May 2011

 

For a complete results
listing view the
Results Index

Featured events this month:

BUPA London 10k - 30 May

391 John Wilson   39:30  
437 Pete Fellows   40:13  
625 Tony Mackness   42:14  
633 Richard Hands   42:18  
669 Andrew Ralph   42:38  
1624 Mark Dalton   48:24 PB
5970 Angela Hands   62:13  

Comrades Marathon - 29 May

1515 Mark Baker   8:38:55 Bill Rowan medal winner

"I expected between 8 and 9 hours so I was happy, but this is the most brutal road race ever
with a hill climb distance equivalent to Ben Nevis"

Mark proudly displays the Bill Rowan medal

The Comrades Ultra-Marathon in South Africa is the biggest ultra race in the world with around 18,000 entries each year. Each year the route is reversed, and this year it was the ‘Up Run’ from Durban to Pietermaritzburg through the Zulu homeland. It is one of the most challenging road races in the world, due to the amount of climb during the 54.3 mile route. This distance is more than a double marathon, and the first marathon on the ‘Up Run’ climbs about 800 metres.
The story is not just the race itself, but the preparation required in advance. I decided to enter the race online in September 2010. The race was full by November. Then, each entrant needs to complete a qualification race during the next few months or they cannot start. A marathon is the usual choice of most people. Based on the qualification time, each runner is then seeded into start pens. My training involved many 4 to 5 hour Sunday runs over the Winter and Spring with a long race every month. The training was at a slow pace with more effort in the races. This minimised the chance of injuries. However, I supplemented this with a full cross-country season and shorter speedwork sessions to increase fitness and endurance. While physical fitness is important in Comrades, it is nothing without mental determination. On my long runs, I would complete 3 hours, and arrive near the finish point of my run, then turn away for another hour or two. This was very difficult when I was tired, but was good preparation for keeping going on the tough hills in Comrades. As a bonus, my weight had reduced a lot due to the training. This would help me on the hill climbs.
As the day for my flight to South Africa approached, there was some concern about an ash cloud from Iceland drifting over the UK. However, I left Birmingham on a Wednesday evening and arrived in Durban via Dubai late on Thursday afternoon. On the airport shuttle bus I met runners from many places including Canada, Qatar and Aberystwyth!  After booking into the Durban hotel it was time to catch up on sleep before an early Friday start to tour the course. During this coach tour we were given the history of the race, and saw the ‘big 5 hills’, as well as many others in the ‘Valley of 1000 hills’.

