Parkrun. No PB. No Mojo.

This week has been a rubbish week for running. It's the longest most sustained period of rubbish since I started this venture. I've had bad days, but this is my first bad week.

The start line selfie

I ran a very normal 7km run to Leith and back on Wednesday and I was struggling for breath after 3km. I was reaching for excuses like if had a bad sleep or something, but I don't know for sure what the problem has been. I think the rot started at Cumbernauld 10k when I just wasn't in the mood, recorded my second best 10k time ever, and was depressed about it. Today I ran Parkrun, recorded my second best 5k time ever, and  totally fed up with it all.

The race is underway and the first 100m is going well!

Peaceful.  The last runners have gone and the first ones aren't back yet.

I'm back!  Isolated, but not in first place unfortunately.  

Conditions were decent. On the way back it was gusty but if I'd been up for it then I could have done a whole lot better. Just like Cumbernauld, I could feel that I had more in me but mentally couldn't be bothered tiring myself out.

The tide was right out, as was my time!  (Does that make sense?  Is that even a pun?)

I ran the first 1km today in 3:56. I was pleased with that. It wasn't too fast and was perfect for recording a sub 20 minute time. I thought to myself that if I just maintained this reasonably easy pace then all would be well. The next kilometre was 4:07 (meh, averaged out, I can still do this if I step up), then the next kilometre was 4:17 and windy. Gave up. 

Silverknowes beach.  Beautiful day but a bit gusty for running.  

Kata wasn't running today but was there taking photos which are brilliant. She ran with me for about 500m of the last kilometre and probably paced me to sub 21 minutes. She gave the push I needed. I very much appreciate that but I also felt guilty. I think having your own personal pace maker is cheating (although Mo Farrah might disagree).

I need to find something to get my mojo back. :-/

4/5 of the Survival of the Fittest team.  

Annoyed and in a Bad Mood. Venting.

Today I am in a bad mood.  In a bad mood with running and in a bad mood with life in general.  So here are some things that annoy me about races and/or race day.  This is going to be quite a long list but I may come back and add more things to it later.  Like I said.  Bad mood.

• People that start in the < 45 mins section before the race, then start walking after 1km.
• People that overtake you then move in front of you and slow down.  This is a valid team tactic to hold up rivals in order to give your teammate an advantage in F1 but it defeats me as to why this happens so often in provintial races.  
• People pushing buggies on the racing line. (Yes Parkrun guy, I'm looking at you).
• People racing in luminous yellow t-shirts - they look like distance markers and that can be annoying!  Distance markers can seem to get further away from you FIGURATIVELY - that's what they do.  But they shouldn't be literally running away from you. 
• Races that start in the afternoon.  That's my whole day and half my weekend.  Thanks.  
• People cutting corners.  Or worse, people running the straights off the course.  This happens all the time at The Meadows Self Transcendence races.
• People lobbing their water cups or bottles as far from the course as they can.  Someone is coming round to collect these - why make their life harder my having them first have to FIND your discarded, plastic, drinks receptacle?  
• People spitting/snot rocketing/disposing of water cups or bottles without looking behind them first.  Ignorant.
• Being told I am “almost there” 6.5kms into a 10km race.  I'm looking at you Cumbernauld 10k marshall!
• Being crowded out on a wide path.  One girl did actually apologise for doing this to me once but said I was, and I quote, "a good windbreak".  Well that's alright then!  And she wasn't that skinny herself!!
• People that sprint past you at 6km.  Where the hell were they?!  After 1km or at 9.5km, yeah, fine.  But where have they been the last 25 mins that they are suddenly so much faster than me?

Maybe one day I'll do a list of things I love about races and race days, but that day is not today.  The rest of this week isn't looking good either.  

Cumbernauld 10k and Epic PB Fail! :-)

Today was the Cumbernauld 10k race.  Having lived in, grown up, went to school, and spent the formative years of my life in Cumbernauld I was very much looking forward to this date in my running diary.  I wasn't left disappointed.  

