Sunday fun run - The VLM

It was back in January that club mate Frank through injury had to surrender his club place for the Virgin London Marathon. I was still mentally sore from the disappointing run I had at Loch Ness, which failed to give me a 'best for age' place at London, but I knew that unless I started running sub 3 hour marathons, this might be my only guarantee of a place in the big one. And so the forms were sent off and the training began.

Training was hard in the winter...especially when it's the worst we have had in ages. Running in the snow was probably the cause of my tendonitis in the achilles heel. As much as I wanted to, my granny ankles were genuinely creaking too much and so I had to sit it out for nearly a month. I followed Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 training programme and once over my injury I picked up where it was up to, rather than where I had left off. The big difference this time was I had resigned myself to making my long runs slower and steady compared to my Loch Ness training. The idea of a PB was gone back in March but I'd paid for my train tickets so I was not planning on pulling out! The pressure was off.

Fast forward to Thursday 21st April, the final preparations were underway. Whilst I enjoyed a large plate of pasta at Umberto's with the running club, Rhona, Emma's cousin and nearest marathon rival was making her way back to London from Hong Kong. She had been due back on the Saturday before but that volcano eruption in Iceland killed that idea. I headed down to the big smoke (London not Iceland) on Friday morning. Rhona confirmed she had arrived so it was all looking quite exciting. I sat with Douglas, a fellow runner from Livingston all the way down. We conversed about training, races and stuff like that whilst we both hydrated. This meant frequent visits to the train water feature known as the toilet. In our carriage there was a hen party at one end, and a stag doo at the other. Needless to say these early morning drinkers had lost their senses and aim!

From Kings Cross I tried to blend in with the Londoners on the tube, but making eye contact and smiling blew my cover. I met up with Rhona at Emma's sisters city centre flat. It was within spitting distance of Victoria Station, and more importantly 5 minutes away from the finishing line. Off we headed to Excel for the expo to collect my number. You can imagine the journey over there. The train was like a pressure cooker full of runners all listening in to each others conversations, wondering if they have done enough training, and some looking a bit panicky. I was confident in my own preparations and remained calm. Collecting the number took all of 5 minutes. we then entered the Expo. Rows and rows of running gadgetry, clothes, sports scientist all promising you great results. I was after a pair of new socks, Rhona a belt. As Sods Law determines, after buying one, the next aisle down had them £1 cheaper. After over grazing on free energy bar samples (I resisted the free beer), we escaped this vortex of running paraphernalia.

I headed over to Putney to meet up with old friends Mark and Wendy. Their lads had grown a bit, notably Tim who at 14, towered over me with his 6ft 4 frame. He is like Sport Billy and does well in most sports including rowing, basketball and running. He was preparing for the 5km Mini London Marathon on the Sunday (he came 2nd by the way). Saturday was going to be all about relaxing. Livy gave us a tour of Putney's park. It is not how I imagined London life. This place was full of triathlete clubs, boot camp clubs, fitness in the park club and hundreds of people running, jogging, roller blading, doing Thai Chi and all sorts of other things. But, it has to be said, marathon runners are the top dogs.


Photo: Big Tim is living proof that eating your greens is good for you.

Later we headed to Kingston-on-Thames to watch Tim do his rowing training and Ollie skateboard at the park. The sun was out so Wendy headed off to Waitrose for a picnic. A great way to chillax! We then headed back for a tour of Richmond Park, opening my eyes up to the vast amounts of green space in London. Again there were hundreds of people out on bikes and running. We also got to do a bit of a tour of celebrities houses. Putney and Kingston are quite well to do and where your neighbours might include Daley Thompson, Nerys Hughes and Simon Le Bon. Other celebrities were out of sight as we went past the Priory Clinic. I was hoping for a glimpse of Subo! We also passed the shrine of Marc Bolan.



Photo: Rhona's Girl Guide's Needlework Badge finally became useful as she turned Andy's macho man vest into a petite lady vest.

