Blog Posts

Part of the annual Sandwell Show, this was the inaugural running of this event which was organised by the Sandwell Ramblers. For the less certain amongst the participants there was also a shorter option of 15miles.

After a restless nights sleep I made my way to Sandwell, a metropolitan borough in the West Mids consisting of Six Towns; Oldbury, Rowley Regis (Blackheath), Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury, West Brom.

Confusingly on Wikkipedia, there appear to be another Two Towns; Tividale and Cradley Heath ..... ?

Anyway, not that it matters for what we saw of them amounted to a few housing estates in what was a surprisingly rural and scenic course which made extensive use of the canal network.

One of the highlights of the course was the world famous Netherton Canal Tunnel (the last & widest canal tunnel to be built between 1865 & 1868 at a cost of £200K. It is 1.75miles long and 9 men were killed and 18 seriously injured during the course of it's construction).

Here are some pictures of the journey through it ......

A very eerie experience, which makes you feel very sorry for the poor Chilean miners.

As with most canal walks there were quite few industrial heritage buildings to investigate, such as Cobbs Engine House.

Quite a few pretty little canal bridges:-

Some pretty parks and walking areas that had been reclaimed from former industrial sites:-

Stunning views over the West Mids towards Birmingham:-

Some very unexpected canal bridges, over the West Mids.

In particular, these two over the M6, which I didn't know existed:-

The remains of Sandwell Priory:-

And then back to the finish in 8hrs 46mins for a very friendly welcome.

The organisers & marshals were excellent throughout, even when dealing with people who were so obviously ill prepared for such a long distance.

They managed to put together an interesting and varied course packed full of history (complete with an interesting little fact sheet), and some surprising scenery.

All for a fiver !

Something that many big events cannot do.

Well worth a trip next year.

Tags:

Post Views: 96

...... to have next years race diary planned out already ?

As I have had a free weekend, from organised events anyway, I thought I'd do a bit of planning for next year.

I know it's only August, but the cold hard winds of recession are blowing throughout the land. Thanks to the profligacy of the Bust & Bust Labour years, next year will be a little closer to home.

So, over the past few weeks I have been giving some thought on how to cut down on race entries (total of 49 this year, but that does include some no-shows), and increase the training a bit more.

Yesterday I went for a training run, a couple of Running Club colleagues were doing 30miles as training for the Bullock Smithy and as a replacement for the cancelled Edge Challenge.

Not feeling up to such a distance, I opted to join them for the Ironbridge leg of the journey.

This was a 12mile route from Telford Town Park down the Silkin Way to Ironbridge and back again.

It was brilliant, in spite of the rain, having no pressure or other competitors to contend with.

So onto the plans for next year ......

Being a subscriber to both Country Walking & Trail Magazines, I have access to a large database of walking routes (see Below):-

The website has literally hundreds to download free for subscribers. I also have paper copies going back many years (back to 2002 I think), for the Shrops, Staffs & Derbys areas.

So the plan is to saddle up the backpack on a Saturday, and head off into the hills for runs of up to 8 miles (If I enjoy it, I can always go round again) as training, to try and beat the pavement blues.

And for the events that I do enter, to try and aim for as many local events as possible.

However, this would still leave me with approx 31 local events !!

And that doesn't include the 4 or 5 marathons that are planned (Anglesey, Chester, Liverpool, White Peak Walk and Cotswolds).

Looking forward to it already.

Happy Planning Folks.

Tags:

Post Views: 122

Morning Folks,

Had I been a little less of a delusional marathon obsessed psychopath, today would see me celebrating the end of my 10 in 10 Marathon Challenge.

Yesterday's Elsecar Skelter walk, would have seen me achieve the magical 10 Marathon Distances for 2010, allow me to relax and enjoy the rest of the year.

But in a moment of madness I'd decided that 20in10 had a better ring to it than 10in10.

When time travel is invented I'm going to go back to 2009 and give myself a big slap, show me my sore feet and blisters, kick myself roundly in the bollocks, and make me swear on my prized collection of Runners World Magazine (dating back to 2005), that I would not be so stupid as to attempt 20 Marathons in 2010.

