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Who Fancies Comrades 2010?
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Oh no, Katiecom! My heart goes out to you. I sooo hope it all turns out well and you can run a week on Sunday. Hang in there. No need to apologise for the outbursts of emotion, whatever the age.
Yeah, what does everyone suggest for swapping details? On here? Over email? I'm easy, but understand some people not wanting to give out their numbers etc in public. I guess everyone could send their details to one person as a Runners World mail message, then they collate and send round.
martin... don't panic, just follow advice to the letter, do as much as you can to help recovery and rest completely. You still have enough time... just focus on recovery, NO negative thoughts!
Katie... omg hun! Huge hugs to you.... thinking of you loads, hope everything works out xx
Yep, happy to give my mobile number out, my real name is actually Trinity
I'm happy to take the numbers and send the list out to everyone
Question... I might not be able to get to the expo on Thursday before it closes and the tour goes at 8am on Friday, how can I get my ticket?
Katie - oh no, hope you can still make it and run safely. If it were me I would err on the side of danger (not caution)
, but that is just me!
I'm cool with real stuff, I'm Nigel and my number is 1 868 788 6318. That is a US style number so +1 from a cell phone.. If you are concerned about the public stuff then txt numbers or message them via Runnersworld. I have SD's number and Sporta's already. My personal email is nigelwall@aol.com
Trinity - fab running and can't bsee what harm a 10km can have as long as you rest now. Great PB again. And less of the only by 12 seconds - in a 10km thats an age!
Slow Duck - love the no shaving thing. I have a tradition where by I always run marathons in new socks (yes I know it goes against all advice). Same brand etc just have to be new - maybe a fettish I have.
The Master - hopefully none of us will be quiters on the day and love the calming effect you are having on us all. Are you actually running Comrades this year?
Stephen - also got the email about the champions chip waiting for me in the registration bag. Remember ticking the box but hadnt heard anything so wondered if I was dreaming. As you say one less think to worry about after the emails with "NO chip No registration" in big bold letters all over them
Martin - fingers crossed. hopefully your physio is just being over cautious as you are about to run 56 miles.
Katie - easy for me to say but no way should any of us play with our health - its the 85th comrades so guess there will be a few more along in the next few years. Hopefully they can still get you sorted for this one though.
I am up for a meeting at the Expo on Friday afternoon would be great to put names to faces. I am in Durban from the wednesday morning so will be well chilled come then (I hope) although expect to get a little scared on the bus trip. Trinity I am there on thursday if there is anything I can do to pick up your bus ticket ? Not sure if its possible?
Just six miles tonight and a very short run tomorrow. Following the plan to te letter and touch wood feels OK at moment but test will come at 5:30 in 11 days time.
evening all
Katie- Take care
doctor update- Its not a hernia thank goodness! but Doctor very clear no running till the day. Ice both areas as nuch as possible. He was clear next week its going to hurt just depends when.
As a result Ive changed my target, a finish is now the best I can hope for but that does not bother me. Compared to a few hours ago thats a huge move forward.
As you may have guessed I am Martin and the number is 07905804480. No idea how mobiles work ocevseas
Keith, thank you... I don't think the tour tickets are reserved under name though are they? Really appreciate it if you could get me one on Thursday, and I will pay you back for it
My mobile is 07773211018
Good news martin... fingers crossed for you
Trinity - Glad things are looking up for you - and another PB fantastic!
Keith - I also have to have new socks for every marathon i have done - same brand of course!
Katie - fingers crossed for you. Know what you mean about wanting your mum at a time like this. My eldest daughter is 28 and is on the phone to me as soon as anything goes wrong in her life too.
Hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) flying out to J'burg on Tuesday night and then on to Durban arriving wed morning - gosh it is getting close. Just had my last sports massage this evening.
Martin - look after yourself. I suppose the only silver lining is that it's not a hernia...
Keith, Tricia - what brand socks do you use? You must really trust them to use new ones for a long distance race!
3pm on Friday at the Expo sounds good to me. Look forward to seeing you all there. I'm on +44 7950 333974.
I must admit one of the reasons why I go on the bus tour of the route each year is because I have goldfish tendencies when it comes to the race/route just as Katie's aunt says. I just remember the good bits from races gone by. I turn up each year thinking I've done enough training and I'll aim for a time - I'm quite chirpy at the start of the tour - but then I get quieter and quieter as the reality of the distance, all the hills I'd forgotten about (it's easy to remember the big 5 plus Little Pollys, Umlaas Rd, 45th cutting, Tollgate - but there are so many others...) and memories of the pain etc. come back to me. By the end I'm just thinking I'll just try to finish. Every year the course scares me - but I need to be scared and treat the distance and course with the respect that it deserves... So for me being scared is a good thing!
