parkrun touring - 4 in 5 plus 2 in 2. And one.

Following on from an earlier blog post about my parkrun touring over the years, I thought it was worth an update after I've been on a bit of a touring splurge in May and July (and added another one in September). May saw 5 different parkruns in 5 weeks (4 of them new) while I did  two new ones in July. As usual every parkrun has something different and unique....yet all follow the simple, effective formula that was made parkrun such a success

parkrun event number 23 - Preston Park parkrun

Despite the name, this isn't in Preston, instead it's in Brighton in a large park to the north of the city. I was there on Ambassador business (hush hush nod wink) and planned a leisurely jog as part of my post marathon recovery. It didn't quite turn out like that.....

The course itself is pretty flat and all on tarmac. It's essentially in the shape of a P. Starting halfway round the curved part you head anti-clockwise down to the bottom of the straight line, pull a U-turn then head back up the line, round the curve and back down the line, Twice. That probably doesn't make sense, but it's a nice flat course with ample opportunity to say hello to runners ahead and behind you, and also see marshals multiple times.
Though I ha intended an averaged paced run, I set off fairly fast and somehow kept going, each mile seemed OK and I felt I was on for a good time .....I was still shocked when I whizzed past the timers after just 21 minutes and 12 seconds........and a whopping parkrun PB of 83 seconds. The excellent post run butty tasted even better after that.

parkrun event number 24 - Milton Keynes parkrun

A week later and I was on the road again on Saturday morning - this time heading north to Nottingham for a stag do. I was due in Nottingham by 12ish so ample opportunity to grab a parkrun on the way. After considering various options I plumped for Milton Keynes as handy for the M1 and far enough along to make the run and breakfast and still arrive on time.
Accompanied by my friend (and chauffer) Dave who is an intermittent parkrunner, we got there in good time  - note you need to pay for parking.
I managed a chat with ED Gareth before the start and then et off - it's a reasonably narrow early stage which meant for some congestion as MK gets several hundred runners! After a bit of zig-zagging up a hill you're rewarded with a fabulous view over a grassy bowl with the central lake beyond it. You descend into the bowl and then go round the lake with a view of the lead runners stretching off into the distance. I posted a reasonably decent time of 23:01  - which was a good thing as the scanning queue gets quite long as you head into the mid 20s (though as usual, everyone was in good form with no grumbling).
We grabbed a cooked breakfast in the Premier Inn (vital ahead of the stag!) and then joined the core team and several other tourists in the main café - as always had to drag myself away as we had an appointment to meet.
MK is a great parkrun though the numbers can be a little daunting, the scenery make sup for it though. As for the stag - well, what goes on tour etc ;-)

parkrun event number 25 - Perry Hall parkrun

3rd week in a row on tour......but I wasn't alone on this trip. I was in Birmingham for the annual parkrun Ambassadors' conference which meant I was surrounded by other parkrun fanatics  - not least the legendary PSH himself and the parkrun UK head honcho Tom Williams.
Suffice to say I wasn't in prime condition for the run - well, that's what drinking and talking parkrun until 3 in the morning does to you! I'm more than halfway convinced I was still drunk on the start line, so a fast time was never in question........
The course itself is a pancake flat 2 lapper in almost (but not quite) a figure of 8 (as you don't cross over) on a mixture of grass and paths. Under normal conditions it would be a good opportunity for a PB - but these weren't normal conditions! It was however a great experience to run round with so many parkrun legends, and core team did a superb job dealing with the influx of hungover and loudmouthed ambassadors :-)

parkrun event number 26 - Wythenshawe parkrun

My final tour in May was to Wythenshawe parkrun on the outskirts of Manchester. I was there to see FC United of Manchester's opening game of their new stadium - financed by the club members (including me actually). Despite the game being on Friday night (and starting on the beer at suitably early time!) I felt a lot better than at Perry Hall. After an unscheduled major transport malfunction (replacement bus services!) I made the start with 10 mins to spare and proceeded to clock a respectable 22:56. The course is another 2 lapper which twists and turns it's way through a variety of environments - open park, wood land paths, even a little garden area....all of which keep it interesting. There's a sharp left turn just before the finish which makes it difficult to build up a head of steam for a sprint finish but otherwise it's a good course which is well worth a visit.

parkrun event number 27 - Northala Fields

June saw a break from touring, instead I broke my Bedfont PB twice at my home event. In July I decided to visit Northala Fields - a reasonably new event not far from Bedfont. For once, I wasn't touring because I was away somewhere for another reason - it was purely and simply a decision to try and new event for the sake of it.
I plumped for Northala as I had heard good things about the course and the team and it was easy to get to. And boy I was glad I did.......
The course is a one lapper which starts by looping round these 3 massive mounds, raised with rubble from the Wembley construction (thankfully you don't have to run up them!) then doing a perimeter of the wider park before finishing with anther loop around the hills. I got a good start and managed to latch on to a leading group - passing them slowly through 2k and 3k before hanging on in the last km as I knew a good time was on the cards. And a good time was had as I managed to move into uncharted territory with a 20:37, much to my delight - I was also debuting my new 100 t-shirt which had just arrived

