Fairfield Horseshoe

May 162013

After a couple of years absence from the English/British Championship fell racing scene it was great to be back for the Fairfield race, starting from the picturesque setting of Rydal Hall near Ambleside. It was raining heavily before the start of the race, fortunately as we started the rain stopped and we got a bit of sunshine too.

The first three mile is virtually all climbing, but once you have conquered this you are rewarded with some fine views. Hilary had caught me up at Great Rigg Summit and we more or less ran the rest of the race in tandem. Between Fairfield summit and Dove Crag summit is a rocky section, a very slippery rocky section in fact! I fell chin first on the rocks which certainly rattled my teeth a bit! ( and, as it turned out, meant a visit to the dentist’s on Monday morning) Hilary kindly stopped to check I was ok. In fact we both stopped on several occasions to check on the welfare of several runners who had had worse falls than myself. All the Abbeys did well. Dominic was first back in 1.51 followed by Richard 1.54, John F 2.02 and then Ann in 2.07 Hilary 2.22 and then yours truly in 2.23

The race was advertised as 9 mile, I had 10 recorded on my Garmin. I know I am the worlds worst navigator ever but I certainly didn’t go 1 mile wrong! What about you others ?

Really enjoyed the race and day out despite feeling rather battered and bruised the next day

Dave B

Coiners Fell Race

May 082013

Thought I would use my Bank Holiday Monday to have a run around Calderdale and also take the opportunity to break in my shiny new fell shoes before the weekend’s big English Championship race at Fairfield.

Setting off from Mytholmroyd, like most races in these parts you end up climbing to the Stoodley Pike monument,albeit from a different direction than usual. Then you follow Dick Lane,which you could hardly describe as a Lane really! Its a boggy,tussocky track.

Unfortunately I managed to sprain my ankle after only two mile, so the following five mile was a rather painful experience threading my way through those damn tussocks.

I did finish though,happy with my new shoes,not so happy with the colour of my legs which looked as if I had undergone spray – on rust effect!

Also along today were Richard and Jason who finished well in front of me.

As I sit here writing this, with ice-pack strapped to my ankle its a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s big race but hopefully I’ll recover in time.

*The History bit. The Coiners were a group of counterfeiters known as the ‘Cragg Vale Coiners’ who, in the late 18th century came close to wrecking the British currency with their illegal activities. Most of them are buried in the churchyard at nearby Heptonstall.

Dave B

May 8, 2013 Posted by dave.beston at 4:27 pm race reports 1 Response »

The Bradford 10K

Apr 292013

We couldn’t find our star runner John Halliwell for the pre race photo, but we were allowed into the Town Hall to capture the moment!

John was the first Abbey home in a time of 40:44 and Jim Whittaker claimed he got back in 42:30 but there is no record of this in the official results. I did see him near the half way mark, but he was running in the opposite direction!

What a brilliant run by Victoria, who was first in her age category.

Name	Time	Age Position	Chip Position
John Halliwell	40:44	M40 13	48
Jim Whittaker	42:55	M40 23	84
Jim Perkins	43:09	M40 24	87
Victoria Goulden	44:06	F50 1	109
Elizabeth Willis	46:38	F40 3	186
Laurence Lennon	53:06	M50 41	408
Peter Leach	53:39	M60 13	422
Peter Persico	54:09	MSen 193	445
Bernard Foster	1:00:02	M60 28	633

809 Runners

Bradford is notorious for it’s steep hills, but fortunately this race is flat along Canal Road, except for a short climb at the start up to the Cathedral.

April 29, 2013 Posted by peter.leach at 10:28 pm race reports 4 Responses »

The Stockton Duathlon

Apr 292013

By Peter Persico

On run 2

Since I’d started cycling again in 2012, 7 years after a serious road traffic accident on my bike, on top of running and general training, I decided to enter a duathlon in 2013. Simply put, a duathlon is a run followed by a cycle followed by another run. There were 3 distance options: Novice [2km run, 10km cycle, 1km run], Sprint [5km run, 20km cycle, 2.5km run], and Standard [10km run, 40km cycle, 5km run]. This being my first one, and with very little persuasion and encouragement, I entered the standard distance. At the time, I’d also discussed my intention with Peter Leach who subsequently entered the sprint distance along with Jane Oughton.

