Thoughts on the VLM Ballot

Early October is a time of mixed feelings for many runners. At the end of April around 125,000 of us apply to the London Marathon ballot, every year it fills up quicker, meaning many miss out on even registering an interest. The next four months of radio silence leave us all in limbo, unable to commit to spring races just in case we've been successful. No point putting together a long term training plan, you might after all have a marathon to run.

Then we get to the end of September, social media starts to buzz. The organisers have drawn the ballot. They're going to let you know if you're successful. Rather than email everyone and have the news out there instantly, they send you a magazine in the post. There is a No magazine and in theory a Yes magazine. Your timelines start to fill up, your friends, family and coworkers start to post a photo. You see more No magazines and with each one you feel disappointment for your friend, but also anticipation, perhaps this will be your year.

VLM 2013 Rejection

Then your time arrives, you get home and notice the A4 magazine, usually tactfully turned down. You turn it over and of course, this greets you:

Another year, another ballot disappointment. That's three years in a row for me. In the old days of the VLM you were at least offered a place after five unsuccessful attempts.

VLM 2014 Rejection

I have no problem with a ballot. It's a fair way of doing things, what I struggle with is some of the process and the fall out that results.

Time

Why does the ballot take over four months to draw? It is only open a maximum of 12 hours these days. If you look at New York or Berlin or Royal Parks, the ballots are open for a few weeks so there is no chaotic rush to sign up, less chance of missing out. The draw is then made within a month or two. That means the runners know what their plans are. 

Sure if you keep the draw open for longer you'll likely get more sign ups, maybe reduce everyone's chances, but at least you won't miss the opportunity to sign up. Then you have the four month wait. Surely the organisers know how many ballot places they're allocating? You of course have good for age entries, but if there is a solid number for ballots, just get it drawn so people can move on. For example the Tokyo marathon is in February. I'd like to run it one day, but with the ballot for London not being resolved until October it gives just four months to prepare, flights, hotels etc might have sold out. You almost have to go ahead with Tokyo plans and if you get a London place look to defer it a year. 

Transparency

It would be nice to know what your chances genuinely are. Apparently the ballot has one hundred and twenty five thousand applications. How many places are allocated? Do we have a one in four? One in six? Probably a one in eight? Once you've had multiple rejections you start to question whether it is truly worth it. I'll never get to good for age, so without a ballot entry there is only one remaining option......

Charity

I've raised funds for Mind previously and were I to get a ballot entry I'd be straight onto just giving to setup another page and bring in some income for them.

Charity has become the focus of the London Marathon. They raise a huge amount of money for good causes & we should rightly tip our hats to that. The problem is, they charge charities a high amount for places. Where a standard ballot place is around £50, a charity place appears to cost around £500. No wonder the ballot gives the impression of reducing in size every year! By charging a high amount for a place, the onus is then placed onto the charity to not only recoup the fee, but raise further funds on top. Most charities are now asking for £1750 to be raised, on top of registration fees from the runner to secure a place. So if you fail to get a ballot place, you could run for a charity. It'll probably cost you more than a standard ballot place based on various registration fees & have the burden of raising a huge amount of money whilst also trying to train.
There is also a knock on effect. By spending high amounts on places, many charities are now desperate to fill their allocations. Not only is the VLM magazine full of adverts suggesting you run for a charity but you now experience a new phenomenon when you post about a ballot failure online.
I can't recall if this happened in previous years, but within moments of posting that I'd not got a place I started to receive Charity Spam. Unsolicited replies from a charity that was far too quick to suggest I could run for them. I'd never heard of them & as I feel I could only run for a cause I had a personal affinity for rather than a marriage of convenience, I declined their offer.
That should be the end of it, I'd replied after all. The next morning I mentioned the ballot once more & sure enough very soon afterwards I received more charity spam from the same charity! Essentially they have someone just following various London Marathon related feeds & replying to anyone non successful. Essentially a policy of throw as much shit at the wall in the hope that something sticks. I was disappointed enough with not getting a place, I didn't need to be hassled repeatedly. I politely declined the offer a second time & asked that they stopped spamming runners.

