In the Heat of the Moment

Those who know me well will know that I’ve enjoyed competing in the World and European Masters Champs, since I turned 41. I can’t say that I’ve been overly successful, though I’m proud of the two bronze medals I’ve achieved, both of which I felt were good performances. However competing abroad can be costly; both financially and in terms of time that could otherwise be spent with loved ones. Two years ago I was due to compete in Poland, though the European championships were split between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, however, as with all the outdoor t&f championships I’ve competed in, with the exception of Ljubljana, the distance runners compete some distance away from the main event. On that occasion I was injured just before the championship and was unable to take part in one of my events and could only run the other one at 70% effort, it was a costly way to run below par, so since then I’ve kept my money in my pocket, my form hasn’t justified my attendance, much as I’ve had the desire to go.

This year the European Championships were held in Turkey, a country I’ve been to many times and used as a hot weather training base before I competed in Hungary, four years ago. But I didn’t enter, I’m not running well enough this year and I’m not one to make up numbers, I want to be competing for the medals, and I genuinely believe that if I can get some solid training behind me I could do that again, in the future.

However, August being the height of holiday season meant many of my clients have been away enjoying themselves, giving me some free time. A perfect time to take Carole away on holiday. Of course, as you can imagine, she might but I don’t, I use it as an opportunity to be more focused in my training. So two weeks ago we hopped onto a flight to Spain, the scene of much of my warmer weather training. The place we go to, the Costa Colida, has some great beaches, but more importantly, for me, the venue I stay at suits my training – large open road areas and one or two steep hills.

After training it's nice to walk up a long steep hill to find the castle is closed.

I’ve never had a problem with heat, I’ve competed in high temperatures and high humidity and enjoy the challenge. The only time I encountered difficulty was after the European Masters 10000m in Hungary, I was fine during the race, though a little unsure of how many laps I’d done which accounts for the 10400m I ran that day, but after I’d sat down I was unable to get up again for about 20 minutes and it was a good few minutes before I could actually swallow any water. Generally I just need a day or so to acclimatise and I’m able to train hard, once I went to Spain and the first days training consisted of 10 x 30 sec reps, because that was all I could manage, yet two days later I was back to normal training.

On this occasion it was hot but didn’t feel too hot so I had set myself tougher than usual targets, in my long term plan to get myself fit in time for turning 50. Having got up at 3am on the Saturday to travel and enjoying some of the local produce that evening, it was understandable that we overslept on the Sunday, but I was up and out running within 30 minutes. It was hot but not too bad so I decided to get straight into my hard reps, 1, 2 and 3 minute reps totalling up to 24 minutes of hard running in a 46 minute session. I felt good as I set off on my first 1 minute effort, the 2 minutes was a little tougher but the 3 minutes got a little extreme towards the end, still one set down and I had two more reps to do before facing that 3 minute one again. By the time I’d done 3 sets I was knackered, but I didn’t want to cut my session short, I was sure I could manage the fourth set, I did but that last 3 minute effort was so hard and when I stopped there was this huge surge of heat that passed through my body. I felt exhausted and shuffled the 8 minutes back to base, I must’ve looked like an old man I was going so slow. Once back home I drank a homemade isotonic pint and I was fine again. For the rest of the stay I was able to get up an hour earlier and, although still hot, I never felt as drained as that first session. I sweated a lot, particularly on the long runs around the golf course, which required a steady climb to the top of the village with a steady climb down to the golf course with a steeper hill back to the top of the village before a steady descent to base, but I drank a lot of fluids during the day so I never felt dehydrated.

I'm a great fan of David Bedford's training method.

My goal was achieved, I trained hard and even did some back to back training, though I hadn’t planned it this time. I’m back home now and I have to reacclimatise, my first session back, yesterday, wasn’t vintage Rog but I’m hoping I can now start to show some decent form in races, only time will tell.

It's something Mo Farah and myself share, tourists like to have their picture taken with us. Here I am promoting the 1998 Hillingdon 5 whilst visiting Guadalest. Incidentally in 1998 Belgrave won the team race; Kassa Tadesse, Alex Hutchinson, Kevin Nash and myself - we're still awaiting the prize.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

No Flash in the Pennington Pan

28 July 2012 – the last time I ran a parkrun at Pennington Flash. I’d been having a good year, 2^nd M45 in the Cheshire cross country champs, 2^nd M45 at the Alsager 5, I’d set the M45 record at Princes parkrun, in May I’d come close to my best at Pennington with a 17:01, I’d been 1^st M45 at the Hollins Green and Lymm 5ks as well as picking up a couple of bronze medals at the BMAF 5k road and track champs. I was rounding into shape for an assault on the Euro Masters 10000m and 5000m in August. And then I ran at Pennington. I won, in 17:19, quite an easy victory but going down one of the hills I felt a slight twinge in my hamstring. A few days later my hamstring went. I rested and despite the Euros being only a few weeks away I still went along. I wasn’t even running when the 10000m was held, I started with a 5 minute jog two days after that but within three more days I took part, maybe not wisely, in the 5000m. Starting slowly I gradually wound up the pace to run 17:37 to finish 9^th, later upgraded to 8^th due to the winner having a dodgy substance in his system.

