Comrades 2019

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  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Less the spare tyre :)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Hold that thought SS - the guys at work made me this, no diet needed now!


  • Does anyone have any experience of running marathons in Italy? There is one that I’m thinking of doing, but a standard thing seems to be needing to get a doctor to sign a health form.... I recall many years ago getting a doc to sign one, they were very reluctant to do it.... and I don’t really see what purpose it has (something to do with insurance, but I don’t see why I need to care about this?) is there anyway I can pursude them that England Athletics registration is sufficient?
  • McHilly I did Rome in 2014, you get EA to send you a PDF which you upload in lieu of the medical certificate.
  • ...the Membership Services Administrator sent me "I can write you a UKA Letter stating your acceptance to compete" - PDF attached to email- I then uploaded it where you upload the med cert - that worked 
  • Peter RPeter R ✭✭✭
    McHilly I did an Ironman there last year but all they needed was my Tri licence from British Triathlon, which I joined the week before so I could race but has proven to be useful since.  Of no use to you (sorry) but they do seem to be into that stuff in Italy, but they no more than glanced at the licence at the time which was annoying.

    RE the hip in 2017, sadly I DNF'd.  Made it to the top of Little Pollys in 8 hours but couldn't move and was taken to one of Durbans hospitals for a couple of nights.  Not to be recommended but fortunately I had taken out insurance. Finished 2018 so no long term damage done but it did take nearly 6 months to get back to running properly after it happened.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Peter, glad you recovered from that, damned awful experience, shows the importance of insurance!

    McH - I don't imply any rules should be flaunted, but this requirement seems a bit OTT, I can make you a nice lookin document if you like. Better than this example I found.

  • I needed one for Paris marathon in 2011. Doctors aren't always happy to sign. Some might want to take BP etc and charge you and possibly sign a waiver but none of it needs to be too exact. They just want a piece of paper the other end.
  • Peter - That sounds really painful. Not what you expect at an event. Glad it all healed albeit taking a while and good luck with this year. Is it you going for no 10? or was that Johnkissane?
  • lowrez: loved that Canalathon write up!
    Peter: not surprised you couldn't finish, with a stress-fractured hip - that's a dangerous place for a stress fracture (hip I mean, rather than Little Pollys). I -did- finish London Marathon after (as I later discovered) stress fracturing my pelvis at 16 miles - it was a long and slow, but mercifully flat 10 miles of walking with a heavy limp. Getting trousers on, and on and off trains home, was down to the kindness of strangers. And it put paid to Comrades 2016, as that was 5 weeks later.
  • Thanks for all the advice re medical forms for marathons..... also I discovered sports tours international had some good info on their site ( not that I’m planning to go with them for this) sounds like I should be fine with England Athletics licence / letter. I had been considering the Lowrez style approach but sounds as if it won’t be necessary!
  • McHilly - the Italian medcert is much more stringent than the French one, they want you to have had an ECG for it. Fortunately, as others have said, some kind of proof that you’re a member of your national body (English Athletics, or in my case Scottish Athletics) will do fine.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭


    Apart from your mid-range U2 flat-line I think you're in pretty good shape McH - I can graft another part of the graph over that if you are worried :) 

  • @Thomas - it's not essential to do a pre Comrades ultra though. Fwiw I did a 40 miler in the lead up to my first, and no more than a marathon in the lead up to my last (also an Up) where I had not run in the five weeks previous and nonetheless was only 7 mins slower. My best time was off a longest run of ~30 miles done in 5 mile loops from home at what turned out to be race pace. Suspect practice with heat, hills and nutrition & general volume are more key than how long the longest run is. Very personal I guess.
  • Mac3Mac3 ✭✭✭
    Picking up on the post about the Friday evening before the race dinner meet up. This is typically pizza/pasta in an informal setting, and centrally located in Durban.  I'm happy to organise that again this year and will set up a list with details nearer the time.  Runners, partners and friends will all be welcome.  We had 20+ last year and it was great to catch up with new and familiar faces.  Depending on the numbers I might suggest pre-ordering menu choices as last year was a bit of a wait for the food!  We typically meet earlyish around 6:30pm.   Put a note in your diaries!  
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Definitely up for that Mac, thanks for organising, will I actually make it this year? Once again my Durban arrival will be mid-morning Friday so you would expect I will be there. Joburg has a habit of clinging on to me though on the way in.
  • Mac3, last year's meet up was great, and I'd definately be interested in it again.

