Comrades 2019

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  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Everywhere do I percieve a certain conspiracy of rich men seeking their own advantage underthat name and pretext of commonwealth.    

    Thomas More

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Credit to Mr Ross, he has responded and confirmed the current situation as described, so I am now into a waiting game for Comrades to declare how non-IAAF affiliated international runners will be treated, lets hope its not by sending them down a chute to the killing floor!
  • lowrez: glad you've heard from David Ross about this- I'm sure it will gte sorted. Pete Elliott isn't very happy - he qualifies in Berlin with a 4.55 or something like that - and of course the goalposts changed AFTER the start of the qualifying period (we talked about it briefly on the sea wall at Samphire Hoe this wekend).
    Samphire Hoe Endurance Run DONE! More, with medal and shirt pics, to follow. I finished in about 26:10 - not sure exacly due to watch glitches (which I'm not happy about) so I will have to wait for the official results. Not the time I'd originally wanted, but given the 6 weks lost to illness and the strong winds, it was a reasonable time.
  • Debra BourneDebra Bourne ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    Southern Snail: it gets easier: it's a lot easier to maintain the level of fitness where you can run a marathon/50K or two every weekend than to get to that level. I never got around to doing squats etc. (I know I should). But honestly my legs don't hurt that much. I'm a bit stiff this evening after finishing the Samphire 100 this morning, but I can walk down the stairs (slowly) and I wouldn't say anywhere actually hurts. Have you seen my write-up of the 10-in-10 in 2017? If not, do you want it? And I wrote about the 2018 10x50K for my running club's mag if you want to read that one. The key is eating little and often during each run, and drinking appropriately; refueling with protein and carbs immediately after each run, followed by a decent evening meal, and getting plently of rest in between. Expect to have stiff legs when starting on days 2-4; after that it gets easier (I didn't have any problems on those days, but that's the general consensus)
  • Mc HillyMc Hilly ✭✭✭
    Debra that’s Awesome, I cant image running 100 miles, Comrades is more than enough for me! Completed Brescia marathon today in 4h25 which moves me up one pen, but was a reminder that I need to do a lot more long runs as marathon distance isn’t currently feeling comfortable!
  • McHilly: well  done for that!
  • McHilly - congratulations on that. Great that you moved up a pen

    Debra - Massive well done. Kudos to you for doing 100m. Quite amazing. Cant remember if I saw your write up in 2017 but obviously know you did it so, yes, would love to see both thanks very much.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    McH, sounds like bath salts, where is that? Great work to move up a pen :)

    What a run Debra :) even more so off the reduced training you have been able to put in, but maybe that enforced "taper" o-o I said taipir :) contributed to the result
  • Southern Snail: see message!
    lowrez: no, no 'tapir' advantage. I was three hours slower than I wanted to be. Partly that was the wind, but even without the wind and even on fresh legs I was running a lot more slowly than I should have been.
  • Peter RPeter R ✭✭✭
    Went away for a week to the Sates, no idea how anyone runs in Houston (those on strava may have seen the confused treadmill mileage) but back in the UK and did a slow and steady 37kms yesterday so hopefully my back issues are behind me.  I am having to do lots of stretching though, which I have been told for years but previously ignored.

    I am also not an UK Athletics member, and this is all a pain.  I have avoided joining a club for years but had to join UK Triathlon to do an IM in Italy last year, so guess I will need to do the same for UK Athletics. Could do without it though after running Comrades this many times.
  • Email today from Comrades which implies that my clearance has been cleared and i'm clear to compete!
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    It is clear to me that it would be clearly impossible to create a longer sentence containing any more repetitions of the word clear than you have just clearly written Max :)
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    The drama queen in me is thinking...

    This would be my third up run and I'm wondering about whether I really want to do this again. I only ever turned up to see if I could achieve the goal, and it has been an incredible journey, but I might have reached the end of it?

