Some Pain, No Running

Well it’s been four weeks since my last blog and I suppose that’s mainly due to me having nothing much to say, certainly from a running point of view. The winner of the free entry, mentioned in the previous blog, for The Spartan Race was Paul Simons. Not only did he win the free entry but he won the race he was put into. Well done Paul. I’d mentioned that I also had an entry should I choose to enter. I’ll admit I wasn’t that bothered but in the end I picked up some injuries that meant it would have been a particularly stupid thing for me to take part.

This year’s injury woe goes back to May, just when I was starting to find some form I got a niggle in my groin. I thought it was manageable and I was able to represent Salford in the BMAF Road Relays, where we picked up silver medals. A couple of weeks after that it started to get worse so I rested it, not easy when you spend your life showing people how to get fit.

I had an entry for the Hollins Green 5k, I’d entered after the BMAF relays, confident of a sub 17 clocking, but I didn’t think I’d be able to take part as I was resting and losing fitness right up to the day. On the morning of, I decided to try a short run, groin was ok, but it had only been slow. However we were going to be in the Hollins Green area that afternoon so I might as well turn up and, if nothing else, I could have a pleasant run around the new circuit. So I did.

But, running’s one thing, racing’s another, after a bit of discomfort in the first 200m, I settled down and realised I was running ok and was also not doing too badly. Being around a few of my regular competitors was like a red rag to a bull so naturally the competitive instinct kicked in and I started to push the pace. I still felt good, and I felt surprisingly fit, considering the lay off I’d had. Coming up towards the finish I realised I was actually on for a time not that far off my season’s best, so I pushed harder, and that was the mistake. Clearly the groin issue had caused my other muscles to tighten up and I felt my hamstring go, thankfully only 10m before the finish line. I hobbled over and still managed a 17:21 clocking.

At first I thought it was just a minor strain but I was unable to run on it for over a week. The following weekend we were booked to go to Spain, my intention, when we booked it, was to fine tune my training before the BMAF 5000m, but now I was just hoping I’d be able to run whilst out there.

Spain was hot, but I don’t mind that, and I was keen to start running. So I did, on the day after we arrived I went for a 5 minute spin. Well it was actually a shuffle and a very uncomfortable one at that, but no reaction on the hamstring, so later that day I did 10 minutes, this time with Carole. I felt much better and much looser, such that, although I wasn’t actually going that fast, Carole was struggling to keep up with me. The next day was 15 minutes, much quicker again and I was starting to feel like I was going to be ok. A gradual build up over the week saw me get close to the hour and feeling good, I even threw in a speed session. Just one little annoyance, a niggle in my left knee, the same one I get occasionally. It wasn’t stopping me doing anything so I thought I’d just monitor it.

there was even a 10k on while we were there but I wasn't ready for that, shame I enjoy racing when conditions are hot

Arriving home my first session was a speed session, but this time the knee started to hurt more. I decided to lay off the pace and just run for a few days, then by Friday it started really hurting. So I’ve made the decision to stop again and see if a rest will serve as a cure all, again, not ideal when you’re working in the fitness industry.

I’ve got a scan booked on my groin, it’s still niggling, but come the day, I might see if I can get them to scan my knee too, I’m not hopeful but if I smile nicely you never know.

Effectively that closes the book on 2015, the re-ignition of my enthusiasm for racing, following the BMAF Road Relays, has been dampened down. I no longer have any interest in racing, I know this will change once I’m clear of injuries but I suspect it’ll take me a while to get back any decent level of fitness, in the mean time I’m trying to do anything that I can to keep fit and healthy, without causing any further grief, but it isn’t easy.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Obstacle Course and Other Similar Events

If you’ve read my blog before you’ll know I’m a runner, pure and simple. For many of the 26 years I’ve been running I’ve been a pretty competitive runner, winning numerous medals along the way. During the bulk of those competitive years, certainly since 1993, when I won my first County championship, I’ve believed that if I wanted to be successful in my chosen field I needed to be very focussed and, consequently, some things had to go. I gave up football, badminton and skiing, and have never made any effort to go back to those. I was also particularly driven to seek my success on the track, which meant, other than road relays and the occasional excursion, I kept away from road races. That was a personal decision, influenced by my first coach, Arthur Bruce. Other athletes managed to have successful track and field seasons as well as doing well on the roads and I did have road race cravings but I stuck to the plan, and it worked for me. It was 1999, following a long term injury and a change of coach to David Lucas, that I decided I wanted a change of race format, and I started seeking out more road races rather than track races, but I was still very focussed on being the best runner I could be, so all my training was running based.

Had you come to me at any time since 1993 and prior to my becoming a Personal Trainer in 2009, with the suggestion of taking part in an obstacle race, I would have said no straight away. It just wasn’t my thing, and besides, I knew I could beat the majority of people in a straight forward race, but the moment you put obstacles in my way, that required you to use, technique, core and upper body strength, I knew I’d just make a fool of myself. I struggled to climb a rope at school and I remember it was a struggle for me to do even one press-up whilst in my teens, add to this the inflexibility of a long distance runner and a core used to nothing more than holding me up straight, so what chance had I against strong fit guys over an obstacle course.

