tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14361122570901607472024-02-20T18:49:00.708+00:00Leo Lundy race reportsThis is a blog from the middle of the pack and will detail races from my point of view. i.e. a very average runner.Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-51871672841278119962019-01-11T15:22:00.000+00:002019-01-11T15:22:43.934+00:00Start Me UpStart Me Up Ultra 28.1 miles 5:55:55<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmAQIi8JpPP9vCSGnhIeCkqyMQpGsLLu6O1guoChD1EpsyvXwqKg8RsCW7xCzExSYBsoG4rCcJKWlhxC0uQVZN_s1Ie4S3TTPzslnMDUvWanmSyhuAJ-9OLj_3cYKp42VkmV6zqbtbliR/s1600/running.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmAQIi8JpPP9vCSGnhIeCkqyMQpGsLLu6O1guoChD1EpsyvXwqKg8RsCW7xCzExSYBsoG4rCcJKWlhxC0uQVZN_s1Ie4S3TTPzslnMDUvWanmSyhuAJ-9OLj_3cYKp42VkmV6zqbtbliR/s200/running.jpg" width="150" /></a>This was at the Hillingdon Cyclo Park in Hayes near Heathrow.<br />
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It was a 6 hr event and the main reason I did it was given the time of year it would be on tarmac and mud free. As the weather has been remarkably mild it turned out to be dry and pretty perfect weather conditions.<br />
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It was a 9:00 am start and picking up Brenda on the way we were targeted to get there for 8am. We arrived on time and free parking was available. A quick registration and one of the nice things that Running Miles do is that hey have free Tea and Coffee.<br />
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Facilities were perfect.<br />
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The whole cyclo park was hired for the day and it was ours. No traffic, no dogs, no walkers. It was great. 86 started.<br />
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The loop was 1.8 miles long with the circuit being 0.9 miles long so one lap was run around the circuit turn around at a cone and run back. It was 14 laps for a marathon and my goal was always beyond that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bEz7zc-LAz9AUk6DWZKgmC3yYdNW8T_3dQgG5Xx4Zsgw-F3qCY8C369VLB5tlJctazGBi9hQWHIpFb9W3AlKIgUPcRZLCsgHIqLoCyq8Q64jc1o-W6LnQRqQfHFISBOPUjwnbfhZz69z/s1600/running+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="602" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bEz7zc-LAz9AUk6DWZKgmC3yYdNW8T_3dQgG5Xx4Zsgw-F3qCY8C369VLB5tlJctazGBi9hQWHIpFb9W3AlKIgUPcRZLCsgHIqLoCyq8Q64jc1o-W6LnQRqQfHFISBOPUjwnbfhZz69z/s200/running+3.png" width="200" /></a>The quite short lap was surprisingly hilly. This was not picked up on the Garmin which had the run completely flat.<br />
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Hitting anti clockwise we climbed for around 300m twisting slightly. Cresting there was a short steep down hill with a right hand turn that climbed for around 200m and got quite steep near the end. Cresting we ran downhill gently along the back of the course, flattening and a slight gentle 50m rise brought us onto the straight. 400m of gentle downhill back towards HQ before a slight left hand turn at the cone . We then retraced our steps clockwise before crossing the start finish line.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVheJB55jBHZXUZZvUJnqRqZkyAMhX6VfHIruhDv-8M27uyJ8sGMUkKvvuwKtfbI0iu2JL0pHvbcwGYlsYEc1VCFrDijwBFTV44Xfm4mJXUm3JrfOGFUEvgX3X7u6LxIUwT_gp5c65ElA/s1600/running+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="558" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVheJB55jBHZXUZZvUJnqRqZkyAMhX6VfHIruhDv-8M27uyJ8sGMUkKvvuwKtfbI0iu2JL0pHvbcwGYlsYEc1VCFrDijwBFTV44Xfm4mJXUm3JrfOGFUEvgX3X7u6LxIUwT_gp5c65ElA/s200/running+1.jpg" width="150" /></a>Running Miles had recently invested in a electronic timing system which worked perfectly. A TV was positioned which showed your time and lap no and distance. Everything was good.<br />
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Running Miles also have a fantastic aid station with everything you would want.<br />
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A few milestones today were Jon running his 99th and Jagit celebrating his 60th birthday.<br />
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We started on the button and the field quickly spread out. Lee Rogers took the lead and never relinquished it finishing marathon in 2:51. Steve Edwards was there today too. I thought he was struggling but still managed a 3:22 marathon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIP9WY19qP_G9GYjNkzfujKX5bO8SBEQVZPfn2lXXk-TSc2zkzlncx0sXxs-PpFNwG-mMObQwNdhlG4rLRY6j4MBLnMALM1VeNXqKHX54lO_p7VijKKDFRCj-lgT80IYO_i06CDE3cW6L/s1600/running+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIP9WY19qP_G9GYjNkzfujKX5bO8SBEQVZPfn2lXXk-TSc2zkzlncx0sXxs-PpFNwG-mMObQwNdhlG4rLRY6j4MBLnMALM1VeNXqKHX54lO_p7VijKKDFRCj-lgT80IYO_i06CDE3cW6L/s200/running+4.jpg" width="143" /></a>I had been struggling with my own running over Christmas only being able to do run 4.8 miles in any one go. I wanted to beat that. I went off steady and started ticking off the laps. I was determined not to walk in the early stages even the hills. 4.8 came and went and I was pretty much running on my own and keeping a reasonable pace going. 10K came and went in 1:08. 10 Miles came and went in 1:49. I then made a big effort to go to half marathon which I was very happy with in 2:18.<br />
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Brenda was also having a steady run coming in for her half in 2:25. I then adopted a run walk strategy for the rest of the day staying comfortably under the cutoff to get out for an Ultra. I was pretty near the back but didnt care too much as I had a good first half. I began to stop at the aid station more and more Brenda soon passed me. I was actually very happy to come in for marathon in 5:22 and went out for a slow ultra lap finishing 28.1 miles in 5:55.<br />
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The weather had stayed good and I had a very enjoyable time. Just finishing after me was Brenda who managed a 2nd Ultra lap. She was very happy as 5:30 had been her goal which she smashed.<br />
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We got a very nice medal and a lovely chocolate filled goody bag and a chat to Ollie, Sarah and Jon who all finished 50K today.<br />
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Apart from a few wrong turns on the M25 we were back fairly early. A super day.<br />
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Stats for today.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2060510467/embed/59580ab19b809c6fc6a4db4063c6b4f90bd0f54a" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-5858436369851199902018-12-28T17:09:00.001+00:002018-12-28T17:09:07.239+00:00Dawn to DuskDawn to Dusk Ultra 7:18:00<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUyiDJsAJ4m0MbVaE2FKLfdDe9gYXHpVPhaigqjOzeEkiFzrXdJLuXkkXISf0LAostTq4063wi6LiCNC14C6-5nnwVHThme8YlNFg6wlBAZHqIilMRPjS_Gin8Q0pz1ZRLwa6M3bLMbHf/s1600/hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUyiDJsAJ4m0MbVaE2FKLfdDe9gYXHpVPhaigqjOzeEkiFzrXdJLuXkkXISf0LAostTq4063wi6LiCNC14C6-5nnwVHThme8YlNFg6wlBAZHqIilMRPjS_Gin8Q0pz1ZRLwa6M3bLMbHf/s200/hill.jpg" width="200" /></a>I was really looking forward to this one for some reason. It was run by Sikhs in the City and was held on a 1.25 mile circuit in North East London. I don't know why but I was looking forward to it.<br />
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It did not disappoint as I had a super day.<br />
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I picked up Brenda and it was quite a drive (about 1hr 45) to get to the venue. We were there in plenty of time and could only find parking about 1km away from the start.<br />
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We brought all of our stuff with us and registered. It was the soft velcro around the ankle timing chips and once registered we hung around to the start. It was freezing.<br />
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There was a fairly big crowd and more would join throughout the day including a separate 10k race on the same circuit a couple of hours after us. It was a min of 50K for an ultra finish today. That was 25 laps. It was also significant elevation at 1600ft for the 50K. Special today was Martin Bush who had just completed his 1000th marathon.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXv8p5cZiEDoUI0_930aDatvmMND1iKrX2IGPg9C9RtFOUXWR7KmoSEoCxWxJva596dirc9uB9aK0_7j2eCHz3OX9rsbBYUg4F4OXW2Sb8-SmskZ-vQRmrZ-Zn4UVAGJ6y0Lj7NR7zYAV/s1600/old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTXv8p5cZiEDoUI0_930aDatvmMND1iKrX2IGPg9C9RtFOUXWR7KmoSEoCxWxJva596dirc9uB9aK0_7j2eCHz3OX9rsbBYUg4F4OXW2Sb8-SmskZ-vQRmrZ-Zn4UVAGJ6y0Lj7NR7zYAV/s200/old.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">107 years old</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlE8gpXiQphgHKTjWDDMfbvgVnurof6Rfi5yZhtgIsJZyZMi2bLK_r5SSG2ADtbpSG_OWiqoz76syF9oD-CmaGgqoeZrHzYgtzEr9_UD7j5pfGTFXrnPKLSzza6XJYNJtZ9Mikqe2f4W8j/s1600/shk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlE8gpXiQphgHKTjWDDMfbvgVnurof6Rfi5yZhtgIsJZyZMi2bLK_r5SSG2ADtbpSG_OWiqoz76syF9oD-CmaGgqoeZrHzYgtzEr9_UD7j5pfGTFXrnPKLSzza6XJYNJtZ9Mikqe2f4W8j/s200/shk.jpg" width="150" /></a>Leaving the start finish area about 200m of flat brought us to the start of "the" hill. I had decided early that I was going to walk all the hills. This hill went up for around 800m to the 1km or half way mark. Parts of it were steep and it was fairly twisty but some people decided to try and run it all day. I was not one of those. It was through a predominantly residential area and the path was footpath or road. At the 1km mark there was another timing mat to stop people cutting corners.<br />
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After the half way mark after about 200m of flat we turned left and it was a gentle downhill all the way back to the start area where our times and lap count was taken again. It was a very straight forward quite boring course but it was very urban.<br />
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At the 2km mark at the timing mat, there was a massive TV that immediately showed your name and how many laps you had done. I have to say it was one of the best timing setups I have come across.<br />
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The aid station was at this point and it had everything you would need and all day there was Indian food being prepared and doled out. It really was great and it was a great atmosphere. There was also no pressure on time as we had from 8:03 in the morning to be on our last lap by 3:53pm which was approx 8 hrs.<br />
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I didnt see Brenda all day until the 47K mark when she caught me up. I was glad she had gone out and did ultra rather than stand around and get cold. She managed to take 7 minutes out of me in the last 3K (speedy!!!).<br />
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I came through marathon in around 5:50 and an extra 4 laps saw me in for 50K in 7:18:00.<br />
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It was not a very taxing day and I really loved it. A long sleeved top, a nice medal and a full Indian take away including curry, Nan bread, bhagi's and Somas as well as a small goodie bag were icing on the cake.<br />
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We also had the pleasure of the oldest marathon runner in the world make an appearance at 107 years old. He holds the word record for 100+ which he did in 2011. Amazing really.<br />
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Stats for today.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2035052309/embed/1a23751d7622263591a3f3d502e963bf66bd7a3d" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-64601024209895734312018-12-28T16:23:00.003+00:002018-12-28T17:21:43.902+00:00Winter ConnemarathonWinter Connemarathon 6:06:40<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAUl5FvWqRyAvVdvEtj4c0sTdFnDG-XPsKWCwwC6iUp76ajHaeFci6UcNPr_l3xN1lHQiguTZiSFasI6sH_WrND2x8VtZBkeh4abuMLDmZu1N-dVTXrTcerC58TgyGequHZK-jaBeGVi9/s1600/mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAUl5FvWqRyAvVdvEtj4c0sTdFnDG-XPsKWCwwC6iUp76ajHaeFci6UcNPr_l3xN1lHQiguTZiSFasI6sH_WrND2x8VtZBkeh4abuMLDmZu1N-dVTXrTcerC58TgyGequHZK-jaBeGVi9/s200/mountain.jpg" width="200" /></a>Given that I have done a 3:42 on this course in the past it shows the depth of the slump I am in when I was only eyeing up 6hrs today.<br />
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But it was a big day for me as this would be my <b><i><u>100th ROI</u></i></b> marathon and together with my <b><i>116</i></b> in England meant that I would join a very exclusive band of runners by running 100 marathons in multiple countries.<br />
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In fact the calibre of the incumbents reaching this milestone is that they have done on average 1000 (one thousand) marathons each.<br />
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Today's event was on the classic Connemarathon course. A course that was the scene of my first ROI half marathon back in 2004 and this would be my 15th time over the course. It was being run by MCI with Ray O'Connor as the RD. Back in his rightful lace if you ask me. timing was by team Gutherie.<br />
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A bus picked us up from the Galway Bay hotel in Salthill and brought us to Connemara. We picked up some more of the gang at Peacocks and we were deposited at the start line. It was chilly but for Connemara real nice.<br />
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After a very emotional race brief by Ray and Vincent we were off. There was a full bus load running today.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/vincent.guthrie.37/videos/2422935227721110/" target="_blank">Video of the start and speeches</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkueWYD_3iNBibTklkX_eC2gC3j-ynie-3XTzRrfnJS9qKhpyjhI4FQWMr5SjtWqKKbF3L9g6loiuhijOOycSKezGlftktXpjpAXQKAb3cuBgDHpVDD8R8fE14GYmtBtiCgi8LXihTJ0HD/s1600/start+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkueWYD_3iNBibTklkX_eC2gC3j-ynie-3XTzRrfnJS9qKhpyjhI4FQWMr5SjtWqKKbF3L9g6loiuhijOOycSKezGlftktXpjpAXQKAb3cuBgDHpVDD8R8fE14GYmtBtiCgi8LXihTJ0HD/s200/start+1.jpg" width="200" /></a>The weather was as good as I have seen in Connemara and the first 6 miles were the nice flat bit along lough Inagh. I wasn't really feeling it and quickly hooked up with Isabella from GCH and a Scottish lady (I've totally forgotten her name) from Mayo. We walked and ran our way chatting up hill and down dale making good progress to Linnane. It was very enjoyable if slow.<br />
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At Linnane, Collette and Eimear caught us up but stopped off for coffee and we were back to our little gang again. The weather was still great. At mile 19 Colette and Eimear came past again and I fell off the back. I was really struggling. David Brady soon caught me and headed off into the distance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZy5KrLO6VlBsCPques9AITHmz4FN6ppVFaKkrcGWaQjpjAGad5s2gegWS0wp5ek6JdrjWSR6S5NIXmg_mHifc5NgYoVlbWveNyI8BRz6lc6311oig3nQhpQ6MVmW04HSvlD7ieWjqSTV/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZy5KrLO6VlBsCPques9AITHmz4FN6ppVFaKkrcGWaQjpjAGad5s2gegWS0wp5ek6JdrjWSR6S5NIXmg_mHifc5NgYoVlbWveNyI8BRz6lc6311oig3nQhpQ6MVmW04HSvlD7ieWjqSTV/s200/start.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It seemed a long day as I covered the familiar route through Maam and hit the hell of the west. I was walking at this stage but knew I was going to finish in and around 6hrs. In fact at the top of the hill looking back I could see Humphrey catching me and this gave me a spurt and I ran most of the last 2 miles to finish.<br />
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I was glad to get there and got my medal and a chat with Ray, Catherine and Vincent before heading to Peacocks for a sandwich and soup (Humphrey was a brilliant negotiator to get us a chicken sandwich). The bus left us back to the hotel in Salthill.<br />
A quick return home for a bath and it was back to Salthill for the MCI Christmas dinner. A lovely<br />
evening was had.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2GhRq-zsncdeZ5n3Jfo1J1ncZ2YsudYaPlovn4oVOLrArYotSRq18f5dVouAQ34F2j-fcr99VziGcRRNbVdbsH2FaVqY2ol0MsQ1oxkPTLSkJpolD2IhKlsiESd-9hNe7hR9cNF5bFgy/s1600/100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="584" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2GhRq-zsncdeZ5n3Jfo1J1ncZ2YsudYaPlovn4oVOLrArYotSRq18f5dVouAQ34F2j-fcr99VziGcRRNbVdbsH2FaVqY2ol0MsQ1oxkPTLSkJpolD2IhKlsiESd-9hNe7hR9cNF5bFgy/s320/100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">100 marathon in Multiple countries</td></tr>
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Irony was that one of my best ultra runs was on this course in terrible conditions and was pretty much in the same time as my marathon run today and that was 39.3 miles.The New year will be different<br />
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There were very few photos from today.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2035050661/embed/8442d21eea9fe45d45413f3b0fdfa46afb95658f" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-289074684599640442018-12-28T16:02:00.000+00:002018-12-28T17:24:02.899+00:00Winter is comingWinter is Coming Ultra 6:41:24<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPMfqyYU4jcTnGth77u97ZFMjQJAB2CIEFXD5YOO1ZC0JtSvgXazt3UU9OHVj31y_LofgM8ugQGMqMFlo239T2lClKQ08_7LJMFX_rFMcWgWaBkCZcjnqqwSYPJ8VeuZpkvzHlKP3zgu8/s1600/medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPMfqyYU4jcTnGth77u97ZFMjQJAB2CIEFXD5YOO1ZC0JtSvgXazt3UU9OHVj31y_LofgM8ugQGMqMFlo239T2lClKQ08_7LJMFX_rFMcWgWaBkCZcjnqqwSYPJ8VeuZpkvzHlKP3zgu8/s200/medal.jpg" width="178" /></a>This was a Saturn Running event that was in Runnymead just under the M25 along the banks of Thames. I had run this route before but then it was roasting today it was gloves and coat weather but still pretty good conditions.<br />
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I also liked this course as it easily could be broken down into manageable chunks.<br />
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I picked up Brenda enroute and got there early. This one is fairly convenient and we got there in no time despite taking a wrong turn just off the motorway. Parking is still steep at £6 for the day but Saturn do give a £3 refund. facilities are great with a couple of toilets at the car park and at registration.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcnRwd13QyWEDUtKUsY1q4gRC1BiWnYFW9zEVyJ5cGVz9_n4F6U9Ai5czxZjxfrrVs3KUqUhcakdWvAL-rfZkKrJcoBbGpmuugukM-GADdBkSOYnJ_0m2zIXN-RgZ6j0X9xdvLWjEMFQm/s1600/looking+fat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcnRwd13QyWEDUtKUsY1q4gRC1BiWnYFW9zEVyJ5cGVz9_n4F6U9Ai5czxZjxfrrVs3KUqUhcakdWvAL-rfZkKrJcoBbGpmuugukM-GADdBkSOYnJ_0m2zIXN-RgZ6j0X9xdvLWjEMFQm/s200/looking+fat.jpg" width="200" /></a>Registration was easy and quickly we were all at the start line ready to go. I was determined to go ultra today which would be my 84th ultra. After a quick briefing we were off at 8:30 for the early start. I knew the route well and a couple of locks, the hotel a few forest sections and the motorway as well as a couple of bridges all in 1.6 miles broke up the race.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOxZYrcUgynH6E8I-wDYz5cquJ7Cqtelp4SY1pyZqrYmJxrrwZpWkLM6zdyBrD4NTJwHt6aSSed-amSRzjs7bwhDGvQWvW7a0E1vFBxiB3zrheQdhG12c5INojXA3wDCx8JQ9kQNDZlNa/s1600/olga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOxZYrcUgynH6E8I-wDYz5cquJ7Cqtelp4SY1pyZqrYmJxrrwZpWkLM6zdyBrD4NTJwHt6aSSed-amSRzjs7bwhDGvQWvW7a0E1vFBxiB3zrheQdhG12c5INojXA3wDCx8JQ9kQNDZlNa/s200/olga.jpg" width="200" /></a>I went off steady but not too fast and ran the first couple of laps with Olga (aka Rat girl) who while based at Oxford was finishing her PHD in statistics. You never really know who you meet at these events. I stayed in and around Olga all day as she went on to finish her own 50k run. She has done a lot this year.<br />
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Outside of that I was pretty much on my own. I came through half marathon in a slow 2:38 and did quite a bit of walking in the second half. I was never really in too much trouble today and kept plodding it out. Most people today stopped at Marathon as usual but a few did go on to do an extra lap or finish with a 50K.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcORC2uxw6hAxHgxN2jsM8Xc-dmq4ZcZ5OxgivmTD85bVRs4Nel6rO_HBaLMZy8ariA6KW09ZI7dt7s4km5tKakWlZH04bVym0Awlh_cbrgAasrw37-LIpO2sGbnATHIg6993IKMdsG2k/s1600/sausage+rolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcORC2uxw6hAxHgxN2jsM8Xc-dmq4ZcZ5OxgivmTD85bVRs4Nel6rO_HBaLMZy8ariA6KW09ZI7dt7s4km5tKakWlZH04bVym0Awlh_cbrgAasrw37-LIpO2sGbnATHIg6993IKMdsG2k/s200/sausage+rolls.jpg" width="200" /></a>I came through marathon in 5:40 and immediately decided to go back out again. Brenda was behind me so there would not be too much waiting around.<br />
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When through lap no 9 I stopped though I did have time to go out for the 50K I declined it.<br />
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A lovely "game of thrones" medal and a goodie bag were received as well as one of the sausage rolls and we were off home.<br />
