British Summer time is here, evenings are longer, the sun has been out and the racing season has burst into life. 5k, 10K , Half marathon, Marathon and Ultra – we have been racing all distances this weekend.
The Ultra Challengers
Personally, I know I can handle a solid 18 miles, but the final 8 miles to reach marathon distance are a huge mental and physical challenge once fatigue sets in and my body starts to protest. So, I can’t even begin to imagine pushing towards 30 miles and beyond. And when you throw in trails and hills… that requires some serious mental toughness and resilience! But there are members this club that have this in bucket loads this weekend…..
Rose of Shire route around Northamptonshire
First up running extra ordinary distances, we had our mens captain Simon Morris taking on Rose of the Shires 80K. Yes no typo there, 80 KM!! A 54 mile circular route through Northamptonshire. A mixture of roads, trails and tow path and 700m of elevation. Add in the challenge of self navigation and you have a truly epic test of endurance.
Congratulations Simon! his 10:14;30 finish earned him 16th place overall. He tells me that it very windy which meant it felt much cooler than it was – and he ended up slightly sun burned….He also struggled with navigation. Compared to other organisers, GoBeyond don’t put out any route markers. The only indicators you have that you are on the right course are the checkpoints and he managed to loose time getting lost a few times. Which makes his finish time all the more incredible.
Simon’s selfie to his wife to let her know he was still alive!
Slightly closer to home we had Chris Dowling, Tom Evans, Michele Wells and Russ Jones took on the Chiltern Ridge 50. A 30 mile event that starts at Berkhampsted Castle Runs, runs up into Ashridge and along the “Ridgeline” trails between Invinghoe Beacon and Whiteleaf. With the huge hills along the way, this is another event that required above and beyond toughness. Although, in the beautiful sunshine of Saturday there must have been some stunning views for compensation.
Ready to tackle the Chiltern Ridge
First home for GVH was Chris Dowling with an amazingly fast run, finishing in 4:25:49 to take 7th place overall and 1st in the MV40-49 cat. Congratulations Chris!
Russ Jones running not only his first Ultra, but the longest he has ever run, was next home. Despite protesting that he “hates trail “he finished in an impressive 4:52:47 and was rightly over the moon with his achievement.
Tom Evans had a strong run to 43.5k but then sadly problems with his left foot meant he could not continue. A DNF always tough – We all hope there is no serious damage Tom and you are back running again soon.
Michelle Wells was are only female runner in the event. A strong solid run as the day got warmer and warmer , saw her finish in 6hr 26. This was her warm up for the 100k Jurassic coast challenge in a few weeks time. Well done Michelle, it looks like you are nicely on track.
New PBs for all at Brighton Marathon
Racing the classic Marathon distance this weekend we had Emily Grant, Alice Stratford and Ben Phipps, down on the south coast at the Brighton Marathon in glorious sunshine. They have changed the course in recent years to avoid running out past the dreaded power station, such a lonely part of the course but some say the endless switch back to make up the distance are more sole destroying. Brighton is also well known for bringing out the sunshine on race day – to make the event tougher still.
Despite the 2nd half being tougher, and the unexpected heat Emily and Alice both had fantastic runs. Sub 4 hours was their target and they both were delighted to smash through that, to finish 3:52:07 and 3:52:44 respectively. New Marathon PBs for them both ! Surprisingly they both grabbed finish times (chip) within 35 secs of each other despite starting 5 mins apart. Well done to you both for such steady speedy runs from start to finish.
Emily Celebrating her new Marathon PB
Alice celebrating with her family
For new member Ben, it was his 2nd time running in Brighton and had a fantastic run too, but found the 2nd half more challenging. He finished in a new PB time of 4:44:29. Well done Ben!
Looking for locations for tackling the Half Marathon distance this weekend, we had runners at London Landmarks Half Marathon and the White Horse Half Marathon. Half marathons maybe a reduction in distance but there is a serious injection of pace required, making this distance till a mighty test of endurance.
London Landmarks Half Marathon ( the half that wasn’t quite a half )
We had 5 from GVH’s Criss- crossing through the city of London, and the city of Westminster, passing the ionic landmarks. Its a such a great event and fun to watch too as many runners run as “London Landmarks “.
First home was an incredibly speedy Tom Langdown in 1:20:41! and not far behind was our first lady home, Sue Crowther in 1:53:41 . Great running Tom and Sue! An especially proud moment for Sue running with her daughter Imogen in her first half marathon – who went on to beat her home.
A proud Sue and Imogen
A very happy Andrea, Kitty and Holly
Kitty Cole and Holly Beckett were home next, tantalisingly close to breaking the 2 hr mark in 2:00:50 and 2:01:08. Both with incredibly steady runs all the way and much faster than either of the expected. Our final runner home and star of the day was Andrea Beattie in 2:14:57. This was Andreas first half marathon and I know she was very nervous and unsure what to expect. Congratulations Andrea you smashed it !!! Your running is going from strength to strength.
Strangely, all Garmins were recording just a little short for this event. It was later announced that there had been an incident at Chancery Lane tube station, which was on the course. A number of emergency service vehicles were called to the scene, and as such the organisers had to revise the route. But hey – a Half Marathon is a Half Marathon even if its missing a few metres.
White Horse Half Marathon
A lovely rural event close to oxford, passing through the country villages that make up the Vale of the White Horse, run by White horse Harriers AC. Lizzy Andrews took on this event and finished in 2:01:7. Well done Lizzy on a great run ! Sadly no photos or race report. I will try and find one for next week
Parkrun
Closing the weekend of running distances, is of course the 5km Parkruns. Congratulations to Anthony Fogden who ran at Gadebridge park parkrun, completing his 150th parkrun at that venue and his 195 parkrun in total.
I noticed we have a few others approaching milestone parkruns. Innes (96) and Bill Hawes (95) are both approaching their 100 park run and Helen HeathCote is on 196. Lets us know all when and where you plan to run these as I am sure there will be many wanting to support you. Andy Watt is planning his 100th Parkrun at Gadebridge on Saturday the 19th April as his good recovery continues, so see lots of you there…