It wasn’t always so; back before I took up running I played anything and everything I could and I was equally bad at hockey, football, basketball and tennis, amongst other things. In my early years as a runner, 1989-91, I wasn’t really considered that good at that either, and neither trained particularly cleverly or specified. I’d pretty much race anything, anywhere and was often seen at local leagues running the 100m, 400m, 800m and 3000m in an evening meeting. But I was having fun, I was finding myself, I didn’t think I was going to be any good, it wasn’t like I’d been a runner at school so had a very specific progressive path, I didn’t even know many of the top runners names.

Back in the early 90’s I did actually take part in an obstacle race. I think it was organised by the round table and took part in Sidcup. It was a work thing and a team event, the object being for a team to get a tyre round in the fastest time. Our interpretation was to give the tyre to the biggest guy and run around with him, which was pretty stupid really because it meant there was no real team work, no real thought process and the whole thing, for me, felt a complete waste of time, I wasn’t challenged, and even the beer was rubbish. After that little episode I decided not to waste any energy on ‘Fun’ events, I was only interested in something that I could measure my progress on, e.g. finishing higher up or, going faster, or longer. But….deep down I always had that inclination to try another obstacle course, one that was me against the clock and/or other competitors.

Focus continued on my running, such that I was 46 before I even did my 1^st parkrun. At this same time I was training guys from the parachute regiment and they went to one of these obstacle events, it was winter, it was cold and they came back telling me about plunging through ice into freezing water. Now I don’t like the cold at the best of times, I will run in it, but I don’t like it. I was also starting to see an increase in the number of this type of event. There always seemed to be some element of wading through mud, I was already doing that, running at Bogarts Hole Clough, and other not quite as but still, muddy cross country courses. I hate mud, I love cross country on difficult courses, as long as it’s not muddy. Seeing pictures and videos of people running by fire, electric fences, barbed wire, tunnels. Why would I want to do that, particularly as I was now starting to find some form in running.

And then I got contacted by Dan, who asked me to write something in a blog about the Reebok Spartan Race UK. I’d heard of the Spartan Races but knew little about them, the first thought I had was ‘what could I say’, I’d never had any inclination to enter an obstacle style mud race. But then I thought a little deeper and I realised that what I could write about was why somebody like me wouldn’t be interested and what might appeal to somebody who wasn’t like me. As I thought about it, I reflected on my current state of mind, with regards to taking part in running races and how much I enjoy aspects of my training, other than running, e.g. boot camps, and maybe it was time to seek out a different challenge.

So I decided to find out more about the races, and went to the page that Dan sent me, http://spartanracemedia.com/uk . Suffice to say that these races offer a lot more than just a stroll through the park and from a competitive point of view are probably more suited to the fitter boot camp or cross fit type competitors, alongside ex-military, who probably fit into the previous categories, but more as trainers. But having said that they offer a challenge to anybody who is willing to get their hands, and the rest of their body, dirty and push themselves to their limits, and there are many of those judging by the facebook posts I read about people doing marathons and ultra runs.

Now I lead, and take part, in a boot camp twice a week, and, although I still don’t have a big upper body, it is a lot stronger than it used to be. It’s got me thinking, ‘would this sort of event suit me’? I don’t know the answer to that, but the only way I could really find out is by taking part.

Having lost some of my cardiovascular fitness, due to multiple injuries and illnesses, over the last couple of years, I no longer find myself at the sharp end of races. This has led to a slight loss of motivation on my part. Admittedly I’m still highly motivated to train hard, and I do, but I’m not motivated to commit so much time to a race where I won’t feature high in the results, at the expense of spending quality time with my partner. I was lucky enough to make it into the Salford team that won Silver at the Masters Road Relays, just a few weeks ago, the difference in my racing approach to how I’d approached races for the last couple of years, was clear, I was so highly motivated and committed to doing my best I actually ran better than current form. It swept me forward on a wave of motivation, my training got quicker and I was looking forward to my next race. With extra speed comes injury and, I’ve given myself a groin strain. It’s been manageable with treatment, but today it went big time. I need a rest, that rest could be a couple of days or it could be a couple of weeks, either way it’s likely to affect my fitness. Obviously, whilst it will put me back against my peers in running races, I won’t lose a lot against the general population of Britain, so maybe it is the right time to try something different, see how well I fair against other people who have their own level of fitness, see how I fair against the course, after all I always fancied a go on the Krypton Factor obstacle course.

These events aren’t cheap, and I know many runners who would baulk at the cost, but, having recently tried to organise an event myself, I understand that there is a cost to putting on an event. Admittedly those that are successful make good money out of it, but you’ve got to start somewhere and starting up always incurs the greatest cost. So I don’t begrudge this cost, if you do you don’t have to take part, there are other options.

