SVN Thankyou Run, Marathon, 27.09.2024

This weekend is the last weekend of SVN events before Rachel and Tills hang up their Race Director hats - they have been a really big part of my running journey, so I have mixed emotions of feeling very sad that SVN has come to an end, but also really happy for Tills and Rachel to be starting on their next and exciting chapters! 

Travel report: On Friday, I pottered over to Gravesend, via an almost all dry walk to Kings Cross, the fast train (almost missed it), and then a very, very wet and uninspiring walk from Gravesend to the Cyclopark. 

Weather report: The weather carried on being terrible all morning, so Sarah and I completed/swam a marathon through puddles (which turned into lakes) and streams (which turned into rivers), but that just makes it all the more memorable! 

Physical wellbeing report: 

- Our legs seemed to be feeling fine after last week's 100 miler, which I was (and am still) very excited about (I always think they will stop working/ fall off), and it was a really good run.

- Due to wearing waterproofs, we resembled boil in the bag fish by the end (actually, by quite early in), and had the sensation that we had evaporated somewhat. 

- We also had hostage (aka sausage) fingers from getting cold/hot/on repeat.

Snack report: The aid station was as amazing as always, and as it was our last time being treated to this level of awesomeness, we had a chocolate treat per lap. I will miss Rachel's rocky road (but I feel it is dangerous she has shared her recipe!).

Wildlife report: squirrel count - 2! Bedraggled dogs - many.

Post run report: its worth getting all wet and horrible, for how nice it feels to change into dry clothes! Orange hot chocolate for the walk (now dry) back to the station, to head back to London to meet Andrew for Humble Crumbles at Spitalfields market (thank you Sarah for my Christmas voucher!) 

Reflection report: I will miss SVN! I've done 47 of their events since 2016, and 6 of my 100 mile + events have been with them. Andrew and I also did an "accidental 10 in 10" with them in the winter of 2021, which is still one of my favourite/ most memorable holidays ever, and I will never think that ice cream is just for the summer ever again. It's been nice looking back through my reports of these events, I don't often look back at what I write. So many happy memories, and many friendships made! Thanks you Tills and Rachel for everything! And now, it will be great to hopefully share more adventures with you both on the trails :-) 

SVN Norman 100, 21.09.2024

The last of the SVN events at Samphire Hoe!

Samphire Hoe is my favourite location of the lapped events - it's a tough course with the hills, endless miles of concrete sea wall, and it's "unique and unpredictable microclimate". But I think that's why I love it, it's like nowhere else. SVN, Tills and Rachel are the best, and the community they have created is magical. I'm really going to miss them an awful lot. I was quite upset about this being the last time we would experience a 100 quite like this. 

Went down on Friday evening with Andrew to stay in the Dover Travelodge, via a cheeky Nandos with Jon. The Travelodge is in the Dover retail park, and, this does sound strange, but do I love the Dover retail park. It's not the actual place that I'm particularly enamoured with, more the memories it triggers of weekends/ holidays there based around SVN adventures, and in my particularly nostalgic current mood, it seemed even more weirdly lovely. 

The event started at 08.30 on Saturday, and there was a really fantastic turnout of runners, and it was great to see so many friends.

The event had a 32 hour time limit, during which you could run as far you chose up to 100 miles. Sarah, Gavin and I were aiming for 100 miles, and we ran all the way together, plus Andrew joined in for a marathon on Saturday evening, as part of the pacer challenge. Gavin and Andrew even embraced the outfit matching.

The route comprised of 4 big loops up on the cliffs (about 9.5 miles each), followed by 18 smaller laps (about 3.5 miles each) around Samphire Hoe.

I love the big loops. They are quite hilly, as involve getting up on to the cliff tops, and then an "up and downy" path along them, but being up there is so magical, with views high up over the sea, feeling like you are part of the big skies. Unusually, for Samphire Hoe, the weather up on the cliffs was beautiful. Even a bit too hot, one might say. It was actually quite nice going through the tunnel (which is part of getting up and down from the cliffs), to cool off briefly. 

