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100% agree with you that a run in the woods makes you feel better but I am not sure about all the mystery and magic behind it. Same as Feng shui: there is definitely an art to putting things in the right place but other than that is oversold.
Been following you on Strava and getting confused by the C25k runs thinking they are circa 25km but now get the couch to 5k. Talking about CaniCross, did you see this: 12:24 for parkrun!
https://www.fastrunning.com/features/ben-robinson-aims-sub-12-minute-5k-help-blake/9867
My tendonitis has flared up a bit so I have dropped the XC race this weekend but it is not so bad I can't tick along. parkrun this morning in 20:48 is a fair summary of where I am at: not as fast as I'd like to be but not so slow as to take a period off to let it recover fully. I have a week of meetings week after next and if it has not cleared by then I'll rest.
11 miles this morning alternating harder / easier miles after a few miles warm-up; averaging around 7:00 / 7:45. Brings up 70 miles for the week.
GD - 70 mile week is huge! I’d be a wreck at that volume!
We had our squad awards night on Friday where I walked away with the “Athlete of the year” award which I’m quite proud of. But it did mean a very late night. It felt weird staggering home and getting in at 4am on a Saturday morning - the time I’d normally be getting up to go for a run!
Did the long run today instead and covered 28 hot and slow km. My running buddy was suffering a bit towards the end, but I dragged him around. I think the recent coolish weather seems to be moving on so we were forced to deal with bright sunny 30C conditions by about 6:30am
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Welldone BB on your 54 mile Ultra Marathon victory.
Congrats DA on your Athlete of the year award.
Gul: Excellent 70 miles for the week!
PMJ: Good Park Run effort to bounce back from injury.
More good mileage from you there Gul - what are the plans to build on your recent 3:15?
Have eased slowly back into the running after last weekend's Ultra (potted report to follow after this post) with an easy 4 on Thursday, 5 miles worth of commuting on Friday, 6 pleasant miles along the North Downs Way with Mrs L yesterday morning and a delightful 10 miler with MsE this morning.
After the shock of getting up before 5.30am on a Sunday to head over to Guildford, we had a thoroughly enjoyable 90min yomp through the woods and hills, including my first experience of canicross running which was great fun and with MsE yelling(!) at me to improve my technique (faster cadence, flat foot strike etc) I definitely learnt something.
A few more miles this week should get me to 2,000 for the year by Friday.
Earlier in the year I had wondered what I was going to do to celebrate my big 5-0 birthday (19 November) - I didn't fancy a party or similar so looked at what marathons were on over the weekend. Good news - the Valencia Marathon takes place on the 19th; a run in the sun and a celebratory paella to finish with but the logistics of getting out there with Mrs L and younger Lorenzito tied to school days meant I had to look for something closer to home.
Aha - the Peak District South 2 North Ultra looked very promising with single stage options (bah!) and the full route (93km) over a couple of days. A great opportunity to do my first ever multi-stage race so I signed up and we worked out the logistics of accommodation in Edale, meeting up with elder Lorenzito (studying in Manchester) afterwards. It even meant that younger Lorenzito could do a reccy of Leeds Uni as he's thinking of applying to go there in a couple of years time. Perfect scenario.
As I got closer to the time, it started to feel a bit more daunting, especially looking at the compulsory kit list that not only included multiple layers of clothing but an emergency bivvy bag coupled with the pictures from last year's race in which there was a foot of snow on the Peaks and the organisers forced people to run in groups as "it's easier to dig a group out of the snow". Added to that, the first group finished the second stage (43km, i.e. just over a marathon) in 9 hrs 15 with the second group coming home in just over 13 hours, i.e. well after it was getting dark.
I was also a bit anxious about the kit and how many layers to wear / pack but erred on the side of caution although I figured I should be OK running in shorts, at least on Day 1.
Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained and apart from a few difficulties uploading the route onto my Garmin, I showed up at Edale Village Hall on the Saturday at 7am for the bus down to Ashbourne for the start of the 50K trip back to Edale.
It's fair to say that the first 10 miles or so of Day 1 were probably the most stressful of the whole race - even though I thought I'd managed to upload the route, I hadn't so I'd have to rely on my own navigation skills. Also, I'd dropped behind the first group of runners who'd shot off at a crazy pace (it turned out that they included a couple of sub 2:45 marathon runners) so I was on my own running along the Tissington Trail, a nice flat stretch that used to be a disused railway line.
