Run By Me Marathon - Katie's 100th Marathon, 31.07.2021

 

Back down to the towpath, for a day of celebrations for Katie's 100th Marathon! Massive achievement, and am super proud of you Katie! 💜

The storms and rain seemed to have stopped, finally, in time for the weekend! 

Caught the number 26 bus to Waterloo with Andrew. You can tell lockdown has ended (well, for now, anyway) as at 06:00 East London was full of drunk people and trash, and the police had to be called on to the bus at one point. How glamourous! 

Made it to Waterloo in time for breakfast #2 at Pret. Got the train down to Walton-on-Thames, where we met Dave, and walked the couple of miles to the Weir Pub (AKA, The Start). 

8 laps from the Weir to just past Walton Bridge and back. Love this part of the Thames, and the bit where you come out of the trees and the river widens and you see Walton Bridge reminds me of Sydney Harbour Bridge (well, less big, but none-the-less, it's similar). We almost did a run rain-free, until the last lap, when a monsoon arrived and soaked everything within seconds. Oh, how I wish I had waterproofed my bag and spare kit - alas, I had not! 

So many running friends out running, it was very excellent to have lots of catch ups, catch on on the current affairs, and see people in the flesh! Plus the Rhino (Chris) was running, which is always fun. Saw a dog that looked like a tiny lion, another dog have a fight with a swan, and another dog get frightened by the rhino. Plus, the aid station was back (shrimps and bananas - foam variety!)

But of course, the best part was seeing Katie's 100 MC presentation at the end. Total magic!

Then, to the pub! Food, celebratory drinks (including Baileys) and more monsoons!

And well done to Andrew on your ultra marathon - back in the game!

Andrew, Dave, Craig and I got caught in 2 x more monsoons on the walk back to the station (so got a bonus trip inside Pets at Home, seeking shelter), but no amount of rain could put a dampener on today! 

Surrey Tops, 53 miles - 25.07.2021

Tara and I were planning on a fairly impromptu "Luxury Spa 50 Miles Girls Weekend". There isn't a whole lot of luxury involved in running 50 miles it must be said, but it started and finished in Guildford, which has a plethora of spa choices (as in the relaxation type of spa, not the shop), so our plan was to run 50 miles on Sunday, and have a spa day on Monday.

Buoyed by the thought of a day of relaxation and indulgence on Monday, we ignored the weather forecast/ weather warnings for Sunday, and collected ourselves (together with honorary girl Andrew) at Guildford train station ready to start at 09:30. The day so far looked promising; no rain and it was even quite warm. The weather forecast must be wrong after all, and we were in for a sunny day of running!

We ran out of Guildford to pick up the start of the route at the postbox on the Pilgrims Way and started off in a clockwise direction in a big 50 mile loop. 

The first 8 miles or so were along the North Downs Way. A couple of miles in we reached the top of St Martha's...

Then it was along to Newlands Corner, for some nice views...

Next up was the long straight stretch through the woods which always seems to go on for ages and where we played "In my rucksack on the Luxury Girl's Scottish 100 I have..." game, in which we got up to a record of 19 items, and included (should you be interested) a tutu, an empty bottle of whiskey, a full bottle of whiskey, a unicorn, Tom Jones, a pan-fried vegetarian haggis, and a marble (amongst other essential items).

After 11 miles we made it to the first checkpoint at the church in Abinger, but not before our first encounter with the wild, tropical, jungle which Surrey seemed to have turned into during the last few weeks of alternating hot and rainy weather. We sat pensively in the churchyard for a few minutes, bemoaning our scratched and stung legs. When that didn't seem to help them any, we got back up, and embarked on a hilly section, taking in Holmbury Hill (unintentionally running over the finish line of a 1/2 marathon going on at The Duke of Kent School), up Pitch Hill, and down to Jelley's Hollow. The sky was starting to turn quite dramatically dark, but by a charitable turn of fate, we made it under a shelter at the next checkpoint (21 miles, at Smithbrook Kilns) approximately 10 seconds before the sky opened wide, and dumped it's entire contents out directly overhead. It felt a little bit like walking in to a mirage; there was a cafe table and chairs set up underneath the canopy, and we ate cake (cinnamon bun muffins) and watched the rain for a while, accompanied by a few theatrical claps of thunder.