In the evening we headed up to Adam and Claire's new flat for a pasta party. They were having a cook off, but to be honest both were very nice and loaded up my carbs very well. I offered up my own variety of Parmesan cheese, as I was busy filing down the dry skin on my feet. Rhona was there busy sewing. As she had been stranded in Hong Kong, I had brought her running kit down, only to discover her husbands Andy's vest had been packed by mistake. She managed to shave around 18 inches off it to make it fit. Fully carbo loaded, we headed back to Victoria for final preparations, reading all the bits of info and settling in. Surprisingly I went to sleep quite quickly, dreaming dreams of Kenyan's falling over and me stepping on them to reach the finishing line!

The sound of sirens and bin vans beat the alarm clock to wake me up at 6am. I grabbed a bowl of muesli, some toast and coffee and then spent the next hour frequently visiting the loo. The hydration plan was working, and with weather forecasts of the mid 20's, it was a plan worth having. One more pee before heading to the tube and trying to remember which station we needed to go to. Confidently we went to Charing Cross and boarded the 8.15am to Blackheath, getting seats on a very packed train. As the doors shut the panic was written on the faces of runners left on the platform, wondering if they would make it in time to the start. We were surrounded by Italians so listening to their conversations for any last minute tips was pointless. I thought italians were supposed to be leaders in fashion, well one was wearing a disposable painters overall. No class at all, get yourself a pair of scraggy shorts and a vest!
As I got off the train, 2 things registered. One was that my hamstrings were very tight. I really needed to stretch but with no room either side of us, this was a non starter until I could get to the starting zone. The other was that the celebrities running would also be on the train. Just as I thought it, I looked up to see kids TV presenter Dick and Dom stood next to me and I had to fight to resist starting a game of 'BOGEYS'. We followed the masses to Blackheath green space, park, common thingy! I have no idea what it's called or where it is, as my main concern was that it was the Blue Start Area. First things first, join the long queue for the urinals before sending my bag to the luggage vehicles. At this point the weather took a turn. Cold wind and rain came from nowhere, so it was time to put on my Scotland poncho. This then became a magnet for Scottish people who looked so disappointed to hear my English voice. I did quite a bit of stretching as my hamstrings were still very tight. No explanation as to why, but I was beginning to doubt they would last the 26.2 miles ahead of them. Then time for one more pee! As with most of the other blokes, we couldn't be bothered queueing again so we used the back of the elite runners loos. Then it was into the Blue Start 2 pen for 15 minutes waiting for the start. Soon after they release the barriers holding back all the other pens of slower runners, and it gets pretty busy down there, with the mob gradually edging towards the start. Then, without any obvious cue, the race starts. It took me 37 seconds to cross the starting line, so all the way around I was taking that off the clock time.

The first mile was predictably full of slower runners who had placed themselves much to far up the field. They just get in the way, so it is here that you learn that elbows can be as equal value to a runner as legs. The sudden stop starts and steps to the side hurt the hamstrings. I was aiming fro a 3:10 so I had a pace band to assist me. I was 40 seconds too slow for the first mile, so I tried to speed up a little and regain lost ground over 2-3 miles rather than in one mad panic. After 3, the 3 start routes merge into 1. Being near the front of the field, there was no congestion, but I understand it does get a bit chocca later on. After 5 miles I was over 1.5 minutes ahead of myself and by this point the crowds are building up on the route. I heard the first cheer for Dunbar soon after and I made the decision there that banter with the crowd was going to make this race easier. Kids begged for high 5's, and DJ's encouraged us to wave at the crowds, who cheered back. There are designated points for charity supporters, where often hundreds of people from a charity stand and support their runners. I was by a Macmillan runner when they passed their fans. The noise and support was incredible and infectious and made me feel slightly self indulgent running for myself and nothing else.

The route weaves through the diverse social makeup of London. Housing estates, financial districts, affluent areas and a mixture of ethnic communities. There is music and smells to reflect them too. For example clubmate Sheila was offered some cannabis by 2 Afro Caribbean supporters, encouraging her to chill rather than run. The burger vans make you want to chuck up as they waft the smell of greasy burgers and onions across the course. All the time though the crowd are screaming support at you. There were water stations at least every 2 miles, and Lucozade at the others. I had probably taken a bit to much and decided that 30 seconds in the loo was going to make my run more pleasurable than holding on for 2 hours. In training I would do that so why change anything now?