The post run café is handily located next to the finish line and I was even treated to a free tea by one of the runners afterwards. Northala has a strong Nepalese community involvement and if you run there keep an eye out for the elderly Nepalese ladies on the wall who watch all the runners come in :-)

parkrun event number 28 - Great Cornard parkrun

This was probably my most "parkrun" of all tourist visits, in that it symbolised a lot of what parkrun was about. Great Cornard is in Suffolk, close to the Essex border and I was in the area for a golf weekend in nearby Stoke-by-Nayland. I was carless, and none of my fellow golfers were keen on a 9am parkrun on the Saturday, preferring the siren call of a lie-in (most of them have young kids so I'll excuse them!)
Resigning myself to a taxi return trip, I chanced my arm and dropped an email to the event wondering if any runners were passing my way and would give me a lift either there or back. Quick as a flash the ED Lisa was onto me on Facebook, explaining that she was away but her sister Sam would be happy to give me a lift. Sam, her husband Carl and son Daniel promptly arrived at 8.15 at the hotel, transported me to the event, explained the course, chatted to me over coffee afterwards and dropped me back. Daniel even managed a PB. It was a classic case of how great parkrun is - they were happy to act as chauffer for a complete stranger for the morning to ensure I could get my parkrun fix!
The course at GC is quite technical as it is 2 and a bit laps round various playing fields, almost all on grass. There's lots of turns and lots of cones, so you need your wits about you!

parkrun event number 29 - Delamere parkrun

My last new event from my recent activity, and another one occasioned by a personal reason. This time I was near Chester for my friend Katie's wedding - so naturally looked for the nearest parkrun on the wedding day morning (with a 2pm wedding time, I had plenty of time). It turned out to be Delamere, a 25 min drive away in the beautiful Delamere forest. There was loads of parking near the start but it is pay parking - £2 for 1 hour if you're the turn up, run then leave type or £4 for 3 hours if you want a leisurely cuppa afterwards.
I got chatting to the RD Kay beforehand who promptly asked me if I was Rory - when I asked who she knew she said she recognised me from my various appearances on the parkrunshow podcast - fame at last!
The course is a single lapper heading out through the woods to Blakemere Moss Lake then around the perimeter of the lake before heading back the way you come. It's on gravelly paths and dirt with some undulations...so definitely not a PB course (it also gets congested at the start with ~300 runners). It is very scenic, especially on a foggy morning like this one was

I hung around after the run watching the other runners come in (6th highest attendance, must have known I was coming!), helping on the funnel and chatting with the core team, then repaired with them to the nearby café for an excellent bacon/sausage butty. All in all a great morning and perfect prep for a day of celebration

So I'm now up to 29 global events (26 in UK) and will be making in 30 global events next week when I take in the inaugural Tramore Valley parkrun in my home city of Cork, only 10 min drive from my family house. Needless to say I'm quite excited - an update to follow, hopefully not in 6 months.

Post marathon update - a summer of speed

What do you do when you've achieved your major goal for the year?

Set another one of course!

As detailed earlier, I hit my goal of a sub 4 hour marathon in Manchester in April....and unlike last year, I didn't have a damaged glute muscle to occupy me for the next few months. So after resting on my laurels for a few days, it was time to set my goal for summer running. Having focused on long distances since last winter, I figured that I should look at the other side and focus on bringing down my 5k and 10k times.....which means speedwork and lots of it!

I've been feeling good over the shorter distances all spring and, without the Sunday LSRs of 15mile plus to worry about, I could really go for it in the weeks after the marathon. I didn't however expect to get the results I did so quickly afterwards!

First to go was my parkrun PB of 22:35 which I set in February. I was running at Preston Park parkrun in Brighton in early May. Despite not really planning a hard run, I took off at the start and felt good so just kept it going.....eventually flashing across the line in surprisingly fast 21;12, taking a whopping 83 seconds of my PB and starting visions of going sub -21 flashing in my brain!
Since then I've had a good go at my Bedfont Lakes PB (22:36) and managed to lower that twice to 21:52 then 21:39. I've also realised that my home parkrun is actually rather hard when you try and run it fast!
With the 5km times falling it was time to attack my 10km PB, (47:59) which was set 2 years ago and well overdue a attempt. I'd entered the Yateley 10k series (runs June, July an August on the first Weds of the month) with the idea that I'd use the first one as a course recce, maybe take a 20-30 secs off my PB and really go for it in the latter two.