Some of the plaques given by previous race finishers at the Wall of Honour

At halfway we saw the Comrades ‘wall of honour’ which consisted of thousands of plaques from previous finishers. Then we visited a special needs school on the route where the children performed traditional dances. We moved on to look at the finish area in Pietermaritzburg cricket ground, and then visited the Comrades museum to see more history of the race. After lunch, we were back in Durban and registered at the expo. I now had my number and chip and was starting in the second pen. On Saturday it was an easy day but I dropped off my kit bag at the expo to be taken to the finish of the race. This would save queuing time the following morning.
On Sunday, I was awake by 3am to get breakfast, and by 4am I was being transported to the start area. It was still dark at 5.30am as the race began to the sound of the South African national anthem. I was wearing my Wales vest, as international runners get extra support for making the long visit to South Africa. I started slowly, as everyone was discarding t-shirts and bin bags in the first few miles; they were not easy to see in the dark. Also the climbing would start soon and continue relentlessly. Three of the big 5 hills are in the first part of the race, and Cowies was not too strenuous at 14 km. This was followed by Fields, a much more difficult prospect at 22 km. By now it was getting lighter, and there was lots of enthusiastic support on the route. The distance markers counted down the kilometres left to the finish, and displayed a thermometer showing the percentage of the race left. There were drinks stations every 2 Km, but I had to bite into water sachets to get a drink; not the best idea. There was also plenty of food including potatoes, biscuits and bananas. At 36 km, the third big hill was Bothas, followed by the run to halfway at 43 km. Just before here, I was handed a flower to leave at Arthur’s Seat, a small niche in the rock, where pioneering runner Arthur Newton used to take a rest in the early days of the race. I reached halfway in about 4 hours, and was immediately faced with the huge climb of the 4th big hill Inchanga. Lots of runners were walking here, but I managed to keep going to the top. Now there was just an undulating marathon to complete, and I continued steadily for the next few hours as temperatures rose to 22 degrees centigrade. Eventually, at 78 km, the final big hill Polly Shorts was waiting. I had not stopped in the last 7 hours except to eat, but my legs were now very tired. This was one hill too far and I was forced to walk here. However, I was in good company as everyone was struggling. There was relief at the top as I began jogging the final few kilometres. Any slight incline was now a struggle, but the euphoria of the finish was not far away. As I entered the cricket club, I completed a lap of the oval besieged by a deafening roar. I raised my arms at the finish and received my Bill Rowan medal for finishers between 7.5 and 9 hours.
As I recovered I spoke to a Swedish runner who was staying at our hotel. Incredibly, he had finished 4th and had to go back to Durban for the winners dinner. My luggage had been transferred to a new hotel in Pietermaritzburg, and I managed to walk the 1 km to check in. I was in good shape with no injuries or blisters, so my pace must have been good, and the months of training paid off. On the TV the race was being shown live, and I watched the dramatic finish as 12 hours approached at 5.30pm. Anyone who does not complete the race in 12 hours does not get a medal or a recorded time. With 10 seconds to go, the referee walked out with his finish pistol, then turned his back on the heartbroken runners as he fired a shot in the air. There was anguish as runners missed out on a medal by seconds.
The Pietermaritzburg hotel was serving fish and chips and beer, and was also a casino. This reminded me of Las Vegas, so I had a few games of blackjack. The next day we were transferred back to Durban for a final night in the first hotel. Everyone had done well, but some were more tired than others. After a gentle walk along the Durban beach and a few more beers, there was time to reflect on a job well done. Tuesday was the final day before the long flight back, and a well earned rest. - Mark

More info about the event at Comrades Marathon

Burton 10m - 29 May

38 Rebecca Smith   1:05:34

Corby 5 - East Midlands Grand Prix Race 4 - 25 May

Pos   Cat   Time M/F Cat Pos  
184 Charles Jones M55   36:58 162 10  
229 Dave Cooper M40   39:17 198 35  

Full results at www.mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/the_emgp

Edinburgh Marathon - 22 May

421 Clive Horton   3:11:55 PB
1917 Joe Kelly   3:39:44  
1918 Craig McNaney   3:39:44  
2043 Alan Walsh   3:41:29 PB
4214 Claire Owen   4:04:09  
4390 Sharon Thompson   4:06:25  
7530 Sean O'Connor   4:50:04 PB
7710 Linda Richards   4:53:19 PB

Cotswold Hilly 100 - 22 May

Men's Team - total time: 12h 24m 37s

Leg      
1 Tony Forde   1:13:44
2 Tony Hughes   1:19:00
3 Richard French    
4 Dave Lee    
5 Dave Fawkner    
6 Steve Bottomley   1:07:00
7 Jerry Trill    
8 Rob Pool    
9 Pete Fellows   1:07:09
10 Paul McGurk    

Mixed Team - total time 13h 55m 40s

Leg      
1 Anne Hughes   1:24:00
2 Amanda Deavy   1:12:00
3 Corinna O'Connor   1:28:00
4 Sarah McNaney   1:24:00
5 Cath Fenn   1:24:00
6 Lyn McDonald   1:17:10
7 Dave Cooper   1:22:00
8 Alix Critchley   1:26:07
9 Alix Critchley   1:22:11
10 Martin Gavin    

Other results at Stratford AC web site

Copenhagen Marathon - 22 May

3253 Andrew Pitt   3:49:41

Bedford 6 - East Midlands Grand Prix - Race 3 - 17 May

Pos   Cat   Time M/F Cat Pos  
141 Lyn McDonald F35   43:25 18 4  
154 Charles Jones M55   44:05 132 5  
219 Dave Cooper M40   47:41 180 34  