In a few minutes, the worst of it eased off, and we set off in a gentle downpour, which continued for the next 20 miles or so. It was rather like running in a rainforest for the rest of it - wet, hot, muggy, muddy, and all the giant plants of the Surrey Jungle were now soaking and extra stingy and scratchy. But no matter! This provided plenty of material for a good moan, which is a great way to pass the miles, and make you feel much better. We even devised a new points system; a system of rewards based not only on the length of a run (1 standard point per mile), but also takes into account:

- The weather conditions (1 extra point for each mile run in the rain, 1 extra point for each degree below 10oC)

- The underfoot conditions (the points system for measuring bog depth, bog temperature etc is still in progress)

- Botanical injuries (1 extra point for each injury obtained from a plant

- Animal attacks (1 extra point for each midge bite - probably there will be larger points prizes available for other type of animal attacks, but we only saw a frog, a deer, a red kite and a fox, and none launched an attack, this time).

At 30 miles we made it to Whitley, where Andrew left to catch the train home, and Tara and I continued on to tackle Gibbet Hill and the Devil's Punchbowl, where we had a checkpoint under the eaves of the cafe and watched the rain. 

The views of from the top of the Punchbowl were beautiful, if you like looking at the inside of clouds, but it is nice that bit of the route anyway, as it's a long and slightly downhill section, so we cheered up a bit. Not too long after that, the rain started to ease off, and it started to look very beautiful, in a delicate, melancholy kind of way, the evening light touching the mist around the pine trees, and flashes of purple heather like jewels beneath it. From there, we ran along Kettlebury Hill and on to Elstead, where I took some photos for evidence that firstly, this is what summer in Surrey looks like....

...and that secondly, despite this, the sun still existed, deep behind the clouds.....

In Elstead, there was almost a disaster, as the trusty village shop which AWLAYS seems to be open, was shut, but we still had enough bits and pieces of snacks to get us through the last 8 or 9 miles.

Then it was on to Puttenham Common, Puttenham Village, and then the last part back into Guildford just as the light faded...

....but we made it back without headtorches! 53 miles, about 6,000ft of ascent, in 12:30 hours = good training and great fun!

The next day, there seemed to be quite a Covid backlog in all the spas - I guess they've been shut for a year or so really, so that's a lot of luxury and relaxation to catch up on. But, we compromised with shopping and ice cream - to spend some of our points from yesterday, which we somehow (and don't ask to see the working out) made out to be 203 points each. 

Friday Night 11 Mile Elephant Run/Walk Adventure

 

The week of Lockdown Relaxation is here, races have been back on for a bit, and I'm looking forward to getting back to doing some in the next few weeks. But you know what I really miss about Lockdown? Planning running adventures in the City! The Monopoly, Cludeo, Postbox, Agatha Christie and Lockdown Frolic Runs were such adventures, searching for all manner of new things and places. I miss them, and the sense of secret searching that went with them!

So, on Friday evening, after an "interesting" week at work, I ran down from Holloway to St Pauls to meet Andrew in Paternoster Square. The Elephant Run was inspired by the Elephant Family/Elephant Collective exhibition which has been on for a few weeks, and quite a few people I know have been now. Yesterday was it's last day, before the elephants move on with their journey. It is to raise awareness of the impact humans have on the environment the animals live in.

But first, I knew of an extra elephant on Warwick Street near St Pauls. This is a sad part of the history of elephants - the symbol of The Worshipful Company of Cutlers includes two elephants, which is thought to relate to the ivory that was used to make the handles of expensive swords and knives)...

From here, we ran along to the Mall. Wasn't sure exactly which park the elephants were in, so ran through St James' Park first. No elephants, but found a pelican!

Then it was on to Green Park, where we found three herds! 

Wonderful! We walked back through the City, spotting an elephant made from snooker table topping on the way...

Before a quick trip to of of my favourite Spitalfields bronze elephants....

And the tusk was completed! 

