Talented 11 year olds

Just a couple of points before I start:
1) I'm all for youngsters getting involved in the sport I love. It teaches them about the joys of winning and the hurt of losing, about the benefits of hard work and dedication, the good feeling you get from being healthy and taking part in exercise etc. etc..
2) One of the things that attracts me to road racing is the fact that you can race but you are not racing against the other athletes. Not many of us are actually ever going to win a race so all we are trying to do is run as fast as we can. So in effect you are racing against yourself. Whatever time you post there is only you knows how well you have done.

So why is it that something stirs in me when I get beaten by an 11 year old? In the Esholt 5k last week I was doing my usual sprint finish and this 11 year old lad went flying past me and beat me by 30m. If this would have been anybody else I would just have thought "that guy/girl obviously hasn't worked hard enough for the other 4.8 km if he/she can run so fast at the end of this race".

I'm not even sure what it is that rankles. Of course there must be lots of talented kids out there who train very hard. And all sorts of people beat me - fat/thin, male/female, old/young - and this never bothers me. So what is it when children beat me? Am I alone with these feelings? He did actually beat 67% of the field.

I suppose I could stick to 10 km races and never race against children again.

And they always come from Bingley. Its always Bingley.

P.S. Well done Sam from Bingley who beat me on Wednesday, just congratulations and well done. Honest.

Esholt 5k #1 - back from injury

It was 50 weeks since my last race (Esholt 5k #3 2008). Since then I've had 7 months off injured and 4 and a half months trying to get some sort of fitness back. First step was trying to get my muscles and connective tissues back up to strength. Have tried to be patient as last time I tried to do too much too quickly and ended up pulling all sorts of muscles (you'll be surprised how many different muscles you can pull in the backs of your legs). Have tried to build my mileage up slowly but have found each run a real effort even though they are all supposed to be slow! Squeezed 3 lonely track sessions in so didn't expect too much from the Esholt. The only indicator I had was 5 x 1 km reps with 200m walk. Total time for running bits was about 19 mins. What could I manage without the rests?

On the day of the race bumped into lots of familiar faces and was pleasantly surprised by the genuine goodwill shown by those that knew I'd been off injured. Told myself to start off conservatively but did the 1st km in 3-45. Well it is downhill. Felt easyish for the 1st km but that's what you get in 5ks. The pain kicks in after 1.1 km. Felt pretty cream crackered but think I paced it reasonably OK as I probably overtook more runners than vice versa. Worked harder than I wanted to but the problem with races is that I can't resist the competetion.

For the record I finished in 19-50 but that is really irrelevant. The main point is that I don't seem to have suffered any reaction. I feel healthy and should be able to continue my recovery. I have a benchmark and will be able to judge my progress over the next couple of races.

For results see earlier post from Gareth here

West Yorkshire Track and Field League #2 - Wakefield

Wednesday night saw the second meeting of the West Yorkshire Track and Field league at Thornes Park Wakefield. After a grey and miserable day we were expecting the usual damp night at this location, made all the worse by there being little shelter. ( a stand please any Wakefield Harriers reading this ). Fortunately this weather picked up and we even saw a few glimpses of sunshine.

A reasonable turnout from Spen athlete especially with the Yorkshire champs looming on Saturday and Sunday.

Chris Jones was turning out for his third race in three days (mad fool) and was making his first serious attempt at a track race in 34 years!

Unfortunately, as always the mens middle distance race is almost always the last event, so as most people were packing up to go home and the sun had dropped below the horizon Chris and I lined up for the mens 800m.

Only seven on the start line meant that at least one of us was going to pick up some points. Unsure of pace and Chris only persuading me to run at the last minute meant we settled in at the back of the pack. As the pace was quite moderate we hung on well and were still in contention as we hit the bell. Then the leaders pulled away and Chris and myself fought it out for the last two places but finished in the creditable times of Chris 2min 26.8 and myself 2 min 24.8.

Other performances of the night that I can remember were Sarah Peacock finishing a very close second in the Senior ladies 800m followed in by Emma Rawnsley.

Ryan Dransfield making a rare appearance at 200m having competed at the Calderdale Schools 800m in the afternoon and smashing his PB in 24.5 sec (faster than I ever ran - damn him!).

Matthew Jones growing in confidence with every race knocked chunks off his PB in the 800m finishing in 2 min 36 sec.

Curtis Dransfield also beat his PB in the 80m finishing in 12.6 sec.

Congratulations to all the other Spen athletes many of whom I know put in some excellent performances, with some victories but unfortunately I did not make a note of their names or times.

Bunny Run Relays

3 leg relay 1.5 miles/leg

Howling gales and driving rain met the Jones family team as we got to Haworth for the final Bunny race of 2009. The team consisted of Chris, Matthew and Sarah, who was coming up for her first Bunny experience.

Near to the start of the race we were told that the longer first leg was to be cut short because the extra loop was too muddy. This meant that we were all doing the same distance. So, we picked up the egg and a very cold Chris went to line up for the first leg. 12 minutes later Sarah set off and then it was my turn.

After waiting quite a long time in the quarry where you start I thought the wind had died down a bit. As soon as I got out of the quarry I was nearly blown back down again. I knew I was going to have fun. I seemed to be having a good run and I felt alright. Then, at about half way round, the rain turned to hail and the run became painful in more than one way. When I was finally near the the end and I turned to face the wind again, my cheeks were inflating with air.

Overall I had a good run and my Dad also had a great run. Sarah didn't enjoy the race much but did well for her first Bunny.

Spen Results
35 JONESEY'S JOGGERS 43.06

Leg 1: 21 CHRIS JONES   12.49
Leg 2: 41 SARAH JONES   16.59
Leg 3: 23 MATTHEW JONES 13.18

61 Teams

Full Results Here

Esholt 5k - Race 1

Where did that speed go?
Been a few years since I have done these, but with Chloe coming out of retirement (sadly with a Wakefield vest) it encouraged me to give it a go. I knew that the 16min glory days were in the past but was interested how quick the old legs could turn.
Good spen turnout (just to add to the pressure) with Jackie, Amanda, Vic, Emma, Tony B, Kevin, John Henry and Keith added to the great sight of Les back in his colours.
Was shocked by the fast start but paced myself. Found my heart and lungs were strong but the old legs were not happy with the speed. Managed to hit 3.5min k's and kept to that. John Henry was in sight all the way, and fortunately for me he 'died' more rapidly.
Finished in 19.00 dead so hope to improve with the series especially with the promise of a track turnout.
Nearer the front Kevin got one up on Tony in the battle of the fast boys.
Well done to all the spen brigade, see you next week

Spen Results
16  Kevin Ogden          M35 16.50
21  Antony Bradford      M40 17.03
36  Keith McGhie         M45 17.39
76  Gareth Patchett      M45 19.00
85  John Henry           M50 19.16
101 Victor Kolodziejczyk M50 19.50
131 Dennis Hoey          M55 20.41
189 Emma Maguire         F40 22.47
203 Jackie Carter        F45 23.10
231 Les Fenton           M55 24.18
299 Amanda Pearson       F40 30.33

Selected Others
20  Paul Hallas    Wakefield Harriers M50 17.00
40  Karen Pickles  Pudsey Pacers      F35 17.56
155 Chloe Patchett Wakefield Harriers FO  21.33

Full Results

Rothwell 10k - Monday 4th May - Report by Frank

The Rothwell 10km road race was held on Monday 4th May in cold and damp conditions; ideal for racing! Anthony Bradford lead the six Spen male runners home in 28th place in a time of 34 mins 29 secs. Eight days after a strong London Marathon race Kevin Ogden stretched his recovering legs to finish 38th in 35m 07s. The rest of us still had a mile or more to go by the time these lads finished. Steve Peacock was next in 220th place and a time of 41m 50s followed by Frank Reddington 267th 43m 07s, Mick Howard 272nd 43m 13s and Peter Scanlon 605th 53m 16s. Mixing among the men Steve's daughter Sarah Peacock finished 275th overall in a time of 43 mins 20 secs. Our first three men were 19th of 80 teams with the 'B' team in 62nd place. Andy Pearson from Longwood harriers won the race in 30m 35s. For the results go to

http://www.ukresults.net/2009/rothwell.html

Rothwell 10k - Spen runners out in force!