Having the good base of fitness meant I was able to get back to a decent level reasonably quickly for my new club, Salford Harriers and I was gunning well for them, until the end of the cross country season when I fell apart. Since then, due to the ongoing achilles and hamstring injuries I’ve not ventured to Pennington, knowing that the rough terrain would not suit my injuries, whilst I continued to train through the discomfort. I’ve wanted to go many times, I enjoy the course, I like the people, but it just wasn’t worth it as I struggled to get back to normality.

About five weeks ago the pain went, I mean I was able to go out for a run without my achilles or my hamstring bothering me and for the first time in nearly two years I’ve been able to train fast and long without causing any problems, other than the usual niggles. Knowing that I lack a base I’ve turned my summer over to hard work, doing two sessions a day most days and it’s working, I’m getting back to the level of fitness I had before my injuries started. I’ve done a few low key 5ks, but my legs have felt heavy and I’ve not performed to the level I feel I’m capable of, but the big picture is 2015 so I’m not concerned about my form this year, I know what I can do when I’m fit and getting fit is what this year is all about.

So feeling good about my lack of injuries, but also knowing that I was in an intensive training period, I decided I wanted a challenging 5k, not a fast 5k, what better chance to revisit my favourite parkrun. So last Saturday Carole and I ventured up Leigh way to Pennington Flash. It was a beautiful sunny morning, a sight better than we would have 24 hours later, and it was great to get out of the car with the view of the flash. We jog/walked over to the start where we bumped into a number of Pennington regulars, who remembered me from all that time ago. Unfortunately Run Director, Bill Bradley, was having an off day – that’s not to say he did a bad directorial job, he was off working elsewhere, but no doubt we’ll catch up soon. It was good to catch up with local boy and fellow Salford Harrier Tony Taylor, Tony didn’t run this event when I was doing it more regular but since I’ve been away he’s run it loads of times and has a sub 17 minute clocking to boot. We had a brief chat before the race got going and then we were off.

I had a good track record at Pennington, out of the 15 runs I had done I had won 10 and been 2^nd in the other 5, my best time being 16:56 (30/7/11) and my worst 17:50 (17/9/11). So I had a reputation to uphold, but I’ve never been one to worry about my reputation, chances were I wouldn’t win, I knew damn sure I wasn’t going to set a pb and to be perfectly honest I had a feeling this was going to be my first post 18 minute run around the course, but I didn’t care, I was running, I was running in a place I love and there is a sort of feeling of freedom as you run around the course with the view of the flash and all the space around you, it makes you feel glad to be alive, and happy that you decided to get up early to make your way over there. To hell with reputations, being a slower runner doesn’t make me a worse person, nor a better one to be fair, I’m just the same, you just have to wait a little longer for me to finish these days.

Since my injuries I’ve been a noticeably slower starter, and tended to limp away from a standing start, but these last few weeks have helped me to bring back some of the old Alsop starting zip. Though I was still surprised to find myself heading down towards the gate in the lead, not only that it seemed nobody was coming with me. Oh well I wasn’t going to panic so I pushed on, but it wasn’t long before I’d been reeled in. After the first hill I started to feel a bit heavy legged, well what should I suspect with the training I’m doing. Down in third I saw the two up front pulling further away from me and coming into the third lap I was caught by another runner. I hung in there, more not wanting to let anybody else past rather than to try to snatch back 3^rd. Finishing I was surprised to find I’d run 17:56, yes it may be my slowest time ever on the course, but it was under 18 minutes, which felt like a victory to me. Then it was off the reverse way round to cheer everybody else on, as is my way.