As the run went along, motivational signs written in chalk started mysteriously appearing along the paths. The messages started off with a kind and motivational tone:

Later on becoming slightly more assertive in nature:

And eventually adopting more of the tough love approach:

This last one was was right next to a big pile of horse poo, so it was surprising that mystery writer had passed by the opportunity to chalk a "you are poo" motivational message next to it.

Baywatch the pony was nowhere to be seen, suggestions for his disappearance included:
- glue factory (Andrew's suggestion, obviously)
- retirement village inland (Gavin's suggestion)
- dyed his mane, so is actually the small black pony in the photo (Sarah's and my favoured reason)

Other Samphire wildlife spotting included the cows (chalk and real), sheep, seagulls, lots of dogs, overnight slugs (sometimes squished) and snails all over the nasty hill in the morning (cue some snail rescues, which we abandoned, once we realised how many there were), a chalk llama, and pampas grass. 

 

 

So plenty of wildlife to be seen, but we didn't see France at all. We concluded that (aside from the obvious weather explanations, which were, although meteorologically sound, quite frankly just things we've all heard before) that due to Brexit, the UK had been moved further away from all the countries we used to be close to, and was now stranded in the middle of a large ocean, thousands of miles from anywhere. It was likely that this ocean was further south than the UK's previous position, which would explain the unusually hot weather for Samphire Hoe, that we were currently experiencing. If we did see a shadow or a cloud that looked like land, we though this was probably on a rotation, like clockwork cogs, so that other countries could take it in turns to be next to us, so they didn't have to be embarrassed for too long, and it might currently be Portugal. This conversation wasn't even that far into the run, which was concerning. 

Other random conversations included night time sounds (zombie crickets), where had all the ships had gone, regular checking (and ignoring when we didn't like it) of the weather app, hash browns and maple syrup (and other breakfast choices).... the great overnight orange/tomato debate (morning verdict - orange)....

.... and smiley/ Harry Potter, aka the turn around cone.

The weather was really hot and sunny on the Saturday, and even most of the overnight was warm enough to run in a vest. There were some storms knocking about, and we were treated to some lightening shows over the sea and Folkstone, but fortunately they missed us. About 6am on Sunday there was heavy cold rain for about an hour (I think, I actually have no idea how long it lasted), which was quite unpleasant, but we were lucky it didn't last long, especially when thinking what some of the rest of the country got weather wise this weekend. Actually, for me, I think it helped a bit. I had just earlier been hit by a big bout of nausea (the usual thing that I find happens in the early hours of the morning on a long run). I was really struggling with it, and thinking I couldn't carry on for another 5 laps feeling like this, and wanting to curl up in a corner (preferably a non-rainy one, maybe the cave where the Samphire sheep take shelter) and pass out and wake up when it was all over. So I think a combination of suddenly feeling much cooler, and having something else quite dramatic to think about, plus the dawn starting to break (I would say the sun coming up, but it wasn't) helped knock that away, and fortunately it never came back. It all reminded me of a favourite quote. 

The sky got light, the rain stopped, and then it was a purposeful march to the end. 

 

Before finishing, I have to mention 100 mile potatoes, as requested by Rebecca. I made a big box of these (recipe - baby potatoes, cooked in the oven for around 45 minutes, in olive oil and salt), but then only ate one during the whole 100 miles. My nutrition was a bit of a shambles again this time, but my hydration went very well, meaning I was able to be fully competitive in the peeing contests Sarah and I have at each pee break.

Gavin, Sarah and I all finished together, after 25 hours and 4 minutes of a tough and epic adventure together.

Thank you Rachel Tills and the SVN team for a wonderful event. 

Track Wars - Indoor 24 hours, with Phoenix Running, 06.09.2024

Well, that was a very unique experience - 24 hours running around a 200m indoor track!

