Milestones and meetings
Having done the It's Grim Up North Running Kirkstall Abbey Trail Marathon for the past two years, I fancied another go at this energy-sapping three lap trail race.
Now I have a reputation of being occasionally a tad late (ahem) so when I came to enter the event a week or two before I was shocked to see it was full! Thankfully, after messaging the organisers they let me sneak in an entry. Phew!
I'm glad I made it in as on the day as there was a gaggle of prospective 10in10ers on show. I met Liane Warren and Malc Collins on the walk down to the start, and was also soon introduced to Paul Dewar too. Out on the course Gary Wade and his wife Sandra were enthusiastically manning the first feed station and I shouted a greeting to them as I passed.
The race itself was going far too well on the first lap. Around four miles in I was passed by a chap I vaguely recognised. The penny finally dropped, it was Martin Thomerson of It Kept Me Off The Streets fame. I sped up a little and introduced myself (although we'd never met we were Facebook friends) and we spent the next mile or two in enjoyable yet distracting conversation.
In fact the chat proved too distracting and as my watch ticked up 10km in around 43 minutes I knew I'd blown it. I wasn't close to fit enough to run a sub-3 hour flat road marathon never mind a hilly trail one! My pacing is usually pretty good but not so today – what a fool!
By the end of the first lap I was slowing down and come the end of the race, although I just about sneaked a course PB, I was dying a death. This was my 50th marathon (60 including ultras) and it was really nice of Martin, who finished ten minutes ahead of me, to notify the finish line crew of my milestone to ensure I got a cheer as I crossed the line.
Shortly after another fellow 10in10er finished, Jonathan Carter, and I had a really good chat with him and his good lady Sue about the 10in10 and Fellsman, the epic ultra around the Yorkshire Dales which they have organised between them for a good few years.
Once the lactic acid had subsided I could reflect on another one in the bag, meeting some great people, plus I now had one eye on 100 Marathon Club membership.
Now I have a reputation of being occasionally a tad late (ahem) so when I came to enter the event a week or two before I was shocked to see it was full! Thankfully, after messaging the organisers they let me sneak in an entry. Phew!
I'm glad I made it in as on the day as there was a gaggle of prospective 10in10ers on show. I met Liane Warren and Malc Collins on the walk down to the start, and was also soon introduced to Paul Dewar too. Out on the course Gary Wade and his wife Sandra were enthusiastically manning the first feed station and I shouted a greeting to them as I passed.
The race itself was going far too well on the first lap. Around four miles in I was passed by a chap I vaguely recognised. The penny finally dropped, it was Martin Thomerson of It Kept Me Off The Streets fame. I sped up a little and introduced myself (although we'd never met we were Facebook friends) and we spent the next mile or two in enjoyable yet distracting conversation.
In fact the chat proved too distracting and as my watch ticked up 10km in around 43 minutes I knew I'd blown it. I wasn't close to fit enough to run a sub-3 hour flat road marathon never mind a hilly trail one! My pacing is usually pretty good but not so today – what a fool!
By the end of the first lap I was slowing down and come the end of the race, although I just about sneaked a course PB, I was dying a death. This was my 50th marathon (60 including ultras) and it was really nice of Martin, who finished ten minutes ahead of me, to notify the finish line crew of my milestone to ensure I got a cheer as I crossed the line.
Shortly after another fellow 10in10er finished, Jonathan Carter, and I had a really good chat with him and his good lady Sue about the 10in10 and Fellsman, the epic ultra around the Yorkshire Dales which they have organised between them for a good few years.
Once the lactic acid had subsided I could reflect on another one in the bag, meeting some great people, plus I now had one eye on 100 Marathon Club membership.
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