Full results at www.mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/the_emgp

Northbrook 10k - 15 May

 

 

MV55 winner Pete Fellows (above) and 3rd lady Amanda Deavy (left) receive their prizes from Race Director Tony French

25 Amanda Deavy   39:10 3rd lady
31 Peter Fellows   40:05 1st MV55
33 Trevor Knight   40:20  
35 Tony MacKness   40:32  
44 Dave Halford   41:24  
55 Matt Allsopp   42:26  
59 John Wilson   42:57  
71 Nigel Bassnett   44:05  
73 Anthony Forde   44:11  
96 Charles Jones   45:44  
104 Lucinda Wilson   46:26  
159 Helen Corden   49:29  
160 Martin Gavin   49:35  
179 Anne Hughes   51:16 PB
198 Joanne Moyse   52:36  
212 Gary Dilnot   54:02  
270 Angela Hands   60:48  

Fellsman 61 Mile Mountain Run - 14/15 May

74 Paul Stead   17h 26m

Alix Critchley completed 44.8 of the 61 miles

Rugby 6 - East Midlands Grand Prix - Race 2 - 10 May

Pos   Cat   Time M/F Cat Pos  
163 Charles Jones M55   44:50 139 9  
190 Dave Cooper M40   46:45 162 33  
253 Joanne Moyse F40   51:26 58 13  
258 Mike Duggan M70   52:16 197 4  

Full results at www.mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/the_emgp

Leeds Half-Marathon - 8 May

720 Tony Forde   1:46:19

Sheffield Half-Marathon - 8 May

123 Rebecca Smith   1:28:19

Hinckley Half-Marathon - 8 May

113 Alix Critchley   1:35:29  
173 Tony Hughes   1:39:18  
384 Tony Bowe   1:49:45  
443 Anne Hughes   1:52:45 2nd V50 lady
472 Paul Stead   1:54:08  

Stratford Shakespeare Marathon - 8 May

62 Mark Baker   3:09:50
75 Dave Halford   3:13:04

 

Both our marathon times have been improving this year, and this trend continued. The reasonable weather and flat finish along 'the greenway' enabled us both to achieve qualifying times for automatic entry to next year's London Marathon - Mark

Stratford Shakespeare Half-Marathon - 8 May

107 Bob Simpson   1:34:08
458 Mark Dalton   1:50:33
738 Helen Morris   1:58:19
855 Roy Pye   2:01:52
900 Priya Thakker   2:03:09
903 Helen Elizabeth   2:03:14

Dudley Kingswinford 10k - 4 May

  Richard Hands   41:37
  Angela Hands   59:37

Silverstone 10k - East Midlands Grand Prix Race 1 - 4 May

Pos   Cat Chip   M/F Cat Pos  
245 Lyn McDonald F35 43:15   33 8  
322 Charles Jones M55 44:54   283 19  
452 Dave Cooper M40 47:41   253 70 PB
656 Mike Duggan M70 52:36   546 5  

Full results at www.mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/the_emgp

Coventry Godiva May Day 5 Miles - 2 May

11 Richard Hodge   29:56 PB
15 Mike Wheeler   31:25  
20 Pete Fellows   32:21  
24 Tony Mackness   33:03  
29 Richard Hands   34:04  
35 Matt Allsopp   34:56  
37 Joe Kelly   35:02  
41 Tony Hughes   35:26  
59 Mark Dalton   38:18  
61 Andrew Miles   38:42  
74 Martin Gavin   40:36  
75 Anne Hughes   41:30 PB
79 Gary Dilnot   41:53  
82 Helen Corden   42:02  
87 Joanne Moyse   43:44  
89 Keith Burdett   44:42  
92 Fraser Barrett   46:35  

Northbook's Richard Hodge on his way to another PB

It was very windy in places which really sapped the legs on that 3-lap circuit, but the picnic afterwards was a great way to spend the afternoon, so thanks to Corinna for that. It was really nice to see so many club members and their better halfs enjoying themselves in the sun relaxing in their club sweatshirts and t-shirts - Richard

A family affair for runners and supporters after the race