As the date drew closer, I had done various training sessions, picking up further cuts and scrapes along the way, so generally felt ready to go; however, I did have a few residual concerns, such as this is my first one and I’m doing the full distance that is probably full of experienced people. I arrived in plenty of time at about 0900 [the start of the novice distance]; the sprint distance started at 1100, and the standard distance at 1300. After racking my bike in the transition area, I spent some time soaking up the atmosphere, drinking water, and eating bananas [by the end of the day, I was fed up with bananas]. The weather was not as pleasant as the previous day when I had collected my race number. On this day, it was windier with no cloud break or sun. Just before the race briefing for the standard distance, I exchanged a few words with Peter Leach who had recently finished the sprint distance. When at the race briefing, some of my concerns appeared justified because all I could see were people who looked like they absolutely knew what they were doing, and I was trying to remember how many laps I had to do on the bike and some of the rules.

Run 1

The first run was 10km and was 2 laps that went round the river bank, over the Tees Barrage footbridge and the Millennium bridge, and round some of the other roads near Durham University Queen’s campus; after the second lap, we would enter the transition area. I had set off nearer to the back to build in a bit of confidence though passing people. I was going at a fairly decent pace considering what was still to come, and tried to remember the advice given to me of not being afraid to race. At times it felt like I was floating along, but that could have been lack of oxygen to the brain. I didn’t pay too much attention to the view unfortunately, but when I did focus, the route appeared relaxing and calm with a few people out rowing on the river. There were plenty of people in various places along the route either out for their own walk or watching, and who shouted words of encouragement. When I entered the transition area and got to my bike, I grabbed a quick drink as I made my way to the mount point to begin the cycle portion; I think the transition went fairly smoothly overall.

Cycle

The cycle route was 6 laps on closed roads and we were supposed to count these ourselves; a challenge by the end. There was some noticeable headwind throughout the cycle, especially on some of the uphill sections. I soon realised that a bit of extra preparation may have been useful, that being oiling my chain because it appeared quite dry. It was at about lap 4 that I began to feel uncomfortable in the saddle. This is not something I’d experienced over such a short distance, having managed to cycle a lot further without this problem. I’m not really sure as to why this occurred, but someone later said that it may have been due to my speed. All I know is that it resulted in me slowing down, and I got overtaken on the final lap by someone I had in mind earlier to beat. He, therefore, became the person I wanted to catch on the final run. The cycling route appeared very busy and it was important to keep attentive, especially with all the cones and other cyclists. There wasn’t really much in the way of scenery, and perhaps this was a good thing because I didn’t want to crash having heard about such things in these type of events. I remember seeing several people with those blocked out wheels designed to make them go faster, and some with those aerodynamic helmets, so I felt a bit basic. When I came back into the transition area, I was definitely glad to get off the bike [I don't think my legs fully agreed at this point though]. I got briefly confused trying to find my rack area, but it wasn’t a major problem, and then I was off on the final run, grabbing a bit of water from one of the water tables just outside of the transition area to rinse down the gel I’d just taken on board.

Run 2

The final run was just 1 lap mostly covering the same area we’d covered in run 1. I’d started this run slower because my legs had still to get the idea that I was running. I was happy when I saw that I was catching the person who’d overtaken me on the last cycle lap, and I soon passed him. We exchanged a few sentences, which allowed me a bit of time to gather myself for this final push. Perhaps I should have just carried on through to get a quicker time, but still, I think it helped my mind as well. Halfway round this lap, the muscles in my quads began to do something strange – cramping a little. I decided to slow down a bit more, but when that didn’t help, I thought what the hell, and went a little faster again, which did eventually help. I came across the bridge and onto the final straight so kicked a little, which was about all I could manage, and crossed the line. My name was read over the speaker along with my finishing time, which was a nice touch I thought. When I think about this final run, it was by far the hardest run I’ve done, and that includes the mud runs and obstacle runs. Happily I didn’t collapse after crossing the line, but I couldn’t have done any more, which means I’d pushed myself. [On a side note, the Bradford 10k was unfortunately scheduled for the week after this duathlon]. I waited for the person I’d passed to finish and we exchanged handshakes and brief words about our experience, which was a nice way to finish this event.