Spen Runners were out in force at the Rothwell 10K on Bank Holiday Monday. Superb performances from Spen AC's top road runners Antony Bradford and Kevin Ogden. Steve Peacock getting ever closer to the magic sub-40. Click the link below to read Antony's account of the race.

Chasing Pavements: Rothwell 10k - Sub 35 Again.

Spen Results
28  Antony Bradford    M40 34:29
38  Kevin Ogden        M35 35:07
220 Steven Peacock     M45 41:50
267 Francis Reddington M55 43:07
272 Mick Howard        M45 43:13
275 Sarah Peacock      F   43:20
605 Peter Scanlon      M60 53:10

Full Results Here

Coiners Fell Race

It's always good to hear good race info after the event (if only Chris had mentioned the stile after 500 metres) Waiting at the stile was like a toilet queue at the three peaks, maybe he had a plan. Still I got off to a reasonable start (saving myself for the biggy this weekend where I will line up with a full field of hopefuls in the Fellsman long distance ultra at 61 miles.) Chris seems to have covered the race very well, and its nice to read someone's view of the same race. The race is well marked out and well organised, but if you do it next year it's a long walk uphill from the car park
at the community centre. The finish is one for the downhillers with lots of soft boggy mud and peat to get caught up in.

If you fancy this type of run I can recommend the Hutton Roof on May 23rd or the Austwick Amble on Bank Holiday May 25th. Both have a small gala and are only 7-8 miles long.

A restful day at the bar

Steve & Chris battle the Swamp Monsters!

Coiners Fell Race (BM, 7 miles, 1100ft)

After watching the 2nd in the FRA English Junior Championship series in the morning, and gradually freezing to death, I was wrapped in my waterproof wondering why I'd paid my entry fee. So I was greatly pleased to see Steve Moss bounding across the field towards me, all ready to go. After sheltering by the tents for a while, it was soon time to line up at the start. This was my second outing at this race, having run here first in 2008, but for Steve it was a new race. At the time I ran it last year, it was the boggiest race I'd ever run, but I think I've had a couple of races that surpassed it since. I had a feeling that based on recent form, there was a chance I could dip under the hour, since last time I'd finished in 1:01:27.

It's important to get off to a good start in this race, as after a short run down a lane there is a stile where there tends to be a big queue before climbing up through some woods onto the tops. I had maybe 6 or 7 people queuing before me going up, but the further back you are the worse it tends to get. Out onto the climb, and I was going OK, but was still the first to start walking, I few passed me, but I knew that at the top it crossed a stile onto a lane where a flat section would enable me to pick up the pace.

Heading up the second climb to Stoodley Pike, I started to feel more comfortable and passed a few runners. Rounding the monument, and starting the descent, I saw Steve on his way up, but not too far behind, but now we were onto the fast part of the course, where it's difficult to make up places. I was caught and passed by the ace V60 runner from Dark Peak - Dave Tait at the next stile, and was then chasing a small group down through a wooded section before dropping down to the next section.

Then we reached the bog! The swamp monsters were out in force, sucking your legs down and refusing to let go. I could hear cries and curses from behind as I trudged my way through. Finally reaching a murky pool where I took lead from the runner in front of me and just went straight through. The swamp was easily up to my shorts, but the alternative routes hadn't looked much better.

Once out I was onto the narrow sheep track and some fairly steep drops through heather where I went over on my right ankle, but not too serious. Finally reaching the top of the start field, and a short fast run along a track before a steep descent of the field to the finish. There were a bunch of us within a few seconds at the line, and a quick glance at my watch showed me that I had made it under the hour with a time of 59:11. Job done!

Very shortly afterwards, I saw Steve descending the field and into the finish. We chatted with runners around the finish area before heading back to the car park. A good race, and one I'd recommend, made all the better by having some good company. I have to say that I enjoy it far more when there are team-mates around.

Spen Results
44 Chris Jones V45 0:59:11
58 Steven Moss V60 1:02:27

129 finishers

Full results here

Northern T & F League Match 1

Despite initial concerns about how many athletes we could field for the 1st Northern League match of the year, Spen performed magnificently to finish 2nd overall and things can only improve from here. Thanks to Jackie and Amanda for taking on the difficult post of team managers but the troops rallied round and supported them. The performances of the day had to come from the throwers and our male sprinters. Nick Crimmen- on a welcome retun back, Richard Martin, Jack Bellwood, Carly Beanland, Sheila Bolland & Sarah Roberts out-performed all other athletes to gain maximum valuable points. On the track, Josh Cayenne eased to victory in the 100 & 400m and then ran, what one spectator called "poetry in motion", a blinder of a 3rd leg in the 4x400m relay to bring Craig Yates into an unbeatable position. There were other valuable victories and point winners throughout the day: Ryan Dransfield a very respectable 2nd in his 1st A string 800m for the senior men coming home in 2:06.00; young Lewis Hamilton making his senior debut with wins in the B 400m and running a superb final leg in the 4x100m to overtake Andy Cooke of P&B on the finish line; Chris Ward making his 1st appearance in Spen colours in the short sprints; Chris Mounsey for his Bob Beamon performance long jump and Becky Rowlands & Emma Rawnsley for scoring valuable points in a much depleted ladies' team. Despite all these great performances it is sad to report that we had no competitors in the men's steeplechase, 5000m, 110mH and the ladies' hurdles and pole vault: this is where valuable points are lost and will make the difference if we fill these posts if we are to overtake leaders Trafford at the next match. As for me: HJ, PV, TJ, 400mH and the slowest 1500m on record show it is time to call it a day very soon. Apologies if I have omitted any good performances. If I have please can someone add these comments.

The Bluebell Trail 3-5-09

Bluebell Trail - More Hills than Bluebells in the Heartlands of Stainland Lions Lady Vets!

"Voted 36th out of top 50 best races for 2006 by readers of Runners World Magazine"

After the trials of the three peaks it is back to earth for some less mad adventures. A 'bluebell trail' race in Halifax is just the ticket. I have accepted that my glory days of being an average club runner are behind me, but I now find myself amongst the knee bandage and cellulite brigade. So is the Bluebell Trail, a 10.3 mile trail race frequented by those 100's of Stainland Lions / Pudsey Pacers runners who enjoy a run out on a weekend. The unfortunate truth is that many of them are very good.

Just two spen vests on show (Chris Jacobs) and two former members (Alison Pickup and Karen Pickles) amongst the crowds waiting for the start. I decided to start slow (with the option of slowing as the race progressed).

Up and down along pleasantly soft woodland paths, the canal, and some backroads of Halifax and then onto the horror that is Trooper Lane. Foolishly on the lower slopes I was running well and passed many a walker, only to discover that they had paced themselves and walked past me nearer the top.

Then a couple more ascents of Southowram Hill and off down the valley back towards Elland. Disappointingly the 3 peaks came back to haunt me as I suffered a couple of minor cramp attacks, nothing serious though. A fast canal section saw me pick off a couple of super veterans and then all finishes with a crossing of the river back to the Rugby Club.