By half way I was over 3 minutes ahead of myself and feeling great. But my Loch Ness experience told me to take it easy and slow down a little and keep it steady for the rest of the race. At some point 'the wall' creeps up on you, and thereafter the race is a struggle. I headed into Docklands and then back again, reaching 20 comfortably. At 22 I refueled on gels, and and slab of Kendal mint cake. The onset of fatigue had suddenly caught up. I could feel the hamstrings beginning to take the strain and then at around 24, inside a tunnel the cramp finally got me. Cramp comes and goes, and shouldn't end your race. It's the injuries you get running with it that do. So I had to stop, stretch and get myself in order for the finish. I became acutely aware of how finely connected your core and your legs are. Certain postures triggered the cramp, so the finish was to be a very delicate operation of not over doing it.

385 yards to go! said the sign. Another of the many turns on this winding course brought the finish line into view. I tried for a sprint finish, but soon felt the cramp returning, so I had to settle with a controlled run in. I am glad I did as it gave me time to enjoy the crowd and wave to the cameras. I could see the clock was 3:07:44 and I knew, taking off those 37 I was going to be well within my time and 6 minutes of my PB. Once through I found myself feeling a little bit bewildered and lost for words. There is a photographer ready to take your mug shot, and then I wandered up to get my tag removed and collect my medal and t-shirt. I didn't know what to do next, and I was stretching a bit and feeling pretty good. Then I noticed a Dunbar vest coming through the finishing line. It was Rhona who I though had already finished. She clocked 3:08 another PB for her too, and we discovered later came 9th in her age category. So it was good news all round.

We headed into St James' Park and lay on the grass for a while. I called Emma who had been tracking me on the Facebook tracking thing. According to that I was still running, so she was surprised to hear from me. Stuart asked me to take a picture of Buckingham Palace, which I realised was behind us. So we wandered across and made hard work of climbing the footbridge. However, you get a hero's welcome from the supporters as you go through and it is a moment to savour.

Rhona had to get back for a train, so we walked all of the 5 minutes it took to get to the flat, where Rhona got packed up and I made some pasta. She left and then I ran a cold bath . Within the hour I was feeling pretty refreshed and headed down to Kings Cross to join hundreds of other runners making their way home. On board the train, I had taken the precaution of booking into 1st Class so I could spread out a bit. I bumped into the bloke from Livingston who had a really bad 5 and half hour run, made worse by being beaten by a toilet in the last 100 meters! I'd brought a couple of DVD's and my free beer to enjoy on the way home. The guard was on good form and announced "We apologise for this train being so busy. It seems there has been some sort fo fun run going on in the city today." There was a mixture of laughter and boo's rippling through the train, but he was right, it was a run and it was fun.



Photo: Looking a lot worse than we felt having both grabbed PB's.

Virgin London Marathon 2010: My tips for anyone running it in 2011

The VLM is probably one of the most discussed marathons around. Yet, as a runner looking for tips on how to run the course and how to deal with the many hurdles before you actually reach the starting line, finding that information is not as easy as you would expect. So here is my attempt to put that right based on my fantastic experience taking part in this event on Sunday past.

First of all, if you live a long journey away as I do in Scotlandshire I'd recommend arriving on Friday to allow yourself time to pick up your number and then spend your Saturday relaxing. Good weather allowed for me to picnic by the Thames with old friends and do all the sight seeing via their car. In other words, save your trip to Madame Tusauds for another day.

Exel at Expo is a lengthy tube and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trip. But as your are with other runners here is the first taste of the excitement that awaits. At this point of your training it is too late to do anything else and you have to walk into that place 100% confident that your race day plan is going to work. WHY? Because the minute you walk through the doors 100's of companies will be telling you why you need their product to improve your marathon time. Much of it is money for old rope and each stand is selling more or less the same products. Look around before you buy, as many of the same products are cheaper as I discovered after buying some new socks. Don't buy new gadgets for Sunday. The longest run of your year is no place to try them out and discover they rub or irritate you. Judging by the number of expensive running belts, gloves, hats and bottles discarded on route on the big day, I think some people found out the hard way. Get as much free stuff as you can, enjoy the occasion and get out of there. I went at 5pm on Friday and any concerns of big queues were unfounded. The number collection point is a seamless operation, over and done with in less tan 5 minutes.