That didn't quite go to plan as - once again - I set off feeling OK and kept it going. I ended up with a 45:48 and over 2 minutes off my PB! I'll give a more detailed run report in a separate post but it did mena I've broken my 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon PBs in the space f 4 months. Not bad going....

I'm not stopping there of course. My current training program is built around improving my speed, so am hoping to get down to possibly 20:30 for 5k, ~43 mins for 10k and maybe even 1:42 for half marathon.

So, provisional race plan -

• Runnymede Runners relay in the Great Park July 4th,
• Yateley 10ks part 2 and 3 July 8th and August 5th
• Stavanger half marathon in Norway August 29th
• River Thames half marathon mid October

And of course, parkrun every week.....not a race, but a run and potentially a visit to a fast flat small event to really take aim at my PB :-)

Then I need to think about next year's marathon...but that's another story.

Tales from the Start Line - Manchester Marathon

They say humans are unable to accurately remember pain. The acute sensation fades away and the mind can't recall the feeling. Famously, in women who have just given birth, the body releases chemicals into the brain to blur the memory of the pain, to ensure they'll have more kids.

This week has been a bit like that for me - as the days go by the memory of the last few miles of Manchester have faded, while the feeling of euphoria, pride and achievement remain.

I was relaxed and confident in the run up to the race - slightly different to last year. We travelled up on Saturday and stayed with our friends Phil and Clodagh in Altrinhcam...perfect for getting to the start line. Staying with friends allowed me to minimise any disruption to pre-run routine - food, sleep etc.

Come Sunday  morning there was a decent number of fellow runners at Alty tram station an we picked plenty more up on the 20 min journey to Old Trafford. It felt quite strange to be walking down the Warwick Road, (as I have done countless times before to watch United), and not have swag men selling scarves, burger vans selling questionable meat and ticket touts looking for spares every 20 feet!

Manchester was a huge contrast to London last year....with only ~9000 runners instead of London's 35,000+ the scale is vastly different. There's only one race village for a start, and family and friends can wander round there too, and even walk up to the start with the runners. (Mine didn't, preferring some extra kip and a leisurely breakfast instead :))

Feeling confident pre race!

 

 

The loos queues didn't seem to be too bad (and there was ample opportunity for male runners at least to go, ermm, al fresco) and I even managed to get a cup of tea in about 30 mins before the start! All in all, much more relaxed and stress-free compared to the relative chaos of London1

 

 

I half expected the race to go off late (they usually do) but bang on 9.00 the gun went and the fast runners took off. According to the official stats I crossed the start line only 4 minutes and 13 seconds later, so a very smooth start. Now it was time to see if my pre race confidence was warranted....

 

 

 

The course starts off heading down the A56 chester road into Manchester before looping around by the Cornbrook tram stop (site of the now closed Pomona pub, where I may have imbibed an ale or two in past times) and then veering off for a section on the Quays, where you pass ITV studios (Corrie!) and the Imperial War Museum North. Quite a cultural first few miles really, and multiple opportunities to spot people ahead or behind you in two sections of "out and back".

 

I had my first sight of my loyal supporters around the 4 mile mark as we wound past Old Trafford before hitting the A56 again, but this time heading out of town on the long trek. I was hitting my target 9 minute mile pace almost perfectly which boded well! The net few miles were uneventful....a long stretch out to Sale before heading off the A56 finally via Sale Moor and Brooklands and then another long stretch down into the halfway point at Altrincham (during which you could again see the fast athletes on the other side, and I spotted the ED for Wycombe parkrun, Sam Amend, leading the woman's race)

 

Altrincham, for me, marked the start of the race in some ways. It was the halfway point which is always a key marker. It also marked the last sight of my supporters until the final stretch at best...luckily as the race loops through there I got to see them twice, and even managed to grab a kiss from my wife (coincidentally, I then set my fastest mile of the race with an 8:48!)

 

But from here in on in, the pressure would grow. My next mental and physical marker was the 16-17 mile section. Physically I knew that running 16 miles @ 9min/mile pace was doable given my half marathon paces, after that I was entering the realm of "do I need to drop the pace to finish?" -  question I would ask repeatedly for the next 10 miles.

Mentally - this was around the point I struggled in London, and ran/walked for several miles, before recovering later on. This year I was determined to not have the same issues and decided that once I hit 16 miles I'd focus on getting to 20 as my next focus point - it seemed to work,

 

A point here about the public - while Manchester is a smaller event, the on course support is still superb....but it manages to avoid being over whelming. There are loads of areas where there is high concentrated levels of support...usually in the heart of the old villages that once sat outside Manchester (Sale, Timperley, Altrincham etc) but it was mixed with quieter areas. Still had people supporting but more spread out and less intrusive. I really like that tbh  - and I've never seen so much food on offer at the side of the race from the public, from jelly-babies to cakes and everything in between. I think the fact so much of the race goes through residential areas had something to with it...

