Much like me in Dent, my race report is coming in a little later than I had hoped.
It started off as a very windy day as Tracy and I got ready to make the journey over to Dent in Cumbria. For those who don’t know Dent, it is a little village in Dentdale valley just west of the Pennines. The race itself is all on road and is a figure eight style route with Dent in the centre, with a choice of 14 mile or 8 mile races. On this occasion I had entered the 14 mile race and Tracy the 8 mile.
As we travelled over, the weather looked grim with lots of snow on the hills, but luckily as we got into the valley the snow eased off and was replaced with wind and rain.
By the time the race started the weather wasn’t too bad, but the course was very wet.
The race raises money for the local school and has a very community feel to it, which I personally really like. You are made to feel very welcome and at the finish you are served afternoon tea in the school hall.
It’s a hilly course, which the elevation profile above shows (the 14 mile route is the 8 mile route plus an additional 6). My pace overlay shows the location of two of the water stations!
The
final cross country race of the season and the moment of truth for
the Senior Men’s team. A strong performance and favourable result
and we might just avoid relegation to Division 3.
My
race day preparation was as meticulous as ever, the long drive to
Alnwick required an early start to allow time to acclimatise to the
race environment. At 1.35pm I arrived at Alnwick Gardens and used the
opportunity to race from there to the Harriers Tent in time for my
race 15 minutes later as my warm up! Nothing like getting the
adrenaline pumping! I opted to wear trail shoes, not because the
course was dry with a gravel/hardcore twist but because I forget to
pack my spikes!
Harriers
converged as close to the start line to gain an advantage, especially
over our challengers for Division 2 status – Low Fell & Saltwell.
Facing
the impressive Alnwick Castle, the gun signalled the start of an
undulating 10 km course, sweeping down along the banks of the River
Aln before climbing the pasture and startling the grazing sheep. Then
the route meandered towards the canopy of the woodland trails before
descending down a steep grass hill peppered with natural obstacles of
mole hills and large tufts of grass before passing by the large
gathering of vocal supporters at the Start/Finish section.
Only
2 more laps of the same to go!!
Mark
Raine made a strong start leading the Harriers charge. I had him in
my sights for about 700 metres before my focus shifted to a Saltwell
Harrier running alongside me. We traded positions temporarily before
he got bored and ran ahead. The challenges of the undulating course
took a slight toll on me during the 2nd
lap. A minor stitch began to emerge, not sure if this was due to the
2 Mars bars I consumed en-route to Alnwick! Mind over matter was the
order of the day; there was job to be done and our status in Division
2 to maintain.
I
tried to use the course to my running advantage, gazelle-like running
on the downward trails; trying to regulate my breathing on the flat
sections and having enough energy to push strongly on the uphill
climbs. The roar of the crowd was continually a source of welcome
encouragement and motivation also, especially when I could hear my
name shouted out. My only concern was that my eager Labrador, Luna,
would break free from the control of my partner Lisa and get a better
PB than me or go for a swim in the river!
Further
words of encouragement were offered by David Bentley, David Walker
and Chris Lines as they glided past me as if mounted on Harry
Potter’s firebolt brooms. In order to conserve my energy I think I
offered each of them a breathless grunt!
The
final run through the forest and decent towards the finish line
focused my mind on those ahead of me and how I could overtake them
while ensuring I didn’t twist my ankle on the undulating ground.
Into
the home straight and I had a Saltwell Harrier within my sights but
with a decent advantage on me. Game on! He weaved right and my
opportunity to gain ground on him was cut off by other runners. I ran
to the left, undercutting those ahead of me and having just enough
energy to sprint to the finish line just ahead of the Saltwell
Harrier and Ray Carmichael who was galloping closely in behind me.
The
end of another Cross Country season and sadly despite all the
fantastic efforts of the senior men’s team since last September,
relegation to Division 3 was confirmed even before our team tent was
taken down!
Onwards
and hopefully upwards for next season. For any Harriers who have not
yet experienced Cross Country running, I would encourage you to give
it go, you will be pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie it
generates. The locations are varied in their terrain and scenery
with a wealth of running challenges presented, the support from
spectators and marshals is fantastic and this season the weather has
been surprisingly warm so hopefully normal wintry conditions will be
prevail for 2019/2020.
