Sandbach Striders

Race Report: Thames Towpath 100 03/03/2012

2012-03-15T23:11:00.003Z

How do you write a race report for a hundred mile race?

Team Moose: 0 down, 103 to go.

I mean, I should really try to explain the sheer enormity of the weekend whilst not boring you to tears with a mile by mile account of the torture.......and that's not easy.

What was I thinking of........(actually, let's not bother with the psychological defects that made me enter such a race in the first place otherwise we really will be here all night).......suffice to say it was the first race I've entered where I had to accept that failing to finish was a distinct possibility. The goal I set myself was to get past my previous longest race distance of 60 miles and then just see what happened.

In the build up to the race I tried very hard not to think of how far 100 miles really is, but unfortunately I found myself noticing the distances of car journeys much more than usual.........Sandbach to Leeds a mere 78 miles, Sandbach to Warwick, still well short at 88 miles, even a trip to Bangor would bring me up short of a hundred miles.

All smiles still

It became obvious that thinking of it as a single run of 100 miles was more than my head could handle so I decided a few months before the race that I'd break it down into much smaller chunks and use the run 25 minutes and walk 5 minutes approach. There were a couple of reasons for this. From a psychological point of view it's great to know that
however uncomfortable things are you know you're going to have a break within 25 minutes and there's also the practical point of view in that to cover such a long distance you will have to take on a lot of fuel and you have to start taking it on early. Your body can only really absorb about 60 grammes of carbohydrate an hour while running so to eat an energy bar with 30 grammes of carbs in it during each 5 min break is a great way to keep the fuel going in.

Also for me personally I know from experience that I suffer with nausea after running for about 10hrs. Once that sets in I really struggle to consume water let alone eat solid food so any fuel I could replace early on would be vital.

This is where some forward planning comes into play because if I'm going to be running for at least 24 hrs and I'm planning to eat two bars per hour, I really don't want to be stood on the start line with 48 energy bars in my back pack.

Thankfully they had four 'bag drops' where you could have bags sent ahead to various checkpoints. I only needed to make use of two during the night as for the rest of the time Jo was leapfrogging ahead of me ready to supply me with anything I needed.

Fuelling up

At this point I'll bypass the journey down to London etc and just get to the start where amongst loads of much fitter and better runners than us, you could find Team Moose. Three slightly overweight, middle aged, nervous men wondering what on earth they were doing there. And before we had too much time to ponder our situation the horn sounded and our journey began.

The first 25 minutes flew by and as the alarm sounded on our garmins we settled into a walk and consumed our first food. To our amusement many other runners also dropped into a walk at the same time obviously following the same plan. We followed the pattern until we reached the first checkpoint at 12 miles. It was great to be greeted by Jo, my mum, sister in law and friend, as well as Simon and Jon's girlfriends. We refreshed our water supplies and headed off to the next checkpoint at 22 miles. For some strange reason I found miles 16 and 17 really tough which didn't bode well considering I still had 83 to go. My legs eased up after 18 miles and I was very happy to see the same family and friends at 22 miles cheering us in.

Friends and family providing invaluable support

The route along the Thames was much less boring than I was expecting and along with a few interesting sights like a bloke falling off his bike and a fisherman who cast his fishing line straight into the garden of a mansion on the other side of the Thames we trundled along ticking off our 25 minute slots. Some of them were really tough and others seemed
to fly by but we stuck to them religiously (apart from stops at the feed stations).

Simon was beginning to struggle to keep up with the pace having spent the four days before the race skiing in Chamonix! Jon and I would wait at the checkpoints for him to catch up but when we realised we'd spent 25 mins at the 38 mile marker we decided we had to push on without him.

Taking a well-earned break

At 48 miles something started to go very wrong, it began with a yawn, then another, then my head started to spin and I found myself nodding off while running. I actually caught myself counting how many steps I could run with my eyes closed. Apart from a sure sign of delirium it certainly wasn't the safest thing to be doing while running along the Thames Tow Path in the dark. It was only about 8pm at this point which was a real worry with
at least another 16 hours of running ahead of me. I steadily felt worse and worse until I concluded my race was almost certainly going to be over. I shuffled into the check point at 51 miles to be greeted by the new faces of Lou and Izzie which was brilliant. I remember trying to take my mind off how bad I was feeling by asking Izzie about that day's riding lesson.........."are you sure you want to know about that now Daddy??"

Izzy catching 40 winks inbetween Dad cheering duties.

I decided I needed to try something different to the bars I'd been eating so went for the hot food supplied by the race.......it was the worst hot food I've ever been offered mid race. Some non branded beans with a kind of hot dogs which not even the cheapest high street stores would have put their name to.

I pulled myself together as much as I could, changed into a different pair of shoes and warmer clothes and aimed to try to get to the 58 mile marker. To be honest I had now resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make it to 100 miles but was absolutely determined to pass my previous race record of 60. As we shuffled out of the checkpoint my Garmin was showing I had 15 mins of running before the next scheduled walk break but I decided to walk that 15 mins and give my legs a chance to build up to it slowly.

When I broke into a run 20 mins later it was like I'd been given a new set of legs (actually more like a slightly shabby second hand set off eBay but you get my drift) and more importantly my head had come back to me. I trundled through the next 25 mins feeling so much better than I had an hour before.

Thames towpath mud.

I'd not planned to see Jo at the 58 mile checkpoint as I was hoping she would head to the hotel for some sleep before coming out in the morning but my delirium at 51 miles had obviously worried her enough to think I might be requiring a taxi at 58. Along with Lou and Izzie it was great to see her as we shuffled into Reading. I convinced her all was ok and that I was going to carry on.

We'd had a message that Simon had arrived at 51 miles not too long after we had left and having consumed all the food in his backpack was feeling much stronger and was hoping to catch us up in the next few miles. The next message we got was that he'd spent the next ten miles throwing up the contents of his backpack and was now heading for a comfortable night in a hotel in Oxford!

Jon and I continued on into the night sticking to the run 25, walk 5 which was serving us so well. Jon's girlfriend Emilie played a blinder when she appeared at the 71 mile checkpoint at 1.30am with two bags of hot chips which we happily consumed before continuing on.

One of the toughest mental challenges for many of the runners as the night went on was the inaccuracy of the given mileages for the checkpoints. As the race had progressed the checkpoints were arriving up to three miles further away than promised which can really mess with your head if you're desperate to reach these little pieces of heaven where a friendly face will look at you sympathetically and then shove you out the door on your way to the next oasis. Many runners were stood comparing garmins trying to work out what was going on but it wouldn't be until the 82 mile checkpoint we were informed that due to a number of diversions away from the tow path during the night the course was
going to in fact be 3 miles longer than planned.

Now, in my head that was simply unacceptable. I'd signed up to run 100 miles not 103. In my exhausted state I decided I would therefore stop at 100 miles and the organisers could send a taxi for me with my t-shirt and medal.

I obviously wasn't going to stop three miles short of the finish line but at least thinking about it meant I spent a few less minutes thinking about how much my body was now aching.

It was now getting light but it was beginning to spit with rain. We arrived at the 91 mile (94 mile) checkpoint in Abingdon where Jo had rejoined the fun along with my dad and step mum. It was brilliant to see them and I took the chance to have an extra few minutes with them while Jo dealt with a rather large blister that Jon had been cultivating during the night. When we left it was raining harder and the paths were becoming very slippery. In fact the path became so slippery we climbed over a barbed wire fence into a field (not easy on legs that had travelled over 90 miles) just so we could run on a more solid surface.
By the time we reached the final checkpoint at 95 (98) miles the rain was torrential. We decided not to hang about and bid fairwell to family and friends for our last push to the finish line.

Within five minutes of leaving, the rain turned to snow and the temperature dropped dramatically. When we reached our next 5 minute walk break Jon said he was too cold and would need to keep running. So for the first time in 100 miles we ditched a walk break and just kept running. We got colder and colder but we knew with each step the finish was edging ever closer. We finally came off the towpath in Oxford and then needed to negotiate a couple of road crossings and a couple of bridges before we spotted the grounds of the ice rink where the finish line was positioned.

As the finish line came into sight we immediately felt disappointed that it was nothing more than a gazeebo in the snow with almost no protection from the wind. Then we saw Jo and Emilie and even Simon had made it out to cheer us in which was brilliant. We came across the line and as we stopped running the cold really hit and we both started shivering uncontrollably.

Unfortunately the organiser had decided to abandon the race after three runners were hospitalised with hypothermia but in the process he took the van with all the end of race kit bags containing our warm clothes with him to the 95 mile checkpoint. Thankfully Jo was there with the car so it wasn't too much of a drama and the situation was a lot more
favourable than if we'd made it to 95 miles to be faced with a race director telling us we could go no further.

So with no fanfare or fuss we disappeared off to the hotel for a couple of hours sleep before all heading out for a lovely meal and a few beers.

Looking just like I felt

As with any race I run I ask questions of myself about what went well and what I would do differently if I were doing it again.

There were much better and fitter runners than me who I passed during the night and there were plenty who didn't finish at all so I obviously got something right. I think the run/walk approach worked perfectly, along with the feeding and drinking. Having Jo on course with family and friends was a huge boost and running with a friend (something I
rarely do) was ideal in this situation.

Had we spent a little less time at each of the feed stations and had the course actually been 100 miles and had the weather been kinder in the last 10 miles then we would have finished under 24 hours but then I said right from the start that I would be much happier to finish 10 minutes inside the 30 hour cut-off knowing I could have run it faster than not finish at all and wish I'd run it slower.

The journey home

As it is I am now the very proud owner of a medal that says I ran 100 miles........ wow!

For more information visit www.centurionrunning.com

Jason

AGM Reminder: Wednesday 14th March 2012

2012-03-11T19:57:00.000Z

Just a quick reminder that there will be NO club run this Wednesday.

We have something even better than running planned... It's AGM time!

Please do come along and support your club.

Any additional contributions of food/snacks are very much appreciated.

Many thanks to the people who have already offered to bring items.

The meeting will start at 6:30pm.

Race Report: Pennington Flash Parkrun 25/02/2012

2012-03-11T11:09:00.001Z

Well it was the morning after the nightbefore, the night before being the Striders' awards ceremony, and myself and Michael met to go and run the Pennington Flash park run. So with a belly stillfull of cheese and crackers and the hilarious memory of Michael demonstratingthe Lithuanian wife lift with the help of Catherine we headed off.

We arrived somewhere near Leigh in Manchester and parked ina free car park somewhere near the start of the event. Now by somewhere near Imean that neither of us had a clue how to get to the start from where we hadparked but hey ho it was free. We spied Another runner in the car park thegiveaway was the usual glow of a HI-viz jacket. Now as an aside I don't knowwhy people wear these during the day time but it served a purpose for us asthis local runner led us to the start and gave us a rundown of the course andmore importantly told us where the cafe was for afters.

At the start line it was buzzing withrunners from all over the local area and some from further afield as I also raninto 2 fellow runners from my local parkrun in Ilford who were up to do theBlackpool Half. After the usual pre-race chit chat and intro we thanked thevolunteers and the race started. The course was a three lap route around theinner part of the park taking in two large hills one being considerably steeperthan the other. Having topped the second hill it was all downhill from there torestart the lap. The downhill was a little hazardous and had all the rightproperties for a hilarious if not somewhat painful fall as the steepest part ofthe descent also contained a mini steeple jump. Some of you might be sad toknow that no Striders fell at the first, second or third fence of the park run national so apologies!

As far as the race goes it was a goodtraining run for myself and I placed fourth in 18:55 having been schooled by acouple of lads who could have been 15 years old at a push but none the lessthey ran a superb race. At the finish Michael told me that the bloke who placedthird who I had been trying to track down throughout the race had won the Sunrise to Sunset Challenge so I was fairly happy to just be able to keep abungee cord on the back of his jersey, albeit a rather large stretched one.

All in all a good park run which could bemade better by lengthening the laps asthe park was easily big enough to plan another route. A good race and time washad by all and I returned home in my own car, waited for my results to comethrough on my own laptop and later that night enjoyed an alcoholic beveragebought by myself unlike the kids who beat me!

For more information visit the Parkrun website.

Chris C.

Book Review: Wild Trails to Far Horizons by Mike Cudahy

2012-03-09T19:46:00.001Z

Book Review

Wild Trails to Far Horizons: An Ultra-distance Runner

By Mike Cudahy

"When I stand at the beginning of 100 miles of moor,mountain, valley and meadow, I am standing on the threshold of a dream." -Mike Cudahy

Back in the 1970’s while youthhostelling in the Peak District I discovered the existence of the Pennine Wayand as boys do marvelled over its mystery and wildness. My friends and I talkedof the miles of man swallowing bog and long arduous days battling weather andhills to reach the romantically named Kirk Yetholm in the far northern land ofthe Scots. In the early eighties we heard that someone had covered the 270 mileroute in less than 3 days only stopping to sleep for an hour or so eachday¹. If I heard the name of this superbeing at the time I certainly didn’t remember it but I’ve never forgotten thestory that so amazed me.

Some 30 years later while browsing inWaterstones armed with a birthday gift voucher from my children I came acrossthis book. Here it was, reprinted in a new edition, not just the story of thatincredible journey along the back bone of England but of many equally if notgreater ultra-excursions into the wild places of Britain. The book is much morethan an account of supreme feats of athleticism, giving an insight into themotivations and character of the author himself. It portrays a man not lackingin competitive spirit but who is more motivated by the aesthetic qualities ofhis sport and the landscapes in which he undertakes it.

The book takes you back to a time long before isotonic drinks andenergy gels when sustenance could be and was attained through stopping on routeat the nearest chippy. The biggest aidto ultra-running then (and probably still now) was the support of friends andfellow club members. Cudahy emphasises time and time again his gratitude forthe love, friendship and support shown to him by a large group of people overthe years. His acknowledgement of their significant role in his achievementsprobably comes in recompense for what at times sounds like harsh and grumpytreatment from him when things weren’t going quite as well as he would haveliked. He acknowledges this side to hischaracter in the highly amusing account of his leadership of the winning teamin the High Peak Marathon, an event he has completed many times. The secondhalf of the book contains this and other shorter pieces written over the yearsfor his club magazine. Some of these pieces are extremely funny andentertaining as well as recording the continuation of high adventure far intothe author’s mature years.

Highly recommended.

¹ThePennine Way record now stands at an absurdly impressive 2 days, 17 hours, 20minutes and 15 seconds (Mike Hartley, 1989)

Find it on Google Shopping here.

Chris Brumby - March 2012

Race Report: Golden Fleece Circuit 03/03/2012

2012-03-07T22:06:00.000Z

I found out about the inaugural Golden Fleece Circuit via the LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association) website. Many of their challenge events are open to runners as well as walkers and are usually very pleasant, scenic events that are exceptionally good value for money.

Enjoying the free post-race veg stew!

This one was being organised by the South Cave Scout Group in memory of a recently departed and very highly regarded leader, Bob Gunby. The event was held in South Cave, a small picturesque village in the East Riding of Yorkshire. As the race was due to start at 8:30am this meant a very early start. I set off from Sandbach at 5:30am to make sure I arrived in plenty of time to park up and collect my race card.

After a long but uneventful drive along the M62 I arrived in the village of South Cave around 7:45am and was directed into the car park of the cave Castle Hotel. I was glad I'd arrived in good time because the car park soon filled up despite it being quite generously sized. I quickly collected my race card from the race HQ located a few minutes walk away in a nearby church community centre. The race had two options - a 16.5 mile "short" route and a 26.5 mile "long" route. Outside the race HQ there were lots of walkers milling around. As it turned out far more than the organisers were expecting. In fact it was difficult to spot any other runners amongst the sea of cagoules and bouyant facial hair.

I'd made a quick decision in the morning to run in shorts and a t-shirt as the weather wasn't forecast to be especially bad. As more and more entrants gathered I started to feel very self-conscious. I couldn't see anyone else wearing shorts and I seemed to be the only one not wearing multiple layers. I was starting to worry that perhaps I'd seriously under-estimated the route. I was chancing that the organisers wouldn't do a throughout kit check and so hadn't taken the full set of waterproofs and first aid kit (?!) that the race regulations had specified.

Before long the chief cagoule wearer climbed atop a fence post and welcomed us all to the event. His speech soon took an unexpected turn when he announced that due to far more entrants turning up than originally expected, there wouldn't be enough patches to go around. Cue a couple of well-meaning Boo's. Walkers do like to collect their patches and woe betide anyone who gets in the way of this. After a quick run through the rules the race started in unconventional fashion when a voice from the crowd bellowed "Well can we go?" "Aye ok, off you all go then". A typical low key start for the kind of event which didn't even come with a start line.

