Back in October we ran in probably the driest 3CXC race at Stopsley where bone-dry tracks meant studs/spikes were useless. Bedford, however, provided possibly the wettest race around Priory Marina after heavy rain the previous 24 hours. The route had to be shortened to avoid the much anticipated river crossing of one of the Ouse tributaries due to the swollen river but giant puddles and streams littered the course and meant no one could finish with dry knees. We were left with a very flat, truncated course of around 3.75 miles which meant that it had to be treated like a long 5K with no chance of taking it easy in the first mile whilst ‘you got into your stride’. If you’d tackled the previous event in Ampthill park it probably felt fairly easy going.

Ampthill were short of a number of runners probably due to injury and marathon training commitments. Stephen Hartley had another strong run coming in 5th and winning the club XC title. Well done to all the other category winners. As of writing I’m unsure of how the team faired.

The marshalls were excellent and provided encouragement in miserable conditions. The unfortunate finish director had to relocate his funnel several times to avoid the mini lakes that appeared in the morning. Plenty of parking in the cinema car park and the International Athletics Stadium provided a good base. Post race refreshments were dished out in elegant brown paper bags – roll, banana, chocolate bar and flapjack. The end of another great 3CXC season. Not long till October!

Senior Ladies 8K - It was the toughest cross country I have run this session. with lots of mud hills and was very cold and wet. It had a major hill called hill 60 which was a killer and we had to run up it twice, as well as down twice.

The Not for Nothing 50 (yes fifty miles!) from Hanworth in north Norfolk - including part of coastal path.  The going was extremely muddy in parts so very tough - though a beautiful route.  The last 6 hours was in the dark so this also slowed me down.  It was billed as the NFN 50 - which those in the know meant really stood for Normal for Norfolk!

Hardwick offers a traditional but testing cross country course over 6 miles with 5 (I think) water stream crossings to negotiate and some very heavy muddy fields to run alongside. Hardwick is a small village just outside of Aylesbury and the race literature describes it as 'challenging but fun!'

I met up beforehand with 5 fellow Flyers, none of whom had run this race before. Despite early morning snow the course was extremely muddy this year. The first stream crossings were just after 1/2 mile and you came out feeling extremely cold and wet! I hoped for a better run after last weeks struggle in Ampthill Park but it soon became apparent that the 'old legs' were again not going to respond! The first 3+ miles takes you along the outside of fields, two small climbs and then back along a track before we were again negotiating further water crossings. As we headed up the final long climb to approx 4 miles I found this really hard going in the slippery mud. Somehow I found my legs again as we descended and a final sprint round the field into the finish funnel saw me home in a very disappointing 49.19. Even allowing for the heavier conditions this year I was some 5 minutes down on last year's time. The others all seemed happy with their runs and agreed Hardwick offers a good testing cross country course. A horse brass for finishing is also a nice touch.

/(Winners: Mens Eddie O'Gorman (Chiltern Harriers) 34.47 - Ladies Sara Luck (Havering) 41.14)/

“Aaaaargggh you bunch of (expletive deleted). I cried!”

To begin at the beginning; I was given a free number for this race, giving me a chance to visit my family and get in some faster than usual training; all the ingredients for a perfect weekend. Indeed, on reflection I had a good outing, I ran a solid 6 miles before the race and then completed the half marathon (all with back-pack) in a reasonable time and with plenty left in the tank afterwards. So why was I screaming?

I admit this isn’t my favourite race. Last year I was rankled by a marshall who got stroppy when I asked for more water; as the 1/3 cup on offer wasn’t enough. They didn’t have enough toilets, isotonic or water and it is an overpriced event. This year, water wasn’t a problem. I brought my own isotonic and if that ran out I only needed to tilt my head upwards and take care not to drown

A last minute decision by the Council to close part of the course led to some significant challenges for the organisers, leading at one point to a number of runners running head-on though slow moving traffic. These things unfortunately happen and by the time I ran that part of the course for the second time the problem had been safely resolved. There’s no point getting precious about these things; stuff happens!