Things picked up when I was joined by another runner (Jack) - a younger lad who fortunately was a local boy and knew the area pretty well and he also had the route properly uploaded onto his phone so no danger of getting lost. Also, we found out that we not only worked in similar fields (charity fundraising) but his wife and MrsL did similar jobs so there was plenty of non-running as well as running chat as we went along.
Shortly after a 10 minute stop to help push a car back along a track that was clearly unsuitable for anything other than a tractor (bl00dy satnav was the excuse!) we were joined by John, an ex-Ultra runner and now a keen long distance (i.e Northern Ireland to Scotland) open water swimmer. Turned out that both John and Jack had done MdS so I felt a bit feeble having "only" managed Comrades and a few other Ultras.
Jack had a break at the 34K feed station but John and I pushed on to the next section (Monks Dale) where we reduced to walking / scrambling over rocks and stones alongside the river. I'd normally adopt a run-walk strategy in an Ultra anyway, but all the effort climbing over rocks meant that there wasn't much of a rest during this bit.
On we plodded until we got within sight of Mam Tor and I was feeling reasonably strong so John told me to press on and while it was a tough climb (i.e. walk) up to the top it was then a very pleasant stretch heading back down into Edale where I passed MrsL and younger Lorenzito about 400m from the end of the stage as they'd also been up Mam Tor for a walk that day.
I actually felt reasonably fresh when I made it to the Village Hall and was also a bit surprised to find that my time of just over 6 hours (i.e. not very fast at all!) meant that I was 5th out of the runners who were also going to be running the stage the following day.
Getting back early afternoon also meant that there was plenty of time to relax, sort of recover and then head out for a meal and a rather pleasant pint of the local brew in the village pub before heading to bed and hoping that my legs weren't going to feel too bad in the morning.
I'd slept OK and the Day 2 start wasn't until 8am so I had a bit more time to have a bowl of porridge before setting off, this time with a warmer base layer and running tights as I figured it would be chillier on the higher peaks - I was right!!
Day 2 was pretty much the Pennine Way all the way so it was very clear for much of the route, although there were still bits that needed some careful navigation. Fortunately I found myself running with Jack again at the start and we both figured that it would make sense if we stuck together.
Up Jacob's Ladder (very steep section) to take us onto Kinder Scout and then there was a flattish section running along the stone slabs that had been set into the marshy bits to mark the Pennine Way. The only problem was that with the early morning temperate dropping to minus 4(ish) when you got higher up, some of the slabs were covered in ice which made running rather precarious. After a while, I thought that it might be less dangerous if I ran onto the bit by the side of the slab only for my right leg to disappear up to my thigh into what was clearly not very solid ground! No injuries, but surprising nevertheless, so I decided to stick with the slabs and just go carefully rather that risk any more disappearing tricks.
Jack and I plodded on, taking in Bleaklow Head at about the halfway mark. I'd never been to this part of the Peak District before and it was stunningly beautiful, especially when the sun was out (as it was for large parts of the day). The terrain varied from the slabs to rough footpaths which were OK on the flat but tough on the up and the downhill stretches, and given my ankle issues in the run up to the event, I was particularly cautious on the downhill parts.
As we went over Torside Reservoir there was less than 15km to go, but this also included a tough climb at Crowden and then onto Black Hill - my mile 19 (just over 25 minutes) has got to be the slowest mile I've ever done in a race!
Once we crossed the main road at Wassenden Head, it was supposed to be downhill all the way and it was, although the bit where we had to go across a very marshy field and through a stream was a trifle unexpected. We hit the track running past the reservoirs, followed the Kirklees Trail for a couple of miles and almost before we knew it, we were in Marsden where a pseudo-sprint (i.e 9:30 pace!) meant that we pretty much came in hand-in-hand!
My time of 6:17 for about 27.5 miles isn't going to win any plaudits but it was 5th place again for the stage, resulting in 5th overall which, over and above the obvious joy in completing the event, was an added bonus.
All the logistics with the rest of the Lorenzo crew worked out perfectly so after a bit of a sit down, a quick brew (compulsory as I was now in West Yorkshire!) and a snack, I headed into the centre of Marsden and met up with the rest of family in a fantastic cake shop for a well-earned bit of carb replenishment!
