March 2010

 

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Featured events this month:

Milford 21 - 28 March

40 Paul Stead 3:00:22
44 Alix Critchley 3:01:57

Cannock Chase is the beautiful setting for this off-road tough 21 mile race. Weather again was good and it proved to be a good workout, highly recommended to anyone wanting to try a bit of trail running without too much travelling. - Paul Stead

Forest of Dean Half-Marathon - 28 March

25 Nathan Holmes 1:23:01  
72 Rebecca Smith 1:29:20 2nd FV35
343 Tony Hughes 1:42:27  
1078 Anne Hughes 2:02:42  

 

Well the sun came out and the course through the Forest of Dean was lovely (although undulating) but it would have been much more enjoyable if we hadn't both had such bad runs. Nathan because he's unfit and me because March has been a very hard block of marathon training. The lessons to be learned are that Nathan needs to do some training and I need to start my marathon taper. - Rebecca

Edale Skyline Fell Race - 21 March

190 Alix Critchley 4:34:29
191 Paul Stead 4:34:32

Edale is a small village in Derbyshire, as you look up and around from Edale you realise you are surrounded by hills on all sides……..that would be the skyline then!!!

It was theoretically perfect weather for running, the cool breeze on the tops helped to keep the body temperature down as we negotiated 4500ft of ascent, however the nasty sting in the tail for the final third of the race meant you were running(?!?) through often knee deep peat bogs, sapping the legs of what energy they had left. There was even snow still at the tops which we managed to fall through. All in all times weren’t too important but it was a tough but enjoyable challenge. - Paul Stead

Ashby 20 - 21 March

61 Rebecca Smith 2:19:17 PB Club Record
72 John Elliot 2:21:51 PB
105 Tony Mackness 2:26:46  
214 Jack Langman 2:38:36  
256 James Joyce 2:42:04 PB
261 Tony Hughes 2:42:28 PB
263 Steve Mason 2:42:32  
362 Allan Walsh 2:49:21 PB
363 Craig Robinson 2:49:22  
379 Lyn McDonald 2:51:26  
521 Anne Hughes 3:02:23 PB

The Ashby 20 this year started off on a cold and foggy morning, but finished in bright sunshine, perfect for running. Another fantastically organised race, with good marshalling, and plenty of well stocked water stops (with chocolate!). Some really good runs from Northbrookers, with special mentions to Becky, John and Jack, who all put in very fast times, with Becky smashing the previous Club Record for the distance by over 12 minutes.
Will be back next year! - James Joyce

Midland Counties Road Relays - 20 March

Senior Men 12-stage: total time 4:50:19, 30th position

1 John Hosie   33:05 35
2 Tony Hoy   18:58 36
3 Dave Cooper   24:02 42
4 Nathan Holmes   31:08 39
5 Jason Nicholson   18:17 37
6 Steve Bottomley   19:32 38
7 Howard Andersen   32:30 34
8 Dave Fawkner   20:15 31
9 Paul McGurk   20:04 31
10 Martyn Brunt   31:59 30
11 Robert Pool   21:46 32
12 Richard French   18:43 30

Legs 1, 4, 7 and 10 are 5.4 miles; other legs are 2.99 miles

Men Masters 6-stage: total time 2:58:33, 13th position

1 Steve O'Shea   40:41 17
2 Fraser Barrett   26:27 17
3 John Ralph   23:19 16
4 Mark Baker   43:48 14
5 Bob Adams   23:09 14
6 Pete Fellows   21:09 13

Legs 1 and 4 are 5.4 miles; other legs are 2.99 miles

Ladies' 6-stage: total time 2:12:54, 22nd position

1 Rebecca Smith   18:08 14
2 Lyn McDonald   21:12 19
3 Lisa Bragg   23:31 19
4 Linda Richards   26:18 27
5 Amanda Deavy   19:18 20
6 Ulrike Hill   24:27 22

All legs are 2.99 miles

Nottingham to Derby Kilomathon - 14 March

370 John Wilson 2:01:14 PB
1100 Corinna O'Connor 2:14:22 PB
3642 Andy Kelsall 2:56:11 PB

The worlds first ever 26.2km race took place between Nottingham and Derby today. Myself, Corinna O’Connor and Andy Kelsall all braved the elements and guess what…..we all got a PB! The weather was actually quite pleasant, a little windy at times but on the whole the sun was out and there were plenty of spectators to cheer us all on. The course was predominantly flat, with about half a mile of trail/track in the second half.

All three of us are either Paris or London Marathon runners (with Corinna being silly enough to do both!) so we all attempted to run conservatively, using the race as an extended training run. I think it’s fair to say we all failed! Andy got a fantastic time of under 3 hours, superb given the struggles with injury (some self-inflicted via the stairs I’ve heard). I think it’s fair to say that the marathon is definitely on now for Andy. Corinna did a fabulous time of 2h14m and I just missed out on the 2 hour mark.