Charity Begging - Is it really necessary?

This is a problem of VLM's own creation. By charging higher for charity places, charities find themselves needing to fill places. And because charities keep buying the places, the ballot will in turn reduce in size to allow more. With the charges being so high, the amount runners are asked to raise keeps going up. Where £1500 might have been the standard a couple of years ago, the major charities can now command £2000 (one charity had a funding commitment of £2800 & registration fee of £150!). By the end of a training cycle you'll have exhausted not only yourself with the physical effort, but your friends & family with the fundraising.

The Conclusion

Sadly some runners will be desperate to run the London Marathon & bite the charity bullet. Where as in previous years I'd entered, been turned down & said I'd wait another year, this time around I want to run a marathon. I want to see how I can perform over 26 miles so in 2015 I'll find a race, sadly it won't be London.

VLM 2015 Rejection - Straight in the recycling bin

A good weekend

The difficulty with being told to rest up a bit whilst on a course of medication is that things are already in the diary & committed to. I am genuinely trying to rest & have dropped the number of kilometres significantly since the Richmond Half to at least allow for some rest. The trouble is, when it comes to a parkrun or a race event I am my own worst enemy!

The Non Run

During the week I found myself over in Belfast for work & staying just across the road from the beautiful Stormont Estate. It is a nice venue to run around, offering a nice mix of trails and scenary. With that in mind I packed my running gear & decided I'd treat myself to a gentle morning run.
Unfortunately my research was poor. Sunrise is late in Northern Ireland and it took me until 0720 to get out of the hotel and across to Stormont for a run. Yet there was an issue, all the gates were locked! Without any signage to advise of the opening times & meetings lined up through the day, I abandoned the run plan & headed back to the hotel rather disappointed. I was even more annoyed (mainly with myself) when I checked & found the gates would have been opened at 0730. If only I'd checked this beforehand, I could have taken in an easy kilometre along the main road & then ventured in & still had sufficient time before check out.
I learnt a valuable lesson, research beforehand to avoid disappointment! I clocked 200m back to the hotel, out of frustration more than anything!

The Run #1 -  Panshanger Inaugural parkrun

I'd committed to Panshanger's first parkrun before hearing of the desire to tone down inaugural events & lessen the strain on new event teams. The plans were with good intentions, meeting a friend to make is first introduction to parkrun. Sadly for him he'd got registered but then waylayed with other plans, probably gives me an excuse to visit MK or Bedford parkrun events in the future then!
I managed to tailgate Alec all the way to the A10 & then got parked up close to the start. The event team had provided signage off of the A414 to Hertfordbury Road, where you'd find a decent amount of parking for regular weeks. Joel & Fergie were also in attendance & technically this was now Joel's home run based on distance.

Run Briefing

The team behind the Panshanger event had put together a great video to introduce the course (an idea I'll look to steal for the Forest parkrun). This meant we had a good idea of what to expect. Trail shoes were a must!
The downside to an inaugural is the huge numbers brought to an event. Not only can this put strain on an inexperienced team, but also unexpected demands on the course. This was the case on Saturday as 250+ people converged on a narrow uphill start to the course. On a normal week they'd probably be half that number and you'd have more space, a luxury not possible for the inaugural. This meant a slow start, not something I was overly concerned about having been low on training recently.
The Panshanger course really is worth a visit, beautiful scenery. After about half a kilometre uphill, the entirety of the course was essentially downhill until the end. Once out of the woods we were lapping the perimeter of a couple of fields, underfoot was the usual tractor path. From about 2km my left achilles started to scream, the uneven footing was causing me issues. Being a one lap course there really weren't many options other than to try and carry on. A downhill third kilometre eased the strain slightly, it was time to grit my teeth and just get through. 

