The Heat is on !!

The heat certainly was on at the Greensands Ridge relay & ultra.

Until Yvette at my club mentioned it I had no idea it existed,but I'm told it's been going for over 20 years.Essentially it's a team relay event, teams of one are allowed.I made the 100 marathon club aware of the event & a few centurions came along to bolster numbers to 16 for the individual event, the highest turn out of ultra runners in the events history.

The 33.4 mile course starts with a very flat stretch along the canal, before heading off over fields & farms, There are a few hills on the course but I'd describe it as gently undulating, This was my longest ever run & the distance didn't prove a problem, the sun & intense heat for over 6 hours though did make it tough, it was 30 degrees.

A very sociable event with all the teams cheering runners through the chageover checkpoints. was great to see my club mates along the way & the finish was at a great Pub, with fantastic beer garden.

I ran with my good friend Allan & a lad called David (great name !) from Cambridge. Allan not realising it was a point to point race then had rather a panic to get back to his car to get back to Surrey for a night out with the wife, 2 Leighton Buzzard fun runners very kindly helped us out with a lift back.

There was a lot of banter along the course & it's always great to run with a group of people,big thanks to the 3 guys from Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers who helped us with the route through the first 3/4 of the event.

Very much lionel ritchie today "easy like Sunday morning" trying to get as rested as possible in time for my first ever 10km race on Tuesday.

in case the title still has you puzzled - Glen Frey !!

keep running

Foxy !

Who's that girl....?

running around with you ? (the Eurythmics).

That girl was my Fetchie buddy Naomi.

A busy weekend, which started after work on Friday night with my first ever 5km & I really enjoyed it & look forward to more midweek sprints, I was hoping to break 22 mins but suprised myself by just missing out on going sub 20 mins (by 2 seconds on my watch, but with the few seconds it took from the gun to get to the start line results will show a few seconds more I'm sure) the goal now is to get that sub 20 mins.

On Saturday my good buddy Michael from Dunstable Road runners came & picked me up & we headed to Box Hill for "Britain's toughest marathon"

http://www.trionium.com/picnic/

I met a few mates at the start all the usual suspects !!

The race starts at 2pm with a 400 yard run straight up the first hill & it doesn't let up, some races are described as undulating or hilly, but this was almost vertical, plus there were were steps & I have to say it wasn't the stairway to heaven !!!

We both found it tough & Naomi was struggling a bit but we dug deep & kept going, was both tough physically & mentally. I really am getting too old for this !!!

After 6 hours 35 mins & 20 hills it was over & everyone got a T-shirt with a list of all the competitors on the back,a fantastic sunhat & impressive medal.

My mate Andrew Stally celebrated his 100th marathon & couldn't have picked a tougher one.Well done to him, 38 to go for me.

There were sandwiches at the end - well what do you expect it was a "picnic" ?

I can certainly confirm it's the toughest marathon I've ever done, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't go back again :) It's only held every other year to ensure you have enough time to forget the pain & sign up again !! not for the feint hearted.

Keep on running (& climbing !!)

Foxy

The Number of the Beast ?

a bit of Iron Miden for you rockers out there.

i know you're thinking ? what's he banging on about now, has he lost what little of his mind he had left ? (trust me there's nothing left to lose !!)

following the completion of the 10 in 10, the folks at Brathay in conjuction with Legendary Fell runner & MBE Jos Naylor have decided to set up a very exclusive club to recognise the 27 people who have completed 10 marathons in 10 days.

i do have to say i'm honoured to belong to such a small & selective club.

Similar to the Comrades marathon in South Africa where those with 10 completed get a green number for life, all the 10 in 10 members will have a lifetime number, memberships starting on crossing the finish line on day 10, i am thus number 21 & always will be.

i have been thinking too much lately, due to lack of running due to a knee injury followed by my current thigh injury & in the words of both Martin Luther King & ABBA "I have a dream.......

with 61 marathons under my belt i was wondering if the Brathay windermere marathon in 2011 could be my 100th marathon ? I know that's 2 years away but you gotta dream, for this to even become a possibilty there are a few things that have to happen, firstly i have to stay injury free, I have to be accepted for a place in next years 10 in 10 & i have to average 15 marathons a year, not including the 10 (i did 17 in 2007,23 last year & i'm on target for 24 or 25 this year.

if i could run number 100 in 2011 it would mark my 21st running of the Windermere course which ties in quite nicely with my lifetime number 21 :) I know alot can happen in 2 years but that would be my ideal plan.

Many of this years 10 in 10 "beasts" do now have their lifetime numbers. We have the Spanish stripey one "El Bee" at 16, Top Cat at 18, everyone's favourite dinosaur "Velociraptor" at 19, "Foxy Davy" at 21 & "Roaring lion" at 25. No i'm not mad but these are just the nickanmes mainly from http://www.fetcheveryone.com/ a runners website most of us use to moan whinge & sometimes log races & training.

Not even my Usain Bolt sprinters start could get me a higher number - LOL !!!

just resting at the moment taking 2 days off hoping my thigh improves as i have a race in 9 days time, i do have to say not going running is harder than going, my head is saying "run you lazy b***ard", whilst my legs are saying "take it easy & make sure you are fit to race".

best wishes

foxy !