Cold Comfort

Never attempt a marathon if suffering from an illness is the generally held, and wise, view.  However, when you tend to spend your free time with folk who grind them out day in, day out, no matter what their health issues it's easy to forget the impact of being in less than top condition.  This is my excuse for deciding to start the tough Beachy Head marathon despite having a scratchy throat and the vague cloggy-headed feeling of an impending cold.  That and the fact that I'd had to pull out after four miles last year.  Oh, and that it would be my fiftieth of the calendar year which would put me ahead of clubmate Martin's best ever year's total in our unofficial private competition...

A month off long runs and a few fast paced efforts in the meantime had my legs feeling pretty good at the start line.  Despite the  hilly terrain it all felt fine up until mile 18 and I was convinced that I would finish well under five hours, even daring to think about a charge for 4:45.  At this point I met up with Paul, veteran of over 300 marathons including several Beachy Heads, he mentioned that it always seemed like sub-5 was possible at this point but that the remainder of the course was very tough indeed.  He was absolutely correct!

It was during this final phase of continual sharp ascents and descents that my cold began to tell.  During the uphill hikes my head started to spin and chest ache, I was slowing to barely moving in order to allay the light-headedness, and then on the downhill jogs my legs seemed unwilling to pick my feet up off the floor which meant I was stumbling and staggering all over the place.  But I got through it, accepted the sub-5 was gone and jogged through to finish in 5:07, faster than I would have expected a month or so ago but well over what I feel was achievable on the day had all been well.

And that's it for this mammoth year of endurance running, now for a bit of rest and then to commence a proper training plan aiming for a substantial PB in March of next year.  It's been a bit of a slog for most of the year but there have been a number of achievements which I don't ever expect to repeat;

• 100th marathon/ultra (obviously - I can only reach 100 once!)
• 50 marathon/ultras in a calendar year
• 53 marathon/ultras in a 52 week period
• 7 marathons in 7 days

My long term aims now are to eventually get my marathon PB below 3:30 and to ease my way into the world of 100 mile events with a view to completing the Centurion Grand Slam , possibly in 2017.


24th October 2015  Beachy Head   5:07:41    #101

#100

With the concern about getting through #98 and #99 unscathed, #100 sort of crept up on me a bit.  The day was as good as I could have hoped; sunny but not too hot, Samphire Hoe looked fantastic, a strange other-world at the foot of the white cliffs, accessed via a tunnel which gives it a Narnia-esque feel.  It was by my favourite marathon organisation., SVN, and my glamourous assistant Mandy was there with me, her support of everything I do in running is a constant for which I am very grateful.

The run itself was almost irrelevant, I coasted to mid-way then put in some effort to record another negative split, another standard day of marathon completion.  I did consider slowing up in the final mile to try to exactly repeat the time from my very first marathon but concluded that this would be daft.  I was then presented with my medal, tee-shirt some certificates to go with the cards that several friends had written for me.  Glen had gone to the trouble of getting an alternative tee-shirt prepared referencing the Anti-Nowhere League's notorious song 'So What', the shirt has an ANL symbol with the wording 'I have run 100 marathons... So What?'.  I was sharing 100 Marathon Club official presentation day with Karen and so after all formalities the various cakes and Prosecco were available to all.

Reaching the milestone hasn't really meant a great deal to me of itself, it is something that I have ticked off along with other tick boxes on the way; doubles, quads, 52 in 52 weeks, 7 in 7 days and so on.  In some ways it feels like a burden lifted as I can now get on with running properly again, doing some faster, shorter stuff, getting my PB down and getting more into ultras, I'm pleased to have done it but looking forward rather than back.

23rd September 2015  The Tolkein Run  (26.9 miles)  5:02:41  #100

Nervous Nineties

Daftly I'd ended up with no leeway and so with my official 100th marathon booked, I had to race through the nineties with nothing going wrong.  The Bad Cow double was hot and humid on day one and rainy on day two.  I really didn't fancy them so soon after my Irish adventure but I had a schedule to stick to...

Cakeathon was another rainy day and I seemed to have nothing in my legs but the schedule was the schedule...