The route set off through the village but soon we soon found our way onto footpaths and bridlepaths. I'm sure the views were terrific on clearer days, but the grey misty haze that hung in the air meant the Wolds held back their scenic splendour on this occasion. The first checkpoint went past quite quickly as many people chatted away through the first few miles. The manned checkpoints had a pleasant selection of squash, tea, coffee and cakes as is typical on LDWA events. Before long the short and the long routes split and the hills started.

I made the mistake of following some runners in front of me rather than trusting my own navigation, so had already ended up a good mile over the measured distance. I then made the follow-up error of trusting a local chap who assured me that "this is my backyard I know all the routes around here." Two wrong turnings and another mile or so of unnecessary running, I'd ditched him and began to trust my own map reading ability. A couple of other runners had already warned me of the stings-in-the-tail to come. Yes, you did read that right. Stings. These came a couple of miles from the end and were quite brutal climbs, made worse by being caked in wet mud. It was very much a case of one step forward, two steps backwards at times.

As the route wound its way back into South Cave towards the finish, I'd somehow managed to clock up nearly 29 miles. I kept reminding myself that I would have had another 71 miles still to go had I been Jason battling his way along the Thames Tow Path 100 at the same time. At the finish, I got my final stamp on my race card but no sew-on patch (Booooo!) There was however a nice selection of home-made cakes, hot and cold drinks and a bowl of vegetable stew - all free with which to replenish spent calories. At only £9 to enter it is impossible to criticise the event for being poor value for money.

Would I do it again? Well I'd certainly like to see the surrounding areas in clearer weather as it's not a part of the world that I know particularly well. But I'd make darned sure I only ran 26.5 miles next time.

For more information, visit their website.

Michael

Race Report: Cloud 9 04/03/2012

2012-03-06T21:23:00.000Z

Cloud 9 Fell Race

I ran the Cloud 9 for the first time after months of pestering from Paul, Perry, and Christiane. Bob gave up his number to me for free, so thank you Bob. I hope I did you proud, and really hope they change the name on the system, I never really fancied being called Bob :-).

On arrival to the centre we experienced rain and cold. I decided to take one of the yellow waterproof plastic bags that the marshalls were using to protect themselves from the harsh conditions we were all about to face. At the start, the rain thankfully stopped.

Commentary on the public address system was not loud and it was hard to hear what was being said. The conclusion for me was that we should go home back to bed, but I don't think anyone agreed with me. So off we went, it seemed fine until the first incline where the terrain got muddy and slippy.

I tried my best to stay dry for as long as I could, and that was hard work in itself. Yes, I got to the point where I thought to hell with it. Which I think for all the rest of the team (who I may say had done it before) just went for it and knew there was no point holding back. I passed Paul a few miles in, I hope the tap on the bum was pleasant :-). As the incline for the biggest hill I have ever ran up began, I was told the scenery was lovely along with the snow.

The enjoyment factor was good at that point as my knee felt fine until the decline where i started to suffer. From then on for me it was a battle to the end. So I enjoyed the scenery once again and chatted to fellow runners in which I got told I would soon feel in a state of euphoria. At the end I got a cheer from the others who had finished which was great, and I made it in 1:28 on my watch. After waiting for the others to finish the cup of soup I had been longing for arrived and I began to feel better and warmer.

The goody bags were great also, even though we did have to queue up for them whilst they were being put together.

Overall I would recommend the run to those who like a challenge, and do not go looking for a PB from it, as it is a testing course with stops though-out and some great views.

For more information visit Congleton Harriers' website.

Evonne

Congratulations to Jason on completing the Thames Towpath 100!

2012-03-05T17:51:00.001Z

Congratulations to Sandbach Striders' very own ~~nutcase~~ Jason Bulley on completing the Thames Towpath 100!

I'm sure you'll agree that this is an incredible achievement

We're all looking forward to reading the race report Jason!

Coming soon: Crewe Déjà Vu Two Track Marathon!

2012-02-28T22:49:00.002Z

Back by popular demand! Crewe's premier track marathon returns in 2012.

Join us for another 105.5 laps of a running track. In Crewe.

Voted 96% on Runners World! We have Chip Timing! Music! Danny the MC! Jellybabyvaseline girl! Guy Fawkes! Goody bags!

Details and entries coming soon at http://www.sandbachstriders.co.uk/

Go on, you know you want to!

Race Report: Hanley Park Run 21/01/2012 updated

2012-02-20T17:30:00.000Z

Today I marshalled the Hanley Park run even though I was suffering from a sore throat and cough. Yvonne joined Michael and I and when we got there it was good to see a few more runners than normal. Lesley and Mel Cole from South Cheshire Harriers were also marshalling. Tommy gave us our jobs and Lesley and I went off to the top of the park to direct runners. Michael got the lovely job of registering the times, glad I wasn’t asked as I’d need my glasses to see the small digital clock. It was a windy day and I was glad I put

on my rain mac at the last minute. As I jumped up and down and practised my Zumba moves to keep warm, the lead runner was soon on his first lap, followed by two other runners. I shouted encouragement to the runners to keep going as they’d soon get out of the wind.

There were some Trentham junior runners at the rear of the pack who gave me a thumbs up as they were on their last lap (bless them). All in all marshalling a 5K only takes 45 minutes out of your day and it helps Tommy and his team keep the Hanley Park Run going, so one down two more to go this year.

Liz

Having only done Hanley parkrun for the second time. I find it very friendly, with only a small number of runners. There were runners from different parts of the country, and all ages. The weather stayed fine, and happily missed the heavy rain, we all encountered, on your return journey home, (in the car, luckily).

Michael, who once again volunteered as a marshall, as the parkruns would not exist if it were not for the kindness of people like Michael and Liz (who volunteered a few weeks ago).

The course can be a challenge, (if you're trying to get a PB), as there are a few inclines, and after the second time around you're glad that you only have to encounter half of the inclines ahead. A great run and would recommend Flavours coffee shop that we go for coffee, and oatcakes after.

For more information on Hanley Parkrun visit their website.

Evonne

Race Report: Bushy Parkrun 18/02/2012

2012-02-19T21:28:00.000Z

“Bushy Park” parkrun – 18/02/2012

Parkrun started in 2004 with just 13 runners here at Bushy Park in south west London. Today’s race was the 398th race, a very slick and well organised event.

Bushy Park is a fabulous 1099 acres of parkland with red and fallow deer, woodland

gardens, water gardens, boating lake, 5 sports grounds including football, rugby, cricket and hockey. There are tennis courts, a bowling green and a swimming pool.This used to be my playground as a child as I grew up less than two miles away, today was my first time back at the park in maybe 35 years.

Grew up here Born hereI arrived early fearing chaos in the car park and I’m glad I did because ten minutes or so later there were cars and people everywhere. There were 749 runners today but the organisation was first rate.I lined up near the back and noticed a sea of people in 50, 100 and even a few 250 club vests, this lot certainly love their parkruns. It was bitterly cold mainly due to the wind but thankfully after a very short safety briefing it was 3, 2, 1 and we were off.

The route was all grass and gravel paths, I gradually made my way through the field determined not to make my usual mistake of going off too fast. At numerous points I noticed familiar places, the boating lake where I used to canoe, the river we used to fish etc.

I looked at my Garmin to find I was going faster and faster as the kilometres passed and before I knew it the finish was in sight. I wondered how the organisers were going to cope with so many finishers but the two funnels were brilliantly marshalled, I was handed my token and within 30 seconds my barcode and token were scanned and I was out into the car park again.There was a mobile café at the finish area but Debbie and I decided to go to “The Pheasantry Café” and few hundred metres away for a warming coffee.

An hour or so later a text message arrived giving me my time of 23:02 a new PB. This is a fabulous run that I would recommend to anyone finding themselves nearby on a Saturday.

For more information check out the Bushy Parkrun Website.

Perry

Race Report: Mad Dog 10k 12/02/2012

2012-02-17T20:22:00.001Z

Soonce again it was time for the fabled mad dogs to be let loose on the sandyplain of Southport by the Knights of the Round Table. I attended the inauguralrun last year and enjoyed it so much I was dead set on running it again thisyear. Perry Wyatt also signed up so we travelled over together in his car.

Perrywasn’t feeling 100% and couldn’t get warm, so we got a cup of tea, got ourt-shirts and had a brief look around before getting ready for the run itself.

Onceagain the event was a well organised, well marshalled 10K around the Southportseafront. Weather was kinder this year, and a keen pack of mad dogs lapped up awind-free course. The facilities at the start/finish were ample for thenumbers, and aside from a 5 minute delay due to the road closures beingslightly late (happy to be delayed rather than run over personally) a hitchfree event. Perry and I started together having already agreed to run our ownraces and I found myself alone shortly after the 2K marker. I was running abrisk pace and focused on runners in front of me to keep on track and after atough run crossed the line inside my previous personal best. I collected mygoody bag and a banana and doubled back in time to cheer Perry on as he turnedinto the school drive and crossed the finish line. We walked back to the carand got some warm clothes on and headed back for another cuppa. Ah, life in thefast lane.

Thegoody bag contained another excellent medal, an energy drink and a bottle of Gatorade,several grain bars, a mini shower gel, a toothpaste sample and a bunch of otherbits and pieces, which (along with a great technical t-shirt) makes the eventexcellent value too.

Lovedit, and will definitely do it again, and again, and again…

Welldone Southport Round Table

For more information, visit the website.

Steve

Race Report: Alsager 5 05/02/2012 #2

2012-02-08T00:17:00.000Z

‘We’ve all run the Alsager 5 enough times and we all know it’s the same every year. Even Mik won’t want a race report for this one.’
Or so I thought when I entered this year. Then the evening before the race it started snowing...

Martin demonstrating the one-handed jazz hand

On the morning of the race, Sandbach was covered in at least 2 inches of snow and a blanket of freezing
fog. A quick check of the alsager5.co.uk website confirmed that the weather in Alsager was the same but the race was still on since the gritters had been out and the forecast had been for rain overnight. Arriving at the sports centre race HQ, the roads looked very icy and the rain hadn’t arrived. Even worse, the final 200 metres to the finish line was covered with fresh snow. And with 40 minutes to go before the start, there was 1 marshal with a spade trying to clear it all! So this year’s race was going to be interesting but probably not a good race for a PB.
As usual, the meeting area with the T-shirt collection, registration etc in the sports centre was busy but well organised. I bumped into Liz there, this year the two of us and Andrea were the only three Striders running. The start on Pikemere road was as crowded and chaotic as ever. It’s never easy to squeeze over 600 runners into a narrow residential street then get everyone to move a few yards back so that everyone is behind the start line, then open up a path through the runners for the last couple of cars that want to get out before the roads close (every year there is at least one stray car on the course with the driver getting snotty about getting stuck in a well advertised road race). Despite these difficulties, the race still started on time. At the last minute before the start, the tannoy announced that anyone who didn’t want to run in the snow could claim a refund – they’d have paid out a fortune if they’d put that on the website!
Stop waving and start running man, you have a pb to beat!

The course is advertised as very fast. That’s normally true, as once you’ve got away from the start line crowds in the first half mile it’s very flat and straight with just a few sharp bends. This year though, things were a bit different. The first half mile was a long puddle of slushy melted snow which everyone splashed through. The next couple of miles, past the old MMU campus & out through the housing estates, were a bit drier but covered in compacted snow, usually with just enough tarmac showing through to let people to run in single file. Fortunately, by the time we came out onto Crewe road & started the run back into the town centre, the roads were a bit clearer. There was also a lot of support from spectators who had braved the snow to watch the event, including Paul Nicholls (thank you Paul).
Amazingly the snow hadn’t slowed me down too much, and my Garmin was telling me that I was running at close to PB pace. The race carried on out of the town centre, then back onto Pikemere road, past the start line again and into the last mile. There was a lot less slush the second time around, but still plenty of spectators including Paul again with his camera. I kept trying to push the pace despite still having to dodge the occasional ice patch, and thinking that a PB in these conditions was impossible but I might just manage it. On the finishing straight there was a clear path up to the line, so the marshal with the spade had obviously got the job done. Single file but good enough for a sprint finish. I ended up 15 seconds outside my PB time, but the Garmin said I’d run 5.1 miles at slightly faster than PB pace. All in all a very good race and very different to a normal Alsager 5.
Would I recommend it – Yes. It’s also a very good race for spectators who don’t need to move far to see the same runners coming past 3 times in less than 1 hour. If you’re preparing for a marathon, running the race & then running home along the Salt line way makes a good morning’s training (I didn’t risk that in the snow this year!) Finally, well done to the organisers for running the event despite the weather!

For more information check the Alsager 5 website.

Martin

Race Report: Alsager 5 05/02/2012

2012-02-07T17:42:00.000Z

I woke at 8.00am to a blanket of snow and prayed to god that the Alsager 5 was cancelled. I then got a text from Evonne to say she wasn’t running. I called Ken Rushton and he told me that the race was going ahead despite the ground having some slushy white stuff. Next I texted Tom to let him know I’d pick him up. Tom called back sounding really rough with a bad cold so he had to pull out. I left home at 10am and the roads were not too bad, the main roads were clear it was the side streets that were a bit slippery. Martin and myself ran for the Striders. Andrea was also running with one of her friends.

On the start line I looked around and saw some really lean running machines and thought
”why am I here”!! As soon as the start was sounded I was off, mindful of my age and the fact that I did not want to end up in Leighton with a hip replacement I took it easy on the slushy stuff underfoot. When I hit a nice dry patch I sang my mantra of Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow dot bikini and was soon overtaking people. I had Lesley Cole in my sights – she was only 5 in front of me, if I could hang on to her I might just get under 43.

At 3 miles I spotted Paul Nicholls who shouted “ come on Jill – where’s Liz”!!!! Now either he was on the ale the night before or he needs glasses. Jill has curly blonde hair and is taller than little old me!!! Next I saw an old boy supporting a group G letter for NSRRA, so, I got my eyes in his back and went for it. It was cat and mouse then I passed another NSRRA letter ‘F’ again he chased me. I ran a bit faster and soon the ‘F’ was behind me. Lesley had moved up the field so I knew I would not catch her. On the last stretch home, I passed the old MMU car park and I thought I was flying, as I turned into the road, I hit more of the slushy stuff but I was determined to keep going, the end was in site. No sign of ‘F’ but lo and behold ‘G’ was just in front of me. Paul Nicholls shouted at me to move faster, so sorry “G” but I put on a sprint and got through the finish line in 44.30. Arrgh 2 minutes slower than last year but at least I finished it with all my limbs intact. Now off home for some nice hot chocolate. A big thank you to Paul for supporting the striders – the poor love came on his bike and he must have been frozen to the core.

I met with up with Ann from PMCA who wants to do the Stafford 20 but as a relay. I am up for it, if there is another lady who wants to run with us, let me know ASAP. It’s on 11th March.

For more information, visit the Alsager 5 website.

Liz

Torchlight Run - The Cloud 30/01/2012

2012-02-05T15:08:00.000Z

We’reRunning Up That Hill !!!!!

Well, it wasMonday night it was 6-30 and it was time for mad runners united…Like all in theclub I got my email inviting me to the Monday night Torchlight run. Theseseries of runs have proved real popular with some of the club stalwarts andit’s not hard to see why.

I myselfhave done about 4 or 5 now and I have to say they add a whole new dimension torunning. If you’ve lost your mojo or are finding it tricky to stay motivatednow the New Year’s resolution is long behind us, reply to the email and get onthe run. The runs are not fast, they are well organised and really good fun.

So back tothis one. It was 6-15 when I turned up at the club which was the nominatedmeeting point. I pulled alongside twoother runners, in this case, Claire & Catherine. Both were sat in one carand gave me a wave. I opted to stay in my car and wave back. The reason forthis was that outside of my car the temperature was already -1 with a nastywind.

Wheneventually Mik and Perry turned up we dived in to Perry’s car and headed off tomeet Chris Brumby at our starting point for the torchlight run. It was at thispoint I remembered the bit on the email that I had sort of “glossed over”. Thatwas the place we were running too. Yes, we were running up the Cloud inCongleton. That would mean 5 miles of slugging through mud, over rocks, upnarrow paths but worst of all, always going uphill! Oh and of course in -1temperature and in the dark….. Madness pure Madness.