To be honest, I had reservations about this event. I really don't like running inside, and I was worried that this was going to feel like being on a treadmill for 24 hours, going round and round on such a small track. I knew the camber would be quite steep, so worried about that and if it might cause problems (as my dodgy hip gets a bit tight sometimes on the 400m track events). Plus, I had my bad experience on my last 24 hour track event a month ago, and was worried about a repeat disaster occurring. 

But, I was also very curious about doing such a quirky event! I also knew there would be plenty of friends there, and that the atmosphere would be good fun, as Phoenix events always are.

The event was at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, in Edmonton. I live in East London, so this was really convenient to get to - a short walk, 20 minutes on the Overground, and another walk. I set a record for shortest time out of my house to do a 24 hour event (28 hours out of the house, from leaving, doing it, and to getting back in the door!) 

I met Sarah at Edmonton Green and we walked over to the Athletics Centre, set up our stuff, said hellos, faffed, found the toilets, looked around the centre, faffed a bit more, then I split my ginger beer everywhere, so had to empty my perfectly arranged kit bag and de-ginger-fy everything. On the plus side, being inside, you didn't need much kit, so there wasn't that much to rescue!

We set off at 8am. The 200m track has 6 lanes, and the 24 hour runners were in lanes 1 and 2, and the 6 hour runners (these events were running in the morning, afternoon, and evening) in lanes 5 and 6. 

The Start

As it's a short track, it has a camber, so the curved parts of the track are quite sloped. I didn't have too much trouble with it - my hip was sore from about hours 2-6, which worried me, in case it got worse, but I did plenty of stretching of it each time we stopped for drinks, and it settled down. The direction changed every 3 hours to start with, then every 2 hours, which helped too, I think. 

The Track

The "turn around" highlight was the final turn around, at 6am on the second day, when Gav put on Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" before setting out the cone and we all sang (in tune, of course, and with moves) "turn around, every now and then I fall apart" as we switched direction!

Sarah and I got into a rhythm of running for 30 minutes, then having a refreshment break (and later on we ran with water bottles too, as we realised we weren't drinking enough doing it this way). Later on, as we got more tired and had to incorporate more walking, we followed the "tutu technique" (run two laps, walk two laps), and then we slightly amended this to "tu"-ing (run one, walk one). We changed vests every 6 hours, and put on mini-tiaras at 8pm, all ready for Friday night. I think, for events like this, when the route is exactly the same for the whole time, and there are so so many laps/ hours, that it would be completely overwhelming if you thought about it, that it really helps (me at least) to forget about all that, and split it into sections of time, and doing specific things at those time points. 

8pm outfit - unicorns and tiaras

It was, as expected, very sociable indeed, with a really great atmosphere and camaraderie between everyone. It was the best fun chatting away to so many friends, and making new ones. 

The Athletics Centre was an excellent venue. It had good facilities, and although it was quiet in the day time on Friday, after school finishing time, it really livened up, and during the whole evening there was so much going on! It was so nice to see so many kids doing all sorts of sports and having a great time. Gymnastics (surely it's not normal to be so bendy??), sprinting, drills, long jump, all sorts! My favourite mini-athlete was the tiny wee guy in a giant red top (which made him look even smaller), who I think was someone's brother, who was sort of running around everywhere doing his own thing and joining in with all the different sports going on, and all the older kids were really sweet with him and getting him involved. We'll see him I reckon at the Olympics maybe in 16 years or so. About 9 PM, everyone left and the centre was locked, leaving just us runners there....

....but the music still playing! The music on the speaker system was excellent, and the playlist was awesome! We did a lot of dancing and singing on the way round, which really helped to loops go faster! The staff at the centre were really kind, and they came out onto the track a few times, asking for requests for the music. 24 hours of almost all top tunes, and it is hard to remember them all, but highlights included Super Massive (chaffing) Black Hole (Muse), I'm Still Standing (Elton John), Don't Upset the Rhythm (Noisettes) ... Madness (how appropriate) ... Backstreet Boys (power ballads and key changes, very good for blasting round a few laps), Taylor Swift (dancing to Shake It Off)...  