Slow Duck - I use Hilly Twin Skins - have always used them and never had a problem (touch wood) - I know its a bit silly but its my ritual.
Trinity - Will try and pick you up a bus ticket on Thursday.
Tricia - sound slike your flight plans are similar to mine - you are not flying in on South African Airways are you? Leaving London about 7pm on Tuesday?
Martin - Good news is you can run. Even better news is you have a ready made excuse to come back next year to get the medal you are capable of.
well. they let me home last night. They would not give me a transfusion because they dont want to "put a plaster over the problem - they want to solve it". I am also very low on calcium and other vitamins and minerals - despite a painfully healthy diet (wish i had just eaten chips and chocolate now for all the good being healthy has done!). So essentially my body isnt absorbing my nutrients, and my iron level continues to be chronically low.
So im in a dilemma. This has progressive and ive had no real side effects apart from exhaustion and cramping in my legs occassionally (i.e. the recent bout of compartment syndrome). The official medical advice is not to fly (as i might struggle for oxygen at altitude) and definately not to run. They want to do more tests next week (my flight leaves this sunday). However I feel that they are maybe jsut being over cautious. From some initial research anaemia and running go hand in hand.... Theyve told me my problem cant be solved with iron supplements or even a dramatic change in diet. But on the other hand ive been training fine, aside from the exahaustion....
Argh! i dont know. I have recently been feeling very unfit - struggling severely in my hill training and tempo runs, i thought it was just pre-race paranoia...
I want my comrades to be a positive experience and i have been so mentally ready for it. It seems so silly when i dont really feel "ill".
My friends, colleagues and family can tell me "health is paramount", but they dont understna d what it is to train so hard for something and to have it snatched away - what do you guys think? I genuinely dont have a clue what to do.
Katie - I wish I had some wise words for you. Must be tough to decide what to do. Personally I would look at it this way and answer these. What is the best that could happen? What is the worst that could happen? Non-runners just don't get it, either freinds, family or Drs. Listen to your body, is the best advice I've ever had. Whatever decision you make is the right decision!
Katie - no wise words either from me. Think its impossible for any of us to know how we would react unless we were in the situation and even then think we would be unsure. Think as Trinirunner says you need to look at the best and the worst and make your decision based on that.
I do wonder however how mentally prepared you will be for Comrades with this at the back of your mind and you need to factor that in to your calculations? Have they really said you mustn't fly?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
As for me, I seem to be shaking this illness (touch wood) Did 8 miles yesterday which wasn't great but better. I will rest today and tomorrow and then do 15-18km on Saturday, last longish run.
The expo, I won't make it there before 15:00 on the Friday as our daughter will be finishing school around 10:00 and it is a 5 hour drive. I also realised that we have to pick up our race numbers in Pietermaritzburg as we were originally going to stay there. I will be later than 15:00 but if a few of you are hanging around I will pop in at the international area. Look out for a guy with absolutely no hair, who looks as scared as Slow Duck.
Ooooh, forgot to dish out my mobile number... 07921283826. And my real name is Stephen Desmond. Amazing, huh?
Katie: In 2007 I had to bail from Comrades the very day I was due to fly due to illness, like you I had to make the decision based on the medical advice I was given. Even though the dissapointment was immense I soon realised that for me I had made the right decision and that I would have never finished Comrades. Then last last year in 2008 I went back and nailed the sucker running a 8-39 Comrades. What I'm trying to say is that be very careful, by all means get a second opinion but as Sporta has said above Comrades will find you out if your not 100% fit. Then remember that Comrades has been there for 85 years its not going away and whilst missing out hurts at the time there is always next year.
By the way have you considered that you might be a celiac? Iam and suffer from low iron levels.
SD: You are going to blow your Comrades PB apart this year.
Sporta: Go get that Bill Rowan we both know your capable of getting.
Ironically I now wish I made the effort to get fit enough to run Comrades when I came back from Injury in March, OK I couldn't have manged last years time but I could have finished easily enough. Ah well next year!
I am a bit concerned about the championchip - I know in previous entries on the thread that some people are picking up their chip at the expo, but was there a tick box on the entry form for this? I can't remember whether I did this or not, and I have not had a response from champion chip and the telephone number is not working. I have emailed Sheena at comrades and hopefully she can shed some light.
I raced the latter half of a half marathon last sunday and have now got a swollen gland in my throat and feel ill! How stupid can you get? Anyway, I hope I will be better this weekend - not running again until i feel normal.
Katie - really sorry about your dilemma, but have to agree with the above that your health must come first - you have years ahead of you and this training will not go wasted. However, it might help you make your mind up if you can get a second opinion.
Slow Duck - I use the Hilly mono skins and like Keith have not had a problem
Keith - I am flying with Virgin at 2030 Tue and then SA airline from J'burg to Durban.