To help with costs, Dan has given me a code for anybody who reads this blog to use, which will give you 10% off entry to any of this year’s UK Races (South Wales – 20 June,  Manchester – 4-5 July, Scotland 18-19 July, Cambridge - 5 Sept and South – 19-20 and 27 Sept, details of all can be found at the link above. The code is :- BLOGGER15

Additional to this, I have another code, that can be used only once, for one event, for one lucky reader. This will give you free entry to any one of the UK races, if you’re interested, email your name to rogalsop@googlemail.com, before 12 June, all names will then go into a draw and the winner will be sent the code.

I haven’t made up my mind whether I’ll be joining you, lets see how my injury recovers and where I am with my fitness, but I haven’t ruled it out either.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

If At First You Don’t Succeed……The Masters Road Relays 2015

I love relays, but what I really love is being at the sharp end in a relay event, the weight of expectation and pressure, and the relief when you know you did your job well. I’ve been lucky, the clubs I’ve run for have been in the situation where they were fighting for medals, though I’ve also had the disappointment of finishing mid field or lower, and the worst, not even finishing a team.

I’ve been doing the Masters Road Relay since I was 41, 9 years ago, I missed it when I was 40 as Herne Hill couldn’t get a team to the start line that year. In 2006 Herne Hill came 2^nd to Bristol and West, I ran 15:28 on my leg. In 2007 we were again pushed into 2^nd place by Bristol and West, I could only manage 15:45 that year. 2008 we were again struck by injuries and failed to get a team out. 2009 saw us return and this time we knocked Bristol and West from the top spot, my contribution a 15:29 leg. We achieved our 2^nd win in 2010, in what would be the last year the 8 stage was held from M40-49, a 15:30 contribution from me. In 2011 we struggled to get 8 fit men on the line, but we managed it, with a mix of all ages, to come a disappointing 5^th, my own contribution of 16:29 showing how much fitness I’d lost from missing a lot of training during the winter. Then in 2012, my last year at Herne Hill Harriers, we failed to get enough fit bodies out for the event.

They were good years, we had a good team, that could challenge for medals, and I showed that I was an integral member of that team. But with time, changes come. The format was changed and I was getting older. Moving to a more local club I had to choose one that embraced this championship, I chose Salford Harriers, who had a team that could compete on the same level as Herne Hill Harriers.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to make an appearance in the 2013 championship, I would have been in the M45-54 6 stage event, because I’d inured my Achilles, quite badly, in February and I was still only able to jog on the day, I went along to support and it was great to see the team come 2^nd to Leicester. It gave me hope that the following year, with me back to full fitness, we’d be challenging for a victory in the competition. But the rules changed again and the M45-54 became a 4 man competition for 2014. Salford is a club full of talented Masters, so a team of 4 only put more pressure on everybody to be at their best to gain selection. Sadly, for me, I was still hampered by injuries and only just scraped into the B team, once again watching in the wings as Salford took another 2^nd place to Leicester, in that category.

2015 I’d had another dodgy winter and have struggled to return to the form of only a few years ago. Naturally I’ve persevered and there have been glimmers of hope, a 17:20 and a 17:11 5k in March, but those times would still only be good enough for the Salford B team. I was training hard and it was clear to me that I was getting fitter, but my race results were still relatively poor, two 10ks of 35:31 and 35:19. Perfectly respectable for the average M50 but they weren’t good enough to help Salford defeat Leicester. In a bid to get into consideration I looked around for some 5ks but, due to my location on those weekends, I could only come up with two parkruns in successive weeks.

The first one was when I was down in London, visiting some friends and celebrating a 50^th birthday. Being in the Wimbledon area it was only natural that I should choose to run the Wimbledon common parkrun. Problem one, I was out drinking with friends the night before. Problem two, I was in drinking with more friends when I got back from the other friends. Problem three, I hate racing (I know many people don’t consider parkruns a race but you try telling that to the guy or gal who finishes 1^st, or, in my case, looking to set a good time) at 9am and problem four, it tipped down just before the start and the course was wet as well as being fairly uneven. 17:57, oh dear.

The following week I was up in Edinburgh. In march I’d run 17:12 here, when there was no wind, so, knowing how much fitter I was, I was fully expecting to go under 17 minutes and hoping that would be enough to get me into the A team. But, as normal on this course, I was met with strong winds on the banks of the Forth, so strong that at the 1k marker I was on target for 17:32. At 2k, achieved nearly 4 minutes later, there was no way I was going to run sub 17, even with the wind behind me on the way back. The wind never fully compensated me, but I did push really hard, managing to burn off a couple of youngsters to the finish. 18:00, kiss the A team place goodbye.

I could have given myself another chance the following week but I decided I was better of training. Which was a good idea as I managed to strain my groin during a boot camp on the Thursday. I’d already planned an easy week for the race, so I was hopeful that the groin strain would recover in time for the championships, but having a job that requires repeated demonstrations of moves that require the use of the hip flexor and having to move heavy weights around was never going to help recovery. It did get better but it was still there on Saturday, and still is today.