Fergie rocking the Orange

After 3km we passed a lake on the left and then the underfoot conditions got even more interesting. Perhaps due to the recent rain, some areas of the course appeared to have been filled in to make them passable. I nearly lost my feet completely though as we went from grass to very fine shingle to bark over a couple of metres! The final kilometre was soon upon us and I was coaching myself through, including chucking water over my unhappy achilles. There were a couple of wooden bridges to negotiate and then the finish was in sight.
Oh boy. The finish. Having been on a downhill course for the majority of the run, logic told me that we'd have to climb at some point. With half a kilometre left the finish came into view. A short sharp ascend, probably all of 200m maximum, but it was a biter! You then turn ninety degrees and get a nice short downhill to ease to the finish. 

Panshanger Hill of Doom

The course really has a bit of everything (except tarmac) and will be one of the tougher courses in the local area, especially over the winter. I crossed the line in 26:02, my worst time since early spring. I wasn't overly concerned with the time though, I didn't feel like I was pushing overly and the dodgy achilles definitely hampered me. I'm going to add Panshanger to the Hill of Doom series, by virtue of position, that nice little bite in the tail at the end of the course that could scupper many PB attempts!

The Eat #1

Burger Saturday returned with some mini slider burgers in brioche buns. Despite a plethora of bread products offered at our local Tesco I had to settle for some mini buns, no decent sized brioche buns for burgers. Think I'll have to research if any other supermarkets stock them.

Mini Brioche Slider Burgers

The Run #2

Another commitment to honour, I'd signed up for the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k as the route was moving to closed roads in the city centre and looked interesting. The day was autumnal, too cold to risk the Um Bongo singlet. The weather had definitely turned cooler, perfect conditions if you could keep warm beforehand. My intention was to just see how it went, get into a pace and see how I felt as the race progressed. I knew I wasn't in PB form and a quick stretch reminded me that I really ought to have iced my achilles on Saturday. Perhaps I'd be better off with a DNS? All of my usual injury anxieties started to come into play, my outlook appears to be get through the remaining events of the year rather than approach any with enthusiasm. Was it really worth competing and returning a result way below my expectations? After a slow parkrun and the Manuden 10k my confidence wasn't where it should be. All of this is nonsensical, I'd PB'd a half marathon only three weeks prior and stormed a parkrun PB a week later. If I'm going to manage a marathon then the one thing I need to improve is my mentality. There are times when I'm not even a glass half empty, more glass smashed on the floor and shards slicing up your feet!

Onto the race itself. The event had attracted around a thousand runners, a good turn out and base from which it can grow into a bigger attraction. I made my intentions clear and said goodbye to Alec at the start line, I wouldn't be trying to keep up! I'd see how my pace was and just try to remain consistent. 

Autumn racing season = cold

I started well, pace just over the 5:00/km mark and a tour of the closed streets of Cambridge was interesting. Mainly flat, it was easy to settle into a five minute rhythm. The course was clever, covering a lot of the city without needing to close all of it to traffic. The first five kilometre loop headed west and then back through to the cobbled streets near the colleges. I know I have one dodgy achilles, wasn't overly aware that I actually have two. At the 4km mark my right achilles started to beg for mercy. I started to wonder whether dropping down to an easier pace might help, would 6:00/km take away the pain or just prolong it?

In the end I opted for stupidity and carried on regardless. The flat nature of the course and beautiful tarmac underfoot wouldn't trouble me too much. I chose to grit my teeth and get to the finish line. I went through halfway at 25:07, rhythm good and other than a nagging achilles everything else was working just fine. I'd found myself in a group all at a similar pace and we seemed to be running nicely, pushing each other along. The second half of the course took us west through a park initially and then back east alongside the river. There was decent support along the route, including a family all whooping at every runner as you entered the park at 5k. Since the town section I'd been running with a guy in a blue green shirt, as we entered the riverside part of the course we were overtaken by a lady in a peach top (the organisers wanted everyone in orange) and she became our defacto pacer. The course stayed riverside for an out and back around the 8km mark, I exchanged a high five with Alec, he was around two minutes ahead of me and looked to be enjoying himself. 

