Comrades 2019

jkissane

1owrez said:

HI JK - that ultra is quite close to Comrades, will you be treating it as your final long slow run of the campaign before you commence the taper?

Guess that depends if I enter Comrades or not! It's would be my second time taking part in the Rennsteiglauf, last time I came down with a dose of cold the day before so ran it feeling rotten & drugged up on paracetamol, no doubt I'll be slower this time of course

That's a fantastic story Terry, not many marathon where that could happen! A lot to be said for smaller events I must say, they have a charm that big city razzmatazz can't quite match.

1owrez

JK, I can't figure how you will be slower this time? Is it because of the absence of paracetamol?

At the last small marathon I ran there was a woman dragging a tyre behind her, I think that would be exempt on big city routes... or would it

Running Rodent

Lowrez - my cousin dragged a tyre round the Edinburgh marathon (no, I’m not the only eccentric in my family...). It was for charity, but he was also training for towing a sledge in the Antarctic.

Bike It

Oh yes - tyre woman - I've also seen her.  Quite amazing in a way - I've also seen refrigerator man on his John O'Groats to Land's End

justanothrrnr

Bizarre!

Debra Bourne

Terry, I didn't quite do the cross-the-line-the-wrong-way thing at the Dunstable Challenge a few years back, but very nearly (the directions were not quite as clear and comprehensive as the organisers thought they were). And I've played 'native guide' on a couple of local races over the years, including yelling instructions at people ahead of me "turn right, there!".

Southern Snail

I went out for a run some years back in Copenhagen and at some point got caught up in a race. I followed them as I didn't know where I was and suddenly found myself going down the finish chute. Thank goodness I wasn't first!! Took some water and ran on

1owrez

Have you got a medal and t-shirt for it SS?

The Long Mynd is not a good place to have navigation failure - a cautionary tale of "do not follow the runners in front" - they don't know the route either. We made an approx. 1000ft descent over the course of 1km, very Fields Hillish but on an exceedingly narrow lane and ended up in a farm yard with nowhere to go. A call back to race HQ revealed we should have taken a left off-road at the top of the hill, after struggling back up we discovered a tiny yellow arrow at ground level in a bush pointing in that direction. We got back so late to the start/finish that we were commuted to the half because there wasn't enough time left in the day to complete the second lap. Was thankful for that actually - that is a mountainous place!

Southern Snail

Reigate Half Marathon for me yesterday. 2:11 which I was chuffed with as haven't done any fast stuff. Nasty little Comrades type hill at the end

1owrez

Nice one SS - looking like you will stroll a sub 5 full - just like Kipchoge

Mac3

Lowrez (the unbanned), has a certain ring to it! I'm late responding to the Apeldoorn Marathon that isn't.  That had me baffled as it didn't feature on my calendar and Terry has explained why, with a great story to boot.  Apeldoorn is only 60km from where I'm based. They do have a mid-summer one at the end of June but different organisers.  There is another race the week after, the Two Rivers Marathon on 10th Feb which is an official qualifier for Two Oceans.  Not the best time of year for a marathon in the Netherlands though as being so flat the wind chill / humidity can be arctic.  Even Utrecht which is a month later was -5C (wind chill) this year.

justanothrrnr

Morning,  I ran my qualifier yesterday!! The Goodwood Grand Prix Marathon (thanks for the tip Lowrez) and finished in a respectable 3:54.   

I stayed on 3:45 pace right up to a niggle I've been suffering with became unbearable and I had to take my shoes off to see there wasn't anything serious going on.   Proved too difficult to get going again and I lost my rhythm so reset at sub 4 and forged ahead gingerly.

Lovely venue/setting, I would recommend this race next year if you don't mind tarmac and I normally hate lapped courses!

1owrez

Brr they all sound a bit chilly Mac - I like my new title - hunting for a January marathon - of course I'm not making it easy on myself - but the alternatives are foxing me at the moment and seem exceedingly warm in comparison - Taipei - I missed entering the ballot - doh! Penang - there are two - so is the one in January "the best"? Singapore - I suppose I will need to do it one day but its not really "calling" to me... where are you planning to sub5?

1owrez

Well done Jar - How nonchalant is that? Had time to poke around in your feet with your shoes off and still sub4! Sounds like a nice course - its on my list now! I hope you made plenty of revving and tyre screeching noises as you sped around! Are your feet OK?

justanothrrnr

Wow, nothing about it felt nonchalant, and my screeching noises were limited to my thoughts and in slow motion sound however I  did aggressively protect the racing line from faster runners.  

