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 :-)

Tales from the Start Line - Marathon Day!

Owwwwww.

Ouch.

Pain. More pain. Stiff legs, sore back, sore shoulder (why my shoulders?), sore legs, sunburned head, the movement of an arthritic 95 year old with gout.

Why did I ever think running a marathon was a good idea?


Hang on - I'm starting from the end, not the best idea. Let's go back to the start - 6am Sunday morning. Actually, when WAS the start? Last year, when I decided to enter? Christmas, when I started training in earnest? How long is a piece of string?

Pre-race

For the sake of argument, let's start on Saturday.

I hate the wait before a big race. I hate the feeling of killing time. I hate the little ball of worry and nerves at the bottom of my gut. I hate the mental games, thinking through the route and wondering how I'll feel.
But I can't manipulate time (at least, not yet - wink, wink), so I endured the wait. Distracted myself with getting my gear ready - pinning my number on, calculating my water and gel needs, rechecking my transportation timings, all the mundane bits that you need to sort in advance.

I slept reasonably well on Saturday night, considering the nerves. And with a 6am alarm call, that was needed! Up on time, had my standard pre run breakfast of muesli, toast and tea and then caught the 7.16 from Staines. I was quite surprised how many marathon runners were at Staines station, and the numbers multiplied at every station en-route. This was just a taste of what was to come and Waterloo and Waterloo East though, as the place was thronged with runners heading to Greenwich - so much so I was lucky to squeeze on a train  - it was like some bizarre running version of rush hour, with technical t-shorts instead of suits and Marathon kitbags instead of laptops
(As an aside - whoever designed those bloody bags needs to try actually USING them for more than 2 minutes.....not best designed for comfortable carrying!)

Onto Greenwich then, and I joined the flowing tide through the park towards the Red start. It was 8.45am, and I now had 75 minutes or so to kill before actually running - such is the joys of a big raceday! Bag was dropped off, sanitary needs attended to (very important!) warm-up done and then it was finally into the start pen.

The RACE

Whenever I wondered what the marathon would be like, I sometimes thought about what could go wrong or make it harder.

Warm day? Possible - but manageable with advance notice.
Carrying an injury? Umm, not ideal , but again manageable with some Ibuprofen.
Garmin watch not working? Very unlikely.

How about all 3? Not something I had anticipated.......but that was what happened! The glute injury that had been nagging at me was still there from the first step. My Garmin quit before I even made that first step. And I think everyone realised the temperature was quite a bit higher than anticipated.

Sooooo - all in all, not ideal conditions for my first marathon. I'll go all philosophical for a minute though, and say that sometimes you learn more when things go wrong than when everything goes right.  Amongst other things....

• I learned that the marathon is hard. A lot harder than I had expected, even with all the training and prep done. It's just bloody hard. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still was.
• I learned that NOTHING prepares you fully for your first marathon - all the training, all the advice and research, none of it can truly prepare you, until you've done it yourself.
• I learned that massive race numbers inhibit your ability to run at an even pace.
• I learned that huge crowd support can be a boost as well as a distraction - it can inspire you to keep going when things are rough but can be an intrusion when you're trying to gather yourself
• I learned that changing your strategy on the day to account for conditions is usually the right thing to do, and listening to your body is always smart.
• I learned that seeing friendly faces along the way is such a boost.
• I learned that a young lady at 25.5 miles thought I had "nice legs and arse" (true story!)
• I learned that Birdcage Walk appears to go on for ever.
• I learned that you should give a man with a fridge on his back a wide berth when rounding Cutty Sark in case he nearly takes you out.
• I learned people will make a phone call ANYWHERE - even while running the London marathon!
• I learned I can last 26.2 miles - just!

For me the marathon had four stages. Stage one was up to 10 miles, where I was feeling OK. Glute was causing me discomfort, but was manageable. I stuck to my original hydration and nutrition plan despite the changed conditions. I was doing OK, though I found a lot of the early stages a bit boring and far too crowded, especially when at points round Surrey Quays, the crowds spilled onto the roads and narrowed the route - cue bottleneck!

Stage two started somewhere after Mile 10 - when I started to realise I was struggling a bit. This was concerning given how early it was, but I could feel my legs start to wobble a little and thought I was losing energy. Took my next gel early, gritted my teeth and forged on - over Tower Bridge (which was rather cool, especially when loud shouting alerted me to the presence of my friends Katie, Al and Rachel). Down the Highway, looking longingly at the runners on the other side who were in the home straight. Into through the tunnel taking me onto the Isle of Dogs, where the welcome shade was more than offset by the stink of urine as many runners used the chance of some privacy to relieve themselves!

