SportsShoes Blog

Saturday saw the 55th running of the classic 3 Peaks Fell Race in Yorkshire.

The event is 24 miles long with 4500 ft of climb and takes in Pen-y-gent, Whernside and Ingleborough. It pretty much follows the  route of the 3 Peaks Walk which is attempted by thousands each year who set out to try and complete it in under 12 hours.

The course record for the race was set by my pal Andy Peace back in 1996 and stands at a staggering 2 hours and 46 minutes - a time which I find simply incredible.

I completed it for the 5th time on Saturday which I guess isn’t bad but when you compare that with one chap who did it for the 42nd time (and is 70 years old) then my tally is somewhat feeble!

Anyway, I managed to post a PB getting round the course in 3 hours and 34 minutes and finishing in 29th place overall from 689 starters.

Despite this, I don’t feel I had a particularly good race and was dissappointed with my climbs up Whernside and Ingleborough. It’s hard to say what exactly went wrong but I just didn’t feel to have any spring in my step on the ups but thankfully I came round a bit on the descents to allow me to stay well ahead of any time I’ve done previously.

I would have really liked to break the 3 hour 30 barrier but this year it was not to be. That said, I think if I could run like I did in the Haworth Hobble a few weeks ago I would be able to knock at least 5 minutes off Saturday’s time so next year I’ll try again.

The race was won by my team mate Rob Jebb and with Andy Peace in 8th, my training partner Jamie Robinson in 24th and me 29th we won the team prize for Bingley Harriers.

This morning 2 days after the race, I managed a very short walk / jog with my dog although descending anything higher than about 1 inch is very painful and I’m still having to come down stairs sideways….. I’m not injured it’s my leg muscles (quads in particular) that are struggling to recover from the battering they took on the descents.

Next it’s the Fred Whitton cycle race which at 112 miles should prove an interesting challenging.

In montreal for the above event and first up was maxym blouin. started off really slowly but credit to max as he took the first game 11-9. thisgot me going though and i quickly won the next 3 games 11-1 11-2 1-2.

next is rafeal allarcon of brazil. great test hes been on the tour  a long time and has won many titles and pan am games

played rafa allarcon of brazil and lost it 11-8 5-11 12-10 11-6.. was a good match and didnt played that badly but at 6all in the fourth i started to cramp up pretty bad. was low on salts and it was long match. i definatly had a bit more in the tank but thats sport.

next up Virginiafor one of the biggest events on the calender

in richmond virginia playing the above event, a suoer series and one of the biggest event of the year.

played david etherington 1st round and won 11-5 11-6 11-5 which set me up against campbell grayson, kiwi no.2 and world no.61. i took the first set 11-7. the second was really tough,point for point all the way with each of having game balls. eventually i took it 15-13. this took alot out of him physically and mentally and even though the 3rd wasnt easy but once i got a lead it was only going one way and i managed to win it 11-3 match time 58mins.

real happy to qualify for me first super series. see how we go…

played last night against eric tepos. won the 1st 11-1 and was 10-5 up in second and the altitude kicked in and just snook the second 13-11 ! pushed really hard in the third but unfortunelty jus lost it 12-10 and lost the next 2games 11-1 11-8. i physically pushed as hard as i could but the altitude just got the better if me. next time!!

On the weekend was the above event in galway. Just before the event id picked up a viral infection so wasnt sure how i’d go but in the 1st round i played lewis walters of england and won comfortably 11-6 11-7 11-6. next up was romain tenant of france -  a very classy player with plenty of flair and a really difficult game to read. winning the 1st and 2nd 11-8 was crucial , however midway throught the 3rd my engin started t wear dwand in the fourth it was anyones! at 11-10 down i hit 3 grea winners to seal the match 13-11. i was relieved to win bt my virus was obvious and in the semis even more so where i lost to gilly lane of america 11-5 in the fourth. a bit dissapointing but thats the way it goes sometimes..

Not written for a while, struggled with an injury over winter but everything is okay now.

Just come back from Belgium where I’ve been styaing with the other Academy girls in a house in Oudenaarde. They are now based there so I’ll be joining them as soon as the exams are over…9 weeks and 2 days…not that I’m counting! It was really good to see the other girls and do some good training. Went to watch Tour of Flanders too which was amazing…although I wished I could have been rding! we stood on the Kapelmuur and watched as the womens race came up it! There were crowds all the way up the climb…the Belgians definitely like a bike race!

Did a mix of long rides and turbo sessions whilst I was out there…mostly double days. Went up a few testing cobbled climbs too…the roads around there are brilliant as they are a mix of flat and hillywith cobblest too, so its easy to do a recovery ride but good for doing efforts or a hard ride.