Centaur 100 Miles, with Phoenix Running, 19.06.2021

Well, that was a fun weekend! Phoenix Running had a big event on at Denbies Wine Estate - 24 hours to do a half marathon, marathon, the Minotaur 50 miles, Centaur 100 miles, or the P12 and P24 (where runners run a mile on the hour, every hour). It was also Sarah's 200th Marathon! 

I originally had entered the 50 miler, and thought I would go along and see how it went. In the end, it was going well, and I was running with Sarah (Princess Twin), so we carried on to see how far we could get, and ended up doing the Centaur 100 miles. I never ever thought that I would manage that, so am still in shock!

The course was just one mile long, around the triangle shaped field and the bottom part of Denbies estate. It was pretty flat and grassy underfoot, so nice to run on. Not even too muddy after all the rain of recent days! Lots of people were there, and with the loop being so little, it was fabulous to catch up with so many people over the day. Felt quite like a festival! Especially with all the tents pitched up at base camp!

I wasn't sure what it would be like to run so many laps of such a small lap. In the end, I really enjoyed it. It was great to be able to see everyone so much, and as the laps went on, we got into a rhythm of which bits we ran and which bits we "marched", and learnt the landmarks on the way round, such as Princess Avenue, Treacherous Puddle, Favourite Puddle, and Grinch Tree. Each lap went by very quickly! Plus, our little aid station (which was actually very big and had quite a party going on during the first day, with a few of us based there, and families dropping by throughout the day) was only ever a mile away.

(that's beer in the bottle, I think, not wee)

Special thanks to my friend Tara for coming by and supplying home made tea loaf (made with whiskey tea) with lemon icing, fresh cherries, support, laughs, and a few laps of company too. Tara had been doing her own 31 miler from Denbies on an LDWA route (one we did a lot during Covid-times), and had run her own personal PB on the course today, as she was worried we would need cake and supplies, so was rushing back to make sure we were OK - thanks Tara! And thanks for my unicorn cake decorations!

Some photos from the course....I do love Denbies!

Mmmm...vines (was very proud of us that we spent a whole weekend at a wine estate, and didn't consume even one drop of wine, although I think there was quite a bit of rum in Sarah's 200th delicious chocolate torts - felt a lot better after one of those!).

Box Hill!

The Grinch Tree

Minotaurs? Or concrete cows?

We were very lucky with the weather. Judging by the forecast, it looked like we were in for a complete and continuous drenching for a lot of the time, but although there was some rain at times, it wasn't too bad at all. Most of it was overnight, and because it was all sparkly in our headtorches, Sarah and me called it glitter instead, which made it seem better. 

Wildlife spottings, although a bit scarce, included a tiny field mouse, a bat, birds singing the dawn chorus (which was helpful in determining the time, as it was so cloudy that actual dawn didn't really look much different to night time), killer moths, and two slugs. A unicorn was also spotted (around about the time of the fancy dress mile). 

Luxury loos were aplenty, which is quite unusual on a 100. Especially exciting was that overnight, we got to use the spa loos at Denbies, so technically, we got to visit a spa during a 100!

Thank you Rik, all the marshals, and Timing Monkey for a brilliant event. I loved it very much and I want to do it again already! And absolutely huge congratulations to everyone who ran - you are all brilliant and did amazing - thank you for everyone's company and support on the way around! And thank you everyone who gave me lifts (Vix, Jon, Tara) at different points of the journey there/back!

And, of course, thank you Sarah! I always have so much fun when I run with you. Apart from sore feet, the only other parts of me that really hurt are my throat and my cheeks, from talking and laughing so much for 22 and a bit hours. Thank you for sharing your 200th with me, and for getting me through my wobble. One day, I hope I will be as cool, calm, glamourous and talented as you are at doing things like this...maybe by my 200th I might have managed to improve a little bit! Congratulions my Princess Twin!  

LDWA 100 mile virtual (SDW 100) - 29.05.2021

Normally, the end May Bank Holiday weekend is the annual LDWA 100 miler. Last year it was cancelled due to Covid and postponed to this year, but in in end it couldn't go ahead this year either with all the Covid uncertainties and restrictions. So they made it into a "virtual weekend" where you could do your own 100 miler instead, and submit your evidence to get it checked for your finishing certificate and badge. 

