2008 Buxton Half Marathon Special

Hello folks

Quick results below…
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Time Position Age Grade %
1:36:47 60 out of 220 61.2%
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Well the Buxton Half is something very special. Last year I was fairly scared by the course profile, as road races go, it has to be one of the toughest course profiles for the distance. This year the same team that took on the challenge last time entered it again. A year into my training for the Marathon des Sables and feeling fit, I needed to see a big improvement over last years time, so the strategy for the day was to take it calm on the up hill and “Smash it… 150%” apprentice style on the downhill.

Ben, Dave and I lined up at the start line. Dave was carrying an injury and so was purely going for completion, Ben wanted a new personal best, and more importantly, under 1:55:00. The whistle went and off we went! I tried not to set off to fast to start with as the climb to Axe edge is a long one and I needed energy for the downhills. It was very windy and exposed on the climb to Axe Edge and for the next couple of miles and really took a lot of me. I passed a hiker at one point who was cheering us runners on as we ran down the hill, but I was slightly concerned about his navigation ability as he was deadly serious when he said “It’s all downhill from now”, clearly he hadn’t encountered the killer climb after Glutton Bridge!



I was feeling strong and I passed the 10K point at 46:05 which was a good time regardless of the terrain. Round the corner from the 10K mark was Glutton Bridge and the start of the killer climb. This climb really destroyed me last year, this year it was tough, but manageable. A few people overtook me on the climb, but on the downhill I stormed past more.


There was one tough hill left… Harpur hill, a short (by Buxton standards) sharp hill around the 11 mile mark. Again, on the downhill I managed to overtake more, and this was a real surprise this late in the race, at this point last year I was in a world of pain being constantly overtaken.

By the time I was on the final downhill I was starting to run on empty, I was trying to keep up with a girl in front of me, who was still strong and overtaking people. She was to strong for me to catch, but keeping her in sight kept me going strong. As I turned the final corner, upped the speed one final and crossed the finish line in 1:36:47, an improvement of nearly 9 minutes over last time.


The race was not over though and I kept my eyes peeled for Dave and Ben. Dave was the next to come in and even though he looked in a bad way he managed his customary screaming finish with a time of 1:53:12. Ben and his yellow colour scheme running clothes finished like a ray of sunshine with a time of 1:54:59 on his watch and achieved his target of under 1:55:00.

A final big thank you to all the marshals who helped make the race possible.

Cheers

Andy

2008 Great Manchester Run 2008 Special

Hi folks,

Quick results below... full race report to follow
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Time Category Position Age grade %
47:33 2853 56.5%

3K - 14:55
5k - 24:21
5mile - 39:07
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Full race report to follow

Cheers

Andy

White Peak Marathon 2008 Special

Hello folks,

A rather special marathon for me, the quick results below.
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Time Position Age Grade %
3:36:33 61 out of 197 57.7%
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The meeting point for this race was near Matlock and this was 25 minutes drive from my good friends Justin and El, and so the night before I went and stayed with them and had a wonderful pasta bake for tea, so a big thanks to both of them for a wonderful pre-race build up!

The organisation for this race was something quite special for a club organised run. They bussed us from the finish where people left there cars to the start which was near Thorpe in the middle of nowhere! The weather was close to perfect for running, overcast, only a light wind, and occasionally a very fine light rain. After my experience at London I had gone dressed more in my winter running gear with three layers and joggers on. We started off following the Tissington Trail and there are some spectacular views from this, the English countryside at its best with beautiful greens and stone walls dividing farmers fields over an undulating landscape. After a few miles I was warm enough to take my running jacket off and wrap it round my waist which also had my bum bag full of goodies, making me look like I had a massive layer of flab! In my hand I had an old bottle of Orangina with some fresh orange juice and water mix in it.

As the race progressed I got chatting to some great people. One chap was running this as his first marathon to raise money for the specialist cancer hospital treating his brother, he had a strong support crew out to hand him bottles of lucozade and seemed to have a level head and looked great for a 4 hours finish. With his reason for running I knew there would be nothing that could prevent him from finishing. Another chap had a running vest of the “100 marathon club”… an achievement I’m in awe of. It turns out he’d had one rest before running this after running 6 marathons in 6 days around the 6 counties of Northern Ireland! As I moved up the field I had a bit of banter with a lady from Buxton Harriers and it turns out she to had talked to the 100 marathon man… and that this was actually his 475th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time flew by and I was quickly at the 11 mile mark which is where we did a quick 180 round the marker and ran back, but on the High Peak trail and past some more beautiful scenery.


I still felt strong at this point and was slowly overtaking some of the people who had overtaken me earlier on. From my time I knew I was going fast, but this counts for nothing in a marathon unless you’re strong enough to maintain that pace and I had a habit of crashing after the 20 mile mark, and as this marker approached I grew increasingly nervous. I was still overtaking people, and some club runners too, and this made me think again I was going too fast, but I kept checking my running gizmo and my heart rate was still around the 167 mark consistently and so I persevered. It was during this stretch between the 11 and 20 mile marker that I grew unhealthily attached to my Orangina bottle and I suppose you could say I started to view it as a friend!

Sadly the 20 mile marker meant that the Orangina bottle was empty, and so there was an emotional parting at the next drink station. The next 6 miles were a blur. There were 3 huge downhill sections (1:8 slopes) where my legs still having energy in them were really able to capitalise on them. All the time though I was waiting for the energy levels and legs to collapse but it didn’t happen! As I passed the 25 mile marker I knew I was on for a great time. The legs didn’t have the energy for a sprint finish, but I didn’t need one, and crossed the line and smashed my PB by over 22 minutes!

(the last bar is off because in my post marathon state I didn't knock my gizmo off properly)

Overall the White Peak Marathon is a great course and it was kind enough to allow me a fantastic time, but make no mistake, on a different day with bad weather or slightly less fitness at the downhill stages, this course could really have chewed me up. A huge thanks must be given Matlock Athletic Club for excellent organisation. With the wilderness factor, the opening of the Rugby club to allow us to shower after the race, and the start and finish being in different places meaning they had to lay on buses for us I couldn’t give them enough praise. Truly excellent organisation. I'm still not entirely sure why my time was so much better than London which was only one month previous. I suspect lots of little things all combining together which over 26.2 miles makes a big difference. I did pop two ibuprofem over the course when I felt the old left knee starting to swell, and this seemed to do the job.

At the end there was one last surprise as I also randomly bumped into Marple Phil who I hadn’t seen in a few years and had a quick chat with him. I can’t remember his exact time, but he’d done brilliantly and got round in the middle to high 3:20s mark,

Cheers

Andy