    Something keeps running through my head on how damned disrespectful the current situation is to all the runners just dangling on a thread wondering if this proforma will be forthcoming prior to the deadline. A proforma sounds like a simple piece of paper, why is it taking days/weeks to produce this, surely it must be a standard thing for all IAAF races? Why wasn't it prepared before everyone was notified they were not permitted to run? Why wasn't this made a pre-requisite for entry this year? I feel like Comrades have stolen my entry fee and now I'm stranded. For many days now I've been barred from taking place in this race.

    Meanwhile the Comrades communication engine sails on merrily as if nothing untoward has happened, they issue the latest newsletter and make no reference to the situation. They were happy to push out a completely separate communication to individuals telling them they were beached, but have sent nothing extra, given no indication of the timescale for resolution of the issue. I think they are just going to cast non-IAAF affiliated runners adrift. I don't think the IAAF is going to allow non-affiliated runners to participate, I think they want the IAAF affiliation fee extorted from everyone, they want a nice fat cheque rolling in. I'm not giving them my cash and lining their fat pockets whilst on the other hand I'm tapping everyone I know on the shoulder to commit money into the Race4Charity - I've been in the top 10 on that every year and pushed tens of thousands of rand to South African charities. The IAAF can take a running jump.

    I know all the above is very negative from me, I am shocked that I am saying it, I've moved from a happy go lucky Comrades runner who would have stumped up this year without a second thought, to a cynic who feels badly done to suspecting they'll just let the clock run down on me. I have this awful stubborn streak running through me too, I don't like being pushed into doing something I don't want; I'm not going to make a commitment to a club just because Comrades wants me IAAF affiliated.

    Anyway, all that is making me think; do I really want to struggle up all those hills again, put the kudos and camaraderie on one side...
  • Slow DuckSlow Duck ✭✭✭
    Lowrez, I too am very disappointed with this whole saga.

    I agree that Comrades were a tad insensitive in not acknowledging the issue regarding overseas runners’ paperwork problems in their recent newsletter.

    Having said that, as I understand it, it is the ASA who have decided to make life difficult for Comrades by insisting on every overseas runner having this paperwork - which is usually only enforced for potential prize winners.

    The IAAF are not on the case here, after all if they applied this rule every city marathon would be overwhelmed with paperwork and probably suffer a huge drop in international participation too.

    It looks like ASA applying pressure on Comrades to try and get something from them - and Comrades have decided to follow the rules rather than give ASA what they want (whatever that is).

    I hope that Comrades do not give in to this bullying but it is very unfortunate that the victims in this are us, the overseas runners.

    If anyone should be subject to your ire it should be ASA...
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Thanks for the context SD, I really appreciate your views. So I can substitute ASA for IAAF, feelings remain the same, I recall Mr Ross' info too that the same applies to all races in SA, so I am thankful I have already run Cape Town and 2O (although I have no medal from that as I was uncharacteristically 7 minutes late :)) Still a wonderful experience.

    It feels like good bye South Africa.

  • Slow DuckSlow Duck ✭✭✭
    It’s a SA thing, I think. The petty bureaucracy has got significantly worse in the last decade or so.

    Anyone with children will know about the utterly insane paperwork required for kids to travel to SA - even if accompanied by both parents!

    Lowrez - I don’t blame you for being fed up - I’m only persevering as I am so close to a significant landmark...
  • Debra BourneDebra Bourne ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    lowrez: I'm sorry you're feeling like this. I understand your frustration, even though I don't understand why you are so dead set against joining a club (feeling annoyed about being -forced- to join, that I understand).
    However, where you wrote: "do I really want to struggle up all those hills again, put the kudos and camaraderie on one side..." - it's the kudos and cameraderie that's the point of Comrades: they are central to the whole thing.
    In other news, the 100 Marathon Club has updated its marathon listing and I've found some low-key certified marathons I could fit into my schedule this year, so I think I'm going to do that - although I doubt I'll renew my membership after the first year, as I have a perfectly good running club in Striders of Croydon.

  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭
    Well that was strange - I typed a lengthy reply in - as usual - and noticed a typo - so edited it to fix it and the whole post evaporated - can't be bothered retyping all that right now.  
  • ... and I saw the notification, went to look at it and it had vanished - what a shame!
  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    How strange.  I got that notification as well and initially feared that it was lowrez going into exile again.