When we metChris and his dog Andre we donned head torches and got ready to followChris. Not before we had discussed headtorches and the cost of such. Then Perry brought out his new head torch…… Theywere talking lumas or something and I think that’s how bright it is, I think thoughPerry had actually been to Manchesterairport and stolen one of the runway landing lights as his was so bright.

Ok, so offwe set, following Chris and Andre, huffing and puffing and listening to Mik’sexcuses of how his legs were tired and he was tired. I mean, anyone would ofthought he had ran the Marrakech Marathon only24 hours before, the way he was moaning. We carried on and on and on oh and on,we went through mud, over styles, uphill up steps, over rocks and over morerocks, we ran through heather and then as if by magic….. We were there. We hadmade it to the top of the Cloud on one of most beautiful nights of the year.The sky was so clear you could see the lights in the distance for miles andmiles. It was cold and I mean cold, probably about -3 or so but you forget allof that. Its moments like these that you realise why you run and what you cangain from it. 4 or 5 years ago I couldn’t have walked up the Cloud and yet hereI was, running up it in the dark and cold for fun.

After theobligatory photo we headed on down the hill which only equated for about a mileand a half downhill run. We dived in to Perry’s car and freezing and muddy hitthe nearest pub. On arriving at the pub,the landlady seemed to think that we were the politest running club in Britain. We alltook our trainers off before entering and checked it was ok to go in. Once inwe sat and listened to each other’s travelling stories whilst Catherine andClare shocked me by drinking full pints of bitter and I realised how much around of drinks costs these days. Afterwhich we all jumped back in to Perry’s car and headed for home.

A realfabulous night that was really enjoyable, mad, yes very mad but very enjoyable.

Till nexttime.

Paul

Race Report: Central Lancs Half Marathon 04/01/2012

2012-02-04T12:53:00.000Z

3^rd Central Lancashire HalfMarathon

The race blurb offered a fast, flat courseacross central Lancashire just North of Preston with good PB potential. For methe idea of a fast, flat course right at the start of the year and something toset myself a bit of a benchmark against and gauge my fitness was the real draw– and of course a new PB always goes down well!

2012 blew in with some pretty strong windsand the promise of some pretty wild weather. Thankfully bank holiday Monday haddifferent ideas – the skies were clear (at least in Sandbach) and conditionslooked chilly but good for racing. An hour or so later on arrival in Catforth abit of a keen breeze had somehow got itself going and the clear skies were nowrapidly filling up with threatening clouds. Due to some rather heavy rain in thedays preceeding the race the plans for parking on the nearby school field hadhad to be dropped – perhaps a good thing as soft ground and cars never mixwell! Sadly this change of plan meant that we all had to park on the nearbylanes which for those who like to leave it late (that’s me!) meant a good mile‘warm-up’ walk to the race HQ!

Thankfully with lots of other runnersaround finding the race HQ was easy and I managed to arrive and get my numberjust in time to be ushered out for the race start.

Race marshalls guided us to a side street afew hundred yards from the main race HQ to assemble for the start of the race.The race was very briefly delayed to allow a last few stragglers to get to thestart of the race, then we were off!

The first mile or so of the race wound itsway through narrow country lanes before we re-entered the village of Catforthbefore turning away from the race HQ up onto a B road heading towards Inskip.It was on these open lanes that the rather “keen” winds first introduced themselves.After about 3 miles the race then turned South West – running pretty muchstraight into the now rather keen winds with no protection for about 4 miles tothe village of Treales where the race turned again and started to wind its wayback towards the race HQ. After a few more twists and turns, and several(deceptively tiring) crossings of the quiet but windy M55 the race the racetook a final fairly sharp turn to reveal (at last) the finish line in sight.One final push and i had a medal round my neck and a kit kat and a bottle ofmineral water in my hand.

So, did the race live up to its billing offast and flat? In short yes, and in the bargain i bagged myself a new PB only 2days into a new year! For those looking for a reason to train through the winterand start 2013 strong this is a race i would definitely recommend – in fact ifI’ve inspired you the Fylde coast running site is already taking places fornext years event on Sunday 6^th Jan 2013 –priced at £12 for clubrunners. Go on you know you want to!

For more information, visit the website.

Rick

Race Alert! Cross Bay Challenge 12/08/2012

2012-02-02T12:33:00.005Z

An important heads up about this years Cross Bay Challenge.

Clare, Danny and Catherine enjoying a cheeky paddle.

As you may know we have now chosen the Cross Bay Challenge as our summer social event - which means a weekend (or a day trip if you're a lightweight) of beer, tents and running through sand and sea water.

The race is HUGELY popular and will sell out some time in advance of race day, so get your entries in now to avoid disappointment.

We will be organising camping and a mini-bus nearer the time.

More information is available from their website.

---

Here is some blurb if you're unfamiliar with the race.

Cross Bay Challenge has been voted 4th by Runners World Readers, for the top trail races.

Cross Bay Challenge is a truly unique way to experience the stunning scenery of Morecambe Bay and the South Lakes. Historically the quickest route from Cumbria to Lancashire at low tide, the bay crossing dates back to the 13th century when monks from the local abbeys served as guides to travellers. Whilst the monks have now been replaced by highly-experienced guides equipped with a host of navigation and safety equipment, the experience of being out on the sands remains as breathtakingly beautiful as ever.

With the choice of a half marathon (the only known race in the world to cross a tidal bay and consistently one of the UK's highest rated races!) or a family-friendly 6 mile walk that finishes in the same place as the runners in time to cheer them over the finish line, there’s something for everyone.

-- TOP TIP --

When the site asks

" Do you require coach transport from Hest Bank? "

Select

Yes, to Flookburgh (Start of Half Marathon)

Race Report: International Marathon of Marrakech 29/01/2012

2012-02-02T09:05:00.004Z

40 hours in Marrakech might well be an environmentalist's nightmare, but the chance to run my first (and possibly only) African marathon was too good a chance to miss. A summer flight to Marrakech is easy to arrange, the previous summer I'd flown there from Manchester for a ridiculously low sum. A winter flight proved to be a bit trickier and the only option available to me was to fly from Gatwick, which meant a 3 hour drive either side of the 3.5 hour flight just for good measure. Still, it could be done in a weekend and on the cheap, which meant it was all systems go! We drove down to Gatwick on the Friday night as the flight was an EasyJet special, leaving at the crack of dawn. An uneventful flight saw us hit the terminal at Marrakech Menara Airport mid-morning. As we queued to get through the chaos that was the immigration queue we stared up at the bright blue sky and fantastic sun, a welcome change from the cold and damp of Cheshire.

Getting to the Expo meant a quick taxi journey. Which in itself meant a prolonged period of haggling to get the price of the taxi journey down to a reasonable sum. It can feel a bit weird haggling over a couple of quid, but it's part and parcel of any financial transaction in Morocco and once you get past the initial awkwardness it's also part of the fun.

The Expo consisted of a few open tents advertising a few French races, some French sportswear sellers and two massive queues. One for the registration for the marathon and one for the half-marathon. It's a French company that organises these races and you get the feeling it's a one man and his missus show. Still, number and technical t-shirt collection was painless. There were no other freebies on offer, not even a carrier bag to put your t-shirt on. To be honest I'd rather have nothing than a bag full of flyers and samples for stuff I don't want.

I was a little concerned about getting something nourishing to eat on the day before the race, because the concept of vegetarianism, as you might expect in a once French African nation, doesn't really exist. As such I made a bee-line for the Earth Cafe, Morocco's only vegetarian cafe located deep in one of the Souks located off Jemaa el-Fna, the main square where much of the life of Marrakech emanates from.

On the morning of the race, I slept in. A combination of a comfortable bed, a lovely warm room and absolute darkness meant I awoke, fell asleep, awoke, fell asleep, awoke, fell asleep. I finally jumped out of bed in a panic 30 minutes before the gun was due to go off. This meant breakfast was a glass of water and a carb gel rather than my preferred option of several strong cups of cafe and a leisurely breeze around the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. The race start was only a few minutes' jog from the hotel, and as there were no toilets or water at the start most runners had elected to arrive there as late as they could.

The half-marathon had set off thirty minutes earlier which thankfully meant the start line was less congested than it might otherwise have been, although it was still a slow walk from the middle of the pack up to the narrow starting gantry. After a few minutes of indecipherable Arabic speech over the tannoy we were off. The route was one lap and started by winding its way through the City along the main thoroughfare. Traffic in Marrakech is to the Western eye "interesting". Most driving conventions are treated as voluntary and the best one can normally hope for when using a pedestrian crossing is for the mopeds and taxis to weave around you honking marginally less than usual. At one junction traffic was queued back as far as the eye can see, with each driver's hand hard on the horn. If it hadn't have been for the lone policemen holding the traffic back we'd all have been participating in a 26.2 mile game of Frogger.

After the race relaxing in Jemaa el-Fna

For much of the race the police and army managed to keep most of the traffic away from the runners. At least most of the big traffic that is. But the combination of sand and two-stroke petrol fumes prevalent in the air made breathing difficult at times and left a nasty residue which it took me a couple of days to finally shift. I'd read on a runner's forum prior to the race that local children following runners were a nuisance. I was quite enjoying them running alongside of me, high-fiving me and shouting "Allez allez!" and "Bravo bravo!". I was really starting to think how mean spirited the forum poster had been in his criticisms and asking myself how anyone could have been so cold-hearted not to have been warmed by the supportive chants and cheers of so many local kids. All this vanished in an instant when, feigning a high-five, two of the little gits tried to yank my Garmin from my wrist. A quick shove, a burst of speed and a loud shout of "Imshi!" averted what could have been an undesired detour. For future reference, "Imshi" is a fairly impolite way of saying "Clear off" in Arabic.

Towards the middle of the race the temperature started to rise and it peaked at 26°c, much warmer than I was expecting it to be. Water stops were reasonably well spaced out and had plenty of stocks of bottled water, fresh oranges (fantastically delicious but difficult to peel when running) and dates. Even the native Moroccan runners were starting to feel the heat. At the race start they'd been shivering and jumping up and down to desperately keep warm. This was despite wearing what we in the UK would comfortably describe as multi-layered winter clothing. It was 18°c when the gun went off and felt to me like a very pleasant warm Spring day. The undulating course coupled with the total lack of shade meant I had a difficult last few miles. I ended up running next to a pleasant French lady and making the most of my limited French we kept each going on the last few miles as we weaved our way back into town.

As we crossed the line we were presented with a medal and given as many oranges as we could hold, some more bottled water and a small bag of dates and sultanas. I was pleased to finish in 3:45 though my official time was slightly lower. Although we were chipped it seemed the only time logged by the race officials was the gun time.

Replacing spent calories with sweet mint tea and a slice of apple cake.

Would I do the race again? Yes. The flights were ridiculously cheap for such a long distance. The hotel was also stupidly cheap and of fantastic quality. Marrakech is a beautiful, inspiring, crazy, crazy city which everyone should experience at least once. I arrived back home at 3:45am ready to get up for work at 6:45 but It was definitely worth it.

For more information visit the website.

Michael

Awards Evening 24/02/2012

2012-01-25T21:54:00.002Z

Put this date in your diary!

Sandbach Striders Award Evening 2012

Friday 24th February

The Limes, Sandbach

Hot & cold buffet, variety of awards, live music.

Tickets will be on sale from Wednesday 1st February (price tbc).

Race Report: Helsby Half Marathon 22/01/2012

2012-01-25T21:47:00.002Z

Blown away, beaten and broken at Helsby Half.

Well what a day that was! After meeting fellow Striders at the club we set off for Helsby just after 9am to make sure we were early arriving to get a parking spot, and only just got into the carpark at the sports club as everyone else had the same idea it would seem. The wind was gusting and very chilly so we sat in the car for a while to stay warm and after a wander around and trip to the loos returned to the car to get prepped for the race. Jason Bulley turned up with his bike to support everyone on the race which was very welcome.

Perry and Steve- looking good on the finishing straight

After a few minutes waiting in the crowd at the start the air horn sounded to signal the start of the race. We set off at a fair pace and I ran with Perry Wyatt as we slowly moved forward through the other runners watching Mik Escolme stride off into the distance. Perry and I had agreed that I would pace the first 10 miles if he would make sure I didn't stop in the last 3 miles (as I did last year at mile 10 from too brisk a pace coupled with insufficient training due to injury).

After the first 2 miles it became apparent that the pace we were running at, while fairly comfortable, was hovering around 7:55 mins per mile, which I wasn't convinced I could sustain for 13 miles, but stuck with it as my training for London has been going so well. We passed the half way mark comfortably and walked briefly at drinks stations to make sure we drank more than we spilled. Jason cheered us on as we ran past at a few points and everything was rolling along nicely.

Claire and Catherine and their happy jazz hands!

Until we reached 9.5 miles.

The pace suddenly started telling and I found myself struggling, a fact I wasn't surprised at given that I was running well inside my previous fastest half marathon best time. The drinks station at mile 10 provided a welcome walk for about 100 yards and then it was time to zip up the man suit and dig deep. Putting on my headphones I put my tunes on and focused on keeping a regular rhythm, aiming for the next lamppost, next junction or next road sign. Jason rode alongside for a couple of hundred meters and I could barely speak to him and just signalled that I was struggling. Perry was going strong alongside me and kept encouraging me and keeping me focused. The long downhill straight to the 12 mile marker was a welcome relief but as soon as the road levelled out I felt like just stopping and (frankly) falling over. The 12 mile marker however meant that with only a mile and a bit to go I was determined to tough it out and keep running, I knew I was on for a new PB but was also aware the Perry was also close to beating his own PB, so told him to run ahead, which he refused to do, staying with me till the finish, and as I approached the finish there was no sprint, no last burst of speed - it was all I could do to cross the line and still remain vertical!

Terry "Ironbridge" Coppenhall

Jason appeared with coats for Mik, Perry and myself, and asked if I was ok as I apparently looked quite grey! Perry even helped me on with my coat. I can honestly say I left my lungs out there on the course that windy Sunday, and without the support and encouragement of Perry I wouldn't have made it in anything like my final time of 1 hour 46 minutes and 36 seconds, over 6 minutes better than my previous PB for a half marathon. Mik Escolme also bagged a new PB, and Perry was just 3 seconds off his PB (sorry mate).

Jill - still smiling till the very end.

So many thanks to all the Striders for a great day. Thanks to Jason for the welcome support and the coats - it was freezing at the finish, and thanks to Mik for all those tough wednesday night runs; but mostly thanks to Perry for sticking with me and helping me through the last 3 tough miles - you're a star mate!!!

For more Information, visit the Essar Four Villages website.

Steve Treweeks.

(Kudos to Chris Brumby for all the photos.)

Torchlight Run - Delamere Forest 23/01/2012

2012-01-24T21:17:00.002Z

On Monday night I finally plucked up the courage to join in a torchlight run (thanks to Jason for the loan of his head torch). We met at the club at 6:30 ready for our journey to Delamere Forest - on arrival we were the only people there not on wheels however it was hard to miss us given the hi-viz jackets and the number of head torches illuminating our way! It was quite clear to all that Perry had been a boy scout - head torch, spare head torch, and spare batteries for the spare head torch!!

The ladies amongst us visited the facilities (head torches off ladies!!) and then it was off into the darkness. The first part of our route was carried out on gravel paths until the point where Chris Brumby veered off to the right in a bid to take us off the beaten track. This all seemed to be going well until Heather slipped in the mud and then came the cry, 'I've lost my trainer!'. Everyone ground to a halt to see a lonely trainer in a mud pool - and Clare sporting only one trainer. The true Sandbach Striders spirit then shone through as Clare was on her hands and knees in the mud retrieving her trainer whilst everyone else laughed and Jason took photos!!!

Once all items of running attire were once again in their rightful place we unfortunately had to turn around and leave the beaten track for another day. We spent the next few miles negotiating our way through tree roots and mud pools - relying on various sat navs to guide us back towards the cars. We even encountered a lone dog roaming the forest however we couldn't persuade him to be the next canine Strider - maybe the 7 headtorches focused on him weren't quite as inviting as we thought!

6 miles later and we returned to the cars - my first torchlight run was done!! I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely do another. On further inspection it was noted that I only appeared to have one dirty trainer - apparently I would be a lot faster if I didn't hop all the way round! Thanks gents - now I know where I've been going wrong all these years!!