By then I’d found out that I had been selected for the A team, I managed to raise my excitement levels, but they were tinged with concerns about whether I was actually good enough for the team. I knew I was in good shape and I was convinced that I could sneak under 17 minutes for 5k but was that enough in a club loaded with talent. The team; Gerry O’Neil, Paul Simons, Rob Tudor and myself was definitely a team for others to fear, if we were all at our best, but I don’t think any of us could say that. All of us had suffered from injury woes over the last year, and it was debateable as to who had suffered most, though I’d like to throw my hat into that particular ring.

As the day approached I found I was allocated last leg. Not something that would normally concern me, but with my lack of recent pedigree I had visions of taking the team from 1^st to 4^th on that last leg. Having said that, the day before I was completely focused on running a good last leg.

On the day of the race I was up late, 8:05am, normally I can’t stay in bed beyond 7am, but today I felt sluggish. Don’t ask me why, I’d had no alcohol the day before and had taken the day off exercise. Still breakfast, lunch and a shower revived me and I was keen to get to Sutton Park and soak up the atmosphere.

Rob and I were probably the last Salford Harriers to arrive, we’d missed our W45-54 team win gold and the M55 and M65 race had just started. I walked around the area chatting to mates, old and new, and prepared myself for our event.

And then we were off. Our M35 team were right in the action, holding 2^nd when they came past me, with Gerry O’Neil bringing my team in 3^rd amongst the M45s, with a time of 16:08. The 2^nd leg was devastating for my old team, Herne Hill Harriers, and my old mate Vic Maughn, he pulled a calf on the way out to the turn around and had to hobble back, losing many minutes and places and effectively ruling out medals for Herne Hill. Paul Simons maintained 3^rd position with an astounding 16:38, considering 4 weeks previously he’d paced the 3:30 group in the Manchester Marathon, and a week later he’d run the London Marathon dressed as a bottle of water. Rob Tudor took over and I was hoping he’d bring me home in the lead, my favoured position. Unfortunately for Rob, he also suffered a calf pull, luckily for me, and Salford, this occurred at the bottom of the final hill, not far from the finish. We lost seconds, which could have been minutes, and Rob handed me over in 2^nd, having caught and passed Leicester, with a time of 16:19, but I was still 10 seconds behind Aldershot Farnham and District when I set off on my leg, 10 seconds that felt like forever as I waited for Rob to come in.

What do you do now, you’re within sight of the leader, a guy you don’t know too much about but you’re aware he’s pretty good (Scott Smith-Bannister finished nearly 500 places higher than me in the English National Cross Country Champs, in Feb), behind you, but you don’t know how far because you’ve already set off, will be Leicester and very probably Tyne Bridge. Leicester’s Gareth Deacon, I did know about, we’d been pretty close on times over the last three bmaf cross country relays, with him holding a slight upper hand, Tyne Bridge I had no idea about at all. So do I blast it and try to catch Aldershot, risking getting caught and losing the silver and even bronze, or do I save something in case I get caught from behind. You can probably sense my dilemma, you might’ve done different to me, I would have in different circumstances.

In the past I’ve shot off from a relay handover, but since my Achilles injury I’ve found it hard to get up to pace quickly, the reason why I’m often swamped at the start of races. I’ve also blasted it up the initial hill at Sutton Park and my fitness has carried me through when I was knackered. But I don’t have that level of fitness, if I blasted the hill I was likely to die (metaphorically) slowly and agonisingly and see the medals fly off to other teams. Decision made, for once I’d just go steady up the hill and see where I was once I got to the top.

When I say steady I was still working, I just wasn’t trying to catch Aldershot in the first mile. I could see the Aldershot vest and it appeared to be going at the same pace as me. I was getting quite a lot of support on the hill, a number of Salford Harriers were there but also runners I’ve known for years, but I was told the news I didn’t want to hear, ‘Gareth’s coming up behind you’. That meant he wasn’t far behind, oh dear.

Finally I reached the top of the hill, but I couldn’t see Scott due to the curves and the trees. I decided I didn’t have a lot of ground left so I had to make an effort now, I put my foot down and found some surprising speed that I’ve been missing for two years. This would also delay any passing manoeuvre from Gareth. As I came through onto the straight I could see Scott again, there were a number of Salford Harriers here and they were giving me encouragement. I didn’t want to let them down so I picked up my pace again and tried to get into a rhythm, it was working Scott didn’t seem to be getting away, but I didn’t seem to be closing him down either, that was worrying, he wasn’t going to cave in so I would need to produce something special to catch him, but did I have anything special?

I pushed again going down to the turnaround, more strategically placed Salford supporters made me want to run myself into the ground to win the gold, but as I turned around Scott was already in the distance. I wasn’t about to give in yet, besides we hadn’t taken silver yet. Heading up the hill I could now gauge how much lead I had over Gareth, it was a bigger gap than I had expected and I was confident I could hold it. Tyne Bridge looked too far back to challenge but Ian Hudspith, of Morpeth was coming through strong. Knowing his class I knew he’d get me before the finish but I had a fleeting thought that if I could catch his wind he might help me get back to Scott. Going past the Salford supporters again I was pushing with everything I had now, I just hoped I could keep it going to the finish, nobody passed me, with the exception of Ian Hudspith, who flew right past me to set the days fastest time. Any thoughts of catching his wind were blown away in the turbulence he created. I did actually try to match his pace but that lasted for about two steps, I could no longer see Scott and I was concerned that if I went too fast now Gareth would sink me on the final hills.