Through the streets of Cambridge City centre we go

My achilles had started to behave and we left the river with a short and gentle uphill back to the main roads. The climb was over at around 8.5km and our Lady in peach was still providing a decent pace. Throughout the second half I'd maintained pace, still wavering around five minutes per kilometre, if anything I found myself getting quicker. 

The section from 8.5km to 9km rolled downhill, providing the perfect impetus for the end of the race. I upped my pace, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel meant I was free to go through the gears. Just before 9km the finish came into view, unfortunately a lap of the park was required before we'd get there. The guy in the blue green top was now alongside me and we worked to the finish together. I told him he'd beat me easily, long legs giving him a natural advantage. He returned the compliment, said I'd dragged him round and then we mutually agreed to both being absolutely funked (or words to that effect). 

The final straight was now upon us, my running buddy then announced "Let's beat the purple lady ahead!" and opened his legs out into a sprint. This was something I couldn't muster, but we shook hands afterwards and it reminded me of the camaraderie of runners, complete strangers using each others as pacers and company through the race. The lady in peach wasn't too far behind, we'd all had an excellent race. 

The question is, just how excellent? My finishing time was a very welcome surprise. A negative split had returned me home in 49:32, meaning a second half of 24:25. This was only my second sub 50 and means the first one wasn't a complete fluke. It also tells me that my base is good, even if I'm just keeping it ticking over at the moment. Alec recorded a crazy 46:15, serious pace there and on his current rate of progression a sub 45 HBO 10k would be a decent bet. 

Post race ice cream - every race should have a van on hand!

I was pleased with being able to maintain and then improve pace. My achilles haven't been thankful in the aftermath, but they'd have still be screaming if I'd decided to drop down to an easier pace. The run bling was decent, a custom medal, though they missed a trick with a blue rather than orange ribbon. A cotton t-shirt was nothing special. Perhaps in future years it should be a tech shirt and dispatched beforehand to encourage everyone to wear it on race day. 

The Eat #2

An easy script to write here. Run a 10k, find sushi. I was tempted by a small independent place up near the Grafton. Instead we got our halves of Cambridge in the wrong order and ended up on the other side of town at lunchtime and sought a table at Yo Sushi. 

Yo Sushi - More style than substance

I'm usually a big fan of Yo, they're a great intro to sushi for a lot of people, but this experience was pretty average. A full conveyor belt is always a good sign, though it seemed a bit top heavy, plenty of expensive yellow plates. We ordered a few hot dishes off the menu as well. Two pumpkin korroke were required as we're both a fan & the pumpkins we'd tried to grow in the garden never did materialise. The popcorn shrimp was poor, mainly batter, minimal amount of sauce. Paula had some Chicken Yakitori, we think there were spring onions on the skewer, they appeared to have been burnt to a crisp though. As for the duck katsu? No idea, it never arrived. Our order got lost in the post perhaps. The raw stuff was decent, though no tuna sashimi appeared to be available, it was salmon or nothing. Overall a disappointing experience, next time we're in town we'll head to the independent sushi place and see how it compares. Perhaps Yo has become just another middling chain. 

Thankfully Cambridge still has a fudge kitchen so the culinary experience was redeemable. The temptation to get a box of four or six was there, but we settled on a single slice of toffee original. A thick slab of sugary goodness that propped me up whilst my eyes wanted to shut watching the grand prix!

The Conclusion 

A really good weekend. The parkrun result is my worst since the start of the year on paper, but given the circumstances and the course, I'm happy with it. In my experience the Panshanger course is genuinely tough and even in the height of summer will provide a challenge. It already looks like perfect training for Endure, more on that later....

As for the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k, very happy with the result. The course was more to my liking, only the Pride 10k has presented better conditions. Despite feeling injured, everything worked. I think a sub 48 at some point in 2015 is not out of the realms of possibility. 