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Photos: Saturn running<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2035049929/embed/be704b2d1aba08fd4802a0e0e2c32df13451893f" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-67723807453789239692018-12-24T14:27:00.002+00:002018-12-24T17:48:05.805+00:00RemembranceRemembrance marathon<br />
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6:03:33<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9dBgkJSnmHvXcBTFjkx6vv6PwT09Ojt7gMmwYrOPFt16z2ZYP-DW_i6VEbU3oKzo-05jU29t6M8iEaPhlrO08vPqitzITUMMiwJRIsXCRRwWAl_JbcKWebfyKy9GHSenagJpSmhxBwRJ/s1600/46334722_2154045954844324_5828903750391037952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="718" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9dBgkJSnmHvXcBTFjkx6vv6PwT09Ojt7gMmwYrOPFt16z2ZYP-DW_i6VEbU3oKzo-05jU29t6M8iEaPhlrO08vPqitzITUMMiwJRIsXCRRwWAl_JbcKWebfyKy9GHSenagJpSmhxBwRJ/s200/46334722_2154045954844324_5828903750391037952_n.jpg" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY09a65JO9sQp9r7Ju_dHOi1ljlCO31x-qRDZZG65em8HchOQ5M9GrU3FqebOW8aHX3FgaHitSobiCeIaloJbbhGeSedBGJyBeiOYtnDhZDzshRvVouCE1KBQPtwFMdT8IeyDHI2OxJuyb/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY09a65JO9sQp9r7Ju_dHOi1ljlCO31x-qRDZZG65em8HchOQ5M9GrU3FqebOW8aHX3FgaHitSobiCeIaloJbbhGeSedBGJyBeiOYtnDhZDzshRvVouCE1KBQPtwFMdT8IeyDHI2OxJuyb/s200/cake.jpg" width="200" /></a>This was one the Phoenix running flag ship events in Walton upon Thames. It was by far the biggest event that Phoenix had put on and nearly 400 of us took to the marathon course over the 10.5km loop in Walton.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9dBgkJSnmHvXcBTFjkx6vv6PwT09Ojt7gMmwYrOPFt16z2ZYP-DW_i6VEbU3oKzo-05jU29t6M8iEaPhlrO08vPqitzITUMMiwJRIsXCRRwWAl_JbcKWebfyKy9GHSenagJpSmhxBwRJ/s1600/46334722_2154045954844324_5828903750391037952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiX46D7GpLQD3M-zfSj2FB5LIvEUO1RW6ZEWA3hSYvC1lalVDd8GUnayKkKuA00n6p98VnJsBljZ5E92CliKN-w8Jkcfjo0aWyjS3VPrNxjXokOCvNAevdtUcfXnE-AAB3ZI_16gAMt8qu/s1600/aid+station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiX46D7GpLQD3M-zfSj2FB5LIvEUO1RW6ZEWA3hSYvC1lalVDd8GUnayKkKuA00n6p98VnJsBljZ5E92CliKN-w8Jkcfjo0aWyjS3VPrNxjXokOCvNAevdtUcfXnE-AAB3ZI_16gAMt8qu/s200/aid+station.jpg" width="200" /></a>To make things a little special this was also the 100th anniversary of armistice day. As is normal now on these events the medal is kept secret and only unveiled during the race.<br />
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We were lucky with the weather and though the course was puddly underfoot the bad weather stayed away. Never the less it made for a very muddy affair with lots of puddle jumping.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s1600/puddley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s200/puddley.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
Also there was Maighread and Brenda and also travelling over was Philip and Francis though we all ran our own race there was lots of passing and we all kept in touch.<br />
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I found this race tough going and didn't really enjoy it. To make things worse about 1/4 way through the second lap I lost my footing at a very slippy bit and did a full slow motion fall right into a puddle. I ended up prone right in it and soaked and muddy right up to and including my face. I wasn't the only one who fell as I saw Mel having a muddy time as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oa_0t0ouvsyiJ5uiiCpV6w4vm5wr8PIJ2_sZVJlDzw6yGti2bJ5YpiXgGvPo-RaJ57wyldDGZujWD4Cp-zXFqCMGD9H3cByjnIZHBH0vBshiZR6KFxQyylHJOZai5j4ckgwE-thO4vUV/s1600/cake+and+medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oa_0t0ouvsyiJ5uiiCpV6w4vm5wr8PIJ2_sZVJlDzw6yGti2bJ5YpiXgGvPo-RaJ57wyldDGZujWD4Cp-zXFqCMGD9H3cByjnIZHBH0vBshiZR6KFxQyylHJOZai5j4ckgwE-thO4vUV/s200/cake+and+medal.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULWFt7Q9zvxP7QAFfMxTbZFpuJLmjw2lvrKtH1O_Sky4lZIX2cpLK4_fN0JcXdvuFDB2L944AWh02ThwEpfgm04d-g2w66FRKcBuxvv-u39RMFFr_HKcQFREkIIfqgkUVbkgMoUtQwplT/s1600/nice+conditions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULWFt7Q9zvxP7QAFfMxTbZFpuJLmjw2lvrKtH1O_Sky4lZIX2cpLK4_fN0JcXdvuFDB2L944AWh02ThwEpfgm04d-g2w66FRKcBuxvv-u39RMFFr_HKcQFREkIIfqgkUVbkgMoUtQwplT/s200/nice+conditions.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s1600/puddley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s1600/puddley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s1600/puddley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbHXbB2BBKjt0b90teBAbqxfV5eTpMNifoMlCCJtgwUZsaur7EsGMBL9wJguCX-yEfmvY5EB-SkK3CGwFv-ufZbdFze9dWFAN4w4DPCz0mr7BW9mc07aV7sQehJ8RE0FOdy0xJ5KO047d/s1600/puddley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>I was lucky though as I managed as I was falling to roll and did not land heavily on my knee. That would have been a disaster. Being only a marathon there were lots of traffic all day with some of the fasties finishing just over 3 hours.<br />
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My times at the moment are not good and a 2:45 first half was followed with an even slower second half. I really did not enjoy this run.<br />
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I did however have the pleasure of running the last 5K with Julie Twinny and we had a good chat. It clicked over 6 hrs before we finished.<br />
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The medal was as always spectacular and we even got a second for free as it was Phoenix's 100th event and Rik had crafted a special medal for that. In addition Rik had 2 x florescent phoenix wings for me as I had finished a 52 in 51 and 100 in 100 at his events.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPLjTjTpndSCxICqfvlqyTJGcYF6s7H2Fe_PRODoCp5kh-sFJ8vUmwIPenlj2zagBsD-jji6Y4G7-B85TbXmHbtVALjtSo9PzB-ap6-CtkNhFFENGksbALp0hHLaGL28x69sjouAJABkk/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPLjTjTpndSCxICqfvlqyTJGcYF6s7H2Fe_PRODoCp5kh-sFJ8vUmwIPenlj2zagBsD-jji6Y4G7-B85TbXmHbtVALjtSo9PzB-ap6-CtkNhFFENGksbALp0hHLaGL28x69sjouAJABkk/s200/start.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmo2cwFbyqeqeM75AS37QY3VDGFnCe83eymwZ5qVzwpGaIAYnBq3zIX8wXrOdcem7aOr21SJw2g3hejYnpfSqNwbhpiafqjvHAcCGbgA30zqj-AneOm27Fw2fKXllTn8UvYKcu7cCJxXcN/s1600/turnaround.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmo2cwFbyqeqeM75AS37QY3VDGFnCe83eymwZ5qVzwpGaIAYnBq3zIX8wXrOdcem7aOr21SJw2g3hejYnpfSqNwbhpiafqjvHAcCGbgA30zqj-AneOm27Fw2fKXllTn8UvYKcu7cCJxXcN/s200/turnaround.jpg" width="150" /></a>As soon as I had finished I left Maighread to the train station. She was attempting to get to Gatwick. Brenda was there waiting when I returned and we said our goodbyes and left.<br />
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The journey continued when flying back to Ireland the next week, security took the medal off me as a dangerous weapon and after some negotiation it ended up flying in the cockpit with the captain and given back to me when we landed in Dublin.<br />
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Photos: Ian Pullen<br />
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Stats for the day..<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/2010390692/embed/c42e12a30bf253a60bd8f97dfeddb908a22bbfb4" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-17104656844850630922018-12-10T15:49:00.001+00:002018-12-24T13:21:15.930+00:00BallinasloeBallinasloe or Ballinaslow<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT5YBnmHZfLyT3sUICBDSLWrEER5eFf1gixlifOkSHCoIRlV2rK485h5hMCkQ3ORkuqP9Afs5qqYkDVkqm2JHKQxw803HZJeyJmyaA_f3_ZlC5qcgaqJXGKK7DIH9b_vUwfkQmoTyxfLz/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1600" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT5YBnmHZfLyT3sUICBDSLWrEER5eFf1gixlifOkSHCoIRlV2rK485h5hMCkQ3ORkuqP9Afs5qqYkDVkqm2JHKQxw803HZJeyJmyaA_f3_ZlC5qcgaqJXGKK7DIH9b_vUwfkQmoTyxfLz/s320/start.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This was my second time doing this event. Last year it was the penultimate event before my 10 in 10 attempt and I was happy to get around in 4hrs 30. I wouldn't get close to that today.<br />
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During the week I had been diagnosed with Metatarsalgia which is the cause of the the pain that I have been feeling in the ball of my foot. I explains why I can't run during the week and am in constant pain when running.<br />
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It was an MCI event and great value at €20<br />
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The HQ was the rugby club outside Ballinasloe and we had use of the bar area, toilets and hot showers afterwards.<br />
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This year there was only one start and the course would be run in reverse. There also was a half marathon and 10K scheduled later in the morning. Aidan Sheridan and family were the hosts for today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtkvg6zU2t_7dRDagrvKTlzBsxOsJee544-Y-_wi2PFw0fFirCr9d63sHCzcdKcY_4ogqY7NHfOppoA-gj_zoGRjukP8BE8irzVFjrq0yWacwUZx4RaQd9pJneIvpBa1GWFbWWf3WJeZl/s1600/start+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1600" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtkvg6zU2t_7dRDagrvKTlzBsxOsJee544-Y-_wi2PFw0fFirCr9d63sHCzcdKcY_4ogqY7NHfOppoA-gj_zoGRjukP8BE8irzVFjrq0yWacwUZx4RaQd9pJneIvpBa1GWFbWWf3WJeZl/s200/start+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I have to say that running in reverse was much better and much safer than last year.<br />
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We headed off at 8:30 on the dot with around 50 in the race. It quickly settled down. We turned left towards Ballinasloe and climbed for around 800m before a 1K gentle downhill to the motorway roundabout. Skirting past the roundabout we traversed a footbridge over the motorway before heading down a very well heeled road parallel to the motorway. About 1K later we climbed steeply on a cross road over the motorway which immediately brought us onto the long straight bog road. 1.6 miles of nothing later we turned at a cone and still on the bog road headed for home over some fairly rural Galway back roads. There was some long drags but nothing too severe. Turning right onto the main road again we faced the traffic for 1 mile until it brought us back to the rugby club. The loop was 6.5 miles.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_FWglb9yg0uHlUbvFuBK4x95uG8Icrx4fh3HMN_B3yGA7gbRl9Ko8560V3_LtfV52Aq3TihinZ_Pde3I1uLJdDKsWFnE53-e1_xr2m53JfmTLg8gwJ_Q2G7WnNS6IeY8HVjmUr2G7wAX/s1600/start+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1600" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_FWglb9yg0uHlUbvFuBK4x95uG8Icrx4fh3HMN_B3yGA7gbRl9Ko8560V3_LtfV52Aq3TihinZ_Pde3I1uLJdDKsWFnE53-e1_xr2m53JfmTLg8gwJ_Q2G7WnNS6IeY8HVjmUr2G7wAX/s200/start+3.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
I was through 1 lap in 1hr 8 mins and headed out for lap 2. Apart from one shower it was dry and cold and pretty good running conditions. I dreaded the long big road section everytime we came to it.<br />
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Lap 2 was 1hr 18, Lap 3 was 1hr 28 and I put a real effort in for lap 4 for 1hr 18. So half way was 2hrs 26 and full marathon was 5hrs 23 just faster than I finished Chicago.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievau-3Rs3Mpf6ADFAnZMRaCJEjs3DlM-97JFPVwDfTcKb1nYZfITie1r5SE88zVqtPB1naPoY6tsefsAjXBCB_pMUGnFK6u0FAhUYY7r42EsMMLyT69OqqPfTUAcIPlM9zzJu82fSx49L/s1600/start+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="793" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievau-3Rs3Mpf6ADFAnZMRaCJEjs3DlM-97JFPVwDfTcKb1nYZfITie1r5SE88zVqtPB1naPoY6tsefsAjXBCB_pMUGnFK6u0FAhUYY7r42EsMMLyT69OqqPfTUAcIPlM9zzJu82fSx49L/s200/start+4.jpg" width="165" /></a><br />
All in all I ran well but my foot was agony.<br />
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In to the clubhouse afterwards there was a great spread of sandwiches, cake and tea/coffee. Great value for €20.<br />
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Today was officially a road marathon and my 96th one of those and my 99th ROI marathon.<br />
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Photos: Kasia Skowron<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1943530362/embed/8a571820bdeb08f99cf09cffeb83e11de031bfa4" width="590"></iframe>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-71383527616539119942018-11-19T09:53:00.001+00:002018-11-19T09:53:03.139+00:00Dublin#259 Dublin 5:11<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Xj71WqqkW9QM2gpTrwG16jLAizGO61hcmvw17FpqjbWTwSzKw5Mi_TkDrSnucXC3J5uQWop_xeibSLH0EX6r9fFCEqx1u7u6dNm4n48W84JC8vjQcsXyLMSTEQh4Gl-_dBgUtXAAhJtB/s1600/dublin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1200" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Xj71WqqkW9QM2gpTrwG16jLAizGO61hcmvw17FpqjbWTwSzKw5Mi_TkDrSnucXC3J5uQWop_xeibSLH0EX6r9fFCEqx1u7u6dNm4n48W84JC8vjQcsXyLMSTEQh4Gl-_dBgUtXAAhJtB/s200/dublin.jpg" width="200" /></a>This was my 13th Dublin and I am if I am honest getting a little tired of it. Having it on the Sunday definitely helps as the whole bank holiday isnt taken up with it.<br />
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I started of the Sat by volunteering at the local parkrun and saw lots of people there over from England that were getting another run on on the day before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSl70xI581UEoNr5Ep1Xop9wJZz1MIELDDuuvZr4gnyxE0VkQ9EmguExw4luskgxSugslJxbeiwk9GeL_TlqteMrGgtswgX8lNWQTvMMhCtYmK9VHkuCx4Cs3SBGz2Leprmazihn6a0gvD/s1600/start+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSl70xI581UEoNr5Ep1Xop9wJZz1MIELDDuuvZr4gnyxE0VkQ9EmguExw4luskgxSugslJxbeiwk9GeL_TlqteMrGgtswgX8lNWQTvMMhCtYmK9VHkuCx4Cs3SBGz2Leprmazihn6a0gvD/s200/start+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I picked up my number at the expo on the Sat lunchtime. Its a pain in the neck to get to and I was lucky enough to find parking close to Sydney Parade Dart station and walked up. Registration was a breeze and we got a hat today as our special gift. The green bobbles were very prominent around town all weekend.<br />
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I didnt stay around too much but stopped off at the MCI stall for the chats with Vincent, Catherine, Maryse and Derek. Anto stuck his nose in for a bit of ribbing. That was good fun. I quickly went home to rest up.<br />
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Now I knew that from previous years that buses are a nightmare on marathon morning and there was works that meant the Dart was off as well. Lindsay left me into the IFSC and I walked up from there. I decided against the Cru! changing area as I like to get my gear as quick as possible after the race and I get very cold immediately after.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51P7RJ8wVcGnFcwD2Go5FZyjDDC67ByOjlKI-u4-bz8UNcf83aVlTrjBK2kqqEjOn7Z2A3Er6qOQerS8GvRXgmPVD06d9ZQ2IUpxkEOBo1MHiXMQehT2Kv5bDCieldLxFzlRQ6m9glQ3M/s1600/start+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51P7RJ8wVcGnFcwD2Go5FZyjDDC67ByOjlKI-u4-bz8UNcf83aVlTrjBK2kqqEjOn7Z2A3Er6qOQerS8GvRXgmPVD06d9ZQ2IUpxkEOBo1MHiXMQehT2Kv5bDCieldLxFzlRQ6m9glQ3M/s200/start+3.jpg" width="150" /></a>Straight into the baggage area and I met Lisa and Mairin from Cru! and Leonie and Miriam from the local parkrun who were working. Toilets were a disaster as they would only let you goto the toilet if you had stored your bag. It was very jobs worthy. I hid my bag, went to the loo and returned to the baggage area. Way too early I went to the corall. As I was hanging at the back of wave 1 a lot of people passed that I knew including Carolyn from WSR and lots of DBRC. I didnt see one Cru!.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfzsxml6SHAXU12lqwdAji3DqIRUyvKJaYHIq6E_eNgcBILa0y5z7DI1B3lttton5e_VyLth6XFEjI8kQtmqOkj-iSES_d7JiXndhHf8_nduUAx1Opcpi1vD75mxfvKqxH61EAO94GREA/s1600/start+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfzsxml6SHAXU12lqwdAji3DqIRUyvKJaYHIq6E_eNgcBILa0y5z7DI1B3lttton5e_VyLth6XFEjI8kQtmqOkj-iSES_d7JiXndhHf8_nduUAx1Opcpi1vD75mxfvKqxH61EAO94GREA/s200/start+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leonie and Muriel</td></tr>
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At 9am we were off and I knew that I was well ahead of lots of the pace groups and they would reel me in for the race. It was freezing at the start but it did warm up to around 9/10 degrees , it was light winds and dry. Pretty much perfect running conditions.<br />
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I went off reasonably steady. I wasnt feeling that great but I still managed to keep things ticking over at a similar enough pace to Chicago. Support on the streets was great as usual and the Cru! were particularly good this year staying around and waiting and encouraging even us slower ones.<br />
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10 K was in around 1:04 with half marathon covered in 2:18. This was a few minutes behind Chicago but there is no way I could have a worse second half. I was being passed by many and slowly the 3;40 and 3:50 groups over took me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8oQaTdg36SzQFrV1p6IQo1QTWurOIOVC7ANuY_drLnXc3hwOCnP0yzl_nOZ4RczXuJdBgk_aigKPdGtnvcYxY1v0CZFz1Ui3tALt-2vKyXqbA-zkVKw2kzZmEk_Osta8dlmoZTWEJI0S/s1600/start+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8oQaTdg36SzQFrV1p6IQo1QTWurOIOVC7ANuY_drLnXc3hwOCnP0yzl_nOZ4RczXuJdBgk_aigKPdGtnvcYxY1v0CZFz1Ui3tALt-2vKyXqbA-zkVKw2kzZmEk_Osta8dlmoZTWEJI0S/s200/start+4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shines on Duty</td></tr>
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Passing through half way I visibly slowed but knew that I was doing much better than Chicago and ran when I could. Being Dublin I was scared to walk in case anyone saw me. It was busy all the way with now 2000 entered and around 17000 actually running.<br />
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The second half turned out better than I was expecting and I was able to run large portions of it punctuated by walk breaks. Unfortunately I got caught walking by Mairead Cashman just around UCD but managed to get away with it with the rest of the Cru guys who stayed out until I was well past. There was a steady stream of people came passed me.<br />
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I was very pleased to come in at 5:11 which was the best for a while. The arrangements after were just as bad as before with the whole crowd directed away from the city center and not allowed the quick route up passed the dept of finance. I always enjoyed this part where you got to meet loads of people. I kept walking back to the convention centre and Linz picked me up for a very much appreciated lift home.<br />
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I have not entered Dublin next year. Not many photos taken this year.<br />
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Stats for the day<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1934722750/embed/1010027c0dd6dc5d229050559d8c4b267564f516" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-72509967715707010112018-11-01T13:51:00.002+00:002018-11-05T15:55:57.892+00:00Greenway<br />
#258 Greenway (Achill to Westport).<br />
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Ultra #83 5:56:33<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamSMXaG7q7lq7aECfF4s3dT2tmyquMzRs_Td4SyyHH_jEl9fTKLRC-etAoITkSnixagTew3HVhm-b7O5SLGT7MUYcV1kbqAlJab6hvacvSBL3f-_n6vtiamSoaI0V1zdtFEPgBBxxdQYV/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamSMXaG7q7lq7aECfF4s3dT2tmyquMzRs_Td4SyyHH_jEl9fTKLRC-etAoITkSnixagTew3HVhm-b7O5SLGT7MUYcV1kbqAlJab6hvacvSBL3f-_n6vtiamSoaI0V1zdtFEPgBBxxdQYV/s200/start.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I strangely had been looking forward to this one. That is rare enough for me recently. I even had booked it up quite a while ago. It was also due to be 44K long which is a short ultra.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrhqKWFti-wAe21kp94a_MH5q7kbNU64NCTX83JX5VgANo_g9P3wby-ON3rUqdXa7iQU5AjpySTnKuzfZVNmJ4I7QB4Y1J5FxhuaeQmXiLaUiXEtP2zM67joCcudoV_1HcXQ37CYZMxfV/s1600/greenway+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrhqKWFti-wAe21kp94a_MH5q7kbNU64NCTX83JX5VgANo_g9P3wby-ON3rUqdXa7iQU5AjpySTnKuzfZVNmJ4I7QB4Y1J5FxhuaeQmXiLaUiXEtP2zM67joCcudoV_1HcXQ37CYZMxfV/s200/greenway+3.jpg" width="150" /></a>I heard from Finn who ran it the day before that they had changed the Greenway route and it was coming in at 43.5km. Now to qualify for an ultra it has to be 43.4km so I think we just made it. As it was, the declared distance at the start was 43.4km so it just about qualified.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfTbvJZH_JmClEOdoDHY96WoTPFclj8s_OyienbZTZFCn1Z5Izw7D41AOwHwImfqZXE9prQaY_K2rNp9lo2kemCyIn0U9WkQ0XZGmWANS1Iduix7JKOcZZfi_w_kJmoVWOzU_mKwKnT8w/s1600/greenway+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfTbvJZH_JmClEOdoDHY96WoTPFclj8s_OyienbZTZFCn1Z5Izw7D41AOwHwImfqZXE9prQaY_K2rNp9lo2kemCyIn0U9WkQ0XZGmWANS1Iduix7JKOcZZfi_w_kJmoVWOzU_mKwKnT8w/s200/greenway+8.jpg" width="150" /></a>Being point to point the logistics were a little unusual. It was also limited to 50 people which I suspect was all that could fit in a bus. First part was to register at one of the downtown hotels in Westport.<br />