Showers in the Rugby club kind of unisex and alfresco which made things interesting.

Oh and I think I did 1hr 25mins which is fairly rubbish. Will update results when I get them

and I think Karen was first lady

Here are the results

More sports books worth reading

Gareth reminded me of another book I liked, and made a further suggestion. Here is a short run-down.

Running Free
By Sebastian Coe. For anyone who thinks ability and success is all natural (Gareth)
p.s. This seems to be a bit difficult to find now (Chris)

Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson
Chronicling the career of whom many regard as Britains greatest ever road cyclist, from his humble beginnings to his untimely death in the 1967 Tour de France. It's a moving story, I'll say no more than that. All cyclists should read it. There is also a documentary film based on the book that appears from time to time, watch out for it during July when the TdF is on TV.

In Search of Robert Millar: Unravelling the Mystery Surrounding Britain's Most Successful Tour De France Cyclist
The story of Rober Millar, ledgendary Scottish cyclist and winner of the Polka Dot Jersey (best climber) in the Tour de France. Robert ended his career and mysteriously disappeared from public. The book chronicles his cycling career, and goes out to track him down.

Northern League meeting

Today some of the spen athletes were at Stretford for the first meeting in the northern league, and Amanda's and my first task as team managers. Hopefully we didn't do too bad. I did find it a bit stressful at first, having to alter team sheets.

18 athletes took part, with some doing quite a few events. At times we were 5th but we worked hard and finished 2nd overall with the relays coming to a superb end both the 4x100 and the 4x400 men taking first place the ladies 4x400 finishing a respectable 3rd. It would have been another first if not for Amandas gammy knee! and me being tired from the marathon and the 3,000 + 1500.

Overall a good day and at the next meeting we should have more choice of athletes , thankyou to all of you - Jackie.

The Three Peaks Fell Race (Chris K)

I always find that the weeks leading up to the Three Peaks fly by much too quickly to get in all the training I would like to do. So as usual, I lined up at the start of the race and thought 'Oh my giddy aunt' (not my exact words but you will get the gist). Anyway, too late now but at least the sun is shining.

My race strategy for sub-5 hours was to take it as steady as I like up Pen-y-gent and then try and make up time on the descents leaving enough in reserve to still be able descend off Ingleborough at a decent pace. For once, everything went according to plan. Got to the top of Pen-y-gent much slower than in previous races but I was not even feeling even slightly out of breath so it was now time to try and eat up the miles and make up the time without overdoing it.

From the top of Pen-y-gent, I started to overtake people and eventually caught up with Paul H (work colleague) and ran with him up to Ribblehead. I made sure I drank plenty and ate an energy bar before the worst part of the race which is the ascent of Whernside. Psychologically for me, once the top of Whernside is attained, the race is more than half done. This year I climbed the hill quite well, didn't get cramp at the top and then descended like the jaws of Cerberus were snapping at my heals. Top of Whernside to the Hill Inn only took 25m 47s which is the fastest I've ever done it.

At the Hill Inn, I was very surprised to catch up with Gareth and Mike but they set off before I had finished getting another energy bar and some fluids inside me. I had expected them to be miles ahead. I don’t find ascending Ingleborough too bad because most of it is across the flagstones and there is only a short steep section at the end. Got to the top of Ingleborough at 3h 59m 55s which was a whole 5 seconds ahead of schedule so I knew that I should easily beat 5 hours.

I can run downhill over rocky terrain quite well because I am light, agile and a bit dim at times so caught up with Gareth and even overtook him for a couple of minutes near the bottom of the steep bit. However, as soon as it levelled out again he was off again and my little legs had nothing left for a final effort. It was just a case of head down and endure.

Getting to the col where you can finally see down to Horton-in-Ribblesdale was a very welcome sight and the last half-mile went quite well although I’d forgotten about the 10 metre uphill slope after the railway bridge which reduced me to a walk. I’m sure someone has built it up a bit since last year. I finished the race in 4h 48m 45s so was pleased with my result but I will do more training next year (I’ve said that before I think!).

Bunny Run #4 - To run, or not to run...

I wasn't at all sure about this one, since on Monday my legs were still in a state of shock from the 3 Peaks on Saturday, but I'd had a few short sessions on the turbo-trainer to try to keep them from seizing up, and figured I'd do another on Tuesday morning and then just see how I felt as the day went on. By Tuesday afternoon, I was starting to get that kind of tingle deep in the muscles that I've come to know as a sign of recovery, and since Matthew was keen to complete the series, I decided to go for it.

The conditions were a mild drizzle, and little wind, but the course was no longer dry following a couple of days of rain, but it was by no means saturated. The numbers seemed to be down on the previous three weeks, but it could have been my imagination. Milling around before the start I saw at least 2 other runners who'd done the 3 Peaks at the weekend, so I wasn't alone.

I had little in the way of expectations time-wise, so I was quite relaxed, and got off to what for me was a slow start, and got very boxed in. I found it harder than ever to get around some of the slower youngsters, but on reflection, a slow start was probably a good thing, as by the long climb on the 2nd lap I was feeling much better that I had in the previous week. I felt to be pushing fairly hard, but not struggling, and assumed it was because I was running much slower than I had been doing.

At the end, I felt quite strong going into the finish, and stopped my watch at 20:04, just 5 seconds outside my PB from BR#2. Not bad!

Matthew had his second fastest BR too, although he was suffering from an upset stomach, and was still some way of his best. There was another Spen runner, David Wilson shown in the results (see below), but I confess I don't know who he is, and I didn't see any more club vests. So if you are reading David, please introduce yourself next time you see someone in a club vest.

Next week it's the relays, where we hope to recruit Sarah and put in a family team. With some persuasion, we might see 'Team Dransfield' put in an appearance too.

Spen results
67  CHRIS JONES   V40 20.04
108 MATTHEW JONES U14 21.48
163 DAVID WILSON  U16 24.39

223 finishers, 0 retired

Full results here

Summary of the 2009 BR series

For me it's been a good set of races. I ran 4 of my best 5 times this year, breaking my previous PB for the course twice. However, I have done more running this year than I have for the previous two. Matthew has also improved, although he's very inconsistent. Clearly he can run extremely well, but can't seem to find the formula yet.

Steve's 3 Peaks Photos

Just one or two that survived my daughter with our new automatic camera

3 Peaks - The return

Congratulations to all those who followed in the footsteps of the greats those ardy fell racers who do this event in under 3 1/2 hours. Having done this race 5 times i now believe i cant do it any faster than my best time of 4 hours & 25 mins done in 2004. I did manage to get 3rd vet 6o this time so its going to be my very last time. The day started in the usual for this race sunny skies and cool breezes, at least the wind stayed fresh (even if the legs didn't). Chris got a good start and I was glad he got off as I didn't fancy having to keep up with him up the first climb. The climb is made more difficult as all the first timers try to get up front (not my usual plan) My aim was to make steady progress and get warmed up and try to speed up on the descents. This seemed to work and I enjoyed the long haul to Ribblehead (even the road part was ok), good to see the the support every body had. The climb up Whernside is always going to be tough but I could just see Chris climbing up as a target to catch. Coming off the top he seemed to fly so I decided against chasing him and doing my own thing taking a wider approach to the descent and coming down on the far left on nice soft grass in stead of the rocky path taking only 27 mins Les has supported this race for 2 or three years and he is always a very welcome sight (maybe it will be time to support him next time) The climb up Ingleborough didn't go as well as expected but I was very glad to see the top and receive some great support. The descent is always tough but felt easier this time, but slower. Well done to all spen runners who put themselves on the start lines this weekend I HOPE THE LEGS ARE STILL GOOD

STEVEN MOSS

London Marathon Results

Well done to those Spenborough runners who took part in the London Marathon today.
The results listed are in time order and not in order of merit. Just to complete the course is an excellent achievement. Well done and all the best for speedy recovery. The results are;-

Kevin Ogden           2:47:37
David Lane            3:07:05
Edward Wilkinson      4:07:13
Elizabeth Bottomley   4:24:01
Hazel Pike            4:25:08
Jackie Carter         4:27:52
Meg Simpson           4:58:12

Three Peaks Challenge & London Marathon

Well done Chris, Spike, Steve, Gareth & Chris on the 3 Peaks Challenge- great write up of the event. Well done also to Jackie, Kevin, Dave, Edward, Meg, Liz & Hazel on completing the London Marathon. Everybody at Spen will be very proud of you!!