By the time I reached the hills I knew Scott was long gone (he opened up the gap by a further 16 seconds), I asked a couple of spectators how far behind the next runner was, when they told me ‘miles’ it de-stressed me but I still wanted to push, I needed to run a decent time to justify my place in the A team. And then it was up the final hill and my first glance at my watch, it said 16 minutes something so I knew I could get home under 17 minutes if I kept working.

The race is lost and I've pulled out a gap on 3rd place but I'm still pushing for a sub 17 finish

I finished in 2^nd place, tired, with a time of 16:34, well under what I thought I was capable of. I had done a good leg, for my fitness level, and you can’t deny that we gave AFD a good race, but once again it was silvers for Salford, even if we had beaten Leicester, in this championship for the first time.  

Then I was back out again to give our M35 team a shout, we’d been right up there all the way through proceedings, getting within seconds of the lead at one stage, unfortunately, on a very strong last leg, we just lost out on bronze, despite out man, James Kovacs, running a good leg. After saying goodbye to the many friends within running and collecting our medals it was off home and onto the next challenge. Maybe next year will be our year, but we’ll have to run better than today to achieve it, but I’m certain we’ll keep trying.

Rob Tudor and myself collecting our silverware

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Photos with thanks to Sid Sacks and Carole Miller.

The Run Cross Challenge – Progress Report

Well It’s a few weeks on from the announcement that I was putting on this event. To recap the event is somewhat unique in that it takes a championship track format and puts it onto a cross country course, i.e. there are a series of qualification rounds, followed by a grand final, where the winner takes all. Plus the addition of a prize for the fastest time run during the day. Naturally, nobody wants to go home after one race, so I’ve even catered for that by giving everybody knocked out, on the way to the final, an extra race, to aim for that fastest time. So, as a minimum, for the £6 you get two races.

Things have been coming along nicely but one thing I will say, I now have an appreciation as to why race entries cost so much, it’s because everything you need, in order to put on an event, especially a one time event, costs so much, as an example, my original plan was to organise the event on a trail course, but the cost of hiring toilets would have been astronomical. In order to keep the price down I had to look elsewhere. Luckily I remembered a place from my youth and have found a great course, with toilets included.

The venue is the playing fields at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, with whom I have built a good relationship. The cost of hire includes use of the Leisure Centre toilet and changing facilities, next door. You can see a map of the course here http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/667614846/

I have a UKA permit for the event, 2015050, which means I’m insured, I have a few volunteers, though because one has just moved out of the area I’ll need a couple more. I use the term volunteer loosely as I intend to pay expenses and provide a lunch. This week I managed to get an agreement to borrow some fence posts, to mark out the course, from Vale Royal AC, so thanks to them, also thanks to John Lloyd of Cannonball Events, who also offered to loan me some. A tent and other support comes from Bill Bradley, best known for being a run director at Pennington Flash Parkrun, and also organiser of the Flash In The Park event, which takes place on 21 June. The only things I really need to organise are tape, numbers, pins and a few other ancillary items, essentially I’m good to go.

I’m quite excited about the event, it’s a great course, I wish I could actually run it, but I’ll be too busy, now all we need is runners to understand the concept and buy into it by entering. I’ve set the event limit at 300 (which doesn’t mean 150 male and 150 female, it’s whoever enters first).

Then there is the little matter of prizes. Well, I know this won’t suit everyone but there are no medals for completing an 800m course. I currently have a cash prize fund of £60, which will go towards the prizes for first male and female and fastest male and female. I’d like to make larger awards, or spread out the prizes, but this will be dependent on number of entries. Though for me, just taking part would have been enough, getting into the 2^nd round would have been great, making the semi’s fantastic and making the final, beyond belief. How far can you go?

Here’s hoping we have a great day’s racing and everybody has fun. All details will be updated on the facebook page Alsop Events and I’ll also keep things up to date on www.rogeralsop.co.uk/events Entry forms can also be found at those two places, plus Northern Runners Guide online listings and Runners World online listings. Hope to see you there on 31 May.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Slow Progress, But Progress All The Same

It’s something you’ll find with most runners, we’re rarely happy with our performance in races. Somehow though it seems I’m happier than most, which is probably because when I started I didn’t expect much. Starting at 24 and running 2:15.2 for my first 800m, improving that to 2:14.8 at the next attempt and then running 18:12 for my first 5k, you wouldn’t have predicted that this guy was going to be a star. And you’d be right of course, there have been bright moments but I’d describe that more like torchlight than starlight. Of course I am still critical of my performances, these last three years they’ve been well down on where I had been only a short time before, but I understand why and I accept that, whilst still maintaining the motivation to train hard to improve, hopefully somewhere closer to those times.