My result

My total time, according to the website was 3:14:58. I had set a goal of beating the time for my final training session that was of a shorter distance by just over 3 kilometres, which I’d done in 3:19:35. My run 1 time according to the website quite different to what my Garmin said, by just under 4 minutes. Peter Leach noticed some timing and pacing inconsistencies as well, including that I was cycling at double his pace for double the distance, so perhaps this is accounted for by technological issues. I don’t know if this can be considered a good time for a first duathlon of that distance, but despite a few differences in timings, I was glad I’d done this and generally pleased with my time. It was definitely a challenge and something I would definitely do again only better. At the time of writing this, there was only one photo of me [attached] on the second run. I’m not sure if there will be more photos of me put up at some point, but at least I’m featured. When captured on camera, I look a little tense, which is likely due to me trying to get my legs to work better. It’s a shame I didn’t get a photo crossing the finish line, but by that point, I’m not sure what I’d have looked like, so perhaps it’s a good thing!

April 29, 2013 Posted by peter.persico at 9:44 am race reports Tagged with: Duathlon No Responses »

Wardle Skyline Fell Race

Apr 232013

Thought I would nip over into Lancashire, after checking that my passport was still valid and up to date, for this race which I last did way back in 2006.

Wardle is a village just North of Rochdale, and is accessed by a main road which soon narrows to a village high street and then finally just a track.

Having attended the Skipton Beer Festival the previous evening a 2 pm race start was just what was required. 213 of us headed up the cobbled track out of the village and towards the moors and the large Watergrove reservoir. A pleasant sunny afternoon,plenty of snow still lying around in the gullies though. I did remember from 2006 a long descent towards the end of the race, managed to overhaul a few runners on this. What I didn’t remember however was the sting in the tail, a half mile uphill section on a track just before the finish!

I was a good few minutes down on my 2006 time ,then again I am 7 years older so I wasn’t going to beat myself up about it too much.

A great selection of cakes and buns after the race ( I will admit to having had one BEFORE the race too!) and a bagful of points for the Abbey fell grand prix ( I’m gonna need ‘em for later in the year ! ) made the trip worthwhile.

Dave Beston

April 23, 2013 Posted by dave.beston at 12:32 pm race reports Tagged with: race, Wardle No Responses »

Tokyo Arakawa River Marathon 2013

Mar 282013

Sunday 24^th March 2013

Kaz Ozawa

Some of you will enjoy Spring Marathon such as London Marathon and Edinburgh Marathon. Before these races I have already run a marathon in Tokyo.

About “Tokyo Arakawa River Marathon”:

This race is not “Tokyo Marathon”, which is the most famous race in Japan. “Tokyo Arakawa River Marathon” is held at the bank of the Arakawa River in March: full marathon (15,000 people) and 5Km/3Km/kids (2,500 people).

The Arakawa River is one of the principal rivers in Tokyo and the length is 173 Km. The bank is very wide, and it is used as baseball grounds, football fields, golf courses, parks and walking paths as public spaces.

I had run this race four times from 2004 to 2007 before coming to the UK. I like this race, because the venue is the nearest to my house, and there are 15 food stations, which serve banana, raisin, “onigiri” (rice ball), “an-pan” (bread containing sweet bean paste), and sherbet (ice snack, only at the point of 35Km). Also the race is still popular though Tokyo Marathon has been held since February 2007. Of course I want to run Tokyo Marathon again, but now it is very difficult because the entry rate is more than ten times.

How was the race? :

My club members participated in other races, so I was alone. On the day it was cloudy, the temperature was from 8 (9:00 am) to 11 degree C (12:00 pm), and there was almost no wind. This means a good condition for runners. The start time was 9:00 am, and I arrived at the venue at 8:10 am. There were already full of people. After I queued for toilet, changed clothes and checked my bag, I had only five minutes to start.

During running, I saw over 20 long bridges, heard loud cheers “Ganbare! (Go for it!)”, and took at each food/water station. I found a strange man. He whooped to us many times, “Don’t hurry up! Exhausted soon!” from 10 Km to 20 Km point. At last he speeded up, overtook me and repeated to shout, “I’m going! I’m a man!”