As mentioned I had a good outing. Once I go to 11 miles I was feeling so good I ramped the pace until with a mile to go I was flying through the remains of the field, I wanted to go sub 2 hours and knew I was close; I could see the finish flags, I could see the line, wait no couldn’t, what I could see was lots of runners queuing to cross the line. In the end it took me about 5 minutes to edge across the finish line,. Problems were exacerbated by an MC who kept telling people to “help out by removing their chips themselves”, consequently the line became even more backed up by people stopping on the line (some even before the line… honest!) to remove their chips and stop anyone passing. It was a complete mess.

Aaaarrrgh!!!!!

PS in due course I did cross the line in 2:03:55 and collect my banana and a dinky little medal, with a cute pink ribbon. So now I feel so much better; stuff happens!

Flyers U11 boys team finish in the top ten!

It was another cold day for the race at Wing, but we still had a good turnout with 12 runners starting in this event and enough runners to score points in the U11 boys and girls competitions. As coaches we have been really impressed that so many of the runners who tried the sessions in Ampthill Park were willing to give these races a try. We have seen a steady improvement as fitness has improved and everyone gets used to the environment of the races.

The course at Wing is a good set of laps around three fields, with the gateways between the fields providing a real scramble through some deep mud. Everyone came back from their races looking like real cross-country runners, liberally splattered with mud! The finish worked well, with a slight ridge above the course where lots of supporters gathered to give plenty of cheering to encourage everyone to make a big effort on the last few yards.

The U11 girls open the meeting and we had three girls racing with Freya Green, Jess Pitts and Alyssa Brown in this event. Jess and Freya ran in formation to encourage each other along and Alyssa came really, really close to overtaking another runner this time. She was unlucky to finish just 6 seconds behind a runner from Stevenage but it was good to hear the crowd cheering the girls on as they finished. With three girls running we had enough to score in the league and finished a very creditable 13th out of 17 clubs.

The U11 boys were next, with 5 runners this was our biggest field in the races. Ryan Ward was first Flyer home again, in the top third of the field (19th out of 63), another big jump in performance and picking up places all the way to the finish. Alex Knowling was next, working hard up the hill to the finish to keep a runner from Luton just behind him. Joshua and Jacob finished close together, almost picking up the group in front of them. Jack Bierton was our last finisher and was finding it hard going up the hill at the end.. until he heard the crowd clapping and cheering, then he set off like a rocket to the finish and ended the race with a smile on his face! The boys achieved our club’s highest league placing with 10th place out of 18 clubs.

Frances Brown was next in the U13 girls race, she had already run lots of the course to support her sister so probably ran more miles than anyone else on Saturday. She put in another strong performance to finish in a group, working hard so that her position was safe.

Now the U13 boys and we had three Flyers in this race but unfortunately a chest infection got the better of Harry Willson and meant that he had to drop out. That left George Rogers and Jack Urwin to represent the Flyers. George finished well to keep just ahead of a pair of runners from Lincroft School and Jack made a big improvement from Shuttleworth and finished well in the pack.

Well this popular half marathon is hardly the easiest of Half Marathons and on that basis i thought i would do it as part of my Ironman training.

I sadly had to pull out of the Bedford Half Marathon at mile 4 due to my lower back going into spasm (to much biking in the areo position) so i was keen to this distance in race format and add a bit of fire to my normal training runs.

Knowing this course i decided to pull back on the first 10k as the profile is upward till then, as i am an endurance athlete i don't really kick in until mile 5/6 and i decided to push on in the 2nd 10k the last 10k was done in 41 mins.

I was never really worried about the time, however i wanted to see how i felt which is as much a measure of fitness, therefore giving feedback for future training programs, races are just mirrors of how your training, happy to say i felt relaxed and kept good form throughout.

This race was well supported, marshalled and organised with a healthy entry.  I did not see any other flyers race vests but surprised if i was the only Flyer.  All in all i was happy with my mornings work 1.35.33

Busy trying to find the time to Swim, bike and train for a marathon and Ironman but loving the ongoing challenge.