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An early start from Galway city brought me to Westport early enough to get registered and toileted in the hotel and have a chat to quite a few there that I knew. It was great to see Marie Chapman for the first time in ages and she was in great form. Also there was Humphery, back from his US travels and up from Kerry was Theresa Grimes (though I suspect she would rather be at home with the grandchild). Also there from the north was Jill and hubby and Peter had left at an un-godly hour to make the journey. Naturally the stalwarts Dave Brady and Ger Fahy were there and they would stay together all day and finish together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-nyH4Uz2yopi14ITSaPaF06wlpwOMXvEHekZu0f76UjGUoQufLxOmbnmFI3LsTV89bTTmVkrj6PfjgixvoPhMF1ZdkGNwe5K4eyU_WGf0WoYxsN_6tZV4U41n0K2YB-7IUpRo-g74WlC/s1600/greenway+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-nyH4Uz2yopi14ITSaPaF06wlpwOMXvEHekZu0f76UjGUoQufLxOmbnmFI3LsTV89bTTmVkrj6PfjgixvoPhMF1ZdkGNwe5K4eyU_WGf0WoYxsN_6tZV4U41n0K2YB-7IUpRo-g74WlC/s200/greenway+2.jpg" width="150" /></a>At around 8am we boarded the bus and took the 40 minute journey to Achill Sound. Stopping briefly at the hotel for a toilet break we climbed back on the bus for the few hundred meters across the bridge to the Island. We started pretty much immediately and were off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBA9X9m1POMLBsW7jaE0_FlpKyKWiw5Y2CDzitECaPuplclYvDB4gkoZs-3R6BTx1q7CB7_QXVNbvl-3N7DOnN3NmdrtC7QGYDYte3Zy6swFv1MRfYbnhaoESD2ySJiFvnVLDNmlNW79k/s1600/greenway+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBA9X9m1POMLBsW7jaE0_FlpKyKWiw5Y2CDzitECaPuplclYvDB4gkoZs-3R6BTx1q7CB7_QXVNbvl-3N7DOnN3NmdrtC7QGYDYte3Zy6swFv1MRfYbnhaoESD2ySJiFvnVLDNmlNW79k/s200/greenway+7.jpg" width="150" /></a>Quickly we were over the bridge and off the Island and within a couple of hundred meters we were on the Greenway. The first aid station was at Mulraney some 9 miles into the route and the journey to Mulrany can only be described as world class. We had the Mayo mountains on our right and wonderful vistas off to the left. The Greenway itself was tarmac or hard packed and we seemed to have it pretty much to ourselves. Now and again we met a few bicycles. I chatted a bit to Marie and Aidan Swords and settled quickly pretty much at the back. I really wasnt bothered about time today and wanted to enjoy it as much as I could. I certainly enjoyed this first section.<br />
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The Greenway was well off the road and you rarely saw it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rrOh1_7DRHtCkyTS7aibYkfztjp1YooNBoqFILUFm5LC6LxlUJpWop7U5PzgWvINk-IEJHtlXuhraUQEc1YPWMdiyPEaQ1c9842LF5twOzBdiIzfz_MNN_6OEVzfiwrpelOPKJLf-mgd/s1600/greenway+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rrOh1_7DRHtCkyTS7aibYkfztjp1YooNBoqFILUFm5LC6LxlUJpWop7U5PzgWvINk-IEJHtlXuhraUQEc1YPWMdiyPEaQ1c9842LF5twOzBdiIzfz_MNN_6OEVzfiwrpelOPKJLf-mgd/s200/greenway+5.jpg" width="150" /></a>There was one particular section that wound its way around a lake on the left and through a forested section that was just wonderful.<br />
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Quick enough we came up to the first aid station in Mulraney. Everything was on the table that you would need and first aid was ever present. Cezary offered me a water bottle and I left quickly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHakTNa7sycGa0Iaku3h6xVtViLvMnc71hXiIDR5hiCHgz4d9u1DBcPSi76AuMD2RsKgHT8DEEX14zUwhG8fMaQBeT1aPHzeiHN77MGlr19KkoyBPYHtTAjaIUNjFzR6mvS6mZpSeqE8Bf/s1600/greenway+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHakTNa7sycGa0Iaku3h6xVtViLvMnc71hXiIDR5hiCHgz4d9u1DBcPSi76AuMD2RsKgHT8DEEX14zUwhG8fMaQBeT1aPHzeiHN77MGlr19KkoyBPYHtTAjaIUNjFzR6mvS6mZpSeqE8Bf/s200/greenway+6.jpg" width="200" /></a>Out of Mulraney there was quite a significant climb for a mile or so and this brought us up high over the village and the views over the Atlantic were just great. There were a few of us that tooed and frooed at the back on this section and I was always within contact of someone. There were lots of style type gates and cattle grids on the route that gave you some focus to run to. Again the views were absolutely world class and I continued to enjoy it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72x4qrpOaMmj-AeX1nWrv796Q0AXmwvhyyuiVbt1nm5_kYxHhgvdUim9Nyrn3EAHJ6iqGNNW7t_n35VkyA_UWlmjyjb4C7MLJUNwN_SWRmI8jZ9WCmk4G8PHEFjFutT_Z5BKxeraN-dcI/s1600/greenway+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72x4qrpOaMmj-AeX1nWrv796Q0AXmwvhyyuiVbt1nm5_kYxHhgvdUim9Nyrn3EAHJ6iqGNNW7t_n35VkyA_UWlmjyjb4C7MLJUNwN_SWRmI8jZ9WCmk4G8PHEFjFutT_Z5BKxeraN-dcI/s200/greenway+4.jpg" width="200" /></a>Eventually the wildness came to an end as we approached Newport. Now we actually had to enter the town and I didn't think the Greenway was that well signposted. I asked a couple of locals and they pointed me over the bridge in the main town. I crossed the bridge and started to head along the river. I heard a shout from behind and it was Humphrey and Theresa telling me I was going the wrong way. The actual right way was up the hill away from the river. I followed them up the hill and on the other side was the second and last aid station. I picked up some water and some jellies and headed off towards Westport. There was 12 K to go, I lost Humphery and Theresa and was on my own on this bit and we were very close to the main road as the Greenway followed along it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_pi2FT7BjH7wnFzAYU77cSMcc6HnWJF5Le9Kq-g5FPMRrnIUgNTYj5tVO5l2cDDZKdq55vVI_hG9-8MOqlWXuM6GlyqgM3rvugLxcnwmqIH4LkZWm3GSm7D3zvVw8-6D1i5jM6fjpu3Z/s1600/greenwya+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_pi2FT7BjH7wnFzAYU77cSMcc6HnWJF5Le9Kq-g5FPMRrnIUgNTYj5tVO5l2cDDZKdq55vVI_hG9-8MOqlWXuM6GlyqgM3rvugLxcnwmqIH4LkZWm3GSm7D3zvVw8-6D1i5jM6fjpu3Z/s200/greenwya+9.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4M7LnygH_alvzwxB30IdWqim78O9QBL1B51DhToYwK9LB4T_jevKyqZecqZYFlr_yhIr0VQ7AxPuB2Nide7BVwAvfAuPeNNf-yzy1MKWA2mYkco-FBPtuOiHxJbqJ7876zyCYEHfYKJC/s1600/greenway+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4M7LnygH_alvzwxB30IdWqim78O9QBL1B51DhToYwK9LB4T_jevKyqZecqZYFlr_yhIr0VQ7AxPuB2Nide7BVwAvfAuPeNNf-yzy1MKWA2mYkco-FBPtuOiHxJbqJ7876zyCYEHfYKJC/s200/greenway+10.jpg" width="150" /></a>To amuse myself I walked for 0.05 of a mile, jogged for 0.05 of a mile and sprinted for the same. The miles flew in and I had actually picked up the pace overall. I even managed to keep this going through the long hill just before the end. I got to the top and could see the finish in the distance and jogged through. I was determined to get in before 6 hrs and managed 5:55 odd.<br />
<br />
I got the lovely slate memento for finishing and walked the 1k back to the hotel. Paul Comerford was waiting and we walked back together. The last time I ran with Paul was in the Belfast to Dublin Ultra.<br />
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I didn't stay for the food in the bar and said my goodbyes and went straight back to Galway.<br />
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I loved this event.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1928786985/embed/1d5937f91fa0febd129d3aaea17e4e5d62b9a880" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-48291333668616282132018-10-26T10:35:00.002+01:002018-10-26T10:43:11.154+01:00ChicagoChicago 5:23:39<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjVWejm-qr7Pt58NojQMNxdldJqaTAkG1X1dYnB1nMzw76bhr7t-X3vPkIrcrhFupkBALm9uA5LRDDzWqmg8VY6YRJFOb42-3JRRcUbboUvaYIZ8QSycfenXzRpxqSnpVirKgWv1RHpAo/s1600/chicago+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjVWejm-qr7Pt58NojQMNxdldJqaTAkG1X1dYnB1nMzw76bhr7t-X3vPkIrcrhFupkBALm9uA5LRDDzWqmg8VY6YRJFOb42-3JRRcUbboUvaYIZ8QSycfenXzRpxqSnpVirKgWv1RHpAo/s200/chicago+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to go</td></tr>
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The preparation for this race all started when I was researching entry into the Boston marathon. A Boston Qualifier seems beyond me at the moment but I noticed that the Chicago marathon also had qualifying times and they were some 10 minutes more lax than Boston.<br />
<br />
In fact for a man of my age it was a 3:40 marathon or below. I've done that before and looked at my recent results. In Seville 2016 and in London 2016 I went <a href="http://blog.lundy.ie/2016/02/seville.html" target="_blank">3:39</a> and <a href="http://blog.lundy.ie/2016/04/london.html" target="_blank">3:38 respectively</a> . Checking to see if they were good enough I was surprised to find that they were just in the qualifying window for the 2018 Major. Not really believing it I entered as GFA and got straight in as each of these events were qualifiers.<br />
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I booked my flight immediately and booked a hotel just to have one. It was a year away.<br />
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A few months later Finn told me that herself and Pat had also qualified and I looked to see if we could get a place to share. I found a quirky apartment closer to the city center and we booked that up, cancelling the hotel. It really was good value.<br />
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I forgot about it for many months and only when it started to come close again did I start to get excited.<br />
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Doing some research, its a long way to go for just one run and I found not one but two others that could be squeezed in and it was all just doable. So this was the plan<br />
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1) Leave Dublin 11:30 am Friday<br />
2) Arrive Chicago 14:00 Friday<br />
3) Goto expo and pick up number<br />
4) Check into apartment<br />
5) Go to Midway airport and pick up hire car<br />
6) Eat and goto bed<br />
7) 3am leave Chicago and drive 2.5hrs west and start a 30 mile trail run that was due to start at 7am Sat<br />
8) After run was over drive 1 hr North to the finish of 100 mile race<br />
9) Take bus to the 69 mile point of 100 mile race<br />
10) Run 50K back to the finish starting at 7pm Sat<br />
11) Finish 50K in the early hours and make it back for start of Chicago marathon<br />
12) Finish Chicago marathon (6hr 30 cutoff).<br />
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The real Marathon No 1<br />
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The flight was due to be 11:30am and I arrived early, I met with Pat, Finn and Humphrey ( who was doing his 6th Major and 309th marathon). After 2hrs queuing through US pre-clearance we eventually made it to the gate (no air con or toilets) . We all boarded on time and waited to push back. on time. Then started the most extraordinary series of events. From 11:30 to 4:30 pm we did not move. We were told the plane was broken that it was fixable and it needed new parts etc but that we would always be underway within the hour. New parts arrived, firmware was loaded, at one point the plane was even rebooted, but still no go.<br />
<br />
We were warned that the staff's roster was expiring and that a new crew would have to be sourced, if we were to go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikY4HFvwo5fAgaw-Zdb_r28kFzBdL4I4GMTncfdAGM-pgy2_cL0rImuN7ZeYdR1hEzG33_8gu_rb2oZB-RdmBwGC3M7Fr4SVYIHME6cMenpmtvYxHRWV65aqytks_jlhdfjM5IAd4a_MAZ/s1600/chicago+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="960" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikY4HFvwo5fAgaw-Zdb_r28kFzBdL4I4GMTncfdAGM-pgy2_cL0rImuN7ZeYdR1hEzG33_8gu_rb2oZB-RdmBwGC3M7Fr4SVYIHME6cMenpmtvYxHRWV65aqytks_jlhdfjM5IAd4a_MAZ/s200/chicago+2.jpg" width="200" /></a>Eventually we were told that this plane was not moving and we had to disembark but to hang about the gate but we were still hopeful. We futtered around waiting and I spent some time talking to a few that I knew like Laura Murray who were nervous enough without all this. Martin Joyce from Sports travel was buzzing around keeping everyone upto date and there were a lot on his tour on the flight. Eventually at 6:30 pm the flight was cancelled and were told to line up for accommodation for the night and that a new flight was due at 15:00 the next day. The Chicago marathon would make numbers available early on race day. This meant that we would miss the expo.<br />
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Fortunately I was onto Linz while I was on board and she somehow managed to get me transferred to a AA flight direct to Chicago the next morning some 5 hrs before the rest were due to fly. The rest were not so lucky. I went home my Ultra plans in tatters.<br />
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I went back to the airport the next day. US pre-clearance was only 1.5hrs and I went to the gate. I met Ger who was travelling over as well (He would do <2:40) and got on the flight. This one went without a hitch and had me in Chicago at noon on the Sat.<br />
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Finally in Chicago<br />
<br />
I took the train straight to the expo (changing with all the other runners) and picked up my number. I then walked the 40 minutes from the expo to the apartment. It was as quirky as promised and settled in only going out to get some milk and McD's before settling in knackered for the evening.<br />
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Finn, Pat eventually arrived at 9:30pm Sat night.<br />
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Marathon<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJlSTHTTEr7SH-tdlQ8laqxyqoM-Iq_xFCOC3le-pysqvckOGaTd1Ffv-SklISa0FCfqmhwPvsBdNPK3S4pViDJGesppAmCe4ECcQ-IUM8Q8zS4pzihgiHNcJOZYqUcv1e8KQG_H1mIPM/s1600/chicago+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJlSTHTTEr7SH-tdlQ8laqxyqoM-Iq_xFCOC3le-pysqvckOGaTd1Ffv-SklISa0FCfqmhwPvsBdNPK3S4pViDJGesppAmCe4ECcQ-IUM8Q8zS4pzihgiHNcJOZYqUcv1e8KQG_H1mIPM/s200/chicago+3.jpg" width="200" /></a>Still needing to get their numbers we were up and out early on Sun morning for the run. We walked the 50 minutes to the start area and picked up the numbers from the Hilton which bordered the park. This was marathon central but surprisingly there was no queue in the toilets and full advantage was taken. Splitting up we went to our various starting areas. Security was tight getting in and there was a lot of walking to drop off your bag and in truth I only made it into the right starting corral with 10 minutes to spare. National anthem sung we were ready to and pretty much on time we were off. Now I was in one of the front corals and I knew that I was nowhere near my qualifying time at the minute so expected a lot to pass me en-route so I stayed out of the way most of the race.<br />
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Starting at about 10 minute pace I kept this up for pretty much the first half and struggled with this pace near the end but managed to keep it going. 30 minute 5K and 62 minute 10K had me come through half way in 2:14. This is as good as I have done recently but at this stage my race was done.<br />
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As with all the other majors this was a busy, busy race and there was much race support in terms of aid and supporters all the way around.<br />
<br />
After half way I made a fatal mistake and walked through an aid station. That was my race gone there and then. I honestly thought that I had a good shot at a sub 4:30 but after that it just got worse and worse and worse. The weather I have to say didnt help, it was very windy and drizzly and at one time there were almighty heavy bursts of rain. I walked/run it in and saw a few people that I knew on the route like Dublin's Stefan Klinowiz. I was quite happy to get the last 800m and climbed up into the park for the last sprint for the line. My final 5:23 was a little faster than I done recently but the second half was truly awful. Interestingly because of Boston the crowd was not let anywhere close to the runners in the final section and security was very heavy all the way through with SWAT teams positioned along the route.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodY3nzmnhCWoZjiz_og0_orbr87r7P5s_T7eU2drZKgH6ztw90WdgavHkqplrYobYU06vPNReKxywuGEKjag-4kh80gSvcy08gOsr-VHFAUaZxIZV-Qeg9UzPHR9xY9jpAJtc1rKCu4k0/s1600/chicago+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodY3nzmnhCWoZjiz_og0_orbr87r7P5s_T7eU2drZKgH6ztw90WdgavHkqplrYobYU06vPNReKxywuGEKjag-4kh80gSvcy08gOsr-VHFAUaZxIZV-Qeg9UzPHR9xY9jpAJtc1rKCu4k0/s200/chicago+4.jpg" width="150" /></a>After crossing the line I got my medal and a few goodies and made my way to the baggage area. I sat down for a few minutes to recover and made my way back to the appartment via the train. A nice shower and I was ready to go out.<br />
<br />
I ended up with Michael McKeown from Down in an Irish bar in Greek Town. We had a great time and were treated like kings by the staff. I even met up with Mayo girl Mary who knew Finn and we had some beers and a nice burger. Tiddly I made it home by midnight and a good sleep. Goodness knows what I would have been like with a couple of ultras thrown in.<br />
<br />
I had a nice relaxing day Monday (including the Tilted Kilt and a few other hostelries) and flew back on the Tuesday overnight and sraight to work on Wednesday.<br />
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It was an experience and I loved Chicago.<br />
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stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1892712687/embed/4df953a8a07958b448ee548759e7fdc84a80e617" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-1969757821582530382018-10-11T15:10:00.000+01:002018-10-11T15:18:14.342+01:00Toy RunToy Run Milton Keynes 6:55:32 (50K)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10ebamC-2luR8FZ_4nN5UzAh3uJneV4d3AH3MBwD9buKtAi2zmcVmliiuRg4LruASbzq81j0M-JihHuT9Gd2pIbeVSSiQEWMOL7h5zYPQ7Ellur4KnMYx0R8ATRBwb5xFcDu4pOsUn3OF/s1600/toy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10ebamC-2luR8FZ_4nN5UzAh3uJneV4d3AH3MBwD9buKtAi2zmcVmliiuRg4LruASbzq81j0M-JihHuT9Gd2pIbeVSSiQEWMOL7h5zYPQ7Ellur4KnMYx0R8ATRBwb5xFcDu4pOsUn3OF/s200/toy.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
This was a Friday race and around the familiar Caldcotte lake just on the out skirts of Milton Keynes. This was the Enigma Running show.<br />
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There was no 50K planned for the Friday but Foxy made a mistake on the website (He blamed Traviss) and it showed as available. This was noticed late on the Thursday night and by Friday morning the 50K option was made available.<br />
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This was day 1 of a treble around the lake and the forecast for the weekend was very stormy. To mitigate against this the aid station was setup under the flyover so rain would not be a problem. As it turned out we had the best day of the weekend and even though it was windy and there was 5 minutes of heavy rain for a period it was actually reasonably good and mild conditions.<br />
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I arrived early and got my number and we all walked to the aid station to dump our gear. After a quick race brief we walked the 800m to the start. We would run anti-clockwise today.<br />
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We were off and quickly came through the aid station which was also the finish line and onto lap one. Immediately after the aid station was the sharp drag upto the highest point of the course and the gentle downhill that brought us to the back of the course. We then hit the familar course looping around the lake to complete the 3.5 mile loop.<br />
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I had every intention of doing 50K today and ran most of the day on my own and took it relatively steady. I came through half way in 2:25 and had a relatively uneventful run. I stopped a couple of times for drinks but toddled on regardless. I came through marathon distance in 5:34 and went out on the Ultra lap. Nick Nicholson came past me near the end but he had started over an hour late and was struggling to get the Ultra in. He did it.<br />
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At Marathon distance I turned clockwise back 800m to the start line before returning to the 50K at the finishine. 6:55 brought me in 35 minutes before the cut off.<br />
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That was ultra 82 as I slowly plod onto 100.<br />
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There were very few photos of the day as there were was a relatively small crowd.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1867028077/embed/949cde57611fc79010886053a01f4780941a8fd5" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-1086788595638835122018-09-17T12:39:00.002+01:002018-09-18T16:29:48.813+01:00Bellewstown#255 Bellewstown 5:25:56<br />
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This was a new one to me in the middle of county Meath, close to Drogheda and Duleek.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6jcixKDQDMQ9VkFVfwG0I27N3QBdU9bt4IZCV4HB0hDjyD5RTmA7_c7srgn_IiY8lk2qXwoQFHuanTK9IUOH1Qw7Gn_SHN8G8T9r7s5cgCOJWyrCElqhbAjvEJi7A81c6CEFHmj-_3eH/s1600/morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja6jcixKDQDMQ9VkFVfwG0I27N3QBdU9bt4IZCV4HB0hDjyD5RTmA7_c7srgn_IiY8lk2qXwoQFHuanTK9IUOH1Qw7Gn_SHN8G8T9r7s5cgCOJWyrCElqhbAjvEJi7A81c6CEFHmj-_3eH/s200/morning.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful morning</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8xdY2WDrWF7ZVL30wmAT_ConbusuyvNfFFnRlkz2axelu2CNFA1MjD-wJl1d1McAgPphsgGnmBUtQDZYztpNHZarzhcdI3vlgwTKVKMsslVHhKqF-HKGz2zgCBLcW20J5kLHWF0YurZM/s1600/comittee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8xdY2WDrWF7ZVL30wmAT_ConbusuyvNfFFnRlkz2axelu2CNFA1MjD-wJl1d1McAgPphsgGnmBUtQDZYztpNHZarzhcdI3vlgwTKVKMsslVHhKqF-HKGz2zgCBLcW20J5kLHWF0YurZM/s200/comittee.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Committee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This event was produced by East Of Ireland who in recent years I have only been making a single outing annually to. The schedule for some reason just doesn't suit.<br />
