Bolton Hill Marathon

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Comments

  • Gutted!! I am full of a nasty cold I can't shake off so looking like I might be resting in bed with a hot drink and not taking part. Good luck to everyone, I hope you all have an amazing day. I don't want all the training to go to waste so I will be entering another marathon very soon, maybe Blackpool in early April, although that one doesn't look anywhere near as good as this one should be!
  • Sorry to hear that Alastair image Hope you feel better soon!

  • hi all norfolk boy here yep its gonna be a cold one but we should all be used to the naff weather by now so lets just enjoy it and have a giggle . trail shoes have given me heel problems so ill be using my trusty asics so no laughing when i fall on my arse , allister ive  done blackpool and at the  stations they handed out fizzy lucozade its just wrong if u ask me . 

  • have you been to see the mast from the bottom of the hill Norfolk boy? guessing you don't see much of that in Norfolk? don't forget to look down when at the top, awesome scenery you don't want to miss.

  • Have arrived in Bolton, not Preston!!! In digs now and discovered they are having a cabaret night!! No early night for me then!!
  • ive gotta get up the hill first ha ha ive had plenty of  advice from the norfolk mountain rescue  team on how to run up hills yeah  right boy!!!image

  • Thanks phil great race and medal. not impressed with your weather organising skills though :P I would also like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to wonder why i do this running lark and punish myself so much. obviously i'll be ok in a couple of days when I find my rose tinted specs!

  • wow that was tough course,  but the freezing cold wind blasting in your face didn't help. Congratulations to all that got round and to the people who braved standing out in the freezing weather for hours on end to cheers us on.

     

  • Arrived home and defrosted!! Phil-fantastic route and race. Thank you for all you hard work in such a challenging terrain. Please pass on a huge thanks to the marshalls who must have suffered like hell out there today. No-one complained and they were cheerful and supportive at all times..at times I was just glad I was running it and not just standing about for hours.

    Again, thanks very much. (I may be cursing you tomorrow though when I have to get up 4 flights of stairs at workimage)

  • Thank you Phil - great organisation! image Hope everyone has thawed out! Nice sunshine for the second half of the race image

  • Many thanks to Phil and the marshalls for putting on a great race. it was well organised, well marshalled and most of all WELL HARD, I've never faced such conditions or challenging course, hills that only goats should be up and descents that should have came with ropes.  Best day out in ages.  can't wait for next year, my legs should be fine by then.

  • Yes great route Phil! I had fooled myself into thinking there were only two and got a bit of a shock still I'm pretty sure I've learnt something new today that eyeballs can actually freeze at least thats what it felt likeimage I am already looking back on it with fondness so well done hope you manage to get some decent rest before 10 in 10!
  • juleswill1..I forgot my eyeballs froze too..couldn't actually focus at mile 8. I took a gel in case I'd hit the wall 10 miles too earlyimage

  • Agree with what's been said. Thanks Phil & the team for a great day out. A good course that, very fast in parts, but sodding cold in others!

     

    The last climb up Crooked edge was horrific, I too was convinced my eyeballs had frozen; I trudged up there putting layers on and nearly climbed in the Mountain Rescue Range Rover at the top, I literally couldn't see, well weird!

    But managed to finish 9th in 3.42 so really happy with that.

    A massive thanks to the marshalls for standing out in that, and to the Mountain Rescue people. Just a shame really that it was so cold at the finish that we couldn't really hang about, so apologies for that.

    Same time next year then eh?? image

  • Alfa Scud..as I approached the Mountain rescue Range rover, the gritting lorry was there too.Well tempted to ask any of them if I could get in a vehicle, defrost and have a cup of coffeeimage. You werent far wrong with your guestimate for me, I came in at around 4:23. Well done on your time and to everyone else for completion.

  • Phil and all involved, I can only echo what everyone else has said about yesterday.  Really well done on putting on such a great race.

    I honestly cannot think of a single fault with the organisation, the marshalls, mountain rescue and the day as a whole.  It really was a great day, and I will definitely be back next year to put myself through it again.  Managed to get back in 3.53, which I was pretty pleased with, considering the terrain, and I've never been so pleased to see water and flapjack at the end of a race!

    Well done to everyone who took part, see you all again next year

  • GDixon61GDixon61 ✭✭✭

    Can only endorse what has been said.

    A fantastic event and superbly well organised.

    Physically demanding course with lots of scenic beauty that would best be admired by Helicopter at yesterday's temperatures.

    To the Marshalls and all the support staff a big big thanks - as without you we would have no event, but conversely would have far fitter legs today!!

    Thoroughly enjoyed the day and was so so glad that the weather held off.

    Thanks Phil - a massive part of my preparation for the Comrades in June.

  • What a brilliant day! Even the Baltic temperatures didn't affect the greatness of the event! Thanks to all who came and got "fixed" by Stansfield Sports Injury Clinic and thanks for all the donations! We raised a smashing ??108 for The National Autistic Society! Wow! Thank you so much!



    Tons of thanks to Phil, Kris and the rest of their team for all the preparation and hard graft to make it such a success!



    Here's to the next Bolton Hill Marathon image
  • ABsolutely loved it - though my legs are not thanking me today. Great event, lovely smiley marshals and great support. So glad we recced it to death beforehand, it really helped to know what was coming next.

    I am delighted to have completed my first marathon. Big thanks Phil to you and everyone else who made the event possible.

    image

  • Really enjoyed the run yesterday, testing in every way possible and fun at same time.

    Came in at 3:51, which is actually a marathon pb for me!! Think i need to get on the flat now. 

    Will defo be there next year if you put it on again. 

  • If there was a like button I'd be cliking on all your comments image

  • Must echo all the above.  Terrific day enhanced by the spirit and contribution of the marshalls and organizing team.  At least we could run around to keep warm!