And the last conclusion is that I need a rest. 2015 is already looking busy so I think once I've got these two remaining halves out of the way I'll be toning it down until Christmas. Sure the weight will probably increase, but I'm carrying achilles, calf, knee, quad, glute and groin aches. All kind of expected given the training I've done in 2014, but now I need to repay my body for its hard work with some rest and recuperation. I can keep running down to just parkrun and perhaps not even slog all the time (I'm pacing the 30 minute group at Chelmsford Central in December for example). It also gives me time to volunteer more as my parkrun journey starts to take a different route. Once I'm through the St Neots Half on November 16th it'll be time to untie the laces for a while. 

As for 2015, the year is already looking interesting. I managed to grab a Cambridge Half entry before they went and my early spring training will focus on chasing down a 1:50. Just a week after is the Larmer Tree half down in Dorset. A whole new challenge of hills and trails. I'll happily admit the funky medal had my attention first and the difficulty of the course wasn't really researched until after sign up!! I'm then back in Forest for another White Star event over the August bank holiday weekend. Two races in fact, a Saturday evening 10k followed by a Sunday morning half. 

Trail continues to be a theme for 2015 as we have a team entry for Endure 24. We'd been hoping initially to secure a Thunder place and I'd picked up Endure as an insurance option. As 10,000 people descended on a farcical midnight event launch we unsurprisingly missed out. Doubling up would have been interesting, but thankfully all of our original Thunder team were still available for Endure. So between 8 of us we'll run for 24 hours, a completely new challenge. 

Speaking of new challenges I'll also be entering the Berlin Marathon ballot. They'll be another post on my VLM thoughts, but the time has come to test myself over 26 miles. Fingers crossed I'll have more success with this ballot. 

parkrun 10th birthday

A weekend to remind you of everything that is good about running. After the disappointment of the London Marathon ballot, this weekend presented a healing of the wounds and a reminder of why I do this.
I'd taken all of the working week off, I'm trying to rest up the various ailments ahead of the final events of the year. Thankfully a visit to the doctors confirmed nothing too major, just a need for some anti inflammatories and antibiotics and a promise to try and run as little as possible until the end of the medication. Sadly I've not managed to start on the drugs yet as at 31 I'm still unable to swallow tablets. Back to the surgery for some calpol or whatever the equivalent is!
With one 10k and some parkruns planned in the next fortnight I can get by on my current base fitness. Once we get to October 20th I'll need to add some greater mileage to ensure I can get through the US & St Neots Halves.
The week that passed offered me an opportunity to visit parkrun Mecca, check the route of my soon to be parkrun home and run with friends both old and new.

Run #1 - BPTT

An overnight work shift landed me a central London hotel and a perfect chance to head to a capital based parkrun. On this occasion there were no last minute planning shenanigans, this had been in the diary for some time. You could even suggest that when asked for our working availability, I might have sensed an ideal date. 

Out in force to celebrate the 100th, 50th & 10th

Thankfully the work went to plan, even affording us time for a G&T in the hotel bar before retiring. Night soon became day and I was negotiating early morning Vauxhall where everyone else appeared to be clubbing, where as I was donning the lycra and running shoes. 

Busy busy busy!

I was on my way to Bushy Park, to join Sean & Emily for their 100th & 50th parkruns. When the date was originally set, they weren't aware that it was also the 10th anniversary of parkrun, with Bushy being the mecca of parkrun and where it all began, it was going to be a busy morning. Sean & Emily are Bushy regulars and they were noting that it appeared to be significantly busier pre run. There were some predictions online that the event might draw 2500, thankfully it didn't get quite so crazy. Regular attendance is around 1000 & the post run funnel setup really is something to behold.
parkrun HQ were also out in force to support the event. They'd managed to gather the original thirteen from the first Bushy Park Time Trial and presented them with commemorative medals. The founder of the parkrun movement Paul Sinton Hewitt was presented with a golden barcode and after further presentations we were ready to start. 

Managed to capture a great panorama of the start

There would be no PB attempts this week. I was determined to take it easy and we ran as a five: Sean, Emily, Gary, Joel & myself, we aimed for around the 29-30 minute mark.
This was one of the most enjoyable running experiences I've been a part of. No clock pressure what so ever, just sharing the experience with friends. I had time to take pictures, chat and generally not sound like a wheezing mess!