3 Peaks Results

Full results here

Three peaks (Michael)

Turned up at the start not really knowing what to expect as my longest training runs had been barely over 2 hours which I has struggled to complete.
Decided to run with Gareth from the start as I have a tendancy to set off way too fast and pay for it later. Things didn't start too well as Gareth took a fall within 200m of turning onto the off road section.
Chris J and Steve had already disappeared into the distance but I was holding back feeling good up the ascent of Pen-y-gent. The long run over to Whernside passed relatively quickly with a strong tailwind helping us along. Nice to see Les with welcoming drinks along this section.
As we approached Ribblehead started to get a burning sensation on the ball of my left foot. Now starting to regret wearing a pair of shoes I had only worn twice before.
Still feeing OK Gareth and I tackled the ascent of Whernside. I knew it was going to be tough but I had underestimated the length and severity of the climb.
Gareth disappeared into the distance and as I approached the summit I started to feel dizzy and rather tired. Looked at the watch and realised I wasn't even halfway.
Tried to recover on the descent to Hill Inn but when we stopped for drinks the legs had turned to jelly. I knew it was going to be a struggle to make the finish.
I must have walked most of the way up Ingleborough and the final rocky climb tested my resolve to the limit.
Thanks to the Jones family who had waited patiently for me to arrive and handed over the welcoming cans of Red Bull. Unfortunately at this point I wasn't unable to communicate with them much at all. I sat down on a rock to take the drink and if there had been an option to drop out here I would have. I then realised the quickest way back was to continue to the finish so off I went.
Managed a very slow jog to the finish catching my feet on every rock that was sticking up due to the fact that I could hardly lift my feet off the ground. Left foot by this time was killing me and I was looking for soft groung at every opportunity. My target time had been under 5 hours and as I approached the finish the dreaded thought entered my head I may have to sprint to achieve this.
Finally finished in 4:57 so the goal was achieved and another box of things to do had been ticked.
Did I enjoy it? Ask me in about 4 weeks time!!!
Thanks to all the support from everybody at Spen who came to support us. I'm sure without this I would not have finished the race.

Matthews 3 Peaks Photos

All these were taken at the top of Ingleborough. Click the image for a full size view.

All photographs (c) 2009 Matthew and Sue Jones

My Three Peaks Race (Gareth)

With great fear and intrepidation I started this race. Like Michael and Chris J I have no aspirations for this kind of thing but wanted to 'have done it'. I have done the 3 peaks cyclocross a couple of times, but that has some rests when you are going down hill on the bike. I know that I suffer from cramp when out for a long time (3 Marathons ruined in the last 6 miles) but maybe this time would be OK.

Set off very steady but still managed to fall going up Pen y gent! However all well. Decided to run with Spike as we were of a similar pace. Very hot as we went up the first hill and was soon walking. After the descent good to see Les with water just as we went towards Ribblehead. Stopped at Ribblehead for some sock adjustments, refreshment kindly saved by Jeff Hornby and then off again and feeling OK. Felt strong on ascent of Whernside and Spike started to fall behind. On top got the first cramp of the day, both calfs knotting up. After a bit of a walk and stretch got going again. Decided that I was so slow that Spike would catch me (which he did at the Hill Inn).

More refreshments at Hill in and then the ominous appearance of (demon descender / wprk colleague) Chris King looking strong.

Me and Spike then set off for the last climb. Cramps over for now made a good climb of Ingleborough and passed lots of other runners. Red Bull transported by Matthew and Sue Jones and ready for the descent. No sooner was I running downhill then the cramp returned and limping on I was passed by Chris King. As the cramp subsided I felt strong and managed to catch and pass Chris K.

OK all the way to end for a pleasing 4.44.

Like Chris, big thanks to support (Les, Jeff, Steve's family and Chris's family too)

NEVER EVER AGAIN

My 3 Peaks Race (Chris J)

Sue dropped me off at Settle to meet with Michael and Gareth whilst she and the kids went to Ingleton where they planned climb up Ingleborough and watch/support us from there.

We got parked up and met Steve Moss on the start field, and Steves wife and daughter (Sandra and Dawn) offered to take our drinks to two of the checkpoints. We then registered and collected our dibbers, and soon it was time to start. I was feeling pretty good, and not so nervous. My plan was to run with Steve for as far as possible, so I lined up with him at the start. However, once we got underway, I was a few metres in front of Steve in the pack, and just kept running, figuring he would catch me up shortly.

Climbing Pen-Y-Ghent, I passed the 5K marker and Ron Jebb passed me coming back down, with a few others not too far behind him. That was the last I saw of the leaders! Once I rounded the top, I looked back, and could see Steve not to far behind on the climb. I missed Michael and Gareth, but saw Chris King and gave him a shout of encouragement.

The long cross country run from Pen-Y-Ghent to Ribblehead felt comfortable, but I was conscious of not over-cooking it there, and tried to hold back a bit. I got a bit of a surprise when I saw Les Fenton taking some snaps, and with bottles of water for us, which was much appreciated!

At Ribblehead, I collected my drink from Dawn, and received some welcome encouragement from another two Spen members, Jeff Hornby and Frank Reddington, then continued to the climb of Whernside. It was a monster of a climb, straight up the fell-side, and I suspected it was taking it's toll on my calves. Reaching the top, I felt ok, but there were some twinges of cramp starting in my left calf particularly. This was nothing compared to what some others around me were suffering though. At one point I was following a guy from Halifax Harriers, and he suddenly cramped up in his thigh, and hit the deck lack a sack of spuds. I felt I had to give him some aid, so I stopped, and straightened his leg for him with a bit of force, and made sure he was ok before I continued.

The run down from Whernside to the check point at Hill Inn was quite technical (as was much of the descending I thought) I think due to the rain we've had over the past couple of years washing away the paths and leaving a lot of exposed rock and loose stones, but I managed to negotiate it without injuring myself, even if it wasn't too fast. Half way down, Les was there once again with a drink for me, and I took the opportunity to take on an energy gel before continuing.

At Hill Inn, Dawn and Sandra were there once more with the drinks, and also Steve Carter offering encouragement. Just Ingleborough to go now, and once again, Frank was there supporting just before turning off the road onto the fell.

I was starting to suffer now, but managed to pick up a few places on the climb, finally reaching the top, where I was met first by Matthew taking snaps, and the Sue and Sarah with my drink. I took on a lot of fluid and another energy gel, and tentatively set off down the descent, knowing there was just about 6 miles to go. My feet were killing me now, to the extent that I was slowed up considerably by the pain, and it was probably the longest 6 miles I've ever run.

I asked 2 or 3 walkers how far, and each time they said "about a mile" despite the fact I thought I'd run a mile between the questions. But finally, a marshall said about 300 metres to go as he directed me down towards the finish. I managed a bit of an effort for the cameras, and supporters (Sandra and Dawn once more) and passed the finish, handed in my dibber and got a slip with my provisional result. I was very happy with the time of 4:08:56 (see pic for splits/position etc.)


