the Isle of Dogs. A surprise of another friendly face yelling “Go Wymer!” appeared around mile 15 in the shape of former colleague and fellow marathoner Nat Milstead.
Despite my legs feeling heavy, the whole section around Canary Wharf and back to Limehouse seem to pass quickly even though I was now having to put some walk breaks in.
I’d already decided that I was going to stop to talk with Tamsyn and our London friends Sara & Chris when I found them at Limehouse. The target had shifted from time to just getting to the finish. I’d considered calling it a day but I wasn’t going to let 4 months of training and all this discomfort be wasted. I wanted that medal!
In the last few miles, Jamie caught me up, himself having a similar experience, and passed me.
My legs were so achey I could hardly get them going. Walk breaks were becoming more frequent and longer. In the last underpass before the Embankment I took the chance to “use the facilities”. Sat, aching, in the dark of a portaloo is a depressing image but it was strangely cathartic and turned out to be a stroke of luck.
As I exited, having steeled myself for the last 2 miles, I caught sight of a Witney vest up ahead. Was that Jess Wright? Jess is another WRR I helped coach this year and I had a target to keep me running now. If I could ease myself up to her I could at least see how she’s doing and wish her well to the finish before taking another break.
When I got to Jess, she said she was feeling wrecked. Snap! Having helped Jess plan her training I knew that despite feeling shattered she was on for a big PB and somehow my mind switched to helping her to her best finish possible and off my desire to walk.
I can’t remember what we talked about. I think we talked? We just kept each other going and we were soon on Birdcage Walk. Jess gave me permission to leave her if I wanted to sprint the finish but I wasn’t going to do that; she’d helped keep me running the last 2 miles of a painful marathon.
We crossed the line and out came the emotions, from both of us. Jess had just smashed her PB by 41 minutes! She was in tears. I was in tears for her. I was so pleased for her. I was so pleased my marathon was over.
I finished in 4:12:55, 9 minutes slower than 2 years ago but immeasurably harder. Any excuse for a spreadsheet, here are my 5k splits from last both 2015 and 2017 London Marathons:
As always the meet and greet area was heaving but it was a chance to catch up with supporters and clubmates alike. Grundy appeared with a big grin on his face – he’d loved it and scored a new PB and his first sub 4 hour marathon. Phew! He’d wanted to run the London Marathon so much I’d hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed. He wasn’t, although he said no more marathons; except for Berlin in September!
Heading to the Morpeth Arms to catch up with the rest of the club Tamsyn was keeping an eye on the tracker for another friend and new Witney Road Runner, Abi Adams.
Abi’s motivation to take on the London Marathon was her mum, who’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. Abi came to me for help having never run more than 10k and injury problems meant she hadn’t run more than 13 miles in training and hadn’t run for the best part of 6 weeks leading up to race day. She’d combined physio advice with a run/walk plan we’d worked on to make the day as bearable as possible.
I knew Abi was a strong woman and had the determination to complete the marathon but was astounded, given her less than perfect build up, that she completed her first marathon in 5:11:37 and raised over £2,500 for Breast Cancer Now in the process. What an inspiration!
The London Marathon 2017 was a real mix of emotions for me. My first marathon in 2015 had left hungry for more but I’m in no hurry to try my luck in the London Marathon ballot any time soon. On the other hand, the feeling I get from helping people to such great personal achievements is so powerful.
All the messages and calls I’ve received have also helped me to be proud of completing my second marathon, despite the tinge of personal disappointment. I’m sure there will be a third at some point but for the time being I’m going to enjoy running some shorter distances and help others to run the best marathons they can instead.
After a 2016 full of PBs at distances from the mile to half marathon, my 2017 has a much narrower focus. Securing a ballot place for the London Marathon means I’m training for my second marathon. And with my form on the up, I wonder what I can achieve? Well, training has started positively.
I had assistance from my coach mentor for my first marathon. I also has the privilege of a training session with Martin Yelling as well as hearing a seminar from Mara Yamauchi.
Since then my own coaching experience and knowledge has increased so I decided to put my theory into practice on my most awkward athlete: me!
My 2015 London Marathon was about taking me from never running more than 13.1 miles up to the full 26.2 and getting across the finish line in one piece. This year it’s about seeing what I can do.
So I’ve assembled a plan that’s fairly aggressive – for me. I won’t go into the details of how I pieced together in this post; that’s for another day.
Despite the cold and icy weather so far this winter I’m enjoying the training, perhaps enhanced by me helping a couple of the club and a couple of charity runners with their own training plans. I feel more enthused by setting a good example!
My first marathon ultimately ended in a 4:04 result which, despite being just outside where I’d hoped, I was pleased to set as my benchmark.
My 2016 performances, and a desire to be less conservative, I’m training towards a 3:30 marathon and so far things have been going well.
Helpfully, a 3:30 marathon means averaging 5 minute kilometres (or 8 minute miles for those who use old money!) which is convenient to keep track of and is nicely comfortable over a half marathon so I’m feeling confident.
My confidence has been boosted by clocking a 17 mile slow run at a nice, low heart rate and at a pace that’s faster than I was running long runs two years ago at the same heart rate.
This weekend saw me combine a 7.5 miles marathon pace run on Saturday with 18 miles slow with a few clubmates on Sunday. Nearly a whole marathon across the two days and, other than slightly tired legs this morning, I’m feeling good.
So 3 weeks down, 13 to go. And I’m loving it!
There’s still plenty of running to do in 2016 but with all my target races completed it’s time to relax and look back on my running year. And what a year it turned out to be!
Hauling yourself out of bed on a cold, soggy Saturday morning and heading to an exposed Warwickshire airfield to run round in circles doesn’t sound that appealing but I had something to prove.
Willy Wonka doesn’t organise marathons. But if he did, it’d probably be the best marathon in the world. Would he hide golden race numbers in energy gels? Would that be any better than the London Marathon ballot?
Continue reading London Marathon Ballot: The Impossible Problem
Run, Rest, Repeat 