The venue -Leicestershire (not well known for its mountains or scenery).  The Organisers - Bowline Climbing Club ( yes, not a running club).  The course - the toughest in the county apparently (14 plus miles of mud bogs and tracks with 1200ft of climb)

It may not sound the best recipe for a good race, but my third time at Charnwood was just as much fun as my previous two races here. The course takes you out on very muddy footpaths and then up rocky tracks past the oldest rocks in England in Bradgate Park. A long grassy downhill then takes runners on footpaths across the golf course where I was very nearly felled by a low flying golf ball ( the cry of "fore" after the golfer had hit the ball was little help as I was hurtling downhill with no chance of stopping). Having recovered a little from my dice with death, the next challenge was the steepest climb on the course - no chance of getting up here without walking, but the long grassy downhill compensated a little as I picked off a few runners ( if only I could get up hills as well as I go down them!). Another long slog up Beacon Hill followed, where it was nice to see my family with very welcome water, as there were no drinks on the course. Then it was the turn for home, mostly back the way we'd come, so at least you know what to expect. The last mile or so was particularly hard - up hill and very slippery but finally the finish was in sight. There was plenty of support out on the course - was glad I had my name put on my club vest as being cheered on by name gives you a real boost, and free tea and cakes afterwards. All in all, a race well worth the hour's drive up the M1.

Although this is described as a Fell Race in my opinion it is more like a long cross country race with 3 testing climbs. The course is approx 14 miles long and took us along public footpaths and open country involving 1200 feet of ascent over Bradgate, Broombriggs and Beacon Hill Country Parks. Flyers have been attending this race now for a number of years and with 10 running this year meant grand prix points were on offer. A number of the Flyers, like Dave Olney were using it as Grizzly training.

For myself I was re-visiting a race I had done 3 times previously, the last in 2006 when I ran 1.51 and finished 91st. This year, however, my longest run has been 8 miles and the last time I ran over 10 was the Bedford half last October. With that in mind I started way down in the pack which turned out to be frustrating as we hit a number of bottlenecks over the first mile of the course slowing me down somewhat annoyingly!

The first climb was up to the top of Bradgate Country Park. After heavy marshy terrain we followed a track to the summit where there was good support. Dropping down through a golf course reminded me that we had to climb all the way back up this section on the return leg - and this was a long way believe me! The biggest climb approx 400metres of the day saw me having to walk part of it and it was shortly after this that Steve Warne caught me. We ran together for a while and then I got my second wind and left him on another fast downhill section. The final climb was a long slog round the outside of Beacon Hill on a gravel type track that seemed to go on for ever. Once at the top the course looped round before we found ourselves re-tracing our steps back to Bradgate and then have the satisfaction of fast descent back to the finish. I was still running within myself, finding the climbs tough but stretching out on the downhills. Once back to Bradgate I pushed on passing quite a few runners on the descent. The last climb up to the School and the finish was tough through heavy fields and a final extremely heavy muddy gully to negotiate before turning to sprint the final 100metres to the finish line.

11 minutes down on my 2006 time was disappointing as I would have liked to have felt I could have finished within the 2 hour mark but I was conscious of the distance and the climbs and felt I had run the race sensibly bearing in mind my level of training.

Dave Olney's 24th place was a tremendous run and he even took a tumble which probably cost him a couple of places. Sedgers was the only Flyer who failed to finish. Great running from the ladies with Caroline leading the Flyers home in 274th overall but a very credible 12th in her age group.

A great run that is no frills - don't expect any finish medal or t-shirt just great countryside and views (if you can take them in when running) and some free refreshments when you finish. And of course I had good company on the way up with Steve Warne and Ricky Jennings!!

Brian got a groin strain on the way back & finished walking. I pulled a calf muscle on the steep hill half way out & walked back so DNF.

This 5K race takes place every Saturday morning at 09.00, around Willen Lake, and even better its free (you just have to register by e mail by 18.00 on the Friday before the race). There were 67 people taking part this Saturday in cold and frosty conditions. My hopes of a PB were dashed early on by only arriving with 5 minutes to spare and icy under foot conditions. They seem a friendly bunch with a mixture of club runners and fun runners . The event was won in 18mins 28 seconds and the last person in completed the course in 41:22.

For me a slightly disappointing 24.01 including an embarrassing sprint for the line with another runner where I somehow missed the funnel to the finishing line and nearly embarked on a second lap!!

A 30 mile LDWA challenge event over the Surrey Hills.