Great self made t-shirts

The course was certainly busy, but we managed to stick together most of the time. Only once at 3km did Gary, Joel & I need to give it a little burst to get back to Sean & Emily. As we nearer the finish I was more concerned with not tripping whilst taking photos as I wanted to capture the special day for our landmark runners.
The temptation to sprint finish wasn't there. I briefly skirted in front for more photos and then took position behind our celebrating couple, with Emily leading us home just shy of 30 minutes.
We were then separated from Joel as the amazing Bushy finish funnel went into operation. On my first visit there was a dual funnel and queuing system. On this occasion there was even a third lane as every minute between 20-29 minutes saw 100 people finish. There were more volunteers at the funnel than most parkrun events would have in total!!

Triple funnel time

We were soon through the funnel and off to get scanned. There were so short queues but I implored everyone to stick with me, I'd spotted something and it would be worth the wait. 

1288th!!!!

To cap off the anniversary and entry into the 50/100 clubs, Sean & Emily also got scanned by the parkrun founder, Paul Sinton Hewitt. It was the icing on the cake to a great occasion. A chance to thank Paul for everything he has done for running. As an aspiring event director the day provided an awe inspiring spectacle. Though the thought of managing a run this large would probably send me crazy, having a chance to provide an opportunity to others to enjoy the parkrun experience is something I look forward to.

Emily being scanned by PSH CBE

Sean being scanned by PSH CBE

The Eat

Once we'd walked away, starstruck, it was time for the literal icing on the cake. Emily's sister had made a dual 50/100 shirt cake to celebrate the occasion. Combined with champagne it made for a truly excellent post run refuel, one being followed by the parkrun team based on their table of cakes and bubbly!

HQ had the right idea, cakes & bubbly

But they didn't have a custom 50/100 cake!

Run #2 - Route testing

Throughout Saturday I was excited to see just how much it was raining. I wasn't being crazy, there was some rationale behind it. The more it rained, the more of a test our parkrun route would be around the Forest.
Sunday morning arrived and glorious sunshine greeted us, perfect overhead conditions, so hopefully the underfoot would still be a bit on the soggy side. I met with follow core team members Sam & Paul, also joined by Alec as he'd also walked the course so could remember bits that I couldn't.
Once we all had gps it was time to take in the route. If finding the more I run it, the more detail I'm taking in, committing more to memory. The underfoot conditions were pretty good, in the majority of areas the rain had drained with ease. Even the ditches transition seemed fine and it was good to see our main obstacle wasn't flooded, so wouldn't be an issue on most weeks. It's good for us that we have the winter to test the route. We'll be able to see it at the very worst and work out if the course is truly an all year all weather option. Paul's feedback on the route was the same as everyone else's, very positive. We've really been provided something special that shows off the location perfectly, something I can't wait to share.

The Eat 2

For research purposes Alec & I tested the sausage rolls. A definite plus for the post race refuelling! Once back home I provided Paula a promised cheese toastie and made myself a Welsh Rarebit. Oozy cheesy goodness is the perfect way to indulge. If I'm going to let bread back in over the weekend then there needs to be cheese involved!!

Super oozy Welsh Rarebit

The Conclusion

What an awesome weekend. Two very enjoyable runs with company. Sharing the parkrun 10th anniversary with friends at Bushy was amazing. Sure the time was a personal worst, but it wasn't about that on Saturday! To see parkrun on a grand scale is very impressive. Just 6 people and a dog at our inaugural would be just fine with me though!!!!

