50 miles in Milton Keynes

Yesterday, it was time for 50 mile run, organised by my friend Alan. I sort of  accidentally agreed to this, a bit like a reflex, without really thinking about if I was actually going to be able to do it or not. The last time I ran 50 miles was back in June, so my Fifty Fitness was in some doubt. But I wanted to do it, to spend the day running with friends, so there was only one thing for it.....I must try!

Waking up at 5:30 on a running day is so much better than an early morning on a work day. I had nightmare in the week, that I overslept until 10:00, so had to drive to the start, but ended up running instead, got lost, and fell in a bog. 

A lot of that is probably not even a nightmare, but what usually happens, but at least the oversleeping bit didn't come true. After breakfast number 1, and a cycle to Euston in the dark, Andrew and I caught the train up to Milton Keynes (including breakfast number 2), to meet Alan.

From there, we ran though the green parks of MK, past the Concrete Cows...

The Concrete Cows are a sculpture (of three cows and three calves) made in 1978 by Liz Leyh, an artist-in-residence in the early days of Milton Keynes. They are said to be the artist poking fun at the new city. I suppose, that the countryside had been enveloped in a city, and the only cows are made of concrete. They haven't had such an easy time of it. They've been painted pink, had PJ bottoms painted on them, a calf has been kidnapped, ears cut off, a badly behaved bull added, and then cow pats....

...from the Concrete Cows, Alan had planned a great route to the north of MK (thanks Alan!), around the countryside and villages. Feels like you are really far away from anywhere, despite being pretty close to the city.

There were plenty of ploughed fields, and bogs, so I made a bog montage...

And for a break from the bogs, we had our first checkpoint outside a luxury country mansion house...

....and soon after we were tempted by another checkpoint opportunity...

...but no! We must focus. Soon we ran over the River Great Ouse, which was indeed great, after all the recent rain...

Shortly before the half way point, there was an incident with a ferocious bramble, which firstly tripped up Alan in front, then I was next and it got entwined in my hair, so I was sort of hanging by by hair, which hurt really, but got more stuck the more I tried to untangle myself. Andrew came next, to the rescue, but he got stuck in the bramble too, and a few of the thorns got stuck in his hands. Eventually, looking a bit dishevelled (even more so than usual after 25 miles in the rain and mud) we were released from the bramble, and soon after made it to the half way checkpoint, a Luxury Checkpoint at a cafe in Olney, where we were able to recover with hot drinks and cake. 

Andrew headed home from here (congrats on his first marathon in a long time!!), and Alan and I carried on for the 50. The frequency of ploughed fields and serious bogs started to reduce, and the bogs became just minor bogs as the route started to follow more well made tracks. 

We were ahead of schedule, so were able to fit in a second luxury checkpoint in Salcey Forest Visitor Centre. Hot tea was a treat, as it was pretty rainy and cold by that point, and at 4pm, it was starting to get dark...

I love running in the dark! We almost made it through the forest before it got a bit dangerous running without light, and we both nearly went flying over fallen logs, and it was time for head torches. Running in the dark, and only being able to see a little bit all around in the circle of the head torch light always makes me feel quite safe and calm, like I just have to focus on my own little bit of world that I can see, and all the darkness all around doesn't matter, as I can't see it.

This of course only applies if I'm with someone else, and I'm distracted from feeling scared and am feeling safe, and not worrying about what actually is in the darkness all around. Especially when having a non-luxury checkpoint at about 45 miles next to a graveyard, for instance. Or when running through a field of cows, when suddenly just outside my little circle of light, a whole lot of glittering eyes start shining out of the darkness (the first time I met a cow when running through a field in the dark, I genuinely thought it was the devil, what with it's two luminous green eyes hovering about in the darkness, and there being hoofprints in the mud all around)..... 

Anyway, we made it back to MK without any more major bogs, ferocious brambles, or devilish cows, and completed 50 miles in 10.45. Thanks Alan and Andrew for a great run! Good to do a 50 again, my favourite distance. 

Such was the level of bog, that a bog decontamination zone had to be set up before going back into the house.....

...and just in case you're interested, this is what a banana looks like after 50 miles...

The Athens Marathon, 10.11.2019 - The Authentic Marathon!

The Athens Marathon, known as the Authentic Marathon, has been on my wish list since I was little. This is a while ago, but to explain why this is, we must go even further back into the mists of time....