Feeling a little buoyant from my run I felt that I was now ready for a proper race. Generally speaking my road race 5k times are about a minute quicker than I run at Pennington so I was thinking I might be ready to run sub 17 again. I targeted the Sale Sizzler, this Thursday, rearranged work and even changed my training so I would be fresher, but then I went and spoiled it all by doing something stupid like running 5 miles on the treadmill on the Wednesday morning, it wasn’t fast, I’d deliberately tried to run 3-4 minutes slower than I usually do when I’m running on the treadmill, but it was fast enough to make my calf tighten up on Wednesday night, it was still tight the next morning and I just couldn’t get it loosened enough so by 4pm on Thursday I gave up on my plan and went out for a run instead, right decision as every time I pushed on it tightened up. Still a little tight this morning (Friday) but it’s easing out. Oh well back to the heavy training but I’m going to look for another race in September, it’s time I started to run like Roger Alsop can.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

The Boot Camp

Boot Camps, they’re everywhere, often with a military theme. Prior to becoming a PT I’d never been to one, I was a runner and all my training time was spent running. A few of my running mates went to BMF and seemed to enjoy it, but I was focused on running so I didn’t join them. As a runner I did tend to concentrate on the running side of things, I tried circuits, I tried drills, I never tried weights but I used other cardio machines, mainly though I ran, I ran fast and I ran long, occasionally I also ran slow. Things have changed and it’s probably my understanding of alternative exercises that has helped me to adapt my training methodology, that and the fact that I can’t do the mileage I used to do without breaking down. However I still believe, as an endurance runner, your primary focus for training has to be running.

During my PT training one of the modules was about creating a boot camp. It was fairly common sense and all it really taught us was to use your knowledge to be creative with your environment. I enjoyed the module, particularly as it was run predominantly as a number of boot camp sessions, both in and outside, and I passed the exam. I was now free to set myself onto the exercising public.

But I waited, I was still working at the time, that coupled with my own training and preparing for a move down to England meant I had no time to put into the boot camp experience and anyway it would have been short lived, with the move.

Once in Cheshire I tried initially to establish myself as a gym based PT. Alongside that I established running group training, I figured that any PT could do a boot camp and I needed time to find my own training theme before I could hope to excel at that, but, although any PT could have an understanding of running, I figured my understanding of how to develop running training plus knowing what it took to improve from jogger to International standard would set me aside. Then after a while I started to run a boot camp after my Saturday morning run group.

As time went on and I became more established I decided it was time to free up my weekends for family time and races and with the 1:1 PT going well there was less time to do the boot camps. So I took a break from running them.

Last year I was contacted by the Sandbach Round Table, to organise a one off training session before they tackled the three peaks challenge. They enjoyed it so much they asked if I could do it as a regular boot camp. So all summer we did a once a week boot camp in the Sandbach area. It worked well and you could see the group getting fitter but also exercising better as I explained movements to them. Winter came and we couldn’t find a suitable indoor venue so we let it drop and I used the time to increase my 1:1 PT. But this summer we’re back in Sandbach with a bigger and better boot camp experience. The group comprises of both male and female members and we’ve opened it up to non members of the Round Table at £5 for the hour long session.

With all the training I do for my own goals (twice a day minimum) I’d always thought my own involvement at the boot camps should be one of demonstration, observation and encouragement. However I think the group wanted me to show them that I could do what I was asking them to do so we made an agreement. If I didn’t break 17:15 for 5k at the BMAF champs then I would do the next week’s boot camp alongside them. Now that may seem like a weak goal, considering what times I’ve run in the past, but I’d been struggling to get under 17:30 all year. As it turned out I ran 17:11 so I was saved! But come the next boot camp I decided to join in anyway, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to join them regular and count that as my second session of that day.

The benefits are clear, my involvement allows me to push the group harder because I can feel their pain, I tell them if I’m finding an exercise hard so they know I’m suffering like them but at the same time I’m grunting encouragement. The other benefit, to me, is that I no longer have to find the time for that second session of the day, plus I really enjoy the boot camp, it gives me everything I need to help my running, strength, endurance, core exercises and plyometric movements, and we have a laugh. So I’m going to continue going and work to make them harder each week, why not come and join us.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Northwich Five-O

I’ve been a little quiet lately, it’s been a busy period workwise so I’ve cut down on my social and social media activity. But I’ve also been doing some self analysis of where I am with my running and where I’m going with it.

To recap (for any new readers, regular readers feel free to ignore this paragraph); When I turned 45 I was running great, highly ranked in the UK, in my age group, and running times I hadn’t seen since before I turned 40, I had some good results in national competitions and even took a medal in the European champs (the one for old people). Injury took it’s toll and I dropped some form but was still performing well until I hit 48 and had the worst injury of my running life. It’s been a long time getting over that, and various other associated problems with my legs, glutes and back, but these last couple of months I’ve been pretty much able to train without associated muscle injury pain.