Steve came in a few minutes later with knees bleeding from a tumble he'd taken, followed by Gareth, Chris King and Michael. Although I ached everywhere, I had a feeling of "mission-accomplished", as my aim was to have the 3 Peaks race on my "running CV", the time was just a bonus!

I'd like to say a big thanks to all of those who supported us, because it would have been a whole lot harder without them, and certainly a whole lot less enjoyable. So Sandra, Dawn, Sue, Sarah, Les, Frank, Jeff and Matthew - cheers, I owe you a beer (or drink of your choice) ! Oh, and not forgetting Tim and Lisa, who missed me and Steve on Ingleborough, but did see the others - cheers.

I'll try to encourage the others to post their story of the race.

Bunny Run #3 Video

... and another. Keep 'em coming Bruce!


Bunny Run Three 2009 from Bruce Duncan on Vimeo.

Bunny Run #2 Video

Another excellent video courtesy of Bruce Duncan!


Bunny Run Two 2009 part one from Bruce Duncan on Vimeo.

The worlds ugliest toes?

All that fell running takes it's toll on your feet, and my wife says that I have the ugliest toes in the world. Of course, I believe she's mistaken, and that they are indeed things of great beauty!

So here's a current snapshot of a few so you can decide for yourselves who's right and who's wrong (kids, cover your eyes)

I can't actually remember the time I last had a full complement of toenails. Shoes too small, too big. I've heard them all, but it makes no difference. My cross country spikes seem to be the worst offenders, but I've had bruised toenails in all types and makes of shoes.

Anyone else think they have "better lookers" ? Come on then, prove it!

What do you think the ladies should do with theirs? Show them off with pride and gain respect amongst their running peers, or should they disguise them with bright red nail varnish?

Bunny Run #3 - back down to earth

It was back down to earth for me, both literally and figuratively. I'd been in Lausanne, Switzerland for 2 days with work, and had gone straight to the race from landing at the airport, and my hopes of improving at each race in the series took a bit of a setback, not that my time was that bad, but it was not one of my best experiences.












Where's Wally? - can you spot Matthew and me?

I should have read the warning signs. I remember I once ran the Roberttown 7 a few years back after flying back from Sweden earlier in the day, and I had a howler of a race. I just couldn't put my finger on why, I'd done the training, and was running great times on my training runs, but...

Same here, I arrived feeling OK, I'd made sure I was well hydrated, but we set off and I had nothing in my legs. I got caught up badly in the congested start, and struggled to get a rhythm. By lap 2, I was all over the place mentally, thinking how the hell I was going to run the 3 Peaks in a few days time when I was struggling so bad in this short race.

I have to try to rationalise it to myself, and here is what I'm thinking:-

• Travel, especially flying is tiring, both mentally and physically. I'm convinced this is true, as I've often come back from a trip somewhere and felt unable to train. Also, the whole experience of the airport etc. causes some mild stress (at least to me)
• I'd walked at least 4 miles that day with my small suitcase and heavy computer bag, and Lausanne is one hilly city!
• I'd not eaten my normal type of diet for 2 days including a big mac for lunch that day (I was in a rush)
  
• The room in the hotel was a "smoking-room" despite the fact I'd asked for non-smoking and I'd been unable to get it changed, consequently I'd been breathing in that stale sh*t for the previous 2 nights
• No Steve Moss motivating me to run faster
  

Having said that, it was my 3rd fastest BR ever (of 10 competed), and better than BR #1 this year so I don't think it's a major setback.

Matthew on the other hand should never have run, he picked up a calf injury on the track last Thursday, and consequently ran terrible. But try telling a teenager what they should and should not be doing!

Spen results
96  CHRIS JONES   V40 20.18
162 MATTHEW JONES U14 22.36

267 finishers, 3 retired

Full results here

Book review - Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers - Race Against Me: My Story

I bought this book because I had a strong feeling that Dwain had been victimised. I don't condone his taking drugs in the first place, but he was punished with a two year ban, and by my mind, that should have been it. However, the media and athletics authorities just don't seem to let it rest. I mean, even convicted murderers get released from prison for goodness sake!

I was a little disappointed when I got the book, at the size of the print. In fact was wondering if I'd bought the visually impaired version by mistake, as the print was almost as big as one of those Ladybird books we used to read as kids. It got me off to a bad start, as I had a feeling I was being ripped-off, since there were only around 250 pages, and I reckon that with a sensible print size it would be less than half that.

The book itself is a little disjointed, and flits around quite a bit, and there is some "padding" in there too. Most of it discusses how he got into the drugs thing in the 1st instance, the accusations, and the aftermath. I'd like to have read a bit more about him in the early years as a junior etc.

However, it left me with even more of a feeling that he has indeed been victimised, and some of the well known public figures he quotes in the book come across as two-faced bigots. Quite amazing what he has had to go through (still is).

Personally I hope it all works out for him, and that he's allowed to get something out of what remains of his career in athletics.

More video nasties

Actually a rather nice video of Bunny Run #1

Bunny Run One 7th April 2009 from Bruce Duncan on Vimeo.

Bunny Run #2 (CS, 3 miles, 300ft) & some Spen success!

This time I was feeling more confident, since I'd had a bit more rest, and my legs were not feeling like rubber prior to the race. Matthew was also in a confident mood after his bunny pb at the previous race. The Spen numbers were up too, as Tim had managed to get out of work early, and Steve Moss was making a welcome return to this event after an absence of over 3 years. Steve hadn't even run on the "new" course, and had been concentrating on much longer distances, and as such, I was quietly confident that I would be the first Spen runner back, even though I'd never beaten Steve in any race previously. I did feel that Steve had a good chance in the M60 category though, since I'd beaten the best M60 from 2008 in the previous race (1st time I'd ever done so, I might add).

The conditions were perfect, dry, overcast, and little wind. About as good as it ever gets for this location. The race was off to the usual frantic start, and true to form, Steve was doing his best "grumpy old man" impression, shouting "why don't you lot start at the back!" as he barged through some of the kids and slower runners who were getting under his feet.





The frantic start

I was just behind Steve and Matthew, but passed them both early on the first climb, and from there, I didn't look round again. I felt to be running faster than the previous week, even when I'd tired. Just like last week, I was caught on the final climb by my friend Nigel from Halifax Harriers, and try as I might I couldn't re-catch him before the finish, but this time it was just one second between us.

It was success all round though, I managed a sub-20 minute run for the first time, Steve came in next to win the M60 age category beating 2008 M60 series winner Dave Tait from Dark Peak, and hot on Steve's heels, just one place behind with probably the best Spen run of the night was Matthew who destroyed his previous best for the course by 1 minute 18 secs. Tim was next on his first bunny of 2009, followed by Jackie who also improved on the previous week, and Henry with another good run.

M60 Category Winner and "grumpy old man", the one and only Steve Moss

Spen Results
73  CHRIS JONES   V40  19.59
84  STEVE MOSS    V60  20.31 (age category winner)
85  MATTHEW JONES U14  20.35
135 TIM WRAGG     V40  22.18
188 JACKIE CARTER FV40 25.03
244 HENRY CARTER  U14  31.22

248 finishers, 1 retired

Full results here

All photos (c) 2009 Paul Wood

Anniversary Waltz Fell Race (AM, 11.5 miles, 3600ft)

The Anniversary Waltz has a reputation for being one of the most popular races in the fell running calendar, and as the timing of the race seemed to fit pretty well with my 3 Peaks preparation, and as the 1st race in the FRA English Jnr Championship was running alongside it, I pre-entered. The only downside was that by running myself, I'd miss watching Matthew and Sarah as the junior races were running in parallel to then main race.

