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Sub 3h15
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I'm getting great reports from SA.
Wow! Amazing report, BikeIt. You really helped us live the emotional ups and downs alongside the actual ups and downs with you! Hope you are recovering and relaxing.
I didnt see BI today but the report givea a flavour of a great day at the races & a very gutsy run.
Every Comrades story is different and ill let Lorenzo tell his own.
Summary of my day:
Race - really hard
Me - pretty hard despite various problems. I power walked much of the second 1/2 tand with 2m to go was lying in a gutter unable to stand due to severe cramp. Delighted to come home in 9.46 for bronze and the back-to-back medal. More anon.
Bike it your race is amazing, 11:30 to sub 10, how could you do that?
Look forward to the report Poacher, amazing time, more amazing you even finished it.
Leslie, lets hope you haven't done any serious damage, brave effort!
I'm in awe at the effort put into all the races today.
Leslie - a sub-3:30 with your leg giving up is no mean feat and I am impressed you pulled it out of the bag on a hilly course. Well done! Recover well. You deserve a good break after that sterling effort!
BikeIt - I can't believe you pulled out those paces at the end of the race. That shows incredible grit and determination. Is this the hardest fought race you have done so far? And to think you weren't sure if you could even toe the line a while ago. Brilliant work.
Poacher - you are an absolute nutter. Obviously made of teflon and with some talent for ultras. Congratulations on sub-10 and a bronze medal. Plus back to back medal. Is that two you won?! Look after yourself now
Come on, Lorenzo! I know what you did but need to hear it from you.......
Jools - steady improvement in leg speed there. At this rate you'll be flying in a month.
Rest for me today. Visiting family. End of half term. Running can recommence in earnest once again tomorrow. Yippppeeeeeee!
Off for a quick beer - will pen a report a bit later but just to spoil the suspense I'm mightily pleased with myself!!!
Poacher - that's some power walking. Great time & medal collection
Lorenzo - mightily pleased indeed
Well played by the Comrades 3. Inspirational stuff
Leslie - sterling running at the walled city. The last 8 miles of any marathon are tough enough, without having to pull along an ailing leg. Rest up & take time to mend.
Jools - progressing well. Hope you're cold/flu continues to abate
Minni - ... and here's me mistaking you for a triathlete. How was Edinburgh?
Leslie - Well done on a sub 3:30. That's a great performance considering your leg problem!
Bike it - Fantastic performance showing such grit. I was tracking you all and you had me on edge when I realised it was touch and go for a bronze. I fist pumped when you finished!
Poacher - Brilliant sub 10 for you. I knew you were in trouble late on as your pace dropped but you showed great guts in finishing well.
Lorenzo - You have the right to be very pleased with yourself. Thanks for making the tracking system extra exciting! I look forward to the report.
Bikeit- nice report and strong finish
Poacher-given you struggled with a 5k a few weeks back that amazing and with no good legs too
Lorenzo- sounds like you had a brilliant run
OK - here goes.
My first Comrades and following on from Bike It and Poacher's exploits in the last couple of years, I decided I was going to aim for Bill Rowan medal (under 9 hours).
I slept pretty well the previous night so felt fresh and raring to go at 5.30 this morning. No sign of anyone I knew in the pens but once out on the course I simultaneously bumped into both Poacher and Monika (one of Minni's mates) and we ran along a bit together. The first few miles is up a gentle slope along a motorway so fairly uninspiring but Poacher seemed keen to push the pace so I followed!
All was going well for the first half and I put my run-walk strategy into play from about 20K, but with hindsight I'd gone off too quickly (again!) so the third quarter of the race started to get a bit messy and I was spending a fair amount of time walking and thinking that I was might be better off aiming for something in the 9:15-9:30 range when the sub-9 bus (the pacing group) came up fast behind me with about 25K to go.
I spotted Monika in it and decided that rather than being spat out of the back of the bus, I would try and hang on in there for as long as possible. The bus driver was superb, with a sensible and structured approach to run-walk, along with the capacity to make people want to push hard to stay in the group and get their Bill Rowan medal.
Whilst it was really tough to stay with the pace (which felt like it was close to 8 min milling on the running sections) I managed to stick with it and but the time we got to 5K to go, sub 9 was definitely still on for me. Counting down the kilometres from a parkrun, to a 3000m race to 5 laps of the track helped and by the time we got in the stadium we even had time for a quick stop before crossing the line at around 8:54.
Suffice to say I was over the moon and close to tears when I crossed the line before getting a hug from Monika and then collapsing in an exhausted heap in the International Runners area.
Great to catch up afterwards with both Poacher and Bike It who clearly beat all expectations given their trials and tribulations in the run-up to the race.