Sunday
3rd February 2019 …… North East Marathon Club Winter Wonder at
Leazes Park, Newcastle…..#“Training run in mind”….. The day
started fairly early as I was picking up fellow Harriers Justin Cox
and Gary Thwaites on the way …. Alarm went off around 6.10 am, up
and ready…. Quick breakfast, porridge with blueberries, Mmm , and a
nice coffee… A good start for a marathon run ???? (So they say).
To
start…. it was minus eight outside! A quick clean of the windows
and headed off, heating on and seats warming up, perfect…. The
roads weren’t great but made good time picking the boys up and got
there right on time as we didn’t want to be hanging about on a
morning that was….. COLD !!! We parked the car and had a little
walk to the park, talking about the usual stuff… what was ahead and
what runs we’ve been doing, aches and pains, and of course, when
you go with Gary, food !!!!! Got to the park and registered and met
the other runners taking part.
T
he
Marathon Club has a very laid back feel and very friendly which is
great, no pressure, just enjoyment. The course looked very icy in
places but with our sensible heads on it was runnable. At the
briefing there was a presentation of a 100 Marathon vest for Helen
Schofield, which is some achievement – Well done Helen. After all
the safety talk and being told it wasn’t a race or PB weather we
were off, bang on 9am!!!!
Nice
and slow for the first few laps just to see where the feet needed to
be heading around the park. It would take sixteen laps if you were to
run the full distance…. 26.2, or you could run more, as you had six
hours. The park was lovely to run around, it had a few hills but
these added to the enjoyment…..1.6 miles per lap, which I found was
great to forget about the mileage and just count the laps ……But
as I said, no pressure with these winter wonders, one can run as far
as one would like – a lot use them as great training runs, myself
included. My plan was to run eighteen miles…. After three laps I
had to stop for a gentleman stop….. but I won’t go in to that!!!
Getting back to it was fine but I didn’t want to leave the warmth
of the building…..
After
a while I got carried away (I blame the blueberries…..) Feeling
good at eighteen miles I pushed on, another three miles or two laps.
Still feeling ok, I thought why not just run the full distance……
The course started getting better as the day went on and the sun came
out. Seeing other runners along the way giving each other encouraging
words helped the laps disappear. Justin Cox out in front looking good
with Gary Thwaites pushing on in third place, great stuff, and Ben
Swales running great too. You do meet a lot of new people along the
way at all these events and over the years at other events too. Nice
seeing people again.
So
back to the run. All good. I mainly ran by myself for most of it at a
nice steady safe pace. I did tag onto Melanie Horan, the marathon
club secretary and had a little chat…. til she pulled away up the
hills going on to completing her 94th marathon!!!!!! With only two
laps to go, legs feeling heavy !!! I had my number taken for the
records – four laps – which gave me a little scare as they had missed
a lap. But my watch came to the rescue with the mileage on show
“phew”?….
This is when I spotted Mr Justin Cox at the cafe with a big cup of
coffee!!!! ‘Go on Ray only two laps to go !!!!!!!’ Cheers ……
COXY. Then Gary shouted ‘I’ve got you some chocolate cake !!!!’
Nice one…. Gazza. With that running through my head I pushed on
with only one more lap to go !!!
Well
as I said, all was great, when I saw Melanie ahead and pushed to
catch her up … And I did til I hit the bottom of the hill for the
last time and BANG!!!!! Left leg cramped up big time!!! Felt sorry
for myself thinking I should have stuck to my training plan miles???
After a little stretch, I power walked up the hill… which sometimes
is just as quick..???? At the top a gentleman shouted ‘Don’t push
it there’s always another race to WIN!!!’ Win, I thought ??
I’m just training…. I’m sure he was just encouraging me…. I
set off again, a nice downhill section which helped the tired old
legs… once back at it only a little way to go, felt great to
complete the distance which I didn’t think I would be doing that
morning.
Had
a nice warmly welcome in by all…… and after receiving my medal
and socks, crisps and chocolate bar, things looked up … it was in
the bag …. Jackpot: 26.67 miles. Plus this was my first official
marathon as a new member to the marathon club. Then Gary passed the
chocolate cake to me… magic, just what I needed… BUT a coffee
would have been nice too Justin Cox ?!
Well done Gary on completing your 88th marathon, they’re starting
to rack up now….. Nice seeing Peter and Debbie King having a walk
around the park too. Thanks for the pics.