 

Anyhoo - back to the race. 18 miles in and I was still on pace and feeling OK. At this point going sub 4 hours started to seem realistic, and I busied my mind by calculating what buffer I had if I started to slow ....this meant every 9 min mile was a minute ticked off closer to the target. Miles 18-20 are the most isolated of the race as you go via Carrington Lane (proper country)  and there was an additional issue of silage and manure smell to deal with!

 

Through Mile 20 in under 3 hours and I could start to taste that finish. Plus my sweat. And my gel. And the pain. There's an old adage that the marathon doesn't start till Mile 20......while I think that's a little untrue as you do see the finish on the horizon, there's no question it's a whole different section of the race.

We wound through Flixton, Urmston and into Stretford and I tried to focus on the next mile...and the next....and the next. My pace finally dropped from my 9 min/mile metronome........9:09. 9:16, 9;17 9:28. Then my final major marker - just a parkrun to go! I started berating myself in my head "C'mon Rory, you can do a parkrun in your sleep on one leg, there's no quitting now., imagine you're trotting round Bedfont Lakes"

24 miles went by, then I hit the A56 for the final time. "Oh fuck, Old Trafford looks so far away...shut up and keep moving" My legs by this point felt completely independent from my body and appear to be moving on sheet instinct alone rather than any input from my brain. The last 1.5 miles went on and on and on, but finally I saw my "almost there" marker of the Greatstone hotel and I knew it was nearly over.

Up to the Trafford bar and then it was one last turn into Sir Matt Busby Way. A few hundred yards more through a finish funnel that felt like a professional race, and then I was done - over the line in

 

 

3:56:27!!!!!!!

 

Sub 4 hours achieved - with some to spare as well. Even better, my supporters were waiting just behind the finish line to congratulate me. A quick (well, slow) passage through the finish area and I could meet them (in the VIP tent no less!) wearing a heavy medal, a huge grin and legs that were starting to violently complain about their treatment.

 

 

A happy, happy man

 

The rest of the day followed a familiar pattern........re-hydrate, then beer, then shower, then beer, then food, then beer, then bed!

 

So that was Manchester marathon.

Where I finally felt I achieved my marathon potential.

Where my training and lifestyle changes bore fruit.

Where I felt (strongly) the support of not just my wife and friends on the day but also all the others....my family and friends in Ireland, my co-workers in P&G, my fellow Run with Karen runners and, of course all my legions of parkrun friends.

 

And where I saw that, for a marathon, bigger is not necessarily better.

 

Now, what's my next marathon................? :-)





Taper time - treat or torture?

I'm in my final week of training before the marathon next Sunday, which means I've been tapering for the last 2 weeks, ever since the Hampton Court Palace half marathon

Tapering is odd - you spend 13-14 weeks training harder and harder - increasing your distance, increasing the intensity, pushing yourself harder and harder.......and then you drop off.

I ran 16, 20 and 18 miles on successive Sundays. Then ran 12 the following week and just 6 this Sunday. My midweek marathon paced run has dropped to 5 last week and just 3 next week.

It feels........wrong. It feels weird. It feels like you're losing your fitness, losing the endurance, wasting all those weeks of effort. You think you're forgetting how to run long distances, and you start to panic that you shouldn't be doing this, you should be out running, running, running.

It's all nonsense of course - tapering is designed to have your body in tip top shape for the race. 2-3 weeks of reducing distance and intensity allow the slightly battered body time to rest, time for muscles to repair and time for any niggles to work themselves out - thus ensuring you're a lean running machine in time for the marathon. (Ummm, like I am. Ahem). But it does funny things to the mind, hence the post title

Personally I'm enjoying taper - last year I was injured, panicking and worried about how it would feel on the day. This year, I'm enjoying having a lie-in on a Sunday morning and only running for an hour. I'm enjoying having a Saturday night beer. I'm far more relaxed and confident as...

• I'm not injured!
• I'm running really well all spring......an somehow knocked out a 22:11 5K PB before parkrun this week
• I'm not injured!
• I'm carrying a lot less weight than last year (32 pounds less at last count)
• I've already done a bloody marathon - and therefore know exactly what to expect
• I'm under no real pressure - no sponsorship, no "can I get round?" jitters

If anything I'm in danger of feeling over-confident....though somehow I doubt that'll be an issue come 9am Sunday morning

Proof of my 5k PB - just a shame it's not an official parkrun time

Anyway, I'm nearly there. Some sprint intervals tomorrow night, 3 miles on Thursday and a very gentle parkrun on Saturday. Then the train to MANCHESTER (which is red btw) lunchtime Saturday before the big day - I'm number 7401 in case anyone wants to track me

Looks like it's official

Guess it's time to relax then and enjoy the last week of taper - definitely a treat....