In 490 BC the Athenian Army defeated the Persian invaders at Marathon Town (a town on the coast, north of Athens). The Greek messenger Pheidippides, ran the 26 miles to Athens, to announce victory, and then collapsed, and died from exhaustion. 

Well, that's how the popular story of the origins of The Marathon goes, but it's probably not true. The route from Marathon to Athens was smooth even then, so a messenger would have taken a horse, which was much a faster and preferable mode of transport. It is recorded that there was a messenger named Pheidippides, but he probably was used to relay messages along routes too treacherous for horses, like over the mountainous terrain from Athens to Sparta, which is around 280 miles. 

What is more likely, is that after the Athenians defeated the Persians at Marathon, the whole army had to march back quickly to Athens, which was already under threat from another Persian invasion, from the sea. So thousands of soldiers would have marched the route, headed from one battle, straight to another. 

But the Pheidippides story has stuck, as being the point from which The Marathon was born. Which is lucky really, otherwise a marathon would be 280 miles. Thank goodness. Anyway, I am easily enthralled by a good story, and I have always been fascinated by this one, as this is what the marathon route of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 is based on. So going there to run the Authentic Marathon was like a dream for someone who loves a marathon!

I went with some friends from work, Joe, Sumaiya, and Alex. The whole weekend was tonnes of fun, and felt like a proper mini holiday, with sun, sightseeing, nice Greek food, and of course, the running. The marathon weekend is a really big deal in Athens, and it's a really great atmosphere, and it felt like the whole city was in the spirit for the weekend.

I hadn't really appreciated how big an event it was, until we made it to the Expo on Saturday to pick up our numbers and bags. It was enormous and absolutely packed. As well as the marathon there are 5km and 10km and also other races, like kids races, over the weekend, so there are thousands of people taking part, about 19,000 doing the marathon alone. 

It was quite overwhelming and after a couple of hours we were pretty knackered. Afterwards, of course, we had to recover with a Greek lunch and some sightseeing.

Athens is so beautiful and there are so many things to see, that after this, we needed to recover again, with carb loading in the evening, and sangria (for hydration, and relaxation). When we arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning, the bed in Sumaiya's room had been soaking wet, due to a leak, so the manager had given us a free meal and drinks in the rooftop bar (as well as fixing the wet bed, of course).

I didn't sleep very well on Saturday, the traffic was noisy, I was worried about missing my alarm, and it seemed like other people in the hotel were up and down all night. But I wasn't bothered, I was too excited for race day to be annoyed by it. 

The hotel started breakfast from 04:30 on Saturday morning for the runners, which was a nice touch. We grabbed some toast and ate it walking to the pick up point for the coaches (we went to Omonoia, but there were pick up points organised all over the city). Already there were hundreds of runners walking around, and the queue for the coaches was snaking down the street. There was a constant steam of coaches, so the wait wasn't long. I think the marathon is very well organised, as well as very good value. It's about €35 for the race and transport from Athens to the start at Marathon (as it's a point to point race) which is quite a long journey, I thought, as we sat chatting on the bus. Really quite long indeed. And we have to run all the way back.....

We eventually made it to Marathon and hopped off the coach, to see a sea of runners as far as you could see. That's a lot of seeing to do, but there really was so much to take in.  The start was in the athletics stadium. Artistically, port-a-loos were placed the whole way around the edge, there were hundreds. They were pretty gross, but I've never met one the isn't (apart from a single one on the Hadrian Hundred, that was immaculately clean, and decorated with fairy lights, but on reflection, I'd run 70 miles by that point, so it was probably an hallucination). Anyway, this is a race report, I mustn't get distracted by port-a-loos. Will save that for another time (you can look forward to that).

Anyway, port-a-loos braved, it was time for our "before" picture. Joe and Sumaiya were running their first marathons, and Alex was unbelievably running despite a really bad knee injury, so was all taped and compressed up. I was so proud of everyone for making it to the start. 

The Marathon Flame was burning bright at the start....and soon it was time to get into our blocks. I was in block number 6, the blue block. I was wearing blue, so was happy to be coordinated. Waiting, we put our rights hands up whilst the Runners Oath was read out. Then, as each block started, and we slowly crept towards the start line, the rain poured, really poured, for about 2 minutes, then stopped again. It did this a few more times during the race, which turned out to be quite fortunate, as it was pretty hot. 