So what has this meant to me: For starters it means I can take part in races without the fear of breaking down. It means I can train at 100% and, more importantly I can train at a ‘relatively’ high pace, I’m also able to start quickly in races (for a long time I had to let others go whilst my legs got warmed up, even after a lengthy warm up the standing around at the start was enough to stiffen the muscles). However for two years I’ve missed a lot of training and what training I’ve been doing has been of a far lesser intensity and quality to that I would like to achieve, so, understandably, my form has deserted me and my results pale into insignificance compared to where I was before the big injury.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be running and running sub 18 minutes for a 5k is still pretty good, but being an ambitious runner it just isn’t good enough for me. But I’m also pragmatic, I’ve been here, relatively, before and I know it’s just a matter of persevering with the training, that I know works well, and being patient. Yes I’d like to be running faster now and I’d like to be contributing more to the Salford squad, but I’ve accepted that now is not my time and I’m happy to see my friends and fellow team members have successful runs whilst I persevere with my training programme.

So I’m looking forwards. Next year I turn 50, It’s hard to visualise it myself, particularly as I keep seeing postings of my results and pictures of me running in the 1990s, but yes I will be a quinquagenarian. I’ll be ranked against a load of people older than me rather than younger than me, although there are some extremely good runners turning, or recently turned 50, so I’ll still need to be running well. The main point is that instead of trying hard to find my fitness over the next few weeks I can concentrate my training so that I come into form next year, assuming I stay injury free.

So that’s what I’ve been doing/will continue to do over the next few months. My running continues to be focussed around improving speed and endurance but I’ve incorporated specific cross training sessions into my training as the 2^nd session of the day; Boot camp, kettlebells, weights, other cardio work and core activities. Yes I know I’ve done all that before but because of my injuries I wasn’t able to keep it as regular as I wanted to. Now I feel I’m back on track, though, as results show, I’m a long way off recovering my best form. Here’s hoping to a long sustained period of training that will see Rog back to his best form.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Don’t Let It Get You Down

I’ve had good times, my personal bests for all distances above 400m (excepting the steeplechase, which just goes to show Rog can’t jump) are pretty respectable, I’ve got a box full of medals and I’ve represented my country, in fact I’ve represented my Wifey’s country too (and she still won’t forgive me for that). I’m far from being a household name but I’ve been a ‘known’ runner within the running community and, I think, I have the respect of my peers for what I’ve achieved and how I’ve conducted myself as a runner. But, I’ve also had times where I’ve been out injured, I’ve struggled to run to the form I know I can achieve or I’ve just felt like I’m going nowhere. During these periods of poor form it would be so easy to accept defeat and stop training hard, run for fitness but don’t push yourself, after all it hurts to train hard, doesn’t it. But I’m a stubborn old git and I tend to push through it, punishing myself for no apparent return, until one day you turn a corner and you’re back in competitive mode.

I know many former star runners who no longer compete, some had injuries that just wouldn’t be fixed, others retired for reasons of their own, I never ask. Perhaps one reason I keep going is that I was never a schoolboy wonder, when I first started running my first 5k was over 18 minutes, so a 17 minute 5k, whilst significantly slower than my best, just doesn’t seem that bad.

I may not have been a star athlete in 1990, but I'd learnt how to win, and how to hold onto my watch picture as I crossed the line

The good times came to me in 1993 when I won my 1^st Surrey 10000m title, with a time of 30:33.7. Until that point I’d been a gradually improving club runner who was reliable but of B team standard. That victory propelled me into the big time, within six weeks I was running at Crystal Palace in the UK Champs. In front of full house I came dead last in the 3000m, yet, because of my previous lack of form, I was still able to walk away with a pb. I never became that big but I was always a contender in Surrey Champs and even won an individual South of England silver medal. 1993-1996 were my first peak.

getting ready to pounce past Mike Boyle to win my first major title, the Surrey 10000m, 1993

The good times came to a halt at the end of 1996, I’d won my first cross country race, the South of Thames Junior, in November and was in the form of my life. I had high hopes of a good position in the County Cross Country Champs, which were taking place in December, even had thoughts of a possible win (though I hadn’t expected Internationals Gary Staines and Jon Solly to turn up). But a week before the race I went down with a cold, a really bad cold. I rested up but really wanted to do the race. By the Saturday morning I was feeling fine so I went for a mile jog, it was easy, great I was able to race. That afternoon I hit the 1 mile point, in the 7.5 mile race, and it was like hitting a wall. I had nothing, I pushed through, hurting like hell as runner after runner took a place away from me. It was all I could do to hang onto 18^th place, the consolation being that Belgrave won the team event for the first time in 30 years.