Tales from the Start Line - Hampton Court Palace Half (plus 5)

You know what the hardest thing about a LSR is?

If you said "the running"  - you're wrong. Actually running it isn't THAT hard - it's low intensity, it's often quite peaceful running in a park on a Sunday morning, and there's the vision of a gigantic breakfast and lots of beer in your future. Plus the smug feeling deep down when you casually mention to othrs that "yeah, just did 16/18/20 miles this morning"

So no, it's not the running.

It's all the other crap.

It's the revolving your weekend around the run. It's the run hanging over you from Friday (especially when venturing into uncharted territory). It's the early Saturday night, and earlier Sunday morning. It's forcing yourself to consume breakfast at 6.30am on a Sunday. It's the NO FRIGGING BEER ON A SATURDAY NIGHT!

And when you stick on the clocks going forward and losing an hour, well......

But we make our choices and stick by them. So last Saturday I was up at the unholy hour of 5.15am ("body time") aka 6.15am ("official time") as I was off to run the Hampton Court Palace Half marathon...plus 5 miles before.

I wouldn't normally run a half marathon this late in my training as it's too short, and it's often difficult to tack on the necessary mileage to make it long enough.

I made an exception though as one of my closest friends was making her half marathon debut - and given it was largely down to my urging that she was doing this, it seemed only fair that I run it with her. Thankfully the race start was close to Bushy Park which made it easy to get my 5 miles in before the start.

The race itself was - well, a mixed bag if I'm honest. The start area (at the entrance to the Palace) was chaotic to put it mildly. No segregation, inaudible announcements and no pace pens/areas to sieve out the slower runners meant the first few miles (on the narrow towpath) were pretty congested and would be very frustrating for faster runners.
The course was nice enough - 2 laps incorporating the towpath from Hampton Court Bridge to Kingston Bridge for the first lap then a meander through various parts of the Palace park and grounds. There were several sections of "switchback" which I find a little frustrating (don't like seeing everyone else so far ahead!) and there was a definite feel of the organisers trying to shoehorn the 13.1 miles into the area.
The worst aspect though was far and away the water supply. While not quite as bad as last year's Sheffield Half Marathon, the placing of the stations was bizarre. 4 miles, 4.75 miles, 10.25 miles and 12.5 miles.

Not exactly evenly spread, and most people were gasping by 10 miles (and what's the point of a station with 0.5 mile left?). If it had been a warm day it would have been a lot worse - luckily (??) it was wet and windy. The stations themselves were also undermanned. This was my 12th half marathon and the first one where I felt like there was insufficient water.

On the plus side the medal was a bit different, there was a free (cotton) T-shirt, the car parks were close enough that you didn't need a bag drop and the I got my hands on a hot cup of tea inside 15 mins of finishing thanks to the Palace café.

My time? Doesn't matter - it was a training run, and the objective was to support my friend round (by talking her ear off)

Objective completed (and inside her target time!)



Next stop Manchester......



(P.S. That was my last LSR and am now in the wonderful world of taper. Unlike last year, I should be able to enjoy this as raceday draws near!)

parkrundayparkrundayparkrunday

It never ceases to amaze me how parkrun continues to grow and grow. Even in areas where you think you might be hitting saturation point - like the South East - new events continue to pop up on a regular basis.

As a result, I've been involved in helping set up a couple of new events in the M4 corridor and had the benefit of seeing one such event get across the start line (geddit?) on Saturday.

The event in question was in Maidenhead and I first met the team back in October  - along with Kerri French and Ian Cockram we went along to check out their proposed venue and agree on the course route. Fast forward 5 months and I rocked up on Saturday morning wondering what it ould be like.

It was my first inaugural  - for those unaware, inaugural parkruns have become a big thing in parkrun world which has led to some issues. Just imagine that you're a new event director or first time volunteer at a new event. You've done the training, helped out at other events, done the test event and then.....

.....come inaugural morning you get hundreds of people turn up.


Yeah - it's a bit daunting. I get 150ish at my own event, so if I got 300 next week I'd panic, never mind a brand new team!

Maidenhead turned out to be a classic large inaugural with 303 runners in total. A large contingent of tourists (due to a 250 club entry), plenty of familiar parkrun faces and even King Danny of the parkrunshow podcast  - which this week featured Maidenhead and even included an interview with yours truly. You can listen here

Despite the crowds the team did a fantastic job (well trained, clearly) and it all ran smoothly. I even spotted one of the core team with tears in their eyes watching the masses of runners....seeing it come to fruition can be quit emotional, and I confess I felt quite proud to be involved in that.

 Happy event team (and a glowing laptop!)

Oh, wait - the course. Prob should mention that - it' s essentially a 2 lap course which loops through a little nature reserve on gravelly paths and includes a nasty little short hill. It's nice and sheltered for most of it and has a lovely section by the side of a canal that will be particularly tranquil in summer.