The
“true” heroes of the day were all the volunteers and marshals for
standing in those cold conditions. These events wouldn’t happen if
we didn’t have volunteers… Thanks again. Once warmed up we
watched a few in…. We made our way back to the car…… As
promised while driving up, as “ALL” good athletes, we carb’d
back up at the Golden Arches !!!!!!… ( #McDonald’s) …. A steady
drive back, dropping the boys off and wished them well . I then
headed back to a nice hot bath which was made ready by my
understanding wife of a runner ???? .
After
a lovely bath and little stretch it was time to carb back up “full
time” with this !!! (Parmo!) It will take another marathon or two
to burn this off !!!!!
To me these run events have helped put the miles in while training for other marathons etc , which helps when needing to find long runs in the winter months. If anybody’s looking at moving the miles up, they are great and a good price too. Have a look on their website…. http://northeastmarathonclub.co.uk
A
great day had by all, thanks everybody…… See you all at the next
event.
2019 Leas Marathon, around South Shields and Souter lighthouse. The course is mainly on gravel coastal paths with some gentle inclines. It can be tough if it’s windy, but we had perfect running conditions today. I travelled and ran with Ray and we saw Ben Swales on the course too. I haven’t seen any results yet so I’m not sure how Sedgefield Harriers faired on the day.
I really enjoy North East Marathon club events. No massive nightmare getting to the start line and the relaxed atmosphere is always welcome. Ray picked me up and we headed up the coast. As usual the conversation turned to food. It was the AGM that day too so there would be a buffet! Back-up would be a Big Mac Grande and a Twix McFlurry. The buffet was great so no trip to the golden arches was needed.
The weather was fine in Wingate, but the fog was so thick in South Shields you couldn’t see more than 50 meters in front of you! We found the tent, picked up our numbers and got ourselves ready to run. It was a staggered start, so Ray and I started on our own. No race briefing or anything like that, just turn up and run. Ray and I decided to run together. It’s great to have company and miles seem to pass much quicker when chatting. Basically, I talk about food for a few hours with a bit of cross county, football and other running chat too, but it’s mainly food.
The thick fog made it hard to stay on track during the first lap and we took a few wrong turns. Maybe I shouldn’t blame the fog… I have run this marathon a few times and always get the route wrong. Nothing major and the distance still adds up to marathon distance. We even followed fellow marathon clubber Paul Blakey thinking he knew the course, but he went wrong too. No harm done and we quickly got back on track. The fog made everything wet too! You could see dew on runners’ hats, my feet got wet and I could even feel water on my eye lashes. The route was basically two out and backs with a little loop at each end. You did these 4 times, so you kept bumping into other runners throughout the whole event. I love this type of event when it’s a small field of runners.
I wasn’t sure if I drank too much water or my compression gear was too tight, but I kept needing the toilet. Luckily you ran past public toilets so I didn’t have to wait too long before I could go again.
The run was going well, we ran well together and pretty much chatted for the whole run. The sun made an appearance too and we were treated to a beautiful sunny afternoon in South Shields. We could see a warship just out to sea which was pretty cool. I started looking at my watch and could see a sub 4 marathon was achievable if we kept moving at a reasonable pace, but I kept needing to pee and Ray needed to stretch to keep cramp at bay so it would be close. We did manage to just sneak under 4 hours so that was great.
After the run we made our way to the AGM. This is a great time to chat and catch up with everyone plus take care of club business. Peter King came to the AGM so four Harriers in total at the event. The food was great! A simple but lovely fish and chip buffet with pasta for vegetarians and vegans. I love fish and chips, but never eat it so this was a proper treat for me.
Everyone received a Marathon Club travel mug as a surprise gift! This was a really nice touch, and everyone seemed pretty chuffed with it. After that we said our goodbyes and headed home. It was a long, but very enjoyable day out at the seaside.
All in all, a great day out catching up with running friends and another step closer to completing my 100th marathon. Thanks to Razza for the lift and the company and everyone at NEMC who helped put on another great event.
Sixteen
of us arrived in a sunny Helmsley by train, car, bike and on foot for
the annual training weekend. A combination of seasoned Mount Hooley
attendees and first timers, the group was pleased to find a
comfortable youth hostel on the edge of Helmsley, well equipped, warm
and quiet.