I rested after the race and I really struggled in January, I couldn’t work it out so eventually I went to the doctors and it turned out I’d been lucky, I’d only strained my heart. Rest and a gradual increase in training activity were prescribed. 1997, by the previous three years standards, wasn’t a great year, though I still managed 3^rd in the Surrey 5000m Champs and 10^th in the Surrey Cross Country Champs, despite fracturing my metatarsal in May and having a further nine weeks rest. In 1998 I tried hard to regain my form of 1996 and was rewarded by my body telling me enough was enough, it broke down and I was out for a further 5 months. In all honesty I thought that was it, I couldn’t see myself getting back running, there was one defining moment that made me want to try again though – One sunny day as I was walking through Regents Park a runner from another club came past and said, in a disparaging way, ‘didn’t you used to be a runner’ – well that was like a red rag to a bull, he’d never come close to beating me and I had a feeling he never would.

As you can imagine it was slow progress at first, my first race back was in December, the Surrey Cross Country Champs, where I finished 66^th. I was back though and over the summer managed to get my 5000m times back to low 15 minutes, clearly I wasn’t as good as I’d been but I showed flashes of my old form with a win in the Surrey 10000m and the 3^rd fastest man in the Surrey Road Relays. Soon after I was off to Germany and the lack of distractions, housework, girlfriend, meant I was able to fully focus my training, when I wasn’t working.

A little less hair and past my best but still able to win the Wimbledon 10k in 31:56 and avoid being run over by a Jag

2000 started great, I set a huge pb when winning the Sidcup 10 and ran my 2^nd fastest 10k time a few weeks later, 31:04. Solid running continued until I tore my calf muscle in the Surrey 5000m Champs. It was another setback and another tough summer. I was now 35, I couldn’t see me having many years left at my peak. The next couple of years I was there or thereabouts but I was more of an also ran, though, on my day, I pulled off the odd race win in times that I’d be very happy to get within a minute of now. My decision to run the 2003 London Marathon meant I was training even harder than I’d done before and prior to the marathon I was in great shape. My marathon time, 2:34.10 was no great shakes compared by my peers but that 1^st marathon is like going into the unknown and I was just glad I managed to get round as my brain had been telling me to pull out from about 9 miles. The bonus being Belgrave took silver in the South of England Champs.

Following the marathon I really struggled to get any form back, sure there were a couple of 10ks run sub 32 minutes, but they were the exception rather than the rule. At the time I was approaching 40 and saw this as a reason to keep running. I was being realistic now, I couldn’t see me regaining my best ever form and one thing that had kept me going was fighting to keep my place in a very strong Belgrave team, I needed that fight to keep going but now Belgrave was overrun with young talent, I needed a Masters team to give me something to aim for. Belgrave just didn’t have the focus, so I took the tough decision to leave and join Herne Hill. Incentive in place I was running well, winning my 1^st Masters race and placing 1^st M40 at the Alsager 5, and then a torn hamstring put paid to the summer that had promised so much.

I managed to get back to form to help Herne Hill win the British Masters Cross Country Relay Champs, but then another change I was off to Scotland and years of shift work. I ran ok in Scotland, particularly in that first year. But I was definitely slowing down, it was an opportunistic Rog who found himself in the Edinburgh AC team that won the Scottish Road Relays in 2006, I took full advantage of my relay experience by taking EAC into the lead, which we kept to the end. After that my form started to dwindle as my body felt more and more tired from the ravages of night shift. I had some reasonable runs in that time but I was a different athlete to the one I’d been in London.

Edinburgh days, still got a turn of speed on the odd occasion

A 33:10 10k in 2009, aged 44, showed I could still pull out a good run but I did little else for the rest of the year, the job, the niggles, the uncertainties over redundancy and the studying to become a Personal Trainer all seemed to take their toll. At the back end of 2009 my life in Scotland was over, Carole, who I’d been with for a couple of years, took a position in Cheshire and I had to make a decision about my future. The offer of redundancy helped and I left behind my IT career, completed my training and started life in Cheshire, as a Personal Trainer.