Sean & Emily officially join the 50 & 100 clubs 

parkrun PB and an overbaked 10k

Full of ups and downs would be an accurate and literal way to describe my weekend. Unexpected highs, a disappointing performance, an undulating couple of days. With Richmond Half firmly in the past, I have a short 6 week stint until the US Half, just 8 to the St Neots Half. I don't think I'm aiming for a PB at either event, I suspect I'll be pacing at the 2nd half, with San Francisco a tourist run.
In effect everything is up in the air whilst I and a hundred thousand others await the long drawn out process that is the London Marathon ballot. A mere 4 months is all it takes to be told your unlikely 1 in 10 (at best) shot was indeed unlikely. In the exceedingly likely event that I don't get a place, the Berlin Marathon ballot opens in a couple of weeks and that'll become the target.
Back to the week that was. Normally after a race I find myself lacing up and wanting to get back out on the road. Post Richmond this wasn't the case. I felt disinterested. A bad half marathon experience (despite the PB) and those nagging injuries had left me a bit deflated. The week started to pass me by, I could have easily taken the entire week off had I not signed up and committed to a full weekend of running.

Run 1 - The Recce

Sometimes a run will just put a smile on your face. Friday evening was upon us and I'd made plans to meet with my fellow run directors to give them a guided tour of our prospective parkrun route. Jim kindly picked me up and we were met at the Forest by Sam and Great Notley RD Richard. The evening got off to a good start, we were now a team of four as Paul from BSRC would be joining the RD team. With two sides of the triangle completed, the only hurdle remaining is funding.
Buoyed by the good news we made our way to the start line, I had printed notes of the course to hand as this would be the first time Simon from the NT wouldn't be here to guide us. I'd donned the luminous orange Helsinki half shirt just in case we got lost in the woods, but thankfully my memory and notes served me well.

Taking on the forest before the light failed

The overwhelming feedback was that the course was a winner. A true cross country test for parkrun speed merchants that could well become a destination for many to enjoy their Saturday mornings. With the run complete we were able to snack on a fresh batch of awesome tiffin supplied by Rich's wife, Holly. For fans of cake and running, head to Great Notley when Rich is on RD duty and you'll be duly rewarded!

Run 2 - Chelmsford Central parkrun

With all of the parkrun planning, it was time to make a visit to Chelmsford and check in with our ambassador, Gerry. Alec and I were joined at the start line by Andy, Alec's cousin's husband who was pushing himself to get back into parkrun having seen Alec's efforts! Paula abandoned us to go shopping, meaning the longer I lingered post run the more beneficial to the local economy it would be!
I lined up a couple of rows back and stayed wide, trying to ensure I didn't get cramped on the first couple of corners. I had no plan whatsoever in mind, I'd just set out at what felt like a usual 5k pace and see where it takes me. Despite my placing I still got pushed wide, unfortunately with the course as it is and the numbers what they are it will happen I guess, something that I myself need to think about for our event. Alec was long gone, I wasn't going to concentrate on his pace after my own unravelling at Great Notley and just got on with it. I was soon through the first kilometre well under 5 minutes and found myself feeling pretty good as I made progress. A second kilometre on similar pace had me aiming at a sub 24, with a course PB of 23:59 I'd be happy with that.
As the course crossed over onto grass I was still able to maintain pace, recognising others that are usually around the 24 mark and happy to be maintaining with them. The Chelmsford hill of doom is not quite on par with Wimpole or Notley and I eased up it and enjoyed the slight downhill that followed. Of course I shouldn't mock a hill, as I found out a mere 24 hours later.
The fourth kilometre is normally where I start tightening up, but everything seemed good on Saturday. My pace maintained and though I'd lost sight of Alec, Andy was starting to come back into view. As we passed the 4km marker my watch showed 18:30, all I needed was a five minute final click to secure a PB. My job now was just to bring it home, keep an even pace.
I kept pushing to the end, able to ease out some more pace, not enough to rein in Andy, but sufficient to smash my PB. I couldn't quite compute, 23:08. How did I manage to take 23 seconds off of my PB? This was nearly 50 seconds less than my previous best in Chelmsford and a good mark of the progress made over the summer since my last visit. There was no intention to attack a personal record, sometimes the best performances are the unexpected ones.

parkrun finish

It was a good day all round with Andy returning a 22:52 and Alec took nearly a minute further off his PB with an incredible 21:56! If I'm going to get anywhere close to Alec now it'll be whilst dressed and acting like Dick Dastardly!
After chatting all things parkrun with Gerry I was off to the town centre to find how much progress Paula had made on her one woman spending spree. We at least managed to add visits to Dunkin Donuts and the Essex Cider Shop to complete the trip.