Whilst I probably won't go to bed with the medal round my neck, I'm going to be proudly displaying round town tomorrow!!
Great 10k time Jools, steadily getting back to your zippy speed!
Well done Leslie on what sounded a tough course & conditions. It takes a of mental strength too when your leg throw in the towel.
Great report and well done too BikeIt, sounds an amazing race & experience.
Brilliant time Poacher and pushing on at the end with cramp and the pain that goes with that (I know how that feels).
Wow Lorenzo, what a brilliant time!!! Very quick running given the profile of the course. You are made of steel. Enjoy the beers, sleep and displaying your medal
Enjoyed reading all the reports
Well done Poacher for getting to the end and congratulations on your back to back. You did a amazing time. Proper 'ard like.
Leslie - it was a real shame about the leg when your training had gone so well up till the last minute, but well done on toughing it out at the end.
Jools - definitely heading in the right direction.
Bike It - that must have taken amazing mental strength to fight back and get the result you did. Congratulations.
Poacher - I really thought there was no way you were going to make it to the start, so that's amazing to finish with a bronze too. Look forward to the report.
Lorenzo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phenomenal. You must still be on cloud nine. Just brilliant.
I couldn't be more pleased for you, Lorenzo! Huge congratulations on an outstanding time. Fantastic.
I have to admit that I can't get my mind round running 56 miles at all. I freely admit to being knackered after 26 miles (and in fact I am shot a few miles beforehand and just close the mind to the voices and push home) so have no clue at all what it feels like to do it all again and then some so you won't ever hear me say an ultra is on my bucket list. If I start running at 5:30am I want to be done by breakfast time and not still running at dinner time.
Lorenzo, great run for the Bill Rowan. Just to put it into context, the Bill Rowan is named after Bill Rowan who won Commrades in 1921 with a time of 8:59, so you were just a few years away from a winners medal. It is good the medal is a Bill Rowan and not an Arthur Newton: he knocked about 2.5 hours off the winning time over the next few years.
Poacher, BI, solid runs and strong finishes. Hats off to both of you but still won't get me doing it.
You can apply for a 'good for age' entry if you've run a full marathon in the same time, or faster than, the times listed below, please note the times must have been achieved since the 1st January 2014:
Same time counts.
same as Philip - 26.2 is enough for me, so sincere congratulations humbly offered to the three of you - legends all . . . .
Leslie - well ground out - a tough day conquered . . . .
good work Jools in your 10K - what's next ?
May all done and dusted. 171.31 miles in 22:08:50 hours at an average pace of 7:45. Up to 983 for the year so 1000 miles will come up in the next few days. Next 3 months are always a bit odd with holidays etc which can sometimes mean no running for a week and can sometimes mean a week's solid running.
hadn't realised it was 1st June; May numbers - 193 miles, year to date = 1083
Lorenzo-cracking report well done
Gul- that's mara's for you , its all on the day if I had another week to recover I might have made it who knows ! Struggling today, leg won't bend, and I can't get my socks on yet
..might take a few rest days 
May stats: 198 miles
Inspirational Comrades reports. "Just" doing it in 11 hours is seriously hard core, major respect. Busting through 9 hours is the stuff of dreams. Wear that gong with pride.
3:29 marathon on one leg? Hmm sounds familiar. I have a T shirt. No marathon is easy, bank it, get fixed, move on.
Monthly stats from this quarter aren't as impressive.
Running: 47 miles. Pathetic.
Bike: 204 miles. Not good, although pace is OK
Swim: 10.2 miles. Ridiculous. It's no wonder I'm getting better.
Oooh stats! Finally starting to put some decent mileage together, so 190 miles for May in a fraction under 27 hours, but only 724 in 101 hours for the year to date (that's including 7.4 easy miles with strides this morning).
Well done the Comrades 3, really inspirational stuff. Great report from Lorenzo, well done fella, really pleased for you.
I've got some sort of cold thing at the moment, had a sore throat for a few days but seems to have eased off today, so went for a gentle 6 miler with a colleague at lunchtime. Felt dead easy, so that's a good sign.
Stats for May:
Run - 66 miles (2nd best ever May for me!!)
Bike - 208 miles (first ever bike month!)
Ticking over nicely but will increase the running miles in June.
GD
Awesome reports guys!
I also forgot it was June, probably due to the March weather that's happening outside my house. 190 miles in my returning to training month. Proper mileage will begin as of 15th June. Well, the 16th actually as day 1 is a rest day
As for ultras, strangely addictive and less ominous than marathons. Maybe that's just me.
May scores on the doors:
Swim - 27.75km
Bike - 788miles
Run - 78.5miles