,,,other entertainment included watching the W8 (a.k.a. WAIT!) buses going past outside (where do they go??). There was also a wildlife moment, when we saw a squirrel run across the gymnastic area. We actually did (I guess he must have run in through the door at some point)! There was also a beautiful sunrise (which I have yet to see on any outdoor track event)!

The things I found hardest, neither of which had really occurred to me beforehand, were:

1. How hot it felt running! When you were stood still, it didn't really feel that hot, but as soon as you started running, it was unreal how hot it felt! I was soaked in sweat within minutes! I guess, being inside, there wasn't any air movement like outside, so you don't have the same cooling effect. If I do another indoor event, I definitely would put more thought into how to prepare better for keeping cool; wet buffs, and ice bottles etc. 

2. How bright the lights were, especially at night time. Bright lights are a trigger for migraines for me, and I did find this quite challenging, but wearing sunglasses overnight helped a lot. And, on the plus side, it never got dark, and I didn't seem to get the 3am "dip of doom" that I normally experience when it does, so, negatives, but also definite positives! 

Huge well done to everyone taking part, everyone really gave it their all out (or in??) there on the track.

Sarah and I did 842 laps, which is 104.6 miles. Thank you Sarah for putting up with me for another 24 hours, making it fun, and for looking out for me... this takes our 100+ mile events together up to a total of 12! I celebrated finishing by spilling the remainder of my ginger beer all over my bag again (which had finally dried out from the previous morning's spillage) 

A girls podium for the 24 hours

I did much better with my nutrition and hydration than a month ago, so was really pleased with that, and I also didn't have most of the other problems I had then either, so have regained a bit of confidence. 

After being inside the same building for 24 hours, coming outside in the morning felt very strange! But then, we got to actually GET ON a W8 bus (thank you to the bus driver for waiting for us!) and so all our trackside dreams came true, and we learnt that the W8 does in fact go back to Edmonton Green station!

Shiny medal (blue ribbon, to match the track!)

It was tough, for sure, and I would say I found it much harder than the outdoor track events, but I also absolutely loved it. What a brilliant event! Thank you Rik and Team Phoenix, especially Gav for taking amazing care of everyone overnight!

Race write ups, August 2024

Phoenix Fridays - Running Madness Friday, Marathon,16.08.24

An overdue chat-athon with Sarah on the towpath, and the miles went by nicely! 

To stick to schedule, and cover sufficient agenda items (which we had been adding to over the weeks), we separated the laps into topics, including: work angst (this ran over one lap), dogs attacking ducks plus other dramas, our respective runs since our last run together, general news, flower shows and sedgeway-ing, and black swans.

I also collected the last medal (Circle) in the Squid Games series. I know nothing about the Squid Games, still, so have had to go back to my old blogs to look at what I wrote when I collected the other two (Triangle medal on 13.11.21 and the Square medal on 26.03.22). Apparently, when I collected the triangle medal, I spoke with the barmaid in the Wier, and learnt that the triangle is the symbol that armed guards wear on their masks, and that there are also circle symbols (normal workers) and square symbols (managers). When I collected the square symbol, I learnt that workers who are the highest levels have squares on their masks and can give orders to workers who have triangle and circles, and apparently (I actually wrote this) I said if I collected the final circle medal, I might even watch the programme. Or I might not, and just continue being clueless.

Anyway, thanks Team Phoenix for a great event.

  

SVN - Mythical Series TiT Day 7, mini-ultra, 23.08.24

The first of two trips to the Costa del Gravesend this bank holiday weekend, where SVN is hosting their annual (and final!!) summer 10 in 10. 

I haven't managed to get to an SVN since last September, and it's been a full year since my last summer trip to C del G, and it was excellent to be back and see the gang! 

A really very lovely day. SVN are wrapping up soon, and I am going to miss the events Tills and Rachel put on very much indeed.

