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Yikes it’s been a busy weekend. That GDH inbox was like coming back to your emails after you’ve had a week off work…! But much more enjoyable J and not just cos rather than making myself a strong coffee to cope, it’s Sunday and it’s the afternoon so I poured myself a drink!
Pretty sure most of the weekends racing took place on by far the best day of the weekend! (sorry to those of who you had to brave Storm Hannah but extra points all round!)
Thanks to everyone who sent in reports/pics this week – they are in no particular order, other than the first one. Think you’ll agree it’s fair enough to start with the London Marathoners featuring Steve Page who was running with the club’s place.
London Marathon 2019
Ah London – what do you do to us! Fair to say we probably weren’t the only ones glued to the telly at various points throughout the morning/afternoon watching the masses take in the sights of London, and admiring the elites blasting round in insanely impressive times. Gotta say, not sure about you, but my favourite bit had to be watching the person trying to break the record dressed as Big Ben running 26.2 miles no bother but getting scuppered getting under the finish gantry and having to be wrestled through by a marshal 😉
Anyway – here’s what Steve Page had to say:
“I’d love to be able to write
this report and say I enjoyed the race I ran. I set off at a comfortable pace
and for 14/15 miles felt reasonably confident I’d hit my target goals of
hitting 20 miles at 2:15ish. That went out of the window after I committed the
cardinal sin of eating a gel that I hadn’t trained with. It sat uncomfortable
with me and after that my head went, shortly followed by my legs and lots of
walking. On the plus side, my sweet tooth was attended to and I got to actually
enjoy the sights of the last ten miles of the marathon.
I was an emotional wreck at the end of the race. I thought I’d let people down,
the club etc, but that was quickly snapped out of me from a great message from
Crossman post race. Thanks also to Steve, Jeroen and anyone else who’s helped
support me on my training runs. Sorry for boring you to death with marathon
talk!
Would I run London again? Absolutely.”
Reckon we will all agree that you definitely did not let anyone down Steve, and everyone is impressed! 3h 20 is a mighty good time and one that most would, and should, be proud of! Now have a beer, a takeout pizza, a good night’s kip and we’ll see you at club night later this week 😉
Big shout out must also go to Kaylea running under another coloured vest (horror!) who shot round in 4h 10 and Bartek Verde who made sure he was in well under the 4h mark in 3h 56. Great running you both, hope you had a great day out! (thanks Coach J for the FB results!) Oh and a quick peruse again at Strava shows Paul Drury got a 16 min PB finishing in 4h 41!! That’s some going!
Mourne Highline
Saturday saw Mark and Immy braving the worst of the UK weather…over in Ireland. Hope you didn’t go over in a turbo prop plane….gulp.
This came in from Immy:
“I ran the Mourne Highline race today. Unfortunately due to it blowing a massive hoolie (sp?), the route was quite dramatically altered and it ended up as an out and back route of Slieve Commedagh, which I was a bit gutted about as I had really psyched myself up for the actual route. However, when half way up the valley I could barely stand up in the wind I accepted that perhaps it was for the best. Even though I was feeling pretty good, at one point I was genuinely concerned that I was going to have to retire due to complete inability to make forward progress into the headwind. I did eventually make it to the top however, thanks to a wee boost from the lovely Claire Aspinall of Pennine. An extremely strong tailwind on a steeply descending rocky track made things pretty exciting on the way down. I made up a few places on the descent and through the forest tracks on the way back into Donard Park. I finished 155th overall, 24th Female. I also managed not to brake any bones when I decided to do a bit of bodysurfing in my waterproofs down a muddy slope, so I’m counting that as an achievement”
Sounds, erm….character building…! Good work guys! And glad to see that Strava indicates you got better weather on Sunday and managed to get out and do the route today instead?!
Derwent Dawdle
Thanks to Kate Bowdon for sending in this report of the Derwent Dawdle – which sounds great!!
“Derwent Water Dawdle: Ascend
Events
23ish miles, 4,300ft, 6:10ish hours (results pending)
The clue is in the name! This has to be the friendliest and most laid back
event ever. Interesting conversations, fabulous and varied route, spectacular
skies, great food (lots of before,during, and after). Conditions were
challenging and varied in the sky and on the ground, but the weather was much
better than expected. Loved it and looking forward to the Four Passes in
September. Highly recommend these events. Oh and quite cheap!”
Roses (no don’t get excited, not the chocolates…..the race)
Paul Peters sent in this report…once he’d finished following you lot at London…
“Sorry to say it’s another race that wasn’t for the mighty GDH but such is the life at uni… For those who don’t know, Roses is a big annual showdown across all sports between Lancaster and York Uni. Yesterday, the running clubs kicked off proceedings a week early with a 5 (and a bit)km cross-country course. Despite what Jeroen says I still think Cross-Country can be a team sport, and York proved so, giving us a lesson in race tactics. I found myself in a large lead pack of 6 lads (3 from each uni) for the first 2 miles, but then some of the York lads pulled some sneaky tactics, tricking us into thinking they were kicking away early and wasting my kick. When they finally did kick for real I didn’t have the legs to stay with them anymore, and they bagged a York 1,2,3 finish, leaving me to mop up 4th (and first Lancastrian).