Race day! The big day has arrived and once again BE 100% CONFIDENT IN YOUR RACE DAY PLAN. On the tube you will overhear conversations of nervous runners who seems so much more prepared than you. Ignore them as this is your race not theirs.

*Tip!: What to take with you? Virgin give you a huge kit bag to drop off on the trucks at the start. Put anything you like in there as it is big enough to put a small child in and utilise as a baby sitting service whilst you run. Some people regretted booking that extra night in a hotel as a place to leave their kit. If you travel light enough (e.g. a 30 liter rucksack) you should be able to get it all in this bag and head straight off to the train at the finish. Don't forget water, recovery gubbins, warm clothes and wet wipes.

Travel is slightly stressful, but remain calm as you will get there eventually. I was a Blue starter so the train went from Charing Cross. I say train and not tube as it is a real train.
*TIP!: At Charing Cross you will see the front end of Platform 6 is mobbed. Walk up Platform 5 to the opposite end, and cut through to the empty end of 6 and grab yourself a seat for the very overcrowded 20+ journey. Be warned it gets very warm on there.

On arrival at Blackheath, the first port of call is the loo. One failing of VLM is there are no loos around the tube stations, so the hold tight. The loos are plentiful but everyone makes a bee line for the nearest. Walk on and you will see loads more unused ones nearer the start. They now have urinals for men and women, and they were promoting the new gadget P-Matefor the women. The mind boggles!

*TIP!: Get in to your pen early. Not long before the start they allow the pens behind you to come forward and contaminate your area, so if you are not in there you will have slower runners in front of you who will slow you down and cause you to curse.

Off we go! Blue Pen 2 start took 30 seconds to get over the line. It was slow for the first 2 and then it thins out slightly. Where they merge with Red and Green, the road is wide enough for long enough for it to be fairly smooth and allow you to keep your pace. Maybe slower runners would find it more congested. It took me a while to realise that the double red lines on the road side are for traffic, and the broken double red line that is marked in the middle of the road is marking the shortest route for the marathon. Surprisingly few people seemed to follow it, so as best I could I did.

The crowd makes VLM more than a race and turn it into something special. It's their day too and they love it when runners show respect to them for turning up by simply saying thanks, giving the thumbs up to their cheers or high 5'ing the kids. get your name put on your vest and you will be guaranteed support...something you will appreciate as the struggle gets harder. I was running by a Macmillan charity runner when they passed the Macmillan support team. I reckon over 100 people cheered and screamed at this guy as he passed. It was quite uplifting for me, so he must have been floating. Take in the sights of people rather than the buildings. The route takes you through the diverse social makeup of London. Irish, Afro Caribbean, wealthy and city dwellings. Each area reflected by the music and smells to stimulate your senses as you run. I know we are there to run, but I found joining in with the laughs, appreciating the musicians and savouring it all took my mind off the monotony of long distance running. Running is largely a self centred affair, so here is an opportunity to take your eyes off your own misery and to relax a little. It's stating the obvious but if you are totally preoccupied and anxious with the technicalities of running, it is going to affect your performance. I kept thinking back to my long training runs where pace was not a concern and enjoying the run usually got good results. Apply this experience to the race day.

Technically the course is not an easy one. Lots of sharp turns and one or two short up and down stretches. Speed humps are a hazard as i discovered when I clipped one whilst looking at my watch and pace band. I also heard about one bloke who ran at pace into a sign. There are loads of water and Lucozade stations. It was slightly humid so I had some at most. Also there were 2 gel posts, so build that into your race plan if you can stomach them. Do be careful of the trip hazards caused by inconsiderate runners who leave their litter on the road. Why didn't they enjoy the fun of soaking the crowd as you chuck it to the side?
TIP!: You do not need to carry water with you. There is plenty on the route.