Sarah and I met at St Pancras, in good time for the 7.20 to Gravesend, to find it was cancelled. We sat in the station outside a cafe, which all felt very European-city-break-like, and pondered on the fact the next train was running, which would just get us there in time, but was now late, now later, now not so late...until we'd almost missed it by sitting moaning about the fact it was late. We caught an Uber from the station, driven by the world's friendliest driver, to the Cyclopark, registered, talked a lot and were excited to see everyone, went for a safety wee, and were ready to start on time! 

We did the 3 and a bit mile Rabbit Bridge route, which tracks the following route desription: rocky down hill, hay (HELLO!) field, derelict pub, uphill woods (watch for dog poo), Spain, dangerous downhill, uphill, Rabbit Bridge (bouncy), railway bridge, road where the wind is always in the wrong direction, TURN AROUND!, do the last few bits backwards, uphill to the gate, turn round for the downhill which isn't a downhill for ages, suprise uphill, still not downhill, finally a downhill, garage (wedding bus/ Ferrari/ bikers), horrible uphill, CHECKPOINT!

We did this 8 times, then a mini loop, to complete a mini ultra.

SVN - Mythical Series TiT Day 10, mini-ultra, 26.08.24

Another trip to the Gravesend with Sarah, and this time with Andrew, too. 

Not to be rude about Gravesend, but it's not top of my "lovely places in the UK to visit" list. I was wondering if it was like a chicken and egg situation - was it called Gravesend first, and then became like that, or was it like that and then got called it? Also, Pochantos is buried there, so is that something to do with it? Googling reveals that it's not actually anything to do with what it sounds like, and is probably derived from the Old English word "graf" which means copse, so means "end of the copse". Just probably though, as with anything, I suppose, there are many different schools of thought. That one sounds the nicest though. 

Other place names that I had been wondering about over the weekend, included St Pancras, which (worryingly, now I think of it) hadn't ever actually occurred to me, until talking about it with Sarah and Andrew, that comes from the name of a saint. To be fair, for years I always used to think it was called St Pancreas, so I was more thinking along the lines of body parts, rather than religious people. Anyway, unsurprisingly, St Pancras WAS a saint, and was beheaded by the Romans at the age of 14 in around 303 AD for converting to Christianity, which is a terrible tale. I shall go back to calling it St Pancreas. 

Anyway, back to the running. The route was on the big 5 and a bit mile loop on the "177 route" which I don't like so much as the other one, as it seems mostly to be all uphill, all on concrete, and always in the sun. Still, I felt much better running today than I have since my "challenging" track 100 miler three weeks ago, so I am hopeful I have finally got over the experience. 

Did another mini-ultra, in exactly the same time as Friday, which sounds pleasingly consistent, but probably can't take too much credit for, as didn't realise until afterwards. 

Thank you Sarah and Andrew for a fun day trip, and to Rachel, Tills and SVN for a brilliant series of events, as always!

Phoenix Fridays - Athletic Friday Marathon (26.07.2024) + Bannister Series 100 miles (03.08.2024)

Some race write ups....

Friday 26.07.2024 Phoenix Fridays - Athletics Friday, Marathon
8 laps of the Blue Bridge route at Walton-on-Thames with Sarah, James, Gavin and Craig. A classic chat-athon, and the miles ticked along nicely in the sunshine! The first day of the Paris 2024 Olympics - a lovely medal as a momento! Thank you Rik and Team Phoenix! It was my 340th official marathon/ultra.

Saturday 03.08.2024 The Bannister Series with Rasslebock Running, 100 miles
I ran the Bannister Series last year on the Iffley Road track in Oxford (where Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4 minute mile), and that was my first event with Rasslebock Running - it was fun and friendly, and I said at the time that I would like to do another.

This year, the event had to be moved, as the Iffley Road track is getting an upgrade, so it was held on another track in Oxford, the Horspath Road Athletics Track. This was a bit further out from the city centre, but still easy enough to reach on public transport.