The event also benefits from a Toby Carvery pub on site with a £3.99 all you can eat breakfast plus £1.99 for unlimited tea. Needless to say I took full advantage :)

Me and co-ED and fellow Ambassador Ian

 

A triptych of Ambassadors - Ian, Kezza and me

 

 

That wasn't the end of my parkrunday though - oh no. That afternoon it was off to another new event (with Ian and Kerri French - ED at Woodley, Ambassador extraordinaire and fellow marathon blogger - check her blog out here) to do their test event in Bracknell (redacted for security reasons). Test events are critical parts of a new team's evolution. It's essentially a full dress rehearsal with 30-50 runners...checking the course is ok, no major issues with the route, getting the team familiar with timing, scanning and processing results just like a normal event. It was again good fun to do that and then relax in the café with bacon sandwiches (cos I hadn't eaten enough earlier!) running through training slides and talking parkrun

 

After leaving the house at 8am I finally got home at 4pm. A mammoth parkrunday but a thoroughly enjoyable one

 

P.S. Oh and I ran 20 miles the next day. Marathon training and all that...but parkrunday was much more fun to do and write about.

Tales from the Start Line - Kingston Breakfast Run

Alternate Title - "How to mess up your race prep and get away with it"

One of the hardest things about this stage of marathon training is how much it dominates and affects your weekend. Particularly Saturday night - which becomes, well, a bit boring. No booze, no going out, nothing too exciting as you conserve your energy for the Sunday morning exertions.

Still, it at least gives you time to get all your prep sorted for the next day, especially if you're heading to a race.

Well, that's the theory anyway.  The reality this week was a little different though......I did have my kit sorted and race number attached OK the night before - but managed to forget my Garmin watch, realise way too late that I had no gels and then discovered my iPod shuffle was out of charge.

To cap it all my well-planned timeline for pre-race eating and travel turned out to be a little tight for comfort. Frantically searching the roads of Hampton Wick 20 minutes before race start looking for a parking space was not what I had anticipated.

Still, I made it to the start in time (after a warm-up of running hard from car over Kingston Bridge!) and at 8.35 or so I was off.

The Breakfast run has 8, 16 and 20 mile options....I was doing the 16 mile variant and, as always, it was a reminder of why races in a training calendar are both important and helpful. Important as they provide a handy status check on how the training is going and experience of running with hundreds of other runners (as opposed to a handful, or none), and helpful as they are essentially easier than a solo training run of the same distance. Water is provided (no need to carry extra weight), the course is marked (no worrying over route or risking getting lost) and you get plenty of support and encouragement from the marshals and crowds.

The route itself consisted of 2 x 8 mile laps. Started out in Kingston's town centre by the town hall, before heading over Kingston Bridge and down left onto the towpath. This takes you ~3 miles to Hampton Court Bridge and is probably the nicest portion of the race. Once at Hampton Bridge you go back onto the roads (so running on footpaths etc) and follow the A309 down through Thames Ditton. Eventually you intersect with the A309 / Portsmouth Road and follow that back into Kingston itself before looping back out on the second lap. It's a nice flat course but the section coming back into Kingston is a bit tricky - narrow paths with uneven camber which is always a concern for my glute.

All in all it was a comfortable race - plenty of support and it was good to see several of my extended running group there...before, during and after the race!

 

Sore legs? What sore legs?

I was quite pleased with my pace given the missing Garmin (finished in 2:35:09, pretty much perfect LSR pace of 9:40 min/mile) and felt in good shape all the way through - with 5 weeks to go till marathon day everything so far is going to plan. Next stop is the longest one - 20 miles at "Not the London Marathon" in Bushy...after a day of parkrun Ambassadoring on the Saturday!

As for the Kingston Breakfast Run - I'd do it again - but ideally with some better prep :-)

You've got to pick a parkrun or (twenty) two. Minus one.

So it's Saturday night, I'm sitting at home drinking tea ahead of a 15 mile LSR tomorrow and trying to ignore the siren song of the cold beer in my fridge.

Probably a good time for a blog post then........and I've decided to go through all of the various parkrun venues I've run at (21 of them - hence the title. Oh, I'm so witty) and give a brief description. To avoid accusations of favouritism I'm doing them in chronological order from my first on in 2009, to my latest "new" event on New Year's Day 2015

1) Richmond parkrun - A one lapper and one of the most scenic, especially on a clear day. Not as tough as its regulars may like to claim, but not a PB course either. Getting the train and cycling up Richmond Hill is a good warmup! My most run at event besides Bedfont. Watch out for deer...