The marathon is a road marathon, so goes along a road, all the way from the start to the finish, with a small loop around the Tomb or Marathon (the memorial to the Battle of Marathon). I've heard people, a lot of people, say the Athens Marathon is really boring because it's just along a road. I disagree completely! There is plenty to see, the mountains, the sea, olive trees, towns, houses, the Greek outdoors. Plus, aren't all road marathons along roads? And, even if the route was boring, which I don't think it is, the atmosphere is completely fantastic. There's not long between places where loads of locals were out cheering and smiling, constant shouts of "Bravo!" musical in the air, giving olive branches to runners, handing out olives, and kids high-fiving-ing. The locals were really so welcoming. I high-fived a lady and she clasped hold of my hand, wishing me luck. So lovely! There were music stations, rock bands, steel drums along the route. The best was about 11km before the end, going through a road tunnel and a steel drum band were playing in the tunnel, the beats echoing around. It was spine tingling stuff!

The water and aid stations were plentiful and well stocked with water, isotonic drinks, coke, bananas, cereal bars, bitter chocolate and salty biscuits.

The only thing I didn't like so much was that there were quite a lot of aggressive men runners who would pretty much push you out of the way to get past. This happens at all big events, and maybe it's just because I haven't done a big marathon for a really long time and had forgotten about it as the ones I tend to do are smaller, where everyone is very kind to each other, but it felt like it happened a lot. I really can't stand it when people behave like they're more important than other people. Like, we're all here running the marathon mate, you can't just push someone because they happen to be in your straight line, ever heard of running around people? But, like port-a-loos, a few arrogant people are part of the game, and like port-a-loos, after a short rant about it, you feel better, and their insignificance in the grander scheme of life becomes apparent.

The marathon was fairly hilly, and from looking a the course profile...

....I was prepared for 20-30 km being tough. I didn't really think it felt that bad, although my spilt times for that section were a bit slower, so I guess it must have been. I think I was really just enjoying it, being in a big race, and enjoying the atmosphere. I was surprised at how many supporters there were along the whole course, I'd thought it would just have been towards the end, near to Athens, but the whole way was like a party.

The end, running down an orange tree lined street, with crowds lining the pavements, and turning the corner into the Panathenaic Stadium, is something that I will remember forever! I don't normally get emotional at the end of Marathons, but I was a bit overwhelmed by this one! The noise, the sight of the stadium rising up, being on the track where so many have achieved legendary status, was pretty special. All around me as I finished, people were holding hands and crossing the finish line with their hands in the air. A random man held his hand up at me, and being from the UK, and used to high-fiving people when seeing a hand in the air, I did that, but he looked at me like I was a complete weirdo, and then I got what he meant. So I crossed the line hand in hand with a stranger, which normally would be a bit weird, but that's what seemed to be completely normal for that moment, and it was pretty special. I did 4.09 which is my fastest in a long time. I haven't run much lately, nothing long anyway, and didn't really have any expectation about what I would be able to do, so am pretty satisfied with that. It wasn't about the time though, I could have done any time at all, because it didn't matter.

I think being at the end was just as good as the run. I spent a few hours in the stadium, sitting on the warm marble steps (it's the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble), soaking in the atmosphere, tracking the people I knew on the marathon app (I got really addicted to it, it gave alerts every 5km, but seemed to be tracking distance in between too, so you could follow runner along on the map). There has been a stadium on the site of the Panathenaic Stadium since 330 BC, and it was refurbished for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. A Greek athlete, Spyros Louis ran the route from Marathon Town to the the Panathenaic Stadium, and won the first marathon gold medal of the modern Olympic Games, and became a legend..... As I sat and watched people finish, I thought, I never want to leave, it's such a special place! The atmosphere, music, commentary, seeing runners and their supporters reactions as they crossed the finish line, is such a privilege to witness.

It was an absolute treat to be able to watch all my friends finish, successfully! So proud of them all! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Athens Marathon, the Authentic Marathon, and easily one of my favourites. I really recommend it, and I hope to come back very soon!

Efcharisto Athens! 

