Comrades 2019

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  • Southern Snail: I can recommend the Saxons, Vikings and Normans events for friendliness. Mostly they are based on laps, but the laps are e.g. 4-6 miles, and some of the locations are quite scenic. I'm entered for their 10-in-10 series in late November and aiming for 50K a day - join me for one of them? I've just heard that the Thames Trot (50 miles) has moved to the end of October - that's point-to-point and hopefully along the Thames not up and down (previously held in February and often flooded). Same date (Saturday 27th) is Beachy Head Marathon, if you want some hills! There are several others I can suggest - Centurion events are well organised, for example; I've recently put my entry in for the North Downs Way 50 next May.
  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    SS - i find the 100 marathon list a good source of information.

    Debra - good luck with the ridgeway. I did it a couple of years back and had just the best time. Be aware that the first 26 miles or so are the most undulating so take your time. Running along grimms ditch was fun and the night section i didn't feel tired at all. I think going point to point helps. But make sure you keep your eyes peeled after you leave Goring at 40 miles. Some of the signs on the chalky downs take some finding in the dark. Was a great race and fantastic experience and one i will probably do again sometime.

    And i'm running Beachy.....
  • Marty, many thanks for that information. I've not managed to get out there for any recce runs, so it's going to be a bit of an adventure; info like this is very useful. Will be trying to get more sleep this coming week than I got before Viking 100. I've gone for the 12 noon start - that gives me 26 hours and I really ought to be under the 24!

    See you at Beachy, I hope!
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Ohh Debra - I loved my Windows phone, but I switched to a droid about a year ago now - there is so little being done on Windows now - its going to dry up and drop off!

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    SS that site can be very frustrating, please come up north for some running its really grim but super friendly (and not so many laps :))

    http://www.itsgrimupnorthrunning.co.uk/

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Hmm these folk are a bit lappy at times:-

    http://codrc.co.uk/

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    It seems I cant post a comment containing the word "run ultra" as a single word without a space between run and ultra - weird 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    So you will have to join this back together to get to it

    https://www.run ultra.co.uk/Ultra-Marathon-Listings/

  • Ooh lots of races "oop north" but it's a long way away :|

    I seem to be spoilt for choice now. 

    Debra - listening to podcasts doesn't drain my phone battery (even a rubbish iPhone battery) Headphones will probably run out first

  • Terry48Terry48 ✭✭✭

    Well, my Comrades 2019 ambitions have been somewhat blown away! I finally got to see my cardiologist for a full 30 minutes consult this morning. Not very good news, but not really any surprises.  My ‘severe’ aortic valve leak is, as I had suspected, confirmed to be probably just the symptom of the more threatening associated problem, which is quite advanced aortic root aneurysm.  At 52mm it’s approaching the 55mm threshold at which she confirms they will recommend rather major surgery.  The time frame for that is as yet unknown as they don’t yet have a starting benchmark to indicate how long/fast this has been developing. To that end there will be more heart MRI’s etc. in the next few months, and continuing regular follow-up.  In the meantime more work will be done on finessing blood pressure meds.  What a Papworth ‘commuter’ I’ve become!

    On the upside, she strongly encourages me to keep exercising generally and also running shorter distances while being sure to carefully limit maximum heart rate (correlated partly to blood pressure). This is at least until the revised meds settle down and they then do a treadmill test to check if BP is adequately controlled during exercise. So, while I will try to maintain very modest mileage, I need to limit HR so much that even if I do manage to re-develop some stamina I’m unlikely to safely manage a good enough pace for a sub 5 marathon. Further upside is that she says scuba diving, like my recent liveaboard week on the Red Sea, is OK.

    Sorry about all that boring non-running detail - I still plan to be at Comrades 2019, although almost certainly as a mere supporter.  More scuba diving will likely follow while there – that hardly moves my heart rate much above resting rate!

    I hope all the rest of you are overcoming the recent bouts of hip and other injury problems.  Comrades is still far off so I’m sure good management and training will solve most problems. I’ll keep watching all your news with interest.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Hi Terry, whilst that is not good Comrades news, I'd say it is a huge wedge of advancement and puts you on a much clearer and safer path to a good resolution, although that looks some way off. Really looking forward to seeing you in 2019, if not before. I can see you are already being positive about the way ahead, that's the way to stay, this all looks very fixable, whilst it limits you to a non-Comrades campaign for now I am full of hope that post resolution you will be making a comeback and joining us back on the road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