My target was 3:30 and I set 5 minutes per Km (8 minutes per mile) as my pace. I kept up this pace by 30 Km, but after that it went wrong.

Nostalgia:

My time was 3:49:34. It was 18 minutes slower than Edinburgh Marathon 2010. In Edinburgh I had energy enough to put out a last spurt, but this year I faltered out at the finish. I must say that a gap of three years was too long. But I feel happy that I have been getting away from fear of calf muscle pain, which means “psychological trauma”. I had suffered from it for two years in the UK.

I am like a countryman. I am still a bit hesitated about a lot of people. The population density of Tokyo is higher than that of London. Also the scenery is different. I have seen the background scenes in the Abbey Fb and HP. Even in winter the color of the UK (Yorkshire) is still “green”, while that of Tokyo is “pale yellow/brown” in winter.

This month is warmer than normal, and cherry blossom trees have bloomed seven to ten days earlier than usual. After the marathon I saw “Hanami”, cheery blossom viewing party at the park near the venue (Please see my post of Abbey Fb 26^th March). While I was just remembering that yellow daffodil is March flower in the UK.

March 28, 2013 Posted by Martin at 11:37 am race reports 2 Responses »

Heptonstall Fell Race

Mar 182013

Sunday 17th March (15.1 m. 3170ft ascent)

This is the third running of this fell race and over 200 turned up to give it a go. The trip over being a nice drive through interesting and definitely Yorkshire pennine landscape through small villages with Victorian Mills in deep and obscure valleys testament to man’s ingenuity and bloody mindedness. A light dusting of snow on the hills adding to the drama of the high, open and bleak landscape through which we were going to run.

Post 1912 does not have any attached images!

Registration was the usual melee in the pub with added tension as the start drew closer in the toilet queue, where negotiations progressed as to which line to join- stand up or sit down! The start was in the village centre near the church with the Vicar in attendance. The race was started by the Vicar who, having a captive audience, used the time wisely and gave a short sermon and reading from Acts (Ch 20 v 24 I believe). This was in fact warmly received by believer and agnostic alike, the aptness for the former, the shortness the latter.

Doing the race was a bit of a late decision for me as being in the midst of long training runs for various Bob graham attempts, I thought it a bit short, however I have not raced since Auld Lang Syne on new years eve (a must for all those who haven’t done it) and felt the need for a scamper up a few hills in hot pursuit of a PB. This one being easy to catch as it was my first time. Only four Abbeys attended, I was joined by Tim Jacobs, Andy Davidson and Hilary Lane.

The race itself goes down into wooded valleys and up over open fell, quite a lot of the latter and enough of the former to make it a pretty tough race. There was a lot of bog but also lots of fast grassy, though slippery descents.

The course takes a fairly convoluted route but essentially consists of six major climbs with lots of smaller ups and downs. By the time I reached some of the boggier sections they had been converted into uberbog. A species of bog specially processed by dozens of slapping feet reducing it to ever thinner consistency. In the wooded sections mixing this with leaf mould and hiding slippery tree roots beneath on a steepish descending slope added to the exciting surprises in store for us.

At one stage we had to cross the river, we were given the option of the bridge further down but that added minutes so most of us braved the current and waded through. The river crossing was an added feature last year, mostly because the bridge at that point had been washed away but seemed to have proved popular so it was retained.

There were loads of marshals, good Raynet presence (blokes with wireless transmitters at various high points), mountain rescue and I believe the odd boyscout.

The course was well marked and the few miles of unmarked fell easy to follow because of the trail of black bog left by runners in front. This was a good thing because I had paid little attention to the map and my compass tucked deep into my rucksack.

The final hill is a bit of a killer on tired quads leaving very little spring in ones legs for the last two fields, particularly as I was being chased by Andy Davidson with whom I had been playing cat and mouse throughout the race. I must acknowledge that Andy kindly gave me three of his jelly babies half way through the race. I am not sure if it was these that made the difference but I will have to return the favour.

My intentions to do a bit more than the 15 miles well and truly quashed by tiredness and the lure of mountains of flapjack, hot tea, soup etc. The ladies of the parish did us proud with enough to eat to refuel thoroughly.

Although a tough race it goes over some good fell running ground; one I shall revisit and recommend it to anyone who fancies a go.