    Has anyone ever ran Brescia marathon in Italy? I've now signed up for it on 10th March, simply because I thought it would be good to do a marathon in Mar/April as a training run, and if things go well maybe improve start pen.... This was just a free weekend and can tag it on to the end of a business trip.... But not managed to figure out much info from the website, eg how bid or small an event it is, if it's flat or undulating etc, the unknown doesn't bothe me, it will be a great weekend whatever, but would be interested to hear if anyone knows anything about it. 
  • @lowrez Thanks again for your insight. I do read all these posts, tell myself that I'll reply, and then never get around to it :(

    Canalthon was actually on my radar as I am based in Manchester. Your log and the experiences of others make it sound like an enjoyable one. I run on that canal fairly regularly and the cheapskate in me is thinking I might just do the run myself and save me some pennies. Get some distance practice in, and get more psychological benefit doing it on my own :pensive:

    Re the pasta. Awesome ! To put a potential spanner in it pre-races I tend not to sleep great and so go for the in bed as early as possible to maximise my chances. Half an hour earlier would be preferable for me but I can work with it as is :)

    Re forums, I think i'll keep my app simple for now. Don't want to try and do too many things. If a new forum is ever needed Im sure you'll be on the case ;)

    @Fido2Dogs Interesting. I think i'll still do a longer than marathon if I can but good to know that it is not absolutely neccesary. Yeh.. living in Manchester in winter isn't giving me much by way of race like experience. Might go and spend a few weeks in the French alps for fun (fun?!!)

    Re Comrades meals/meet ups etc. I'm in. Travelling solo so would be great to meet people !
  • thomas - re going to sleep early, i doubt very much going to bed early will help on the saturday. Your mind will be thinking about what lies ahead in the morning...

    I always think getting a better nights sleep friday and then perhaps a nap mid afternoon serves me better. What with getting paranoid about the alarm not going off and getting up stupidly early, any sleep saturday night would be a bonus.

    In any case, the adrenaline will carry you through on the sunday :)

    Keep training well everyone through this rubbish weather. Not easy when there's so much snow around....
  • @Thomas - nobody sleeps on Saturday! (*) Just get lots of early nights the rest of the week ...
    (*) I did for my last Comrades, but that was because I had a buggered knee and thought I might well be dropping out! Only time I did really sleep! 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    edited February 2019

    Mc H

    Have you looked at these (note you will have to join them back together by taking out the " - " after the "//" they would not post as fully functioning web links):-

    http:// - www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=1852190310


    https:// - www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RLf_p7HFK0


    http:// - marathonranking.blogspot.com/2010/03/2010-brescia-art-marathon-live.html

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Marty and F2D - that is good feedback on Comrades, but I think Thomas was commenting re London; that great advice still applies completely though I think.

    Thomas - I am going to be hard pushed getting down from Chester, to the Expo, to my Hotel and then to Jamie's on the Saturday - ha ha - what is that advice about not spending too much time on your feet the day prior to an event all the experts espouse? But of course we are ultra runners and marathons are mere training runs, just like falling off a log. So, anyway, I would prefer the current timing to stand.

    I am also going to be running straight through the finish on the Sunday, high fiving RR and on to Euston for my return journey.

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    A Mark Alderson has requested to join our Strava group - that's not one of us is it? I will reject it unless anyone pipes up to the contrary.
  • Hi Lowrez. Mark is a good running friend of mine - a member of Stamford Striders (as am I) and a very good ultra runner. (Did the last MDS!). He usually prefers cross country but is entered in Comrades this year for a first time and would be looking for and sharing advice.  Please let him in!
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Hi Terry, he's in, for now, can you encourage him to register on rw and join in the gossip please; I recently got all administerial concerning a buddy Max would have liked to join the forum because he wasn't contributing here, so I feel honour bound to apply the same stringent rule set in this case too - no RW gossip - no Strava entry :) I can already see Mark wiped the floor with us last week on Strava :) great to see a talent like that joining in :) 
  • I'll encourage Mark to join here too.  :) 
    Which Max was that? 
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    The absolute wonder that is @Max Mladenovic 2 - you know going for his back-to-back this year and easily demolished the down run last year leading the bus for a while after the driver crashed that he ultimately burnt off because they were just too slow :)
  • I thought it was probably the self same max as in our Strava group. Proper runner!  :)
  • I haven't been described as a proper runner since my school xc days 40 years ago Terry :) ! I advised my local runner to join this chat, but to no avail (so far), so he failed the lowrez Strava group test. In other news my Comrades Arnica Ice hamper that you've all been worrying about ( :D ) is yet to leave African shores. As far as actual running goes I'm hoping it's onwards and upwards after a pretty poor show til now. Did a hilly 20 miler last Sunday with 1500ft of elevation and ran a decent Parkrun today off zero speed work for nearly 12 months. Something to build on.
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