Anyway, as time travel is not yet possible here is the report:-

Elsecar Skelter - 27mile LDWA Walk.

I stayed at the Meadowhall Travelodge for this one, however, could I find the damned thing ?

Situated as it was, on an island hidden away from public view.

And then Craig from room 113 and his young lady friend came it at 3:48am and promptly kept me awake.

At this point I'd already been awake since 1:50am.

So it was with bleary eyes that I made my way to the small South Yorkshire village of Elsecar for this event.

Organised by the Vermuyden Group (named after the Dutch Civil Engineer; Cornelius Vermuyden), this was a friendly event where a lot of people were on first name terms with the organiser, and the checkpoints offered plentiful snacks and drinks.

The route took in Wentworth Woodhouse, Wentworth Village, Wharncliffe Crags, Wortley Hall and Tankersley Old Hall (where scenes from the film "Kes" where shot), and although less dramatic than the White Peak area still offered some stunning views.

The above architectural oddity is The Needle's Eye at Wentworth, built sometime between 1730 & 1745. Legend has it that the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham built it to win a bet that he could drive a galloping coach and horses; "through the eye of a needle"

The weather was also undecided. One minute heavy showers and overcast skies, the next glorious sunshine. In the event, I wore my heavy waterproof jacket for 21miles.

Having been soaked through wearing my showerproof jacked at the Poppyline walk in June, I wanted to take no chances.

However, the jacket acted as a sauna and I probably lost a couple of pounds through sweat.

Still at least I was dry on the outside, eh? 

We also went through the grounds of Wentworth Hall, which has the distinction of having the largest frontage of any stately home in the UK.

And then to the first checkpoint, complete with 'Meg' the Collie.

At the Valley & Views event, in April, I'd bumped into a couple of walkers from Lincoln who kept me couple for the portion of the route that we were together on (they were doing a shorter distance that day).

Today I heard a voice behind me calling my name, it was the same couple (along with their friend), we then kept each other company for the whole route today, and they proved to be very pleasant companions for the 9hrs we spent together.

The countryside comprised of quite a few fields and woods, but also kept throwing up interesting little nuggets such as a house with a reclamation yard on it's land:-

The heavy rain from the night, (and week) before had left the ground saturated in places which made it very heavy going, but we were rewarded with some stunning views.

These are towards Rotherham:-

Further on, we reached the rocky escarpment of Dragon's Den:-

The heavy rain & mud did mean I spent a fair portion of the walk watching the ground, being careful not to slip, and unfortunately failing, as on three occasions I lost my footing.

Once on a wooden bridge, with a 3 foot drop to the stream below, I landed heavily on my left knee and nearly fell off.

I amazed myself by managing to contain the stream of "f*cking" expletives that were about to escape my lips !

And towards the end of the walk I slipped, and put my foot down a couple of holes in a field and jarred my back quite badly, which has left it sore today.

However, the best was yet to come, in terms of food with the checkpoint at Wortley Hall offering some fantastic cakes:-

It was also bliss, at this point (approx 21miles) to change my sodden T'shirt and socks for a fresh pair.

Note to any walkers or runners; always carry a spare pair in your rucksack. The psychological uplifting feeling of clean dry socks helps you immensely for the final slog back to the finish.

And slog it was, as the fields and woods closed in around us:-

And finally we emerged in Elsecar Village Park, with it's pretty Bandstand, and the finish less than 200m away.

Finish time was 9hrs 11mins, which was quite good considering the time spent chatting at various checkpoints.

Overall a tough event, that I would not have like to have run, (there were quite a few that undertook this challenge), but was excellent and friendly and well worth the very modest £7.50 entry fee.

All in all, highly recommended for veterans and novices alike (there were also 20 or 15 mile route options).

Unfortunately, next weeks 'Edge Challenge' event has been cancelled due to low numbers of participants.

The following statement was posted on the website; "We apologise but with only 12 preregistrations with 7 days to go we cannot run the event".