And then, with ridiculous stupidity I somehow thought it would be great if numbers 96 to 99 were a pair of two marathons in under 24 hours, never having attempted that feat previously, and with the first of each pair taking part partially in darkness.  With my terrible night vision and an over-riding necessity to avoid injury.  This was when the nineties did indeed become nervous!  There really so many things that could go wrong, particularly with my car chugging on beyond the 150,000 mile point.  However, I got them done.  The dark runs were tough, Kent Coastal was hot and had a lot of concrete, Bath Two Tunnels was novel, the mile long second tunnel on both loops being a cool experience in both senses.

So...  I adhered to the daft schedule, injuries were avoided and the 99th marathon completed.  It was a relief more than anything.

22nd August 2015  Bad Cow day 1          4:47:03  #93
23rd August 2015  Bad Cow day 2           5:05:58  #94
31st August 2015  Cakeathon                  5:19:43  #95
5th September 2015  Black Hugin            4:53:35  #96
6th September 2015  Kent Coastal           4:54:33  #97
19th September 2015  Thames Trail          5:18:23  #98
20th September 2015  Bath Two Tunnels   5:11:11  #99

A trip around the Inishowen Peninsula

This trip was a mini adventure undertaken on my own as Mandy was unfortunately unable to travel.  A coach journey pausing at Heathrow got me to Stansted Airport where I had assumed I would enjoy a comfy night's sleep on a bench before catching my early morning flight, however, there was no space to be found in more conventional locations so I wedged myself onto a wide window sill behind some cash machines...

and had just began to drift off when I was nudged back to full consciousness by an official who moved me on.  What sort of place has this country become when a man en route to some overseas marathons cannot grab some sleep behind a couple of airport cash machines? Hell in a handcart and all that.  A couple of hours wandering around and the gates had opened allowing me to charge through and claim a proper padded bench to kip upon.  Luxury!

My lack of sleep became apparent during the short flight; I remember seat-belting myself in to ensure I would be completely safe in the event of a crash, a brief glimpse of a cloudy shoreline through half-opened eyes and then the bump as we landed.  One of the most trouble-free flights I've ever enjoyed.

After a few misunderstandings with the strongly Ulster accented car hire assistant during which I thought he asked how my journey had been but in reality I seemed to agree to fully comprehensive insurance, which I didn't want, however once that was sorted I set off for the border in my smart black Fiesta, fully prepared for the armed control point and intensive questioning regarding my intentions.  Well, to be honest I had checked whether there was still anything like that in place and so was prepared for the unencumbered drive into the Republic.

My digs at the Tullyarvan Mill Hostel were basic but exactly what I required and at about £80 for five nights I was never going to complain about anything anyway.  After a walk into Buncrana town I set off across the boggy interior of the peninsula to Redcastle for the race briefing and to collect the required accoutrements, namely race number, dibbing chip and daily instruction cards which were satisfyingly exhaustive.  Harold, the genial and exceedingly helpful organiser held a brief talk covering the shuttle bus details and start times; 7am for those expecting to take over 6 hours, 8am for 5-6 hours and 9am for the speedy guys.  It was explained that there were some stern hills and so to add half an hour the expected flat time.

I wasn't planning on doing anything more than jogging round and so got myself back to the Redcastle Hotel by 8am the following morning for the medium paced group.  After catching up with a number of familiar faces from the UK circuit we queued up to have our dibber necklaces cleared then reset and of we trundled into the pleasant Irish morning.  The first 10 miles took us along the north-western shore of Lough Foyle past craggy coastline interspersed with small deserted beaches to the Shrove lighthouse where the route took us left and onto the first real climb of the day before doubling back so that our route to the lighthouse was now to our left as we climbed to the midway point enjoying evermore expansive views of the Lough and Northern Ireland across the water.

Dominating the scene for the last few miles, initially to our left and then as we switched back, on our right was the rounded mass of The Warren, a mountain rising above the town of Greencastle, and as we passed the halfway point the route turned ominously and headed directly up its testing slopes.  Three miles of effort later we descended to the north-eastern coast of Inishowen and to views even more spectacular than prior to the climb.