Unfortunately traditional pre-race selfie, fortunately this time not on my own.  

Pre race and I'm very impressed.  Possibly the guy on my left isn't as impressed.

This was the second of the three 10k races that I am now calling 'The M9 Series'.  Last week I took a trip along the M9 for the Stirling 10k, this week it was Cumbernauld 10k, and next week is Linlithgow.  At least the races are getting closer to home!  Preparation for 'The M9 Series' has not been perfect.  Last week I was at a birthday party the night before, this Saturday Kata and I got the last train home from Glasgow after skulling a mixture of wine, beer, and cocktails.  Next week I run the Linlithgow 10k after a charity ball on the Saturday.  I assume that Mo Farrah's preparation is in no way similar.  Last week's late night did me no harm as I ran a PB of 42:30.  This week I was suffering quite a bit from....tiredness, but still recorded a respectable second fastest 10k ever of 42:59 (official results are in already).  I feel a bit flat because it's the first time in ages I haven't recorded a PB at a race, but it's fair to say that two weeks ago (a week ago even) I'd have been delighted with that time.  I am now comfortably running sub 45 mins and that's brilliant.

Kata brings it home in a probable PB time...

...and enjoys a well deserved rest.  

Race conditions were great.  The weather was fabulous, not a breath of wind, and if anything maybe even a little too warm.  At about 2km my feet were too hot.  I was wearing quite thick socks right enough but I have never had hot feet problems in a race before.  Weird!  The course was reasonably flat with a few bumps, but nothing that could really be described as a "hill".  My Garmin recorded an elevation gain of only 46m which is comparable with me running to Inverleith Park and back (which I do on a REGULAR basis).  The second half of the course in particular was scenic and enjoyable.  I think this is definitely a PB course if you happened to be running it without a hangover.  I actually wasn't that tired at the end and could probably have ran better if I'd been in the right mental zone to push myself hard.

Sign of things to come.

There were a lot more supporters lining the course than there were at Stirling last week and being clapped into the stadium on the final stretch was great.    I read in a running magazine that you should at least once in your life run a race that finished in a stadium - well I've done it twice this year (the other being the Kilomathon which finished in Murrayfield).  Unfortunately I missed seeing my dad and granda who were apparently at two points along the course supporting and shouting my name from about 6ft away and I didn't hear them (must have been in the zone).  I really appreciated them coming out to see Kata and I though and it makes the homecoming run even more special.  The marshals and police all seemed to be in a really good mood and encouraged and pushed us all on our way - big thanks to the organisers and volunteers.  Big thinks to my sister as well by the way who arranged entry for us!  Also thanks to the DJ guy who was banging out the massive tunes at about 2.5km.  Excellent!!!!

Finally!  A medal!!!!

Kata and I had a great time and are really glad we got ourselves out of bed and made the trip down the M9.  Kata may have recorded a PB but isn't sure because she isn't sure what her previous PB was.  No matter, the important thing is that I finally ran a race for the first time in my memory where we were awarded a medal!  So happy with my medal.

Finally, this was day 108 of my running challenge and the running run runs on.

City of Stirling 10k Road Race...and Another PB

Yesterday I ran the City of Stirling 10k Road Race and recorded another PB!  I beat my 10k record by 32 seconds and it goes without saying that I am very pleased with that.  My chip time was 42 minutes 30 seconds and the official results are in.  The course and weather was conducive to running a fast time, and I was hopeful before the race.  The only doubt I had was that my preparation had been drinking until midnight at a birthday party the night before.

My 10k time has improved by over 30 seconds in a month. 

I read recently that the 4 minute mile was once considered to be quite literally impossible.  Beyond the physical ability of mankind.  Once the 4 minute mile had been achieved by Roger Bannister, only two months later the landmark was achieved again by two other runners.  The point I am trying to make is that it seems like once something has been proven to be possible, it is easier to achieve than when it was considered to be impossible.  I'd love to compare my PB to a 4 minute mile, so I will.  Once I broke the mental barriers of 21 minutes for a 5k, and 45 minutes for a 10k, it became a lot easier to keep  improving the times.  The ability was always in my legs, the blocker was in my head. 