    Forgot about the freezing eyes, never had that before.  Still it disguises the tears!

    Big thanks also to the guy at the bottom of the hill just 200 yards from the finish.  He encouraged me on when I was totally spent and ready to curl and go to sleep right there on the path.

     

  • As others have said, great organisation and brilliant effort from the marshalls. thanks a lot Phil. Really enjoyed it, esp brill scenery. I'm a Manc lad so live quite near to Bolton; I've not done much running around the course area but will defo be going up there again to do some runs in the future.

    All the best to everyone involved image

  • I second all thanks and praise for Phil, cheering marshalls, and all the people on the organizing team that I didn't see - you all did a tremendous job! It was my first marathon, and I enjoyed it very much (despite thoroughly cursing the second big ascent...). The scenery was simply stunning, I was heavily tempted to just stop every other minute and take pictures with my phone... OK, I did once - but this indifferent witness of our climb up the Winter Hill was too much for me to just pass by (here I'm hoping a photo appears):

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/99287191/2013-03-10-311.jpg

     

    Even the weather wasn't that bad - the worst was when waiting for the start. I was even OK with wind blowing in my face, because I knew that on a route that is winding as much as ours there's bound to be bits where the wind will help me running, pushing me from the back - and it did image (And thanks to whoever told me I dropped my gloves before the start - I would have surely lost my hands without them image)

    There was just one bit, where I think it would be good to have a marshall (in addition to normal route markings). When you climb the hill on the way back, you jump for a bit on the tarmac road, which you have to leave to the left just after the nearby cattle grid. Two runners going before me failed to notice the 'turn left' signs and went straight along the road. Fortunately, they heard me and some other guy shouting at them and turned back, but I wonder if there were any other people that missed the turn, too. After all, I imagine it could be quite easy, given the drop in focus that can come when you're tired and you know you just have the worst climb behind you and expect just easy downhill finish.

    But still, many thanks for everyone who made this event happen by organizing it, and by competing in it. Loved it!

  • Great race, brave marshals, loved it. I was trying to get on the suggestions bit, but got redirected to log-in, then here.

    I was just thinking, if the race is to get permission again, perhaps you could tie bin bags to the mile markers, and say, half a mile after the drinks stations. I managed to bear the Herculean task of carrying a few ounces of plastic until I found a bin, some were not so stoic. And the quarter ounce an empty gel packet weighs would have cleary put an hour on their times.

    Sorry, that's nothing against the race or the marshals, just some of my fellow runners. I want to be able to do that race again, that is exactly the kind of thing that will get permission refused.

    Maybe a few course changes to take in only gates that slam shut after you? I felt the conflict of wanting to shut the gate, but having another runner not too far behind you.

    Oh, and while you're at it, someone to run in front of me with a heat lamp. Ta.

    Loved the race, I hope you can run it again next year, if so give me a shout, I'll be there.

     

  • Brilliant rce in every way. Al praise to the marshalls and feeding station people who had to stand in that wind all day. At least the runners had a chance to warm up in places. The flapjacks and jelly babies were most appreciated and far tastier than some of the overpriced gels and energy bars. There was a lot of walking for me but my legs didn't feel too bad because there wasn't the unrelenting pounding of a road marathon. I might not do it again, simply because there are loads of other events to try but I will certainly recommend it to anyone else. The only black mark was for those who chose to drop litter aa round the course. Don't they realise that their actions could stop events like this being held again?

  • Everyone's covered how great the race was so i won't go there but I will add this about the litter thing, to maybe help in future races. I'm quite a newbie - one half marathon, one 10k and this my first marathon (thought it was going to be my last too, but now I'm not so sure...). I'm one of the runners who dropped water bottles around 100 m after a station and once at a mile marker - but only because I thought that was 'the done thing' and that's what 'proper' runners did! (In fact, I'm sure we were told to do that at the central lancs half in January?) I never felt the need to drop my gel wraps but only because i had pockets and it seemed no hardship to carry them but again I thought that's just how these things were done, even though I'd never dream of doing it normally!  So maybe making it crystal clear at the beginning what should be done with bottles etc might help reduce the problem? Just a thought! Otherwise, fab all round except the wind. 

  • I've done road races and it is the done thing to drop your bottle (safely) at the side of the road or in any bins provided.  However, in countryside like this I wouldn't dream of dropping any litter, its just doesn't feel right.  At a couple of the feed stations the marshals told me to drop the empty gel packets on the floor but I put them in the bags provided, no hardship.  It was a little sad to see gel packets a couple of hundred metres away from the stations - no doubt someone had to walk beyond those stations afterwards to collect the litter, I don't think their job needed making harder than it already was on the day.  I think for the majority of us the gel was ingested either at the feed station or we were suitably togged up that to put it in a bag or pocket we had on us would not be a great problem.

    It was a great race Phil, lovely organisation and nice challenging course.

  • Ian, that is the done thing, in my experience, but it was dropped all around the course.

  • WonaWona ✭✭✭

    Next year can you de-ice the runway just after the top there..;o)  , i thought i was going to slip and so i was plodding like an old bidder..haha
    Seriously though,,that was an awesome race , the organisation and marshalls and pit stops were fantastic..thanks so much all involved.... i took it easy after having a virus 3 weeks ago but next year i hope to see if i can get a faster time for myself..weather permitting.
    There was a point after the last drag ( p.s ..i ran every hill ! ;o)  where i and another runner ran the wrong way down a hill and had to come back up,,so hey,  we ran 1 more hill than the rest of them.! haha...it may have something to do with the fits of giggles i found myself in for no apparent reason? weird..but fun....must have been the flap jack i say.
    Ultra challenging but excellent race..thank you

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