As Chris and I had arrived just in time for dinner last year, we made an effort to get there earlier and took the afternoon off work. Chris cycled down from Greatham and I drove down arriving about 3pm. I thought training had better get under way, so I had a quick look at google maps and headed out of the village on the Cleveland Way towards Riveaulx. A tarmac path soon turned into a field edge path and then a wonderful up and down route through woods. Once I reached the road I doubled back, clocking up 5.5 miles. A great start to the weekend. We all went to The Feathers for an evening meal. I was the only one to have a pudding (dark chocolate and orange brownie, with white chocolate sauce and ice cream, in case your’re wondering) but I was the only one who had done any running!
Saturday morning started with a ‘pacey’ run. With Tracy as our leader, we headed out of the village for a 6 mile loop . A beautiful still morning we saw roe deer and lots of pheasants. A steep hill slowed the pace and the challenge of hill reps was politely declined. Nice try Tracy! Once we got back to the youth hostel Mil and John headed off for another 30 minutes, getting the prize for ‘commitment to training’.
Once we had showered and refuelled the majority of us set off for a walk, taking full advantage of the glorious countryside that surrounds Helmsley. We covered 7.5 miles across fields and through woods. Normally at training we may only have chance to have a quick chat to fellow Harriers, so this was a great opportunity to talk to people. John (Marshall) is a keen bird watcher so could help us identify various birds including magnificent buzzards, waiting to pick off any weaker members of the group.
In
the evening a number of the group headed off to the Brewery to watch
the rugby and then everyone refuelled – some getting takeaways and
some having home cooked food. Mike (Wood) won the prize for
‘commitment to eating’, managing to consume a family steak and ale
pie from the artisan bakers. The men then settled in for an evening
of poker and whiskey drinking – luckily playing for chips not coins.
Sunday
dawned sunny again. Another walk was planned but three of us headed
off – Phil to Wem-ber-ley (a football match, which apparently the
right team won on penalties); Chris cycling 50 miles home; and I
headed off to Stockton to run in the Winter Trail Series as part of
the Grand Prix. All in all the weekend was great fun with great
company.
And
the final prize for ‘commitment’ goes to Sue (Round) for her
unwavering ‘commitment to shopping’. She set off before us and came
back after us – who knew there were that many shops in Helmsley?
Don’t worry Sue, there will be another pair of bargain Gabor blue
shoes.
I
decided about 5 weeks ago to give this run ago. As I am fairly
new to the Sedgefield Harriers family I thought that a 5k race would
be nice for a change (short).
I
am a keen gym member and go most mornings when everybody is still in
bed (it’s the only time I get to do it). I normally do
weights a couple of days and a couple of classes as well. Four
weeks ago doing star jumps!! I rolled over on my ankle which has
resulted in me not running. My husband Richy says I have done
nothing but twist as I have not been out running, so I have just been
walking the dogs instead.
Anyway,
enough twisting. The journey to the race was very easy to find
and well described on the actual race page. There were loads of
parking places and as usual I had a panic on thinking that I was
going to be late, however we had plenty of time for at least 4 toilet
visits (ha ha this is normal). I always get really nervous
before a race even though I have been running for a couple of years.
The registration was straightforward and easy as my details were
already listed and there was no queue. I like this time of the
event as I like to talk to different people to get their feedback on
the race and also check out how many fit people are about!!
There
was a slight nip in the air, however I was brave enough to just put a
t-shirt under my Harriers vest instead of a long sleeve top. Again
this is something I always do before a run, I put too many layers on,
and Jane Spink rocks on up in a vest and shorts. It was lovely to see
so many Harriers at the start and made my nerves drop a little bit.
In fact I think we had the majority of runners for a specific
club. I got talking to Stuart who was giving me the run-down of the
race. He did say that there was one slight hill and
unfortunately you have to tackle this twice. Apart from that it was a
nice race. Bingo!
I
am not sure what is worse, knowing the route or not knowing the
route?
The
first mile into the race and I felt good, no niggles, so far so good.
If you closed your eyes for just 1 second (only kidding I
didn’t do this really) you would have thought it was a summer’s
day i
n
July; nope it was 24th
February. Fantastic weather. Anyway back to the race, we
tapered off in to the woods and it wasn’t too muddy and was well
marshalled throughout.
Coming
in for the final stretch and yes I knew what was coming, the final
hill, However I seemed to attack it as I knew the finishing line was
just straight after and downhill. I finished the race in 24 minutes,
well that’s what my Fitbit says. Very pleased with my time
especially with my ankle not being 100%.