Katie - for my tenpenneth, yeah be sensible. Plenty of time. Good luck. Thoughts with you x
TOP TIP FOLKS - I got very lost as to where I was up to on the route 2years back, for several reasons, including; it was difficult to know my average pace, even with a garmin, as I was walking up or running down and so my pace varied a lot; the course distance markers count down in Ks*, I was trying to calculate where I was up to on miles covered; and of course lack of blood to brain (and intelligence) featured in my cloudiness.
(*when you see the first marker saying "89k to go" its quite a sight)
So, trying to avoid this again Ive done myself a table showing Ks covered, Ks to go, landmarks to look out for, cut off times, and most importantly the times I should be on at each K markers based on the pace I plan on doing. Not that I will check at every K marker, but they will all be on there so I can easily check that Im on schedule. This is in addition to hanging on to the 11hour pace "bus".
Happy to share this doc, you can easily modify it for your own pace, Im going to laminate it and have it handy. If u would like a copy email me on malcs@gmx.co.uk.
Good thinking Neil. I'd love a copy! I'll email you.
In the past, for marathons, I've written down key marker times on my arm. All good so long as it doesn't rain.
I only had this thought the other day... the battery on a garmin lasts 10hours, right? I'll be still running past that point for sure. Then I worked out my current garmin - 2 years old - has a battery life these days of about 5 hours only. So I'm getting a new one online pronto.
I find that the shift to km gives my brain something to distract me! I tend to use my Garmin as pacer and measurer which I leave in miles. The 405 battery went flat at 8.5 hours in 2008, but by then pacing was what I could manage rather than what was ideal!
One of my most vivid memories of my first C in '07 was the guy next to me saying (as we passed 42km to go marker) "just a Marathon to go then". "Yes" I agreed, "just a Marathon to go"....
Katie... so sorry to hear of your predicament, I would agree with others about getting a second opinion, preferably by a doctor who has some understanding of athletes. I have everything crossed for you xx
Thanks Keith
Neil, great tip! Will email you for a copy, thanks
Sporta - good to hear you're condition is improving, hope you'll be 100% on the day.
DD - I hope so - that's my plan A...
BMSA - take it easy - remember you don't have to run now...until Sunday week.
Trini - there's usually also a "comedian" who says"only Two Oceans to go!" at the 56km to go marker too...
When you get your running number you'll find that there is a thin chevron strip across the top of your numbers. If you want to have your photos taken make sure you cut them off - keeping them on is a sign to the photographers that you don't want your picture taken...
"When you get your running number you'll find that there is a thin chevron strip across the top of your numbers. If you want to have your photos taken make sure you cut them off - keeping them on is a sign to the photographers that you don't want your picture taken..."
Wow great tip thanks
Yes great tip SD thanks - I look forward to seeing the pictures of me enjoying myself!
Im doing one of the Coastal Trail Series runs this weekend, final fling, but Im only doing the Half not the mara Im entered for, Im not crazy! I will walk most of it and enjoy the Exmoor scenery. My "special" Comrades hairdo is being done afterwards too. Going Mohican
Quick question please... I make my own "magic" flapjack, and about to make some chocolate brownies too for fueling on the day - does anyone know if I'm likely to have customs problems with food in my case?
hey everyone,
thank you all for your kind words and advice.
I won't be running it this year, it breaks my heart to say that but ive only been running a year and a half and I have many more years left in these legs - im still only little!
Ive consulted everyone in my life and the overall consensus is to go to SA for a holiday - me and my German have 2.5 weeks booked up of nice places to go so i dont want to throw all that away. I think i could do with a break to get my head around what could potentially be a tough couple of months of tests, scans etc... The doctors may be suggesting that flying may even compromise my health but a second opinion has suggested this could be over cautious.
Ill aim for the 2 oceans next year, and have lots of marathons planned in between. Ill get to the comrades for 2012 (for another down run as i have memorised the elevation chart by now!).
But ill still be in Durban and ill still be at the hotel so would love to meet you all and wish you the very best .Ill also be at the finish line too to welcome you all in. Can you tell me what your numbers are so i can look out for you and track you?
Also I have 2 tickets for the pasta party, i would still go but i think it may depress me a bit.; If anyone wants to swap them for a pack of billtong Id be happy to trade?
Thanks everyone again, im very sad/angry/scared about everything but i think i am being wise. i think the Master would approve!
-Neil good luck with the hairdo! looking forward to seing the result!
-Stephen my Garmin 205 has a battery life of 12hours plus (having used in on 12 hour endurance race it only started to complain at 11hr mark and even then it carried on until i had finished.)
So sorry to hear that Katie, but it is definately the correct decision, Comrades is totally unforgiving if you are not 100% ready.
I'm off to the airport now, so hope to see some of you at the expo next Friday. To those I don't see (and those I do
), have a great run, it is an unforgettable experiance 
.