It was a hard time trying to get established in a new area, particularly as we were living in a small village, but it did give me the time to train hard and 2010 started with a bang, 1^st M45 at Alsager, in a time faster than when I’d been 1^st M40 5 years earlier, 20^th and 1^st M45 at the Trafford 10k, in my fastest 10k for years, 32:19, and 2^nd in the BMAF Cross Country Champs. Those were the good times, a little niggle helped me to lose form but I was still good enough to take 2^nd in the BMAF 5k Champs and 3^rd in the European Masters 10000m Champs. After that I was exhausted, my form dwindled and a succession of niggles and injuries have stopped me from regaining that form. I’ve had good runs during the four years that have passed, I’ve won quite a few medals too, but in particular these last two years have been a real struggle for me, going from injury to injury. It’s the closest I’ve got to retirement since 1998, but there’s something encouraging about seeing my mates and Salford colleagues running well and it’s kept me going. This year’s been really hard I’ve had to work really hard to run slow times, but these last three weeks I’ve been managing to train properly for the first time in two years, yes there’s been pain but not the pain you get when you’re training through an injury. A few weeks ago I ran a 5k at the fast Christleton event and it was hard work to just break 17:30. Yesterday I took part in the BMAF 5k Champs and felt much better running 17:11. Ok, I know, It’s nothing special, the winning M45 time was 15:37 and there were three more M45s under 16 minutes, including my team mate Gerry O’Neill, but it’s progress towards something better and that’ll keep me in the game for a few weeks more.

Back to form in 2005, 2nd BMAF XC M45

After all these years I know that all that’s stopping me from getting back to the top of my form is a period of consistent hard training, I’m hopeful I’ll get the chance to prove I’m right.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

British Masters Road Relays 2014 – An Alsop’s Salford Perspective

As last Saturday’s championship approached I had a growing anticipation of the race to come. It wasn’t quite the anticipation I had in the four years that I was a member of the Herne Hill team that finished runners up twice and won twice, but I was looking forward to a good day out in Sutton Park, with Salford. For starters there would be the usual bus full of Salford competitors and supporters, for the first time since I joined we would feature a ladies team in a masters relay, then there was the opportunity to catch up with old friends and competitors from years gone by, sadly Herne Hill, Belgrave and Edinburgh AC were without teams, but there were still plenty of people I knew, and lastly I was at least going to get a run this year, having missed out through injury last year. Still it was another injury that had put me into the Salford M45 B team, not a position I want to occupy but totally appropriate since I only started jogging a week earlier. I wasn’t alone, many of my Salford colleagues were returning from injuries, struggling with injuries or just hadn’t been able to make it to the start line at all through injury. But, what was good to see was so many old runners taking part and even more so, so many of them running really well, achieving times that runners many years younger would love to run.

All the Salford teams looked like they would be challenging for medals, could it be another Salford medal fest. As usually happens in the week before a major championship, there were dropouts, for various reasons, but we have numbers to cover and we were able to get five main teams out and a number of B teams to back them up, by far the largest contingent of teams and athletes in the whole event.

Arriving at Sutton Park it wasn’t just runners out enjoying the sunshine, the bottom end was packed with picnickers. As we approached the course the red and white Salford tent was standing out proud, with a number of the lads and lasses hanging around watching the first event, ladies and M65+.  We had a team in the W35 and, incredibly, three teams in the M65+. As expected the Salford A teams were in the hunt for medals and the Ladies were at one point leading the whole race. Unfortunately, on this occasion we just didn’t have enough strength in depth but it was a good start to the day, we’d shown our steel and there was more to come. The ladies finished 8^th, and the gents in 6^th, 10^th and 16^th respectively. Of course it wasn’t a complete medal free zone as Stan Curran picked up a bronze as 3^rd fastest M65 and Hayley Kuter took silver in the W35 event.

One race down, two medals taken as Hayley and Stan set impressive times

After my own warm up, I’d kept it short as I didn’t know how much running my legs had in them, I spent some time chatting with the many runners I’ve encountered in my 25 years as an athlete. It was good to catch up with Jon James, who I’d roomed with when we both ran for England, he’s had his own injury problems so it was good to see him back running, even more impressive to see him take a medal as one of the fastest M45 legs.

I was on 2^nd leg, the same as my mate Rob, so once the gun went there wasn’t a lot of time to hang around, last visit to the loo and then huddle around with all the other leg two’s waiting for your man to come in.

First man coming in to the handover area was Mark Johnson of Mansfield, with another impressive run, which would hold up as the 2^nd fastest M35 leg. Just two seconds down was the first of Salford’s teams, Matt Shaw bringing the M35 A team in 2^nd. These were followed in by a group of M35s before the first M45 team came home in 8^th, Thames Hare and Hounds, one of the teams tipped for glory. Eight seconds further back our reliable rocket, Dave Lockett brought Salford M45 A home in 3^rd M45 position, giving Rob Tudor two to chase. Steve Pennington handed over to me, M45 B, in 38^th position, Mike Grace wasn’t far behind in 42^nd with the M35 B team, not too far back, holding 6^th M55 position was Stan Owen, with Gary Thomason bringing home the M55 B team a little further back. What an incredible job Dave had done to get A and B teams out in all three categories plus three teams in the previous race, expect to see B teams in the Ladies soon too, we’re going to need a bigger bus!

