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Great Cumbrian Run Half-Marathon
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It's wooden, with leaves on. Does that help?
What's with the maths? Sounds like yet another excuse to me
Just stop being a tart and get yourself up here. You'll need to aclimatise 
Setting off in about 2 hours.
Do you think I should put some little stones in my shoes to make it more of a manly ordeal?
Let me get this right:
You better make sure you see me at the start 'cos by the time you'll finish tomorrow it could be dark.
Now let me give you a few facts:
So all in all, I'm not in the best of moods right now, and the chances are it could get a whole lot worse, so don't make me angry....................................................you won't like it if I get angry
Still giddy thinking about tomorrow - have a good one everyone!
Afternoon, all.
Just dropping in to wish you all the very best for this fantastic event.
Injury (a proper one, Millsy
) forced me to pull out in '07 and other circumstances have kept me away this year. I will be thinking of you all tomorrow though, and come hell or high water, I'll be back in 2009.
Have a great day.
1 more sleep!
Afternoon folks
Hello XL, nice to 'see' you. Roll on next year eh
I cant believe this is tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it and am feeling surprisingly optimistic considering my training for it has been pretty much pants. Sorted some last minute bits and bobs this morning and am spending the rest of the day just chilling out.
Looking forward to meeting up with those of you who make it to the 'tree'. Anyone that doesnt, have a good one! And most importantly, enjoy
Afternoon all
Morgs-I'll see you in the morning,bright and early.
XL-Cheers mate.We'll see you next year.
Looking forward to tomorrow.Last run of the year for me.After tomorrow thats 7 halfs' and 3 marathons done in 08.Looking forward to a wee rest.
Millsy-See you tomorrow at the tree.
All the very best everyone.Have a good un and enjoy.
Mick
Aye, see you in the morning
yep i have a cold............
will i run tomorrow?.........
probably yes..........
i will be a real man then...........
wont i?
i like the logic skipper, hope you will all come and visit me in garlands?
I'm number 988 and I'll be in a grey and orange top, I think. Feel feel to shout abuse.
Good luck all, lets have a great race!
Not long to go now!
Rob, lol! Dont be daft, come and say hello. I'm sure that it would take more than a nervous you to freak us all out
Heather, thanks for the warning about the conkers. If anyone is likely to fall over one, it will be me.
Evening all.................or should that be morning all?
Alas, I'm still awake in our travel lodge room with the baby who won't go to sleep! It's alright for her....she can sleep to her hearts content in her pram tomorrow whilst I'll be knackered and doing battle with 13 miles.......whoever said life's not fair is so right!!
Hark, some snoring has just started on my shoulder..........yup, sucessfully lowered into cot still in the land of nod.......better get some kip myself while I still can!!
Good luck to everyone tomorrow.....hope to see some of you but if not, enjoy your race!!
BTW - XL Man good to hear from you again....be even better to see you in 09!
P.S. Thanks Millsy for arranging a pre-race meet!!
Hi everyone - looks like I'm the first to report back, although I've been having a doze for the last couple of hours.
Hope you all had good races and enjoyed the day! What about those hills, eh? Not quite as bad as the worst reports but harder than I'd expected. At least most were early on. That last one out of the park onto Brampton Road around 12 miles was short but a real killer! The wind wasn't as bad as feared I thought.
Anyway, for myself I was dead chuffed as I achieved my aim of beating 2 hours, by almost a minute in the end. I never felt on top form though after fighting off a cold all week and had to tap all my resources in the last 3 miles in particular. Seeing my wife and step-daughter cheering me on near the end gave me the extra spur I needed to press on and do it in the time.
Really enjoyed running on the track at the end. Never done that before - it's something I could get used to - nice and springy!
I was going to look for people at the start but had to spend all my spare time in the long toilet queue.
Will definitely try to do it next year.
Oh, nearly forgot. There was a bloke who looked like he'd collapsed about half-a-mile from the start. Someone was just calling an ambulance as I passed. Really hope he's OK...
Hello shipmates
Really enjoyed my day today. Finished in 1:36 which is fine. I really liked the new course. Start and finish worked well. Great to have a shower at the end. I didn't think the hills were too bad. It would be very difficult to find a 13 mile course in Britain which doesn't have a hill! And there were some nice downhill sections as well.
Look forward to seeing what everybody else thinks.
Never done it before but that was a really nice race. Somewhat hillier than expected but the public and marshals were up for it.
Well done Cumbria and Carlisle for putting on a good show. Very impressed with the t-shirt as well!
Good race! I thought the start was a little odd, everyone milling around in the castle whilst everything was happening out of eye and earshot outside, no indication of what we should be doing. The route was great, not quite as flat as I'd thought, but as least the wind didn't gust up too much. Great support at most of the villages and a good atmosphere between competitors. I messed up my eating strategy and the half-digested curry from last night felt like a brick in my lower intestines for the second half of the race - thankfully didn't manifest into an out-and-out stitc, just uncomfortable. The groin injury was fine and I just managed to dip under 1h50m, I think was towards the quicker end of my expectations. Sorry I couldn't meet by the tree, I was trying to persuade my curry to part company wit me before the race.
Looking forward to next year...I have 1h45m in my sights...
Afternoon all
Well Morgs and mygoodself went to the wrong tree before the start.There was a single tree inside the castle grounds!!!!!
Millsy spotted me just after the start and shouted over.