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With a 5 mile, 10 Mile, 15 mile and 20 miler for those training for Dublin there was plenty of choice and there were plenty there and I knew loads. Most (43) chose the 20 mile race.<br />
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Ray Cassin (after his 100 mile Connemera success) was race director for today and was always at hand keeping an eye on the runners and there for the chat. Well done Ray.<br />
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25 finished the marathon though I suspect more started intending to finish the marathon. There was also an early start for those who would not finish under 4hrs 30. Recent form tells me that I fall firmly into that camp.<br />
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So it was off to Bellewstown for the 8am start (about 30 minute drive from Dublin) and the first thing that I noticed was there was a horse race course there. Who knew? Well apparently everyone but me knew, and it was one of the oldest race courses in the country.<br />
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Registration was at the parish hall with Frank. There really is not much else to Bellewstown, apart from the race course the hall and the "top of the hill" pub. A good bargain though at €25 and I do like the new medals.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1T8nsgFKt9eJt6cemC5vYiS_zQ0xEX4jLk2Y-u9RqDfYhyphenhyphencZpb8sa_8CRNTBGKZGf7lCEWRjg7haMXuBX41dxmQtJkJC8joF8j9Dw6jqrvtcfdWL9N1FndEVz6doMfqvE51Lg_eHCHCCC/s1600/mark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1T8nsgFKt9eJt6cemC5vYiS_zQ0xEX4jLk2Y-u9RqDfYhyphenhyphencZpb8sa_8CRNTBGKZGf7lCEWRjg7haMXuBX41dxmQtJkJC8joF8j9Dw6jqrvtcfdWL9N1FndEVz6doMfqvE51Lg_eHCHCCC/s200/mark.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcoming Mark and Karen at the finish</td></tr>
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At the 8am start was lots of familiar faces including Collette and Humphrey and also Gerard Fay who had an amazing run in 4hrs 40 and his fastest in quite a while. The course was a figure of 8 with a small loop of ~1 mile and a bigger ~4 mile loop for around ~5 miles in total. We started by doing 1 lap of the small loop follow 5 laps of the full figure of 8 (including small loop every time).<br />
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The small loop was on the inside of the race course on tarmac and was slightly undulating but otherwise pretty OK. The aid station was situated on this loop at the finish line which we passed 6 times.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt08GKsLSIjUdVV6Z03y4Cf_wJAMn36s2ZbSV-14zVj-T7RJ29GIrCg_IjN7Q2_pX8fF8kM70ouj5mk6JdqKhrPhYSW2G3sT7Qg81ZDiQPYLmYtV7DbJAlNoIC8yFgWAYf54CryAxm_hVB/s1600/ger+winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="1600" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt08GKsLSIjUdVV6Z03y4Cf_wJAMn36s2ZbSV-14zVj-T7RJ29GIrCg_IjN7Q2_pX8fF8kM70ouj5mk6JdqKhrPhYSW2G3sT7Qg81ZDiQPYLmYtV7DbJAlNoIC8yFgWAYf54CryAxm_hVB/s200/ger+winner.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ger winner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I ran the first 2 small loops with Eric from Sportszone talking about his new business and how well it was doing before I peeled off at my car to drop off my jacket at the start of the bigger loop. I'm delighted for him as he is a really nice guy and deserves the success.<br />
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The fist half mile of the bigger loop was gently downhill on a busy enough road before giving way to a reasonable drag uphill for 800m. Summiting we turned left and immediately were swept steeply downhill for half a mile on very back roads. I found this section very hard on my knees and I suspect I was the slowest on the course on this bit. But I was taking no chances and dreaded it every lap.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZRNnvJeHUgKpekhaeue6d9pEeui6HqhfUeP2Hwiesx_0L7XkqD8qNXTqLDfs0C4gSNBq8svu9C6xfl1wqgJDq3rM_DyisunAcNcRezEHBXmCA6aPdAUDvUsZguC4J3on5HlGrXmE3ieF/s1600/The+hill+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZRNnvJeHUgKpekhaeue6d9pEeui6HqhfUeP2Hwiesx_0L7XkqD8qNXTqLDfs0C4gSNBq8svu9C6xfl1wqgJDq3rM_DyisunAcNcRezEHBXmCA6aPdAUDvUsZguC4J3on5HlGrXmE3ieF/s200/The+hill+2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A little bit of undulating road and we hit a long winding uphill (that to be honest I walked every lap). Half way up we turned left and summited at another left turn on the road back to Bellewstown village. A gentle long down hill (easier on the knees) gave way to the signature hill for the course which was about 600m straight up. This was walked by most all day.<br />
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Summiting we were back on the race course and it was a quick 100m to the finish line/aid station.<br />
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I spent a lot of the day on my own which was fine but did spend a lot of it tooing and froing with Elaine McNulty who's chats made the day seem quicker. Just behind me all day was Philip McAvoy with his new Hokas.<br />
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It was not a fast course but you wouldn't have thought it with Ger (sub 3) and lots of sub 4's as well as Lesley doing an amazing 20 mile time (in great shape for a 3:45 attempt at Dublin).<br />
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I suspect it suited a lot of people better than me as I struggled on the downhill sections with my knees and lost a lot of time.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjEfBnfISaDgnn5fm8MEWSKsLkmEHLOETe0Y1tSKTLElPsPrsJaJYf0rNm9FamaBAtmHZAw_icbGAq1_YubSvdzNwIDlGAxN8wU9rTi2LZliDxjXIoipTZZpZ4cUyz0zQtAtcP9twlRDk/s1600/The+big+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjEfBnfISaDgnn5fm8MEWSKsLkmEHLOETe0Y1tSKTLElPsPrsJaJYf0rNm9FamaBAtmHZAw_icbGAq1_YubSvdzNwIDlGAxN8wU9rTi2LZliDxjXIoipTZZpZ4cUyz0zQtAtcP9twlRDk/s200/The+big+hill.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also running well was Sharon Wilders and Mark Conlon and fellow Belfast/Dublin veterans Anthony and Dino.<br />
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The weather was very pleasant for running and I was rewarded with 5 minutes faster than Dundalk (on a hillier course) with the first half being 1 minute faster at 2:27 and the second half sub 3 for the first time in a while.<br />
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Lets see if I can beat 5:15 next week and target a sub 5 in Chicago 2 weeks after.<br />
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This was Road marathon no 93 and ROI marathon no 96. I'm getting closer and closer to 2 rather significant milestones.<br />
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Photos today all taken from EOI fb page but include Philip McAvoy, Theresa Taff and Sean & Ray Cassin<br />
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<a href="https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=151417" target="_blank">Results Click here</a><br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1842974736/embed/82ddfa07a47214bb2237a0cd45a8854dbf003767" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-52842902706922874752018-09-12T14:54:00.001+01:002018-09-12T15:10:25.545+01:00Dundalk#254 Dundalk 5:30:43<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81JRYyvlpJ0l6tjbYmZlVeEchl8wK_lRySGVdaJ5h0s2_RI3j6RuRTpgzI54aYuik9hN_55NljZryu5f9n69pcnBFmH0MwYuqDi0bNyn7JJViLXdxU7crUDpnvbrE5vtc9ox6LuuoYa_o/s1600/finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81JRYyvlpJ0l6tjbYmZlVeEchl8wK_lRySGVdaJ5h0s2_RI3j6RuRTpgzI54aYuik9hN_55NljZryu5f9n69pcnBFmH0MwYuqDi0bNyn7JJViLXdxU7crUDpnvbrE5vtc9ox6LuuoYa_o/s200/finish.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtcQ_doZIwToD78x5YzJqz5UhMuYzFnSyokb-VSpt0bo_K1lkRNqrC8fToy0ImEZnxi4yDV5UdnIRJmLz06S3jbH5ZgKPJhN-B10VtVodNd7wQ-Cs4B80XV7CaBYEkMDJTOooYu7qIzyx/s1600/aid+station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtcQ_doZIwToD78x5YzJqz5UhMuYzFnSyokb-VSpt0bo_K1lkRNqrC8fToy0ImEZnxi4yDV5UdnIRJmLz06S3jbH5ZgKPJhN-B10VtVodNd7wQ-Cs4B80XV7CaBYEkMDJTOooYu7qIzyx/s200/aid+station.jpg" width="150" /></a>At the moment I think I am only in 5:30 form and so it turned out to be. I entered relatively late for Collette's MCI event at the Sportsman in Dundalk. The last time I did this event 2 years ago I was under 4 hrs. I only dream of that now.<br />
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I arrived early and registered. €25 on the day and €20 in advance. There was lots there but 100 would stop at half marathon and 47 go on to do the full. The route had changed significantly from 2 years ago and it was 2 x even 13.1 mile loops. Even though the route covered some of the same roads as last time it was significantly different.<br />
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At the start Roger Biggs did a lovely presentation to Collette for her 500th marathon and we quickly made our way to the line to start. Roger was running his 900th marathon today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAn_gSifPz6hv2ZNvykznUHuv46KwmTukOeb9mq5Yguc6YnFhOMLgawXITojySI2k4zseUsAhOJKcvC5jrovfT_Y8hOVpMELRvqm23KlCvxrqtBckzHJKzifGMKrNoAHTRIz256wg1Gmr/s1600/finish+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAn_gSifPz6hv2ZNvykznUHuv46KwmTukOeb9mq5Yguc6YnFhOMLgawXITojySI2k4zseUsAhOJKcvC5jrovfT_Y8hOVpMELRvqm23KlCvxrqtBckzHJKzifGMKrNoAHTRIz256wg1Gmr/s200/finish+1.jpg" width="133" /></a>There from DBRC was Dino (eventual winner) and Greg (4:08 despite a mile detour). A lot of the usual MCI runners were there and I chatted to Jill (after her Florence Court win) and many others.<br />
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We were off at 8:30 on the button and headed south on the old Dundalk road from the Sportsman inn. I started at about 9:30 pace. After 1 mile of gentle down hill we turned left and headed on a back road that eventually joined with the Omeath road. This quite busy road passed the Ravensdale and eventually Fitzpatrick's pub. Jumping off the road onto the footpath we struggled on for about 5K.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9MkCyWVLKOQ1LXNZdjAhPUSpJZL2Ly10RaRySDxkFmwREaSddm9zfhuNZictvmK2-css-AbegSb5jP5Li2uZR_8SzMhTTXlE_SOgqIuBqttHwVzhGr6t4DgrnH4y-GIIP_-vyNAcWKps/s1600/lap+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9MkCyWVLKOQ1LXNZdjAhPUSpJZL2Ly10RaRySDxkFmwREaSddm9zfhuNZictvmK2-css-AbegSb5jP5Li2uZR_8SzMhTTXlE_SOgqIuBqttHwVzhGr6t4DgrnH4y-GIIP_-vyNAcWKps/s200/lap+2.jpg" width="150" /></a>I ran this section with Ivan from the 100 marathon Club in the UK. Ivan holds the current record of number of counties completed in the UK and Ireland which is over 100. This was his first run in Louth. Turning left we hit the back roads again towards Ravensdale village. At 10k we came through in 1hr dead.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTyjZq3nSrSWZlLScMTlOgrz3tW_yXm0z7Tz279R8cuK7szpVXsYC6JHhUibXyG1ah80OHIc9jupJqU_rXQhbn4hFCfankQ-M3G1Zh_7iRXMVWF_eyxswr_-6VLayFSQn7SXMFRupTzuA/s1600/lap+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTyjZq3nSrSWZlLScMTlOgrz3tW_yXm0z7Tz279R8cuK7szpVXsYC6JHhUibXyG1ah80OHIc9jupJqU_rXQhbn4hFCfankQ-M3G1Zh_7iRXMVWF_eyxswr_-6VLayFSQn7SXMFRupTzuA/s200/lap+1.jpg" width="150" /></a>Immediately we hit the signature hill on the course which was an electric bray and I walked it (I'm not for running that). It was steep up hill for the guts of a mile before turning and coming straight back down again in a spur. Reaching the main back road again we turned right and followed the undulating road for another mile. I met loads of people I knew from the circuit. It was great to see Eimear out again after EP and I spent some time with Liz Morrin who has been running great recently.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zPk-VivVU_4MzWGwOdAKQNcP4Viwni1fYlHgCc2tT3P9-FzGyAFqDBjqNXslrfcw-huQHsBz3mqUhk3Vsc7ziiK4ps7K1htcmmhemJQmEz6TJe-ZgwF8Jig_q1L_aeZ08SrDx2HbEgGk/s1600/MCI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zPk-VivVU_4MzWGwOdAKQNcP4Viwni1fYlHgCc2tT3P9-FzGyAFqDBjqNXslrfcw-huQHsBz3mqUhk3Vsc7ziiK4ps7K1htcmmhemJQmEz6TJe-ZgwF8Jig_q1L_aeZ08SrDx2HbEgGk/s200/MCI.jpg" width="150" /></a>Turning right up the hill again we did a small detour off the main back road (to make up the distance) and continued on our way in the direction of Ravensdale Forest and the Carrickdale. Before reaching the forest we turned left towards the motorway and followed the slip road up towards the sportsman and about 800m after the slip we were at half way. I came through in 2hrs 28 mins. 2/3rds of the field stopped at this distance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgielETXkFJuWoFJTzTbpyjB2UFZaNpbHZYa7E1kWNb4TI5QsXhhhPgt2aUFdO9NK_1HhMI87uclBGQl1Abr3RYMAbEicLcls9BqcfsTa99xjTYXejPDewnkfW0a8SMosclqOB5SLDy3tuf/s1600/magic+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgielETXkFJuWoFJTzTbpyjB2UFZaNpbHZYa7E1kWNb4TI5QsXhhhPgt2aUFdO9NK_1HhMI87uclBGQl1Abr3RYMAbEicLcls9BqcfsTa99xjTYXejPDewnkfW0a8SMosclqOB5SLDy3tuf/s200/magic+hill.jpg" width="150" /></a>On my own now I started on lap 2 and kept an OK pace for the first 6K. I could see in the distance Lynda from Downpatrick but never got close to catching her and she eventually finished a few minutes ahead of me.<br />
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The weather was lovely and I tried my best all the way round. A toughed it out for a 5 hr 30 finish as expected. That was Road marathon 92 and ROI marathon 95 as I close in on a couple of significant milestones.<br />
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A fine spread of cakes and sambo's with a cup of tea afterwards was great. I chatted to Catherine Guithie and the ever improving Paula Wright after before saying my goodbyes and headed for the 40 minute drive back to Dublin.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1832027143/embed/a5151b53dd1c6ca7444cbd07b800b65bef95598c" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-26467223379138669182018-08-30T16:58:00.002+01:002018-08-30T16:58:33.480+01:00East Farm FrolicEast Farm Frolic<br />
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This was a WSR 12 hr event at the same venue as The Invader marathon but was over a 5K loop rather than big loops.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLErMFDcqBbNEU_fmYKynMxcqv2iZ9SqAC-urPeN2d0iYOjfYlimJsMweOAkS-s6YF5izgb2kYu58oN3jeLt8WtB4JSH8YwcCviHZy1FRbM-8Q8VmUG-3L8aJoq2yWgtw5RFMx7vQolf_/s1600/40304802_2181320472125777_2216935219091472384_n+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLErMFDcqBbNEU_fmYKynMxcqv2iZ9SqAC-urPeN2d0iYOjfYlimJsMweOAkS-s6YF5izgb2kYu58oN3jeLt8WtB4JSH8YwcCviHZy1FRbM-8Q8VmUG-3L8aJoq2yWgtw5RFMx7vQolf_/s200/40304802_2181320472125777_2216935219091472384_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
It was a weekend festival of running with marathon the day before and several events on the Sunday (including 12hr) and other various events. I had entered the 12hr with an expectation of stopping over marathon and before 50Kish.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEzneuJjdxgCvPiEpWTQw5AHd0xnPlXnPsN3ySw1RIjbWKR2rT36eSLYw5mucA2p1U5KzhQoq9Dl5KocMROTPBVW6_C5ZW5IygC0VpjN-1rVTlSgRVFfeFwKAHxfFb4mKxrXMd1-kpR0L/s1600/40359323_312757656148114_2123262532121526272_n+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEzneuJjdxgCvPiEpWTQw5AHd0xnPlXnPsN3ySw1RIjbWKR2rT36eSLYw5mucA2p1U5KzhQoq9Dl5KocMROTPBVW6_C5ZW5IygC0VpjN-1rVTlSgRVFfeFwKAHxfFb4mKxrXMd1-kpR0L/s200/40359323_312757656148114_2123262532121526272_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="150" /></a>The weather forecast was awful and so it proved to be, absolutely miserable.<br />
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I arrived early to resgister and was ready to go from 8:30am. I new a few but not too many at the event. After the usual funny race brief we were off at 9am on the button.<br />
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It pretty much immediately started to rain and from reasonable conditions on the first loop it quickly became very slippy and muddy and with road shoes on it became at times near impossible to run and at times dangerous. There were lots of falls on the course.<br />
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Heading up from the start we climbed steadily for around 400 m to the corner of the first field. There was a slight extension at this stage for the first lap but from lap 2 on we immediately turned left and went up a near vertical hill for around 200 m. This was steep. Sumitting we entered a long wooded section that steadily became a quagmire during the day and was steadily uphill. For me it was generally slippy and un-runnable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1By7uqbfru8lTiW-6dYce1xyF_8gmrLgXjowor57OZW8FxEJ1I4WkQki6_rITuQsiZUH-ytrWH-wskFb9kVvih6We3dg3BsDO-anVG_SylaCmQw5w_vHUyWdX3SMv0jkOPZaEBvGG_Jqp/s1600/40404097_236850460334315_837393931229462528_n+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1By7uqbfru8lTiW-6dYce1xyF_8gmrLgXjowor57OZW8FxEJ1I4WkQki6_rITuQsiZUH-ytrWH-wskFb9kVvih6We3dg3BsDO-anVG_SylaCmQw5w_vHUyWdX3SMv0jkOPZaEBvGG_Jqp/s200/40404097_236850460334315_837393931229462528_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="150" /></a>Exiting the forest we skirted a cut Wheat field and climbed over a large straw bale (or went around it over a barbed wire fence). We then hit the low part of the course through another wheat field before turning left and climbing steadily for about 600 m up hill to a lane way. Turning into the lane-way which was stony and very puddly and muddy we descended jumping from side to side for around 800 m. A steady 400 climb on very a muddy corn field brought us to the love station.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hWIqqfCG4kssGix1q6cXmg6PqXEx5ST7KYi7PROiBw7P1uVE-zXGwSwCd7iHg2Vsc52MZvsa2B5Y-nOsg-I5X_Lw0Mtfids1nM0EjQf6RTctEfNqyOWRLGvZV5zB1EniClDDeVX7eVYF/s1600/miserable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hWIqqfCG4kssGix1q6cXmg6PqXEx5ST7KYi7PROiBw7P1uVE-zXGwSwCd7iHg2Vsc52MZvsa2B5Y-nOsg-I5X_Lw0Mtfids1nM0EjQf6RTctEfNqyOWRLGvZV5zB1EniClDDeVX7eVYF/s200/miserable.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
This was the most exposed part of the course and as the wind increased throughout the day it was tough going. Quickly we dashed behind a hedge onto another corn field and free wheeled our way down a slippy field at times very muddy to the final stretch back to the farm and the start finish line.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq86mLHz6RLDJhgn5wJhNVVqRQA6TEJaQDlv5h9vRYXSZT5Esftrd340Mz-gkN2J43vZ1MlghK2wcq8JKBFWnCwQyCf_o8wHOPfok2IYHLcQzKp46_4Pe7CmqrV2GVa0Y48vxj1zWaA4o/s1600/run1+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq86mLHz6RLDJhgn5wJhNVVqRQA6TEJaQDlv5h9vRYXSZT5Esftrd340Mz-gkN2J43vZ1MlghK2wcq8JKBFWnCwQyCf_o8wHOPfok2IYHLcQzKp46_4Pe7CmqrV2GVa0Y48vxj1zWaA4o/s200/run1+-+Copy.jpg" width="200" /></a>My first lap (longer) was 54 minutes and settled into 45-1 hr laps from then on. We were often lapped by the relay guys. It was a slow hard slog and I came through half marathon in 3hrs 20 and finally came through marathon in 7 hrs. A big effort on the last lap brought 30 miles in roughly 7 hrs 50 mins and I was done in.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAseGEj5J9tR7bQ_xV7Fr27UKFK5KzOt1nLt8AmJ_snc2MdiNGCyjIumXXj0cSnO7T1PUsCqHK2IYZI4RAmd4e8pd1FciUZIxi5-k1-fz2YHd8Z5GRczHpM93W9b5xb6QBSUlwSIyoGUV/s1600/40374887_1858919557520229_3939425479420805120_n+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAseGEj5J9tR7bQ_xV7Fr27UKFK5KzOt1nLt8AmJ_snc2MdiNGCyjIumXXj0cSnO7T1PUsCqHK2IYZI4RAmd4e8pd1FciUZIxi5-k1-fz2YHd8Z5GRczHpM93W9b5xb6QBSUlwSIyoGUV/s200/40374887_1858919557520229_3939425479420805120_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
I was glad to finish and get into the finishing tent for some nice bling and an interesting local goody bag including piddle WSR beer and some cookies as a well as a squeaky chicken.<br />
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It was a hard day.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1805471567/embed/888fc0a9266a31b98cfcf1bee448e4ec52f5a968" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-60698890399142275322018-08-30T16:58:00.001+01:002018-08-30T16:58:26.800+01:00CycloparkCyclopark TiT Day 4<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiughH5WcHzvXJA6Axhgxwo29BGvEnjKlDx2oHG-TY1RvzXlFMtEbLEoB5KMAuvWU1RLUFzX4d3BJzvfAQT8oFl_1DVP4hMHYaxgN9mbYx9K6y946nDpLW3VvF1FGHv2hRuUjohXD-LqltG/s1600/cyclo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiughH5WcHzvXJA6Axhgxwo29BGvEnjKlDx2oHG-TY1RvzXlFMtEbLEoB5KMAuvWU1RLUFzX4d3BJzvfAQT8oFl_1DVP4hMHYaxgN9mbYx9K6y946nDpLW3VvF1FGHv2hRuUjohXD-LqltG/s200/cyclo+3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxZeO1U_bmLbFZBKLj1imDc8k2uSCbIvv0pC_V0hdrQS24tf9VCSDzzTnDyBe5exDxfI7e4Ih87tcjnwHl42OuLaTSXDpxOaGcIDbKuF3ZxiumTQrzpCZZ7a5PCd0sAcYS13xIsHY8JRk/s1600/cyclo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="960" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxZeO1U_bmLbFZBKLj1imDc8k2uSCbIvv0pC_V0hdrQS24tf9VCSDzzTnDyBe5exDxfI7e4Ih87tcjnwHl42OuLaTSXDpxOaGcIDbKuF3ZxiumTQrzpCZZ7a5PCd0sAcYS13xIsHY8JRk/s200/cyclo+5.jpg" width="200" /></a>I deliberately had a day off between the Hangman and the Cyclopark visit. B2B's really do me in at the moment and the extra day would be invaluable. And so it proved.<br />