A
very well organised and friendly race and pleased I took part and
will definitely do it again. I look forward to people updating
Facebook with future runs just so that I know what to enter next
please.
I
t
turned out to be a lovely day, however I had three layers of clothes
on as I am normally cold. I also had 3/4 length leggings and so went
to buy some shorts at one of the stalls. However they only had little
tiny ones. I said, I like my backside covered up thank you! Everyone
at the stall was laughing.
I
got to the start line where you were guided to pens with numbers on
where you had to stand and everyone was spread out along the field.
It was a brilliant sight to see all the ladies in a line at the
start. The gun went and everyone charged to the middle. With 1034
ladies charging up the hill you got a bit stuck at times with arms,
legs and uneven ground to contend with. It was a very warm day and
quite a few ladies pulled out, it was very tempting; however I was
very determined to finish.
T
here
was a slight wind which was nice to cool off, a few inclines and two
lovely down hills. No mud either to my delight as running round
fields is not my favourite racing. It was supposed to be a training
run (ha ha) however I did have a good race as I was two and a half
minutes quicker than last year (maybe not that fast at 40.10 for the
5 miles and placed 492nd).
It was a very friendly atmosphere but I was the only lady Harrier
running.
Do
I love cross country racing? No, but it’s good training… x
Sunday 9th February is the first event of the Hardmoors 26.2 Trail Series. This consists of 7 race venues throughout the year, in and around The North Yorkshire Moors. Each race day has 3 events, 10k, half marathon and full marathon. I have run this event every year since it started in 2013, mainly 10ks, but today was a half marathon for me.
The race itself starts from the Saltburn Recreation Centre and heads towards the Valley Gardens and down to the seafront within the first mile or so. This is the only flat bit on the course and from here the only way is up! We headed to the cliff tops and started a very long ascent, terrain was actually quite good for the most part (more to follow on that statement) and the weather was actually quite kind today. No driving sleet and snow like last year.
A caption here
It was a little breezy on the tops, nothing like the past day or so, which actually caused the RD (Jon Steele) to divert the route as it would have been too dangerous in high winds in certain places. This shortened the route by over a mile, but we still had over 14 miles of race to complete.
Hardmoors miles are approximate!! Value for money Jon calls it.
Sadly today I was the only Harrier out there. In fact I am at most of these events. I’m not sure what this says about me, answers on a postcard please! LOL.
The course follows the coastline for a few miles, views are fantastic, runners strung out along the cliff tops, it’s an inspirational sight. We then headed inland on the loop back, via public footpaths, country lanes and bridle paths. Some fields were a little muddy, lots of slipping about but manageable for the most part. Until that is, I came to a sharp downhill; it was very muddy and slippery, bearing in mind some 400 or so marathoners and others had made this what it was. Deadly. I nearly escaped with a controlled slide, but a fight between me and gravity was only going to end one way, me on my backside sliding down the rest of the way.
Back at the race finish I received my medal and shirt. A hot coffee, biscuits and cake, a chat to good friends I only see on race days, then start off back home, another one in the bag! Time was 3hrs 55mins, not fantastic, but a good solid training run for bigger things later and good for a kit evaluation and maybe tweaking a few things for other runs. These runs have a compulsory kit requirement which consists of : waterproof jacket with taped seems – hat – gloves – 500ml water – map and direction guide – emergency food – and survival bag.
These events are very well organised and safe, checkpoints every few miles with lots of goodies. Marshals who are experienced trail and ultra runners, look after every athlete, it’s one big family, The Hardmoors Family, and it’s open to everyone! Thank you for reading.
Having
run this race last year I was looking forward to returning to the
Town Moor in Newcastle to run the Valentine’s 10km again this year.
Due to concentrating on longer distances recently I was interested to
see how I’d get on over a distance that I used to run regularly and
on a course that is relatively fast.
Due
to the leisurely 10.45am start time I didn’t need to leave too early
and picked up Nicola en route. Having found parking tricky last year
we decided to park in Gateshead and have a jog to the start over the
iconic Tyne Bridge and through the Toon to the start. This turned out
to be a good move as the Central Motorway appeared to be closed
causing the traffic to tail back as we jogged merrily on. We got to
the start and I had expected to see a few Harriers out as it had been
a Grand Prix event last year and was really well attended. However,
having collected my number, there was only myself representing
Sedgefield that I could see. I bumped into some friends from
Hartlepool Tri and then having discussed the usual pre-race topics of
“What time you expecting?” and “How’s the injury
feeling?” I headed off for a warm up. There was a 5k event just
before the 10k this year so having run the first section of the route
the first runners of the 5k were starting to cross the line as we
stretched off and dumped clothing into the baggage drop.