A very enjoyable race, and one in which I’ll be back next time to smash that 2 hour barrier. You can watch the race on Sky Sports 4 on the 26th March at 6pm, set your generic hard disk satellite recorder now! - John Wilson

This was the first ever running of this event and unfortunately this showed in the organisation. They were very keen on their motivational announcements and getting everyone into the 'muster zones' but this couldn't hide the distinct lack of toilets! The start was also a bit of a shambles, with slower runners being started off before slightly faster runners.

But the actual race was great fun. My plan of starting off at 8.30's was soon out of the window and I was trotting along nicely, finishing with an average pace of 8.15. John was planning on starting slow but he is obviously even worse at sticking to a plan than I am. Due to starting near the back I was able to shout Andy K as I went past. I think he was a bit surprised to see me.

Medal was huge, T-shirt was long sleeved and, yes, I would do it again. - Corrina O'Connor

Banbury 15m - 14 March

46 Rebecca Smith 1:41:45 2nd lady
50 Richard Hodge 1:42:31  
272 John Gibbons 2:13:27  

I did this for the first time last year in 1h:45min so a 3min improvement was a good result for me. It's a lovely testing, undulating course on quiet roads and great organisation. Low key event with 374 finishers but a nice race to do. Becky was 1st lady over 35 and 2nd female overall, only 25secs on the first lady home which is an amazing result by Becky seeing as she raced the inter-counties XC champs the day before. - Richard Hodge

Grindleford Gallop - 13 March

216 Alix Critchley 3:50:37  
217 Paul Stead 3:50:40  

All the joys of off-road running came out in plentiful abundance for this 21 mile event. The route for both walkers and runners takes you up and out on to the Derbyshire dales through villages such as Bakewell and most impressively through the grounds of Chatsworth House and its friendly sheep.
Heavily stocked checkpoints with various cakes, flapjacks and cups of tea rapidly ensured that what was planned to be a slow 21 mile training run definitely ended up being a very slow 21 mile training run. A most enjoyable route it was indeed with some good uppy bits and some even better downy bits to keep the legs on their toes. Soup bread and yes more tea and cake ensured a very happy group of finishers all in high spirits and most with very dirty shoes unlike the Northbrook contingent who were able to mince around any said muddy bits whilst eating their lemon drizzle cake…..Mmmmmmmmm

…….coming next The Edale Skyline with not quite as much home made baking but definitely lots more hills. - Paul Stead

Inter-Counties Cross Country at Cofton Park - 13 March

Ladies Race - 8km

119 Rebecca Smith 32:23

Barcelona Marathon - 7 March

502 Howard Andersen 2:58:19 PB

The Barcelona Marathon has lots to recommend it. It's a flat, fast course with plenty of long, straight avenues. And, whilst there is a long incline at the start and, more noticeably, between 24 and 25 miles, neither could be described as especially difficult. From a personal point of view I was pleased too that the feeding stations offered water in handy-sized bottles rather than those all-to-familiar flimsy plastic cups; at least it was possible to drink properly. In the latter stages of the race, fruit was also available if you happened to have developed a craving for an orange or a banana. (Not me!).

In terms of the field, this year's event attracted a record 10,000 plus finishers which makes it a decent sized race but by no means an overwhelmingly large one. And, whilst there weren't spectators at every point, the sections where people did gather gave plenty of vocal encouragement. In fact, every runner's first name was printed below their number so there was no chance of completing the race anonymously!

Like London, the route of the Barcelona Marathon reads like a tourist's guide book. It starts (and finishes) in the spectular Placa de Espanya with its royal palace, fountains and imposing towers before taking in, amongst other sightseeing attractions, the Camp Nou stadium, the Sagrada Familia cathedral and, surely one of the most famous streets in the world, Las Ramblas.

In several previous marathons, I had clocked times which were a frustrating few minutes over the three hour mark. So, in the build up to Barcelona, I had focussed my training on trying to achieve a brisk but steady pace over as long a distance as I could manage. So, for the first half of the race I held back, resisting the urge to run too quickly. At the half way point my time was 1.29.08 and I thought for a moment that I had, perhaps, been too conservative with my pacing. However, after the 13 mile mark the benefits of this approach began to pay off as I moved steadily up through the field. As with all marathons the last few miles were tough but I still had enough left to finish strongly with a sub three hour time and personal best of of 2.58.19!

Milton Keynes Half-Marathon - 7 March

  Allan Walsh 1:40:18 PB
  Craig Robinson 1:41:24 PB
  Helen Elizabeth 1:58:44 PB

Gloucester 20 - 7 March

43 Clive Horton 2:18:54 PB
99 Paul Stead 2:33:01 PB
105 Alix Critchley 2:34:06 PB
135 Joe Kelly 2:38:42