There are plenty of loos on route, so don't stress about that.

The finish line beckons. Milk this moment for all you can, but don't face the humiliation as one runner I spoke to did, of being beaten by a toilet in the last 100 meters. I had to work hard to beat that pesky lepricorn. Once through there is a slick operation to take your tag off, get your photo done and to prepare yourself for walking down civy street again. Don't forget to collect your bag of goodies and your kit bag. Once through all this enjoy the hero's welcome you get from the admirable crowd who are keen to congratulate you.

This was my second marathon and I wanted to finish feeling positive regardless of my time. If I am going to continue to enjoy running as a sport, then finishing well is important. My last marathon was a difficult finish and it took months to get motivated again. Part of that nightmare was not recovering well. I didn't eat or drink enough, so this time I had a bowl of pasta ready and lots of recovery sickly drink things, plus water and more food to munch on later. Force yourself to eat something as your body needs it to recover, even if you don't feel especially hungry.

So that's about it. My finish time was a PB of 3:07:10. I'm happy with that and know where I could bring it down a minute or 2 in the future. The main reason I improved was that I stuck with a pace and resisted getting drawn into somebody else's. Also, I trained, and despite what those retailers at Exel tell you, no gadget, new pair of trainers or running socks is going to compensate for hard work.

Taking Out the Opposition

Photo: "Experts have warned that it could take years of work by experienced professionals to clean up after the volcano.That's why Mum's gone to Iceland."


A week to go to the marathon and I think I could be in with a chance of winning it, although one opponent looks quite tough. Until recently the only good thing to come out of Iceland were those mini frozen profiteroles, but this week the bowels of iceland well and truly exploded via a volcano. For one, it has given me an excuse for my house being covered in dust and smelling of sulphur (although a house cleaning famine and Andrew's wind are the most likely cause) As we now all know, the world we know has come to a stand still, at least via air anyway. This could mean that those elite runners from Kenya, Ethiopia and Shettleston in Glasgow might not make it to the marathon. Even if the airways are cleared, the backlog of flights is going to be a nightmare to sort out safely. Emma's cousin Rhona is stranded in Hong Kong until thursday. She is supposed to be racing on Sunday and whilst her absence would save me the second humiliating moment of being beaten by her, it would be a loss to the competition as we all have high hopes for her getting a PB.

I have been checking out the domestic rivals via the celebrity list . I'd hardly call most of them celebrities. Being an extra on Doctors is the Scottish equivalent of appearing on RIver City. However a few Scottish folk are there, including thingymajig off Taggart and ex-Scotland manager George Burley. Other cops include DCI Mickey Wotsit from the Bill and some filly from Silent Witness. I think I might beat Dick and Dom and sadly Katie Price has pulled out due to a pregnancy scare. However the one I am thrilled to be running against is the Bionic Woman. Not Lindsay Wagner sadly, but the new version played by some Eastenders cast off. No bionics for me, but my trusty slab of Kendal Mint Cake should see me through the last stage of the marathon...I hope.



Photo: Jamie Summers, one of my rivals.

Spring Fever

Spring has sprung. I cut the grass for the first time this year, my daff's are out and I woken by the loud birdsong each day. I saw 2 swallows today and the sun has been out. Sun and school holidays means a trip to the beach. In fact 2 visits this week so far. Yesterday we'd planned to take the boys out to the local theme park, but it was too overcrowded and we ended up on the beach at the John Muir Park. It didn't take long for the boys to get a fire going and digging holes. The previous day we had all gone to the East beach where all was going well until some yappy dog nicked our bag of cookies. It reminded me of the time we were on some beach as kids in the North Pole (well North Wales but it was normally that cold and regardless of the weather we sat on the beach with our 'windbreaker' and tartan rugs). Anyway on this occasion our Emma wearing a lovely white cardi ended up standing in as a lampost for another yappy dog who put a nice yellow pattern on it. Oh how we laughed at my dads reprimand of the owners "IF THAT DOG COMES NEAR ME AGAIN I'LL KICK IT IN THE JAFFA'S".