Catherine

Race Report: Anglesey Coastal Marathon 21/01/2012

2012-01-24T20:22:00.001Z

Endurance life Anglesey Coastal Marathon

As I lay in bed on Friday night listening to the shipping forecast, the man with the Radio 4 voice worked his way round Fisher, Viking, Tyne, Dogger (my favourite), Rockall, Malin and eventually to the Irish Sea when his dulcet tones informed me that for my coastal path marathon I could expect "West or Southwest, 6 to 8 reaching severe gale force 9 at times, rain or drizzle, good occasionally poor".Perfect.Not only am I not marathon fit (still carrying a small orchard's worth of chocolate oranges from Christmas), but marathons on coastal paths are never easy and on top of that the course was advertised as 27.6 miles which as you all know in my book means it's an ultra marathon.

Is this Jason hiding underneath all this kit?

Nevertheless Jo and I arrived at the Breakwater Country Park on Anglesey at 7.45am ready for the marathon safety briefing at 8.30am and a 9am start. The walk from the car park to the registration was almost a mile. I thought about moaning about the distance but having had a 16 day walk to the start line of our last marathon I thought better of it.I've run a couple of Endurancelife events before and they're very well organised (which they should be for the entry fees of £29 for the 10k, £39 for the half marathon and £49 for the marathon) so checking in, getting the chip, number, t-shirt, energy bars etc all went very smoothly and before I knew it I and about 100 other runners were stood in the wind ready to go.The hooter sounded and we all headed off down the road we'd walked up. In fact we ran past the car where Jo had now retreated to the warmth of the heater for the 90 mins before the start of her half marathon.We then almost immediately started climbing until we peaked at about 1000ft and then settled onto the coastal path. The wind was spectacular blowing us all around like rag dolls but we just kept plodding along until the first checkpoint at 5 miles where we had a quick refuel before continuing on the path.

The weather continued to make life very difficult with a mixture of rain and sea spray making it hard to see our way as we negotiated the rocky terrain. At one point we were showered with foam from the sea which distracted me momentarily from the discomfort of the situation as I reminisced about a messy night in an Ibiza nightclub.For some reason my knee started to hurt more than it has for almost a year but nothing that was going to stop me shuffling forwards.At about 10 miles I came up next to a runner called Connor. He's a barrister specialising in family law and is running the Marathon des Sables this year. As soon as he knew I'd run the MdS he spent the next hour picking my brains on everything from gators to food, training to sleeping mats.I then spent the following hour asking him if there was a legal way for me to force Jo to sleep less.Sadly it appears not but at least it took my mind off my knee for a while.I eased away from him at about 22 miles and then just kept going. We had to climb back up the other side of the big hill at 25 miles before dropping down to the finish line.

As a final twist they sent us round the houses a bit before actually crossing the line but thankfully Jo was there to cheer me in.It was a great day out and whilst very tough it didn't involve as much scrambling as there's been on other coastal runs.Jo's half marathon went well although they did seem to draw the short straw by having to do nearly all the ascent and descent that the marathon had but with less of the flatter road sections.

Details of the Endurancelife race series can be found at www.endurancelife.com

Jason

Inaugural Striders' Bike Ride this Sunday!

2012-01-23T22:43:00.001Z

Greetings to you all from sunny/smoggy Essex. Fear not eventhough I am far away near the big smoke I have been working hard on setting upthe bike ride. I hear there have been a few questions at the club about thewhat and the when so here goes. We will be meeting at the bears head pub inBrereton for 10:30-Originally I told some people 10 so pleasespread the word about the new time.

From the pub we will split into two groups, one for muddymountain bikers who like a bit of rough and a second for all you smooth roadriders out there. Chris Brumby has kindly volunteered to lead the Mountainbikers on a route around Brereton and surrounding countryside for about 8 milesor so finishing back up at the pub. I will lead the roadies around a separate 9mile loop course also around Brereton area, with the idea that each rider cando as many or as little laps as they like to build up extra mileage if they sowish.

In the true spirit of bike clubs there shall be the opportunityto get some food from the pub once you have got off your trusty stead, I forone will be having a nice Sunday lunch. I think it will be a good time to chatand discuss the rides and any future events we wish to plan. Sticking with theidea of the running club the cycle event will not be at all elitist and both groupswill ride at the pace of the slowest rider so that no one gets lost or leftbehind. I hope this will be a fun event for all and something that will broadenthe club.

Please let me know by email or text if you will be attendingand which ride you will be doing, feel free to drag anyone else along with youwho may enjoy it, club members or family etc.

Also if anyone wants to come along who has not got a bike tohand, Paul Nicholls has kindly offered the loan of his bikes, so please contacthim if you would like to borrow one, I hear he does some very reasonable rentalrates.

Thanks and Regards

Chris Coppenhall

Race Report: Ilford Park Run 21/01/2012

2012-01-23T22:36:00.000Z

Thanksto the diverse range of park runs and locations hosting these events all acrossthe country I was able to quickly and easily find a park run near me in gloriousEssex. The event is hosted in Valentines park in Ilford some 40 mins away frommy house in the Essex countryside. Driving through Ilford town I approached thepark and was surprised by the green space that unfolded before me, there was alarge boating lake, Bandstand and lots of pathways lined with trees.

Afterthe pre-9am briefing which was significantly shorter than the one I was used tofrom Hanley, the race begun. Quickly into the lead was Fido the Labrador whowas dragging his owner behind him, I mean really dragging him along, the guysback was arched like a Pringle as he attempted to keep up with the dogs earlyenthusiasm. thankfully though the effects of the pedigree chum soon wore offand the rest of us were free to run the course. The layout was a flat 2 lapcourse of the park, taking in a bridge crossing over a stream, a loop aroundthe boating lake, looked a bit cold for a dip though in my opinion and thenback via the outskirts of the park to the start line.

AsI was a new comer to the event I sat in the leading pack for the first lap toget my bearing, as we approached the start of the 2^nd lap, I tookthe lead and started to pull ahead, I kept the legs working hard for fear ofthe 2^nd placed runner who looked dangerously like a elite runner outfor an easy jog. Thankfully this turned out to be all in my mind, either thator he was having a really easy race as I crossed in !st place, having nearlymissed the finish funnel in a time of 19:13.

Afterthe race was where the challenge really began as I had left the office onFriday without printing off my park run barcode and after turning my bedroomupside down that evening and finding lots of things I didn’t know I had I wasstill barcode less. So I decided to run the race anyway, take it nice easy andget registered as an unknown runner, well having finished first there was NOway I was going to remain nameless. So I had a chat with the organiser who witha bit of persuasion was happy to try and find me in the system and allocate thetime to my name.

Aswith any parkrun the event was well organised and friendly, with all the Marshallsgiving encouragement all round the course one of whom was particularly usefulas he told you your time and current position as you passed him on each lap. Nowon to the important stuff, Sadly I was not aware of any Cafes or even greasyspoons in the local area so decided to wait till I got back to my home town.Full English for £3.75 a real bargain I can recommend to anyone and also itreally does come without tomatoes if you tell them not to put them on.

Agreat race that really shows the ease of the park runs and the friendly runningenvironment that they are based upon.

For more information, visit the Ilford Parkrun website.

Chris C.

Torchlight Run - Brereton Heath 16/1/2012

2012-01-17T12:24:00.001Z

Last night was my first ever torchlight run. As I left my house my wee hubby shouted it was minus 1 degrees and I was mad to even contemplate running in the dark! – “you’ll end up with a cold again”. So with his words of wisdom ringing in my ears I legged it to the club. As I parked up I saw Jason and Jo, Jason was just getting dropped off, then Michael

turned up. He told us we were going to Chris Brumby’s place and running from there. Oh flaming hell thinks I, here I am running with the not only 3 fastest runners of the club (well a lot faster than me) but the lads that do ultra miles and race up and down hills for 20 miles. Suddenly hubby’s words were ringing in my ears.

When we reached Chris’s place just near Congleton, he told us that we would do a couple of laps of country lanes and then run around the woods at Brereton Heath. The only thing we had to watch out for was the “electric fencing and the two bulls” because we could spook them. OMG!!

We set off and the first hundred yards was a steady pace, the farmer had put extra strong silage on his fields and the smell was doing wonders for my sinuses, although freezing I was breathing pretty good. I was amazed that I was actually keeping up with the three musketeers in front and that I could actually talk too, they must be setting a slower pace so that I could keep up, or maybe it was the thought of the headlines that kept running through my head that was making me go faster. “Tragedy – Female Sandbach Strider flattened by spooked bull”. As we reached the first style the beam from Jason’s headtorch lit the field up, it was a bit rutted underfoot but other than that the frozen ground was ok to run on. I began to relax and although it was dark and you could not see any views, the stars were out and looked brilliant. I even recognised The Bear and The Plough. "Enough of this concentrate on where you are running" thinks I. We approached the field – yes the one with the electric fencing, Chris shouted “keep to the hedgerow you don’t watch to get a blast from the fence - Michael shouts – keep your elbows in. I am concentrating on my footing when ahead of me on the left hand side I see the beasts with glowing reflective eyes – yeah gods they looked like the vampire cows in that movie of which I can’t recall the name of. (Might have been Cbeebies). Giggling to myself I run on.

We leave the field, brilliant – I survived not being chased by the bulls. The lads wait up - Jason with his brilliant light shining leading the way towards the “woods”. We entered the heath, Michael at the back making sure I didn’t trip on the tree routes. (bless him). We do a few laps of the woods and head back, going through the field with the vampire cows and electric fencing, elbows in shouts Michael. At last, we are onto the final field and with the three musketeers just in front, I suddenly had a vision of the “three wise men being led by the star to the stable”, in this incidence, it was the three musketeers being lead by Jason’s bright light towards Chris’s cottage for a well earned hot drink.

Would I do a torch run again – most definitely. Thanks lads for taking care of me and waiting for me at the styles, gave me a chance to catch up with you all. Liz x x

Race Report: Hanley Park Run 24th December 2011

2012-01-13T22:41:00.000Z

Well it’s almost ancient history now but here’s the write upfor Hanley Park Run on December 24^th 2011 …..

I arrived just before 9.00am with one of my elves dressed asa 12 year old girl and one of the reindeer wearing a dog costume. We met withSnow White, Super Hero Man, a fake Santa and some old bloke who’d escaped fromhis nursing home.

We found the start line where I was astonished to see lots ofother fake Santas and quite a few elves. A very nice young man gave a briefingwhich lasted longer than the race and then we were off. It soon became apparentthat all the other Santas were really proper runners in disguise, I immediatelyadded them to the naughty list. My own progress was hampered by the reindeerwho overplayed the dog role and insisted on having a pee on every tree as wellas chasing a real dog which was going in the wrong direction. My elf, being cleverand cunning, watched most of the goings on from the comfort of a park bench.Eventually we finished to be greeted by the old man, fake Santa and Snow White.

The café was closed so we headed home, oldman back to his live-in nurse, super hero to return the costume to his superhero chairman dad and fake Santa back to tell his Mrs that he looked betterthan the real thing. I had to get back quickly having received a call from MrsClaus saying she was dropping in for a workshop inspection after picking up theturkey from Goosetry, as you would! I’veput a shaver on Snow White's Xmas list, she sure needs it!

Yours most jolly,

Santa

Congratulations Clare on raising £1,467.70 for the Christie Charity!

2012-01-11T10:14:00.001Z

Congratulations Clare!

On raising an incredible £1,467.70 this year for The Christie Charity.

For more information on The Christie and to learn about their excellent work, click here.

By the time you read this there might still be time to donate to Clare, visit her JustGiving page here.

Get your entries in for the 2011 Alternative Series Championship

2012-01-10T23:39:00.000Z

The deadline for the 2011 Alternative Series Championship is fast approaching (it's actually passed but I forgot to tell anyone - d'oh!)

This is open to all members and it'd be great to see as many of you as possible on the final table!

There are 11 categories in total, a race can only be entered into one category.

The points will be allocated as follows:

Entering any category – 20 points
Getting a PB in a marathon or a non-Cheshire race – 10 points
1st, 2nd or 3rd in any Super 6 or Predictathon - 15, 10, 5 points respectively

The categories are

a) –thon (any duathlon or triathlon style race)

b) Marathon (plus 10 points if you get a pb)

c) Striderssuper 6

d) Striderssuper 6 handicap

e) Predictathon(finish at a designated time)

f) Predictathon(finish in your predicted time)

g) Any race where you wore fancydress

h) Any racewith a water crossing

i) Any non-Cheshirebased race (plus 10 points if you get a pb)

j) Any race you ran for Charity

k) Any Fell or trail style race

What you need to do:

Download this document, fill it in, email it to Michael or print it out and bring it with you to the club. ASAP please!

Many thanks
Michael

Photoshop Competition - Still time to enter!

2012-01-06T16:40:00.000Z

Time is running out!

The closing date for entries into the Photoshop Grant competition is Friday 13th January 2012

You can see the entries on the link at the top of the page or by clicking here.

Grant with a transparent background can be downloaded from here

If you don't have access to a Graphics editing package there is a very powerful one available to use online for free at http://pixlr.com/editor/

You don't have to use a computer if you don't want to - we can also accept entries in any artistic media :-)

Email or give your finished entries to Michael - you can enter as many times as you like!

Race Report: Sunrise to Sunset 27/12/2011

2012-01-05T22:31:00.000Z

I found out about this race, not through the usual channels of Runners World or Fetcheveryone, but at mile 18 or so of the Crewe Déjà vu track marathon when I got chatting to Denzil the race organiser.

The race HQ wasn't on fire, it was a brazier to keep the marshalls warm.

Denzil organises a series of small, friendly and informal races which are as much of a

social occasion as a race. The idea behind the sunrise to sunset challenge is that runners run as far as they can (or want) between the hours of sunrise (08:20) and sunset (16:01), the winner being the runner who records the furthest distance. The race follows a 0.84 mile route around quiet country lanes and tracks in Lightmoor near Telford.

In the days immediately prior to the race I found it difficult to resist the lure of the Christmas foodstuffs and the booze, so I wasn't wholly confident about putting in a good performance come the morning of December 27th. It was a struggle to get myself out of bed at 6am and into the car for the journey down the M6. The satnav seemed to know where we were heading which was fortunate as my woozy head provided no help whatsoever. As I turned off the penultimate road and started heading up a small track I had a flashback to the race instructions - "Don't drive up the lane towards the race HQ as you may get stuck". Thankfully the weather was a lot more clement than it had been the previous year when a combination of heavy snow,ice and narrow hilly lanes had caused the race start to have been delayed.

In typical style I'd cut it extremely fine and by the time I'd dumped the car down the road and sprinted up the hill to the race HQ I only had a few minutes to attach my number and collect the 31 elastic bands that would serve as my lap counter (31 and a bit laps equalling 26.2 miles). I'd just about managed to squeeze the bands on over my gloves when the air horn went and we were off. I even managed to miss posing on the official start line photograph, which if we've ever met you will know just how distressing that is.

Each lap started with a downhill section away from the race HQ where the marshalls and their lap counting bucket were located, before bending round to a steepish climb which was runable for the first 25 or so laps but then became a welcome walk break. Each lap was 0.84 miles on quiet country road lanes, navigation certainly wasn't an issue nor was traffic. As each runner passed the start line they had to deposit one of the elastic bands into a bucket thus signifying that they had completed one lap. This was a vital step as anyone who has ever run a lap race will tell you, it is impossible to count them in your head after about the first 2 or 3. Even the best GPS watches on the market aren't 100% accurate - I've ran AIMS measured road marathons which my Garmin has reported a total distance of anything between 25 and 28 miles.

Downhill and across the start line. Again.

The water stops were very well stocked with a bewildering array of drinks, gels, protein bars, sweets, biscuits and other assorted treats. I've never had a Quality Street during a race before, but I have to say it made a very welcome change to my usual tipple of manky carb gel.

I recognised a couple of other runners from previous events and so whiled away a few laps chatting about races and catching up on 2012 running plans. The laps started to pass quite quickly and it never seemed very long inbetween the welcome downhill stretch past the start line. Matt the marshall was very supportive and gave everyone a big shout out as they passed by.

After a few hours I started to notice runners passing me in the opposite direction, this was because anyone who wished to stop at the marathon distance had to loop back after their final lap to make up the missing 385 yards. My strategy for the day was to run a steadily paced marathon and then just hang on and see how much more I could clock up. After 31 laps I passed through the start line and thus started collecting elastic bands again to signify each additional lap that I completed. It was no exaggeration to say that the eventual winner and new course record holder Charlie Sharpe had collected almost an arm full by the time he finished.