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This was part of the SVn summer series Ten in Ten (TiT). It was amazing to see how many of the people who did the winter series were also here. It was 10 challenges with a sneaky 1 mile 27.2 mile ultra possible. If only I had that option last winter. But hey ho!<br />
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It was on a slightly modified "lightning bolt" course so I was very familiar with it. I arrived early checked in and paid the £3 parking.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Qj9UsbbIPg0eKOq7O3MqJT1cirweDbgX9lJw0-2Fd3veeWdSCB5Kq8HjNNLbrnOW7e9jb_jbdyFfmfcxuINdIg1wqmqS4S1ZbipHpDTZFyeEvxvEfecQBfRx2a0D-zLqsi_KaI5A2l-c/s1600/cyclo+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Qj9UsbbIPg0eKOq7O3MqJT1cirweDbgX9lJw0-2Fd3veeWdSCB5Kq8HjNNLbrnOW7e9jb_jbdyFfmfcxuINdIg1wqmqS4S1ZbipHpDTZFyeEvxvEfecQBfRx2a0D-zLqsi_KaI5A2l-c/s200/cyclo+6.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYKnp9v_JFA2zbJq3ycDAdM1QW5HcTZczzHLpPko0LvkNPqrABIpxyciW5Ci3C0FIJHCc0a3qnwRIiViELyX0pgGavGZpJcszKVUYHmJtGYKWnltoLVJzna9Ih4cfmoL3cNA20iiSBBW8/s1600/cyclo+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYKnp9v_JFA2zbJq3ycDAdM1QW5HcTZczzHLpPko0LvkNPqrABIpxyciW5Ci3C0FIJHCc0a3qnwRIiViELyX0pgGavGZpJcszKVUYHmJtGYKWnltoLVJzna9Ih4cfmoL3cNA20iiSBBW8/s200/cyclo+7.jpg" width="150" /></a>About 100 headed off on the challenge. It was warm, very warm rising to high 20's and humid which made the going tough. All the TiT's were running well. The first casualty was Barry Gerhold who in his 4th day, called it a day after 10K.<br />
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Starting from the carpark at the Cyclopark we ran down towards the entrance. Immediately we hugged the hedge on the right hand side and climbed steadily along the track for a mile or so. It was undulating but headed predominately up. The field soon spread out on the narrow track. A quick up and down to the Rabbit bridge we crossed it and soon arrived at the road at the other side. About 50m on the road section we returned to the bridge. It was a right turn here onto the main cycleway and a 400m out and back had us heading on the wide cycle path back towards the cycopath. This last mile was predominately downhill.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_z3I4g48viay_ga0xsXSAr7DHIhSdw4OhaVc02GrKHPisgJqvMHv_MT66E3YS_DJn_To_-c9_CAnCMHf2f8peH5pdMjjJWg0KdUkYsLsKuMbF0M5TYkieuikpPOC_5E5p4sg5FmCWn2P/s1600/cyco+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="960" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_z3I4g48viay_ga0xsXSAr7DHIhSdw4OhaVc02GrKHPisgJqvMHv_MT66E3YS_DJn_To_-c9_CAnCMHf2f8peH5pdMjjJWg0KdUkYsLsKuMbF0M5TYkieuikpPOC_5E5p4sg5FmCWn2P/s200/cyco+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbyUMDLduw20kK2MzmV6a7CnJmwDKRGQirqBmyJ01or7YtlD-luKHViwPL99ffzF0C6NeeUtho-KNOt5_bwI3pNimxHLTYXUrAbyezkwsGIvi9ieX396cgz3yYSNoegKnlsQXa2UvtNL4/s1600/cyclo+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbyUMDLduw20kK2MzmV6a7CnJmwDKRGQirqBmyJ01or7YtlD-luKHViwPL99ffzF0C6NeeUtho-KNOt5_bwI3pNimxHLTYXUrAbyezkwsGIvi9ieX396cgz3yYSNoegKnlsQXa2UvtNL4/s200/cyclo+start.jpg" width="150" /></a>I ran a little with Paul Commons and Rob McGregor (Both TiTs) and started to churn out the laps. roughly 40-50 minutes was my lap time which involved a lot of walking on the hills. A 2:40 half marathon was followed by a pedestrian 5:45 marathon. This gave me plenty of time to go out on an ultra lap and then an extra mile for 50K. Though most did 27.2 miles only a few went out for the 50K.<br />
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This was Ultra no 80 and was a hot and humid one.<br />
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Stats for today:<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1792985584/embed/cea38b2b2bdb72b6c88dd44bb76bc4cdb63505f4" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-36001912285161188822018-08-22T14:52:00.004+01:002018-08-25T10:15:47.746+01:00Hangman UltraHangman Ultra 54K<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQqoMCMX42JGLakGnYMF2w1PX_3XOhFAxympcpkF-d3iwrhYgs3h4JmPe3bcz-PFcDxOajnH03ITtowPUp9R7X545vcVN-5pPyoxBGZCD1P8UtSJ4SqGBLZKc4FsQIvPsUtOc_Z5ydm-s/s1600/Gibbet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQqoMCMX42JGLakGnYMF2w1PX_3XOhFAxympcpkF-d3iwrhYgs3h4JmPe3bcz-PFcDxOajnH03ITtowPUp9R7X545vcVN-5pPyoxBGZCD1P8UtSJ4SqGBLZKc4FsQIvPsUtOc_Z5ydm-s/s200/Gibbet.jpg" width="112" /></a>This was a Saturday race and very convenient in Longparish in Hampshire only 15 minutes from the house down the A303.<br />
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This was the 3rd running of the race from Longparish to the Coombe Gibbet following the Test Way. Kick off was 9am and I arrived at registration around 8:15am. The race was run by The Ultra Magazine and there were a modest enough number there (around 40). Tea, Coffee were available inside Longparish community hall which was HQ for the day. As this was a cupless race I purchased a reusable cup and brought it with me.<br />
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1L Bladder was obligatory and this was the first time that I ran with a bladder. The race itself could easily be broken into 4, A 9 mile run to Hurtbourne Tarrent and CP1 and the a 7 mile out the the Coombe Gibbet before retracing your steps. There was a what I thought was a very generous cut off of 10 hours but it was very very hilly and so I can understand why the CP was there.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhH9aDWyB9tSPgQd1KjA9bIy8XipXqZLi9YjZL6ZhnVveW30EPLudpNnhO47l2opyxAdt-6_IlZD-ZhoK8jL8yND9GTYTABvJqPpEIBck6hd_OmBgtfgUCqBK26gzHDCVPUaZVbEtey10X/s1600/43399232404_f17336e791_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhH9aDWyB9tSPgQd1KjA9bIy8XipXqZLi9YjZL6ZhnVveW30EPLudpNnhO47l2opyxAdt-6_IlZD-ZhoK8jL8yND9GTYTABvJqPpEIBck6hd_OmBgtfgUCqBK26gzHDCVPUaZVbEtey10X/s200/43399232404_f17336e791_z.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
A very necessary briefing was had at 8:45 showing the type of signs to follow and we were off at 9am. The weather was lovely and I had decided before hand that I was not going to push too hard and enjoy the day. The trail was in good nick and there were lovely views all the way and it was very very rural.<br />
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I knew noone at the race.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnl8mCVYScH9LRIE68YrfT5GN82MEo_0LaFly2QR8fpMcM8pls6N-YgtXEbrQPUFfkDRxfll7F01Z8nEh2O48LMaBvalrlnbdkooKFuE_J50HfAqBW8Fcr8GlWhS-nzmKOeXp0NvWm4vi/s1600/hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnl8mCVYScH9LRIE68YrfT5GN82MEo_0LaFly2QR8fpMcM8pls6N-YgtXEbrQPUFfkDRxfll7F01Z8nEh2O48LMaBvalrlnbdkooKFuE_J50HfAqBW8Fcr8GlWhS-nzmKOeXp0NvWm4vi/s200/hall.jpg" width="200" /></a>After about 3 miles I missed my first turn in a gap in a hedge and Russ from behind called me back after going 100m off course.<br />
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Russ living in Newbury was training for the Robin Hood 100 miler in Sept and he had a strategy of walk the hills and run the rest. I decided that suited me and we headed off together. Generally the terrain to the first CP was uphill until you come to outskirts of the village and for the last mile and a half you descend quickly and steeply through a forest section and the open field until you get to the village. The CP had everything that you needed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWBtwvq8AWWChQyOEtK2sYllGzc3bpxv7kT0JlMGQ3J04Ch1izZl6n7gm7P3DVelF-ktzL09wBufugUD5Exx1GXdZvXxLDADuYnsT1wWdeUbI70eBqZb_bNW7pJaU0kybQSTzDV-I2PgV/s1600/menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWBtwvq8AWWChQyOEtK2sYllGzc3bpxv7kT0JlMGQ3J04Ch1izZl6n7gm7P3DVelF-ktzL09wBufugUD5Exx1GXdZvXxLDADuYnsT1wWdeUbI70eBqZb_bNW7pJaU0kybQSTzDV-I2PgV/s200/menu.jpg" width="200" /></a>Heading off again with Russ we meandered our way along the Test Way. After a few miles we came to a turn in a field with very poor sineage. For about 400m we ascended the field before loosing confidence and turned back to the last sign. Studying this closely we decided we were actually right first time round and climbed again. After about 800 there was another sign and we were back on track.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatTk4RsbY7h_-mfsvVBZI6WQBgDiuZnwJP8rMV6dYkBnC7FyhDKAqsqnjq_7b2ay-ilJJePTg4-c3RDxqk2bkhvpnyZdMEcHeDktvFOBXpIJI1py1WfL_0t8oPARKCLBCN0PdPDkbDLtj/s1600/finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatTk4RsbY7h_-mfsvVBZI6WQBgDiuZnwJP8rMV6dYkBnC7FyhDKAqsqnjq_7b2ay-ilJJePTg4-c3RDxqk2bkhvpnyZdMEcHeDktvFOBXpIJI1py1WfL_0t8oPARKCLBCN0PdPDkbDLtj/s200/finish.jpg" width="200" /></a>Half marathon came up while going through a small village and we started to notice runners coming against us on their way back. Soon after Russ ran ahead as he was way better on the down hill and I lost sight of him as we started to climb again toward the Coombe Gibbet. After transversing a forest we came to a junction. On the right was a near vertical hill up and the same on the left. I found the sineage confusing and decided on left. After about 10 minutes vertical climb I came to a forest and saw no markers. I was lost. I carefully retraced my steps and and ended up back where I was at the junction. I then saw runners returning from the other way. Off I went after about a 20 minute detour.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cJEiu7gPx0s8ddK7oZQM2MlD82Hp0nHPBvzpkluAbyslYCZbvTYYUXRvwph6aZWLI6tevn3VD2kGsB2lb00cQRjhUoQiSS7TJQB25UPMKJ7QwHLnaEpQwH-b6al0htT27wiYP9h2rB4O/s1600/start+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="640" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0cJEiu7gPx0s8ddK7oZQM2MlD82Hp0nHPBvzpkluAbyslYCZbvTYYUXRvwph6aZWLI6tevn3VD2kGsB2lb00cQRjhUoQiSS7TJQB25UPMKJ7QwHLnaEpQwH-b6al0htT27wiYP9h2rB4O/s200/start+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
It was tough going on the climb up to the Gibbet and most of the course passed my at this point on their way back. Seeing the gibbet in the distance Russ passed me on his return leg and I was on my own again. Running passed CP2 I rounded the Gibbet and stopped to refuel and refill my bladder and then headed off this time it being my turn to pass a few on their own journey. It took me 4hrs 20 mins to get to the turn around and I had it at 17.8 miles.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENITB9SsChXunK0oUoa21NxJTlm2kmazPVGuBH8Qe-pi8mdmTgBYESg0tGhj9lCM6p2ZwJaA1UmUCLYKI_X9-mC4pJOGN3FMckxq0n6PJMxqMgWp06IYVzBoJRQpJqUjhiRqoEkOFCMtq/s1600/medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENITB9SsChXunK0oUoa21NxJTlm2kmazPVGuBH8Qe-pi8mdmTgBYESg0tGhj9lCM6p2ZwJaA1UmUCLYKI_X9-mC4pJOGN3FMckxq0n6PJMxqMgWp06IYVzBoJRQpJqUjhiRqoEkOFCMtq/s200/medal.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
I made sure that I made no wrong turns on the way back and ran steadily, walking and climbing where necessary. I was easily under the cuttoff all day and when coming passed CP3 I had a good hour to spare. I was however on my own and saw no other runners for the last 4 hrs of this race.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm1X8WIzmGd5CyXQDbkv7Qu_E6Kf-c08sjmqp5GdtRE6xwHo33VnZAF2bc6Y0HiZvAxBlSf7fWN6xqLppD6n6qmsp72vklK6CKdEWWi95LEcnkxk2SIabu8Kh_McscXD2H6HRZWQG783y/s1600/start+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="640" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm1X8WIzmGd5CyXQDbkv7Qu_E6Kf-c08sjmqp5GdtRE6xwHo33VnZAF2bc6Y0HiZvAxBlSf7fWN6xqLppD6n6qmsp72vklK6CKdEWWi95LEcnkxk2SIabu8Kh_McscXD2H6HRZWQG783y/s200/start+2.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Even though the official distance was 54K I managed to do 57K in the end and came in at 8hrs 45 mins for to be honest was a reasonably comfortable run. Back in the hall there was soup, coffee, tea and a plethora of goodies and a nice medal.<br />
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I enjoyed today but it was a long hard tough race and thankfully the weather was nice.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1792983991/embed/d7e3790219987aa1064a13c847dfdf7d7137f5c4" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-75169812183791671072018-08-08T16:47:00.003+01:002018-08-08T17:10:02.657+01:00Dark Phoenix#250 Dark Phoenix 6:01:25<br />
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This was a big red letter day for me as it is my 250th Marathon/Ultra. I had prearranged with Rik the race director from Phoenix running to get race number 250 so was all set.<br />
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That is 91 Road, 81 Trail and 78 Ultra.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQZWCDghXcILjwUN6Ze2PeBXf6fNP7dAYcsVdUjcxK55JVg-A8D7ZzdbqAow4VWu6gj3wtcRWDWC5Hjm1it8sBz2LA7nAOMDP4F58rj-FuMp3wcyyxt0QPRPlpK01YrltFKxdm4oQTL2j/s1600/Phoenix+medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQZWCDghXcILjwUN6Ze2PeBXf6fNP7dAYcsVdUjcxK55JVg-A8D7ZzdbqAow4VWu6gj3wtcRWDWC5Hjm1it8sBz2LA7nAOMDP4F58rj-FuMp3wcyyxt0QPRPlpK01YrltFKxdm4oQTL2j/s200/Phoenix+medal.jpg" width="150" /></a>This run was an evening running starting at 4pm and as far as you like in 6hrs. Given my form and the predicted weather I knew a marathon was all that was happening. In fact there were only 2 people went ultra this evening.<br />
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I arrived in blistering conditions at the registration at around 3pm. Agatha whom I met on a recent trip to Texas was already there, stopping off to run as part of a trip around Europe. We checked in and relaxed outside the leisure center in the shade.<br />
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Texas Switchback <a href="https://blog.lundy.ie/2018/07/switchback.html" target="_blank">Race Report</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxwqEZgDxAoTjrvfVkjeCrQ2_mPP2AqUdD9xWG_n8cRjFqopabMOmF1KXToKQVmpbfm-si_DKYjSj44XY0Msl_z8lcoxACx1X7NOcUh1hbLdtRkTUJdgkyHdZpUB2FlaZXMnnjxTBZjnK/s1600/jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="530" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxwqEZgDxAoTjrvfVkjeCrQ2_mPP2AqUdD9xWG_n8cRjFqopabMOmF1KXToKQVmpbfm-si_DKYjSj44XY0Msl_z8lcoxACx1X7NOcUh1hbLdtRkTUJdgkyHdZpUB2FlaZXMnnjxTBZjnK/s200/jack.jpg" width="110" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack's 200th</td></tr>
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It would start off at 30 degrees with little restbite all evening. There were a small number were doing 2 on the same day and a smaller number would be back for a 3rd the next morning.<br />
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At the race brief Rik mentioned my 250th. Almost immediately from behind Jack Healy appeared to tell me it was actually his 200th. Now on my 50th on a rainy day in Craughwell it was actually Jack's 100th so we were no strangers to celebrating together. Jack had travelled with Paul Hogan and Michelle Burke from Ireland and it was great to see them. It was their second for the day and they would go onto see Ireland in the Hockey world cup final the next day.<br />
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Jack's 100th in Craughwell <a href="https://blog.lundy.ie/2014/04/craughwell.html" target="_blank">Race Report</a><br />
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We walked to the start. I had a coolbox with coke, Irn Bru and frozen water and left it at the start. At 4pm we were off. It was roasting. I started Ok and did a pretty OK first half managing each 5K loop in approx 35 to 40 minutes. This brought up half marathon in 2hrs 30. Then the wheels feel off as I succumbed to the heat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XzMuUBOrDcS3VT0zeKy6aVygpEciIfH5fRiqEtV_1KyXhOWGhdZ61veoEHR0eE0nQF27YjYgu66ByPbgHq7aq9dSFkxh_k8ExkYo0UrlshcpIetJWaaDOMLpxsqvSrLB6BCs1c-5L8_N/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="960" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XzMuUBOrDcS3VT0zeKy6aVygpEciIfH5fRiqEtV_1KyXhOWGhdZ61veoEHR0eE0nQF27YjYgu66ByPbgHq7aq9dSFkxh_k8ExkYo0UrlshcpIetJWaaDOMLpxsqvSrLB6BCs1c-5L8_N/s200/start.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the start</td></tr>
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First Agatha passed me looking strong and would go onto do her second fastest marathon at 5:23 and eventually the Irish caught me just at the end of lap 6. Surprisingly despite my tardiness I was still mid pack.<br />
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At half past 9 as I went out for my last lap, I donned a head torch and struggled on. I even tried hard to beat 6hrs but failed coming in at 6:01 having quite a turn of foot over the last mile.<br />
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I was delighted to finish as it had been a tough one. A lot of people who normally go ultra all stopped at marathon today.<br />
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Afterwards in the pub I med two German runners, one of whom actually had ran with me in the winter Coburg marathon a few years earlier. That was bizzare.<br />
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Coburg <a href="https://blog.lundy.ie/2015/01/coburg.html" target="_blank">Race Report</a><br />
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Anyway 250 done and still running though my performances leave a lot to be desired.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1755412104/embed/849a1c3a97e1a238e96515d72b38b47ee17901e9" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-89325950484969901172018-07-30T13:23:00.001+01:002018-07-30T15:16:13.021+01:00Sliabh BawnBack to Back at Sliabh Bawn wind farm Roscommon<br />
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Day 1 6:16<br />
Day 2 6:06<br />
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Dont let the times fool you. I worked hard both days for this. Originally booked into the b2b 50K I dropped to the b2b marathon. Boy was I glad I did.<br />
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This was 2 days on the same course at the Sliabh Bawn windfarm that rises 253m to the highest point in Roscommon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIYgtTAO_PgZ3h05IMQuFgHBy9ItCR-J_qqTxEVN1DlU9gf-0xFbAyyMu6OqT3HJ6vVb453btOJgFHd7C76tM9484kIfDOKlwy6SUP7vnWLJyMtOLHrgpiU_P5D6I2q8ao6GClteDnaKM/s1600/windmills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIYgtTAO_PgZ3h05IMQuFgHBy9ItCR-J_qqTxEVN1DlU9gf-0xFbAyyMu6OqT3HJ6vVb453btOJgFHd7C76tM9484kIfDOKlwy6SUP7vnWLJyMtOLHrgpiU_P5D6I2q8ao6GClteDnaKM/s200/windmills.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 2</td></tr>
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HQ was the GAA club in Ballyleage where we registered, got a coffee before we started and parked. A bus then brought us the 5K or so to the windfarm. The start of the marathon was about 1 mile into the farm and start time for me on day 1 was 8am and day 2 9am.<br />
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Starting we ran straight downhill past the finish line, past the 10k start, past the half marathon start <br />
and past the 50K start. It was approx 1 mile straight downhill. When we got the bottom of the windfarm we turned around and retraced our steps straight up past the finish area and onto the loop. It was a horrendous start with virtually all the up hill walked.<br />
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Just past the finish area we continued to climb before flattening out for 400m. Then up sharp for around 200m before a long 800m gentle downhill. All this was on very stony open gravel trail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_bZDGBtjtheXcs_VY6O61csPIWOOK_ud7Obk9RUC8heYbyqBFBsJE5F2IcilsjNQyYORywHK29YUC5RPvs6IkvFBOKzudVtZdAQLsKu8cpm7nRuOzZ8LslDK55mwmVEGsDYfKpVBZhy4/s1600/collette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_bZDGBtjtheXcs_VY6O61csPIWOOK_ud7Obk9RUC8heYbyqBFBsJE5F2IcilsjNQyYORywHK29YUC5RPvs6IkvFBOKzudVtZdAQLsKu8cpm7nRuOzZ8LslDK55mwmVEGsDYfKpVBZhy4/s200/collette.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy and Collette</td></tr>
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On day 1 the weather was very windy and cold at the higher levels with downpours of rain on and off during the day. Day 2 was much better.<br />
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All the time we ran past the massive trubines that were wooshing around all day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6KkRIdSBEpgOSP0mYTUeUgeqm7Non0nHqlIlL2hIjl7U_kH9VTj4OS1r7MhtrOf2NL5Kh_rMfG567WYDct60dQaNCWAeTnu0b4G6XkJPOyjc2SgJu914y0CiYNuZIcl75h9RUoxoEWLh/s1600/medal+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6KkRIdSBEpgOSP0mYTUeUgeqm7Non0nHqlIlL2hIjl7U_kH9VTj4OS1r7MhtrOf2NL5Kh_rMfG567WYDct60dQaNCWAeTnu0b4G6XkJPOyjc2SgJu914y0CiYNuZIcl75h9RUoxoEWLh/s200/medal+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice medals</td></tr>