By lad what a course.First 5/6 miles I wasn't expecting those hills.Got to mile 7 feeling canny,nice bit of flat then another wee hill!!! Great bit of running past Carlisle football ground,thru the park,up the hill at 11.5 mile then downhill all the way to the finish.Loved the finish inside the stadium.Spotted Millsy again at the finish,had a wee bit crack.Went off and had a shower,waited for Morgs to finish.Had a wee chat with Millsy and SM.Spotted Boycs gliuding past.Morgs and myself then went back to the car and off back to Sunderland.
All in all a canny course.Wasn't expecting those hills.Got round in 1hr43mns21secs(my watch).
Hope everyone had a good day.See you all next year.
Afternoon folks!
Well done to everyone today. Some fab times I see.
I can honestly say I think I have had my first 'bad' race. Proper rough! But that was down to my, if I'm honest, absolute dire preparation! I have learned a hard lesson today, but I think it was needed. First five miles were far too quick but time wise spot on for my 2:05 (if not slightly quicker!). Next three ish miles were decidedly ropier. I then completely lost the plot and more or less ran walked the rest of the way.
By my watch I did 2:21:49 which should be fairly close to my chip time I reckon.
The new course on reflection was excellent. A tad on the hilly side for me but a real 'tester' which isnt a bad thing really.
Roll on next year
Oh btw, Millsy, SM, it was lovely to see the pair of you again. Shame me and Mick went to the wrong tree (d'oh!) at the start. But at least we know now for next year.
Mick, thanks for taking me across there today and putting up with my rather 'crumpled' self on the way back. I'm feeling just about human again now. I'm definitely doing Haweswater as well
Great atmosphere, off to CFM Radio's charity champagne breakfast for the Robbie's Runners tomorrow, and have this week off to recover hehehe!
See everyone next year!
did enjoy it, good mix of running through the town and then out to the villages , nice to run so close to home. liked the last 3 miles, really spurred me on
well done everyone
I got stuck in the never ending toilet queue before the start, and had left home for my mucky weekend away before the "tree of friendship" was nominated so wouldn't have found you anyway. I must have been in the vicinty of some of you, crossed the line at 2.01 but as I was still sat on the throne when the cannon fired. I reckon about a 1.57 chip time, having started at the very back. I did say hello to you at about 5 miles SM, however the bloke in the black t-shirt who I thought was you was most put out when I tried to insist he had a secret internet life and a viking helmet at home. Some people!
A nice morale boost in the park too. I felt right at home, I even found one with a limp i could keep up with.
Course was a tad more testing than most City half marathons, very good course indeed. I also saw the fella collapsed, don't know how it turned out, there was a Police officer already there so didn't stop and get in the way, but there are no horror stories on the local news website so hopeully turned out not too bad.
"Goody" bag was a bit crap. My bin is full now. T-shirt is nice, enough on it's own.
Evenin'
Many congratulations folks. It sounds like the new course proved agreeable, if challenging.
Cheers, Morgs, Boycs and Mick - you can be sure I'l be there next year, but I'll be sure not to rely on Mick's tree-spotting ability
Interesting observations!
Rob - Don't worry about missing all the action outside the castle - nothing happened - trust me!
Now, when I set up the meeting point I thought that I'd made it dead easy. Big tree, outside the castle, in the middle of a huge lawn with no other trees for miles around. Sadly that was clearly still too complicated for some but top marks to the wily old sage SM, who spotted me lurking furtively and spared my blushes by making an approach before the police came to question me about my suspicious activites. Maybe I should start thinking now about where we can meet next year.
When I was standing at the finish line and the clock ticked past 1.08 without a runner in site, I came to the conclusion that the course might be a bit tricky, and subsequent conversations have confirmed this, but everyone that I have spoken to has been positive so hopefully next year's course will be the same.
Mick was the only member of the team whom I actually saw finish, although I did speak to both Morgs and of course SM afterwards. As I sit here contemplating bedtime I'm still waiting for the call to invite me out for beer. Some people, eh! Best bit is I know he cannot respond to this anytime soon, so really I can say what I like.
Not sure how I managed to miss Siobhan as I was standing freezing my thingies off right at the finish line from before the first runners arrived until around the 2 hour mark. But you missed me as well, so I don't feel too bad. And Boycs, what a pity I didn't see you. You've become a stalwart at this event, and this has become our annual rendezvous. I think you'll need to sign up for the Windermere Marathon next year and that will double our chances of meeting. Go on.................., you know you want to.
So as you all now tick this one off, for another year, I hope you all enjoyed it, and are planning to come back next year. By then that tree will be even bigger, and if I speak nicely to Mike James he might be able to arrange for a huge arrow to be erected above it, for the benefit of those of you who got a bit confused earlier today.
Well done everyone. If running half marathons was easy then every beggar would be at it, and we know that that's not the case. Some just keep coming up with excuse after excuse like injuries or whatever.
Did I really say that?
Great day all round.
Hard work with a new route honestly it is - We will learn the following for next year.
Toilets should have been 30 not 10 at the start
I should try and arrange free car parking for all runners. The council should support this event.
The fun run time should be different to the main race - Not sure how to do this yet.
Drink options should have been accesible at the start.
The start speaker system should have extended to inside the castle.
The cars mainly from the cerebral palsy event should not have exited the stadium until 12.30pm.
The marshalling at the sands corner and car park should have been 2. it was meant to be.
Out of 2367 seperate jobs by 186 staff working to a 120 page event plan only a few minor problems.
I and my team are absolutely delighted with the feedback and most importantly that everyone got around safely.
I don't know how the GNR do it because 1840 is hard enough!!!!!
Well done all