At first I thought I'd aim for 30 miles but as that passed by I started to think that maybe 40 was a realistic aim. I only had a few days left of actually being 40 so the target, somehow, seemed appropriate.

My knees had definitely decided that they'd had enough at around 40 miles, but I was starting to panic that maybe I'd undercut my target distance. The Garmin was only reading 38 miles. I knew it was reading a little short because it took a while to find a signal at the start of the race, but how short exactly? I was gripped with a fear that if I stopped and found myself having run only 39 miles how disappointed I would later be, so I dragged myself round for a couple more laps just to be on the safe side.

Pleasingly it turned out that I'd hit 42 miles in total and, in terms of total distance at least, I'd finished in second place overall. Although it has to be said this was (literally) miles behind the winner Charlie who covered over 51 miles. This despite never seeming to lift himself out of cruise mode.

Strongbow. Better than any post-race protein shake. By far.

At the finish I was presented with a very nice looking medal and a fantastic embossed pint glass by Denzil who also had one last surprise up his sleeve. At the Crewe Déjà vu Jason had managed to acquire sufficient Carlsberg for each runner's goody bag - which it has to be said went down an absolute storm. Denzil popped back and filled my pint glass with a cold can of Strongbow cider. I've never been a huge cider drinker but after 42 miles it tasted absolutely FANTASTIC. Denzil, Claire and I posed for a final photo with our cider recreating the same photo we'd posed for 2 months earlier trackside in Crewe.

I was busy helping myself to a final handful of chocolate biscuits (for the physiological necessity of replacing lost salts of course) when Denzil's wife ushered me up to their kitchen/race HQ. On offer there were jacket potatoes with beans or bolognese and a large mug of warm coffee. I commented how a couple of weeks earlier I'd run a large road marathon with a €60 entry fee and we weren't even offered a glass of water at the finish line! This hospitality was very well received and indicative of the informal and welcoming nature of this event.

There's another 31 laps on offer in June with the promise of a proper cider induced knees-up afterwards - it's definitely going on my race calendar for 2012.

For more information visit the Church of Denzil website.

Michael

Race Alert: Central Lancs Half, Stafford 20, Chester Half

2011-12-28T17:01:00.002Z

Three more races that you may be interested in running in 2012...

Paul, Clare and Terry battling along the Stafford 20 last year

3rd Central Lancashire Half Marathon

Monday 2nd January 2012

£12 Enter online. More details here

Stafford 20

Sunday 11th March 2012

£9 Entry form can be downloaded here

Chester Half Marathon

Sunday 13th May 2012

£24 Enter online, more details here

Boxing Day Bacon Butty Bash

2011-12-26T18:55:00.001Z

Thanks to everyone who made this mornings Boxing Day Bacon Butty Bash a success!

Normal service resumes on Wednesday at 6:30 !

Chef Terry loves to get his hands on a big sausage

Race Report; Pisa Marathon 18/12/2011

2011-12-25T23:27:00.000Z

To say this weekend turned out better than expected would be a massive understatement. As I left work at 3pm on Friday I was faced with a vicious snowstorm and what should have been a straight-forward 20 minute journey home turned into an hour and twenty minute skidfest. At home out of my window I watched several cars skid across the crossroads. The thought of battling through all of this ice and snow all the way to Stansted was extremely worrying and I started to think the chances of making the flight were slim and decreasing with every subsequent flake of snow.

Torre di Pisa. Not a bad spot to finish a marathon.

This viewpoint hadn't change much an hour later when I had still to reach Keele services. Although the snow was starting to stop, the roads were still icy and the traffic heavy and slow-moving. Our hopes were raised slightly as we eventually passed Stafford and the signs of winter gradually began to decrease. Time was running out though, our time spent queueing earlier had cost us dear. We neared Stansted with only minutes to spare, fortunately the car park bus was ready and waiting to whisk us to the terminal building where a quick dash got us to the gate with barely seconds left. Of course, sod's law being what it is, the plane was late.

Getting ready for the off

Even once we got underway, it looked like we wouldn't yet make it to the start line. 50 knot gale force winds in Pisa meant some time circling the airport. We had one chance to land otherwise limited fuel meant a forced detour to Genoa. Fortunately the Ryanair pilot got us onto the ground, and in one piece too, to a huge round of applause from the packed plane full mostly of Italian residents returning home for Christmas.

We could barely believe it when we finally checked into the hotel in the early hours of Saturday morning. It looked like a weekend destined to become less of a marathon weekend and more of one spent filling out travel insurance claim forms.

The weather on Saturday was much more clement. The gale force winds had thankfully moved on. After a hearty hotel breakfast ventured out to try and find the expo. Bizarrely the organisers had decided to locate the expo a few km out of the town centre, well away from the race start and finish. The expo was unexciting, a small array of stalls flogging running kit and advertising other European marathons. The goody bag contained a nice long sleeved technical top which just about had room for the name of the event in between all the advertiser's logos. Other than that there were only a few race leaflets and a running magazine (in Italian.)

Duomo de Pisa

As you might expect trying to find pasta the night before the race wasn't a particularly challenging task. However trying to resist the lure of the local Chianti was much trickier.

The morning of the race brought a pleasant surprise. I looked out of my hotel window to see the start line about 20 feet away just by the PIazza dei Miracoli (Square of miracles).

This was lucky as I hadn't slept very well and I'd decided to forgo breakfast in lieu of an extra hour in bed. A risky strategy admittedly, but I've come to realise that having a long and good quality nights sleep the night before a race is the single most helpful thing I can do.

The race start was chaotic with both marathon and half-marathon runners vying for the same space. The pacemakers left it until the last moment before assuming their positions, which meant the first few km ended up jammed full of jostling runners trying to find their space. In the first 2km I passed the pacemakers for 5:30, 5:00, 4:45, 4:30 and 3:45 but not in that order. I have no idea what happened to the 4:00 marker.

Water stations were every 5km and well organised with a selection of banana segments, panettone and sugar tablets also on offer.

Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John)

The route weaved its way through the narrow Pisa streets for a few km before heading off out of the city towards the coast and the Mediterranean resort of Marina di Pisa. Support was reasonable enough in the City but more or less non-existent along the rest of the route. The course was flat and along closed roads with each road junction staffed by both marshalls and police, thus ensuring that cars were kept well clear of runners.

The race finished immediately next to the Bell Tower (what we know as the Leaning Tower) and El Duomo (The Cathedral). A stunning place to finish, made all the more beautiful by the vibrant blue sky acting as the perfect foil to the shining white marble of the nearby monuments. As we crossed the line we were presented with an impressively chunky medal and a €5 deposit refund for our timing chips. This refund was a stroke of luck as surprisingly there were no drinks available after the finish line. I've run quite a few races from the huge city race to the tiny club event but I've never run an event where some kind of refreshment wasn't available. The €5 note soon disappeared into the hands of a nearby hot dog van owner in return for a couple of cans of ice cold drink.

After the race, celebrating a pb in the hotel bar

It was a few minutes after the race before it had sank in that I'd knocked 4 minutes off my pb. A result I really wasn't expecting given the build-up and it being my 21st marathon of the year! Would I recommend this race? I'd certainly recommend a visit to the city, which is common to most of Italy in that it is very welcoming and stunning. Budget airlines link Pisa with a couple of UK airports (more in the summer than in the winter) and hotels out of season are plentiful and competitively priced. This is the 3rd Italian marathon that I've run after Verona and Padua, I'm a big fan of all things Italian and I got a pb, so it probably won't come as much of a surprise to hear that this race has my heartiest recommendation.

For more information, visit the website.

Michael

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T17:26:00.001Z

Merry Christmas Everybody!

See you all on Boxing Day at 10am for the Boxing Day Bacon Butty Bash!

Race Report: Tour de Helvellyn 17/12/2011

2011-12-22T21:52:00.008Z

The Tour de Helvellyn is a 38 mile ultra race held on the shortest Saturday of the year. The event was first held in 2010 in very cold and challenging conditions and was immediately hailed by some as a new classic. This year’s event had slightly better conditions which made for a still challenging but extremely pleasant day out. Excellent organisation, courtesy of Nav4 and a fantastic route are likely to reinforce claims for classic status. The route starts at the village of Askham from where it crosses Askham Fell to Howtown before going up Boredale and over Boredale Hause to Patterdale. From Patterdale a circuit around Helvellyn is taken by heading over Sticks Pass to Thirlmere and returning via Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale from where the outward route is reversed back to Askham.

I arrived in Askham at 07:20 and by 07:46 I was on my way with the early dawn light just enough to see by. The short bit of tarmac out of Askham was very icing and forward motion in fell shoes quite difficult but I was soon on the fell enjoying the scene as the weak light gradually intensified. Once over the gentle rise of Askham fell both mind and body began to wake up and I was soon flying down to Howtown only stopping to remove a jacket and replace the woolly hat with a buff. A few competitors took the road from Howtown to the first check point at Martindale church, like most I opted for the off road route which turned out to be a good gently rising path and far superior to the tarmac. Having punched my card (no electronic dibbers on this one) I decided it was time for breakfast and ate the first of my bacon butties saving the fruitcake, flapjack and liquorice for later in the day. This is only my second ultra but I’ve already learnt the importance of eating well and for me it has to be proper food no sticky sickly gels or the like.

I enjoyed the company of another runner up Boredale and soon found myself descending to Patterdale completing the first 10 miles in less than 2 hours. My anticipated time of 9hrs was looking credible though I knew much harder terrain was to come. A mile or so on the road took me to Glenridding and the track to Greenside passing on the way a competitor with a beaker of coffee in one hand and hot bacon butty in the other. The track was very icy and in the distance it was possible to see competitors ascending the lower snow slopes of the climb to the next control at a footbridge over Swart Beck.

The snow soon deepened and I passed a number of skiers and a couple of snow boarders as I climbed upwards. A stream bed provided a good alternative to the snow covered path and slopes, I made good progress until I came to leave the stream where I found myself floundering in waist deep snow. Rejoining the main route the climb levelled out but the wind picked up and icy blasts suggested I should stop and replace jacket and hat. I however decided to battle on and soon came to the check point at the footbridge manned by a marshal suitably clad in gear fit for the arctic.

From here the gradient remained easy but the going under foot got harder and harder, head down and teeth gritted I marched on. It was on this section I mentally readjusted my target time to 10 hrs and was overtaken by a small darkly clad runner who came by me as if someone had just announced free beer at the top. I later found this pocket rocket of a guy was Kim Collison the eventual winner who had stayed in bed until the latest start time then whizzed round the course in an incredible 6:05 hrs. The climb to the pass seemed to take for ever and the weather closed in so that on finally reaching the top I was engulfed by near white out conditions. Luckily the tracks on the ground from those ahead remained just visible and I rarely lost sight of other runners ahead so I wasn’t delayed by stopping to take a bearing. Passing more skiers the pace picked up and I started to warm up again. The descent was tremendous; running in snow is such good fun when you’re going downhill. Unfortunately I soon dropped below the freezing level and found myself sliding about on muddy slush, the guy next to me worn micro spikes but he fared no better as the snow and mud balled up between the points.

The next section followed the wall above the enclosures of Thirlmere to Swirls car park where Santa and a guy with sleigh bells waited to greet the runners into the check point. From here the route took the forest track and paths towards Dunmail Raise. This long stretch at around halfway and with the prospect of another big climb ahead was the low point for many, me included. I scrapped all ideas of a finish time and made my new target to get to Patterdale before the 16:30 cut off.

The climb to Grizedale Tarn soon came and happily soon passed, being a lot easier and more enjoyable than Sticks Pass. Past the tarn and descending into Grizedale the snow again lay deep but the trail trod by the front runners was easy to follow and running just about sustainable all the way to Patterdale. So after the long descend though Grizedale I trotted into Patterdale 2 hrs before the cut off and with just 10 miles to go I reinstated the 10hr target. Other than to gain access to my pack this was the only time I stopped, treating myself to a few minutes as I tucked into a slab of fruitcake.

The climb back up to Boredale Hause sapped the last strength from my legs and as I jogged down the dale I found it hard to keep running even on flat tarmac. The last checkpoint seemed to take an age to arrive but once there I knew the finish was not in doubt and all I had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other. The 6 miles back up and over the fell to Askham were hard but I kept putting in short runs between walks on the steeper ground and as the light faded I could see a small plantation which marked the top of the fell and the final 2 mile descent to the finish. Even with a head torch picking the best route over the last few miles wasn’t easy but I soon arrived back at Askham village hall and was delighted to record a time of 9 hours 12 minutes.

The post race refreshments were excellent and after a bowl of spicy parsnip soup, a piece of ginger cake and several cups of tea I sat back and felt a deep warm feeling of satisfaction and contentment. This will definitely be on the list for 2012 and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys long runs in the hills.

For more information visit the website.

Chris Brumby

Competition Time!

2011-12-20T10:02:00.000Z

It's Competition Time!

'Tis the season to be jolly and also to get creative with your computer and art skills.

Your task is to take this photograph of Grant and put him into a scenario of your choice.

Entries will be posted on the special page on our website and prizes will be given for the best entry at the Awards ceremony in February.

Grant with a nice transparent background can be downloaded from here

Email or give your finished entries to Michael - you can enter as many times as you like!

Thanks to Jason for his photoshopping skills and for the original concept.

Thanks to Grant for being a great sport - here's hoping we can all do him justice!

Striders training kit

2011-12-19T21:29:00.000Z

I will be placing an order for the long sleeved hi-viz training tops and hoodies In the coming week or so...

The long sleeved hi-viz tops will be available in both a mens and ladies cut
The hoodies will be available in cornflower blue or black with the stitching in the contrasting colour - these can also be personalised for an additional fee
The hoodies will also be available in childrens' sizes in either sky blue or black and again can be personalised

I am awaiting some confirmation on the sizing as the supplier seems to have changed but will be sending out order forms asap.

Thanks

Catherine

Race Report: Sneyd Striders Pudding Race 11/12/2011

2011-12-19T09:50:00.000Z

Sneyd Striders Pudding Run (10 mile race) – Sunday 11th December 2011.

This 10-mile race was arranged by Sneyd Striders and was just off junction 11 on the M6. The venue was easy to find, even for me!It was a flat course that did 2 laps along fairly quiet side roads and then through a housing estate. Not the most picturesque area but I enjoyed it.

Walsall: Not yet a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The event was well marshalled and there was a drinks station on each lap.Car parking was at a local school where there were adequate changing areas, showers and a baggage drop. There was also a café that served hot food and drinks before and after the event. Everyone was very friendly and most people that I spoke to had done the event before. The race had chip timing and a goody bag at the finish.

I got a Christmas pudding, key ring, mug mat and two pieces of fruit. It was a good race for me, as I had never run this distance before. This picture is me sprinting for the finish line to get a time of 1:39:14. Proof at least that I did it. One of the marshals even commented that I had travelled a long way (from Sandbach) to run.

For more information visit the Sneyd Striders website.

Jill Jenkins

Torchlight Run - Rudyard Lake 12/12/2011

2011-12-14T00:31:00.003Z

“Barking!” they said as I left work on this cold, wet, windy evening, having informed them that I would travel to Rudyard Lake to run 6 miles in the dark... I didn’t argue.

Considering the weather it was a good turnout of seven, some of whom had endured similar conditions in the Tatton Yule Romp just the day before. Andre the dog with his flashing collar also came along. Chris had assured me that my road shoes would be fine as the run was just on a track around the edge of a lake.... he got that wrong!

It was a good route, almost entirely off road. Starting from the pub car park, we ran down a track for 3 miles. It was very dark, and Paul and I took a good 10 minutes to realise that the lake was on our right. Apparently, while I was busy looking at the ground, a few others saw an owl overhead. As the route progressed the track became wetter and muddier, and we soon gave up trying to avoid puddles as we were now ankle deep in mud.

Just before the 3 mile point we turned right over a bridge to cross the dam to the other side of the lake. We followed undulating lanes, paths and tracks as we headed back towards our start point. Descending a narrow lane we spotted a car stuck in the mud of a gateway. The young Chinese driver was delivering a take away and being somewhat lost had tried unsuccessfully to turn around. She must have been both surprised and relieved to see 7 runners in hi-vis jackets, and a dog. The boys managed to push her car out of the mud so she could turn it around to face the right direction. Unfortunately she didn’t do anything to help some people’s views about lady drivers. After about 6 attempts of doing exactly the same thing, and surprisingly getting the same result, Paul Nicholls hopped in the driver’s seat and took over. Car now pointing in the right direction and excitement over, we continued along the trail.