Trick or Treat - a Halloween run in Tottenham

I'm trying to get to Sheffield. So far it's taken 4.5 hours, and I'm not even running there, although I'm starting to suspect that might have been quicker than trying to travel by train during a day of 'adverse weather'. It's the UK for crying out loud, when is the weather NOT adverse??? It's only a bit of wind and rain. Anyway, I'm now on train number 4, I've finished my book, had breakfast, coffee, morning snacks, done my admin, and as I'm highly caffeinated and in a confined space, I thought I should expend some energy writing a blog.

I went to White Hart Lane this week. Not to watch football (no comment there as to if this is a good thing or not, as I will hurt the feelings of some of my friends whichever way I go about that), but for work for a conference. During the stadium tour we went on, I learnt that the stadium cost £1 billion pounds to make. So whatever you think about that fact, you can't deny it is a step up from the basement office in Holloway Road I usually rock up to at 09:00 every morning, next to the recycling centre (tip), before heading out, usually in the rain, pulling a heavy bag of scales with a broken wheel, to catch a number of buses, usually just to miss the first one, and then of course the rest of them, to the far flung corners of Haringey/ Islington. It was much, much, more glamorous than that.

Anyway, I've got distracted. This is meant to be about running. 

So, the conference was for work, and was called Caring For Those Who Care, a conference for Allied Health Professionals and looking after ourselves, which is a new direction to the usual approach of the NHS of driving it's staff into the ground with an excess of work, and a lack of time and resources, I must say. I could say a number of things about that, that it's not actually the NHSs fault etc etc.... but I've got distracted again, and it's Saturday, I'm not meant to be thinking of work.

Running.

Yes.

The reason I mentioned the conference was becuase it had a mindfullness session in it. During this, I learnt a technique to bring you back to the moment, like if you're starting to feel very stressed or anxious by something, and your mind is running away, it can help to bring you back to the moment and break your thought cycle, and feel a bit calmer. Maybe. You start by counting 5 sights you can see. Then listen to 4 sounds you can hear. Then 3 things you touch. 2 scents you can smell. And then 1 flavour you can taste. So in a normal day at work, I'm going to be spending all day counting back from 5. 

Anyway. I thought I'd try it when I was running. Since I started marathons, I have made at least some progress in that I don't really panic now if I feel terrible during a run. When I did my first one, I thought that if I started feeling bad at mile 8, that would be it for the rest of the run, and it was a total disaster and I might as well go e up. But I've learnt that that doesn't usually happen. You will probably have waves of good bits, and bad bits, and then good bits, and bad bits..... So I'm often feeling quite calm in a marathon, but the mindfullness lady said you should practice in a situation you are quite relaxed in, to get used to a technique, so it comes naturally when you're feeling less good and you actually need it.

So I decided to run home from the conference, through Tottenham, on Halloween. This was an error, as running through Tottenham at any time, never mind on Halloween night, is not a relaxing experience. The first 3 miles were along the A10, which at least had plenty of material for number 2 of the technique (but it disturbed me that I was breathing in too many fumes, so I tried not to breath too much, which turned out not to be a brilliant idea for running 3 miles). Slightly hyperventilating, I recognised the gates of Abbey Park cemetery (how appropriate for today!), and remembered the route back home via the back roads I used to run....

How did I make it this far, through such adversity, I hear you ask. Well, maybe you didn't, but I'll tell you anyway. I was practicing my new technique, of course....

5 sights I can see: a vampire, a zombie, someone in fancy dress, a bus, and another bus with the same number (why are there loads of buses when you don't need one)

4 sounds I can hear: a witch cackling, an angry horn blaring, a crow skwarking as it pulls apart an old takeaway box, a creepy guy shouting 'awrihht luv' (yes, fine, thanks for asking) 

3 things I can touch: my bag (it hasn't been stolen), the pelican crossing button which I've pressed 5 times but the lights are still not changing 2 minutes later (like I don't have anything better to do than stand next to the A10 on Halloween), my head (haven't lost it yet, not quite)

2 scents I can smell: only 2? OK. Fumes, obviously. Fried chicken. Mmmmm.

1 flavour I can taste: erm, water, is that a flavour? No? Ha, I found a mint. Mint!

Gosh, I feel so calm. I guess if you can be mindful here, you can do it anywhere. Plus it had a point. I would have normally hated a run like that, but it does make you pay attention to what's going on right now, and even if it wasn't a very beautiful run, and I didn't like a lot of the things I observed in my activity, it was kind of interesting, which was better than hating it. It wasn't really a treat, but I did learn a trick!

Happy Halloween!