    A 6-mile race for me yesterday in the local league.  Still a long way short of my best but 8:32 pace was an improvement on the 8:54 pace I managed in a 7-mile race at the end of February.  I've got Charnwood Marathon this weekend and I'm also holding an Ashby 20 entry for the next day but my sensible head tells me I have plenty of hoodies and to give that one a miss.
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    Short version (ha ha)

    - Love you guys and gals to pieces - quite right about the camaraderie most precious commodity ever
    - Kudos - don't care for it - I run stuff because I want to - I know I am a drama queen and a big attention seeker and in-race I am in my element with all that - but I could quite easily just put a hoody on and get the job done - I argue that the attention is about charity and I generate a lot of that - but I don't stomp around (too much anyway) going "look what I did!"
    - Club - I have in the past - but I am a lone runner - I don't need a club and they would be irked at me not committing to them and helping out and being a responsible contributor etc - I really don't want to mess people about just because ASA say I should.

    Time to shut up I am blabbing too much :)

    Go girl! 

     

  • Lowrez - you won't be the first person to join a club just because you need to for other reasons and you won't be the last. They would not be irked at all and you wouldn't be messing them about. There are many organisations for which you would need to do the same. You can't do an ironman  without belonging to uk triathlon. I too do not belong to a club nor train with or race with anyone. 
    And do you want to struggle up those hills? Absolutely you do. I think you need to abstract from IAAF and ASA and anything else. There are many more disorganised/corrupt clubs, countries etc in the world and many that are only in it for the money. You pay money for visas in some countries and not others and get nothing in return. Perhaps you need to pick your battles and maybe this isn't it. Get out there, kick ass and do the race because you want to.

    Or ignore everything and don't do it :):)

    I have been running my socks off. I'm actually quite amazed I can run as much. It's quite a sense of achievement. Hopefully it will all be enough.

    Debra - thanks again for the reports. I did notice that in training you "only ran a marathon and 30+ back to back"!! I've only been up to 20 miles in training with a 15 the next day. We'll see. Actually looking forward to it now  :/

    Becca - have a good run at Charnwood this weekend
  • 1owrez1owrez ✭✭✭

    SS you are a soothing voice of sanity against my irked and inflamed interior :) thank you

    Today I have 3 unopened e-mails in my inbox that I am staring at from various sources all Comrades related, my hand keeps hovering over them, but I can tell from just the lead-ins showing that there is no resolution, I think I have created quite a fuss though... I should open them shouldn't I?

    Going back to work now, its reporting day and deadlines are hanging over me :( no time to read other stuff just now.

  • Mc HillyMc Hilly ✭✭✭
    Lowrez, we want you there ! And the charities must really appreciate all the work you do, so please give in, get on with the training and find an awesome outfit to wear for the occasion ( and I doubt any club would find you a pain, people who pay the membership fee and want nothing in return is easy money for their club funds!)
  • lowrez, you can join Striders of Croydon if you like - the membership fee is reasonable and as McHilly says, no problem if you never make it to the club! £35 including affiliation fee - and there's a £10 discount if you join April, May or June.
    Southern Snail: glad you liked the reports. And very pleased to hear you're looking forward to your 10-in10: you should do. You've done Comrades, you can do a 10-in-10. Just keep putting one foot in front of the otehr 'til you reach the end. :-)
  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    I hope there's a way around this for you lowrez, or if not it's a bargain £20 to join my club, Wigston Phoenix.
  • Becca: £20 including UKA? That -is- a bargain. Ours is £20 without UKA (e.g. as a Second Claim) - the other £15 is for the UKA. (It helps that I enter way more than 8 affiliate races a year, so I make my money back on the affiliation fee in all those saved £2 at entries - in fact I save more than the whole club fee. :-)

  • Becca7Becca7 ✭✭✭
    Aha, good point.  I got free membership this year for winning the fancy dress contest and now I think of it I had to pay UKA separately so I think that must be on top.
  • Slow DuckSlow Duck ✭✭✭
    Road Runners Club is £12.50 + £15 UKA. It’s a national club without any obligation to do stuff...
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