Five minutes later as we approached a large house with castellated roof and a slightly spooky air Chris suddenly called the dog to him and put on his lead. He had spotted a pair of eyes and a dark silhouette ahead which looked like a very large dog. It was a relief to us all when close enough to see it was a miniature pony. Paul volunteered to give Chris some lessons on farm yard animals.

We continued uneventfully through the mud back to the pub, where of course we enjoyed the obligatory pint by the fire.

Jill Young

Run Report: Trigger Training Run

2011-12-13T19:22:00.004Z

It’d just been a training trip, John Lawton and I, quietly going off to reconnoitre the route over Black Hill part of the classic Marsden to Edale route. No need for any fuss, then Jill mentioned it in front of “Mik - you need to write a report – Escolme”. So here it is:

The Trigger is the latest event that pitches competitors against the classic Dark Peak 21 mile challenge route over Black Hill, Bleaklow and Kinder Scout. John and I set off last Wednesday to get in some valuable training and to familiarise ourselves with part of the route.

I’ve walked the Dark Peak for years in all sorts of weather but wasn’t prepared for the trial we underwent in a cruel five hours spent on the moor. Lightweight running gear, including waterproof body cover, hat and gloves are adequate and safe for the fell runner in the severest of conditions, providing you can keep running. And there was the problem, Black Hill consists of a bit of rock, a moderate amount of heather and tussocky grass but most of all a lot of bog, surrounded by bog with a bit of extra bog thrown in for good measure. Across this wild landscape lie few footpaths most notably the Pennine Way, which offers some slight easing of passage except when the eroded paths are full of ankle to knee deep snow. So it was that we struggled over 12 miles with barely being able to break into a trot, meanwhile the wind reached gale force and fired sharp hailstones at us.

We made it safely back to the car just before dark, it had truly been an ordeal and at times painful especially on our wet almost frozen feet. John lost feeling in both feet before the end; unfortunately for me I could still feel the pain in one of mine!

So with a harsh lesson in mental and physical discomfort, I’ve revised my anticipated time for the race in January and we’re off to reconnoitre more of the route sometime soon.

Why I hear you ask? Well, many reasons but one worth mentioning was the wild landscape that presented itself in dramatic fashion on that Wednesday. Huge dark inky clouds tinged with silver and pierced with shafts of gold against the browns, blacks and white of the snow splattered moors….stunning, absolutely stunning.

Chris

Race Alert! Peak 'o' Trial 28/12/2011

2011-12-13T15:55:00.002Z

If you fancy squeezing in a fell race during the Yuletide festivities, then this may be the race for you - the Peak 'o' Trial on Wednesday 28th Dec 2011 at 10:00, 8 mile, 2000 feet of ascent. Starting at the Grouse Inn, Chunal, Glossop. No entries on the day. Race entry £6

The Grouse Inn, Chunal, Glossop

More information at the FRA website here.

Race Report: Yuletide Yomp 11/12/2011

2011-12-11T17:49:00.001Z

Two reports for the same race this time from Liz and Alan.

We set off from the club at 9am, the weather in sandbach was cold ,but dry, as we got closer to knutsford the rain started! It wasn’t torrential but enough to dampen spirits and remind me that I really must invest in a sandbach striders shirt and pack my vest away for summer use only.

It was a five minute walk to the start line ,which was the main gate to Tatton ,myself and paul worked our way nearer the front as there were a thousand runners. The chip timing started at the gate, once underway it took me a while to get going and get past people. I set off hoping for a pb, it took about 30 second to realise that this was not going to happen, it took me about 4km to get to a point where i didn’t feel boxed in or stuck. The course was more undulating than I expected, with most of it on grass and mud! (note to self- must buy trail shoes!), you seriously had to watch where you put your feet.

The rain did not let up, but that did not spoil the scenery, although at about 7k I thought about 400+ deer were going to stampede across the course, luckily they set off in a different direction.

Despite the conditions I was pleased with my performance, and I kept chipping away at the people in front of me, the last ¾ of a mile was on the road to the finish, and I was pleased to still have the energy to carry on chipping away at the opposition.

I won a spot prize for being the first santa hat across the line! That will do for me.

Support from the crowd was a bit lacking till the end, but the weather didn’t help there, would I run it again? Yes, it is a good challenge pre- Christmas.

Alan Pearson.

---I lined up with all the rest of the intrepid Santas, Reindeers, Elves, Striders and even Snow White today. The weather was a bit cold with a slight drizzle of fine rain so I thought the conditions were just right. How wrong could I be, a certain person at the club said the course was more like the Sandstone Trail but he neglected to say it was slightly off road, hilly and very muddy. Unfortunately, the fine drizzle turned to a constant downpour of rain with a cross wind.

This helped the course get even muddier and at some downhill sections you were literally slip sliding past other fellow runners. A few who actually ended falling. This is the first race where I was overtaking people from the very start and when I got to the sign that said “4” I thought at 24 minutes I was blistering with only 2 miles to go. Doh it was “K” markers. However, I worked out my calculations and put my best foot forward to try and catch Evonne who was in my sight, but alas the weather and mud got the better of me and I finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes. Would I do it again? Yeah but I’ll wear my trail shoes. Now to have that well earned vodka and lime.

Liz O'Keeffe

For more information, visit the Tatton Yuletide Yomp website

Runner	Chip time	Chip position
Alan Pearson	00:43:08	23
Paul Barnett	00:45:26	53
Heather Carter	00:47:34	97
Terry Coppenhall	00:50:33	170
Perry Wyatt	00:51:30	206
Michael Escolme	00:52:18	236
Johanna Bulley	00:52:20	240
Tom Mayell	00:53:18	262
Evonne Foulkes	00:53:38	279
Paul Nicholls	00:55:46	352
Jennifer Hockenhull	00:57:13	397
Liz O'Keeffe	01:01:19	518

Race Report: Everest Marathon 02/12/2011

2011-12-09T16:22:00.001Z

In all the marathons I have run I've never underestimated a race as badly as I did this one.

It all seemed so simple when I read about it. A leisurely walk up to Everest Base Camp and then turn round and run back down.

A man points at a very large mountain

What in fact took place was a journey where 68 runners would actually climb more than the

height of Everest, along paths which were at times only inches wide with thousands of feet of drop offs to the side, they would sleep in tents which would freeze both inside and out, there would be two helicopter evacuations, a helicopter crash, illness, altitude sickness, sleep deprivation, falls, stitches and for some the usually low risk event of breaking wind would in fact have catastrophic circumstances.

The journey to the start line didn't really begin until we finally arrived in Lukla a day late due to weather. This is where we split into three separate groups of about 22 runners. Each group had their own marshals, porters, cooks, sherpas and Yaks and all of us started our two day walk to Namche Bazar. The first day had a lot of climbing up and down but not too much total altitude gain but the second day with it's long ascent into Namche left everyone with their first taste of how the altitude was going to effect them. The symptoms ranged from simple breathlessness to nausea, dizziness and headaches but nothing too serious.

The view over Namche Bazar

For me the effects didn't really show up until I went to sleep. Just after I dozed off I would relax and stop breathing! Consequently I would wake up gasping for air a few seconds later. This would soon become the pattern for my trip, night after night, every time I nodded off I would wake gasping for air. It would improve slightly if we spent a second night at the same altitude but then we'd push on up the mountain and it would start all over again. Jo showed less symptoms but little did we know it would be her that would later develop full scale acute mountain sickness.

Our days followed a regular pattern. We would be woken at 6:30 by one of our porters offering us a hot towel to freshen up with, soon after we would be offered tea or coffee in our tent but by 7am we would be expected to be packed up with our bags outside the tent ready for them to be loaded onto yaks for the journey to our next location. The tents were normally set up near a lodge of some sort where we would be served breakfast before we'd head off to a set rendezvous point for lunch.

The night times were absolutely freezing and anything which wasn't in our sleeping bags would be frozen solid by the morning. Consequently I shared my sleeping bag with my water bottle, my clothes for the following day, wet wipes, toilet roll, camera, iPod and on a couple of nights my shoes as well.

Freezing cold inside and outside the tent

The strange thing was that the sun would normally come up during breakfast and the temperature would soar causing us to all shed layers as quickly as we could until we were down to shorts and t-shirts. In the sunshine it would reach +28°C but in the shade it would never get above -5°C which as we trekked in and out of valleys would see some rapid costume changes.

After we left Namche Bazar I got my first realisation that all was not as I was expecting when we walked for three days up and down valleys that were nowhere near our race route and nowhere near Everest Base Camp. Once we'd topped our headaches up and my sleep deprivation continued they then turned us round and marched us back for two days to within an hour of Namche Bazar.

Finally though after 12 days we ended up at a place called Sanasa which was on the race route and we could at last get a feel of what the race was going to be like... and what a shock it was.

The first horror was the sheer amount of 'UP' in what I had pictured as a downhill marathon, secondly was the terrain which at best was rocky and at worst was like clambering through a boulder field. There was one section of about three miles at the 17 mile marker which was potentially an enjoyably runnable part except for the sheer drop to the left which on tired legs could so easily end in disaster.

We continued our journey pushing on up past 15,000ft and onto 16,000ft where we reached a place called Lobuche which is notoriously cold, miserable and unpleasant. Just as we arrived there an Australian tourist had decided he'd had enough and ordered a helicopter evacuation. Unfortunately he wasn't the lightest trekker we'd seen and at that altitude the helicopter struggled to take of. The pilot decided to leave the co-pilot behind and have another go. He managed to get a few inches off the ground so decided to go for it. As he skimmed the rocky terrain aiming for a gap where the mountain dropped away he clipped a large stone with his skids. It span him round and tipped him into the ground. The blades shattered sending some bits into our camping area and the helicopter settled on it's side.......very broken.

Oops.

Everyone emerged ok although I suspect the pilot's career may have just come to an end.
Whilst all this excitement was going on and I was photographing the carnage, Jo's head had started to pound and the symptoms of acute mountain sickness had taken hold.

When I got back to the tent she thought her brain was going to push it's way out through her eyes which I took as a bad sign. The doctors came to see her and immediately gave her diamox which would help reduce the swelling of her brain and relieve the pain.

We were at Lobuche for two days and this would be the scene of the dreaded medical which had to be passed before any of us would be allowed to make the final ascent to Gorak Shep at over 17,000ft and the location of the 1952 Swiss Base Camp which would be our start point.

Thankfully the diamox had done it's job with Jo and in fact, all the runners who had made it to Lobuche after a sixteen day trek were allowed to go on up to Gorak Shep. No sooner had we arrived when a helicopter was ordered to fly two runners out who had decided it was just too much for them.

We settled into one of the rooms at a lodge and got our race kit ready for the following morning and then went to bed early anticipating another broken nights sleep for most of us.

And so it was that at 6:15am on the 2nd December 66 runners plus 25 local Nepali runners gathered in the freezing cold by a start line which had been drawn in the dust on a frozen lake. Each and every one of us were run down, tired and feeling the effects of the altitude. We shouted out our race numbers one by one to make sure we were all there and then at 6:30am the words 3-2-1-GO duly sent us on our way.

The start line

We ran for about 400yds and then immediately went up. This incline at 17,000ft was enough to bring many runners to an instant standstill. They could be seen stood by the side, hands on knees, gasping for air whilst trying to avoid throwing up.

Getting ready for the start

The next 8 hrs consisted of staggering from one checkpoint to the next whilst trying to not fall over. The lack of oxygen getting to our lungs and muscles made it a very very tough day without the added problem of me falling over at ten miles. I have no idea what happened but one minute I was running along and the next I was flat on my back having gone over on my ankle. There wasn't too much pain in my ankle but I couldn't stand up because my head was spinning so much. It took about ten minutes before I could carry on with my run back to Namche.

Just as I got going again I met up with Jo and we ran together until about 17 miles. She was feeling strong and my ankle was beginning to hurt so she pushed on. 17 to 20 miles was ok but that brought us to within sight of the finish line before we were sent on a six mile out and back route called the Thamo loop.

The running surface

It felt like the longest six miles ever but eventually having had a chance to see Jo and a few other runners I found myself rounding the corner back into Namche Bazar. A right turn at the monastery and down a long flight of steps into town, a left turn, then a right and finally a few steps up into the courtyard of the Sherpaland Hotel and I crossed the finishing line.

Jo was there waiting along with a doctor who strapped my ankle and that was it. We stood slightly dazed with our medals on as we cheered in other runners before finally heading for the first shower in over two weeks.

The camaraderie amongst the whole group was great but we were especially close within the yellow team and it was brilliant to see us all make it across the line.

Flying out of Lukla Airport - one of the world's scraiest landing strips.

Having crossed the line and received our medals it was easy to forget we still had to retrace our two day walk back to Lukla before flying to Kathmandu and eventually to Manchester via Abu Dhabi.

When we reached Lukla it was questionable if the weather would be clear enough for us to fly. We got to the airport at 6am and just waited, and waited, and waited. There we were, sitting at the most dangerous airport in the world, looking at the clouds swirling around the mountains, all thinking 'go on, let's have a go at taking off, we're sure it'll be ok'!

Finally about four hours later a hooter sounded, somebody screamed Agni 1 and Agni 2 and within five minutes we were sat at the end of the runway, the engines went to full power and we were on our way home.

A pause in the mayhem of Kathmandu to have an awards lunch and evening meal and then a bus ride back to the airport, a flight to Abu Dhabi, and finally 25 days after leaving Sandbach we arrived home.

It will take us a while to appreciate the whole trip but I know Jo doesn't want to see a mountain or a sleeping bag for a while.

For more information, visit the official site of the Everest Marathon

Jo and Jason.

Run Report: The Rainy Cloud 06/12/2011

2011-12-06T22:08:00.000Z

'Twas a cold wet snowy hail stone morning when my iphonebleeped to say there was a message. It was Evonne, stating that she thought The Cloud 9 hill run we had set for today was going to be too dangerous. “MMMM” Ithought, I had still arranged to meet the two Chris’s so thought I had betterturn up anyway. At that point another text from Christiana telling me thatperhaps we should stick to Moston and about four miles today. "No problem" I thought,slightly disappointed. Anyhow, we soon all arrived at the club with Chris(that’s male Chris) turning up dressed for mountain climbing. It seemed a shameto spoil it for him and as soon as Chris (that’s female Chris) suggested we maygive it a try, we were all in my car and on the way to Congleton.

Parked up at the leisure centre we took the short walkacross to the Biddulph rail trail. As we started off we said goodbye to the alcoholicteenagers drinking strong beer at 9-30 am and skiving off school and set on ourway. We soon left the track and that is where the fun began, or should I saythe mud began. Sliding around like Bambi in an old musical I had Evonne’s it'stoo dangerous words running through my head!!! Then as if by magic, we weretreated to the most amazing hail storm I've seen since err... the last most amazinghail storm. With hail bouncing off my balding head and Chris saying “ I cantsee The Cloud yet” we began the ascent through the fields and there it was “TheCloud”.

I have done The Cloud 9 race twice over the years so sort ofknew the way, although I wouldn’t fancy it under torch light, so I sort of knewwhat to expect and it didn’t disappoint me. As the going got tough and the pathnarrowed we took a few breathers to keep safe more than anything else (that’smy story and I'm sticking to it) but soon blasted through the miles to the top.

When arriving at the summit, I couldn’t stop thinking howbeautiful it was. One side you could see nothing because of the fog, on theother you could see a 1000 different colors and see for ever.

When coming down we just went for it, bit by bit rock byrock and tree root by tree root until eventually it flattened out a bit. Intotal we covered just about 6 miles, shaving some off the actual 9 mile Cloud 9run. It was a good little training run though and I look real forward to thereal thing in a couple of months.

So Im entered and so is Chris, and hopefully will see a fewmore of our club there when the day comes.

For more information visit the Cloud 8 website.

Paul

Race Report: Torchlight Run 05/12/2011

2011-12-06T10:02:00.000Z

For the first time the route organisation for this weeks torchlight run fell to me, which is where things started to go wrong. I had all good intentions of planning an interesting 10k or so cross-country route ready for this evenings run but a combination of work and a weekend away got in the way.

Heather, Perry, Chris, Paul and Michael back at the Hawk Inn.
It's just Ribena and protein shakes in front of us. Honest.