Although the distance of 11.5 miles is less than half of the 3 Peaks distance, the ascent of 3,600 ft is only 900 ft short, and hence it was no walk-in-the-park. My plan was to start slow, and then pick runners off as the race progressed. For me, holding myself back is always a major problem, but I was determined to do just that.

The weather was perfect, sunny and clear, so navigation was unlikely to be an issue, however there were still opportunities to take a bad route, particularly on the descents.

The first checkpoint (Robinson) was at about 2,300ft, and it took me just short of an hour to reach that point, I made a route choice to go for a steeper section on the climb, but I don't think I gained anything. Still, I felt reasonably comfortable on reaching the top, then a fast descent followed by another climb to checkpoint 2 (Hindscarth). Less of a descent followed to the 3rd climb and checkpoint (Dale Head), and I was still making up a few places.

Then came the steep and technical descent, and I was feeling pretty cautious, I also took a line which didn't work out too well, and lost a few places, However, I was still feeling ok climbing to checkpoint 4 (High Spy), and remember thinking to myself how good I was feeling. Then it hit me, as the climb to the final checkpoint started, so did my tiredness, and by the time I reached checkpoint 5 (Catbells) I was flagging. Luckily, from there, it was downhill to the start, although some of it very technical.

On the descent, I managed to turn first my right ankle, although a neat forward roll, and I was back on my feet, but within 100m, I then did the same on my left ankle, again a forward roll and I was back running, but that one hurt like hell. It's a real sign of tiredness when you start to do that, and I was pretty annoyed with myself for losing concentration. I lost maybe 4 or 5 places from Catbells to the finish, but overall I was pretty satisfied.

I'd recommend this race to anyone, although it's not for beginners, because it's just too technical. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although the weather obviously helped. The only downer is the long drive up to Keswick, which meant spending 5 hours at the wheel of the car.

Spen Results
161 Chris Jones MV40 2:16:07

469 finishers

Full results here

Bunny Run #1 - A Junior Perspective

A windy race is as good as it gets on top of Penistone Hill, which appears to have it's own weather system. It seemed like there were loads more runners than last year's series, so busy in fact that we couldn't even get our usual parking space!

Due to the numbers, the start was cramped and when we set off one of the smaller runners got trampled which must have hurt because a couple of runners were wearing spikes. The race conditions didn't change as the race went on and due to the extra training I've been doing I felt very good all the way around (except for maybe the last hill!).

Overall I had a very good run, coming in, in a time of 21:53 which was a minute or more quicker than any time last year and was a PB. I hope I do even better next week!

Bunny Run #1 (CS, 3 miles, 300ft)

April is here, and it's time for the Bunny Run series once again! For those of you who are not yet initiated into this race series, it's a short fell/trail race over 3 miles at Penistone Hill country park near Haworth, organised by the Woodentops (aka Dave and Eileen Woodhead)

With the 3 Peaks Fell Race only a couple of weeks away now, and still recovering (suffering?) from a 5.5 hour/22 mile training run with Steve, Gareth et al just 2 days before, I confess that I was neither relishing nor in fact feeling in any fit state to run at all, never mind in a fast-and-furious race such as these tend to be. However, Matthew just loves these races, as he gets an opportunity to race against adults, whilst not feeling he is under scrutiny or pressure, and he was quite insistent that I should compete, so in the end I relented.

There was a huge turnout of around 280 runners (5 from Spen), and some jostling to be on the front row, as there was some real competition up front with the likes of Ian Holmes, Andi Jones and Olympic triathlete Alistair Brownlee all spotted lining up for the start. Usually, many of the younger runners manage to squeeze their way to the front, which is ok for the fast ones, but can cause some overcrowding problems.

Before we'd gone 20 yards, I heard someone shout "child" and saw that one of the youngsters had fallen right in the midst of the stampede. At the end, someone asked me what club he/she was from, and I said "I don't know, but the kit was a white vest with stud marks up the back!". Seriously though, I hope they were ok.

I went off too fast, and mid-way through the 2nd lap was really paying the price, as I started to fade badly. However, I was still ahead of some runners who had beaten me last year at the finish, with a time of 20:24. Matthew came in at 21:53 which was a big improvement for him, beating his PB from 2007, and a minute up on most of his last years times, hopefully a sign of things to come this year.

My time of 20:24 was 8 seconds outside of my previous best time for the course, which I did in BR#4 in 2008. I was trying to rationalise whether or not I should be pleased with that result. There are many factors, and I can't easily determine if it was a decent performance.

How does anyone else go about comparing performances between fell races, or is it simply not possible? My previous best for this race was in #4 of the series last year, when I did little running training, but had done a few races. However, the general conditions last year were worse (muddier) and I improved throughout the series. This year I've done more training, and got off to a better start, even though I was pretty tired from the weekend. Does it bode well? Tune in next week, same time, same channel...

Spen Results
 80 Chris Jones     M40  20:24
114 Matthew Jones   U14B 21:53
202 Jackie Carter   F40  25:21
264 Henry Carter    U14B 31:16 <-- 1st fell race, well done Henry! 
271 Amanda Pearson  F40  33:49 

281 finishers, 5 retired

Full results here

Wakefield 10K 2009

There was a good turnout of Spen runners at the recent Wakefield 10K (although Antony didn't have a club name in the results which I assume was a mistake).

There is a write up of the race on Antony's blog, which sounded like a good old battle between himself and Kevin.

Nice to see Simon Hudson back in action too!

Spen Results (these are chip times)
10  Kevin Ogden     M35 34:47
11  Antony Bradford M40 34:56
113 Simon Hudson    M35 40:35
155 Steven Peacock  M45 42:06
425 Emma Maguire    F40 47:31
464 Karl Speight    M   48:24
893 Barbara Millet  F40 56:57

1182 runners

Full results here

YouTube Appearances

Spen athletes have been spotted on YouTube. Click the links below...

Pennine 10k 2009 - clip #1 (Kevin Ogden & Keith McGhie) on the start line
Pennine 10k 2009 - clip #2 (Kevin & Keith again) near start of clip
Pennine 10k 2009 - clip #3 (2 K's once more) at 1km, near start of clip. You might also spot some others later on.

Stanbury Splash 2008 - Matthew Jones makes a brief appearance in the junior run (around 1:40 into the clip)



Anyone know of more?

Favourite Sport-Related Books

As a diversion from endless race reports, I thought I'd kick off another thread to the blog, so here goes...

These are a few of the best sports-related books I've read, in no particular order. Clicking the titles will take you to Amazon where you can read some proper reviews, or buy the book. Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Can You Make a Living Doing That?: The True-life Adventures of a Professional Triathlete

This book is written by ex-pro triathlete Brad Kearns. It's an account of his career from joining the pro-ranks through to throwing in the towel at the end. Brad is a real character, and the book is both funny and enlightening. His unconventional views on training really struck a chord with me, and some of the stories had me laughing out loud.

Rough Ride

This book is written by Irish ex-pro cyclist Paul Kimmage (I believe he has a column in one of the broadsheets now), and he tells the warts-and-all story of what it's like to be a pro cyclist at the middle to back end of the professional peloton, exposing the pressure cyclists are under from management and sponsors alike to succumb to taking drugs. I defy anyone to read this book without concluding that pro cycling is the toughest sport out there!

Feet in the Clouds: A Story of Fell Running and Obsession<

The only book I know about Fell Running, and as such an obligatory read for fell runners. It'a about one mans obsession with the Bob Graham round. It gives a lot of information about the history of Fell Running in this country, and about the top runners past and present. The author, Richard Askwith, would probably describe himself as a middle-of-the-pack standard, although I've seen his name in the results in a few races, and I'd say he was better than that. I know Steve Moss has competed in the same races as the author and they were not far apart in the result I saw.