Unfortunately traditional start line selfie.  Giant number bibs by the way!  Unnecessary.  

The race itself was pretty good.  A bit odd in some ways but I enjoyed it.  The race felt a bit low key and I think it was maybe a bit early for the good people of Stirling to come out and show support.  There didn't even seem to much support from families etc.  The route was kind of on the outskirts as well which probably didn't help.  I haven't been in Stirling in ages so it was in some respects a trip down memory lane - when I lived in Cumbernauld I went to Stirling regularly.  

Registration at Forthbank Stadium. Not to be confused with The Nou Camp Stadium. 

I warmed up by doing short sprints at maximum effort.  I did the same before the Bella Belter 10k where I recorded a PB and it worked again - I am not sure why or if it really does help, but if nothing else I think I have just got myself my first real superstition!  I will be repeating this exercise from now on.  803 runners finished the race and it was very crowded at the start (according to my result, it took me 10 seconds to cross the start line).  I was weaving and dodging to try to get by slower runners at the very start and I could sense the frustration of a runner behind me who I was weaving and dodging in front of.  Tough luck I'm afraid - we were all in the same boat.  Probably through my determination to clear the pack, I completed the first 1km in 3 minutes 58 seconds.  

We ran out through Springkerske Business Park, through a housing estate, out on to a country road under Wallace Monument where we turned around a traffic cone and ran back a route which was the same way that we came for about half the distance.  Like I said, it was a bit odd.  There was a narrow bridge over the river that had to be crossed.  We had to stay in the order that we joined the bridge until the end as there was no opportunity to overtake (or be overtaken).    

It certainly was

I considered a DNF at about 6km.  This is not unusual though.  I consider a DNF at just about every race I run.  This is The Blerch talking and The Blerch must be outrun, must be silenced!  At the 9km mark I realised that I was tired, slowing and although I was still on track there was an emerging danger of not recording a PB.  I found some energy from somewhere and pushed on at a faster pace.  I ran the last kilometre in 4:07 where the previous one had been 4:28.  That 21 seconds gain prevented a pretty stressful sprint to the finish!  

Talking of painful sprints to the finish, there was a girl collapsed just over the line.  Her knees were pretty bloody and it looked like a bad fall.  She was being taken care of by the medics and I hope she's OK.  I also hope that she got her PB or beat whoever she was racing to the line!  When getting my chip removed, I put my foot on the stool and he girl said, "shaking much?".  Ha ha!  I was exhausted - I had given it everything.  She congratulated me on my PB which was nice and I went off down the line to collect my goody bag and pint of milk.  Yes.  A pint of milk.  I also got this familiar looking t-shirt but no medal.  What does a guy need to do nowadays to get a medal?  I can't remember the last race I ran where they gave out medals.  

Familiar?  I'm running the Linlithgow 10k in 2 weeks.  I hope they've changed their t-shirt colour.  

All in all a great race and a lot of personal satisfaction.  Kudos to the guy who ran it wearing a kilt AND SPORRAN!  I suspect any pace faster than a brisk walk would have resulted in repeated and painful bruising for that guy.  

100 Days! And Another PB!!

Yesterday was day 100 of consecutive running!  It also happened to be Parkrun day so I pinned on my little '100 Today' badge and headed off to Parkrun to allow the good people at Silverknowes to bask in my reflected glory.  When I arrived, I was very surprised and very happy to find out that Kata had arranged a little party of sorts for me.  What a girl!  Steve, and Rachel H were there to run their first ever Parkrun, and Brian was there too which was great.  Not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but those guys along with Kata and I is also our team for the Survival of the Fittest race.

Survival of the Fittest team.  We are so going to win. 

I have no idea what's going on here but something on Steve's watch is clearly funny

At the end of the race Kata supplied some non-alcoholic fizz and plastic champagne flutes to toast my landmark which was again very surprising and very very nice.  It felt like it was my birthday but even better!  