Results

1	Adam Osborne	Leeds City AC	M	1:58:20
35 (lady 1)	Liza Barry	CLC Striders	L*	2:24:21
99	Timothy Jacobs	Abbey Runners	V40	2:44:04
132	Mike Ayers	Abbey Runners	V50	2:52:43
133	Andrew Davidson	Abbey Runners	V40	2:52:49
212 (lady 28)	Hilary Lane	Abbey Runners	LV50	3:31:09

http://www.heptonstallfellrace.org.uk

March 18, 2013 Posted by mike.ayres at 11:35 pm race reports No Responses »

The Yorkshire Terrier

Mar 122013

By Peter Persico

The Yorkshire Terrier is a dog of the terrier type developed in the 19th Century in Yorkshire to catch rats in clothing mills and mine shafts. But you may be pleased to hear that I’m not writing about dogs, rather about a 10km obstacle night run that took place on Saturday 9th March 2013 organised by Rat Race Adventure Sports. The organisers described this event as “a tough run in hilly woodlands”, and also said that “the route will be rough, steep, muddy, slippery, and wet, wet, wet. It will include natural and man-made obstacles, and half-way round you will encounter one obstacle where you should expect to get very wet”. In addition, they stated that you may need to concentrate to avoid twisting an ankle or getting poked in the eye by a low branch. Since the event would involve running in complete darkness, a fully charged and functioning head-torch was mandatory. So, why would I [or anyone for that matter] sign up and then show up for such an event? I’m not going to deal with that obvious question just yet!

The start and finish of this run was in the Newburgh Priory estate in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, running through the edge of the North York moors in the Howardian Hills. Before collecting the race pack, each participant had to sign a ‘disclaimer’. This is not something that you tend to encounter in ‘normal’ races. From what I saw, neither I nor those around me actually appeared to read the information on the disclaimer; instead we just went straight to the part where we sign. I then collected my race pack and got myself ready with the two other people who had come from Motiv8 North. I had decided to dress in a tweed flat cap, a white shirt, a bow-tie, and shorts. In the end I chose not to wear the bow-tie because when my top button was fastened, it limited my oxygen intake so would have become an issue when breathing more heavily.

At the start, it was noticeably cold, and my fingers were very cold and my lips were shaking. I was starting in wave 2 out of 3 [each wave setting off 15 minutes apart] at 1745. The start of the run was up a hill that a fellow participant described as 45 degrees. On the way up that hill we encountered 3 lines of haystacks about 15m apart of increasing height over which we had to climb. The whole course was undulating and very muddy, and involved some rapid turns through the trees in the woodland. Other obstacles that we encountered included spider web [rope] in between some trees, climbing over a very large log, crawling under cargo nets, going through a waist-deep lake that at one point was shoulder-deep due to the uneven surface, climbing over fences, more haystacks and tires, and finally up a wet diagonal structure using a rope. Whilst going across some fields, we encountered also some sleet, but despite this and the water, I was warm all except my fingers even with gloves. It got dark a little after 1800, and when I looked behind me at various points, all I could see was a line of head-torches going back a long way like ants moving across the fields and hills. I didn’t go as fast as I could have all the time in part due my own head-torch and also so I could fully appreciate the fun. I did find my vision impaired by my breath hitting the light beam, which caused me to slow at points since I wasn’t sure of into what I was running; in addition, the back of my head-torch got caught in one of the cargo nets. So, things I have learned from this run: I need to get some tips on how to run with a head-torch [tips greatly received] and I need to get some lace locks because I had to stop about 5 times to tie a shoe lace [now acquired]. When I finished, I collected a medal, a bottle of water, and a chocolate bar. Some participants had taken up the option of camping overnight, and many headed over to the bar for some post-run refreshments and to compare stories, as well as to warm up.

So, to return to the earlier question of why would I sign up and then show up for such an event, I ask you to consider the following [if the above was not reason enough]. Sometimes, we forget the sheer pleasure that just running around and jumping, crawling, and slithering over stuff brought when we were children [unless you were born after health and safety got silly]. Also, you can’t obsess over split times on a GPS when you are jumping over obstacles or crawling through mud. So, though you generally don’t leave with a PB or clean clothes, you do tend to leave with a smile on your face. These events do aim [on the whole] to put some fun into what are undeniably physical challenges. I did leave with a smile on my face as I have after all such events I’ve entered in the past. I may also be slightly daft for doing these things, but will leave that for others to decide!