A year after being torn apart in training and in a track 5k, by John Mather, and my first road race win, a 1 mile in Battersea Park - 4:35, they tell me it's a slow course

It must strike some runners as odd that another runner can be disappointed with a 35 minute 10k when the majority of runners would be happy to get within 5 minutes of that, but I say to them, would you be happy with a time 5 minutes below your best, or even 1 minute below. I had the same experience once when I went out on a training run, one Sunday morning, from Belgrave Hall. I was joined that day by John Bicourt, one of Britain’s top steeplechasers of the 1970s and one of his athlete’s (he was an agent and coach), Ismael Kirui, twice world 5000m champion. We got talking and John was saying how Ismael had had a disappointing season, he’d only run, I think, 13:04 for 5000m. Naturally I was astounded, as a 14:35 man, at best, I would have been happy with 14:04, let alone 13:04, but, as John explained, Ismael needed to go sub 13 minutes in order to compete against the best. I could understand, it was like the general club runner standards we sometimes set, sub 2 at 800m, sub 4 at 1500m, sub 9 3000m and sub 15 5000m (those were mine anyway).

So don’t begrudge us our moan, we’re all human, even if we are runners.

Onto the progress: I’m still really finding my feet as I lurch from niggle to niggle or cold to cold, it seems to me that, almost every time I run hard I have to hold one aspect back, to avoid pulling something or struggling with my breathing. However I am now starting to get some consistency in my training. Since March I’ve really started to feel like I’m getting somewhere, not where I want to be but at least I’m on the move and in the direction of my ultimate goals. A 17:20 at the Halewood 5k was my fastest around that particular course and saw me push myself harder than I had for ages. A week later I managed 10^th M50 at the BMAF cross country champs, a result in my mind, considering only a few weeks earlier I didn’t think I was fit enough to compete, sure I was a long way of the leaders but I was getting competitive with those running around me, and to cap it all off I left with a team silver medal.

Not letting that M50 catch me

A week on from that and I was up in Edinburgh, once again I ran the parkrun and was rewarded with a big improvement on previous times I’d set there. The 17:12 was also only one second off the best 5k time I set last year. Mind you I was on the ragged edge to get there so could see it would be a few injury and illness free months before I’d be back under 17.

I hadn’t done a 10k since last year’s Trafford 10k but now I thought it was time to have another go, so I entered my club’s 10k, in Salford, on Good Friday. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to run but I fancied trying to sneak under 35 minutes, and I was on target, for 2k, but then I struggled with confidence in my fitness and drifted off target, slightly, finishing in 35:31. Surprisingly I wasn’t unhappy with that, I felt like I’d run it as a hard run rather than a race so all I needed to do was keep training how I have done and wait for the confidence to grow, I know it will if I can keep those injuries at bay.

Feeling feisty in Salford

The day after the 10k, Carole and I flew out to Spain, time for a break from our normal lives and an opportunity to train hard with no external pressures (other than a stiff wind). I hit the training hard with some of my tougher sessions and two long runs with steep hills, easing back just a little towards the end of the week, as my body started to complain.

Back in the UK, and would you believe it I spent the first night sick, must’ve eaten something dodgy on the last day. Still I managed to do my fartlek the next morning and I’ve been trying to maintain solid training throughout this week. I have another 10k coming up soon, I’d like to think there would be an improvement on my time from Salford, but I’m not going to beat myself up if there isn’t.

The Run Cross Challenge has been occupying quite a bit of my time over the last few weeks, I’ll aim to give a progress report on that in my next blog.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

   

The Run Cross Challenge Is Coming

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was trying to put together an event that would be both fun and a challenge to runners. Well it took me a bit longer to announce than I had anticipated, due to waiting a few weeks for the selected venue to get back to me and give me the all clear, but I can now announce that the event will take place on Sunday 31 May 2015.

The event is something I’ve had in my mind for a number of years and is based upon something I really enjoyed during my competitive track racing years. The format is based on the qualifying rounds, leading to a final, of a championship event, with a bonus for fastest time set. There will be a series of races held over an approximate 800-1000m grass course. The course will be fast with some small hillocks and a few twists and turns. Each race will act as a qualification race for the next round, with the first 50% of runners in each race going through and the rest being eliminated. However anyone eliminated, at any round (with the exception of the finalists), will get another race for a chance to chase the fastest race time of the day. Prizes will be given for fastest time by a male and fastest time by a female, along with overall winner of both. At this moment I haven’t decided on prize value, depends how many take part, but the more that take part the bigger the prize.

I’m pitching entry at £6 an athlete (plus £2 levy for non UKA athletes), which works out at £3 a race for anyone eliminated at the first hurdle and cheaper if you last longer. Obviously the number of races will depend on how many enter but there will more than likely be a limit on numbers. The £6 also includes use of toilets and shower/changing facilities, plus there is parking at the venue, though car sharing would be advisable. Entries will be limited to age 14 and over (I was going to make it a bit older but having been well and truly beaten recently by a number of youngsters I don’t think they will feel out of their depth, and distance wise it is perfect for young athlete’s development).