At the end of leg two Salford Harriers M35 team were leading the way, but not far behind, in 2^nd and 1^st M45, Jon James had a great run. Rob too had run a great leg, pulling the M45 team into 4^th position overall and 2^nd to Wells, but with an ominous Leicester lurking in 3^rd. Woodford Green were leading the M55 race, with Cambuslang in 2^nd and our Eric Williams having his own stormer in 3^rd. My run was far short of spectacular but served it’s purpose in getting me round intact, not one painful moment during the whole 3 miles, and, even though I couldn’t be as competitive as I like, I still managed to gain 2 places. A mere 7 places further back another of our recovering injured, Dave Hudson, was running well for the M35 B team, showing promise for later in the year, and a little bit further back, Ian Johnson was pulling the M55 B team up 7 places.

By the end of Leg 3 our M35 team were back in 2^nd place, as former Belgrave colleague Simon Marwood of Altrincham passed our Jon Dance, but the gap was only 6 seconds. Thames Hare and Hounds were now in 3^rd with, to my mind, one of the top runs of the day by Martin Rees (M60) bringing M35 Les Croupiers into 4^th. Paul Simons, yet another long term injury sufferer had earned his place in the Salford M45 B team through persistence against pain but how he wouldn’t have wished he was in the sort of shape he’s capable of. I’ve raced against Paul for many years and he’ll always give everything he’s got for the team, and he did, taking the lead in the M45 category, 8 seconds ahead of Leicester, with Thames Hare and Hounds M45 team in 3rd. This was the last leg for the M55 race which Woodford Green won, Phil Quibell brought home Salford in 2^nd place, ahead of Bristol and West. That was Salford’s first set of team medal sorted. Salford M45 B team was still winning the battle of the Bs as Paul Birkett gained a further 4 places. The M35 B team were just over a minute behind as Phil West also gained 2 places, and Tommy Temple showed B consistency as he moved up the M55 team by 4 places.

M55 silver; Phil and Stan, minus Eric

Halfway through the main race and Salford’s M55 teams had set our standard with 2^nd and 25^th, at the end of the next leg we’d know the fate of the M45 teams.

Altrincham showed their intent on this leg, Matt Barnes set the day’s fastest time as he opened up a minute and 21 second gap over Thames Hare and Hounds, who had come through into 2^nd with a fine run by Simon Wurr. John Lloyd had run well to keep Salford M35 in 3^rd but Les Croupiers were now only 4 seconds behind us. It made a nice change for Salford M45s to be heading Leicester at the start of the last leg, but with Gordon Lee on that leg for Leicester it was always going to be tough to maintain the position. Gerry O’Neill is new in the team but he showed what a fine prospect he is, running not much slower than established luminaries Dave Lockett and Rob Tudor, unfortunately it wasn’t enough as Gordon went on to set the fastest M45 time of the day. 2^nd again for Salford M45, but we’ll have our day. Ben Reynolds secured team bronze for Thames Hare and Hounds M45 team. Ian Jackson moved M45 B team up a further 5 places to 27^th overall and Sean Cordell kept the Salford M35 B team in touch moving them up 3 places. More medals secured as the M45s finished in 2^nd and 13^th respectively.

More medals as the M45 race finishes; Dave, Rob and Paul, minus Gerry

At the end of leg 5 Altrincham were still in the lead, 1 minute 23 ahead of Les Croupiers, who’s Robert Sage had pulled them from 4^th to 2^nd. Pumlani Bangani kept Salford in the hunt, in 3^rd, 9 seconds further back, with Thames Hare and Hounds dropping to 4^th.  Salford’s remaining B team moved up 14 places, thanks to Trevor Raynor.

Was there any doubt? with Dave Norman on last Leg, Altrincham clinched the 2014 title. Les Croupiers put up a good show as Graham Breen ran fastest on leg 6 to secure silver for them and Glyn Billington kept Salford steady in bronze position. Thames Hare and Hounds vanished as they failed to run a 6^th man and Albert Castile pulled Salford B up one final place, finishing in 23rd.

Completing the set; Matt, Billy, Glyn, Jon, John and Pumlani

The end of some successful Salford plundering, with two team silvers, one team bronze and individual medals for Stan, Hayley and Matt. A total of 16 medals as Salford once again showed their support for Masters athletics.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk
Photos, thanks to Sid Sacks, who also ran.