I went up to Oxford on the train with Andrew on Friday, and we sat by the River Cherwell in Christchurch Meadow for a while in the late afternoon, watching the punting. I do like Oxford very much. Then it was on to Trattorio Mario's for pre-race pizza (just like last year - and just as good)! 

We stayed at the Cowley Road Premier Inn (aka the Purple Palace), which is just over a mile walk away to the track.

On Saturday morning, after a (eventually - after an exciting detour through a neighbouring industrial park) successful trip to the M+S in the retail park by the hotel (to stock up on luxury race snacks), I headed over to the track.

The Bannister Series is made up of a few different events on the track; a 6 hour and 12 hour day event, the 24 hour event (which I had entered), and a 6 and 12 hour night event.

I arrived at the track about 09:20, registered, and ran into Kerry, which was a nice surprise! We set up our things track side, and I immediately became worried about my luxury snacks, which were quickly going to seem less appealing once melted in the sun, which was already beating down.

The 6 and 12 hour day time events had already started off at 9:00, so there was plenty going on already. I had a walk around and got to know the set up. I decided I liked the Horspath Road track. It was quite "old school" with it's track side portacabin, old buildings and grandstand. It reminded me of doing track sessions back in Southampton. Being a bit further out from the city, it was also surrounded by trees, and there seemed to be lots of sports going in the fields around, and even a festival.

The 24 hour people set off at 10:00 after a race briefing from Eric, Race Director. We started off going anticlockwise, and the direction changed every 2 hours. It was quite busy, and although I didn't really know many people there, it was a really friendly event and an excellent atmosphere.

I don't mind to say that I have been struggling more lately with my mental health not being as good as I like to try and keep it. Lots of uncertainty and changes happening, and although these are all positive things, and I realise that I am very blessed in my life to have the opportunity of choice, change and uncertainty are things I struggle with. I hadn't really planned on running a track event at this point in the year, but a few weeks ago, the idea of going somewhere different and just running round and round in circles and trying to forget about everything for a bit seemed appealing. So that is how I ended up there!

In reality, trying to run away from problems is never a great idea, and actually meant I wasn't really in the right headspace to be running for 24 hours, but, you know, I'd entered, so I thought I might as well go and give it a go! I figured I would just go along and see how it went. I did really want to try and do the full 24 hours, but I reminded myself that 1) this was actually what I had chosen to do for fun, 2) I had paid for it, so I was going to try to enjoy it, and 3) actually, it really didn't matter at all what I did, did it?

The whole event was really quite a challenge for me, it was my 4th time doing 24 hours on a track, and I found this one the hardest - although I definitely also remember saying that in March when Sarah (who I missed lots!) and I did Track Wars, and had to get changed every 5 minutes as it was so dreadful and cold and wet. I collected what, in hindsight, is actually a very satisfyingly complete selection of "common problems encountered on ultra runs". Almost the full house! Everything that could have gone wrong did, really, which I suppose is some sort of achievement in itself. 

To begin with, I had bad period pains. I won't go on about it (too much), but really, I do think that females have a lot to deal with; generally, and in terms of running. Periods, having babies, looking after them, menopause, managing boobs and sports bars, etc etc. I suppose I've been lucky so far that periods haven't messed up too badly any of my very long runs, and it was only a matter of time, really, that it would happen. So, that was that, not much you can do, just keep on keeping on, as best you can.

Weather report: It was too hot. I will never again moan about doing a track event in March when it is too cold and wet (until next time, anyway, when I'm sure I'll have a good old moan like usual). It being so hot and sunny, I quickly got a bad headache, which refused to go away. I was counting down the minutes until I could take my next dose of tablets, and then they barely did anything!