Which is a damned shame as the organisers will have worked damn hard on the event, and it has come to naught.

This does leave me in the unenviable position of being an event short, with limited time available to find a replacement, and indeed pay for it.

However, one of my running clubmates is on about organising a replacement event, under the 100 Marathon Club Rules (which means it will be an official event), in Telford next weekend.

The entry fee is a whpping £0, so I don't know if I will be able to afford it, but I'll keep you posted.

Happy weekend folks.

Tags:

Post Views: 202

Hello Folks,

Dilly here again ......

Just to let you know, that despite dogs BEING allowed on this event, my evil Dad didn't drag me up to the Peak District at the weekend.

Neither did he make me register at Hartington Village Hall, before the 9am start.

Nor was I forced to be dragged around, looking at some stunning views on the way:-

I didn't get to see the village of Longnor, nor the marshy hinterland to the south of it:-

I missed out on experiencing my lungs popping out of my chest, at the top of the Ecton Hills:-

There were also a number of stunning views which I didn't get to witness:-

Apparently there was some gallows humour present at the checkpoints, which I also missed:-

The stunning Milldale didn't feature in my Sunday afternoon stroll, either:-

I decided to give the finish a miss as well:-

Instead I stayed at home to relax:-

In short my Dad completed his 9th Marathon of the year; fecking show off !!

As it was a walking one, he traipsed round in a pathetic 9hrs 9mins completely knackered and with feet like an Iraqi Athletes.

He only has another 5 events to go over the next 5 weekends (4 walks and then the Wolverhampton Marathon), and a further 6 to complete his 2010 challenge.

"Wimp", I say !

It's not as if he's chasing a cuddly toy around the garden, now is it ?

Until the next time, happy havoc folks.

Dilly.

Tags:

Post Views: 217

Having resolved to try and include Mrs. Repairman in some of my exploits, this was one of the shorter walks of the year. Designed in part to prevent divorce, and encourage the facilitation of a nice slap up feast on Sunday (i.e. a cooked breakfast !!).

This was a 'short' walk of 15miles (or 25 if you fancied more of a strenuous outing) starting from the South Shropshire town of Ludlow, described by John Betjeman as, "The most perfect town in England", through some stunning countryside.

We headed down the streets to Dinham Bridge (seen above), with Ludlow castle looking down onto the River Teme and the the riverside path, which we followed before heading out into the surrounding countryside.

The walk was split to two halves (up to the checkpoint at 7-1/2miles), and the scenery in the first half, although pretty consisted of numerous fields, woodland walks, and tracks that almost blended into one.

The halfway point was at a village pub (Bennets End), next to a disused viaduct, which consisted of fresh baguettes, chunks of mature Cheddar cheese, crisps, tomatoes, apples, and if you were feeling thirsty local beer from the bar.

Needless to say we declined, as although our bodies are not temples, we would have found it hard to get going again after a couple of pints.

After the pit stop the route headed up to the Shropshire Way, and following a slight detour where we got slightly lost (imagine around 15 people standing in a field staring at Yellow route descriptions all scratching their heads, and you get the general idea) we climbed up onto the hills for some stunning scenery.

The early morning clouds had, by now, given way to warm afternoon sunshine which bathed the surrounding hills in a gentle glow, and showed off their beauty.

After a detour through the Iron age fort of Caynham Camp, we headed down into the surrounding countryside for the trip back to Ludlow.

Unfortunately, at one point I missed my footing and managed to jar my back, which made the remaining 3 or 4 miles quite painful. Even now on Sunday morning it's still quite sore, however, I'm hoping that it will have settled down over the next week or so.

We left the fields and headed back into Ludlow, and onwards towards the finish, admiring some of the beautiful buildings of the town.

The walk was organised by the Ludlow Assembly Rooms, which is a local charity that organises, films, plays, comedy shows, youth work, dance, films and The Arts all on a voluntary basis.

The spread of food and FREE BEER, at the end did them proud. A fantastic and convivial atmosphere also pervaded throughout the whole event not just the finish.

