SportsShoes Blog

Well I had my scan and have got the all clear as far as a stress fracture goes which is great news. This means i can now get back on the excercising and fitness work. If it had been a stress fracture al i could have done was rest really until it had healed as they can hang around for a long time unless it heals properly. I’ve now got a course of Physio to do and have lots of excercises to help strengthen the weak muscles in my lower left back. Hopefully i can keep on with the excercises and get my back sorted and pain free before proper training and nets start again in January. I am starting running as of Monday so ill be blogging on that and letting you know how it goes!!

I had a reasonable run today at Shepherds Skyline although I didn’t feel that great until the last couple of miles.

I came in 27th out of 360 starters so not too bad I guess although on a good day I would like to think I could have been a minute or so quicker.

Results here : http://www.todharriers.co.uk/shepherds_skyline/skylineres2008.htm

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……

In last weeks Yorkshire Post Nell McAndrew was interviewed …

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/My-Yorkshire-Nell-McAndrew.4605337.jp

She said that her favourite sports shop was none other than Sportsshoes Unlimited. This is our store in Bradford. So many thanks to her for her continued custom and a huge good luck for her future charity work.

Sportsshoes Team.

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.

After torrential rain Friday night, Saturday was almost perfect running conditions for the Langdale race.

I had a good run round making third counter for the Bingley team with Rob Jebb (race winner) and my 3 Peaks Yacht Race partner Robin in 12th. Not sure of my position yet as results aren’t up and I was too interested in getting a pie and a pint at the finish to worry about the leaderboard.

The course was very wet underfoot and some of the bogs were genuine people swallowers - ask my pal Martin Peace who literally dissappeared up to his chest. I asked him if, as he was sinking, he was thinking about what Ray Mears would do - he replied that he did exactly what Ray Mears would have done - ‘panicked and kicked like f**k!!’ Ha ha ha ha….

Anyway, in my opinion the day didn’t belong to us seasoned (read old) fell runners who’ve done this sort of thing before but to our Bingley teammates who were tackling Langdale as their 1st ever A-long lakeland race. As Mary commented before and after the race this was a BIG step up from anything she’d done before but she faced it head on and nailed it - well done to her Steve Firth and all the other Bingley gang that got round. For those that didn’t make it, remember it’ll be on again next year so you’ve a full year to get ready for it!!!

Another pal of mine Steve ‘Carnage’ slipped after about 3 miles and jarred his back, got going again only to fall, bang his head on a rock and almost knock himself out then stagger round to about 1/2 mile from home where he fell again and was told to lie still as he was in shock by a marshal. Anyway, he made it to the finish, got some treatment by the medics then managed to stay out on the beer til 4 in the morning - a true endurance athlete!!!

After the fun and games of Saturday, I managed an hour on the roadie Sunday and pedalled to work and back today.

Now the season has finished it’s time for a rest for a month or so then I will be going back to fitness training as I have not been the best with fitness over the past couple of years. I struggled a lot at the begining of the season for fitness and also avoiding injury. I want to work on my upper body strength in my shoulders and arms aswell as my core stability, as I have a lot of back problems.  Unfortunately it will be time to go runing again soon, which I’m not a massive fan of but I need to get my stamina and aerobic fitness back up to scratch.

So over the next few months I will be keeping you up to date with how its all going and what I have been getting up to!

This coming Tuesday, Bingley Harriers are having ‘a bit of do’ after the training session.

This is to celebrate the move of the seniors from Beckfoot school to the excellent facilities at Bradford & Bingley Rugby Club. In terms of distance ‘the move’ is only about 200 yards as the school and the rugby club are only seperated by a road.

The move has been prompted by the rebuilding work that’s going on at the school but is also seen as an opportunity to develop the social side of the club as the B&B bar gives us a great post training meeting / chatting area - something we’ve been lacking for a long time.

It is hoped that training from B&B will encourage lots more existing members to come down and join in the pack runs and speed sessions but also we’re hoping it might attract new members too - WHY NOT MAKE IT YOU!!!

If you are :-

- new to running

- ran years ago and are just getting going again

- have been running for years but never been a club member or are

- running for a club that doesn’t meet your needs

(and live reasonably local)

why not come and see us at the B&B rugby club every Tuesday at 7pm (speed / hill sessions) and Thursday at 7.30pm (pack runs).

Whatever your ability, you’ll be made welcome and I assure you that (unless you’re already an elite / national standard runner) you’ll quickly get fitter and faster. Whoever you are, one thing’s for sure, you’ll meet a load of new pals with the same interest as you.

Please don’t be put off by Bingley’s impressive heritage of champions and believe some people who say it’s an elitest club - it isn’t. It genuinely caters for everyone whether you’re the slowest once a week gentle jogger or a world champion.

Come on down - you know you want to!!!!!

(By the way, in case you’re not local the above applies wherever you live - joining your local club could seriously improve your running and bring a lot of fun into your life).

Sorry for the lack of communication - there’s obviously been a bit of a rejig to the site which I missed and last week I struggled to log in. As such, my latest post is a bit late in arriving. The Sedbergh Hills race and the Olympics now seem like ancient history.

Anyway, the Bingley Harriers backpack run to Ilkley was a raging success (if not a little messy!!) and I managed to get a couple of bike rides in that weekend as well. Again that seems a long time ago as I’ve just returned from a fab week in the Alps - Chamonix to be precise. What a place that is - if you’ve never been put it on your list of must see places.

I was out there on holiday but also to take in the North Face Ultra Trail Tour Du Mont Blanc race. After running it in 2007, this year I was there purely as a spectator and assistant to a few mates of mine that were running. It’s an absolutely spectacular event with 2400 runners taking on the 100 mile course (+30,000 ft of climb). This year, due mainly to the hot weather, only around 1250 runners actually completed the course in the alloted time (46 hours). I’m really pleased to say that my pals Colin, Rob, Johnny and Kevin all made it to the finish - well done guys you can wear the jacket with pride. Unfortunately, one of my other buddies Ross failed this year after a good run last year - I think he was probably trying a bit too hard early on and paid the price in the heat.

Britain had a fantastic victory with Lizzie Hawker winning the womens race in a fantastic time of 25 hours 20 mins - big respect!!!

Managed to get a couple of good runs in whilst I was there - What a place the alps are - hundreds of miles of trails all with breathtaking scenery and  massive climbs and descents - a real runners / bikers paradise. I was out last Thursday morning early - caught the cable car half way up Mont Blanc then ran along the Grand North Balcon - saw my first Marmott!! - before returning to Chamonix via the Montenvers trail - all this before breakfast - top banana!!

Now it’s back to reality - well almost as it’s the mighty Ben Nevis race this Saturday. Just time to unpack and rinse through my undies before I’m off again on a trip oop north.

The Ben is a real hard race - 1 mile flat - 4 miles climb - 4 miles descent - 1 mile flat - simple eh? I can tell you that no 10 mile run feels like the Ben race - nor does any 10 mile run make you walk in such a bizzare way for the next 2 days. Afetr my semi restful holiday I’ll be interested to see how I go this weekend - one thing’s for sure the party in Fort Bill on Saturday night will be a gud un!!