By now I was focused on getting to Mile 16 and the Missing People cheering point, where my family and friends were waiting. Seeing them and getting an encouraging kiss from my wife was brilliant - but after I left them I had a real mental drop-off. Possibly because my next focus point (21 miles as it was the longest I'd done so far) was so far off, I had a huge dip at this point, and finally made the choice to walk for a bit.

This was a critical point in the race for me. There's nothing wrong in walking for a bit if you then start running again - and using run/walk can be a quite efficient way of keeping a decent pace, without pushing yourself too far and blowing up. I was acknowledging that I couldn't keep running all the way to the end. In theory, there's no obvious reason why this was the case - but whether I physically was struggling or not, mentally I had convinced myself that I was in trouble. What they say is true - so much of the marathon is in the head!

Having made the decision to walk for a bit, I then had to stay consistent and disciplined. It was difficult to accurately guage how long to walk for without a Garmin,. but I walked for a few minutes and then ran to the next mile point, or (more usual), water station. This enabled me to focus on shorter goals rather than thinking about how far to the finish, and meant that when I did run it was at a decent pace - my splits for this section, while not superb, weren't that slow!

I did this run/walk for about 5 miles...through Canary Wharf, Blackwall and Poplar, and back round on the Highway (people were still on the other side of this section, with the sweeper trucks slowly catching them). Then, from just after Mile 22, I started up again and didn't stop.

The final 4 miles or so were, strangely enough, the most enjoyable section to the race. I felt recharged and was running comfortably. The finish was in sight, especially when I hit the "just a parkrun to go" 37km mark. I saw my friends Katie and Al again, waving frantically from atop a wall by the Tower, and fellow runner Ian Wilson around Mile 24.
Coming through the tunnel just before Blackfriars Bridge they had Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run" belting out on speakers = perfect for a rocker like me :-). The last couple of miles were amazing - a wall of noise and cheering, people shouting your name every few steps. I felt superb, and my supporters (Clare, Tim, Mandy and my sister Sarah) at Mile 25 were amazed at the difference in demeanour from Mile 16. My Bedfont Lakes parkrun bunch were out in force too a bit further along, and I delivered my "sweaty hug" to Becky Paton as promised.

Then it was into the home straight - past Parliament Square and down Birdcage Walk. By now my thighs were starting to burn and the 200m signs seemed much further apart than 200m! I was flying past people though, and the official stats said I overtook 1160 people in the last 7.2km, which I really liked! Round the final bend and at last the finish was in sight. Hands raised high in the air I came across the finish line, and ground to a halt, some 4 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds after I started.

I had done it. I was a marathon runner.

Me  - just after the finish :-)

Post-Race

I had made it to the end - now I just had to negogiate the post-race madness. Chip off, medal on, post race "goody bag" received and inspected (not particurly special btw - water, Lucozade, an energy bar and a cotton T-short. I met Jess, another Missing People runner, and we recounted our races and staggered to the bag pickup together. There were people everywhere - mainly prone bodies of runners draped all over the Mall. Exhaustion and pain were writ large in most faces - it takes a while for the feeling of achievement to sink in, as the immediate reaction is just relief that it's over and you can stop running.
I slowly made my way to the post race reception hosted by my charity where I met my supporters. Getting a round of applause as I walked in from all the Missing People group was a great highlight - reminding me that not only had I run a marathon, I had also raised over £2,600 for a very worthy cause. (Which you can still donate to btw, link here )

From then on it was a classic sunday - beer in the porterhouse, steak and chips near Waterloo and then a last couple of beers at home while watching the Masters and checking the online results. The legs didn't feel too bad.....

....until I woke up the following morning, and there was pain. Everywhere. Which was where we came in :-)

Kitbag.com Product Review

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been asked by the nice people at Kitbag.com to review some of the running stuff from their site.

My first review is of a Nike feather fleece long sleeved top which arrived last week. As the name suggests, this is essentially aimed for winter or cold weather running, designed to keep you warm during the chilly months. The top has a dual layer - fleece on the outside to help keep heat in, and then an inner lining like a technical shirt to wick the sweat away. The sleeves are longer than normal as they are designed to extend over the hands to keep them warm, with a little hole for the thumb :-)

Because of that I was a little unsure how comfortable it would be to wear in the warmer conditions (warmer than winter I mean - I know it's not exactly splitting the stones out there!)  - but actually it was a pleasant surprise. Once I was wearing it, it didn't feel anywhere near as heavy as I thought when I first saw it, and felt more like a standard technical running top rather than a fleece. It was very comfortable - and I speak as someone who tends to over heat quite quickly.



Below is a short video of me describing the top before I first used it

There's a little pocket at the back right hand side, which is just big enough to store some keys, or a gel, or maybe a nano iPod. I took my keys in it and didn't have any issues with rubbing or chafing - always a key element when you're carrying something.