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Turning off the main trail onto a walking trail we skirted in and out of a forest with very marshy if not swampy conditions before coming back onto the main trail and up again. This time for 800 to an aid station before truning right and more uphill to the summit and turning at the highest turbine at the wind farm called the summit (253m). The we started downhill. I struggled with my knees all day on the downhill and this had a huge affect on my time. 800m of downhill brought us to some sharp uphills for 600m to another aid station and a shimmy of downhill brought us onto softer trail through a forest section as we zig zagged our way down the mountain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwebGUVs1_fCZnunBv5iYnZPcOUaQ4q-dbmtav3X_ZelDLK5Ukb70nROEP8FISDwIGoi5PvCqajpjV4D6ql5dJ158dgxr2CjR_ZFFoVP-vVFnlLeIIb79hgCXbmH2gZB29LlrOtdl2RP9i/s1600/finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwebGUVs1_fCZnunBv5iYnZPcOUaQ4q-dbmtav3X_ZelDLK5Ukb70nROEP8FISDwIGoi5PvCqajpjV4D6ql5dJ158dgxr2CjR_ZFFoVP-vVFnlLeIIb79hgCXbmH2gZB29LlrOtdl2RP9i/s200/finish.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 1 finish , very slow</td></tr>
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Finishing the forest section we had an out and back to a turbine before a serious uphill trek on the main trail had us turning right and the final push to the end. Gentle downhill past a few trurbines and another aid station brought us on to a bouncy newly laid bark track that was freaky underfoot and I didnt like it. Exiting this we had a short out and back before the last push back uphill to the finish area.<br />
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Laps for me seemed to be around 1:20 to 1:30 and it was tough, really tough.<br />
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There was lots of medical help all over the course and the organisers were permanently spinning around on the Quad making sure we were all OK. Even Anto added to the atmosphere with his finish line humour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVaO-wTAMH9zOKBgQ6UpCY7nePuGHZn8mwnwCHiaFgfabTQsVe-Rb9o7Eq5ucqgCsY_HCcdnxtrQIsQPW4k58sc3JK9Q-lZiI5adAGMiYFzrbVk9vbuKOTyfyTsc37Wnc5sQllS8gt58a/s1600/medal+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVaO-wTAMH9zOKBgQ6UpCY7nePuGHZn8mwnwCHiaFgfabTQsVe-Rb9o7Eq5ucqgCsY_HCcdnxtrQIsQPW4k58sc3JK9Q-lZiI5adAGMiYFzrbVk9vbuKOTyfyTsc37Wnc5sQllS8gt58a/s200/medal+2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interconnecting </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7Mb_egR4Y3zapHRzqFeH33XW1GQqEcia6ZM1sFYpHtr5Hrro53Q9MyZmQUiot3B0_Vd7NhDYS6hJi_57ffrGlZ9LK1dHq5ZDtmIzsEW5Yh6tTanhNJBWT0pYkP_7CVHcCJeIkLniSZ7C/s1600/windmill+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7Mb_egR4Y3zapHRzqFeH33XW1GQqEcia6ZM1sFYpHtr5Hrro53Q9MyZmQUiot3B0_Vd7NhDYS6hJi_57ffrGlZ9LK1dHq5ZDtmIzsEW5Yh6tTanhNJBWT0pYkP_7CVHcCJeIkLniSZ7C/s200/windmill+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HQ on the mountain</td></tr>
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I spent a lot of the first day with Qussey an IBMer from belfast (whom I ran with in Tollymore and Belfast 24hr in the past) but spent most of the second day by myself. This was quite a small event but the numbers were boosted by lots of 10Kers and half marathoners. There were not many in the 50K options which is half the reason why I dropped to the marathon. I also made the choice to travel to and from Dublin each day. That worked out OK.<br />
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Claire did a great job organising this and I felt safe and looked after at all times. It was a nice touch to have showers , massage and hot food both days back at HQ.<br />
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There was also a very novel interconnecting medal for the b2b.<br />
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Stats for day 1<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1737287544/embed/31e7edfffac37d117aaf84e7572be37299cda95c" width="590"></iframe>
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Stats for day 2<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1737285997/embed/64e7a11d5042f9f40b60594d4939016bf3961286" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-61746681978155230282018-07-23T09:02:00.001+01:002018-07-25T11:20:41.722+01:00Galway Block#247 Galway Block 5:46:22<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHqJ7RSbiSZRhPMJCrIk2FQVYnWDamgQ4GMEm7eVTgGqF0FYv-AjHm7ImYv_nsKMd2lU5W3pkQ44PT5wogWdQJepvktkErpKQHeDrlYJ80a9qW1nXx2iZKpArAT0CLGpshbtpNml8hpWx/s1600/galway+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHqJ7RSbiSZRhPMJCrIk2FQVYnWDamgQ4GMEm7eVTgGqF0FYv-AjHm7ImYv_nsKMd2lU5W3pkQ44PT5wogWdQJepvktkErpKQHeDrlYJ80a9qW1nXx2iZKpArAT0CLGpshbtpNml8hpWx/s200/galway+5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice T </td></tr>
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This was an event that I entered quite a while ago and it was organised by Brenda G Francis and Boston Scientific. It was a charity event with all proceeds going to Enable Ireland. There was a 10K, Half marathon and Marathon around a 1 mile loop within the grounds of Boston Scientific in Ballybrit industrial estate in Galway. Yes it was running around a carpark.<br />
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It was within a mile of the apartment in Galway which was convenient and the rest were off on a weekend in Prague so I was on my own. I came down the night before with the dog, and unfortunately decided to de-ice the freezer and stuck a knife straight through a pipe. Dead freezer, great!!!!.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSCHtkUZzJVNqdl24D_6YaUmht-hBniUxnfgNMsxg3L3fCenwXBXwn4yoOn-jXPRgKL__IdbXyv6I_HmrtxaaLL9r2hiUUB1zTGOvbt-KAsddXpqpm2PYkplDxk7S1PiwNeic01-96BqL/s1600/boston+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSCHtkUZzJVNqdl24D_6YaUmht-hBniUxnfgNMsxg3L3fCenwXBXwn4yoOn-jXPRgKL__IdbXyv6I_HmrtxaaLL9r2hiUUB1zTGOvbt-KAsddXpqpm2PYkplDxk7S1PiwNeic01-96BqL/s200/boston+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish area</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMT0UdpqLYKfXYGSkwI6rq_ptZDwEm3DvfmpcUcw_Dlytrtn_0Po21VzzFULToUgQ-m2EZRB0JhMXt7goSJbxnJYzFlz6I2Bb1lgZYY7FCX02ISf5yG1syJQuJxL2O7tMxk-Mkax946TI/s1600/boston+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMT0UdpqLYKfXYGSkwI6rq_ptZDwEm3DvfmpcUcw_Dlytrtn_0Po21VzzFULToUgQ-m2EZRB0JhMXt7goSJbxnJYzFlz6I2Bb1lgZYY7FCX02ISf5yG1syJQuJxL2O7tMxk-Mkax946TI/s200/boston+3.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aid station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was an early start on the Sunday so I got there at 7:30am. I had a quick presentation with Theresa Grimes with her 100 in 100 GMC medal and I checked in. All races were to go off at the same time. As well as Theresa, Don, Dee and Anne were up from Wicklow/Dublin and a few from the west of Ireland were there including Ger Donohoe and a welcome return from Valerie Galvin, and it was good to see Tony Nevin for the first time since the Dublin marathon in 2016. It was going to be a small event and I hoped that there were would be 15 finishers. Gerry Ford arrived late becasue he ran out of petrol in Gort. He didnt have time to do the whole event.<br />
<br />
<br />
We were walked to start which was .22 around the lap and we were off at 8am. The half marathon starting .11 ahead of us. We came through the start line and started 26 laps of effectively what was the car park.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6h51f903tqueXhsHqdqVqOgDZPu8-ZzQSegfo9StYI5w4CSj9lCnbHivupb81dY7UcJWPqa9M98Bz1H1Mv78KepahJK9L1sKRdZeF2du9DMkyMbHXwSs5a4e2PAuad9nVynxsrk5-qW5/s1600/galway+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6h51f903tqueXhsHqdqVqOgDZPu8-ZzQSegfo9StYI5w4CSj9lCnbHivupb81dY7UcJWPqa9M98Bz1H1Mv78KepahJK9L1sKRdZeF2du9DMkyMbHXwSs5a4e2PAuad9nVynxsrk5-qW5/s200/galway+1.jpg" width="150" /></a>A right turn with a slight downhill brought us to where Shielagh was stationed all day, further down an incline and we came to where John (Peter Mizi's friend) was stationed. A quick smaller car park loop was traversed before we did a 350 m out and back along the back of the car park. Back towards the main plant and a climb back to front of the building brought us to the front of the building and a last 350m straight to complete the lap. Redtag timing were there and the start/finish was under a gantry. There was an aid station with plenty of water and sweets available every lap.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIQqzxjIJ540X2HGvTeTIoy5ULVvk1YH4lZIcadEa9BgexLKIhsGu0IjOB0ZqQCVXSJzDTxQAt34Q7pxIeMSXmMkjHEytEToTEe17nkVIrA0zU-y0XjYyJt1q5sla_haVuTannz9bHGhj/s1600/galway+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIQqzxjIJ540X2HGvTeTIoy5ULVvk1YH4lZIcadEa9BgexLKIhsGu0IjOB0ZqQCVXSJzDTxQAt34Q7pxIeMSXmMkjHEytEToTEe17nkVIrA0zU-y0XjYyJt1q5sla_haVuTannz9bHGhj/s200/galway+2.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenda and her 12 in 12</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Interestingly for me Boston Scientific have just bought the old Digital plant which we ran past every loop. The last time I was here was 28 years ago.<br />
<br />
I started off Ok at about 9:30 minute miles but that dropped off quickly after 4 or 5 laps. i am struggling to have any pace or decent stride after 10K these days. 10K was in 1hr 6 which had me through half way in just over 2hrs 30. This was going to be a long day. After the half marathon finished it got very sparse on the lap. Cezary (who got a PB) and Don were lapping with ease and both would go on to great times despite Don nearly breaking down fairly close to the finish. Mirko was in 3rd and the only other one to break 4 hrs.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQR2CqvVolwepZhyphenhyphen45gNYLGc3XVu0jXKMxmEZjhpby8ooRGpfwa-2bcr3zWT0mX6OyEM6e2u1rHEXRZYojMcAAXZdIt9sWIMGZzaQssbFwocJwKmjMVKioM05MRV4XC1DCD3BM9kmTTn1/s1600/galway+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQR2CqvVolwepZhyphenhyphen45gNYLGc3XVu0jXKMxmEZjhpby8ooRGpfwa-2bcr3zWT0mX6OyEM6e2u1rHEXRZYojMcAAXZdIt9sWIMGZzaQssbFwocJwKmjMVKioM05MRV4XC1DCD3BM9kmTTn1/s200/galway+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theresa and her 100 in 100</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeg_ZHyqZwwU1vctTsYiIMWQJBf8C13ZGCgBzLNgZiMkQCk0pdW2OcpSZ4MXVz3kXYBY0aYBFBCUWinT9AfdsmfYrD5R54weAYFdv7lhvCOlftmal7MlqC3PvbdRKJxXCDY5V28nCmK6I/s1600/galway+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="960" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeg_ZHyqZwwU1vctTsYiIMWQJBf8C13ZGCgBzLNgZiMkQCk0pdW2OcpSZ4MXVz3kXYBY0aYBFBCUWinT9AfdsmfYrD5R54weAYFdv7lhvCOlftmal7MlqC3PvbdRKJxXCDY5V28nCmK6I/s200/galway+4.jpg" width="200" /></a>I spent some time running and chatting to Brenda and was very pleased to present here with her 12 in 12 GMC medal at the end of the event.<br />
<br />
I tottered on following Theresa lap after lap after lap. It was fairly warm and very humid. I made a bit of an effort for the last 2 laps and came in with a very disappointing 5hrs 46. The route though actually measured came in at 1km long according to my Garmin probably because of the racing line.<br />
<br />
At the end there was coffee and tea and sandwiches with cakes. Nice!!<br />
<br />
I headed off to watch the golf and left them to their colour run.<br />
<br />
Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1720356380/embed/78b68bb076652b078f39467fc6dc5861fc91f361" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-27486073644795131702018-07-20T11:24:00.004+01:002018-07-23T12:10:47.143+01:00Hammerhead#245 Sharkrun Hammerhead 5:55:09<br />
#246 Sharkrun Whitetip 5:50:45<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLR1w1WZIEdbXWosy986-ohNcSbj0J5flYAJuXCPC4KCgDvdU68lH_Poe9OkNjz9Phxs3MKKgWZTZehaRVFUQXXoldhDEDkBTcMxwnLptzLAg_vMQomr1XIuJKxpI5gAo_j0__tEM4vGB/s1600/37157071_2069324956649758_2382508360130887680_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="960" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLR1w1WZIEdbXWosy986-ohNcSbj0J5flYAJuXCPC4KCgDvdU68lH_Poe9OkNjz9Phxs3MKKgWZTZehaRVFUQXXoldhDEDkBTcMxwnLptzLAg_vMQomr1XIuJKxpI5gAo_j0__tEM4vGB/s200/37157071_2069324956649758_2382508360130887680_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream Van there</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was a sort of double in that I did day 1 and 3 of the Sharkrun tripple that was held at the Woosh Canoe club along the banks of the Stort River near Sawbridgeworth and Harlow in Essex.<br />
<br />
It was forecast to be hot and humid (even very hot and very humid).<br />
<br />
Day 1 Hammerhead<br />
<br />
The event was about 1 1/2 hours drive away and on day one and I arrived early at 8:30. Having ran the course before I knew that I could park the car on the route and have my own little personal aid station that I would pass every 40 minutes or so.<br />
<br />
Picking up my number and using the facilities I chatted to a few and settled in for what was going to be a hot and humid run. Knowing it was going to be hot I had put out of my mind any thoughts of doing an ultra and would quite happily settle for a marathon<br />
<br />
That marathon would be 8 laps of the 5.27km course. Having run the course before I knew that it was flat with a couple of drags but half would be in the shade and half in the direct sun. The direct sun would be the killer. It turned out to be 28 degrees and very humid.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTpZwMkBLEXlVkxdHMsl3-yuawMjTXKENmsx0aA04GmPiu8beSQgeZ7qRvVDeMvQVFyQBScEc3LHT9rJAQeY3WNeALjd8xv4Cwn6Xz_-nI1G_qmRmmnoM7rOP0ISDc2bPdqH3zxhzktFF/s1600/37406457_10156640554646942_6427210274024980480_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTpZwMkBLEXlVkxdHMsl3-yuawMjTXKENmsx0aA04GmPiu8beSQgeZ7qRvVDeMvQVFyQBScEc3LHT9rJAQeY3WNeALjd8xv4Cwn6Xz_-nI1G_qmRmmnoM7rOP0ISDc2bPdqH3zxhzktFF/s200/37406457_10156640554646942_6427210274024980480_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standard trail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX581vqIK928NjGecNynISEC0auogaeGLsmAoAJAO7OnXgsy2H1MOreCnMPl95x0D1nq-Rj03ud0eBEACoKj8arWSgMU3HrHJv3-rD2Ng9-Xf84XGAhHAuv187KlK8Vz6F6ThPJRbmyp3H/s1600/37361186_10217130167786794_4103240582971785216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX581vqIK928NjGecNynISEC0auogaeGLsmAoAJAO7OnXgsy2H1MOreCnMPl95x0D1nq-Rj03ud0eBEACoKj8arWSgMU3HrHJv3-rD2Ng9-Xf84XGAhHAuv187KlK8Vz6F6ThPJRbmyp3H/s200/37361186_10217130167786794_4103240582971785216_n.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 2 (HOT)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Off we went at 9:30 and I started pretty good running 33 mins for the first lap and following that up with a 35 mins second lap. The temp started to rise quickly and everyone was suffering. The lap itself was as expected. The first .8 mile was on open tow path with no shade. It would be a tough section all day. Turning past the locke and over the bridge we thankfully hit shade that was with us all the way through the back half of the course. There were a couple of sharp rises before we climbed the bridge at the far end and returned again in open sunshine for last .9 mile. Cruely we had to pass the aid station before clocking up a lap. I had parked my car at this section.<br />
<br />
The disaster struck in the middle of lap 3 with a sharp pain in my right knee. This was not the normal knee pain and it reduced me to a walk. I just couldn't get started running again. Thinking hard what it could be, I realised that I had changed the insoles in my Hoka's the night before and I was convinced this was a gait problem. I hobbled to the end of the lap and luckily had with me the old insoles. I replaced them and started on lap 4. It seemed to work and though painful was able to get back up to a jog again. With all of this messing I was through half way in 2:45.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VUT14Wxpp6_ZXE8oEDizfiJBPiVKrpor1wL0iJBhgvC4tz6qVFIaD8yUsfVapM_h3EMBq1yCUwKMd-IGtgvWHe56WwKtoT6PJPFAq0g5MIHtIyrHSH1hCalNc9-WZN7dOcz4QLYBoJCh/s1600/37424326_10156640554581942_6512042573974994944_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VUT14Wxpp6_ZXE8oEDizfiJBPiVKrpor1wL0iJBhgvC4tz6qVFIaD8yUsfVapM_h3EMBq1yCUwKMd-IGtgvWHe56WwKtoT6PJPFAq0g5MIHtIyrHSH1hCalNc9-WZN7dOcz4QLYBoJCh/s200/37424326_10156640554581942_6512042573974994944_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aid station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The second half was a hot, hard , painful slog. Fortunately I found a standpipe close to the first bridge and made sure I had a bottle with me to fill and tip over my head on each lap. I slowly counted off the laps and found myself tooing and fooing with Davo. He eventually passed me half way through the final lap and we both put on a spurt to get through the finish in under 6 hours. We managed it easily coming home in 5hrs 55. Give I didn't really know if I was going to finish at all I was happy to get there in the end.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfz3mOLetpTSOkQSt1aIZ4sXQfrr4OzgKs1wlBNTIezVk96Og2O8VKxQBJFB0_LZ_zate7jgSNCgauRWxlRf1594jq92gM9UAms92s2tsu1yVZY6T9PfE4slPsNzRwvPNvNdAVFPngMEyg/s1600/37500478_10156640554826942_1085759980012830720_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfz3mOLetpTSOkQSt1aIZ4sXQfrr4OzgKs1wlBNTIezVk96Og2O8VKxQBJFB0_LZ_zate7jgSNCgauRWxlRf1594jq92gM9UAms92s2tsu1yVZY6T9PfE4slPsNzRwvPNvNdAVFPngMEyg/s200/37500478_10156640554826942_1085759980012830720_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loved this section</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I left straight for home. Being Friday and the M25 it took close to 3hrs to get home. Not nice.<br />
<br />
I was even more delighted to be able to line up on Sunday at day 3. This time it was forecast even hotter and it came in at 32 degrees. This time I brought a coolbox with lots of iced water and boy was I thankful for that as it was available to me every 5K or so.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbVbEH4BunGw-P72Vz2HHEG2YuLr9s0xO-67MpYt61Q7JVdKnHuRrZVKjyjTeCYhKcAZHnxnOxUEEo2BieQkJWdSamof5KY0aIVBe8LKTYaWq3dpULTDY95ESpUsGn8-CXEW0TEM0l61S/s1600/37610833_10156640554716942_8778473726330011648_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbVbEH4BunGw-P72Vz2HHEG2YuLr9s0xO-67MpYt61Q7JVdKnHuRrZVKjyjTeCYhKcAZHnxnOxUEEo2BieQkJWdSamof5KY0aIVBe8LKTYaWq3dpULTDY95ESpUsGn8-CXEW0TEM0l61S/s200/37610833_10156640554716942_8778473726330011648_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>It really was a deja vu from Friday except it was noticeably hotter and everyone was noticeably slower. I got the shock of my life when at half way David Brett stopped just as I came through myself, I later heard Ruth and Gary Wayman also stopped early. This was unheard off. very few went Ultra (I think 2)<br />
<br />
But it was very very hot and humid and tough going.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa-hs01P5ujVogncrF60d0EGvIZzn1YWjAWtrbXMJlQf4RcFnEyKAfaE-WtQv6pgO5vOFZdiZz01952BjuXtxSb98aO0ktqWUcKKwJ4yPEap4OOUyZ_ebwZGaM8vwn5xZRmiSHtzWbNH8/s1600/37657499_10156640554621942_8008157052436217856_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFa-hs01P5ujVogncrF60d0EGvIZzn1YWjAWtrbXMJlQf4RcFnEyKAfaE-WtQv6pgO5vOFZdiZz01952BjuXtxSb98aO0ktqWUcKKwJ4yPEap4OOUyZ_ebwZGaM8vwn5xZRmiSHtzWbNH8/s200/37657499_10156640554621942_8008157052436217856_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not at finish day 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There was an ice cream van there all day which was great.<br />
<br />
I actually did the first two laps slower than day 1 but made up all that time in lap 3 and lap 4 and managed to come half way in 2:38 some 7 minutes faster. But similar to Friday the second half was long, hot, humid, lots of standpipes and very slow with much water tipped over my head.<br />
<br />
The coolbox worked really well and I had chilled coke all day and I picked up 1 500 ml bottle of water for lap 8 and it was half frozen still and slowly thawed out as I went round. I made a real effort on the last half lap and came in 5 minutes faster than Friday in 5hrs 50. Hopefully that is the last of the hot hot hot running for the year.<br />
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Stats for Day 1<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1702039750/embed/70433eec1fe1028f23b0e662c2f06284d0bca7e0" width="590"></iframe>
Stats for Day 2<br />
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1706310583/embed/7417173c3346e94bf0f91b86a6ccd21f583b6fca" width="590"></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-16093225945075995262018-07-10T12:28:00.002+01:002018-07-12T16:48:06.014+01:00BallinaBallina Day 1 of their running festival<br />
<br />
5:37:32 #244<br />
<br />
So this was my second ROI marathon in a row after a small break. That brings me to 91 ROI marathons and approaching the milestone of 100 marathons in 2 countries as I already have England cracked. Now that will be a very small club. It was also designated as a road Marathon which brings my Road marathon total to 90. In fact, Ballina AC tell me that this is also deemed to be a Boston Qualifier.<br />
<br />
Ireland is still in the middle of a heat wave so it was forecast hot and humid. As it turned out I consider it warm at 24 degrees but it was very very humid. That slowed down things enormously but it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been and in general was quite pleasant. Some even reported a short episode of drizzle at one stage though I never saw it.<br />
<br />