All in all, the event was well organised and the only thing that could be improved was the quality of food at the feed stations, but it didn't stop me enjoying the weekend and I'd recommend it to anyone who fancies a go at a multi-stage Ultra.
Now, what's next year's challenge going to be?!!!
Dad - fine long run in the heat ; was there a specific event bagged you the award, or your all round performance for the year ?
sub-17 - nice parkrunning
Badbark - can't think of an unused superlative at the moment
good annual miles, Lorenzo 2,000 always a good target, so to attain with a month to spare is very satisfying. Prompted me to do my sums, and I'm on 1,274, so 5 weeks to bag 226; I'll settle for 1,500 after the tribulations of this year . This would also leave me with 2,784 in 20 months to attain the 65,000 miles by age 65 goal. Less than 140 per month, so eminently doable.
BadBark - You continue to impress. Your body really adapts well to the racing and mileage. Will be asking you to provide a full week's diet/sleep/xtraining sheet etc for us to peruse soon....
Gul - WHAT?! You nailed a 3:15 as a casual training run? Get yourself booked into a race, get a friend to meet you for a 26.2 training run and then do the same again (with a number pinned to you). You will run closer to 3.
Birch - really great to see you back in the swing of things.
DadAgain - sounds like a really well deserved award. Congratulations.
Sub17 - you need to change your name to FastTwitch and stop limiting yourself. Great pace!
Lorenzo - such a fabulously casual 5th place in an ultra that sounds really challenging. Big congratulations! I'm sure with some drills and advice on here etc we can get you onto the top of the podium, eh fellow forumites?
And two questions:
GDawg - specificity is great but can you make it even more specific by doing those miles on tired legs, e.g. either after a monster conditioning session or at the end of a longer run?
PMJ - any chance you are slightly overstriding and exacerbating the tendonitis? I had a similar thing which was brought on by canicrossing and when I examined my stride realised the pull was causing me to overstride.
congrats BB looking forward to the report.
Thats a great report Lorenzo and a great way celebrate your 50. But what we all really want to know of course is whether you and MSE got up to any ‘forest bathing’
I had a poor week. No quality runs and only 40 for the bank. Junior destroyed me at parkrun (nearly a minute is her biggest margin of victory). Todays run was also poor with hip pain and a tight back.
Glad for Monday and a fresh start.
Sub 17 - Fast running! Where is your local parkrun?
DadAgain - A proud moment I am sure, well done and it sounds like it's really warming up there now.
Badbark - Congrats on another win and I look forward to reading all about it.
Birch - Definitely doable and it would be great to finish the year off in such a positive way. Keep going sir!
OO - I hope things improve next week. 40 is not too shabby though.
MsE - Great photo. You sound like you have found your calling and your passion, knowledge and empathy is worth sharing. Good for you.
A busy weekend of running this side for me. Ended up partying on Friday night and was going to sack the idea of doing parkrun as I felt awful when I woke up but I felt duty bound to suffer and pay penance for my reckless behaviour. Arrived at parkrun, freezing cold and again fierce wind and thought........... what am I doing here, but I decided I wasn't going to do anything silly and ran the 1st mile to feel and then picked up about 20 or so places as I got in the hurt box. Somehow managed 19:46 on that course and the splits were 6:31/6:13/6:11 and then 5:5x pace for the last .15 miles as it measures on my watch. I must admit I had no idea what pace I was running but knew I had to start off slow and build as I was so hungover but I have to say it was one of the best runs I've done this year and finished in 5th after being about 30th after a mile. Had a nap that afternoon and then went out for a delightful moonlight 8 mile run on the beach. It was a slow plod at about 9mm but it was lovely.
Today was great too, did a 15k road/cliff path race with a few friends ( one lady in particular who I said I would start and finish with no matter what) and the plan was to pace them for 7:3x's. It's a pretty tough route and I was so relieved I wasn't racing it. I could feel Friday night and yesterday's runs for sure but we sauntered through mile 1, 2 & 3 in 7:26, 7:24 and 7:26 and then we the hit the cliff path, up a steepish hill and then onto the trails. I purposely didn't push my pal too much as I know she is a flat road runner at heart and I thought we would be wise to keep a lid on it until we hit the downs and back down along the West coast but I knew we were gonna hit a fairly moderate Westerly headwind. We were on about 7:35 pace at about 10k but I could see she was at her limit know after the hills and trails so I didn't force it and we finished in 70:28 for the 15k and she got 2nd lady, so was chuffed and nearly 2 mins quicker than when she ran it last year. All in all it was a very pleasant outing to finish off a very satisfactory week of running for me with 46.2 miles in the bank.
