David Bayley is fundraising for Brathay Trust - JustGiving

David Bayley is fundraising for Brathay Trust - JustGiving

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Concrete & Clay

This weekends 2 races were run on concrete,clay,mud,rocks,pebbles,road a bit of everything beneath my feet over the 52 plus miles i put in.

A fantastic weekend which kicked off with the rather tough Portland Coastal marathon on Saturday, This was my third shot at the event & it doesn't get any easier, although to keep my mind on the job in hand I set myself 2 tasks to run the first big hill which is about 800 metres at a 45 degree angle - a real lung burner & then to run the 1.5 mile stretch on the pebbles of Chesil Beach & it was tough but I got my mini goals done (i didn't repeat either feat on the second lap !!)

I really should have used my shirt as a sail as we finished at the 2012 Olympic sailing centre,but as per the norm I spread my wings & flew on in, finishing 10 mins inside the 5 hour mark, a few of my buddies struggled a bit more than me but we all got the job done

Was good to see fellow ten in tenners Leon & Lorna as well as future ten in tenner Naomi.

Day 2 took us to Gloucester for an 11 am start & we arrived at the school gym & it was like a who's who of 100 club nutters,fetchies & 10 in 10 ers past & future - lots of handshakes hellos & women throwing themselves at me for hugs - Who can blame 'em ?!! LOL !!

Super Mick & Phil were there & must have been a tough one for Mick pushing Phil,s wheelchair round a steady undulating course through the scenic Gloucestershire countryside. There were some fine performances from my buddies - Trinity got her Comrades qualifier with 10 minutes to spare & my good mate Michael bounced back from Saturday's Portland with an excellent 3.41 pacing a club mate to a new PB.

For me it was a case of Animal magic as "Foxy Davy" ran with the "plodding hippo" (my mate Ruth) & with a 4.31 finish we were hardly plodding & indeed there were points where we both spread our wings for a stereotypical "fly by" Was a lovely day out.

The champagne moment of the day was the wonderful support on the course from Fetchies "Zoom" & "Rebel" who treated us to Welsh cakes & fabulous support as we passed them on the 3 lap course.

my bag came back with a new white techical shirt, dog tag, lovely glass paperweight & a Black & hot pink t-shirt which is really nice even if it may not sound it !!

keep on flying

Foxy

Wonderful Tonight :)

The Cream of Clapton to kick off the new decade & indeed last night (or more accuratly very early this morning) was indeed Wonderful :)

Along with a few buddies I got to spend the New Year doing what we all love - running marathons.

The temperature was suprisingly mild & warmer than we had left behind at home, certainly shorts weather for team GB, not a sole from any of the other nations agreed with us, I wanted to go with shorts to work on my tan :) the race is four laps up down & across a river starting & finishing at the local tennis centre, visibility wasn't great even with a head torch & was a rather foggy climax.

Was a day of Milestones my good buddy Allan Rumbles became a centurion completing his 100th Marathon in 3 hours 22 & in doing so became the fastest British marathon runner of the new decade, I was 3rd Brit home in 3:47. Naomi Prasad came home inside 4 & half hours to become the fastest British lady & I logged a couple of minor milestones, my fastest ever Friday marathon & the Sub 4 now means I have broken that barrier in every country I have run in, you can't count Wales as Allan himself will tell you it's not a proper country - lol !

There was no way I was starting the new year without the airplane & I think i pretty much nailed the landing, my first ever indoor landing :)

The early morning racing was followed by a few glasses of bubbly & a beer before grabbing some breafast en route to the airport - not sure Hal Higdon would recommend a recovery strategy, that involved drinking on an empty stomach after a marathon & going a night without sleep !!!

I really was spoilt for song choices even though I forgot my ipod - others that were close but no cigar were - obvious choices from Abba & U2, plus Friday I'm in love from the Cure & Switzerland 's own Yello with the race !

just 25 to go until I can get my own shiny medal & 100 club vest,still a long way to go.

Wishing you all a very happy new year

The flying fox :)