An unusually late 12 noon start meant that we were to run through the heat of the day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivZqQazQCBVKsmO7ll6thCrvf1DACyWQnDRoeRZdUsijHwTo03eJdD6s6Uer6GGWEXI7Nb74nXpjWxCA6YGT0DJmE42P_sP5J280qA6GLf2wnUqh5GLoobXrd_dC0MH-k3LaKleWjId95/s1600/ballina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivZqQazQCBVKsmO7ll6thCrvf1DACyWQnDRoeRZdUsijHwTo03eJdD6s6Uer6GGWEXI7Nb74nXpjWxCA6YGT0DJmE42P_sP5J280qA6GLf2wnUqh5GLoobXrd_dC0MH-k3LaKleWjId95/s200/ballina.jpg" width="200" /></a>I spent the night in Galway and drove the 1hr 30 mins to Ballina. It was more than a running festival as there were loads of things happening in the town over the weekend as part of a greater festival. Ballina was a busy place. I'm not sure I have ever been there before.<br />
<br />
I easily found my way to the very nice Ballina AC track that had only been laid in recent years and registered. At registration was my old drinking buddy Maighread (who was there for the weekend) and a plethora of the usual multi marathoners. 16 started on day 1 with the same number for day 2. It was a small event. There was a small relay event also on Day 1.<br />
<br />
The course was a 2.4km short loop followed by 5 x 8km loops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7a_KlNMbJcdDF_mRQZgt9FHKw9roDjIzs1JOMxpzTYZTQH25mijvLKCryb3W2li9tFNAOO7z92JilffmpPCtUMs7gy71C6FV2_8AtacsOfbcx4Wb0l-DYaOrNHiaqwYtaC_p01w0tltP/s1600/ballina+castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7a_KlNMbJcdDF_mRQZgt9FHKw9roDjIzs1JOMxpzTYZTQH25mijvLKCryb3W2li9tFNAOO7z92JilffmpPCtUMs7gy71C6FV2_8AtacsOfbcx4Wb0l-DYaOrNHiaqwYtaC_p01w0tltP/s200/ballina+castle.jpg" width="150" /></a>We started on the dot of 12 running through the gates of Ballina Castle (very nice). I settled in near the back as I didn't really know the course. We left the track and headed towards the river Moy and followed the main road beside the river into Belleek woods. The whole course was on tarmac with those sections out of the woods on open roads with traffic (though in fairness the roads were very quiet). About 800m into the woods we ran around the duck pond and wound our way out the woods. About 1km on open road brought us back to the track and the very well stocked aid station.<br />
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The longer lap brought us back into the woods but this time we went on past the duck pond and climbed steadily for about 1 mile to the woods end. Parts of this were reasonably steep but runnable if you had a mind to. At the top of the hill was another water stop. Turning left we went over some undulating <br />
roads (but generally up) until we reached the main road after about 2k. Turning left again we ran on the main road for 400m before turning down a side road. Generally downhill now to the finish brought us back to the track.<br />
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It wasnt the best signposted course I have ever done and I was unsure on the first lap at the duck pond and also on the turn off the main road to the minor road (waited for a few behind to catch up to be sure).<br />
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Initially I was running with Maighread for the first 5 miles but she pulled away when I had to have a toilet break. I never seen her again to the end. I did however fall in with Jimmy Nugent and Dan McCarthy for a period were Jimmy as loquacious as ever recounted how MCI originally started off. They pushed on and I settled into a run/walk strategy. As there were very few in the race only Sheila and David Brady passed me on the next lap and they headed off into the distance going steady. Ger Fay passed my on the next visit to the woods and I was left pretty much on my own. I guessed I was at the back of the field.<br />
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It was surprisingly hilly. I got a bit worried that they were going to run out of water but on lap 4 stocks were replenished and there was plenty for everyone.<br />
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Of course a couple of the fasty's lapped me (even twice) but they were far and few between with most people over 4 hrs 30.<br />
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It was only in the last mile that I saw a few ahead. It was Ger, Jimmy and Dan (on his 24th Marathon). I caught them and we all came in together.<br />
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We got a medal and a visor as an award. Maighread and David were there to welcome us in and I didn't stay around too much as it was back to Galway. Lovely to have a cup of tea and a sandwich as well and I love that about these small club events. There was also showers and a massage if you wanted.<br />
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It was a nice day but very few photos of the day and results are not published as of yet.<br />
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Stats for today: Note I forgot to charge my Garmin so it gave up early and only registered the first 12 miles odd.<br />
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<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/1693608114/embed/420087ea5d26cc29769e6317b174dcffd7655dbf'></iframe>
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-42097148841694826632018-07-10T11:19:00.003+01:002018-07-10T11:22:52.953+01:00Stone MadStone Mad Ultra 8:24:44<br />
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60K</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhYKp6aUCfGA8lA6BovxqiHPr_MsarFESfKDNBOuQiSFa1CtVQgs0rZ89kqFaf1gMVGNBSC9H51I7NTM-zyF2cfSlPT0K3kavNoHx1K1umC62tQvLhn1kRoGbRSPAOEIRtRNg9M5j8ybt/s1600/35519491_10156556141811942_5563026093444694016_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhYKp6aUCfGA8lA6BovxqiHPr_MsarFESfKDNBOuQiSFa1CtVQgs0rZ89kqFaf1gMVGNBSC9H51I7NTM-zyF2cfSlPT0K3kavNoHx1K1umC62tQvLhn1kRoGbRSPAOEIRtRNg9M5j8ybt/s200/35519491_10156556141811942_5563026093444694016_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>I wanted to do this event for several reasons. The first is that it goes through Carlow and that is one of the few counties in Ireland that I havnt done. Also a few years ago I entered this event and pulled out for some reason that I couldn't remember. It was 60K and there seemed to be a reasonable cut off that should not be too much of an issue. There was also due to be a marathon and a half on during the day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZrPvjU069vBGAWpBSfO0syohLESbpYdJ3iLdLlascZei-W-6KE7yUiH186JdKW6VgmwsbWreH7ytwcesj4BvPB0G9Dl1yq8JSc_oj2A2nCGbfXdxMdY9WtlC1plgGwTLyQtPbf98ttP3/s1600/35516067_10156556141696942_4927631655331430400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZrPvjU069vBGAWpBSfO0syohLESbpYdJ3iLdLlascZei-W-6KE7yUiH186JdKW6VgmwsbWreH7ytwcesj4BvPB0G9Dl1yq8JSc_oj2A2nCGbfXdxMdY9WtlC1plgGwTLyQtPbf98ttP3/s200/35516067_10156556141696942_4927631655331430400_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>It logistically was quite complex in that you parked in Carlow ran along the Barrow Valley to Graiguenamanagh with an out and back at the end for Ultra distance. The whole route was along the river and canal system (with an additional out and back for the Ultra). When finished there would be a bus back to Carlow. Simples (NOT!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLl-BtiydQTvyhELoAFnl17XQddiJyhEtG_7qsqVpups2sGRh7jcDIi7sDAu5wARiN0ChbB9juezc0tzy5iNzxf56yd-0g3eV7prU14Vl8VE617uVEZ6kUCb6bTQ_M8-YN3tAoDZRjgbV/s1600/35509229_10156556141606942_7374146895167356928_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLl-BtiydQTvyhELoAFnl17XQddiJyhEtG_7qsqVpups2sGRh7jcDIi7sDAu5wARiN0ChbB9juezc0tzy5iNzxf56yd-0g3eV7prU14Vl8VE617uVEZ6kUCb6bTQ_M8-YN3tAoDZRjgbV/s200/35509229_10156556141606942_7374146895167356928_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>Then news came through of a change of route. Because of roadworks Carlow was effectively no go. So the route would be from Graiguenamanagh and do the out and back first then run along the Barrow Valley for 13 odd miles and return to Graiguenamanagh. It actually worked out a lot simpler be it a few extra miles to get to the start line for me. The new route still went through Carlow PHEW!</div>
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Well everything seemed well organised and it was a new crew to me that I had not came across before. They all struck me as quite young, but that was OK. Everything seemed in hand with medial support and extremely well stocked aid stations and marshals everywhere. Registration was a breeze.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5BXdUbDFVvPv-EhdwHWxLNSGwfATW2AmoW9RGCDLcpF8lotktWHT481fQeHg0CGUue195DI0n04nVXQoxlEQxdVhBWabsMjtM5LKcpXYZW0Y8dh36Go2vvLVdR_vbAelRVSAakzQVoK6/s1600/35530613_599718430410743_8799512073873653760_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5BXdUbDFVvPv-EhdwHWxLNSGwfATW2AmoW9RGCDLcpF8lotktWHT481fQeHg0CGUue195DI0n04nVXQoxlEQxdVhBWabsMjtM5LKcpXYZW0Y8dh36Go2vvLVdR_vbAelRVSAakzQVoK6/s200/35530613_599718430410743_8799512073873653760_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Ultra started first (by 1hr 30 mins) and we all headed off South West along the river for 4.8 miles out and 4.8 miles back. It was very pretty. In fact I loved this course that meandered along the river valley. The river was busy and interesting and there was very few people around.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK1Mhdp-EkfdjrfNvK9TTQrQZv8fxL76gzbPjc0qJngG22GGfoLJEJdmXqaWm9GVaQyCspJIY5K5VUj4Lqul5q94iCXNrSkYXnKbjXzIbl8hNEdbpxU7Wor52-qbo391mI5XiXvpFTC0c/s1600/35643792_10156556141516942_8038565549740916736_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK1Mhdp-EkfdjrfNvK9TTQrQZv8fxL76gzbPjc0qJngG22GGfoLJEJdmXqaWm9GVaQyCspJIY5K5VUj4Lqul5q94iCXNrSkYXnKbjXzIbl8hNEdbpxU7Wor52-qbo391mI5XiXvpFTC0c/s200/35643792_10156556141516942_8038565549740916736_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>Everyone seemed to go off very fast and I found myself right at the back of the pack. Normally people come back to me but today they didn't and I found my self plumb last all day. I passed all the Ultra guys on their way back on the out and back and the leader shouted at me "are you with Crusaders??" It turned out to be Dominick Brannigan from Crusaders who is an amazing runner and he easily won the day. Ironically Crusaders were at the head and tail of the field today.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXw2GpvIrqz8PIw6vQZAz3Jp9NNBbKvU91JTFfwvTZc1SCOO3BUQxjAhLDfsK5rujHYC16pF-tE27eY-1BXjIB_YpTTBquqs_psXbx08EECH0RS3kYfXr47CSFhIqH1_5eaJlMJDHaMpy/s1600/35648031_599906213725298_3022800040214134784_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="716" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXw2GpvIrqz8PIw6vQZAz3Jp9NNBbKvU91JTFfwvTZc1SCOO3BUQxjAhLDfsK5rujHYC16pF-tE27eY-1BXjIB_YpTTBquqs_psXbx08EECH0RS3kYfXr47CSFhIqH1_5eaJlMJDHaMpy/s200/35648031_599906213725298_3022800040214134784_n.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
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It was hot and humid and lots of insects were there all day.</div>
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After the turn around I noticed a 4x4 following me. It was from the local river authorities and I assume with the race. It would follow very close behind me for a couple of hours and was a bit creepy But I was last and I was just hoping they would not insist I would pull out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnBFb7X8Aw25hkYSdtA_etqkiVbWSRGv8uILcY-28LUkt7phuvScNaYBTmInSXy4usG0_36K-bO1olNV153HO8QlprVDisiddBf0mNpADlVH4eXotW-Dd2n9ujL0Nw6kS2MSxhezex9Dj/s1600/35558036_599739613741958_6223744161246347264_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnBFb7X8Aw25hkYSdtA_etqkiVbWSRGv8uILcY-28LUkt7phuvScNaYBTmInSXy4usG0_36K-bO1olNV153HO8QlprVDisiddBf0mNpADlVH4eXotW-Dd2n9ujL0Nw6kS2MSxhezex9Dj/s200/35558036_599739613741958_6223744161246347264_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>I got back to Graiguenamanagh after about 1hr 45 mins and effectively joined the marathon route. I had long since lost sight of anyone in front and toddled along. After the next aid station I was met with Dominick on his way back and he was quickly followed by more ultra guys, marathon guys and half marathon guys. I couldnt tell who was who. I knew relatively few in the race. </div>
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I was slow and turned at the 23 mile mark in roughly 5 hrs giving me a marathon time of 5:40. Everyone was fast today. The next 13 miles was run walk and I toughly enjoyed it. It really was a beautiful day. I checked with the organisers about cut offs and I was well under and when I finished was still 40 mins under. By the time I got back to village the race was being packed up but they were still at finish line and I got a nice welcome and got nice medal and T shirt and a very nice can of coke. There were showers and food still in the hall but I had to get back so thanked them and left.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHM3cYYMHbU8U36m2Ny2z04U5Qt48QXgtFkCncMr_JzkLI36ITFGLlQ_L3SSDUy7TSpvm_pDOXYZKLWSYscoRS_xSX_Ch1rXU22nFtZB0bqADiMF2AWSUSIxHgzYE6oSkiktxnrqKuF5T/s1600/dominick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHM3cYYMHbU8U36m2Ny2z04U5Qt48QXgtFkCncMr_JzkLI36ITFGLlQ_L3SSDUy7TSpvm_pDOXYZKLWSYscoRS_xSX_Ch1rXU22nFtZB0bqADiMF2AWSUSIxHgzYE6oSkiktxnrqKuF5T/s200/dominick.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominick winner</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmehzNqUbRN-_AMByO8gIz9zfWqMSMgR_RyNCFs5CHBcFr0ARQJprwVY8KDcXkvfq9nlalA8s9Qie0K1mWVA8E6EW_Ck2Gm-7rH7MObPSqV4XwMuZk1sEzJwpX3fhOSPJmMM2PNuQCC86g/s1600/35882490_599705013745418_5562799409365778432_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmehzNqUbRN-_AMByO8gIz9zfWqMSMgR_RyNCFs5CHBcFr0ARQJprwVY8KDcXkvfq9nlalA8s9Qie0K1mWVA8E6EW_Ck2Gm-7rH7MObPSqV4XwMuZk1sEzJwpX3fhOSPJmMM2PNuQCC86g/s200/35882490_599705013745418_5562799409365778432_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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It was very nicely run and I would do this again but I dont know if I would be keen to be last again.</div>
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Stats for today<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1650174639/embed/c2260fa9a28cbcde9bc59a645741d1b42e9c0b11" width="590"></iframe>
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Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-41527636224733937012018-07-10T10:17:00.003+01:002018-07-10T10:31:00.843+01:00Explorer<br />
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Explorer Marathon 5:26:47<br />
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Never have I ran an event that was so shrouded in secrecy.<br />
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I got an email in May 2017 from Phoenix Running:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji48Jm-3E4AdexvVXgjftBivy3A0TvnRcNU0r1Ak1uWLhnKxNRh-nvKSuWf4Hoco7IrIkvMzLvoGCjqWaw4DExPOU8J6jSwUFH9wE4ctwn3Hi6jKFs9YYJb2JfLFt0GmuqqVsed9agQJ54/s1600/exp+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji48Jm-3E4AdexvVXgjftBivy3A0TvnRcNU0r1Ak1uWLhnKxNRh-nvKSuWf4Hoco7IrIkvMzLvoGCjqWaw4DExPOU8J6jSwUFH9wE4ctwn3Hi6jKFs9YYJb2JfLFt0GmuqqVsed9agQJ54/s200/exp+1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">"This is a confidential marathon invite from Phoenix Running to attend a very special event to be held on our Thames towpath marathon route at 9.00am on Saturday June 9th 2018 – The PHOENIX Explorer Marathon.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">At this stage we can’t really say much more and we appreciate we’re asking you to commit and trust us on this one!"</span><br />
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I was intrigued and entered as this is my birthday weekend and I love a special event. There was not much more information that came out for this event for the rest of the year and eventually with the same obscure information was opened to the public circa Jan 2018. It sold out in 14 minutes. Amazing really.<br />
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Rik from Phoenix running began to tease everyone about what was coming and eventually it came out that the medal would be special and being manufactured by Running Imp in China and would the world record for a medal that would be awarded to the finishers. Rumours were of 8lbs and the size of a large dinner plate. Rumours abounded about the factory refusing to make any more and the real cost of the medal, which had to be more than the event entry.<br />
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Eventually the medal was unveiled at the London Marathon expo and it did not disappoint. IT WAS HUGE!!!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRjYEuMCJpA3SmpXyxvIfUU26Sbs1wZOC2mYeMIOyNMZJ25h2GJtZcpshr6xKoGMvX882W0Z4xfFm1iuUSO5sLtRM5RepobNVblGYOOphBLgk9j5RMp-4fmljgVmMgF4DYNj-NcBk-ytx/s1600/exp+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRjYEuMCJpA3SmpXyxvIfUU26Sbs1wZOC2mYeMIOyNMZJ25h2GJtZcpshr6xKoGMvX882W0Z4xfFm1iuUSO5sLtRM5RepobNVblGYOOphBLgk9j5RMp-4fmljgVmMgF4DYNj-NcBk-ytx/s200/exp+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing a Mylene</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87hMQPTtLHTooh_1GWJwinwsLo_Jkp4rRdek5wLD_ZEzW6q-DhP3Tcu6DBK0_b3aEjEa3bYGcr2vHDl71jF4-g14wOeKsNYBEsRpJ2rSHwMABnu12Hj7X0pMTFLMW3j2vL57gMkvX6UG-/s1600/exp+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87hMQPTtLHTooh_1GWJwinwsLo_Jkp4rRdek5wLD_ZEzW6q-DhP3Tcu6DBK0_b3aEjEa3bYGcr2vHDl71jF4-g14wOeKsNYBEsRpJ2rSHwMABnu12Hj7X0pMTFLMW3j2vL57gMkvX6UG-/s200/exp+3.jpg" width="150" /></a>To the race itself it was to be a marathon with no option for shorter or longer and it was to be held on the westerly course at Walton. This was the 10K odd route down towards Hampton Court and back (no bridge). I like this route and its been a while since I have run it. It was the first time I have run it in the summer without puddles and mud. I picked up Brenda on the way (she got a latish entry from another competitor). Today was all about the bling.<br />
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It was a very warm day. It was 4 laps for a marathon and there were around 130 runners there for the event. It was great in particular to see Fiona McNeilis and Apryl Hammet there after their epic 145 mile journey the following week.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKqRaoAYWCwEP4M16hLyAczbxn2NpdrcJxwT1Aiu75iNxe9PrPUBOJrfc_dEMyv7nlLX_6J9SHadeSq_oXk9W0BffOsRhdhSEUVi0q7F4GyqLTNuKyDw5v-zwerR4T2ZeJkiEPtJHmdQ6/s1600/exp+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="418" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKqRaoAYWCwEP4M16hLyAczbxn2NpdrcJxwT1Aiu75iNxe9PrPUBOJrfc_dEMyv7nlLX_6J9SHadeSq_oXk9W0BffOsRhdhSEUVi0q7F4GyqLTNuKyDw5v-zwerR4T2ZeJkiEPtJHmdQ6/s200/exp+4.jpg" width="115" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul and Apryl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I started faster than normal and was through the first lap in just over 1hr which is quite a bit faster than normal. In fact both the girls were through the half way before me. I hit the half way mark in about 2:20 and then decided to take it easy. I caught up with Fiona who was with Paul Commons and walked pretty much the 3rd lap. Paul and I pushed on and ran together up until the last 5K.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYTyF9j_VcykEKmSIGQG6o3f7FnlAtlHyWFYmoJlZn8m06OXvEhsUu6EIu1AbWVeea_MnSPqecJrNc10VBwAhwEXs1limxkjmx-nUsnQU8j4Ash_hY6Y_JzaPXyJOISIBO9ePxXSQmTxH/s1600/exp+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="657" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYTyF9j_VcykEKmSIGQG6o3f7FnlAtlHyWFYmoJlZn8m06OXvEhsUu6EIu1AbWVeea_MnSPqecJrNc10VBwAhwEXs1limxkjmx-nUsnQU8j4Ash_hY6Y_JzaPXyJOISIBO9ePxXSQmTxH/s200/exp+5.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 145 mile gang</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Paul Commons is a gas man and we stopped with 5K to go for lollys and had a good old chat. Paul pushed on for the last 5K and I was slow. It was still hot and when we eventually finished we were rewarded with a truly epic piece of bling. This no doubt will be the biggest medal I will ever receive and at the time of writing is a world record.<br />
<br />
This is the only medal that I have that comes with its own stand.<br />
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I enjoyed the day.<br />
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Stats for the day:<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1628813157/embed/5b7ee63edc05022c17fef50a91165838cf470a6f" width="590"></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-31559296903708503622018-07-09T16:46:00.002+01:002018-07-10T10:32:12.705+01:00arcRunner of the Lost Arc 29.5 miles 6:20:20<br />
<br />
Saturn Running (Runnymead)<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWQDEkqrrRZuNk1DhU2sAV1cSwZVX4De1ILZ-Z5KOvZ2Pji-HPpQ0FmSyOymELTKAMHEMWC3gj4dr6wYjVtsaVLwLDDwNLXUR9cZqlAFEkklFL5UVMJ4eC9O9UAr5l4Lx7Tg9DhAid5Y8/s1600/arc+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWQDEkqrrRZuNk1DhU2sAV1cSwZVX4De1ILZ-Z5KOvZ2Pji-HPpQ0FmSyOymELTKAMHEMWC3gj4dr6wYjVtsaVLwLDDwNLXUR9cZqlAFEkklFL5UVMJ4eC9O9UAr5l4Lx7Tg9DhAid5Y8/s200/arc+2.jpg" width="150" /></a>Back in the UK I decided to do this one as it was relatively close to Basingstoke. It was still roasting and humid as a warm spell engulfed the UK. It was showing 26 degrees and very humid.<br />
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This was the same day that the 145 mile Birmingham to London canal race was on and I felt all day for those that were doing this in those conditions.<br />