This event was postponed from 2 weeks ago, when the snow made it impossible for checkpoint marshals to get to some isolated car parks. The recent wet weather made the going very slow & muddy in parts, but it was a superb route with some fantastic views of the Surrey countryside. It went basically south west from Leatherhead, visiting parts of the North Downs, the Blatchford & Steer memorial on Pitch Hill (they were founders of LDWA) and the Leith Hill tower. If anyone wants to try it there will be a repeat of the same route on 4th July as the 50th & FINAL Tanners Marathon. This was the first ever LDWA challenge walk.

It wasn’t the most inviting weather on Saturday, cold and showery. As Sally, Robbie and I sheltered from a shower under our Club gazebo we started to wonder whether we’d have a smaller group of runners for this race. We needn’t have worried as the shower stopped the first of our 13 junior runners arrived, the largest field for this season’s Chiltern League. So a big ‘well done’ to all our competitors for doing so well and thanks to their mums and dads in supporting the event on a less than inviting day.

The first race in Luton was on a flat course, but Shuttleworth is more like real cross country; mud, hills and sheep poo! The course used for the Chiltern League is similar to the one for the Three Counties League, so all the coaches have raced here and could sympathize with the energy-sapping section around the fields and then the steady slog up the hill.

We’ve missed quite a few training sessions due to weather conditions lately, so it was encouraging to see that everyone did so well. As most runners had raced at Luton they had an idea of what to expect and this showed in improved performances with Flyers generally moving up the order in the placings.

So, here’s a little bit of info on how we got on in the races.. First, I should make the point that as all cross-country courses are unique it’s hard to compare performances on time over different course, or on placings, against a different opposition. However, I’ve done some analysis of our runner’s performance against the averages for the previous race and can see that we’re improving our performances so I thought it worth highlighting. Let’s not forget that just by competing in this league all our runners are doing fantastically well and they all deserve credit for participating at a high level of the sport.

The U11 girls open the meeting and we have Jess Pitts joining Alysa Brown in this event. Jess turned in a great first performance in this league, 34th out of 55 and with some pace in hand to pick up extra places on the home straight. Alysa did another sterling performance, digging-in and running the whole way round the course with Frances, her sister, encouraging her on the way.

The U11 boys were next, with 5 runners this was our biggest field in the races. Ryan Ward was first Flyer home, in the middle of the pack (34th out of 58) and quite a jump forward from the last race. Hot on his heels were Joshua Rogers and Alex Knowling both working hard to keep their places at the finish. Martin Atherton and Jack Bierton completed the field, both supported by their Flyer’s dads. It was Martin’s first race but I’ve already heard that he was back out training with dad on Sunday morning, so he must have caught the running bug! Jack was our last finisher, but has made a big improvement since the last race – the U11 course was on average one minute faster than Luton, but Jack was two and a half minutes faster than his last race!

Frances Brown was next in the U13 girls race. A longer course for the U13’s meant an extra uphill for this age-group but Frances put in a cracking performance to move up the rankings and improving her time (a 1:30 improvement from Luton, when the average was just a minute faster on this course).

Now the U13 boys and we had four Flyers in this race. Harry Willson was first Flyer home, with George Rogers not far behind and looking much more comfortable than at the last race. Then Sam James and Jack Urwin were in close formation with Sam just pulling out a gap in the second half of the race. As we didn’t have so many runners in the last race it’s hard to compare performance but it’s great to have a strong field so that we score a league placing this time. Ben Buckley had tried to fight through a cold to join us, but had to admit that he wasn’t on form and bail out of this race – well done for trying, there’s always next time.

Harry Murray was our only U15 runner, doing two laps of the U11 course in his 4K race. He worked really hard to close the gap with a couple of runners just 15secs in front of him and managed to pull back the gap before crossing the road back into the finish complex, but they just managed to keep Harry behind to the finish. He had worked really hard and it was good to hear that his performance had earned him a bacon roll on the way home!

5.50 am start in freezing conditions needing 4 layers of clothing 2hrs 14 mins. Next day, Sunday 10th Jan as above but full marathon, same start but even colder 4hrs 37mins. Both in the coldest weather for over 140 years, even the drink stations were frozen up, the weather should have been in the 70s.

I did manage to get over $2000 in sponsorship for The GIVE KIDS THE WORLD. please every one have a look at there website, its not only for kids from the USA, its for kids from every where including the UK.  Just for the record these were my 107th 1/2 marathon and my 95th full marathon.