However, we all met in the club car park as usual. It was a cold and dark winter evening so

extra layers were a must. After a quick discussion we decided to repeat the route from last week which started from Paul's house in Haslington and, as if by magic, finished at the bar of the nearby Hawk Inn.

I was keen to test my new LED Lenser P7 torch which I bought recently after being impressed by a similar torch belonging to Perry.

The first part of the run takes us along a path and track and as we moved out of the range of the nearby streetlights I turned the torch on. I was immediately taken aback by just how much light was being generated by such a small torch. If money were no object I would be sorely tempted by one of the headtorches they produce which according to reviews are comparable to a car headlight!

The section of the route across the golf club is the only part of the route with any kind of incline/decline on it. Although they aren't what you would call hills, over here in flat as a pancake Cheshire we have to take what we can get. It certainly felt a lot easier to me this week after not having run a marathon the day before.

Before too long we were back on the path heading towards the bright lights of the main street in Haslington. The night runs seem to pass much faster than a Wednesday night run and we speculated why this might be. Perhaps it's a combination of the dark and the terrain focusing one's mind on every step. Perhaps it's the thought of the roaring log fire and the glass of Shiraz or large Scotch awaiting us on our return.

The night run schedule might be a little over the next few weeks might become a little fragmented due to Christmas, but we do have some very interesting routes planned in. If you haven't yet had a go at night running I'd urge you to consider it. All you need is a hi-vis jacket, a headtorch (I can usually find you one to borrow if need be) and the willingness to try something out of the ordinary. We run as a group at a steady pace, and we certainly don't leave anyone behind.

Michael

Race Alert! Friends of Mick 'n' Phil Half Marathon 11/03/12

2011-12-05T22:46:00.000Z

"'Legend' is a word that gets used too often" is a phrase that gets used too often. But Mick and Phil Curry deserve every last bit of recursive cliché you can muster. Phil has cerebral palsy and sodium valproate syndrome, and his dad Mick has a fondness for Vaseline and the energy of ten bears.

All the Striders who ran or helped out at the Crewe Déjà vu will be familiar with Mick 'n' Phil and the enthusiasm, friendliness and Joie de Vivre they both exhibited throughout the day despite unfortunately being unable to complete the race on this occasion.

Mick 'n' Phil at the Crewe Déjà vu

I can only begin to imagine the challenges involved in looking after a severely disabled family member on a full-time basis, but if that's not enough, Mick has pushed Phil and his chair around 42 full marathons and a few hundred half marathons. They were awarded the Jane Tomlinson Inspiration Award by Runner's World in 2008, and have given heart to hundreds of runners along the way with their fighting spirit, and Mick's chant of "Easy, Easy, Easy".

A few years ago, a group of Fetchies organised The Friends of Mick 'n' Phil Half Marathon, which raised over £5000 for the Curry family. The race made it into the Runner's World Top 10 races of 2008, which may or may not have been because the Fetchies all voted for it a dozen times each, but it was a genuinely well-put-together race, with some extremely attractive marshalls and organisers. And I'm posting this article because they're going to do it all again at Draycote Water, near Rugby. So please cancel any arrangements you've made for March 11th 2012.

For more information visit the website.

Race Alert! High Legh 10k 26/02/2012

2011-12-04T22:44:00.001Z

100% of last year's runners who contacted Runners World said that they would run the High Legh 10K again - so don't delay. Race registration is progressing even faster than last year. We have got permission to have up to 400 places this year, so if you register now you can still get a place in the acclaimed Best Small Race in Britain.

Over 275 places have already been taken up, so don't delay, because the word is getting out - publicity is increasing.

Charge £14 (£12 for UKA affiliated runners) + 50p for card processing

Same course, same friendly marshallsHomemade cakes to follow? (Natch!) - High Legh activities always have cake - it's a local bylaw (or byword) It will be the same fast, fairly level course as in 2011, finishing at High Legh Primary School, where the Parent Teachers Association has agreed to provide the hot and cold drinks, hot sausage barm cakes and home made cakes that have been so much appreciated by runners in previous years.

For more information, visit their website.

Race Alert! Cloud 9 Hill Race 04/03/2012

2011-12-02T13:31:00.001Z

25th Cloud Nine Hill Race11am, Sunday 4th March 2012

Just to let you know that the Cloud 9 Hill race in Congleton is now open for entries. They are not doing on the day entries this year so it may well fill up quickly. It's only £7 and a great race, well organised and great fun.

Bob on top of The Cloud in 2011...

Closely followed by John...

Liz narrowing the gap...

Jill putting in maximum effort with a mile to go.

For more information, visit http://www.congleton-harriers.co.uk/cloud9

Jason & Jo FINISH the Everest Marathon!

2011-12-02T12:43:00.001Z

News just in, direct from Nepal..

.

Jason and Jo have just finished the toughest marathon either of them have ever done (and they've done a lot of tough marathons between them!)

Jason managed around 8:40ish whilst Jo managed a very impressive 8:30ish.

The start line was located at 17,500 feet above sea level and people were throwing up within 400 yards.

It was like trying to run at 20°c with a pair of socks in your mouth.

Jason fell at ten miles and is nursing a twisted ankle, but otherwise they are both ok.

CONGRATULATIONS from all at Sandbach Striders!

Bob is running the London Marathon!

2011-12-01T21:54:00.001Z

Sandbach Striders' own Bob Kettle is running the London Marathon next year in aid of The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.

Pancreatic Cancer is a particularly nasty form of cancer it is difficult to diagnose and once diagnosed is usually very advanced and the patient has a very limited life expectation.

You can read more about Bob's challenge and donate some hard cash at his website.

Jason and Jo Everest Marathon Update (Updated 1/12/2011))

2011-12-01T20:00:00.000Z

Latest news live from Nepal... (More added 1st Dec)

Jason and Jo have now landed in Lukla, a day late, but obviously glad to have arrived given the difficulties Nepal have faced recently with inclement weather conditions.

They have now started their long trek to the start line ready for the race start on the 2nd of December.

Jason and Jo have now reached Namche Bazar and are now residing some 10,000 feet above sea level!

Latest Update (from Jason)
Just to let you know after a shaky start and a day sitting in Kathmandu airport we finally got to make the amazing flight into Lukla airport. Having had four crashes there last year and three so far this year it is quite entitled to it's reputation as the most dangerous airport in the world!

We started our trek yesterday from Lukla to somewhere I can't pronounce and then from there today to Namche Bazar. It's just over 10'000ft up here which is taking a bit of getting used to.

When the sun is out it's warm enough for t-shirt and shorts but as soon as it goes in it's cold enough to freeze the water in your drinks bottle.

We've got a rest day here tomorrow to try and let the headaches subside when we will then carry on upwards. Found out today that the race route has a three mile mow cop style incline on the way down to the finish line.......and then it's a two day walk back to the airport...............'note to self'..........read the bloody small print.

An elderly man runs 10k in Nepal.yesterday.

We've been on an acclimatisation climb to 13'000ft today to see some amazing views of Everest... breathtaking... literally!!

Back down to Namche Bazar now before continuing our trek up towards Everest Base camp tomorrow.

One of our sherpas has summited Everest 19 times and is tipped to be the first person to crack it 20 times!

I'm not allowed to talk to him in case I get any stupid ideas!

Latest news received Tuesday 22nd November Evening

Jason and Jo have just arrived at Dole which is their first night above 4000m. Everyone is suffering with the high altitude although Jason and Jo less than most. (Must be all the time spent in the Mountains of Wheelock!)

The temperature dropped to -8°c in their tent last night, brrrr!

Latest news received Thursday 24th November Evening

Rest day at 14500 feet which is just as well as Jo is suffering with some altitude sickness. Climbing up to 16000 feet tomorrow but then straight back down. Only 7 more days walk to the start line!

Latest news received Saturday 26th November

Just been up to 16,000 feet at Gokyo and now back at 15,000 feet. Took 7 hours. Jo is much better although none of us are free from the effects of altitude. Heading lower again tomorrow.

The course looks reasonably flat compared to Cheshire

Latest news received Sunday 27th November

We've moved onto Pangboche without incident (we ran a bit of it so we want out club ticks!) Only a couple of the group are ill but we're all feeling the fatigue of 10 days trekking and sleeping in tents. Everyone's goal at the moment is just to make it to the start line.

Latest news received Tuesday 29th November

Mountain view near Lobuche

We have made it to Lobuche, our highest point so far at 16,500 feet. Helicopter crashed here just as we were arriving if only to emphasise the height. Nobody hurt. Headaches all round for the runners but hoping they'll ease soon. All tense now as we need to pass medicals here on Thursday before being allowed up to the start line.

Latest news received Thursday 1st December

Both passed our medicals this morning and have made our way up to Base Camp somewhere about 17,500ft. Only 50% atmosphere up here so it is very difficult to do anything! The terrain is insane, as is having a full phone signal!

No sign of a pink tent at Everest Base Camp.

---

Check back here for more updates as soon as we receive them!

Race Report: Torchlight Run 28/11/2011

2011-11-29T09:51:00.001Z

Paul Nicholls kindly volunteered to lead this week’s extra-curricular run round Haslington and Winterley. We arrived at Paul’s house, and having had our crotches sniffed by his (extremely large but very unintimidating) dog we donned the head-torches and hi-vis and set off into the wilderness.

The route according to Garmin and Google Earth

Being dark and mostly unfamiliar paths, I cannot inform you of the precise route, dear reader. However I can report that we headed towards Winterley, turned right and worked our way back towards Haslington via fields and tracks. However the risk assessment for this week’s run was a little lacking. Having been faithfully assured that all the cattle would be tucked up in bed, weduly encountered a herd of cows blocking the entrance to the first stile. The decision was taken to circumvent the herd, which led to crossing the field boundary in a different location. Unfortunately this turned out to be similar to jumping Beechers’ Brook and some heavy landings occurred. In the following field we encountered what would be best described as a bear trap, which thankfully failed to snare Paul’s legs.

Two or three miles of running through dark, cow pat spattered fields ensued until we reached Crewe golf club. At this point, Paul informed us that he usually took his trainers off and ran bare foot through the grass (presumably avoiding spent tees). It was sorely tempting given that our trainers were smeared with cow pats, but there was no barefoot frolicking on this occasion. At this point I lost my bearings completely as we weaved round the greens of the golf course.

Michael, Paul, Tom, Perry, Jill and
Chris at the Hawk Inn, Haslington

Eventually we emerged, like moles emerging from their burrows into the bright lights of Haslington – right opposite The Hawk pub. Quite frankly it would have been rude not to stop for a pint, so we did. I was dripping with sweat by this point, having overdressed somewhat. So the kindly landlord stoked up the coal fire just to make sure that we were thoroughly dehydrated (presumably a ploy to make us buy more beer). I endeavour to provide a fully detailed race report; thus I am pleased to say the Robinsons Black Beauty stout was spot on. Unfortunately Giles needed his head torch to be returned before 9pm (before it turned into a pumpkin) so the drinking was curtailed and we returned to Paul’s house to have our crotch odour reassessed.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable run and I would recommend the head torch running experience to other members.

Tom

Hanley Parkrun Information Video

2011-11-29T09:40:00.001Z

Students at Staffordshire University have produced a short film about the wonders of the Hanley Parkrun.

Look closely and you might spot a couple of Striders!

Race Report: Valencia Marathon 27/11/2011

2011-11-28T22:04:00.001Z

The 31st Valencia Marathon, now named the Divina Pastora* Marathon, is one of the highlights of the Spanish road racing calendar. It has recently moved to November to improve the chances of more favourable weather for running and they have also moved the start and finish to the architecturally stunning Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences).

(* "Divine Shepherdess" - the name given to the image of the Virgin Mary)

Near the start and finish at La Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias.

The race started at 9:00am on Sunday morning with both a Marathon and a 10k due to start simultaneously although running along different routes. There were around 6,000 marathon runners and the start was a little chaotic as runners battled to try and get to be near their pace setter. This was made difficult by the bridge which held the runners being divided into sections far too small to hold the requisite number of runners. Also the pace setters were not quick enough, getting into their position until minutes before the gun. Soon the gun did go off, which was quickly followed by a volley of fireworks and although the start was cramped the pack soon spread out. Although there was a bit of weaving around slower runners I didn't really feel like I was being held up by others nor holding up any faster runners.

Post-race, pre-beer.

The route weaved in and around the City and we got to run past many of the sites and attractions of Valencia. Support was vocal from the locals and there was a varied and regular selection of local musicians lining the route. One thing that really stood out in my mind was the firemen along the route at strategic points with their tenders and hoses spraying runners with a gentle mist of cool water. This was most welcome on what was a warm, sunny day and it was nice to see the fireman show their support by shouting and cheering as loud as any of the spectators.

Water stops were every 5k-ish and were enthusiastically if not wholly efficiently administered by local youth groups. There wasn't anything in the way of food but bottled water and small cups of Powerade were in plentiful supply.

Looking down the (final) finish straight.

The only disappointing part of the race for me was the finish, or rather the final 1km. As we passed the 41km marker I could see two gantries in the distance. I knew these weren't the ones on the finish lines because looking at the route in the pre-race brochure, I could see the organisers had routed us back through the starting line before we turned a corner to the finish straight. As we passed over the start another gantry came into view and I spotted a couple of runners ahead of me slow down to a stop once they had passed through it. This was not the finish however. In fact the finish did not come until after another two corners and another four gantries. I don't mind telling you that I crossed the finish line more-or-less a broken man and it took everything I had to keep going down the final finish straight. Somehow I managed to struggle over the line 9 seconds quicker than my previous pb, so all in all it was a good day at the office :-)

Would I do the race again? Perhaps. I'd certainly have no problem in recommending it to others. Valencia is an attractive city with enough things to see and do to keep anyone occupied for at least a few days. My hotel was reasonably priced considering it's (deserved) four star status. Flights were cheap via RyanAir from Stansted (I've also heard a rumour that in 2012 they are starting a new route from Manchester.) Getting from the airport to the centre of town via the Metro was cheap, fast and easy to negotiate. Race entry was €40 for early entrants rising to around €60 for last minute entries which is certainly not too bad value considering the big city feel of the event and the number of freebies.

The Marathon start bridge - 10k start bridge is just to the left.

I've run in several Spanish marathons and in my experience they tend to look after runners very well. Valencia was no exception. In the pre-race goody bag there was to be found:

Technical t-shirt
Snood
Baseball Cap
Boot bag
Energy gel
Cereal bar
Orange
And the usual array of leaflets, race magazine (in Spanish) and an international running magazine (in English)

There was also a voucher for a free pasta meal which was served al fresco in the nearby park gardens surrounding the Expo. This entitled each runner to a pre-packed pasta meal (no veggie option though sadly), a bottle of water, an orange and a can of beer.

At the end of the race, we received yet another goody bag which contained a decent sized hand towel, a banana, tangerine, a bag of oranges (it is Valencia afterall... ), a bottle of water, and some biscuits. There was also free massages, water, Powerade and beer in the finishing enclosure.

As you can see from the photos, the weather was fantastic. All weekend barely a cloud troubled the glorious bright blue sky. During the race the temperature peaked at 21°c and afterwards the warmth made for a very pleasant afternoon dining in the nearby park whilst enjoying my free goody-bag beer.

For more information, visit the website.

Michael

Race Report: Hanley Parkrun 26/11/11

2011-11-28T12:07:00.001Z

Whatan Ace Race!

My first 5k… I’d run 1500m competitively at school,and as an adult I’ve run most distances from 10k to Marathons, but never a 5k…then Mik Escolme started banging on about the Hanley Park Run. So after acouple of weekend where I was unable to join in, last Saturday I took theplunge and went along with Liz O’Keefe and Chris Coppenhall to give it a go.

Go! Race start at the inaugural Hanley Parkrun

Arriving at the park, we wandered to the start areaand slowly the other runners trickled in and just before 9am the race directorgave the pre-race briefing (it is friendly, low-key and very straightforward;and obviously run by volunteers, but in a very good way it must be said). We hada “Three, Two, One – GO!” countdown, and set off on what has to be described asa hilly but short (just over a mile) loop of a very pleasant park, passing alake, grassy spaces, crossing canals and passing bandstands and flowerbeds, andwhile it was ‘undulating’ after the ups came the downs and a chance to speed upwhile also catching my breath.