Kinnego Bay

Finish for day one was in the town of Culdaff where we were served a hot meal in one of the pubs.  After a leisurely discussion of the many sights of the day, the shuttle bus was boarded to take us back to Redcastle Hotel. A contented drive back across the beautifully bleak inner peninsula, a relaxed stroll into Buncrana for supplies during which I noted the peaty waters of Crana River resembled a flow of ale.  It almost made me jump off the wagon!

Flowing ale

Day two necessitated a drive back out to Culdaff for a short bus trip to the start, about three miles north of the town.

Today's route took us to the northernmost tip of the island of Ireland at Malin Head, famous for its weather station; the shipping forecast mantra 'Rockall, Malin, Hebrides', which has wormed its way into collective consciousness now has added vibrancy for me having run headlong into what seemed gale force rain lashing in from the wild Atlantic waters of sea area Malin .  This was bleak, beautiful awe-inspiring stuff.

Gale warnings for sea areas Rockall, Malin, Hebrides

Once the route turned back after a loop of the headland the going was much easier and I finished back in Culdaff in just under five hours feeling strong, although a delay in the dibbing system gave me a time a little over five hours, about 15 minutes faster than the previous day and again with a negative split.  It was during the welcome warming post-run meal that a plan formulated; 15 minutes faster each day and all with a negative split?  That sounded like a nice challenge to myself!

Day three started back in Culdaff and finished directly outside the hostel at which I was staying so the obvious thing to do was get the coach to the start and run back 'home'.  This meant running with the faster people but also meant that I could pass the first half in the company of good friends Rosie and John which was a very nice change to the reasonably lonely first two days.  However at halfway I had issues of negative splits and a 15 minutes to address so I pushed on a little quicker on my own.  There was a potential thwarting of my plans ahead in the shape of the Mamore Pass.  After a relatively flat first half, I was faced with maintaining a decent time over this forbidding mountain pass

Photos never seems to adequately convey steepness!

The photo really does not do justice to the zig-zagging steepness of this climb, however, going straight down the other side was equally tough on the legs, but with time on my mind I went for it feeling slightly out of control.  My thumping feet disturbed one of the ragged sheep grazing at the side of the road and he bolted along the road ahead of me, soon picking up a startled companion, then another, until it seemed as if I was pursuing a frightened mini-flock down the road.  At the bottom of the hill a lone marshal was operating a water station and her eyes grew wide as the out-of-control flock thundered toward her.  Her scream caused them to veer sharply right onto a small track where they gathered, eyeing me accusingly.  I was starting to worry that I'd be chasing my woolly pacers all the way to the finish line.  Having given up on my human sheepdog trial attempt I got my head down and put in some effort over some testing undulations, managing to record a speedy (for me) final full mile of 8:32 to achieve the negative split desired.

The final day, took us from Buncrana via Muff back to Redcastle and required a sub 4:30 to keep my goal on track.  It also meant driving from the start to the finish, getting a bus back to the start, running to the finish and then later driving back again.  The Muff marathon really did involve several hours of shuttling back and forth for me.  As the flattest of the days I was able to cruise to halfway and then accelerated in the heat to finish in 4:26 and claim a fourth negative split.  The medals for each day were able to be fixed together to form a single mega-medal which even incorporated an outline of the Inishowen Peninsula and approximate maps of the four routes.  Genius!

The Mega-medal!

There followed a really nice meal at the hotel after which trophies were presented and Harold tempted us all back for a repeat next year with talk of a generous 'early-bird' price, which in Sterling 'equated to nothing' he assured us Brits!  This was a fantastic four days, brilliantly organised but in a relaxed and friendly manner.  Despite the remoteness of some of the routes you never felt left on your own as marshals constantly drove back and forth checking on runners and giving out water.  And the views; just beautiful! I think I will be taking advantage of Harold's offer...





13th August 2015  Kinnego Bay      5:14:46  #89
14th August 2015  Malin Head        5:00:30  #90
15th August 2015  Mamore Pass    4:46:13  #91
16th August 2015  Muff                   4:26:19  #92