Toasting the landmark with some Elderflower fizz

The race was also notable for my running another 5km PB.  20:18.  That beats my 5km of 20:43 from 10 days ago, and my Parkrun PB of 20:56 set 3 weeks ago.  I'm delighted with that.  Maybe in another 3 weeks I can get below 20 minutes?  That's the target.  After breaking the 21 minute barrier my times have been improving fast.

New 5km PB

It was a beautiful day at Silverknowes.  Perfect conditions - no excuses!

As I did at day 50, I'll list some some observations that I have observed over the 100 days;

1. Favourite race -  Hard to chose but it's between The Beast, Berwick Law, and The Calderglen 10k Trail.  What they all have in common is that I had no expectation of time and not target to beat.  I ran just for the fun of it.  Calderglen was my first trail and the first time I can remember overtaking the pack at the sharp end of the race.   Berwick Law was short, fast, and the atmosphere was fun.  I think in terms of an event though, I am going to have to go with The Beast as being my favourite. 
2. Weight loss - I wish I'd weighed myself at the start of this challenge but I didn't because weight loss wasn't and isn't why I am doing this.  But I did blog on the 16th July that I was 85.2kg (13st 6lbs) and I weighed myself after yesterday's race and I was 80.0 exactly (12st 8lbs).
3. Bracelet Wrist Band - This was a good idea.  I am now much more confident when playing real life Frogger with the Edinburgh traffic and am able to take many more risks when running out onto the road (only joking).  
4. Injuries - I've been lucky.  I had a couple of weeks where my hip was giving me a bit of pain but I stretched it out with Kata's help and it's all good now.  I have been remarkably injury free (although one of my toe nails is still purple from the Berwick Law).  
5. Mentality of racing - To me, every race no matter the distance is a series of much smaller races that are 1km long.  For example the Haddington Half-Marathon, I pushed myself hard the whole way around and every one of the 21 kilometres was a personal race between my and my watch.  This helps me reach my goals and makes the distance less intimidating.  Hey, it works for me!
6. Bad days - Sometimes I just have bad days when I feel like the worst runner in the world, my pace is rubbish and I feel unfit.  This normally happens on training days.  The good thing about having decided to run every day is that I can't dwell on it or get despondent and give up, I have to go out the next day and run again and then everything is right in the world once more.  
7. Highlight - The highlight so far has been setting a new 10km PB.  That was the holy grail and the record had stood for about 2 years.  I doubted at times if I was capable of beating it at all, and beating it by 2 minutes was fantastic. 
8. The REAL highlight - Being called "inspirational" by Kata.  

Meadows 2 Mile Race - Yet Another PB (and Compression Socks)

On Wednesday I ran the last of this year's Self Transcendence races at The Meadows.  The official results are already in and I ran in 12 minutes 42 seconds.  This is a PB by 39 seconds, and beats 13 minutes 20 seconds that I ran the same race and distance on the 23rd July (which was day 48 of the running streak).  The run was tough.  I gave it everything from the start and by the end I was struggling for breath.  I think I started a bit too fast and my pace went down quite a bit on the second and third kilometre compared to the first (I always use kilometres for pacing even when running an imperial measured race).

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	12:42.0	3.23	3:55
1	3:47.4	1.00	3:47
2	4:00.0	1.00	4:00
3	4:02.8	1.00	4:03
4	:52.7	0.23	3:52

I'm pleased with the PB and it's good to end the Self Transcendence race series on a high.  

On another note - compression socks!  

I see a lot of people wearing compression gear.  From socks to those crazy army things.  I am not sure about the purpose of having compressed arms to help run, but apparently the logic of the socks is that it encourages circulation at the bottom of your legs which is helpful when running, and also it stops or reduces muscles "bouncing up and down" which is a bad thing.  I think if the muscle bounce thing is true, then you'd really need to wear the socks every time you ran to get that benefit.  So anyway, I invested in a pair of compression socks.  One of the photos below is me wearing the socks.  See if you can spot which one...