If anyone else is interested in Ludlow, it's well worth a visit.

Especially for the Festival which is held throughout June & July and has as it's show-piece a stunning Shakespearean play held in the grounds of Ludlow castle, making full use of the the atmospheric ruins.

And for the renowned Food Festival. At one point the town had more Michelin Star restaurants than any other town other than London.

Anyway, that's it for a couple of weeks as my next event is the Dovedale Dipper on the 1st of August.

That will mark the start of the most difficult phase of the 2010 Challenge when I shall embark on a series of 6 marathons in 6 weeks.

The first five will be walking events, culminating in the 6th and final event (of this tranche) in the form of the Wolverhampton Marathon.

Until then folks, happy running.

Tags:

Post Views: 202

Blimey, this challenge malarkey is proving to be time consuming & draining in equal measure.

Set off at 7:30am yesterday to drive to the small, but lovely, village of Monyash in Derbyshire (situated just up the road from the start of the stunning Lathkill Dale) to register for a 10am start.

The place was heaving with runners, walkers and their respective families all in high spirits on what promised to be a beautiful day.

The sound of a hooter at 10am saw us off along The Limestone Trail to the small village of Flagg.

At first we were all bunched up and going was slow, but gradually the pack spaced out and I fell in with a young couple who were taking part in their first ever event !!

I can think of easier ways to start off, but they made for good company and we stayed together for the remainder of the walk.

The course was similar to the Baslow Bootbash, in that it provided participants with a series of checkpoints to be visited in order, an 12 hour time limit, and left the route in between up to you.

• Monyash - 152664
  
• Waterloo Hotel - 132714
  
• Brushfield - 166716
  
• Bakewell - 215690
  
• Calton Lees - 258682
  
• Rowsley Recreation Ground - 257656
  
• Birchover - 237622
  
• Harthill Moor Farm - 224627
  
• Long Rake (Moor Lane) - 194644
  
• Monyash - 152664
  

However, having the checkpoints beforehand and a map meant that I planned the route before I got there, and it's amazing how it was virtually identical to the route displayed at the start.

There were only a few times when I had to check the map as well, so all in all, there were not many places to go wrong.

Although almost all of the course was stunning and beautiful, the following points were  particularly stunning.

The Monsal Head Viaduct and the Wye Valley.

The Derwent Valley

Stanton Moor & Nine Ladies Circle

To Harthill Moor from Birchover

Youlgrave

Lathkill Dale and One Ash Grange Farm

And finally the catering ladies at the end !!

I would class this as easier than the Baslow Bootbash, in that it wasn't as hilly, but I found it harder as I wasn't walking at my pace.

It took 10hrs 49mins, which is a looooong time to spend on your feet, and I started to feel light headed in the last mile to the finish, evidentially I hadn't eaten enough food after all.

However, after enjoying a delicious serving of Pie, Peas and Gravy at the finish I went back and begged another portion (Vegetarian this time) which soon sorted me out !!

On the whole a fantastic event that has been running for over 20 years (which speaks volumes for the organisers), manned by an army of cheerful volunteers, and some stunning Peak District scenery.

Today I feel extremely tired and drained, but plan on doing nothing more than sitting on my arse watching the world cup final and trying to catch up with a few posts on here.

Next week is an easy week (15miles), followed by a week off.

Woo Hoo !!

Tags:

Post Views: 282

In a word - Brutal.

I very nearly didn't make it to the start, after a few pre-race 'worried-about-the-heat' wobbles.

But after thinking about a programme called 'The Air Hospital', about a C17 flying hospital that is used to ferry injured troops back from Afghanistan, that I had recently watched, I steeled my resolve and drove down to Woolacombe on Saturday night.

After all, I could just switch to the half if it got too much, couldn't I ?

The race, classed as a Fell race, and run under the F.R.A. (Fell Runners Association) rules started from the Esplanade on Woolacombe sea front, and was a figure of eight course.

The first half took us South past bemused looking holiday makers, through Sand Dunes, along tracks and up along the hills.

Cruelly they even took us along a beach full of people.

