September 2010

 

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Featured events this month:

Berlin Marathon - 26 September

6655 Mark Baker   3:32:37
13895 Gareth Baker   3:57:40

This was my brother's first marathon and I decided to have a go as well. The whole weekend was very wet; not too bad for running, but heavy rain wasn't ideal when waiting at the start. I haven't had the best year for niggling injuries, but the leg muscles survived, despite slowing in the second half of the race. My brother ran an excellent debut time under 4 hours and kept a very consistent pace all the way - Mark

Kenilworth Half-Marathon - 26 September

37 Tony Mackness 1:26:36 PB
38 Pete Fellows 1:26:38 PB for age group
51 John Wilson 1:28:14  
98 Kevin French 1:32:46  
100 Tony Hughes 1:32:49  
205 Allan Walsh 1:42:24  
230 Charles Jones 1:43:48  
241 Craig Robinson 1:44:37  
308 Dave Fawkner 1:49:51  
356 Anne Hughes 1:53:06 1st FV55 Warks Champs
397 Jane Owen 1:57:43  
415 Fraser Barrett 1:59:40  
420 Tony French 2:00:19  
442 Priya Thakker 2:02:41  
486 Linda Richards 2:07:05  
554 Alan Beeby 2:32:48  

New Forest Marathon - 26 September

  Claudie Combelas 4:21:42 PB

JW Ultra - 25 September

  Alix Critchley 5h 13m 33s
  Paul Stead 5h 13m 33s

30 miles down canals from Stratford to Bournville.
Lovely weather and lots of ducks :o) - Alix

Midland Counties Road Relays - 25 September

Men's 6-stage: total time 2:17:12, 65th position

1 Nathan Holmes   21:07 57
2 Steve Bottomley   22:22 62
3 John Wilson   22:38 63
4 Dave Fawkner   25:54 74
5 Howard Andersen   21:51 65
6 Jason Nicholson   23:20 65

Women's 4-stage: incomplete team

1 Rebecca Smith   16:40 21

Column on right indicates team position at end of leg

BUPA Great North Run - 19 September

361 John Wilson 1:27:24 PB
1149 Stephen Mason 1:34:31  
1256 John Elliott 1:35:08  
5631 Lisa Bragg 1:49:06  
14261 Stuart Found 2:05:00  
21798 Alan Smith 2:17:15  
24533 Clare Mason 2:22:06  
28478 Andy Kelsall 2:29:59  

Full results at: www.greatrun.org

The weather forecast was for a ground frost, torrential rain and high winds, not a good omen for the start of a race heading towards the coast in the North East of England! Luckily there was no ground frost, however we were woken up to some pretty heavy rain. As luck would have it, the rain stopped and, despite some slippery road conditions in places, the conditions were near perfect for a good run.

The GNR is a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed. 54,000 people in the world's largest half marathon, supported by raucous Geordies for the entire route length. The noise along the finish straight in South Shields was deafening (positioning myself just ahead of Joe McElderry seemed to be a good idea at the time!). The shout of 'Go Northbrook' by a 12 year old girl in South Shields did bring a confused look to my face....how does she know?

As ever the course seemed to be uphill all the way, talking to Steve Mason and John Elliot at the finish brought forth the comment 'I can't remember it being that hilly before!'

All in all a great race. The grin on my face as I watched the clock when I finished will still be there for you all to see on Wednesday! I just wish I'd remembered to press record! - John Wilson

The Beast, Melton Mowbray - 19 September

  Dave Fawkner 1:25:06
  Corinna O'Connor 1:38:54

The Beast is a double or quit race, 5 miles or 10 miles. The course is on a horse jumping ground with plenty of jumps and a few 'water features'. Having done the Sodbury Slog and the Grim 8 before I was actually disappointed with the lack of mud but the hills and the obstacles were certainly a challenge. Quitting after 1 lap was never an option for Dave or me so we both dragged ourselves round twice - Corrinna

High Peak 40 - 18 September

  Dave Fawkner 8:24:33  

At very short notice I decided to try my hand at ultra running, beginning with a 40 mile circuit around Buxton in the Peak District on Saturday. The course was mostly impressive with some fantastic views! Most of these followed lengthy climbs, but it was all worth while. I made it to the finish line after an amazing 8:24:33, more than twice the length of time I had run before! It was very well organised and the miles soon passed, so I think I may return next year for another try.

