SportsShoes Blog

Anyone reading my blog will know that this year I’ve signed up for the West Highland Way Race which is a 95 mile run between Glasgow and Fort William.

The WHW is on the 19th June so between then and now I need to get my mind into ‘going long’ mode and get some miles in.

On the 6th Feb I’m doing the Trog, a 20 mile route around the moors above Calderdale and on the 13th March it’s the Hobble a 33 mile jaunt around the moors above  Haworth. In terms of distance, both of those are just tiddly little warm up jogs although I will be going out hard in both to try and lay down descent times.

What I need before the big event in June is a long distance challenge to really test the mettle - and here it is…..

In 2007 in training for the Ultratrail Tour Du Mont Blanc I ran the 3 Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales twice back to back in 10.5 hours solo.

This time, we’re going for a triple round - yes three laps of the famous Yorkshire 3 Peaks in one go and in less than 24 hours.

To make it even more silly we’re going to attempt the stunt on the 3 Peaks Race day - 24th April. Me and my pal Steve Fry have both entered the race and the plan is to start our first lap at around 2 or 3am, do a steady jog round to finish around 9am then sign on for the race which starts at 10am. We’ll then run the race and, if we can still stay upright, have a quick swig and a bite to eat on the finish field then turn round and do it again. If we have a good third round we’ll hopefully make it back to the pub before they stop serving - now that would make a grand entrance!

The plan is to try and raise a few quid for Cancer charities as I lost a friend last year and a clubmate of Steve and mine also lost her battle with the disease in 2009.

This is the first time I’ve gone public with the plan so I guess it’s now official….

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.

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….

Here’s the motley crew from Bingley Harriers (well most of them anyway). I’m number 42, there were 42 people who finished in front of me and 442 finsihers in total - 42 hmmm perhaps it really is the answer to life the universe and everyting (read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy if you’re a bit lost).

Anyway, I’ve felt pretty good this week ‘post Ben’ - went out for a very steady 40 min trot with a few other Bingley Ben racers on Tuesday (got stung by a wasp - b%&*$£d thing) then did an hour+ on Thursday again at very low intensity (This was a pub run from Baildon so we had to make use of the amenities when we got back!!)

Need to try and get some bike miles in now for the 3 Peaks Cross which is only 2 weeks away. No idea how this is going to go this year as I’m running OK on the hills but haven’t ridden more than 20 miles in one ride all year. The 3PX is 36miles and very tough. I’ll be up against some very fit 100+ mile / per week roadies who’ll come storming past me on the tarmac but I can usually pull a bit back on the climbs / carrying sections and let my MTB skills help me on the descents.

It’s the Yorkshireman off-road marathon tomorrow from Haworth which I would like to have done (did it a few years back - nice race) but my good lady is out so I’m child and dog minding. If the weather’s half decent I think we’ll all go for a big walk over the moors.