I saw the first casualty of the day at the second water stop (4 miles) who looked to be in some distress.

This further strengthened my resolve to finish at half way.

The race organisers had imposed a cut off time of 3hrs 30mins (the race started at 10am, so this was 1:30pm) for the halfway point, after which you could carry on but the Marshals would be withdrawn at 5:30pm.

I managed to get in at around 3hrs 15mins (ish), and I saw one the marshals asking me if I was carrying on, after a quick discussion and much girding of loins, I decided to go for it !

The strategy was, walk as fast as I could and try to cover the remaining 13miles in 4hours. However, that was easier said than done as the route now took us out to some extremely brutal coastal paths.

See for yourselves ......

After what seemed years, we turned inland over fields, tracks, and what appeared to be the longest steepest road in the whole of Western Europe towards the Tarka Trail and headed back to the finish.

After jogging the last 1-1/2 miles I managed to come in bang on the limit of 7hrs 30mins in last place (there were no walkers), in what was simply a stunning event.

The marshals were, throughout, fantastic in their support for the plodder at the back who kept them up a cliff for several hours !

And when I got to the finish I got a fantastic cheer, got knows what the winner must have got.

An absolutely brilliant event, that was made all the more special by the fact that it was my 5th marathon in as many weeks.

I even managed to drive the 220miles home last night and get up at 5:15am to walk the dogs for a couple of miles before it got too hot.

Dead Chuffed.

Tags:

Post Views: 348

The Malverns.

"The Hills run north/south for about 8 miles (13 km), in between Great Malvern and the village of Colwall, and overlook the River Severn valley to the east, with the Cotswolds beyond. The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 metres (1,394 ft) above sea level" - According to Wikkipedia.

Foolishly I watched the England Match prior to driving down to my Travelodge on Friday night.

What an utter shambles !

I think my 11 year old arthritic Collie dog could do a better job, than those wasters.

Anyway, finally got to bed at around 12am, only to rudely awakened 5hours later by the Night Thief. You know the one who steals every Sunday Night's sleep from you.

Drove the 30miles to Wyche Village School to find around 180 similarly sleepy runners and walkers.

After a painless registering process (Tea and Coffee were also available if required), and a quick pep talk, we were off up on those thar hills.

I remember Matt (Ultra Muffs) phoning me halfway through his Malverns Ultra to describe the trials and tribulations of climbing these hills, but nothing can really prepare you for how tough they are unless you actually get out there and climb them.

The really hard thing about this route is that it takes in all of the Malverns hills. One range in the first 2.4miles, and then the remaining hills in the last 6miles, making it exceedingly tough.

After the initial jaunt up the hills, the route settled into some levely Worcestershire fields and small villages.

But always in the Distance, loomed The Malverns ........

At one particular point, whilst wondering around looking for the right stile (apart from this one time the route description was excellent), I fell in with a fellow Shropshire couple who accompanied me the rest of the way.

This, whilst at a slightly slower pace than normal, was actually better than rushing round like last week. I felt absolutely fantastic with no aches, pains, blisters and could have carried on for a good few miles more at the finish.

But let's not get carried away ........

After the penultimate checkpoint (Shown below was the typical food on offer), we still had the remaining Malverns to go ......

And then the rest of the hills.

And F*ck me they were hard, you could almost feel your lungs popping out of your chest up some of the inclines.

Anyway, here are a range of stunning vistas:-

There was one final checkpoint at 23.6miles, with more food and encouraging words, a few final smaller hills; Black, Pinnacle, Jubilee and Perseverance, before we headed back towards the finish.

And the welcome meal ("eat as much as you want !").

Time - 10hrs 40mins

Which indicates not just how tough it was, but also the friendliness of the marshalls at the checkpoints who were happy to spend 20mins chatting and encouraging us.

I would recommend this event to anyone who wants a tough challenge, it was faultlessly organised by Bristol & South West LDWA, and at only £5.00 is an absolute snip.

I may be back next year (other events permitting) as well.

Superb.

Tags:

Post Views: 297