My verdict so far is that they do no harm although thanks to their tightness, leg hairs do tend to stick through the socks which is not a good look!  In fact now I think about it, maybe they are just not a good look at all?!  They didn't help me run any faster.  

Muirieston 6km Trail Race

On Saturday I ran the Murieston 6km trail race, organised by Corstorphine AC and held in Livingston.  I thought it'd make a nice change on a Saturday morning from Parkrun and I am really enjoying trail running nowadays.   I enjoyed this race too.  It was a small event - 54 people registered in advance, and 39 started the race.  Some people including me registered on the morning of the race so a lot of people that pre-registered obviously never turned up.  Of the 39 that started, I finished 11th.  I am pleased with that and I found the race quite comfortable.  In hindsight I should have ran faster.

The start - Livingston Cricket Club. 

Here are the results.  I finished in 25 minutes 34 seconds.  The second half of the race I moved up the field quite a lot and for the second time in living memory passed someone going uphill!  After the first 200m I don't think I was overtaken again.  I kept trying to catch the runner in front of me which seems like an obvious thing to do, but it's not something that I do often.  Runners that I thought were too far ahead and I would ever catch before the end, I surprisingly passed quite comfortably.  During the race as it was going so well, I made a target of trying to be the first unattached runner to finish as I assumed runners not wearing club vests were unattached.  I managed to achieve that goal so I was pleased.  I had a strong finish and overtook a girl from Corstorphine AC in the last 400 metres.  She must have tried to catch me again in a sprint finish because I see from the results that she was only 3 seconds behind me!

The finish - big turnout from Lothian Running Club (in light blue)

The race itself was fun and marshalled fantastically.  Every corner had a friendly marshall in a luminous vest pointing the way.  It was a mixture of tarmac, trail, woodland, and boardwalk.  We were warned  before the race about the boardwalk being very slippy and that turned out to be true.  There was a stair section of boardwalk which no one even attempted - everyone ran up the grass slope at the side.  Running downhill at one point I had to move out on to the grass to get some grip and avoid falling on my backside.  

Nice race and a good confidence booster for me.  I held my own against a lot of club runners.  

Meadows 5km Race and Another PB!!!

Yesterday (3rd September) I ran the latest Self Transcendence race at The Meadows.  This time it was the 5km distance and this time I ran another PB!

Official results are not in yet but I recorded my time at 20 minutes and 43 seconds.  That's 13 seconds faster than my PB for that distance set at the Park Run 2 weeks ago.

UPDATE:  Official results are in and they concur exactly with what I recorded, 20:43.

I'll accept please

It's also an amazingly round 2 minutes exactly faster than my previous time for this very same race on the 11th June 2014 when I finished in 22:43.  Not bad! :-)  It's an improvement of 25 seconds per kilometre.  

I actually didn't feel very good about this race beforehand.  We drove there and the traffic was terrible.  I had to get out of the car in the middle of traffic and leg it to the registration with 5 minutes to spare.  When I got there the registration had packed up their tables and stuff and were walking off. They kindly let me register anyway and took my money in exchange for a race number while walking towards the start.  I then had to jog to the start to get there ahead of the official starter.  Not ideal preparation mentally or physically.  I was overtaken a lot on the first lap because I think I started too fast (if that makes sense), probably in part due to my frazzled state of mind.  I didn't feel good in my hip or in my stomach (although I hadn't eaten) and I even checked over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't last!  

After about 2km it started to come together and I just got into the swing of things.  As I passed Kata (who was spectating and supporting) at the end of the second lap, she shouted at me, "Go Steve!  Catch David!".  I had no idea who David was but I surmised that he was the guy in the brown vest about 5 runners and 20 metres ahead of me. So I tried to catch David.  I actually passed him at 4.3km but he passed me again at 4.4km and found a new gear that I didn't have.  He beat me by some distance.  In the end it was probably trying to catch David that got me the PB so thanks to him and to Kata.  