Still a lot to learn for racing, besides the old “go all out the whole race” tactic, but a really enjoyable race regardless. Needless to say next year I’ll be back with a point to prove”
Nice one Paul – think there’s a few of us that do the old go all out the whole race thing! What other ways are there?!
Kinder Downfall
When a race is on your doorstep, it’s perhaps unsurprising when a load of you turn out for it!
Big thanks for Els Swan for sending in this report
“There was a sizeable GDH presence in Hayfield this morning for the classic fell race that is the Kinder Downfall – Paul Skuse, Will Mather, Luke Holme, Jason Hart, Michael Raynor, Ian Oates, Jo Brack, Mary Jeal and Elanor Swan. Apologies if I have missed anyone. There were also a number of GDHrs running in their away kits including Frank Fielding, Stevie Knowles and Caitlin Rice. This is a great local fell race, 10 miles of mainly rocky up, across and down, taking in some of the most iconic (and admittedly most busy) bits of Kinder. The conditions were great for running today and the race was as challenging as always, especially the section where I am sure they have added several miles in between the caravan park and the finish.
There were some great performances from Team GDH and friends. The results are not up yet however Paul was the first GDHr home followed by Will, the quickest man with matching shorts and shoes, and Luke who ran speedily all in the right direction. Ian demonstrated yet again that training may be overrated, popping out of his latest bout of fell running retirement to clock up a time only 8 mins slower than his hard earned 2014 time, Jason said it was his best and most fun fell race ever and Els took just over a minute off her 2018 time. Mary and Jo also seemed to have had good races and probably got age grade placings…they usually do. Caitlin was first woman, racking up yet another PB in the process (1:21 ish) and Stevie Knowles was 10th overall after an almost photo finish.
Unfortunately Michael tripped early in the race making it up to the top of William Clough (and medical attention) with some impressively bloodied knees – hopefully he has now been expertly patched up and will be out racing again soon.”
If you were wanting to know the times, well….you are in luck….because carrier pigeon just arrived, (it got lost en route)…this means only one thing, a report from Luke Holme…
“Several GDH runners and a few others who are part of the club wearing the Belgium kit turned up for the race of year (far more exciting than the London marathon Sir Mo).
Before the race Skusey seemed undecided whether he would be too hot or cold and decided to take advice of Will ‘Gok Wan’ Mather and wear just a shirt, then paraded the start line searching for early Strava segments (or they could have been warming up, I wasn’t that sure).
The race started with the bottlenecked crowd dispersing out hayfield towards William Clough and up onto kinder.
At the top followed line towards the trig before turning and dropping down towards Edale Cross. As I was descending from Edale Cross ‘Frank Fielding’ opted to do so some friendly rivalry and elbow me in the back to speed up (think I was deciding what to order from the chippy at this point but certainly woke me up). From Edale cross the race headed back towards Hayfield for a sprint finish.
I’ve had to do some Strava stalking but here are all the times. Elanor Swan and Mary Jeal also represented GDH but I couldn’t find your times (sorry and to anyone else I have missed out). Really good times from everyone and well done all.
Paul Skuse 1:28
Pete Daly 1:32
Will Mather 1:35
Frank Fielding 1:39
Luke Holme 1:40
Ian Oates 1:44
Jason Hart 1:55
Joanne Brack 1.55
Wow what can we say?! That is some incredible running by you all!! Big thumbs up. That doesn’t sound like an easy one. Pretty sure places sell out fast for this, so if it sounds like your cuppa tea and you fancy a go next year keep your eyes peeled when entries open and get in quick! Thanks Els and Luke for this – saved me strava stalking! And as this goes out, the actual results are up -check FB page for the link!
Trust 10 – Lyme Park
After being on FB for all the wrong reasons recently, it is nice to read something good about Lyme Park today! Big thanks to John Pollard for sending this in:
“a brief word about a run I did
this Sunday morning, as if you weren’t aware of it it may appeal to someone in
future.
It’s at Lyme Park every last Sunday morning of the month, where Trust
volunteers facilitate a 10k trail route around the park. It’s not a race,
there’s no numbers, no times kept, but it’s marked, marshalled, and it’s free.
It’s a nice route with some climbs (about 330m) up to the Bow Stones and cage
and wall so not too easy but a pleasant outing you can run with no pressure!”
Sounds pretty good that – and there’s a café so what more could you want, a run followed by some cake?! Maybe that’s just me…
Longhorn Marathon
Ah Marie Williamson – do you ever stop!? Or run short distances?! I feel tired just reading this!!!