I ran again with this top on a colder day with a biting wind that cut right through - below is my video that I filmed immediately after returning :-)

Overall I thought this was a very comfortable running top - probably not best used during a summer heat wave (unless you really feel the cold!) but perfect for winter running, especially if, like most people, you do your marathon training over the winter and typically run before or after work when it's coldest!

Cheers
Rory

Expo time

Today was my day to take a trip to the London Marathon Expo  - which is basically mandatory for anyone running the Marathon, as you pick up your race number, kitbag and timing chip here. The Expo is in Excel in the Docklands, which is a bit of a pain to get to. I took a half day to go, as otherwise you'd need to go on a Saturday which is bedlam by all accounts, as all the overseas runners and those travelling from other parts of the UK register then.

The Expo itself is much bigger than I expected, and most of it is designed to try and persuade you to part with your cash for running gear. Every possible type and brand of running clothing, footwear, accessory and nutritional aid is present, and it can all get a little overwhelming - especially if you've not been before.
Personally I think it'd better suited to people who aren't running a marathon in a couple of days. There's no point buying any new gear or trying new energy gels as it's too late, and frankly if you're still looking for race-day advice at this stage then you've not done your prep right! I managed to hold back from spending my cash, though I allowed myself one commemorative item than I'll only wear once I've fnished on Sunday :-)

The Expo is a good place to do some celebrity spotting (said hello to Ronnie O'Sullivan) and to meet some running buddies. I met up with a couple of my Bedfont Lakes parkrun core team (who aren't running the marathon but were there to browse and buy!) and had a confidence boosting chat with my coach Karen.

I also spent a fun hour with parkrun royalty - Danny Norman, Tom Williams, Jo and Paul Sinton Hewitt - and was "inside the ropes" for their Virtual London Marathon Mile relay race against several other teams. This ended with me leaving to catch my train - and when I sat on the train I realised I had taken the wrong backpack :-(

I just escaped from the train and hared back to the Excel before
a) they destroyed my bag in a controlled explosion
b) someone wandered off with my bag ( complete with all my race stuff!)
c) the owner of the bag I had left

Luckily none of those happened - turned out I had accidentally lifted Martin Yelling's bag. Martin is one of the more well known personalities in running, married to Olympian Liz Yelling, co-host of the Marathon Talk podcast etc, so this wasn't exactly the best way to be introduced to him! The look of relief when I sheepishly returned his laptop and media passes was a sight!

So - that's the last big piece of prep. Now it's all about resting and conserving energy before Sunday morning. 60 hours until racetime - it's nearly here!

Here comes the FEAR.......

One thing I've learned as I trained for my first marathon is that there's a little voice in the back of your head that never goes away. A little ball of unease in the gut that lingers. A small black cloud that sits on your shoulder and is always there, even though you don't always notice it.

In the words of Ian Brown - "You've got the FEAR"

The fear of injury.

Of course, as a 5k, 10k or half marathon runner, you worry about getting injured, but it's not quite the same. There's not the same emotional involvement in the event, there's often an alternate event that can be switched to if necessary.


But it's different with the marathon. The fear is much greater. And, the closer you get to the day, the fear grows exponentially, as the time left to recover from an injury shrinks  - so the potential impact of any injury also increases.


I thought I was immune.

"I don't get injured" , I said to myself. I've only had 2 injuries in the 5 years since I started running seriously - both of them hamstring strains caused by over sprinting, and that wasn't likely to be a risk during marathon training!
So I was a little cocky, and more so as the training went on and I didn't really pick up and twinges, knocks and strains.

I was INVICIBLE......

.......except I wasn't! Of course I wasn't, and when I hit taper I discovered that the little residual twinge in my glute muscle.from the 21 mile run that I had dismissed was actually an injury.  A painful one, that hampered my running and didn't go away


Cue panic. Cue the FEAR. Cue little men running around in my head shouting "you've messed it up, you'll miss the marathon, you'll let everyone down, you've wasted all that training, you fool!".


After a few days of ignoring it, convincing myself it would get better on it's own, persuading myself the pain was manageable, I finally saw sense. Spoke to Karen, booked an appointment, saw a physio.

His verdict?
"Some stiffness in the glute, a couple of sessions and some rest and stretching and you'll be fine"

Relief washed over me like a flood. The FEAR was banished...for now :-)


Apparently, this is not uncommon according to Karen. The mind and body play strange tricks on you in taper phase especially - you feel like you're losing your fitness, losing your shape, and every twinge is a full blow crisis!
It's normal, and it's natural, and it's mainly in the mind
.

Proving, once again, that the physical side of marathon training is only half the battle.

The rest of it is won inside your head :-)