T
he
Run Nation events always seem well organised so we were in the Start
chute on time and with a last ‘Good Luck’ to each other we were ready
to go. The course is 2 laps of the Town Moor, heading from Wylam
Brewery across to Gosforth and then working your way round the Moor
and back to the Brewery. It was apparent coming over the Tyne Bridge
that there was a substantial breeze but as I headed out on to the
Town Moor for the first frantic mile I realised we were going to be
battered coming back as I was getting pushed along by a very
pleasant, but very strong, tailwind. This prediction came true about
halfway through the first lap as I headed back to the brewery,
looking at nothing but my feet as I kept my head down, trying to tuck
in behind anybody close enough to offer any protection. Fortunately
this didn’t last too long and soon enough I was passing the start and
heading out on my second lap. Once again I managed to pick up heading
away from the start and was still hopeful of matching my sub-40 time
of last year. These thoughts soon evaporated however as I really
struggled turning into the wind again on the second lap.
I
finished in just over 40mins which I was more than happy with
considering the training I’m currently doing. Nicola however ran a
massive PB, showing that it is a fast course, even in windy
conditions. I’d definitely recommend the race as for 2nd
year running it’s been well organised and a pleasure to run in.
Guest post by Melanie Horan of the North East Marathon Club
As part of our Winter Wonder series, the North East Marathon Club decided to go on tour this year and on the advice of Pete King, hold an event in Hardwick Park. After a recce of the parkrun route in autumn 2018, the NEMC committee decided the park and the parkrun route would be perfect for our event, and a welcome change from running around the Town Moor. This seemed a popular choice and for the first time ever, we had to close entries as we were full and start a waiting list for the event. After the slight worry of snow earlier in the week and a covering of frost on Saturday morning, the weather was reasonably mild at the start of the day, with the sun making an appearance later on. The course conditions were excellent, dry with no puddles or mud, with the only obstacles being a dangerous looking gaggle of geese and a game of swans on the path beside the lake.
Another first for NEMC was the Race Director’s role being taken on by Catherine Smith and Kerry Barnett of NEMC and Elvet Striders, who did a fantastic job of race set up, managing the marshals and time keeping. Registration ran smoothly and it was fantastic to see so many Sedgefield Harriers on the start line, and thanks again must go to Pete for persuading you all to enter! The race began in the usual NEMC manner, without ceremony or incident and after running for a few hundred metres, it was amazing to look back and see swarms of runners along the path.
For those of you who don’t already know me, I am a bit obsessed with the marathon distance, and this was to be my 93rd marathon. I am still absolutely rubbish at pacing myself and set off, as usual, as if I was running a 5k, desperate to keep Gary Thwaites in my sight for at least the first mile. I was pleased to see my good friend and fellow terribly paced runner Omar had also set off at a ridiculous pace, and I had a little bet with myself as to whether I would catch him at 18 or 20 miles as usual. I ran the first few laps with Ben Smale who had kindly marked out the course for us earlier and we had a good chat about pacing and ultra marathons, neither of which are a talent of mine.
Ben made his escape after about an hour, and I ran the rest of the race by myself, although not alone as I was continuously speaking to runners I was passing or were passing me. In case you are wondering what I think about while running, main themes include what is for tea, how long is it until I can visit the sweets and pop buffet (drinks station, which was exceptionally well stocked today thanks to our RDs), whether I need to stop at the toilets, how long it will be until I catch Omar and how much different parts of my body are hurting. Today I had the added fear of having to run through the hissing geese and evil swans, who everyone knows will break your arm if you get too close. To my horror, one of the geese actually ran into me and I felt its wet, slimy beak touch my leg! All was going well until about 22 miles when I had to make an emergency pitstop and spent about 5 minutes in the toilets. After that I found it hard to get going again and really slowed down. I managed to finish my 93rd marathon in 3:51, which is about average for me these days. A great venue, really friendly runners and fantastic support from the volunteers, we will definitely be back in 2020. Incidentally, I passed Omar at 14 miles….
Much like me in Dent, my race report is coming in a little later than I had hoped.
Steve:
Unlike previous years, no other Sedgefield Harriers made the journey over.