I’ve got my first race in a couple of week which is part of the Women’s National Series, the Cheshire Classic. Looking forward to racing again as thats what its all about!

landed in guetamala early this week to play the above event. got here plenty of time to acclimatise t the altitude of 6000 feet. i have a tough opponent in eric tepos of mexico tomorrow. in normal conditions it would be quite straight forward but here itll prove a tough test. looking forward to it andd hopefully can keep the momentum of the last few events up!

Next Saturday is the 3 Peaks Fell Race  - for me this is one of the highlights of the fell running year.

The 3 Peaks are pretty special to me as I’ve been walking, running and biking over them since I was 8 years old.

I know my way around the course like the back of my hand and could describe every step of the way in minute detail so navigation won’t be a problem.

This year I’d really like to try and get under 3.5 hours but this is a big ask as 3.39 is the best I’ve done and I felt very strong that year. Having said that I’m running OK right now so if there’s ever a chance this could be it.

The big question is how to start - do I go off fast and hang on or go off steady and try and crank up the pace as the race goes on? My head tells me to do the latter and my heart says go for it from the gun.

I’ve not done much this week but feel very tired today. Last Sauturday I cycled 70 miles to my parents in Kirkbymoorside North Yorskhire then the family and I spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday pounding the streets of London - as tourists not runners but it was still very tough…

Wednesday I cycled to work, Thursday I ran the dog in the morning and did a club run at night and Friday (today) I just did the dog run.

I’m now entering my recovery week leading up to the race where very little training with plenty of sleep and lots of grub is on the cards.

Recovery / tapering and pre-race eating are very hotly debated topics amongst distance runners and me along with tens of thousands of London Marathon (next Sunday) runners will be trying to get it right this week.

Personally I think there’s a lot of tripe talked about it and lots of folk seem to believe that having a perfectly planned and excecuted taper and final week’s diet will grant them a star performance.

I think you need to go into a race feeling fresh and if it’s a long one well fuelled, but a good performance will only come off the back of good hard training - not good hard resting. If it’s not in the bag now, no amount of tapering or noshing will make it happen next week….

Yesterday I ran in the Baildon Boundary Way (BBW). It was the third time I’d done this race and although the last time was in 2005 I know every step of the course as it passes within 3oo yards of my house and I train over parts of it  just about every day.

The BBW is a half marathon (13.1 miles) but it’s what’s known as a multi terrain race as only about 5% of it is on road. The rest is tracks, woods, canal towpath and a bit of open moorland. Although there are a few climbs it is generally a quick course being good underfoot all the way round.

As I said in my earlier post my aim for the day was to get under 1 hour 30 mins which I’ve never managed to do before so when the day dawned bright and sunny with light winds I knew this was my chance.

About 400 runners started the race and the mad up hill dash followed by a quick sprint down to the main road and along to the Woolpack pub at Esholt quickly strung the field out. I passed the first mile marker in 5.39 which I knew was a pace I couldn’t hold for long but as I felt good I carried on pushing hard.

After a tour of the sewage farm (nice….) and a trip through the woods we popped out onto the canal which is always a part of the race I find tough. This year me and a chap from Pudsey & Bramley paced each other well along the 3 miles to Saltaire and we managed to hold our positions (5th and 6th), which was a first for  me as the roadies usually come steaming by at this point.

After leaving the canal it’s a long but steady climb of maybe 2 miles through Shipley Glen woods and up to Harvey Smith’s gallops.

On the final part of the climb my Bingley Harriers pal Mitch came past me and he and Shane from P&B pulled out a lead of about 15 meters on me by the top of the climb.

As we started the long fast descent to the finish Shane pulled clear and I worked hard to get back on terms with Mitch. We passed the 12 mile marker and as I sneaked a look at my watch and saw 1hr 16 I knew I’d be well under my target of 1.30 - but the race wasn’t over yet.

Just half a mile before the finish there’s a short but steep climb and I really had to dig deep to stay with Mitch (what I didn’t know until later was that he was hurting just as much, if not more than me). At the top of the climb we were both caught and passed by a Sheffiled runner and the three of us started the run in to the finish.

This put me in 8th place which was a position I’d have happily settled for at the start of the race but as we charged down towards the rugby field I found an extra ounce of energy and sprinted passed them both before we hit the track that leads to the finish. From here it was just a case of gritting my teeth, keeping my elbows out and holding them off as we crossed the field to the finish funnel - a quick look back assured me they wouldn’t catch me but as I approached the finish line I couldn’t help thinking about that poor horse that collapsed and died on the run-in at the National. Thankfully I didn’t do the same but my efforts meant I had to stop and catch my breath as the other guys came in and the marshals tried to push us along the finish funnel.

I was really please with my 6th place and time of 1 hour 24 mins - Job done!!

A great race - very well organised by the guys and gals at Baildon Runners and well supported by Sportsshoes Unlimited who, along with the Saltaire Brewery, supplied the prizes and goody bags.