The cool but dry and slightly breezy morning madeideal running conditions, and I followed a runner from Newcastle AC for most ofthe race as a pacemaker due to not really having a feel for the pace of a 5Kmyself. Passing her with about 500m to go on the last uphill section I realisedthe pace was challenging and hung un for the last run in, to sprint to thefinish holding her off (just) to finish 9^th in 23:30. A PB! But asit was my first outing at 5K it was alwaysgoing to be a PB to be fair. What blew me away afterwards when I got thee-mail with the results at just before 3pm was that I was first in my age category!I’ve never got a first place in any race I’ve run as an adult so I’m wellpleased.

Almost everyone remained at the finish to cheerhome the other runners and everyone seemed to really enjoy the event and itscasual, laid-back atmosphere. I really enjoyed it. A gentle jog back to the car to put some warmlayers on over the running kit and a wander down to the local café for tea andan excellent oatcake breakfast made the morning complete. So in summary - an excellent, friendly and smallevent that is local, and easy to access. And it’s free!!!

Well done Parkrun, you’re a winner from my point ofview – so give it a go, I’m sure you’llfind, like me, that it‘s an Ace Race.

The following club members participated this week:

4 Chris COPPENHALL 00:19:41

9 Steve TREWEEKS 00:23:30

15 Christiane BUNTE 00:25:42

21 Elizabeth O'KEEFFE 00:27:54

For more information, click here.

Steve Treweeks

Race Alert! Cardington Cracker 04/12/11

2011-11-28T11:50:00.001Z

The Cardington Cracker. It's an institution. Over 200 turn out on a cold December day to pay homage to this annual fell race as part of the traditional runners build up to Christmas. It's 9 miles and 2,600 feet of hell but well worth it for the carrot soup followed by a few pints of Shropshire Lad in the Royal Oak.

Steven, Giles and Michael layer up ready for the 2009 cracker..

At least one intrepid Strider is making the trip this year, John Lawton, if you'd like to accompany him get in touch!

Entry is on the day at £5

FRA Rules state that all runners should carry windproof body cover, map, compass and whistle. All runners will be expected to carry this equipment.

For more information, visit their website.

Race Report: Hanley Parkrun 20/11/2011

2011-11-24T14:27:00.001Z

Race report: Free 5K race series, Hanley Parkrun #9

What's that you say a free 5K in the HanleyParkrun series with a tempting trip to a greasy spoon afterwards, count me in!

Michael, Perry, Christiane, Chris, Giles and Jill

The great thing about the park run seriesis it’s simple and easy. All you have to do is register once and print off asmall barcode label, from then on you can simply turn up on the day of an eventand race. No need to worry about filling in entry forms or sending off money asall the events are totally free ( excluding the optional breakfast).

This particular run take place eachSaturday morning at 9am in a scenic park in Hanley and was to be my secondparkrun. Yes that's right folks Hanley can be scenic too, outside theboundaries of the shopping centre is its park with a lake, bandstand andpavilion.

At this event the striders had a good turnout with myself, Giles, Michael, Christiane, Jill J and Perry all making thetrip out. At 9am the water fountains in the lake kick into life and shortlyafter the race starts. Runners complete 2.5 laps of the park to complete the 5Kdistance. The race begins with a run round the Lakefollowed by a short straight section before you climb a gradual hill to reachthe upper section of the course. Once clear of the incline you run past thepavilion and bandstand and then up a shallow hill to reach the highest sectionof the park.

From here you then sweep right, avoidingthe geese who may be feeding on bread on the corner, have no fear it’s only aswan that can break your arm with its bill. From this point on its all downhillwith a few turns until you return back to the start line. You complete thislarge lap once more and then on the third lap as you come up to the pavilion it'sa sharp left turn before the second incline to finish in front of the bandstand.As you cross the line your time is recorded and you are given a token thatrelates to your finish position. Once you have got your breath back you getyour barcode and finish token scanned, then that's it all done and it's off tothe Cafe.

There was no muesli or granola on offerhere, I did look, honest. In sticking to advice I decided to take in energywithin half an hour of completing the race so opted for the next closest healthyoption, a veggie cooked breakfast.

As we left the cafe reflecting that wemight have taken in more calories than we had burned off, we passed the raceorganiser who was processing the results from today's race. The results are onthe website usually within a few hours or can be sent in a text message to yourphone.

In both the parkruns I have placed 3rd andon this my second attempt managed to take a good minute off my previous parkrunPB, a combination of being more familiar with the course and Giles who waschasing me round the route.

All in all a friendly well organised free racethat is suitable for all whether you are looking to boost your weekly mileagein a different surrounding or are looking to gain race pace. The race iscompletely organised by volunteers and has some regular supporters along theroute. Special thanks must also go to those at Flavours cafe for providing thefood and refreshments.

For more information, visit the Hanley Parkrun website.

Chris C

Race Report: Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race 20/11/2011

2011-11-22T22:12:00.001Z

Race Report: The Wrekin Wrecker 20/11/2011

John and the invisible man tackle the Wrekin together.

I am told that the Wrekin is a verydistinctive hill which dominates the views of mid Shropshire near the town ofTelford. However, on Sunday 20 November, Chris, Mik, and I ran up and over thishill from several directions but, given the mist on that day, are unable toconfirm this observation. Nevertheless,my aching legs do indicate that the hill is indeed ‘very distinctive’.

I met with Chris, Mik, Jill and Andre thedog at the Buckatree Hall Hotel, walked ½ mile to the start and set off on whatappeared to be a jolly jog through the woods. At about 1 mile, I realised thatthere were some challenges, the first being the scree slope. This was not therugged scree of the Lake District; it was more soil and rocks on a very steepdownhill slope. Mytechnique comprised ‘tree hugging’ – a method by which asideways slide is periodically arrested by frantic grabbing at well placedtrees. Others preferred the ‘bum slide’, a technique which could be improvedwith the aid of tea trays.

Chris emerges through the mist at the top of the Goaty

The scree slope was fun but at nearly 3miles things became much more serious. We turned abruptly upwards by a signproclaiming ‘The Goaty’ and a race marshal who warned me not to look up. Thesign was appropriate given that the climb was really only manageable by goatsand, even then, goats less fit than those from the Kenyan Olympic goat teammight have struggled. It seemed to take forever and I only managed to reach thesummit after a few rests (hanging on to trees again).

We finally reached a trig point, went downthe other side then looped back to the trig point for a second time. Apparentlythis is a local beauty spot with majestic views. However, due to the mist, wewere not to know; in fact on hearing a marshal shouting directions I had toreply with “where are you?” The truthis that despite the misty conditions, navigation was not an issue due to theexcellent marshalling and patches of sawdust laid to mark the track.

Mik and Chris finished long before I did,however, the club member (and dog) who surprised me most was Jill: although anon-competitor, she must have put in an exceptional amount of training topop-up at so many places along the route.

Back at the hotel we were supplied withfree sandwiches, chip butties and coffee; a good end to an excellent day’s fellrunning.

The entry fee of £7 also included a bottle of water, jelly babies, a buff and a technical vest!

The course profile according to John's Garmin

Perceived effort profile according to John's Heartrate!

For more information visit the website.

John

Race Report: Torchlight Run 21/11/2011

2011-11-22T22:07:00.000Z

Torchlight Run #4 (21/11/2011) - Brereton

Another nice route suggested by Chris Brumby that started and finished at The Bears Head car park, I like these night runs more and more, could it be the pub finish?

Rehydrating afterwards in the Bears Head, Brereton

Six of us tonight, Chris B, Jill, Chris C, Mik, Heather and myself. We set off along tarmac towards Brereton Hall, passed St Oswalde's church onto Muddy Lane, no mud tonight though, passed Bagmere Bank Farm to Brereton Heath.

Once at the Heath we cut diagonally through the woods for the first of two laps around Brereton Mere exiting through the same gate we entered. It was then through two fields, the footpaths were not obvious but thankfully due to his local knowledge Chris led us back to the far end of Brereton Heath without a problem for our second lap of the woods and Brereton Mere.

We exited the Heath again then retraced our route back along Muddy Lane and our return to the Bears Head for some refreshment.

Google earth assures us that this is where we ran

The route was a flat 5.9 miles at an easy pace so nobody was left behind. Many thanks to Mik for organising it and Chris for the route... very enjoyable.

Perry

Race Report: Torchlight Run 14/11/2011

2011-11-19T18:42:00.003Z

Well I could put it off no longer. Having managed to find excuses for the previous two extracurricular Monday night runs, I had finally ran out of reasons not to go. I was in from work on time, it wasn’t raining or windy and I had batteries in my head torch. My main concern was being able to see with just a head torch, as I struggle to walk to the end of my drive in the dark.

Five of us met at the Broughton Arms car park in Rode Heath, myself, Chris B, Mik, Perry and Chris C. I was a bit concerned to find I was the only girl, and a much slower runner than the rest, however we all stayed together and ran at a good pace... Probably more comfortable for some than others!

We started the run by immediately joining the canal towpath. I was pleasantly surprised at how bright it was. It was a clear, cold night, with an almost full moon. The light given from the torches was certainly adequate, particularly with Chris leading, wearing what looked like a search lamp.

The route was pretty level, the only hills being the few canal bridges. The towpath was wide and even, with no unexpected lumps and bumps... nice easy running. We stayed on the towpath for a mile or so in the direction of Church Lawton before crossing a field and entering some woods. Again although no street lighting we managed easily to see where we were going. Chris B managed to successfully navigate us through the woods to Scholar Green where we picked up the Macc canal. Skirting the edge of Kidsgrove we rejoined the towpath back past Church Lawton and to the pub at Rode Heath.

It was a lovely enjoyable six mile run, ended off perfectly with a quick drink in the pub. After all we had used their car park! I will definitely be doing the next one if possible, and I encourage you all to give it a try. It’s great fun.

Jill Young

Race Alert! Alsager 5 05/02/2012

2011-11-18T21:25:00.001Z

Entries are now open for the Alsager 5 on February 5th at 11am.

Liz, Caroline, Isobel and Catherine at the Alsager 5 last year.

They say...

"A fast flat course gives a great chance of a PB and the chance to sample the great atmosphere at this event. A generous prize list with cash for the first 3 male and females and prizes for all veteran catagories plus team prizes. Also spot prizes courtesy of Asics."

We say...

A fast, local race which usually sells out quickly. It's normally quite popular amongst Striders. Don't expect stunning scenery or an inspiring route, no need to worry about that though you'll be running too fast to sightsee :-)

More details and on-line entry at their website.

Race Report: Langley 7 05/11/2011

2011-11-18T11:27:00.001Z

Langley 7 5th November 2011

It was a 2 pm start from the lovely village of Langley near Macclesfield, really nice and sunny weather for early November.

Steering is made more difficult when running with your eyes closed.

The start was next to the Village Hall and slightly downhill for the first mile, then a slow steady climb which got steeper and went on for 3 miles.

I did not feel very well after having a hydrogel at the start and definitely did not enjoy the long climb.

Eyes wide shut. Still.

But I was rewarded mid way with a gorgeous view down to Macclesfield and the rest of the race was very nice , steadily flat and downhill, and at least that made me run quicker.

The finish was at the end of the reservoir near the Teggs Nose top- lovely countryside.
Instead of the goody bag you got an ale or a cider .....- not happy with my time, but might do again with prior training to master the dreaded hill part - and hope some more striders are coming to join me next year.


How much quicker would she have been with her eyes open?

For more information visit Macc Harriers website

Christiane

Race Alert! Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race 20/11/2011

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000Z

Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race

Sunday 20th November 2011

11.00 am
8.1 miles

Chris hurtling down the scree slope in 2009

The Wrekin Wrecker has been run since 2002 and has established itself as a very well organised race with excellent facilities, a great course and friendly marshals. The course is an 8 mile one lap route over 2400 ft of ascent. The terrain is mainly good paths but it features tough ascents and steep descents. There is also a good deal of runnable flat (ish) stuff. So overall, no particular style/strength of fellrunner is favoured.

More details at their website

Crewe Déjà vu: The Photos!

2011-11-15T21:40:00.001Z

The photos from the Crewe Déjà vu 2011 are finally here!

Sorry for the delay folks, we hope you enjoy them. Maybe see you all again next year? ;-)

You can view and download all 651 photos at http://www.photobucket.com/crewedejavu

Thank you once more for supporting the inaugural Crewe Déjà vu Marathon.

The success of the day was made possible by:

You wonderful runners for having such a friendly, positive and easy-to-please attitude.

The beautiful and sweet smelling members of Sandbach Striders Running Club for making the day possible and allowing the three supposed organisers to actually run the race.

The amazing, patient and infinitely tolerant friends and family of Sandbach Striders.

The lovely, generous and awesome companies who gave us their help and support and asked almost nothing in return, more specifically:

Cheshire East Council for hiring out such great facilities for such little actual cash.

For Goodness Shakes yum yum yum protein stuff (and Grant "Guy Fawkes" Stanning for arranging all this.)

HS Sports for providing us with world-class chip timing, friendly and helpful service and at a price that, and this is no exaggeration, made the whole event possible. If you are a race organiser I urge you to phone these chaps ahead of anyone else.

Michael, Jason and Giles

Sandbach Striders

Race Report: Thames Towpath 100 03/03/2012

AGM Reminder: Wednesday 14th March 2012

Race Report: Pennington Flash Parkrun 25/02/2012

Book Review: Wild Trails to Far Horizons by Mike Cudahy

Race Report: Golden Fleece Circuit 03/03/2012

Race Report: Cloud 9 04/03/2012

Congratulations to Jason on completing the Thames Towpath 100!

Coming soon: Crewe Déjà Vu Two Track Marathon!

Race Report: Hanley Park Run 21/01/2012 *updated*

Race Report: Bushy Parkrun 18/02/2012

Race Report: Mad Dog 10k 12/02/2012

Race Report: Alsager 5 05/02/2012 #2

Race Report: Alsager 5 05/02/2012

Torchlight Run - The Cloud 30/01/2012

Race Report: Central Lancs Half Marathon 04/01/2012

Race Alert! Cross Bay Challenge 12/08/2012

Race Report: International Marathon of Marrakech 29/01/2012

Awards Evening 24/02/2012

Race Report: Helsby Half Marathon 22/01/2012

Torchlight Run - Delamere Forest 23/01/2012

Race Report: Anglesey Coastal Marathon 21/01/2012

Inaugural Striders' Bike Ride this Sunday!

Race Report: Ilford Park Run 21/01/2012

Torchlight Run - Brereton Heath 16/1/2012

Race Report: Hanley Park Run 24th December 2011

Congratulations Clare on raising £1,467.70 for the Christie Charity!

Get your entries in for the 2011 Alternative Series Championship

Photoshop Competition - Still time to enter!

Race Report: Sunrise to Sunset 27/12/2011

Race Alert: Central Lancs Half, Stafford 20, Chester Half

Boxing Day Bacon Butty Bash

Race Report; Pisa Marathon 18/12/2011

Merry Christmas!

Race Report: Tour de Helvellyn 17/12/2011

Competition Time!

Striders training kit

Race Report: Sneyd Striders Pudding Race 11/12/2011

Torchlight Run - Rudyard Lake 12/12/2011

Run Report: Trigger Training Run

Race Alert! Peak 'o' Trial 28/12/2011

Race Report: Yuletide Yomp 11/12/2011

Race Report: Everest Marathon 02/12/2011

Run Report: The Rainy Cloud 06/12/2011

Race Report: Torchlight Run 05/12/2011

Race Alert! Friends of Mick 'n' Phil Half Marathon 11/03/12

Race Alert! High Legh 10k 26/02/2012

Race Alert! Cloud 9 Hill Race 04/03/2012

Jason & Jo FINISH the Everest Marathon!

Bob is running the London Marathon!

Jason and Jo Everest Marathon Update (Updated 1/12/2011))

Race Report: Torchlight Run 28/11/2011

Hanley Parkrun Information Video

Race Report: Valencia Marathon 27/11/2011

Race Report: Hanley Parkrun 26/11/11

Race Alert! Cardington Cracker 04/12/11

Race Report: Hanley Parkrun 20/11/2011

Race Report: Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race 20/11/2011

Race Report: The Wrekin Wrecker 20/11/2011

Race Report: Torchlight Run 21/11/2011

Race Report: Torchlight Run 14/11/2011

Race Alert! Alsager 5 05/02/2012

Race Report: Langley 7 05/11/2011

Race Alert! Wrekin Wrecker Fell Race 20/11/2011

Crewe Déjà vu: The Photos!

Race Report: Hanley Park Run 21/01/2012 updated