Next target is to get under 20 minutes.  That's a big challenge but having knocked 2 minutes off my time in less than 3 months I think it's achievable.  Now that I have broken 21 minutes twice in a row and this time comfortably, I think I can confidently say that I cannot run 5km under 21 minutes without too much trouble.  I need to do some speed work to get under 20 minutes.  Must do speed work.  Maybe today?

Victory!  My "Beast" T-shirt is the source of my power.  

Oh yeah, and it looks like I am running as part of a team at the Men's Health Survival of the Fittest race with Kata, Brian, Rachel H, and A.N. Other on the 19th October.  As Brian said, it's maybe not running for the purist, but it should be a laugh.  

End of August

The results are in for August.

Here's the up to date log.

And here's August's report.

 Count:,32 Activities
 Distance:,240.78 km
 Time:,20:14:24 h:m:s
 Elevation Gain:,"2,544 m"
 Calories:,"21,265 C"
 Avg Time:,37:57 h:m:s

That's a fair amount of calories.  I'm off to Greggs.  

The Beast Race Report - The Key to the Castle

This is a long entry (it was a long race) so if you plan to read it all, make yourself comfortable and get a beer from the fridge....

Sunday 31st August was The Beast race day.  It was also day 87 of consecutive running.  Day 100 is going to be Saturday 13th September so that makes it a special Parkrun day!

Kata and I have been looking forward to running The Beast ever since we signed up for it at the beginning of July and we were not disappointed.  It was an excellent event and not a race that we will forget in a hurry.  It is one of the most fun and challenging races I have ever taken part in due to the excellent organisation and variety of terrain to keep you 'entertained' along the way.

This 2D rendering of the route doesn't do it justice.  The contour lines don't do justice either.  

I was conscious of fuelling up but not taking on too much food at breakfast (the memory of 2014's Glenlivet 10k still haunts me) and so I had scrambled egg on toast and a bowl of muesli at 8am - two and half hours before the race start.  After breakfast Kata and I decided that the best thing to do was to take the bus into Corfe Castle so as I could enjoy a post-race beer or three.  So we hopped on to the number 40 bus and enjoyed the view of the beautiful Dorset countryside on our way.  Like school children we made sure we got the seat on the top deck at the front for the best view.  The heat from the sun pouring through the window did not bode well for the race and started to reduce the jelly babies that were in my back pocket in lieu of energy gel into....well...a sort of gel!

Kata reading Carrie's blog on our way to the race as the jelly babies in my pocket possibly ruin my shorts forever. 

I decided to wear my trail shoes for the race.  Made sense as it was a trail race.  I was also wearing my 1000 mile anti-blister socks, but after only about 2 miles into the race I realised that I had a blister.  Worse than that, I had two blisters - one on the ball of each foot.  I ran pretty much the whole race with painful blisters.  I can't be sure but I think it was because I ran on Friday and Saturday in my trail shoes on what was essentially tarmac.  I actually came back from a jog on Friday and told Kata that I wasn't happy with my shoes and that I hoped the terrain at The Beast was more off road.  I packed light for the weekend in Dorset and only took one pair of shoes.  In hindsight that may have been a mistake.   Ah well - more learning experiences to make me a better runner.  

GGRRRR!!!!!

The race got underway on a country road.  A short downhill and then a short uphill turning right into a field.  We ran across the field up and down hill for about 1.5 or 2.0 miles before tackling the first stile of the race and then running into woodland.  There was an inevitable bottle neck  at the first stile and while waiting to cross, the Swanage Steam Train passed us by.  The runners exchanged waves with the confused and delighted looking passengers before starting the serious business of running again. 

Apparently 424 runners finished.  It didn't look like 424 runners started!  My personal aim was to finish ahead of the guy dressed as a cow (out of picture).  

The first woodland stretch was narrow and uphill and already some people were starting to walk.  I managed to pass a fair few people by either asking politely if I could pass them please, or else waiting for an opportunity of a slightly wider bit then pegging it up the hill.

Some of the links between terrain and sections of the race are a bit hazy in my memory, but the next section I particularly remember was a trail path the likes I have never seen since this....