In other news I finally made some really nice biltong this week - it's been a long road with and lots of trial and error but it's a hit with the family.   

1owrez

What animal goes into your biltong Jar? Are you bringing any to Comrades? I picked up a packet of Scottish salmon jerky from the supermarket cheap shelf the other day; it was splendid.

When I did the Oulton Park half a few years ago it was blowing a gale and a bloke dressed as a bottle of brown ale was having a very difficult time progressing. I ended up lapping him; he had unknowingly accumulated a small entourage of slow runners directly behind him sheltering from the wind. I had to stop because I was laughing so much when a big gust of wind blew him over backwards and squashed/skittled his disciples.

justanothrrnr

Hahahaha... I bet that was a classic 'You've been framed' moment!   Good thing he wasn't running in Hong Kong this weekend, he may never have been seen again.

There are lots of varieties but mine's a basic beef biltong.  Sadly its time consuming to get it right, for me lots of trial and error plus if its rubbish you ended up wasting good food and days of your life building up expectations for nothing.   

I won't be bringing any to Comrades - there is loads available there already far superior to mine. 
Remind me to find you some when we're there.   

Southern Snail

Jar - well done on Goodwood. i'd completely forgotten that that was the marathon I was originally looking at. Definitely couldn't have run another 13 miles yesterday. And well done on the biltong. I've tried and failed with beef jerky several times.

1owrez

Blimey, so the degree of difficulty in producing a good batch has a fair chance of impacting the tasty outcome detrimentally!

So where is the recommended family butchers in Durban? Despite having visited the great city several times now my knowledge of what is where is still quite sparse. It was only this year the Hilton reception pointed me to a shopping mall on the far side of the Expo, the building is a non-descript heap of bricks alongside a park. I just thought it was offices, but there are bundle of handy shops inside.

Debra Bourne

lowrez: re. biltong/jerky, do remember that importing meat is considered illegal by many countries, with good reason - remember the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001?

JAR: congrats on your sub-4 despite the stop.

lowrez: love the story of the ale-runner, and I can just imagine the carnage!

I ran a 4k leg of a cross-country relay on Saturday for my club. My overall pace was 7:52/mile - not too bad considering there was a hilly section, and an indication that the week off was just what my legs needed to finish recovering from the Ridgeway, as I ran nearly 30 seconds per mile faster than at a club handicap 10 days earlier. (It was my slowness and legs feeling like lead at the handicap that had persuaded me to take the week off).

Terry48

For good biltong in SA, you can find a great selection in any Woolworths (I think their 'Snapsticks' are the best!).  I think Pick n Pay also usually have some reasonably good stuff.

Well done at Goodwood JAR. Were you on medium or supersoft 'tyres'

Terry48

Debra's dead right.  Importing biltong into the UK is illegal.  There are just too many good sniffer dogs at Heathrow  these days for me to chance it as I used to some years ago.

Running Rodent

Comrades qualifier ground out in Berlin yesterday - let’s just say I was some way behind Mr Kipchoge. Having some knee issues post OCC but I can relax a bit now and maybe move up a pen or two between now and May. Great race though, I haven’t done Berlin before, but I can see the potential for a fast run if you’re 100% fit for it.

Lowrez - Scottish salmon jerky? Who knew there was such a thing?

1owrez

1owrez

1owrez

Well done RR - booked your ticket however you fare from here on!

I'm contemplating speaking in pictures only from here on in!

Mac3

Congrats JAR, nicely done.  Were you in the pit lane when you adjusted your shoes, and done and dusted in less than 10 seconds?  The biltong sounds great.  I took quite a liking to that but not during the race!

Lowrez - Sing would still be around 30C in January?  I'm entered for Amsterdam 21st October which is nice timing with entries opening on 15 October.  What about Seville 17th Feb?  I seem to recall a few on here may have done that one (was that Marty?).

RR congrats too, and so soon after UTMB!

Southern Snail

RR - well done in Berlin and as Mac says, so soon after UTMB

Singapore will always be about 30C which is why their races start about 5.30 am. Humid though.

marty74

RR - great running.

Mac3 - Yes, i have done seville. Lovely city and well organised marathon. Pretty flat from what i can recall so a good one to qualify with. And a great place to spend a few days with all those tapas bars

1owrez