Digestive report (exciting!): By the time the sun went down and my head did feel a bit better, I started feeling sick, and that lasted for the rest of the run. I didn't want any of my luxury snacks (even if they hadn't been melted). All I wanted was Kendal Mint Cake, and I'd obliterated my stock of that quite early on. I didn't feel like eating anything that I usually like and that I had, and obviously, that made it all worse, and I just couldn't get out of that cycle. I got so frustrated with myself, as I know what I needed to do! But I just couldn't do it. I was almost sick a few times, but nothing came up. I had to keep laying down, which made absolutely no difference to how I felt, but being horizontal at least made things look different. I also had an upset stomach. I did have a new ginger electrolyte drink, which I'm really glad I had, as at least I was able to drink that throughout with no problem.

Hydration report: I did well for peeing for the first six hours or so, then I stopped peeing at all for the next several hours and worried I had damaged my kidneys. Then in reaction to that, I overdid it on the fluids, and needed non-stop pees for hours on end. 

Skin report: I got sunburn AND chaffage AND 7 blisters.

Kit report: Despite feeling hotter than a hot thing at the University Of Hot at mid-day in mid-summer, I managed to get cold overnight and didn't have enough warm clothes. So I put on all of the clothes that I did have, resulting in a look of someone who'd got dressed at a jumble sale, in rush, with their eyes closed. Reminder - always take at least 2 extra layers!

Sleep report: I kept drifting off overnight and couldn't keep my eyes open. I found that doing short bursts of yoga every 4 laps (every mile) when I was really struggling overnight helped to break things up and helped me feel a bit better. Laying on the cool ground in funny positions really jolts you back into being awake. And helped stretch out the muscles.

Favourite things report: Eric and Team had a portable water spray that they walked around the track with spraying all the runners during the day! It felt like (I imagaine) being a plant! Lovely and cool. There were also fairy lights strung up all around the aid station and track in the dark - Rasslebock really made it all look great. And the floodlights were on all night, which was very cool indeed. Pizza delivery arrived in the evening!  

Music report: The festival (Paradice in the Park) in the field next to the track really got going in the evening. A real and truely unexpected highlight was a dance version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb", which I must remember to add to my running playlist, for those moments when things are going so badly that you need something really terrible to listen to, just to put things in perspective. To make up for that, I listened to the Hades Town soundtrack a lot, which I love, and is actually quite good to run to.

I got to 100 miles in 22:24, and decided to stop, as I was feeling so rough. I was disappointed that I didn't do the full 24 hours, but you can't hit your targets all of the time, I guess. I was happy to have made it to 100 miles, so that made it my 20th run of 100 miles or more. 

A big shout out and thank you to Rasslebock Running for a really excellent event. It was so well organised, welcoming and friendly, and the team took such good care of everyone! Also, to Kiernan from Timing Monkey for keeping track of our laps and 24 hours of encouragement! It was also great to meet some new runners - and the camaraderie was so nice. So, all in all, it was really challenging, but I did enjoy it.

Phoenix Running, Viking Run, Marathon, 20.07.2024

It has been a month since my last long run, and since seeing the Phoenix crowd, so it was good to get back down to the towpath to catch up on some long miles, and smiles.

Up at 4.50, the sky was pink, which was beautiful, but signalled trouble ahead, as beautiful things so often do.

On leaving the front door, I realised there were just 8 minutes until the bus left, so had an early morning sprint to the bus stop (a normal 10 minute walk away). On arriving, the screen informed that the bus was in fact delayed for another 15 minutes. Plan B! I did another sprint to a different bus stop to catch a different bus, to find that was delayed by 5 minutes also. Hmmm.

Eventually, a bus arrived, I wasn't fussy by this point about where it was going, so on I hopped, and by a stroke of luck ended up at Waterloo. Success! Two minutes spare to source a coffee, and then on to the early train to meet Sarah and complete a chat-athon of epic proportions (six weeks of news!) at the first of Phoenix Running's double event today, the Viking Run. In anticipation of having a lot to talk about, we had prepared an agenda, which we co-chaired, so we for the most part kept to schedule - holiday lap, work lap, bad news lap, running news lap, major life changes lap, etc. We slightly ran out of laps for topics, so will need a part 2.