Kata gets annoyed at the West Highland Way (and rightly so) as I muse on why some civil engineer or construction expert deliberately placed this brick here.  

On this section which could politely be described as "uneven", a fellow runner two ahead of me lost his footing and fell quite badly.  From a purely selfish point of view, I was lucky that the runner in front of me and the runner in front of the guy that fell went back to help him meaning that I could keep going.  By the time I left the scene he seemed to be back on his feet with no serious harm done.    It was a tricky stretch of path and I ran most if it by keeping to the sides.

Looking fresh at the start, and looking not so fresh....somewhere else! 

The next stage I remember was the coast.  Amazing!  Simply stunning.  There was a short, narrow, steep flight of stairs to the cliff top and when you reached the top it took your breath away (and not just because we'd been running about 5 miles by now).  The turquoise water, chalk rocks, white waves, blue skies.  Amazing.  I did regret that I couldn't stop to take it all in as I ran on.  I really savoured this part of the race and it was by far my favourite section.  At this point I witnessed the second casualty.  The costal path at one point cut through jaggy bushes that came up just above head height.  The ground was rocky and to add further peril, there were roots to contend with.  The girl in front of me tripped and fell.  She got up, ran on for a bit, then stopped and stood to the side.  As I reached her I asked if she was OK, she said she was so I ran on.  There was a head wind on the coast section.  The kind of head wind you only get when standing on top of a cliff.  It was the most welcome head wind ever.  The heat was so strong by this time that the cooling effect helped a lot.  

Final mention of the coastal section and possibly the highlight of the race, was the staircase at what I now know to be St Aldhems Head.  I have to admit I may have swore when I saw what was in front of me.  I took a moment to document this sight for the blog. 

I'm afraid the picture is blurry but I couldn't tell if it was out of focus or if there was sweat in my eyes and I didn't really have time to find out.  

Turning off the coast it was a seemingly never ending series of hills.  Up and down, up and down, it was not undulating, it was proper hilly.  There was one section through farmland that went uphill gradually for about 2 miles, over a few stiles, and on concrete path.  This was the toughest part of the run for me and just had to be endured.  There were a lot of walkers at this stage too and I did manage to make up a few places by keeping up a run of some description.  

Leaving the farmland, we ran through a very picturesque village (which was of course on a hill) and then entered woodland again.  The final water station was here and I took a pit stop.  I stopped to drink my water before heading into the woodland and on my merry way once again.  It was pretty much all downhill from here until we reached Corfe Common.  It was a bit of a surprise to come blinking out of the woodland into the sunlight and see Corfe Castle in the distance.  A very pleasant  surprise as I was pretty tired by this stage and my blisters were unsurprisingly not getting any less sore!

The end is in sight!  Less motivational was the string of coloured vests ahead of me and reaching a vanishing point.

One final small piece of woodland remained and as I passed a marshall they said to me "only 100 metres to go".  I was confused and thought I had misheard.  I was expecting at least another 1 mile.  But indeed I had heard correctly and as I turned the corner into the open again I saw the finish line and the lines of spectators cheering the runners home.  All that remained was to cross the line, collect my awesome t-shirt, and wait to cheer Kata home.  I didn't have to wait too long as she kept up her vaguely annoying habit of not really training then turning up to races and doing really well.  

Corfe Castle and last years runners (possibly)

The final remaining remainder that remained to remain was  to hit the pub.  The Fox Inn was closest so sporting our matching t-shirts we headed to the pub for possibly the best deserved beer ever!

Thanks to all the organisers and marshals.  This was a fantastically well organised race and I would love to do it again.  I will recommend it to my friends.  The only hesitation I have is that one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was that I ran it for the pure fun of it with no expectation or goals time wise.  If I ran the course again I would be aiming to beat this years time (1hr 57min 55sec) which makes it a whole different proposition.  

I really only did it for the t-shirt.

As a final note, I think at one point I passed a woman sitting on the grass verge playing Chariots of Fire from a radio.  It was hot and I was tired though so it's equally possible I was hallucinating.