SportsShoes Blog

I know they say that you can’t catch a cold by being out in bad weather but it’s spooky that after spending six and half hours in the driving wind and rain last Saturday I seem to have caught a cold!!

Anyway, this week I’ve held off hard training but using the training adage ‘if it’s in the head go ahead if it’s in the chest give it a rest’ I’ve continued to train all week.

After the OMM last weekend I had a rest Monday (although obvioulsy walked the dog twice). Tuesday I did a speed session (at slightly reduced effort) - it was so cold on the grass on Tuesday that after running through a soggy bit of the field, ice formed on the top of my spikes!!. Wednesday I did a 50 minute road run whilst my son Ben played footy and Thursday I went on a steady pack run with the Harriers (followed by a nice pint of medicinal Guinness). Friday I biked to work and back on my singlespeed and today (it feels like the peak of my cold) I’m probably going to limit my exercise to just a few hours of dog walking.

Haven’t decided on my next race yet but there’s a few coming up so it won’t be long before I’m on the start line again.

Watch this space……

Well this is a novelty - the races I do are usually so obscure that nobody has ever heard of them let alone got any idea what actually goes on.

But this weekend fell running made a spectacular job of grabbing the headlines.

Unfortunately, the media did its usual job of blowing things out of proportion and many of the reports of lost / missing runners were grossly irresponsible. Anyway, if you’re interested in the negative side of the event you can read the papers and believe the news stories - if you want the truth here it is.

One thing the reporters got right was that the weather was a tad on the damp side, in fact they were (un)comfortably the worst conditions I have ever been out in for a sustained period of time. To me this only added to the sense of adventure and made a tough event even more challenging.

When Jamie and I struggled up to CP9 of the A class after battling for about 2 hours into a rain laden 40 mph headwind and were told the event had been cancelled I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What I can say is that we were still going strong and I’m confident we would have finished the event.

Up to that point our nav had been pretty much bang on and our pace was reasonable over the very tough ground.

My kit performed perfectly - Walsh PB trainers - Thorlo Socks - speedos (only time I wear em - honest!!) - Nike Leggings - Hummel Base layer - Karimor base layer - North Face windproof gilet - Lowe Alpine waterproof shell - buff - hat - and for my hands, some of my kids’ gloves that cost 50p from Primark!!! Honest that’s what I used and they were fab…..

Once we were told the event was over, we made our way back through Buttermere to the barn that you probably saw on telly - it was an amazing site and the atmosphere was great - around 400 runners all brewing up, cooking and bedding down in a massive brand new cattle shed. One team even bagged the bucket of a dumper truck that was parked in there and kipped in it all night.

This morning around 7am, news came through that the roads were now clear and there was access back to and away from the start area. We (me, Jamie and my other Bingley Harriers pals Robin and Steve) made a wise decision to skip breakfast, get packed and jog the 5 miles back over Honister pass to the start so we could get the car out of the wet field and away before the other 2000 runners tried to do the same. It was a master stroke and although we need 5 pushing as I steered the car along a very swampy field we made it out of the field before the real tractor pulling fun started.

It was only when we got going back and started to listen to the news and pick up mobile signals that we realised there’d been such a media ’storm’.

Don’t let the images put you off the hills - take comfort in the fact that over 2000 people ventured into the mountains yesterday and everyone of them got back to safety with just one suffering an injury and a few other treated for hypothermia.

There’s a big debate raging about whether the event should have been cancelled before the start (mostly it has to be said fuelled by folk who weren’t there) - for what it’s worth I think the organisers were right to let it go ahead (and cancel it when they did) - everyone in the race knew the risks they were taking, had read the weather forecasts and were prepared for 36 tough hours in the mountains. Of course I have sympathy for the rescue services that were called out (but that’s why they’re there) and for the worried relatives at home but in all honesty, this was a fantastically organised and superbly controlled event that has left us all with great memories and more tales to tell of exciting hours in our amazing countryside - bring on next year I say!!

See http://www.theomm.com/pages/OMM_resultsandreporting.html for loads more….

Been resting up this week in prep for this weekend’s epic and enjoying as much real food and sleep as possible as I certainly won’t be getting much of either on Saturday / Sunday.

We’re going up Friday night ready for our 8.35am start Saturday morning. In the OMM you only find out where you’re going on the start line when they give you your map - then it’s a race around 6 - 8 checkpoints across 40 ish kilometers of real off piste mountain terrain to the overnight camp. We then camp and eat using the equiment / food on our backs before being given another map and heading off again Sunday morning for another 30ish k via another 6 - 8 checkpoints back to the start / finish area - all against the clock.

It’s a really interesting and tough challenge and unlike an ordinary fell race you also have to plan your equipment, food and route choices VERY carefully.

The weather forecast for the weekend around Borrowdale is for high winds and lots of rain - just what you need for camping in the lakes!! I’m not too bothered about bad weather as I’ll gear up accordingly but the only time I don’t want rain is when we’re packing up Sunday morning - there’s nothing worse then getting you and all your gear wet and cold before you even get going.

My partner Jamie is coming round tomorrow to finalise the kit / food strategy - we’ll be aiming for pack weights of around 5-6kg each on day one including tent, sleeping bags, food, cooking equipment and clothing.

The real key to success in a Mountain Marathon is good navigation skills - we made a howling mistake in 2006 which we don’t want to do again this year so we’ll be taking a little more time over the map reading to save a lot of time on the hills.

If you’re interested, full details of the event can be found here : http://www.theomm.com/event/aboutTheEvent

Full report to follow on Monday……

My final position for the Langdale race last Saturday was 33rd in 2 hours 35 mins - I’m pretty pleased with my run and my position and it’s boosted my confidence for the OMM next week which will be accross very similar terrain.

Since Langdale I’ve done an hour on the road bike Sunday, a ride to work and back Monday a speed session on Tuesday (8 x 1min 50 sec laps), 50 mins on the road Wednesday, rest Thursday and ride to work and back today. I put a short loop in on the way home tonight up some big hills on the singlespeed - wow it’s tough. I’m going to stick with it through the winter to see if I can develop some biking leg strength.

Just come back from The National Media Museum where we were invited to the opening of the 50th Anniversary Blue Peter exhibition. My eldest son is a Blue Peter badge winner (how cool’s that!!) so he got us an invite - I met Biddy Baxter (editor of Blue Peter for 28 years). Max was interviewed and he’s just been on Look North and News at 10!!!!

Just 1 week to the OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) - can’t wait. Got the food this week - pot noodles, super noodles, cup-a-soups and snickers bars hmm nice!!

Finally I must say a big hello to my good buddy Ade in the Isle of Man - an avid reader of the blog - hope it’s inspiring you to get out and explore that fantastic island of yours.