The pink sky had accurately foretold the weather, which was altogether strange. Overcast but pretty humid. Sweaty! A half way ice lolly from the Phoenix Freezer was a delightfully cold treat.

After feeling uncertain and stressed for a few weeks, it was good to get rid of some angst, and as always after a long run, I felt much better. There is no truer fact that running, or in fact any sort of activity, is such great medicine.

I chose the non medal option today, to 1) choose a more economical option, and 2) the giant Viking ship would not fit in my hand luggage....but thank you Sarah, for a photo, as well as an excellent chat-athon!

In a final public transport challenge of the day, after an early start to be able to get to the airport in time for an evening flight to Scotland, it turned out the flight is delayed. The screens and Easyjet app seem undecided as to the exact delay, which varies wildly, from somewhere between 2 to 4 hours, depending on what screen you check and when you check it. Mysterious! I suppose it shall go at some point. Annoyingly, I did have time to stay and do the afternoon run, after all!

I have passed the time so far by firstly seeing how many times I can refill my water bottle (3 so far, I think I was quite dehydrated). I have also read several magazines in WH Smiths - most magazines are now £6-7, at least! As I had time, quite a lot of it, I did a search to find the cheapest, and this was the Angling Times, at £2.75. This seemed altogether very fishy, given it was so much cheaper than all the rest. I pearch-ed on a ledge, and flicked through a few pages, but I didn't find anything worth carp-ing on about, really, but that could just be my lack of fish knowledge letting me down, it's a bit bass-ic.

Having tired of fish related jokes, I did a few laps of the airport, to up my steps a bit more for the day, ate both Freddos from the race, and now am somewhat of a loss as to what to do next - one could say I'm flounder-ing, even. And on that note.... 

Phoenix Running, Titanic Too, 29.5 miles (16.07.24) and Running Miles, Jubilee Races 3, 31.4 miles (20.07.24)

I've had a nice couple of ultras during the last few days.

For some reason, I've felt pressure lately to always be trying my best and proving to myself I am "doing well", and getting frustrated with myself when I think I can't. I finally managed to neutralise these thoughts, concluded that nothing matters, and so I ran like I felt, and felt like I loved it.

Helped by some (finally) sunny and warm days!

Phoenix Running, Titanic Too, 29.5 miles, 16.07.24
9 laps on the Hampton Court loop, the first three being chat-a-laps with Sarah, which was great fun as always, and flew by!

The sky was bright blue (save for a few minutes where it turned stormy and poured down), and the trees and plants were a rainbow of beautiful greens. I love green, really I do. So many shades! It was quite mesmerising, tootling along, the greens sailing past, like a kaleidoscope.

It was good to see so many friends out in the towpath. I felt much better for a good long run. Running is indeed the best medicine.

Thank you Rik and Team Phoenix for a great event.

I did the no medal option, so here instead are some paintings in the theme of green.

Running Miles, Jubilee Races 3, 31.4 miles, 20.07.24
Going out the night before perhaps wasn't the best preparation for a run, but on the other hand, I was well fuelled by a generous helping of pistachio tiramsu and a healthy amount of white wine, and my core muscles had had a good workout from much belly laughing.

So it was off to Slough, to the Jubilee River, for a run with Running Miles.

The day was a beauty. Not a cloud in the blue sky. Green parakeets flying overhead with their trademark screeching. Green and blue was the theme of the day. I know I go on about this, but everything just seemed so vibrant. Perhaps it's because it seems like it's been such a long winter without sunshine, and suddenly its here, everything seems much brighter. And all the endless rain has resulted in all the plants being healthy and lush. The blues and greens were so intense, it felt like running in a paint pallet.

I set my intention again at the start, to enjoy myself, and that's what happened.

I love this course. It's all along the Jubille River, and next to fields, with some views of Winsdor Castle. 6 laps, and it was hot hot hot! Lovely. A nice gang out, and thanks to James for the lap of chats (and the cake!), it was great to catch up!

Thank you Rik and Running Miles!