There's still a few more days to go and the sun is shining. Andrew is almost living on the golf course, as is Emma. Isabelle has got herself down to some hockey training and me and Stuart have pottered about cleaning. Yes as unlikely as it might sound, we have done some major spring cleaning as a result of Emma's sister Claire finally taking her furniture away after 4 1/2 years in our garage. This has enabled us to chuck out loads of stuff and slowly the house is beginning to look in order. The main priority is to get the dart board and pool table in full working order in the garage, although Emma probably disagrees!

Easter Services

Photo's: Easter Day service at Belhaven Beach, Dunbar

Easter holidays have turned out well. We had a good service down on the beach on easter morning with a good crowd turning up for the 8 a.m. open air. It's a 20 minute service but the location looking out to sea, the bonfire and the cross make it a special service and one that brings an important focus to Easter. Afterwards it was breakfast at the church where we enjoyed conversation with people we normally don't get talking to...plus lots of warm croissants. For a change we decided to go to the Parish Church. Not because we are defecting, but because Stuart wanted to go. In my books if a kid is showing any enthusiasm about going to church then grab it. So our 2nd service at 11 a.m. was done. Finally I had been invited to the Methodist church evening 'Let's Sing' service and had no reason to turn it down, and in fact I quite liked the idea of going to a low profile service where I could be part of the crowd and be fairly anonymous. It was a great service too, with some really old gospel songs and hymns being sung with great gusto. Songs that have become uncool in the modern world of the Christian worship scene, but when sung with passion and belief are belters. The use of an old midi playing keyboard, that sounds like the sort of music being played on Llandudno Pier by the bloke who sells tapes took away any glory seeking by 'The Band'. None of this 'aren't we wonderful type of stuff' (as my mum described the Spring Harvest Band). To round off the evening we had cakes, sandwiches and sausage rolls....oh and a cup of tea. They never fail to feed you at the Meth's and I'll look forward to a return visit there soon.

Greaseproof Pencaitland

Yesterday being Easter I spent most of my day at either special services or eating stuff not fitting for a marathon training programme. Needless to say my long run got postponed. I needed to get my last big long run in before the marathon, so that I can now enjoy the taper down. However, we needed to do a couple of trips to Edinburgh to pick up some furniture, so rather than stick to my usual routes, it made sense for Emma to drop me off and I would run back. I'd worked out that the sleepy village of Pencaitland is 20 miles away and the route would take me through some of the back roads of East Lothian that I don't ever recall going down. It was all a bit of rush to get to edinburgh and I realised I'd left my rain jacket and vaseline behind. As it was chucking it down one or both of these are a great way of seeing off chaffing of the nipples, armpits and inner thigh. The wet weather makes them worse.
There is one thing that Pencaitland lacks and that is lubrication! The village shop only sold rolls and war rations it was so badly stocked. A couple of tins of corned beef were not going to see off the agonising sting of chaffing. So I tried the garage...not for Catrol GTX, but for vaseline in the shop. SOLD OUT! The man did offer a cherry lip balm though but i was more intrigued as to why it had sold out? I also discovered there are no loos in Pencaitland. Thank the Lord for the wide openings on Gatorade bottles, that now seem to do ginger beer type flavour.

The run itself was 20 miles and took in some great scenery that I'd not seen before. The road sort of bends around Traprain Law, which meant it never seemed to get any closer, and I wondered if I would ever make it to familiar ground. The route passed through East Saltoun, Gifford where there was a little bit f snow here and there, Garvald, Whittinghame and Stenton. Well worth the drive I'm sure, but go slowly to enjoy the views and to avoid hitting people like me out for a run. I got back in 2.5 hours which is what i had expected, as I was in no rush. It actually covered quite a lot of climbing. Here is a link to the route if you fancy it. I should also point out that there are several good looking pubs on the route, which I managed to bypass, although on a warmer day I could be tempted to refuel! Oh and the chaffing was fine as was the weather that turned out bright once i got going.
Pencaitland to Dunbar Route