//www.parkrun.com.au/claisebrookcove/results/athletehistory/?athleteNumber=718309
I have ran 117 Park Runs, 80 x top 3 finishes, 3 x sub 17 minute Park Runs and my Park Run PB is 16:48.
My training is focused on running my Park Runs so I keep my weekly training mileage low to save my legs so I run decent Park Run times. 2 mid week gym sessions for treadmill runs, rowing, easy cycling + my weekly Park Run form my weekly training. I will add a medium run or cycle mid week and a long run or cycle on Sunday when I decide to train for a Marathon in the future.
Brilliant reports, Lorenzo. Well done!
Had an all day beer session in London on Saturday with some work chums I worked with 30 years ago. It's an annual reunion thing we do. Loads of beer but I was a good boy and kept to a delicious session ale all day.
Woke up feeling tired but not hungover yesterday, had some breakfast and hit the trails for a crisp 12 miler. Only doing 25 to 30 miles per week at the mo but some good quality sessions keep me sharp and speed focused.
DadAgain - well done on the award!
Badbark - And congrats too on another win - look forward to the report.
Lorenzo - excellent reports. And congrats again on a great performance.
Birch - 65,00 would be an amazing achievement.
OO - hope you have a better week!
GM - great effort at parkrun and good pacing too.
Sub 17ParkRun - some very impressive stats.
GD - yes, you certainly do a very high percentage of your miles at the pointy end!
11 miles at a nice'n'easy 8:23 m/m this morning. Closing in on my highest mileage month ever (I think I need just 14 more in 3 days).
Sub 17 I think it's unusual to make parkrun the centre of your running, but it seems to be working!
Well done Gerard I had almost identical splits for parkrun- but without the excuse of a hangover.
Yes G Dawg definately party season. I have one on Friday which could get squiffy
Race report - Loop the Lough 54 mile ultra-marathon
I hadn’t done much specific training for the ultra with only one run longer than a marathon. That was a 34 miler the previous week. Although having run 16 races in 16 weeks, including 5 marathons in 5 weeks my body was well hardened.
With the race starting at 6am, and a 45 minute drive from my house I was up at 3:30 am. There was ice on the ground and a cold wind. There was also the possibility of rain, sleet or snow. I had a cold. It certainly wasn’t my happiest start to a day.
After breakfast and a few toilet visits, I drove down to the start of the race in Portaferry. With the real feel temperature of -2 and the bitter wind it definitely wasn’t a day for shorts. It was amusing looking across the lough seeing where we would finish only half a mile away. At 6am we began the 54 mile loop of the lough from Portaferry to Strangford.
The wind was coming from the north-west so would be in face for the first half of the race. Thankfully, this also meant it would be at our back for the second, hillier half. After the first few hundred metres I glanced at my Garmin and noted we were running over 9 m/m pace. I was tucked in behind a few others but felt this was too slow.
My plan was to run about 8 m/m pace for the first half and about 9 m/m pace average for the second. The second half would include some walking and stops for fuel and the toilet. Earlier in the year I went through 54 miles in a 100k race in around 7:50. I thought 7:30 would be a good target.
So a quarter of a mile into the race I increased my pace and took the lead. Unfortunately, we were running on an old coast road that had no lighting. My torch wasn’t the strongest and I could barely see 5 metres ahead. I had to use the telegraph poles as a guide.
In a recent low key marathon I finished 2nd place behind ‘Ricky’ who was in the race. I thought he would have been up with me but I slowly pulled away from everyone over the first 5 miles. I went through 5 miles in just under 40 minutes with no one insight behind me. At close to 6 miles I reached the main road so could thankfully now see where I was going.
I went through 10 miles in just under 1:20 so everything was going as planned. It soon began to rain and I thought this could be a very unpleasant day. I was soaked through, and the bitter wind was making things very uncomfortable. I soldiered on as the darkness faded and thankfully the rain stopped. After 15 miles the sun was up and I had been running for 2 hours.