“As a London ballot reject, I
went along to run the Longhorn marathon today.
Marathon number 53 for me, & my 6th this year.
The event takes place at Thoresby park & has lots going on. There are races
from 5km up to 60km, along with some canicross & Nordic walking. The marathon
route is 4 laps along tarmac & trail. Through woods & past a herd of
longhorn cattle (in a field…phew!) The weather was much better for running
this year. Last year was way too hot & I felt quite ill for a lot of it.
I set off with the plan to take it easy. It took me 2 laps to settle into it
properly and lap 3 was lovely. Soon after beginning lap 4, I started feeling
tired, but strangely strong, legs. I did quite a lot of breath counting to keep
out any negativity & lots of runners were passing me. Turns out they
were half marathoners who had set off at a later time!
I think I managed to pace quite well, completing each lap in about 1hr 5mins,
with a total run time of 4:21:40. Slightly faster than I’d anticipated but
didn’t push too hard & felt, mostly, comfortable.
Taper now begins. Brathay 10in10 is my next challenge…which starts in just 12
days!!”
Congrats on a fab time, especially on a lapped course which I reckon is much harder! Anyone for the cani X next year?!
Spring Series 3- Tideswell trail
Unsurprisingly I (Lucy) did the final race of the Dark and White Spring Series today down in the lovely Tideswell. No Pete W to be seen this series…something about a wedding??
Nearly 10 miles of trail heaven – bit of Monsal Trail, ran through a disused railway tunnel, Wye Nature Reserve, and through fields, along rivers, some country lanes and trail paths. I love the White Peak and this didn’t disappoint!
If you are more a roadie than a trail/fell runner but want to try out some trails I can recommend these – relaxed, friendly and good snacks at the end! Plus they start off in waves every 10 minutes which I like as feels less nerve wracking standing on the start line – just feels like you’re out for a Sunday run!
Yorkshire 3 Peaks
So no report in for this one, but I’ve got it on good authority that Chris J, Jamie H, and James K were off doing this despite sporting dodgy ankles, dodgy bellies, dodgy legs and goodness knows what other excuses they could pull out the bag 😉
This is no mean feat, its 38ish km with 1500m elevation.
Happily I *think* they all made it back (not necessarily in one piece) – I won’t go as far as to say they had a good day out, but hey – not everyone’s a winner and that’s some pretty gnarly running with the best of the fell running community!
Glossop Aquathlon
Rosa C-L came in first lady at this which is pretty impressive! All I know, it involves a swim and then I reckon a 5km run. This was definitely right though, the weather was MING so anyone running out in that yesterday deserves a medal! Even if they had got wet in the pool beforehand!
Saddleworth Tri
Nick Lord was off doing his tri-thing this weekend – but sadly not feeling on top form…never good…
That didn’t stop him though, and he ploughed on through a 400m swim, 20km bike and 5km run, to finish! I can’t find the 2019 results and have no mental maths ability to add up the different Strava times – but you can bet it was pretty blooming quick despite not feeling 100%!
Parkrun
Tis the end of the holidays and still seems like a fair few people engaging in some Parkrun tourism!
Here’s the consolidated club report.
Other stuff happening
Old County Tops Recce – thanks Zoe B for this:
| It’s not racing but a recce of the old county tops race was done on Friday by Lins , Els, Matt, Caity and I. One or more of those people may be actually racing but I shall protect the innocent by not revealing who. We set off from Langdale and were soon enveloped by the Lakes’ finest weather. Some top class navigation brought us to the part of the race route we wanted to check out. The weather got feistier as we got nearer to Scafell Pike and Caity and Matt chose to return to base and recce some tea rooms in Ambleside. Els, Lins and I had a bit of an epic getting to the summit, finally returning back for brews and drying off in the mid afternoon. A character building, full kit deploying, run ..! Picture is blurred by weather! |
Lakes fun
Lynne, Andrea, Charm, Kate and maybe others were off for a weekend of fun in the lakes which may or may not have involved running, walking, drinking, laughing, eating, taking selfies and a load of other stuff! See, GDH aint all about the running!
Well nearly 3000 words later, I *think* that might nearly be it, but sorry if you did something that we’ve missed, but it’s been a busy old weekend and strava has a habit of not putting stuff in any useful order! But a reminder – send us an email if you want a mention!
What’s on this week?
More Tuesday night speed sesh antics, watch for the Tues lunchtime update from Coach J on what *fun* lies in store…
More mid week racing shenanigans no doubt cos it’s that time of year – so look out on the GDH page to see what your GDH pals are up to. You can bet your bottom dollar Pete W will be racing!
Oooo and I saw a sign for the Cressbrook Crawl fell race on the 11th (or was it 12th May?) today – no idea whether it’s any good but it’s in a nice part of the Peaks soooo guessing it must be! Ciao for now – it’s time to put those feet up.