2) Bedfont Lakes parkrun - the bestest parkrun in the UNIVERSE! (Biased, moi?) Mine own parkrun  - a lovely 2 lapper in a park I didn't know existed before parkrun. Parking can be an issue and you better be OK with getting wet and muddy due to the interminable winter puddles (a legacy of the park history I think). Averages 120-170 runners and has 2 amazing Event Directors.

3) Reading parkrun - Ran it when covered in snow and ice over Christmas. Great location next to the Thames, a mix of grass field and wood paths. Currently relocated due to flooding though (that's the issue with starting next to the Thames!)

4) Woodhouse Moor (nee Leeds) parkrun - newly renamed and one of the oldest events. A 2.5 lapper in a small park in the middle of Leeds all on tarmac and pretty flat

5) Malahide parkrun (Ireland) - my first parkrun outside UK, and the first in the Republic. Superb setting in the grounds of Malahide castle, a meandering course on tarmac and gravel paths. Gets big turnouts

6) Gunnersbury parkrun - another West London one near the M4. Starts on grass then follows the outside path around the park before diving through and around the wooded section, finishing on grass. The paths in the wooded section are a little tricky due to poor maintenance by the council but it's as flat as you can get

7) Little Stoke parkrun - On Bristol's outskirts, a small little 3 lapper, all bar the last 250m on grass. Flat as a pancake, plenty of parking and a refreshment van waits at the end. Due to layout you get plenty of encouragement. Bizarrely, the first person I saw there was a Bedfont regular.

8) Poole parkrun - I ran this while on my annual drinking camping weekend in Swanage so extremely heavy legs! Another pancake flat course with a bug turnout. 2 laps round the boating lake with soe narrow spots (and a nagging fear the adverse camber will lead you into said lake) before a (seemingly never ending) loop of the cricket pitch. They have a smart funnel system and use the cricket pavilion for storage / refreshments etc. Have to pay for parking, but it's very cheap

9) Barnstaple parkrun - A cracking event in North Devon, hard on the banks of the River Torridge. 2 and a half laps of a figure of 8 style course  - be careful at the pinch point! A very friendly event team too, and one of my multiple events

10) Castle Demense parkrun (Ireland) - The closest event to my home town of Ballincollig, I was delighted when this started. Wore my just received 50 t-shirt and was accorded semi-celebrity status as a result. A tricky little course with a lap around the GAA pitch then a dive into the woods, and under a low gate (watch your head if over 5' 10"!) before a sharp uphill shock, the out and back though the golf club car park. Repeat the loop through the woods and golf club before a run into the finish with a  nasty incline before the finish. The golf clu car park brings an interesting dimension to it! Loads of free refreshments in the community centre afterwards and a great event team

11) Worcester parkrun - Drove 50 miles from the Cotswolds to do this on New Year's Day. Due to heavy rain the course was a mud-bath, especially the start/finish area in a field! 2 laps through a wooded country park - would be much nicer in summer!

12) Leamington Spa parkrun - Another wet/muddy one. One lap round a golf course, with a horrendous hill at ~1km. Thankfully after that it's downhill the rest of the way. Plenty of parking

13) Whitley Bay parkrun - Gloriously scenic event overlooking the North Sea Coast. All on tarmac with various uphill and downhill sections and a great finish on the promenade. Slower runners may get annoyed with having to plough through already finished runners though. Piad for parking but again not expensive

14) Upton Court parkrun - Technically the closest parkrun to my house, this is a great little event with views of Windsor Castle on a good day. A 2 lap course on a mix of grass and tarmac, I set my parkrun PB here recently. Good food in the rugby clubhouse afterwards as well

<EDIT - overnight break, 15 mile run and new car later>

15) Royal Tunbridge Wells parkrun - A fantastically scenic start overlooking the large boating lake with a handy downhill first 0.5km. Lakeside, forest-side and field-side views before the realisation that you have to go up the bit you went down. Bad enough on first lap but 10 times worse on second lap when you have to go up even further. Thought my heart would explode but a great event.

16) Tymon parkrun (Ireland) - Another Dublin parkrun that I ran on the same day the BBC piece on Bedfont aired. Got bus from central Dublin and basically spent 30 mins wandering around waiting for everyone to show up! 2 lap course in a very nice park next to the M50 and pretty flat. Now my brother's home parkrun

17) Wycombe Rye parkrun - First of my ambassador visits. A quirky course meandering mainly on tarmac on the outside perimeter with some grass sections. Includes a steps section which can impede PB hopes, and a two way section for encouraging others. Parking paid but incredibly cheap (60p for 3 hours!)

18) Black Park parkrun - Another Ambassador visit - a one lapper in a big park that borders Pinewood studios. A series of long straights and sharp turns on forest paths and a large turnout. A  highly organised and efficient finish funnel and scanning setup. Like all of my events, a great team :-)

19) Bushy Park parkrun - The one and only, the original parkrun. Iconic and unique, from the >1000 turnout to the double (triple) funnel. Flat as flat but not a PB course unless you get to the front cos you lose 10-20 seconds just getting to the start! Must be done at least once in a parkrun life.