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Lance Armstrong's story about his fight against cancer. It's totally inspirational, the guy is absolutely driven. I came away from reading this book with a huge respect for Lance, although he never came across as being particularly likeable character in my eyes. Still, if you have any doubts about what can be achieved in the face of adversity, then this is bound to make you think again. The sequel to this book (every second counts) was pretty dismal reading.

Touching the Void

Sheffield climber Joe Simpsons book about how he survived a climbing disaster in the Peruvian Andes. To call this a near death experience would be doing it an injustice, he was a hairs breadth away from death. It's a really moving story, and one that has since been made into a documentary style film. The film was good, but the book is better.

Survival of the Fittest: Anatomy of Peak Physical Performance

Dr Mike Stroud, probably best known now for his 7 Marathons on 7 continents in 7 days with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Examines the effect on the human body whilst taking part in extreme events. He switches between an account of the event (in which he is himself is taking part) and the medical parts. The evnts themselves include such things as the Marathon de Sables, Antarctic Crossings, Adventure races in South America, and even the London Marathon. Really interesting stuff.

The Escape Artist: Life from the Saddle

A very moving, human story about a passionate amateur cyclist, who's world is turned upside down when his wife develops a terminal illness. I like this book, because the author is very much an amateur, like all of us, with the same training obsessions etc. and it shows how fragile we all are. A bit glum, but a great read.

The Flying Scotsman: The Graeme Obree Story

The now well known story of the maveric Scottish cyclist, and manic depressive Graeme Obree, and how he because world pursuit champion, and twice holder of "the hour" record, which used to be the holy grail of cycling. The story is a mix of tragedy and comedy in equal measures, and has now been made into a film, but again, the book is better.

the rider

This is a bit different, it's actually a short novel written from the perspective of a cyclist taking part in a cycle race. It's complete fiction, but captures the sort of thoughts that go through your mind when racing. A bit hard to describe really, but I did like it a lot.

More are cycling related than running, but running books seem to be thin on the ground, and have a tendency to be rubbish when you do find one (yes I have read Paula Radcliffe's biography).
.

South Leeds 5 Mile Road Race

Antony Bradford and Keith McGhie were both burning the tarmac in this race, and Antony has posted a review on his blog.

Keith was the winner of his age category, and Antony was second in his. Excellent run guys!

Spen results
9  Antony Bradford MV40 29:13
19 Keith McGhie    MV45 30:58

239 runners

Full results are here.

Spen 20 Road Race (20 miles, 1150ft)

Despite this being one of our own clubs 2 road races, I must confess that I've never really had the desire to enter it myself. This is for 2 reasons, (a) It's too far for me (b) Road running hurts my knees. However, having marshalled it for the last few years in conditions ranging from freezing cold to outright blizzards, and with the 3 peaks looming ever nearer, I decided that it would be better to enter the race, than miss another training session doing marshalling duties.

The race route is a bit of a convoluted figure of eight, where miles 5-9 and 15-19 are basically the same section.

My expectations were fairly conservative, I know people say that often to make an pre-race excuse, but in this case it's absolutely true. I'd raced hard the day before, and it was going to be my first road race since 2006. However, I'd mentally set myself a goal of somewhere between 2:40 and 2:50 even though I was treating it more like a tough training run.

The weather on the day was perfect, fopr the record field of 300+ runners too, although not too many from Spen. I counted 2 ladies (Jackie Carter & Hazel Pike) and 4 men (John Henry, Steve Hemingway, Naz Hussain and myself) although Steve and Naz were not wearing club vests. Also present was long-time Spen runner, and now K&C Steve Carter.

Chatting with Steve at the start, I soon gave up on the idea that running with him, deciding it would be foolish on my behalf, and that it might be better to try to stick with John, just for as long as it felt comfortable, but not get dragged into a race. As it happened I stayed with John and Steve for less than 2 miles before deciding to just do my own thing, and left them heading off into the distance.

The first 10 miles went pretty well, although I could already feel the cumulative effect of the previous days exertions, and by mile 12 it was getting tougher. By 15 miles I'd had enough, but still felt I could get round, so just plugged away. By mile 18, on the drag up to Roberttown I was reaching the end of the road, but knew that the last 2 miles were more or less downhill/flat, and that kept me going. I was pretty relieved to cross the finish line, and my time was 2:35:34 ish. John Henry was first back in 2:32 ish (I think). I figured he'd gone though a bad patch somewhere, since I expected to be much further behind him.

Now, just to show what a master of pacing I am (not) here are my mile splits, with the equivalent miles marked together for comparison.

Talk about fading badly eh!

Thanks to all the marshalls, helpers and supporters who turned out on the day.

Spen results
113 John Henry       M50 2:33:11
123 Chris Jones      M45 2:35:36
177 Steven Hemingway M45 2:49:31
215 Jackie Carter    F45 3:02:55
236 Hazel Pike       F40 3:17:13
253 Nazir Hussain    M55 3:41:05

258 finishers

Full results here

Windmills Whizz (BM, 7 miles 800ft)

Saturday saw a record turnout for the Windmills Whizz fell race at Odgen Water near Halifax. Spenborough runners spotted included Gareth, Tim, Chris Jones and Chris King.

Tim and Chris J have run this race for the last two years, both times following a Friday night out on the beer. In the interests of providing accurate comparison against previous years timings they followed the same pre-race preparation, and as such were running with a 6 pint handicap.

The race starts from the edge of Ogden Water with a steady climb up onto the moors. Any cobwebs were quickly blown away by the fresh westerley winds. Chris J and Gareth set off near the front of the field and managed to gain quite a few places thanks to some of the front runners taking a wrong turn at the road junction and heading off in the wrong direction. From this point the route is largely on tarmac, but does include a sharp rise up to the wind farm and around the windmills.

The final stretch follows a fast track back down to the edge of the reservoir. Chris Jones was first Spen back beating his previous time by a couple of minutes, with Gareth close on his heels. Tim and Chris K followed them in a few minutes later.

Spen Results (somewhat skewed by many front runners taking the wrong route)

18 CHRIS JONES     48:45 V40
19 GARETH PATCHETT 48:49 V40
49 TIM WRAGG       52:28 V40
67 CHRIS KING      53:43

122 finishers

Full results here

Antony Bradford - blog link

If you haven't seen it yet, our top road runner Antony Bradford has a really cool blog, with some interesting articles and great race reports.

Here are links to his reports on the Norton 9 Mile race, and the Liversedge Half Marathon.

Should competing athletes be expected to take on roles of responsibility within the club?

Most of the blog entries so far have been race reports, so here is one to break with tradition.

Should competing athletes be expected to take on roles of responsibilty within the club?

An accusation often leveled at athletes is that they are not prepared to take on roles of responsibility within the club. But is it fair to expect this from a competing athlete?

It's a tricky one, and I'm sure views will be divided. But there are 2 key words for me here, competing and expected. I've given this some thought, and my personal opinion is that it is something that should not be expected of a competing athlete, and here are my reasons for saying that...

• Our club motto is "train to compete", and in order to compete to the best of one's ability, it's necessary to put a lot of time into training, and that doesn't leave much time for anything else.

• We need to attract new members, and that means marketing the club. What better way of marketing the club is there, than week after week, pulling on a club vest, getting out there and competing?

• The club needs successful athletes to get articles in local papers, and to show up in the results in athletics periodicals, again promoting the club.