Salford Harriers Raising Their Game

I like a bit of history, it was my favourite subject at school and I’m enjoying watching the programmes looking back on the First World War, in this the 100^th year since the start. During my 25 years as a runner I’ve belonged to clubs with great histories and I feel like I’ve made an actual contribution, albeit a small one in comparison to others, to that history. It was one of the reasons I joined Salford Harriers, nearly two years ago. They go back to 1884 and have won a number of major titles since then.

Unfortunately, for me, I’ve spent most of my time with Salford suffering with one injury or another, my current problem, pulled hamstring, is reminiscent of the injury I had when I first joined. Fortunately for Salford my incapacitation has not stopped them from winning as the club is filled with talented runners, in fact so many that our B teams feature prominently in competitions as well as our A teams.

Since I joined, and it’s purely coincidental, the Senior team has been building in strength. Sure Andi Jones leaving was a big loss but fresh blood has come into the team and our Senior squad can boast a team full of International runners with improving pbs. The Masters, always a threat and always supportive of Masters competitions (usually bringing more than one team in each age group, who else could boast that claim) have won or been challenging for the win in just about every competition. Since I joined, when we were already a class Masters squad, we’ve been bolstered by the addition of more quality runners. Unfortunately, for us, this last year the rules have changed to reduce the number of athletes to run in Masters teams in the relay competitions, whilst this should make competition fiercer, allowing more teams a bite at the cherry, it will mean a number of our athletes will miss out on their own little nibble. Perhaps it’s time to allow B teams to feature in the medals, I’m sure we could sneak a few that way and I’ve never seen why strong teams should be penalised, look at Aldershot’s ladies team, they regularly finish 1^st and 2^nd in major competitions but the fact that some always miss out on medals may encourage them to leave a team they don’t want to.

Next weekend is the Masters Road Relays at Sutton Park. It promises to be a fantastic day out. It always has been and I’ve been lucky enough to be involved for a number of years. I’ve yet to make my debut for Salford in this event, last year I was almost ready to start running again after messing up my Achilles in the winter, this year it still looks like I may have to miss out again. For Salford it’s not just a chance to fight for medals against the best clubs in the country, it’s a day out. Having seen our A team line ups I’m quite excited to see how they do.

It’s been a bit of a break since I wrote my last blog, work has kept me busy, so busy I’ve been working seven days a week for a while, thankfully I enjoy my work and there is reward in doing it. My last blog saw me express my thoughts on giving in to the injuries, whilst at the same time I was making a determined bid to try to make our four man team for next week’s championship. Writing down my thoughts made me more determined, the following weekend I was up in Scotland for a family do, so I decided to run the Edinburgh Parkrun. For the first time in many a race I actually lined up at the start thinking I could have a good race, I’d even put on my racing flats, something I’ve never done before for a parkrun. It was a windy day but as I set off the wind was behind me, I went through the first k faster than any I’ve done in a long time and an even quicker 2^nd k, but turning the corner half way round I was suddenly hit by this incredibly strong wind, the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. It stopped me dead, I pushed through, by 3k I was hitting lactic but still fighting through this stiff wind. It was incredibly painful and I just wanted it to stop but it wasn’t going to so I just had to keep fighting it all the way to the finish. I’d been on for a sub 17:30 finish early on but the wind saw me falter to 18:02 a chance wasted.

The confidence gained, despite the slow time, meant I lined up, four days later, for a 5 mile race with a real feeling that I could do well. And I was doing well, through 3 miles in a time that would have seen me run about 17:20 for 5k, I was coming strong in that 4^th mile, passing people and setting my sights on a group ahead. With 1 mile to go I felt a slight twinge in my hamstring, I eased back a touch but thought I’d be ok to maintain pace. I decided not to push any harder and let the group ahead go, but I was still on for a reasonable finish, then 300m to go to the finish I felt a big pull. This time I had to slow right down and jog/limp into the finish. I lost a lot of time in that 300m but only 1 position. More importantly that was it for me, I could hardly walk and it’s only now that I’m able to make a start running again. Such is the life of a runner.

All my plans for this year have been thrown into disarray, the races I was targeting are all bunched around May and June and there is no way I’ll be fit enough to compete at the level I wanted to by then. I’ll have to build up slowly and focus on next year, when I hit the new age group. So clearly I’m not giving into it just yet.

Incidentally, I’ve just realised that I’ve written this blog from the perspective of the mens team, but actually the ladies are also showing form and will be aiming to feature next week too.

Come on Salford.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk