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?