As I neared the town of Newtownards (Ards) I went through 20 miles in 2:40. The sky was now blue and I had warmed up a bit, so things were looking up. However, the pavements were now icy and I realised by Hoka’s had a terrible grip. It was still great to pass Ards and start heading in a southerly direction, so the bitter wind was no longer in my face.
It was treacherous underfoot and I had to run on the road where I could, because of the ice. I could have done with ice skates. I passed the town of Comber and reached 25 miles in 3:20, so still perfect. Unfortunately, I was now running on c roads with no pavement, that hadn’t been gritted. I was constantly tense as I slipped a bit with almost every step.
I went through marathon distance in about 3:28 feeling strong and soon reached the halfway point where a van had our drop bags. I spent over 2 minutes eating, drinking and getting my gear organised. A marshal told me that Ricky was in 2nd place about 2 ½ minutes behind, but wasn’t in sight as I headed off again.
Knowing he was close kept me focused and I stayed at around 8 m/m pace for the next miles. I reached 30 miles in about 4:03 due to the 2 minute half way break. It was hillier now and I had a few close calls as I slipped on the ice. The downhills were the worst.
I still manged about 8:20 pace over the next 5 miles and went through 35 in just under 4:45. However, in any race this distance you eventually ‘hit the wall’ as your body runs out of glycogen. If you’ve ever hit the wall after 20 miles in a marathon you’ll know the feeling. Although in a marathon you might only have a few miles to go and in an ultra you can have 15+.
This is when you find out just how tough you really are. You just need to forget the pace and concentrate on taking another step -and another - and another. I plodded on up some tough hills and average 8:40 for the next 5 miles. I reached 40 miles in 5:28
It was now 11:30 and I had arranged to phone my wife as she was heading down to support me. I walked up a very steep hill as I struggled to use the phone. It was a tiny ‘pay as you go’ phone, I had never used before and it took me about 2 minutes to make the call. Bloody frustrating! I thought that Ricky would be very close behind as a mile took over 11 minutes.
After 42 miles I left the C road for what I knew would be the final time. Phew! The roads for the rest of the way were gritted so my falling fears were gone. I later discovered that a few others slipped and fell in the ice.
My family drove down to me and I stopped for a quick chat, fuelling and I got rid of my back pack for the final 10 miles. This resulted in a 10+ m/m and reached 45 miles in in 6:10. Although I’d expected to slow to 9 m/m I was able to get close to 8 m/m again as I got a second wind. The tailwind helped and thinking someone was close helped even more.
I asked my family to wait where they were to see how close 2nd place was behind me. I ran on hoping that it would be a while before they met me again. A few miles later they passed me and pulled over. My Dad shouted that 2nd was about 5 miles behind as they had drove back without waiting. However, I asked if they’d followed the coastal route and my Dad looked a bit perplexed.
I wasn’t confident they’d got it right as the main road back missed out a few miles of the course. I didn’t believe I could be so far ahead. I was still feeling fine, but like any long race now just wanted it to be over. I was surprised I hadn’t slowed more as I ran 8:18 m/m average for 5 miles and reached 50 in 6:55. This is a new unofficial 50 mile PB. - continued below
Continued -
My family had drove passed me heading to the finish, but now my Dad came driving back on his own. I thought he was checking how close 2nd was, but later found out different. They had got to Strangford and there were no signs of a finishing line, so he was going back to tell a marshal I was soon going to finish! They eventually only setup the finishing line when I was 10 minutes away. I was running an hour quicker than the inaugural winner from last year.
The last few miles were a little scary as I was running on a busy county road without pavement. Most drivers were great and left plenty of space but a few couldn’t have passed any closer. I actually decided at one point that I would never run a race of busy roads again. Of course as usual, that decision is now out the window.
Mile 53 was a bit downhill and I completed it at 7:50 pace, one of my fastest in the race. I’d run 133.7 miles in a 24 hour race earlier in the year, so mentally 54 miles was never a huge ask. I’m experienced enough to know that ultras are like roller coasters, with continuous up and down difficulties. It really is more about your mind, than your physical ability as sticky patches come and go.
I’ll continue the clichés with, ‘never give up and never give in’. I plan on running an ultra-marathon next year from Belfast to Dublin which is about 105 miles. In my mind I was still only half way, so shouldn’t be struggling. These thoughts all helped me control the central governor.