• In addition to the time needed for training, there is the travel to events, and in the case of those who are also the parents of competing junior athletes, taking them to and from events and providing support for them and their fellow team-mates.

• Contrary to popular opinion, training isn't all about having "fun" (although it can be at times) in fact sometimes it's a real drudge, getting out in the cold & wet and putting in the miles when you're tired from a hard days work is just plain tough!
  

Taking the above points into consideration, I believe that the competing athlete plays just as important a role (no more or less) for the club as an official of the club. Naturally, if the athlete personally feels they are able to dedicate the time and resources into taking on a such a role, there should be nothing to stop them doing so.

Thoughts anyone?

Noon Stone Fell Race (AM, 9 miles, 2300ft)

This is a great race, a real tough fell race, and one of my favourites. There is a nice web page about it on the Todmorden Harriers (organisers) site, and a pdf map. The race has been used in the British Championships in the past, and has a bit of everything, including a third of the course which is unflagged.

In 2006, Steve Moss and me (Chris) did this race, and it had snowed the night before, leaving the hills covered in 3 inches of snow. On the Saturday morning, it was a glorious day, brilliant sunshine, and I ran the entire face with that "glad to be alive" feeling. Check out our 2006 results.

This year, it was cloudy and grey, and I was the solitary Spen runner, but at least it was fairly warm at about 8C. I was also looking forward to it in a strange way, although I knew it would probably be the toughest race I'd done in the last 2 years. My sense of urgency regarding the looming 3-Peaks race in April made me want to test my legs out a bit.

The race starts with a short run down a lane to split the field, then it's straight into the first major climb. Then it drops down towards, but not quite reaching Withens Gate (Leg 2 on Calderdale Way) before climbing once more to Stoodley Pike. From there it drops down again to Withens Clough Reservoir, crosses the stream and climbs once more. At the top of the climb, it's onto the unflagged section which is basically across a heather moor, to the first checkpoint (Two Lads) 2nd check point (Little Holder Stones) 3rd check point (rain channel), then it's about a mile of reasonably runnable stuff before dropping back down the first hill, and finishing half way down the lane.

My tactic was to try not to over-cook it at the beginning, which I have a bad habit of doing, and to have something left in the tank for the end of the race. For me, pacing myself is going to be the biggest challenge in the 3 Peaks, so I want to try to restrain myself a bit in the shorter races during the lead-up.

The toughest section was the unmarked crossing of the moor, mainly because the "bog monsters" were out in force! I sunk over my knees a couple of times, and it was really strength sapping stuff. Anyone who's been running on any races over the tops recently will know what I mean, since it seems to me that almost every race is made harder by the ground being saturated from the persistent wet weather we've had over the last 2 years.

So, how did it go? Well, there were bits where I felt good, and bits where I felt bad. For some reason, my descending was a bit cautious (unusual for me) but sometimes it goes that way, I can never tell whether I'm going to be a bit cavalier or not until I tackle the first descent, and today I was not. On the other hand, I climbed the steep ascents fairly strongly (the ones where everyone walks) and I was OK over the rough stuff. I still felt that I had a bit left in the tank at the end, my lungs were good, but the legs could tell they had taken a beating.

Down to the Top Brink Inn for a "Fell Runners Chip Butty" for £1.50 and a pint of Taylors Landlord. Now that's what Fell Racing is all about!

Oh, and my time was unofficially 1:32:10 which was 4 minutes faster than 2006 (and faster than Steve's 2006 time to boot) - can't complain at that!

Actual result was the same time 1:32:10, 95th overall out of 248 finishers, with 3 retired. A big leap in overall numbers since 2006 when there were only 110 in the race.

Full results here

National Cross Country - Parliament Hill

Frank wouldn't be caught without his Athletics Weekly







A beautiful sunny day in London saw me (Gareth) and Frank Reddington down in London for the National. Good train ride down with Frank dictating his latest Athletics weekly to me for the journey (Some kind of hypnotic learning means I now know the favourite for the East Devon Shot putt pre season warm up event, even though I wasn't listening).

After a warm up on the Friday night is was off for a pint and a meal before an early night. With very blurred memories of more Althetics weekly and radio 3 wafting in my ears I drifted off for a good nights sleep.

Breakfast in the hotel was good with plenty of wholemeal bread and cereal. Me and Frank then went to pass some time at the Imperial War Museum before heading back to prepare.

The 14 degree weather means its 'singlet' only weather. We head for the course. After taking a long way round to get to the course we watched the junior men and the senior ladies. Sadly no spen athletes in evidence. Then the terrible job of finding the spen 'tent' (which was actually a tree) and our numbers. After mild panic we found Amanda and we were ready. U13 boys had a couple of our runners and one finished 7th (Liam).

Last minute toilet stops (yes stops, must be our age) and then to the massive start. Beating Frank is a neccessity to avoid banter in the pub (poor Frank is the milestone to fitness and always everyone's benchmark for a good race). I was OK though as had been 2 mins faster the week before so I was not under pressure.

The start was the usual gallup and it was the last time I saw Frank. Then into the mud and the hills (well hillets). Very muddy as usual but feeling strong I edged up the pace to 7min mile (yes impressive eh!). Passed Liam Spencer of Keighley half way round lap 1 so I knew I was cooking.

Parliment Hill is the hardest of them all I think, and there was no danger of it being short after all the critism in the Athletics weekly (yes I remember that clearly). So after some 57 minutes (57.12) of running I 'sprinted in'. 985th out of 1455. Frank wasn't as far back as I had realised and came in 1083rd in 58.53 (yes 100+ runners in less than 2 minutes).

Then I was up for a KFC and a copy of Cycling Weekly . We then went out for a bite to eat and a gallon of beer. I don't really remember what I was listening to as I fell asleep but I can't find my cycling weekly and even more worrying is I now know that Doris Sweeney (Tiverton Wheelers) is favourite for the East Devon Ladies O55 50 mile Time Trial!

Winter hill Fell Race (AM 11.5 miles, 2750ft) Report by Steve Moss

Lining up for this race as the only spen runner felt more like normal as the rest seem to have acquired some sense and gone off to lesser climbs. Still this is still one of the tougher moorland runs made harder by the conditions of ice and more ice, having discovered some of the deeper pits of mud covered by a thin layer of ice.

male winner Simon bailey in a time of 1h 29 53 secs
female winner Anna luptin in a time of 1h49 32secs
my time 2h 24mins and glad to finish.

Not sure what my next outing will be but intend to do some training for the three peaks and the Fellsman as we hope to put a team in of Steve H, Paul H, myself and Alan Greenwood. Hope to do the Calderdale Hike and the Howarth Hobble.

Mickleden straddle 1st of february BL 13.8 miles 1950ft.- Steve Moss

Once again with only 6 days rest the Spen/ mountain marathon runners engaged in the mickleden straddle race, with an early start to sunday morning (with the threat of heavy snow on them there hills) we set off to face the challange.

The course is long outward run over mickleden edge to the res/ and along Cold side then looping back to check point 5 then a long run back to the finish at langsett barn. The tracks were like frozen waste land with ruts made by passing mountain bikes and very tuff on the ankels with some runners returning with blooded legs and sore feet. But with true feelings most runners finished with smiles and enjoyed the fresh winter air.

Results steven moss 2h 24 mins10sec
steven heminway 2h 30mins50secs
paul hoodless 2h 38 mins pb
robert gaylor 2h 55mins47secs pb
nazir hussain 3h 03min 10sec (PB by 1hour didn't he do well

Winners time man Dave Taylor in 1h 45 07 first lady Lisa Lacon in 2h 01mins

This is my second run of the year and hoping to do the Winter Hill next week as part training for the bigger and longer runs in the season If any one wants to join me they are welcome.