20) Eastbourne parkrun -  A Christmas visit (with Dolly actually) - ran their alternate winter course which was an out and back on tarmac

21) Kingston parkrun - second part of my first new Year's Day double. Another out and back on the banks of the Thames with a loop at the turnaround point. Can be soggy at that point, and rumoured to be short (I stress, "rumoured". Ahem)

So there you go. 106 runs at 21 events over nearly 6 years.

Plenty more to come.............

Tales from the Start line - Valentine's 10k

"Race start time: 9am. Please arrove by 8am to park and pick up your race pack"

So said the official advice from the Valentine's 10k race email......so why was I up at 6am, out of the house at 6.45am and at race HQ in Chessington by 7.10 (causing a few puzzled faces among race organisers who were just setting HQ up...)?

Well, basically it's Danny "parkrunshow podcast" Norman's fault. He's been banging on about this race for months.....mainly cos his running club (aka "the best running club in Surbiton" - his own title) organise the race. (I suspect he also inserted subliminal messages into the podcasts). So I signed up. (to be fair, he did come and run Bedfont for my 100th parkrun!)

Problem was, the race is 10k. And was scheduled smack in the middle of my marathon training program, which called for 130 minutes running....10km just wasn't going to cut it - unless I walked

I therefore conceived a brilliant plan - get up earlier, get over early, run 75 minutes beforehand, then the race...and job's a good 'un (as nobody says).

It didn't seem as brilliant on Sunday morning when I was dragging my arse out of bed, especially after a busy Saturday including a night out for a few beers in Teddington, and some beer fuelled cycling to and from various train stations.

All thoughts of completing my PB hat-trick were promptly jettisoned as I plodded (and it felt like plodding) round the course on my own (getting a good pre-race recce to be fair) before timing my return to HQ / start area for about 20 mins pre race start...time enough to use the loo, catch Danny and his better half Libby, get my number on without cooling down too much.

Anyway - the race. I have to say it a was very nicely organised and managed event. When I ran the course on my own I was a little concerned about the lack of paths in some parts, what protection we would have from the traffic......but my fears were groundless. The first 1.5km or so heads down the A243 towards J9 but this section was closed off just till all the field (450 or so) got through and turned off.
The turnoff here was the focus of much pre-race panic due to roadworks which had threatened to wreck the race.....with some careful diplomacy a footpath through the junction was opened and worked very well in the end. There's then another 2.5km or down an empty country road (with some inclines) before heading left onto Roundabout road (my name for it) for 3km or so. I think we went through 5 of them on this section....someone had a thing for roundabouts!

The last stretch is more on urban footpaths but every junction, roundabout and pinch point was superbly marshalled and there was plenty of public support as well. I put a bit of a kick on over the last km (can't help myself) but generally stayed to my slow run pace and came in in a bog standard 56:38 - though achieved my 130 minute goal and a total of 14 miles

Unusually for 10k races it wasn't chip timed but used a barcode on the number (parkrun influence anyone?) They had an excellent free technical T-shirt as well which is good quality...much preferable to a medal in my opinion!

After some post race chat and a random meeting with the Butcher family from my own parkrun I was home by 10.45......just in time for a big fry and justifying the early start.

Overall I'd deffo recommend this race......and trust me, Danny's not paying me for the plug (I did ask ;)

Dawn of the Dead....blog

Yes I'm back, back again, Rory's back, tell a friend....etc etc (blatantly ripped off from Eminem, obviously)

I've decided to resurrect the blog from wherever zombie blogs go to die, and hopefully this time round it won't die in late April! So it's probably worth summarising what I've been up to since my last post nearly 10 months ago. Briefly I've

• spent several months recovering from the massively damaged Glute that was the aftermath of the marathon
• ran my first trail half marathon in September in Farnham, (hilly, tough, 2:26 or so)
• ran another half marathon a few weeks later at Wimbledon Common (not as hilly, not as tough, 2:06 or so...not bad with bugger all training)
• became a parkrun Ambassador which made me immensely proud (more of which in a later post)
• did some parkrun tourism adding new events to my total (more of which in another post) and did my first NYD parkrun double
• entered Manchester marathon in April - my spring target event
• ran my 100th parkrun at Bedfont Lakes in January
• set a new parkrun PB last weekend (22:35)
• followed that up with a new half marathon PB the next day at Wokingham, one of my favourite races (1:48:37)

That's 9 months of running updates in a paragraph!

This time round I'll aim to post a little more often and not focus exclusively on my training.....I never have a shortage of things to talk about. I 'll finish with a pic of me celebrating my 100th parkrun, complete with prosecco, cheese and a couple of groupies parkrun friends :-)