I averaged 8:13 for the last mile and officially crossed the line as winner in 7:24:26. My average pace was 8:17. I received a nice prize of a ceramic plate in the shape of the lough. I had a ‘baby wipe’ wash, changed, and had lunch and a pint before 2nd place finished over an hour later.
I spoke to Ricky after he’d finished 2nd and he explained that he’s stopped for 15 minutes at half way to fuel. He’d dropped back to 5th but came back through the field to finish ahead of 3rd by a few minutes. The last few finishers took almost 12 hours.
I stayed away on with the family on Saturday night enjoying a great celebration. I didn’t run on Sunday but managed 5 very easy miles this morning. My legs aren’t too bad and I don’t have any limp or difficulties walking down stairs. Result!
I’ll be taking it easy for the rest of the week with no runs with any pace. I’ll do about 10 miles on Saturday including some effort in a Parkrun. Next Wednesday I’ve another marathon.
thanks also, Lorenzo, for your report, and congrats once more to you, too - excellent placing . . .
Jools - I feel your pain re hamstring ! Hope its short-lived.
OO - junior seems to be leaving you behind . . . .
Gerard - a great weekend's running/racing/carousing
Badbark - You run and race a lot and your crew/family are very supportive of you.
Jools - Sorry to hear that. I hope it's nothing.
Lorenzo - I enjoyed your report and you did really well. It was a bonus meeting Jack.
OO - You were not feeling great last week but the thing is, you will probably take a minute or more off your next parkrun, whereas as I won't. I've only got a few more goes to register a pb this year.
I think I have finally gone mad. I got an email yesterday from our local Athletics club asking me if I would like to take part in The Hamps county champs XC in Jan. I hate XC but thought it would be a great idea to say yes and book flights within minutes. Best get training then and may need some spikes.
Badbark - fantastic report on another incredible performance - sounds like treacherous conditions. And to think they only had 7 to 8 hours to set up the finish line!
PMJ - I keep thinking I must try an ultra one-day; just recently had to cross Peddars Way Ultra 2018 off the list as it now clashes with something else.
GM - exciting news! Not long to train...
12 miles @ MP this morning (averaged 7:25m/m).
Sub 17 a fine tally of results .
Lorenzo decent time on a tough course and a nice report
Badbark Another win on a dangerous course ,great report too.
Gul 12 at mara pace after a mara you sandbagger !
Pretty brutal session here on lunch today. 6 x 1/2 mile reps on the prom off 90 secs recoveries. It was hellishly windy going out (+30mph) so all the effort was put into those ones to keep the numbers low. Splits were 2:58/2:55/2:59/2:56/2:59/2:56. Will try head out for a recovery jog later this evening.
The lurgy finally got me today. Streaming nose after a sore throat yesterday.
Still, it's above the neck which means I can train, right?
So, track session. 6 x 1k with 200m easy recs.
Coach said to beat 3.40 per 1k.
Splits came in at 3.40, 3,36, 3.36, 3,36, 3.37, 3.33 - a showbiz final rep to leave it all out there.
It was a snot fest at times but pleased to maintain a decent pace (5.35 avg for most of it) in cold, breezy conditions.
Warm down consisted of beans on toast in front of the log burner with a big mug of tea!
14 x 500m off 2:30.... which following Sunday’s 28km run in the heat meant I was starting with tired legs.
Each rep left me with about 10s recovery and in the hot humid conditions it wasn’t long before we were all drowning in our own sweat.
Today it’s about 6C cooler and bucketing with rain. Let’s hope it stays like that for a while - much nicer running weather!
GM - that's some going in 30mph winds - great session.
GD - very impressive pace for those intervals. Get well soon.
DadAgain - great reps, especially in hot humid weather.
Very impressive speed work all round chaps!
Feeling decidedly slow here. 13 miles with 6 @ 8:11 and 7 @ 7:35.
G-Dawg - Excellent 1k reps. Hope the lurgy leaves you soon.
DadAgain - Great sesh too and I hope you manage to get out for a recovery run in the rain and whilst it's cooler.
Gul - Nice MLR.
10k recovery jog last night at 9mm. Need a break today to aid more recovery and will probably go for another plod later tonight.
I hate XC too Gerard but its always memorable and good to be part of the club team etc.
I'm working on my pace this week in spite of the dreadful weather, and feeling a bit better. 5 mile race on the beach on Sunday.
Enjoyed your report BB, hats off for another fine achievement.