Birmingham Canal Canter - 18 September

  Alix Critchley 4:40:53

I phoned the organiser at 10pm on the Friday night and asked if it was OK for me to turn up in the morning and run! The seeds that some people can sow in your mind about entering races!   So, at 9.30am, I headed off from Alexander Stadium, through a load of stinging nettles and then along the Birmingham canal tow paths for  the inaugural Canal Canter Marathon. I was wondering why I couldn't find anyone at the start who had run it before! It was a great little race, with 53 other runners starting off at the same time, and a fair few walkers heading out an hour ealier. The route ran under the 'iconic' Spaghetti Junction, past the Ackers, and then out and about returning via Bournville - luckily no smells of chocolate around here to put me off running, although the wafts of cooking smells at lunch time when running through Brindley Place were highly tempting! There were also some very bemused looks from beer drinkers!

The idea of the marathon was to show that Birmingham was more than just an industrial and commercial city, and to see a few more areas around Birmingham - and I have to agree, the run by the canal was quite scenic in places.

There's no official timing for this race, and it was more or less 27 miles all told; but I clocked 4:40:53 including cake and refreshment stops - it was an LDWA event, and for those who have entered their events before know that the cake is not to be missed - checkpoint 3 at 18.2 miles was a sight to behold, and the ginger cake was heavenly! Although, I did turn down the offer of jacket potato/porridge/toast and tea at the first checkpoint - I had only gone 8 miles after all - Alix

Lake Vyrnwy Half-Marathon - 12 September

  Tony Hughes 1:32:07 PB 7th MV55
  Anne Hughes 1:50:44 PB 8th FV55

Anne and I ran the Lake Vyrnwy half marathon again on Sunday 12th September.  This is one of our favourite races, a picturesque lap of the lake in Mid Wales; it's flat and has good PB potential.  Over 1200 runners completed the course.  The weather was hot for the time of year and we were grateful for the shade offered by the trees around the lake.  We both managed PBs, Anne completing the course in 1:50:44 (6th F55) and I came home in 1:32:07 (7th M55).  Thoroughly recommended if you are looking for a fast and scenic half - very popular, entries are full up well before the race; downside is - it's a 100 mile drive from Solihull - Tony

Robin Hood Marathon - Nottingham - 12 September

377 Dave Fawkner 3:45:10

 

Not a bad results having swum the 10.5 mile length of Lake Windemere the week before, and after just the 2 training runs of 11 miles! :o) I'll be training for it properly next time.

Stockholm Half-Marathon - 11 September

161 Howard Andersen 1:23:38 3rd M50
3rd British athlete

Although a separate event from the Swedish capital's well-established full Marathon held in June, the Stockholm Half Marathon has the same faultless organisation and attention to detail.  For example, not only is there a baggage area for clothes near the start, there is also secure area where values such as keys and wallets can be left safely.
This year, its tenth, saw the Stockholm Half-Marathon attract a record 13,513 entries from 63 countries.  Although the majority of entries were from Sweden, the growing international dimension to the race was reflected in sizeable contingents arriving from Finland (376), Germany (301), Great Britain (237) and Norway (156). Like the marathon, the race was held on a Saturday afternoon although with an even later start time of 4.00 pm.  The start of the race is staggered with eight sequential waves of about 1,500 runners starting at five minute intervals.  Of course with chip timing the staggered start makes no difference to the overall results and probably makes for a better race with less potential for crowding and congestion in the early stages.
The route comprises a fair few straight sections, which are mostly flat, plus two steady inclines each of a couple of miles or so.  One of these is at the beginning, so hardly noticeable, whilst the second starts at roughly ten miles and climbs gradually before a very fast downhill stetch of about a mile to the finish.  Finally, a word of caution: the route goes through the grounds of the Royal Palace at about eight miles which, although interesting, means running several hundreds yards over ancient cobble stones.  For me, wearing lightweight running shoes, this was the most painful part of the race!"

Wolverhampton Marathon - 5 September

59 Dave Halford 3:27:16

Wolverhampton Half-Marathon - 5 September

90 Mark Baker 1:35:37
490 Roy Pye 1:58:04

Bristol Half-Marathon - 5 September

1571 Rob Pool 1:40:54