  • All the best Terry, hope they patch you up (I think literally for an aneurysm?) and get you back out on the road again down the line. Reading everyone's posts looks like the usual mix of big runs and injuries! As Terry says Comrades is a long way off and a lot of water to pass under the bridge before then. Have you all seen the 'entry process under review' proclamation from CMA? Interesting development - anyone any ideas what it might mean? Ballot?? Phased entry based on number of previous runs??
  • Terry48Terry48 ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    Maybe the 'entry process under review' is just down to 1st September being a Saturday? Perhaps they just want to avoid any IT overload issues over their weekend. :)
    And, yes Max a patch does mean literally - via open heart surgery!  I just hope they will be ready sooner rather than later - I'd just like to get this over rather than being in limbo for too long.
  • DannirrDannirr ✭✭✭
    I'm sure by now we've all seen the news regarding Comrades entries.  This should be quite interesting.
  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    Terry - Hopefully you have a resolution to move forward with now. At least you haven't been barred from exercising at all. Fingers crossed for you.
  • Southern Snail: headphones have batteries???

    Terry, sympathies for the exercise limitations. At least you are allowed to run, if within rather frustrating limits, and thankfully to dive. Good luck for operating decisions being made soon.

    I only found out about Comrades entry change from this thread, this evening. We will have to wait and see what's going to happen. I suppose the problem is that there's been a run on places once, so it's going to happen again, more than likely. Seems flabbergasting, with 20K places on offer! My priority at 9am 1st September will be pressing the 'refresh' button for a Lakeland 50 entry - they went in under 4 minutes last year! Hope the Lloyd parkrun cafe wifi is working properly that morning!

    Hm, I wonder if they will change the system for 'clearing' places in April as well? If they are going to change that, let's hope they have the sense to let us know now...
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    The new entry criteria will be based on two categories - a quota of new blood  entry allocation, and, a separate tranche based on "green number potential" - the oldest and nearest to attaining their dream will be given entry priority. This will be associated with a 2 week cut-off for entries to be submitted when they decide to open the flood gates which they intend to decide on by end of September.
  • lowrez, where did you get that info from???
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Right out of my imagination - did it sound plausible?
  • Terry48Terry48 ✭✭✭
    Lowrez, maybe plausible except for priority to also be given to International entries (and their much higher entry fees). Am I a cynic or what?
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Aha! Stymied a good fake news article by being blindsided with my own predicament - of course there should have been a third tranche for that! No cynicism really Terry they have sussed that if people can afford the travel and accommodation they must have a few quid knocking around so make 'em pay!


  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    So are we all reading far too deeply between the lines? Is it just the innocent statement on the main website carousel that is setting hares running? I haven't seen any other "announcement" - they're just not ready are they? But rather than admit they have been resting on their laurels they have used too many other words and set the chatter a gossiping? 
  • Terry - really sorry to hear about the heart news. As you say, you've been expecting it so now lets hope it can be sorted asap. Of course let us know how its going. And you will of course always be a Comrader whether you're running or not. Definitely gives you the right to post here whatever and whenever you like :)

    Debra - my headphones are bluetooth and haven't got batteries but still need charging

    Lowrez - The new entry criteria sounded perfectly convincing  to me :) I hadn't noticed the change of date as I don't often go on the site.

    I think as soon as a race runs out in 3/4 weeks somethings going to change. Whether to a ballot or something else. But how that works with back to back medals and green numbers, who knows?
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Maybe they are reflecting on what happened last year with the "surprise" early sell-out and the cry from the sluggish people who hadn't gone for it yet. That late crowd probably contained some key people they really wanted to run it. If they do introduce any rules I think they are going to have to think about not restricting people who are already on their green number journey and they certainly won't want to disrupt "worthy" newcomers, back to backers, internationals making big money commitments... I think the only thing we can all do is get in there the second any route to entry is made available. There's probably a lot of people watching what's going on.

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    You've got me worried now, won't the first cull be those who keep entering and never make it... and then serial 11:5xers who nearly don't!
  • In true lowrez fashion I'm going to have stab at a hypothetical entry policy:
    1st wave - green numbers and those on 9 finishes.
    2nd wave - 5 or more finishes + those going for b2b medal ( ;))
    3rd wave - 2 - 4 finishes
    4th wave - everyone else (maybe around 8 - 10,000 places left available by then)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Love it Max, that's us all in :)
  • Maybe its just a case of opening entries closer to pay day. Maybe they'll allow more runners, though I don't personally think the route is wide enough everywhere. Around 3 miles in this year I ground to a halt as there just wasn't enough space.

    Hey there's nothing wrong with 11:5xxx ;)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Oh no SS,! You and I are never going to be allowed back on the course for previous dawdling offences!

    I ground to halt too this year. Has anyone had a feedback survey yet? I don't recall seeing one?
  • marty74marty74 ✭✭✭
    In my limited experience of the up run, less people seem to enter compared to the down run.

    In terms of bottlenecks on the up run, there aren't any. Within 800m (the only flat bit!!) you are on the freeway out of the city. Plenty of space to run.
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