So, I ran one with my running buddy Alan, starting at Eastbourne train station and running along the South Downs Way to Winchester. Andrew brought the car, and drove around doing checkpoints and looking after us - thank you, Andrew!!

After what feels like the longest winter on record, the day before the run the temperature suddenly increased by about 15 degrees - I don't normally complain about the heat, but it was a bit of a shock!

After a small navigational mishap on leaving Eastbourne train station, we started off running well, and were aiming for finishing in 24 hours. 

Running the first part along the Severn Sisters in full Saturday lunch time sunshine was beautiful, and even more magic after months locked in a city! Miles of views all around! Freedom!!! 

Met Andrew after 9 miles or so, at the Severn Sisters Visitor Centre for the first checkpoint, then on along the trails past the Litlington White Horse to Alfriston.

Was struggling a bit in the heat, but proud I managed to deal with the beginnings of a migraine and stop it from ruining my run! About 26 miles Andrew met us for another checkpoint at Housedean Farm, and I was feeling better enough by then to have some food and Coke, and from then on, I solved the pain and nausea, and could eat and drink for the rest of the run, no problems.

At Ditchiling Beacon, we found an ice cream van! 

Other nutritional delights discovered on this run was cold water mixed with a tiny bit of coffee and sugar (AKA - beer water)...

Dusk was beginning to set in.

But luckily, we made it past Chanctonbury Ring just before dark (Chantonbury Ring has some of my favourite ghost stories, which always seem entertaining and quite fun, until you happen to find yourself in the very place in the dead of night, with no one else around). My favourite story is that if you run around the ring of trees in an anti-clockwise direction, 7 times, the Devil will appear and offer you soup/porridge/milk (I guess depending on what's available in the fridge in hell, where space is probably in demand, with it being so fiery and hot down there). If you accept, he will take your soul!! There was actually quite a lot of people around given the time of day and the location, someone sat by the trees, a cyclist, a walker, and us. No Devil though.

Alan was battling very bad gastro issues from the afternoon. He was a total trooper, literally putting up with basically everything going wrong and must have been feeling absolutely #*%! I think! But he just kept going and going, dealing with problem after problem and never even considering giving up. If it had been me, I don't think I could have stuck with it.

There was another race (actually, a couple!) going on over the weekend, and the  "Since 1664 Royal Marines Charity Yomp" was on (the same route, in the other direction). So it was fun running into others yomping through the darkness! At just over 50 miles we met Andrew for the night time checkpoint, and from here, Alan and I continued to Amberley.

And on through the night.

To Cocking to meet Andrew again at about 65 miles.  Alan was really ill by this point, so we had an extended checkpoint so he could recover a bit, and I even had my first power nap on a run, which felt very luxurious! From here, we adjusted our pace and mostly walked the rest of the route. Very lovely to see the dawn!

Then it turned quite misty!

Found a dalmation horse!

Just before the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, we got photo bombed.

The morning light in the forest in the park was stunning!

Then it was up Hillhampton Down (which isn't down, going this way).

 It was turning in to a beautiful morning!

We had to take selfies along the way for evidence, and almost got into an altercation with the owner of Coombe Cross House, who I think thought we were up to mischief taking photos of his country pile!

Then it was up over Old Winchester Hill, which is the most ridiculous name, as it is absolutely no where near Winchester whatsoever.

We met Andrew for a checkpoint at Exton, lovely and nice to sit in the shadows of a stone wall by the Church as the day was heating up again.

From here, we met Andrew one last time at Beauworth, before heading off on the final stretch to Winchester.

We stopped at Holden Farm to fill up our water bottles. The owner was in a barn by the tap, polishing a 1958 red tractor. He was the loveliest man, insisting that I pour out the old warm water from my bottle and filling it with cold water from the tap, as it was so hot. Top man!

From here, it was just a hop, skip and a jump (well, 10km) to the finish in Winchester! 

It was not the easiest 100! And I am in awe of Alan for sticking with it despite all the troubles! I really learnt a lot from him, about sticking with things when the going is tough! And thank you Andrew for all your support! We finished in 31:13, in time for Pizza Express tea in Winchester!