RESULTS

646 runners completed

1st male whippet 00:49:17 [from wave 1]
1st lady whippet 01:02:45 [from wave 1]
Peter Persico 01:36:25 [I thought I was a bit quicker based on the timing of the finishing photo but hey!]
Last whippet 03:10:42

March 12, 2013 Posted by peter.persico at 9:30 am race reports No Responses »

Our Grand Day Out – Dentdale Run 2013

Mar 112013

Saturday 9^th March a car load of Abbeys set out from AWMA car park at 9:30 am on their way to join the Dentdale 2013 run. In the party were Men’s Captain, Andy Wicks, designated driver and chocolate provider Gary Brownbridge, running bear, Martin Browne and me, the lone female in the gang.

Our Driver chose the scenic route, taking the high and narrow lanes in anticipation of the course ahead. We took an unscheduled detour at Kirby Lonsdale for a wintry picnic before the final leg of the journey along the multi-gated hill top lanes. The Captain volunteered to be gate operative for the trip and stood guard as the snow fell around him ushering through our own vehicle followed closely by a carload of Hyde Park Harriers.

We arrived in Dent at Midday and had a chilly wait for the 1:00 pm start. Enough time to faff and shiver and faff some more as well as meeting up with fellow Abbey, Andrew Wilson a long time veteran of this race. Enough time to question clothing choices as the winds blew and the temperature dropped: to hat and glove or not? shorts or tights? did we have the wrong trousers (Gromit)? Tricky questions for us urban road runners when faced with the rural wilds. Rumour has it that pre-race chocolate was shared in the male changing rooms, but this knowledge was only shared across the gender divide as we stood at the start line.

Finally we were off and immediately the impact of an “undulating course” became apparent. For the slowest Abbey at least, the difference in pace between mile one at 10:15 followed by mile 2 at 8:39 set the tone for the rest of the 12.2 miles. The route follows the River Dent running out from the village for 3.5 miles crossing a bridge and running back along the river towards Cowgill to re-cross the river once more and back to the finish along the cobbled streets of Dent village. The ups and downs are a challenge to the legs and the long ascent through miles 8 to 10 was trying, especially into the snowy head wind. The views were wonderful though, even in the wintry setting, with snow covered hills all around and pockets of the brightest snowdrops lining the lane. For those interested in agricultural machinery I am informed there were a good few tractors to be spotted at Cowgill, although I confess I missed these. Three water stations well placed and plenty of hardy marshals who deserve much applause themselves for standing in the cold, offering direction, sustenance and encouragement.

I am particularly indebted to the 100 Marathon Club runner who adopted me at mile one and encouraged me along the way especially as the going got tough and without whom I would not have maintained my pace to the end. The half marathon distance is marked and provides some encouragement for weary legs, although the final mile somehow magically acquired ascents which the car drivers had failed to register on their arrival that morning.

First Abbey across the line was Captain Wicks who then kindly provided a finish photo for the rest of the gang as we variously sprinted/limped towards the finish line, wet and cold. Good times were achieved by all in their respective categories and a sense of satisfaction pervaded the gang once we’d changed into dry and warm clothing to enjoy our rewards in the school hall, a snap pack for each runner, baps, buns and scones – hand made by the ladies of Dent. We returned via the same route, including gates, minus the detour and arrived back at AWMA car park for 6:00 pm having much enjoyed our grand day out.

(PS Thanks to Andrew Thrippleton for the photo; there are more here).

Results

341 runners completed

1^st M      Breton Holdsworth         Clayton le Moors Harriers             1:24:42
1^st F        Amy Green                         Keighley and Craven AC 1:36:11
49^th         Andy Wicks                         Abbey Runners 1:40:59
177^th      Martin Browne                 Abbey Runners                                 1:58:42
249^th      Gary Brownbridge           Abbey Runners                                 2:09:42
262^nd      Andrew Wilson                 Abbey Runners                                 2:14:19
268^th      Lynn Taylor                         Abbey Runners                                 2:15:32