Run home

The blog has been a bit quiet lately, partly becuase I have been trying to run a bit faster for an upcoming 10K. I dont normally enter 10Ks, they involve too much short-term pain for me. I came up with idea of running the Purbeck 10K in under 50 minutes, something I have never done before. Why do I come up with these ideas? Perhaps if we work together we can come up with a cure. As a friend pointed out "This might be your last chance, you are not getting any younger". That is motivation that is.

However as I have got some longer events coming up this summer I thought I had better get some miles in. On the drive back from work tonight I was dropped off 10 miles away and ran home over Eggardon Hill. It was a beautiful evening and a great run. I did stop to take a picture with my phone but as you can see the best thing about the phone is the price (smallness of).

Devizes to Westminster support crew

We crept into Devizes early on Friday morning, to find the Wharf car park full of activity and excitement. After the obligatory bacon roll we got the boat off the car and prepared for the day. My job was to meet Louis 3 or 4 times on the way to Newbury providing him with extra food and water. Camp at Newbury and then do the same the next day to Marlow. The driving on day 1 was simple, Day 2 was a bit trickier. I am still not sure how I got out of Reading. From Marlow to Westminster the A Team were arriving to take over support duties.

At Crofton Locks I met a great Canadian couple who were checking out the route, because the next day the would be starting the "straight through", 125 miles non-stop from Devizes to Westminster. Doing it in 4 days is hard but that is another story.

The camp at Newbury was at the Leisure Centre, and was as I pictured it really. Camping on the grass outside a leisure centre. Note team tents, bargain Pro Action Hike Lite 1.



Day 2 started early but all I had to do was pack up camp and drive to Marlow. I did not have blistered hands and pain running down from my neck to hands. During the day you met other support teams, and like the paddlers some are first timers and some are experienced hands. Most of them a pleasure to meet.


The camp at Marlow was a fantastic setting on the river front. Not sure you can get any where else in Marlow for £6 a night. Camping among the trees looking out over the river. Makes it sound beautiful but is was a damp muddy April night and the toilet block was pushed to its limits, but let's not go there, sorry I mean don't go there. I left the A team support crew to it on Sunday morning and headed home for Easter eggs.

I met some fantastic people, supporters and racers. A lovely family from Nottingham supporting mum/wife, who just seemed to get stronger each day. And obviously it was an honour to met Michael Yeomans and the brains and brawn of the outfit Graham. After some blog based conversations its was a pleasure to share the promised whiskey with him out of polystyrene cups standing in a carpark.

It has taken me so long to write this up that he has finished now. DW 2010 completed in 26 hours 35 minutes. An amazing achievement, considering.

Waterside D

Sunday was my first training trip for the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. Am I worried that it is only 2 weeks away and I have only spent 5 minutes in a K1? To the uninitiated a K1 is a fast, unstable, uncomfortable, light weight 1 man kayak; think of it like a unicycle with racing tyres. I am not worried because I have got the easy job - part of the support crew.

Louis and I left Dorset at 4am on Sunday morning to get to the start of the Waterside D race in Devizes. After we had arrived I wandered around the Wharf car park watching all the crews prepare, amazed at the number of people mad enough to get up this early to get wet and cold on a Sunday.


My job is basically to be in the right place at the right time with food and drink. Meeting Louis at various points between Devizes and Newbury. So having had a bacon sandwich and watch my crew (see how I have picked up the lingo) set off I left for my first met up point.

Tan Hill - Wiltshire Downs

During the day I watch some amazing displays of endurance, most impressive were the Junior crews (under 19s). However as I only meet up with Louis every 2 hours or so I missed some of the excitement like being attacked by a swan, nearly crashing into the side of Savernake Tunnel and being "on the rims" after 28 miles.

I am really looking forward to the big race now, particularly camping in Newbury Leisure centre car park. Eat your heart out Andy Howell.

Grizzly 2010 race report

Four of us arrived in Seaton, not necessarily prepared but committed to running the Grizzly. I was nervous, not sure about the others. What I do know is that we were all cold. Frantic searches began for extra layers of kit to wear. Anyway here is my account from the back of the pack.

The race started off again along the beach then up and over the hill to Beer. From there it took a different route up the valley and over the next hill to Branscombe Mouth. This year we headed into the village of Branscombe and through the woods to Bulstone. After a number of painful twists and turns up the hills we arrived at the first bog (I think this was about 13 miles). Foolishly as we came dripping out of the far end I thought "well that was easier than last year" a few miles later a longer and deeper section awaited. I began to lose my sense of direction in the narrow valleys with runners ahead of us hammering past on the other side of the valley.

After running through Branscombe Mouth again we reached the hardest bit for me, the mile section along the beach before we started the climb up to Hooken Cliffs.

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Last last few miles along the coastal path were fantastic looking back across the cliffs to Seaton. There was great support again all the way round from lots of spectators, marshals, a piper, rock bands and fiddles. It is becoming a favourite and if was not so hard I would do it again.

Now we come to the difficult subject of finishing time. At the moment I am not sure of my exact time but about 4 hrs 40 mins. This is a bit slower than last year but the course was different. Anecdotal evidence suggest the course was harder, but would you trust the judgement of anyone who had just run 20 miles over cliff top paths, bogs and steep wooded valleys - no. Analysis of this years results compare to last year show that the top 20 runners were on average 4 minutes slower this year. ( You have to admit that is alot effort to justify being a bit slower ). The end result not pretty.



Click here for last years report

Half Term Adventure

Flyrocs old and new

Thought I would give a few of my impressions of the new Flyroc 310s now that I have been out in them a few times. The toe bumper and the rand are more substantial on the new version. The sole pattern is exactly the same but it does seem to be made out of a harder rubber compound. This may however be just because of the age of my old pair and with time the new ones may soften up.


On both edges of the ball of the foot there is some extra protection with is helpful for running on rocky ground. The same textured rubber coating is around the heel, which is slightly higher. As far as the weight goes they are supposed to be the same but I have not check as this would entail cleaning the mud off.


Apologies for the photos the front and back of the shoe are in fact in perfect proportion :)

Overall the new version feels like a more substantial shoe but still make a comfortable light off-road running shoe. I have mainly been running in the new ones but my impression is that they will be a better walking shoe than the old version.

Stickler plus a bit

The idea was to meet up in Shillingstone and do the Stickler route in reverse plus a bit because we all wanted to do more than the 10 mile. What is the definition of a bit? It turned out that a bit was another 9 miles.

We started up Hambledon Hill and had beautiful view down the River Stour. The conditions were freezing and the ground was rock hard with frost. Next was Hod Hill and down to Stourpaine.

We left the Stickler route at the top of Norton Lane and headed through Turnworth. Doubling back on ourselves from Oke Breacon we ran through Blandford Forest and back down to Durweston. Rather than run along the road we decided to cross over and run along the old railway track.

As is obvious to anyone who can read a map this was not a good move but to 4 tired runners the gap where the railway bridge was before Dr Beeching came as a bit of a surprise.



So we headed back towards Hod Hill and eventually Shillingstone. 19 miles in about 4 hours. Home for a fry up.

For the full route click on the map below.