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I picked up Brenda on the way and we were quickly at the start line. The carpark was £6 for the day but £3 was refunded by the organiser as it was a lot. The carpark was a good 400m away from the start area and it was quite a trek down to the rowing club. Registration was a breeze and we were quickly lined up for the early start. I only had Ultra on my mind today.<br />
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We headed off West along the Thames and I found the 1.65 miles out and 1.65 mile back route quite interesting. You passed a couple of working and busy locks, a Hotel, passed under the M25 and had a very nice covered wood section before turning at a busy pub section. The route was fairly busy with dog walkers and a lot of cyclists. There was also lots of bridges to keep you focused.<br />
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It was 8 laps for a marathon and 9 for an Ultra.<br />
<br />
I ran most of the day by myself and I found there was enough interesting parts to break the lap into lots of small marker points. I toddled along on my own with a pretty reasonable 2:20 first half marathon before slowing badly in the heat.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OriVTrb_Ap-nQzZhF15Bp9XI1Rjlq9MnVQfyJSdrX3KKT7Y59MAKW6qLBL3YnB9IpwBmtUD8Os-FIPWPGJvw1HT45TvF0W21_K3wbUtNlQnhQRPM34v2snzUK2Op6SomGKtqg9ncWIPl/s1600/arc+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OriVTrb_Ap-nQzZhF15Bp9XI1Rjlq9MnVQfyJSdrX3KKT7Y59MAKW6qLBL3YnB9IpwBmtUD8Os-FIPWPGJvw1HT45TvF0W21_K3wbUtNlQnhQRPM34v2snzUK2Op6SomGKtqg9ncWIPl/s200/arc+1.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1fyixIz8TnKaIDfLKLPYbWCKx9SVLl8m5Ht0S2n5gctuH4KHqBeFiojto9A3_fyAdAZzvPNVwfXy64qBnVirRCsF6Xa1k9arC4xWRH8C5-EH7q0ULLVkz__1Kfic17k4BchwToz4sxp5/s1600/arc+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1fyixIz8TnKaIDfLKLPYbWCKx9SVLl8m5Ht0S2n5gctuH4KHqBeFiojto9A3_fyAdAZzvPNVwfXy64qBnVirRCsF6Xa1k9arC4xWRH8C5-EH7q0ULLVkz__1Kfic17k4BchwToz4sxp5/s200/arc+3.jpg" width="112" /></a>Still I kept going passing lots of people I knew. I noticed Brenda was running a lot with one of the older guys who ran half naked. At one spot I came across them with him on the ground. He had the heaviest of falls.<br />
<br />
Also at the hotel there was a very posh wedding and we no doubt photo bombed a lot of their photos.<br />
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As the day wore on and I was out on the Ultra lap it became very quiet with most finished already. Brenda decided she wanted to do Ultra and as it was a 7 hour event and we had started early there was plenty of time.<br />
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I eventually came in for 6:20 with Brenda not far behind.<br />
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I loved the medal and there was a small goodie bag. I have to say Saturn running did a great job and after feedback they will have a 50K option in all events going forward.<br />
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I will have no issue doing these events again.<br />
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Stats for the day<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/1597574165/embed/8401073d08bca8e71428843a314992658940ee01" width="590"></iframe>
Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-24056672158739596602018-07-09T13:38:00.001+01:002018-07-09T15:51:44.618+01:00Switchback#240 Switchback nr Austin Texas<br />
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Luckily I was able to take advantage of a business trip to do this race.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGV2bPtDhYbovanAyvPEAopCiGR0gqpOqP1bw5Gib90Sa9oklxRl2QcMEbiQVN7-0ZabHnpLeT3KtF2mkrpoQKgIxZ55aptGJ0cveeCvK4ka3IYUG3GSUvgQPHiMr2ZMZjd7tPSZJrCwcV/s1600/texas+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEPijwZvB5R4npJP7YpUlnG8zPgKtu5eiYuYWOBQpaM2b4Zrm80y4oDQctg8esMojJzmJAv31SZjlQ7GmscQvhCUjkqA4bxOndSpVqg84fgZuYQYe_oTg6nNL3gV76V7hRljZK7GeSEt_/s1600/texas+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEPijwZvB5R4npJP7YpUlnG8zPgKtu5eiYuYWOBQpaM2b4Zrm80y4oDQctg8esMojJzmJAv31SZjlQ7GmscQvhCUjkqA4bxOndSpVqg84fgZuYQYe_oTg6nNL3gV76V7hRljZK7GeSEt_/s200/texas+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool stuff</td></tr>
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Arriving via London I got to the hotel at 8pm the night before the race. It being a real early start the next day and it being just over an hour drive, I was up well before dawn and in the car and ate breakfast on the hoof. I headed South West out of Austin towards San Antonio for about 45 minutes before swinging right onto B roads at Dripping Springs. Things got quite narrow and even included a Ford across a small river and a close call with a deer. Eventually finding the entrance to the ranch (Flat Creek Crossing ranch) where the race was going to be held it was still dark but there was a convoy of cars at this stage. I followed the crowd which brought me straight to the car park in a field beside the race start. As with all american races I have done it was impeccably run with many portaloos and quite a few people who had camped over night. Some even stayed without tents.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGV2bPtDhYbovanAyvPEAopCiGR0gqpOqP1bw5Gib90Sa9oklxRl2QcMEbiQVN7-0ZabHnpLeT3KtF2mkrpoQKgIxZ55aptGJ0cveeCvK4ka3IYUG3GSUvgQPHiMr2ZMZjd7tPSZJrCwcV/s1600/texas+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGV2bPtDhYbovanAyvPEAopCiGR0gqpOqP1bw5Gib90Sa9oklxRl2QcMEbiQVN7-0ZabHnpLeT3KtF2mkrpoQKgIxZ55aptGJ0cveeCvK4ka3IYUG3GSUvgQPHiMr2ZMZjd7tPSZJrCwcV/s200/texas+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agatha</td></tr>
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The temperature was rising and by the time I picked up my number it was already well in the 80's and humidity was rising. I finished the breakfast that I had bought in Walmart the night before and I lined up with the 30 or so other for the early start of the marathon. It was now roasting. I had with me a hand held 500ml bottle and a neck buff soaked in water. Registration was a breeze<br />
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This is the first US event that I had been to with no national anthem but there was plenty of patriotism around with one guy carrying a massive US flag for fallen soldiers. The temperature rose to the mid 90's and stayed there all day. It was very very humid. A half marathon was due to follow us after a 30 minute wait and they pretty much caught us and passed us enroute.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC67dIeOwZzkGgDlzsGJTriYfOF410vET4-3UatCZudBTvF90HV0YWZc8wkAqKzL8nXsKK-IvCBdOmUM10vstdExQyKtM5ptT7CbUx935FbINcEjxKXMRuUGb_2bAaz4CAN-c7Y0Z0Em2N/s1600/tesax+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC67dIeOwZzkGgDlzsGJTriYfOF410vET4-3UatCZudBTvF90HV0YWZc8wkAqKzL8nXsKK-IvCBdOmUM10vstdExQyKtM5ptT7CbUx935FbINcEjxKXMRuUGb_2bAaz4CAN-c7Y0Z0Em2N/s200/tesax+4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ranch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEFjrg3IwShQGeZd-_19J78qfU3aVA50G7-0h6UbZLUyZ_KdES6LF_kbINGXuTcOvOlYk4J8duCZeQgpf69ap_lkE51pc-9crSrR2IO4iXFqC9IbSYqj8jAOar1907vd3vbPTw2Ys34pr/s1600/texas+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEFjrg3IwShQGeZd-_19J78qfU3aVA50G7-0h6UbZLUyZ_KdES6LF_kbINGXuTcOvOlYk4J8duCZeQgpf69ap_lkE51pc-9crSrR2IO4iXFqC9IbSYqj8jAOar1907vd3vbPTw2Ys34pr/s200/texas+9.jpg" width="200" /></a>The race was 2 x 13.1 mile loops. It was called the switchback marathon as it continually switched back on itself many many many times (see course map below). Interestingly the way the ranch was laid out you often seen people running in all sorts of directions but you never actually knew where they were the course and amazingly we never crossed. After about 3 or 4 miles in I was firmly at the back of the pack and melting. I was joined by Agatha Kerr from San Antonio and we decided to stick with each other for the rest of the day. She was a fascinating lady who was just getting into the marathon/ultra scene and was due to come to the UK and Ireland on a vacation later this summer. We chatted for many hours. I found the track very very stony and hard going and at times had a significant camber.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy4Ffk3WmIsdFMYEmmndhmyhkONlPv-hIgbmQCaUAFHHwuvbTVNfehCy6hCWdSDIIn8_bHCkEnhEVNB8G_99dDxNU-53WBFtwvF_ifOngmZmTYq5Ya-NlVvXVmyyVQy7jx1-Tl8h2NPaq/s1600/texas+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy4Ffk3WmIsdFMYEmmndhmyhkONlPv-hIgbmQCaUAFHHwuvbTVNfehCy6hCWdSDIIn8_bHCkEnhEVNB8G_99dDxNU-53WBFtwvF_ifOngmZmTYq5Ya-NlVvXVmyyVQy7jx1-Tl8h2NPaq/s200/texas+10.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roasting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMnUGWE2rSpAuTqHi1dmwwedrfGhX50rr71BaqJ2eyr82E8gFMSQcdHW9dKMClBe3LvW-216pn-5dsA56eFJC78Md-0cfjx4484vIWBMo5mhOCFkP9x61Ry6WbkFKdi4JgKJb2yfl5Nrn/s1600/texas+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMnUGWE2rSpAuTqHi1dmwwedrfGhX50rr71BaqJ2eyr82E8gFMSQcdHW9dKMClBe3LvW-216pn-5dsA56eFJC78Md-0cfjx4484vIWBMo5mhOCFkP9x61Ry6WbkFKdi4JgKJb2yfl5Nrn/s200/texas+7.jpg" width="200" /></a>The aid stations were amazing with ice, fruit, savory, sweets, coke, juice and iced water available as well as anything else you could ever need and the bounciest of helpers. The course was really hilly (>2200 ft (GPS lot a lot in the forest)) and with the temp and humidity it was just a long slog. I was in no hurry and was just enjoying the company. At its highest points there were great views.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs3E7ILrSzCTLk9dV4jS35dq1zZ0MbhX4jutsu4yqrXdbbA9aw5xWmanSL9InwxsOHCmrjfYSqopWNtbb1EkGgRVYvNFTvtoH4zvGWZNBc1F2TwjE-ce_DxvUhNjsADTW-f4CCbcD3EXw/s1600/texas+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs3E7ILrSzCTLk9dV4jS35dq1zZ0MbhX4jutsu4yqrXdbbA9aw5xWmanSL9InwxsOHCmrjfYSqopWNtbb1EkGgRVYvNFTvtoH4zvGWZNBc1F2TwjE-ce_DxvUhNjsADTW-f4CCbcD3EXw/s200/texas+5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tunnel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHQuAWlcgBWtXG4VRqn3F29CVlOVAOE-La5R0gZ5chZ5ogDtgGhhyphenhyphenUUkh5hvMwIrZcJ2saZRSWVpn8Kz9m70vHhJO4gSUse90UM1MFUst171nQIKr046e4x0XoJxkkE39VntredFfk8Cu/s1600/texas+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHQuAWlcgBWtXG4VRqn3F29CVlOVAOE-La5R0gZ5chZ5ogDtgGhhyphenhyphenUUkh5hvMwIrZcJ2saZRSWVpn8Kz9m70vHhJO4gSUse90UM1MFUst171nQIKr046e4x0XoJxkkE39VntredFfk8Cu/s200/texas+8.jpg" width="200" /></a>After aid station 3 we started to descend down towards the finish area and this was the prettiest part of the course with stretches along cliff edges and through an amazing tunnel through the rock face beside the swim hole.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC7MeXtERvlYEigGxneKOtncbyQGSnuG16RwWvB62qnZSbcFDuT9Nujsq1BtVX9zU51JwQUqhg_3XqFbGHoslUUdOMhMrgS6O1s4yvzCs8ObKR1AuEBajwbWi91okn-zU87bWs3kajAd-/s1600/texas+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC7MeXtERvlYEigGxneKOtncbyQGSnuG16RwWvB62qnZSbcFDuT9Nujsq1BtVX9zU51JwQUqhg_3XqFbGHoslUUdOMhMrgS6O1s4yvzCs8ObKR1AuEBajwbWi91okn-zU87bWs3kajAd-/s200/texas+6.jpg" width="150" /></a>The first 13.1 was in a very pedestrian 3hrs and when we went back out for the second half it was more a walk/run strategy than anything else. The heat was relentless and I was glad to see every aid station as we trecked/jogged our way round. There were lots of very strange insects and I even managed to get a quick glimpse of a snake. Did I mention the heat was relentless.<br />
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By the time we finished (~7 hours) they were packing up and Agatha and I had become firm friends and she showed me around San Antonio with The Alamo and river walk the next evening. I look forward to returning the favour when she visits the UK and Ireland over the summer. She is currently booked in for Dark Phoenix in London and the Celtic Warrior in Lilliput as well as the Rock and Roll half in Dublin. We are considering the Streets of Galway as well.<br />
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Amazingly I came second in my age group and as well a T-shirt, locally produced wooden medal I won a customer cow boy hat and $60 voucher. It was a good day.<br />
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Photos: Agatha Kerr<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436112257090160747.post-37248943600036614462018-04-29T17:12:00.000+01:002018-04-30T09:02:01.570+01:00Bad CowBad Cow Frolic Mara #239 Ultra #76<br />
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50K in 6:49:30<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQFlcfER3w2iAaYaI02SnxRHw3HUdv9WThM5z0A423m7dLdbIruvTLVa8iJUfdLbL9bog-w2oXOD1zikarx-zi9nTcEDSHztINnpyiL7zXVZpzxPaBIrSRIL_1MffDZff5IXWsx_iKO-E/s1600/aid+station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQFlcfER3w2iAaYaI02SnxRHw3HUdv9WThM5z0A423m7dLdbIruvTLVa8iJUfdLbL9bog-w2oXOD1zikarx-zi9nTcEDSHztINnpyiL7zXVZpzxPaBIrSRIL_1MffDZff5IXWsx_iKO-E/s200/aid+station.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aid station including cider</td></tr>
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This was actually a 12hr event but from early doors it was decided that after 50K I would stop. I didn't need a 12 hr event and it left something in the day. Being a 12hr event it started at 7:30am and would run through to 7:30pm (or be on your last lap by 7:30pm).<br />
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The event was run by White Star running. My last experience with them at the Invader marathon last summer wasn't great and I am happy to report that things were back to normal and it was a perfectly organised event.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt4BH_wcibpGzMkAfzvBfT4NSAcz2e5hOC-_2W_OAL0h2u9p3jqTtJwI01DBQA-y7Xz3DGPECJTwqAyD5tAYY-96g22sXAZ5RzP3SkdJDf5NYffUJKpfMyuq3quQ4EYhKcKwhq96lpHxD/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt4BH_wcibpGzMkAfzvBfT4NSAcz2e5hOC-_2W_OAL0h2u9p3jqTtJwI01DBQA-y7Xz3DGPECJTwqAyD5tAYY-96g22sXAZ5RzP3SkdJDf5NYffUJKpfMyuq3quQ4EYhKcKwhq96lpHxD/s200/start.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Busy start at 7:30am</td></tr>
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I picked up Brenda at 5am and we headed towards Dorset. Past Bournemouth and Poole we turned towards the coast at Wareham and when we got to Corfe Castle (very impressive) we soon arrived at Burnbake Farm where the event was being held. Apart from a GPS malfunction that brought us down some dodgy roads it was well signposted and easy to find. There was camping the night before and despite a damp start many had decided to stay. The bar tent and coffee van were in full swing. A very smooth registration and a witty as always race brief and we were walked to the start.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdxkYJ452vKcYM_CI34bxoHwqY55qQu-TJGeI9O1bqPL3WYQTixsZG2T3rxmth3apOVjzJbwbwZ-m2iVxiKee5MMlN-rYluIcXNEFBd5RVhcuV-LcRq3aVDyzKi11msKkEFnNSdGT5HSq/s1600/pic+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdxkYJ452vKcYM_CI34bxoHwqY55qQu-TJGeI9O1bqPL3WYQTixsZG2T3rxmth3apOVjzJbwbwZ-m2iVxiKee5MMlN-rYluIcXNEFBd5RVhcuV-LcRq3aVDyzKi11msKkEFnNSdGT5HSq/s200/pic+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">early on</td></tr>
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The event was on a 4.4 mile loop with the "love station" at approx 2.5 miles and a ultra table and extra water and isotonic drinks available at the start finish. The love station had everything that you would ever need including coke and sausages, cake and sweets. It even had cider and allegedly vodka. There was no need to bring anything.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VRc1Y_YAZ-wGfTrp9-ozCH6zg3cqfWHDjSOtKvfDSHQ_XAkkZ-QAf3_kZLHLh9i0YOmf1bC2oNVlB3XfnRTX17OPAcTzt_htN58-32UalLa-9M3iNTwlJXTGeKlWBN_V6bS27Ybzj-mp/s1600/sand+castles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="715" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VRc1Y_YAZ-wGfTrp9-ozCH6zg3cqfWHDjSOtKvfDSHQ_XAkkZ-QAf3_kZLHLh9i0YOmf1bC2oNVlB3XfnRTX17OPAcTzt_htN58-32UalLa-9M3iNTwlJXTGeKlWBN_V6bS27Ybzj-mp/s200/sand+castles.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sand castles</td></tr>
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The course was surprisingly hilly being around 1800ft over marathon distance. 6 laps for a marathon and 7 for an ultra. It was always going to be ultra today. Along side the solo runners there were many relay teams of 2,3,4 or more runners. This was day 1 of a 2 day festival with a marathon due on Sunday.<br />
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The Lap 1 start (I presume to avoid congestion) was slightly different but in general you started off through a twisty forest section for around 400m before a quick sharp climb up a tarmac hill before hitting the trails. Another short sharp hill brought us through the first gate which led to the boggy part of the course. Tip toeing around the bog led to the first short climb which for me was walked every lap. Cresting we had a long sandy downhill that turned right to a long sandy drag up hill. Many took the opportunity to build sandcastles on this section. Cresting there was a long flat section that crossed a road and continued flat for around 800m. Eventually this gave way to a concrete road that had a sharp up hill to the second gate of the route.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Eihujjg1HHAqz_2LuCbrjA22chZ5kqpLb-qbky-RU9Rf1lLldQmKqOFoISjTR1gyxNQO1kVNgi2yWJhpWbJJLhpwBle6sB3-JBOD0nvlKBJqvban08SsBFfSQnLwktV2MOC766ARpiTU/s1600/ivy+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Eihujjg1HHAqz_2LuCbrjA22chZ5kqpLb-qbky-RU9Rf1lLldQmKqOFoISjTR1gyxNQO1kVNgi2yWJhpWbJJLhpwBle6sB3-JBOD0nvlKBJqvban08SsBFfSQnLwktV2MOC766ARpiTU/s200/ivy+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squeaky toy for Ivy</td></tr>
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This led to a long drag up hill via a forest trail that when navigated crossed another road and the love station. Refreshed we kept climbing on boggy trails before a long sweeping downhill (Puddle jumping) back to the forest. We then skirted the forest and its holiday homes (with many girlies in their jacuzzi's) before entering the final twisty bit back in the forest which brought us back to the start finish area. Going under the timing gantry we started it all again.<br />
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Weather was pretty much perfect but on the chilly side.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSSJTQH1s_Hbcz939eVBZkE54uBnECj1F8p12RfxzguR50YH0A553SiA1B0Hgp5-NBUQlQXn8f3FThvVLloHeQm9iPHC70Lfk2KatxCIF69cVywaJ6WlVREkoBY3J3Aiv7SBaIGay5nN3/s1600/brenda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSSJTQH1s_Hbcz939eVBZkE54uBnECj1F8p12RfxzguR50YH0A553SiA1B0Hgp5-NBUQlQXn8f3FThvVLloHeQm9iPHC70Lfk2KatxCIF69cVywaJ6WlVREkoBY3J3Aiv7SBaIGay5nN3/s200/brenda.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both 50K today</td></tr>
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With all of the relay runners it was impossible to tell where you were but there didnt seem to be any super fast runners there today. I was surprised to learn winning male and female did 14 laps or 100k. There were a lot went ultra.<br />
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I managed each of the first 5 laps in under an hour with my marathon lap just on the hour for a very pedestrian 5:40 marathon. On my ultra lap I walked and chatted a lot and came in on 6:49.<br />
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Brenda followed soon after also having done ultra. Brenda had decided if she was under 6 hrs for marathon she would go ultra. Marathon was complete in 5:59:55.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZll97wqCfP1hhXjWqV0jLCVE56JatbQEqGqGKHFnIuHoZDDhCU355FdLEki_FopTR6ZQANYfVaJnIesIwwg4F9QOAAYnEVOJdGAQ2ZxNbuAvcfMPlxiGTsOz9bya1G6zkbe7Ka3_I82x/s1600/marathon+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZll97wqCfP1hhXjWqV0jLCVE56JatbQEqGqGKHFnIuHoZDDhCU355FdLEki_FopTR6ZQANYfVaJnIesIwwg4F9QOAAYnEVOJdGAQ2ZxNbuAvcfMPlxiGTsOz9bya1G6zkbe7Ka3_I82x/s200/marathon+table.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The marathon table</td></tr>
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A very nice medal, squeaky toy and choice of Dorset biscuits and a bad cow buff was a nice finish. As well as of course a big White Star hug at the finish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFwJuDhFFUNDWPhO1ByQ2cDCyAuYpTPXJAYRAmW6nVxJe530r5n_j5NredFvqYeGsS63PL5nIkVe7VR2UjFnCa_vyUm9nScx0ydiblFQEdJLkhy_BLzaEqVWV0udbB5qRkJ0ioO9rWzoh/s1600/medals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFwJuDhFFUNDWPhO1ByQ2cDCyAuYpTPXJAYRAmW6nVxJe530r5n_j5NredFvqYeGsS63PL5nIkVe7VR2UjFnCa_vyUm9nScx0ydiblFQEdJLkhy_BLzaEqVWV0udbB5qRkJ0ioO9rWzoh/s200/medals.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">great bling</td></tr>
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I didnt know too many at this run which is always the case when I go west but it was good to meet Sharon Daw. Steve (who got his GMC medals today including 250 in 250) from Rik who was in the area with his family.<br />
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I really enjoyed today and it was great value and a lot of people going marathon or ultra for the first time given the 12hr time limit.<br />
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A 1hr 30 drive back had us back before 5 and I got introduced to Brenda's marathon table.<br />
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Stats for today<br />
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<br />Leo Lundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07797401254087339111noreply@blogger.com0