Post parkrun reward. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm burger!

Run 3 - Manuden 10k

Despite being one of my local events, this would only be the second time I'd be competing in the Manuden 10k. Our 2011 was tough. A day of freak thirty degree weather on the first Sunday of October on an exposed and undulating course made for a hard race. After her experience three years ago Paula left us to it, so it was just Alec and myself donning the Um Bongo vests to represent the team. We took the short distance to provide a nice warm up jog, three easy kilometres. What I hadn't realised was just how warm the day was getting, we were sweating before even starting the main run! Taking a run to the start eliminated a lot of pre run faffing at least and we had only ten minutes to waste before the event got going.

Alec attempted to find shorts to match his Um Bongo shirt!

We were walked to the start line, there was a good camaraderie between the runners in a small field for the event, I wonder if it suffered for clashing with the Saffron Walden / Newport 10k mere miles down the road that was taking place. It appears that Manuden came forward a week this year.
This time around I made no attempt to hang with Alec, said I'd catch him at the end! I knew the course better than any other, the Manuden to Rickling route forms a key part of my training runs so I knew exactly what was waiting for me. A fairly narrow country lane that made it hard to make progress. It took a couple of minutes to get into a rhythm and then bam! One kilometre in its the big old hill of Manuden. A thirty metre climb that lasts for 300 metres. I got myself up, dragged myself through the field. For a moment I was in touching distance of Alec, but I wasn't going to put myself onto a suicidal pace to keep with him! The course is misleading though, you have another dip and a climb but you'd be a fool to think the climbing was over. You actually keep ascending for another two kilometres.
The exposed nature of a country lane on top of a hill made it one hot run. Thankfully at 3km there was some much needed shade! The heat was already getting to me as we made our way into Rickling. A small off road out and back to us to the 5km mark. This allowed me to exchange a high five with Alec, he was making decent progress. I was only halfway through and hating it. Only the marshals loving the Um Bongo shirts were bringing a smile. At 6km we were back to the lane and I knew I just needed to get through the remaining uphill section as the final 3km were largely all down.
The heat was horrendous, I was thankful that the organisers laid on a great number of water stands and was able to fill up for the final couple of clicks. On top of being hot, my legs had nothing, they were barely interested in complying. The sparse field made it hard to gauge where I was in terms of position. I had a Rickling Runner just ahead of me, probably another minute between us and the next ahead. There didn't appear to be anyone close behind either.
I hauled my arse up the final climb and got alongside Stevie from Rickling Runners. We were able to use the long hill from the start of the race to our advantage and ease down into the final kilometre. I had just enough in me to push that final click and urge Stevie to join me if she could. In the end I found myself pulling away and started counting down the remaining minutes to the finish. Just three to go, 500, that's just over two, 200m, that's all of a minute. It's the same strategy on every race, just count myself in, reminding myself just how little effort is needed.
I crossed the line in 53:41. The time was nothing to write home about. Around ninety seconds quicker than my 2011 effort and I know that means it wasn't a good performance. There was nothing redeeming about the way I ran, maybe being strong up the hill at the start was a plus. Alec stormed home in 49:30, an excellent effort in testing conditions.

Much needed post Manuden beer

There was nothing for it, we deserved a beer. The half our wander back to Stansted brought us to the Rose & Crown. It was time for some Brooklyn Lager, a Ploughman's lunch and some chips. Much deserved after the hills of Manuden! Once we rolled home there was still time for cake, some unfortunate timing meant the ice cream van man missed out on our custom!

Blackforest cupcake!

 

The Conclusion

One awesome PB, one rubbish 10k in terms of performance. Just an average week of peaks and troughs, better than consistent mediocrity I guess!!