The venue is the playing fields at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, with the Leisure Centre providing the toilets and showers/changing facilities. There won’t be food or drinks made available, as the races are short I would expect competitors to look after their own rehydration and energy replacement just as if you were going to a track event or a parkrun.

The format may change slightly, dependent on entries, but I’m aiming to get the races running smoothly without too much of a gap between them. I envisage I’ll start with male 1^st round followed by female 1^st round, then male 2^nd round and losers chasing times, then female 2^nd round and losers chasing times, and so on. Number of competitors per race will be dependent on number of entries and number of timekeepers/helpers I can muster up. There will also be a minimum time requirement to qualify as I don’t want the races to become jogging events, I want to see some proper racing in each round, if you don’t make the cut-off time you don’t progress, even if you’re in the top half of your race, but it’ll be a realistic cut-off time. Competitors will be chosen for each race using a random number generator, so it’s quite possible the fastest runners may meet in round one, may even meet again in round two, I feel it will add a bit of spice rather than trying to seed it.

I see the benefits of the event in a number of ways. Firstly they are short races so it’s similar to a track training session, albeit recoveries will not be short, secondly it will help sharpen up athletes who want to run on the track and also give them a chance to practice tactical awareness and thirdly I hope it will bring some fun to a day out.

It’s a little different to what most people would expect of a Sunday morning race but I’d like to think that difference is what will attract runners to it, plus, if you get eliminated before you expect to, there is a grass track that you could train on if you wanted to, or even if you want to do a few reps in between rounds.

Obviously, until I have a clear number of entrants I don’t know how long the event will go on but we aim to start at 10:00 and, with a short break for lunch, get through to finals early afternoon.  

I will be setting up an entry form and facebook page so I’d welcome your support in an aim to make this a success and, furthermore, a regular event. I’m also happy to take any advice off other meeting promoters and feedback from competing athletes.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

The Senior Men’s English National Cross Country Championships 2015

Some people were enjoying watching Mo Farah break the 2 mile indoor world record, some people were probably out shopping or at a football match, but the hardy cross country fans were trampling through mud to watch the current star mudlarks and those that slipped, slithered and sank, take part in the English National Cross Country Championships on Parliament Hill on Saturday 21 January. True the Welsh and Scottish Nationals were also on this weekend but for sheer volume and spectacle you can’t beat the English National, where it was expected to be a record number of entries.

I don’t have much of a history in the National, having run just seven in the previous 25 years since I started running. My first, and lowest position (851^st), was in Leeds in 1990. The following year I progressed to 713^th in Luton. Subsequent Nationals I took part in were 1999 – Newark – 286^th, 2001 – Durham – 161^st, 2003 – Parliament Hill – 106^th, 2004 – Leeds – 211 (when Belgrave won the team title) and 2011 – Alton Towers – 500^th. So it was clear to see I started badly, made some progress, peaked and I’m now on a downward spiral. I also took part in one Scottish National, in 2008 I finished 89^th at Falkirk.

A young Rog enjoying his 2nd National at Luton 1991

I’ll admit I’m no great shakes at cross country though I’ve had some fine runs and won three championships and did achieve a 2^nd place in the BMAF championships at M45, but I do like it. Unfortunately my body doesn’t as I’ve found over the last couple of seasons if I do too much my body gives in. So this year I decided I would restrict my cross country outings, so far I’ve done the BMAF relays and the International Open Race, both in November, and that’s it.

Alton Towers was so muddy it put me off doing the National completely, plus reaching the age of 50 says it’s no longer something I should really be taking part in. No disrespect to those of 50 and older who enjoy and compete well in the championship, it’s just I have other things I could be doing.

So why did I choose to do this year’s National. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, I’d been ill since November and come the date of the entries I was still showing no signs of significant recovery to get back to racing fitness. But, although I can be quite competitive when I’m fit, I do just love running and I really do enjoy being a part of big events, even as an extra that nobody notices. I see myself as being fortunate in that I wasn’t a schoolboy prodigy, which means I’m not precious about who beats me or where I finish (though obviously there is a limit to this preciousness). So I took a chance that I would be able to cover the distance and asked Salford to enter me. I probably wouldn’t have entered if it was just anywhere, but being at Parliament Hill, which evokes some good memories for me, and the fact that a large number of old friends and new facebook friends from the group ‘I Was , Or AM A Runner !’ were going to be present swayed me.

Despite being entered I still wasn’t entirely sure I would run, I picked up another cold whilst holidaying in Cambodia and only shook this off about ten days before the race. A week before the race I felt I had to go out to prove to myself that I could run 12k cross country. I chose to run in my local parkrun, Delamere. To be quite frank, I love Delamere but I have a, can’t quite put a reason on it, dislike for the parkrun course, which made it perfect for a tough challenge.

The run went well, a solid 18:23 behind a bunch of youngsters, but the important thing was I didn’t push myself and could have kept going at the same pace for longer. So decision made, I would run the National. I spoke to my mate Rob Tudor, he was already sharing a hotel room with mates and there was a chance they could fit me in, all good.

On National day it was an early start, with the drive down to London. I didn’t feel any pressure and was quite looking forward to meeting everybody and having a fun race. It looked like being a dry day, though the temperature was changing from mild, for the time of year, to a bit chilly. 

Once we got to the course I tried to find the Salford crew, but naturally for such a big event there were many faces I recognised from my past years as a Southern runner. Offers came in to use the Herne Hill and Belgrave tent, to change in and store my stuff, I knew Salford weren’t bringing the tent down, The Belgrave tent seemed just that bit better an option for what I visualised as my pre and post race journey. Decision made I perused the grounds and found the Salford crew, numbers were picked up and I was ready to go, about an hour before the start.

Up near the top of the hill was the I Was A Runner banner, it was great to meet the people I’d been exchanging words with on facebook, and especially to meet those guys I’d been racing against for years. Just down from the flag Salford Harriers had put up their flag so I trampled down to that to catch up with what was going on. At first there were just a few of us and we didn’t appear very strong, but then in walked; Carl, Tom, Josh, Simon and Gary. Five of our top boys, but it’s six to score!

Some of the IWOAAR crowd, before the race and the beer

As you may know each team is allocated a pen, but with those five, amongst others I thought I was yet to see, I’d end up well back up the hill, so I took up an offer to use Warrington’s pen, they didn’t have anybody show up, well not to the designated pen anyway, so I wasn’t in the way, but I was on the front line and raring to go. It’s a funny old world but as I stood there I found myself next to the Belgrave pen, oh the times I’d been part of that team. But I wasn’t here to reminisce I was here to do my best.

Then the gun went off, my decision to start on the front row was good, I was away as quick as anyone, but then my foot hit the mud and I slipped and slid and saw hundreds of runners surge past me. What were they doing that I wasn’t doing? But that wasn’t to be my biggest surprise before I reached the top of that initial hill. Never before have I had to stop in a cross country race unless it was of my own doing, i.e. a fall, but today I only got about 250m and the crowd in front of me just stopped dead. There was nowhere to go, one of the largest fields in recent history had bottlenecked and I was caught up in it. Precious time was lost while I stood still and then shuffled forward (and in this type of race 30 seconds can make a big difference.

I went over the top of the hill, still angry with getting caught in the pack and immediately plunged shin deep into a muddy downhill. I will say this isn’t the muddiest course I’ve ever come across, but it’s close and it certainly wasn’t pleasant. I hated every step of the first half of the lap. Over the other side the ground was a little firmer and I was able to get my legs going a bit better. Coming round onto the 2^nd lap all I could think was that I really didn’t care where I finished, but I was going to finish. By now the field had spread out a little and I was able to find my own line through the mud, which didn’t seem as bad now I was expecting it. I was able to pick up my pace slightly, though still finding some parts hard going. Onto the firmer ground I knew this was almost firm to the end so I started my finishing move from a fair way out. I was passing loads of people and having a great ding dong battle with a guy from Dulwich Runners. Not that we were necessarily fighting each other for position but the fact that we were travelling about the same pace gave us both someone to focus on. The sight of my old rivals, Hercules Wimbledon, proved a spur and I worked hard to catch it. Only as I came up close did I realise it was Peter Clarke, brother of three time National Champion, Dave Clarke. I gave Peter some encouragement as I sped past him and onto the finish.

I kept passing people all the way to the final downhill, this was slippery in places but I managed to find a good line and romped down the hill, only to turn into a quagmire of a finish straight, and a long one at that. I tried so hard to keep my pace going but that last bit to the finish just seemed to go on and on and I was all over the place, watching people pile past me and making me lose a place in the top 700.

Determined to get to that finish I was too fast for John Mather's box camera

And then I was through the line, I’d done it, and I was adamant I’m never going to do it again. I traipsed up through the mud, feeling dejected, and headed for the Belgrave tent and some dry kit. On the way I bumped into Tom Cornthwaite, it seemed he’d had a good run and I was happy for him. I was wondering how Salford the rest of the team had done, and where I’d finished in the pecking order. It was a difficult race to gauge position, you were in a big crowd of people you didn’t recognise and anybody could have got a big jump on you during those stationary moments. I got changed, said goodbye to Belgrave Harriers, went off to meet my pals and headed to the pub.

As it turned out I was sixth scorer in the Salford team, but at 707 a long way behind fifth man, what a shame one more of the top runners hadn’t turned out, surely we’d have been far higher than twentieth team.

I was stiff and sore the next day and it took me a further three days before my legs returned to normal and then I screwed them again by leading a leg heavy boot camp, they ached for days. But I’m back in the land of the running, I feel renewed vigour in my body and I’m raring to go in my next proper race. Funnily enough the rubbish run in awful conditions has given me more confidence than if I’d sat it out.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Photos with thanks to Yvonne Kintoff, John Mather and IWOAAR