Each Step Forward

Offa's Orror 2009

2009-05-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Testing race on a course of unsurpassed beauty. Can't beat the Wye Valley for that gorgeous mix of wild wood & hill country blended with perfect pastoral panoramas. The race is mostly in the forest, with some big climbs leading eventually to a tricky descent (pictured) then a lovely flat run-in on the banks of the Wye (that seems to go on forever!). Full write up at Sacred Steps.

Self-Transcendence Invitational Marathon 2009

2009-05-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

What, no pictures? There were lots of photographers there but so far I haven't tracked down their shots. Anyhow, this was a marathon PB for me on my return to the distance after 4 years in the wilderness (as far as marathon is concerned anyway) and so I got a lot of satisfaction from that. Wonderful atmoshphere as ever, and a superb course that gave lots of people their best times ever. Full report is on my personal web site. I think this was my 13th marathon, or perhaps 12th if you only count "proper races". So they would be:

Stevenage 1994 4.15
Leeds 1994 3.55
New York 1994 3.49
New York 1995 3.59
London 199? 3.45
Sri Chinmoy Marathon Battersea (thrice, late nineties) 3.39, 3.28, 3.22
Hereford (2000 ish?) 3.38
Self-Transcendence Marathon 2004 and 2005 3.19, 3.30
Self-Transcendence Invitational Marathon 2009 3.16

Mmm, didn't keep a blog in those days, so dates are a bit flakey. I remember the times OK though - you don't forget that in a hurry!

Self-Transcendence 2 Mile Race New York

2009-05-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

Just a few days before the marathon, a great dash around the immortal loop at Jamaica, New York, where so many historic races have taken place from 2 milers to ultramarathons! A very cold morning, a happy and enthusiastic crowd of runners and a reasonable time for me of 11.35 (slower than last summer though - must do better in August!!). Full report as ever is on my homepage.

CCC 5K Race

2009-05-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

A race I last ran when I was injured and should have known better! Still, this time I at least got under 19 minutes, no mean achievement when the day before had been a gruelling fell race (Llanbedr to Blaenavon). Full report is at Sacred Steps.

Llanbedr to Blaenavon Fell Race

2009-05-01T23:12:00.001-07:00

A cracker of a race, culminating in the infamous "North Face of the Blorenge", perhaps the most notorious climb in South Wales! I had a great experience on this one - fitness is pretty good right now although I haven't been on the fells much so my legs were like jelly and my feet very sore by the half way mark. Still, the climb didn't (quite) kill me and I finished a respectable 12th from a field of 61. Full report at Sacred Steps.

Bath Half Marathon 2009

2009-03-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

Cracking race. Nice course, wonderful sunny day and loads of support. I'm not usually a "big race" kind of guy but once in a while it's nice to run in the midst of 11,000 runners and get cheered on by crowds lining the roadside - a far cry from Treforest Industrial Estate where I ran my last race! I also managed another PB, so this last few months has definitely been the fastest of my running career to date - hope I can keep that up when I make a foray back into marathon and ultramarathon. Anyhow, more info as ever is on my Sacred Steps page.

Pontypridd Reverse 10 2009

2009-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

So called because you run it backwards - the mile markers counting down from 9 to 1. Only in Ponty....

At last I managed to get a reasonable time (for me) at a 10 miler - perfect temperatures and a flattish course helped, but when the wind gets up in Treforest it definitely can slow you down - the last section of the course is quite exposed. Still, sixty three minutes and something seconds was a result I was happy with and I enjoyed the race from start to finish. For the first time I appeared in the results under my new name too :)

Bali Self-Transcendence 1 Miler #3

2009-02-15T05:02:00.001-08:00

My last day in Bali saw us all lining up once again for the early morning 1-mile race. This time we were getting a reminder of why they call this the rainy season - it was steadily pouring down as we warmed up, but still hot and sultry enough to make hard running pretty taxing.

If anything, this wet weather made me more optimistic that I could run faster than on my previous two outings, but it proved beyond me in the end - perhaps the absence of some similar-paced sparring partners in the closing stages didn't help, as I came up a couple of seconds short of the target. Full details are at sacred steps.

Bali Self-Transcendence 2 Miler

2009-02-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

My target for this race was to hit the 11.34 I ran on this same road 5 years ago, but I knew I would wilt in the heat if I went off too fast, expecially as I was still a little tired after (aforementioned) illness and tough trek on Mt Agung.

It was a little cooler this time around than in 2004, and I think I am generally more "race fit" this year than I was then, so despite the passing of years I managed to transcend the 2004 effort by around 3 seconds! More details are, of course, on my personal homepage.

Bali Self-Transcendennce 1 Miler #2

2009-02-15T04:58:00.000-08:00

The second one-mile race was strange because of what had led up to it - a bout of intense food poisoning which left me extremely weak, then, on recovery from that, a 10 hour trek to the summit of Gunung Agung which left my leg muscles in shock.

I never really got up to full speed, but I did manage to hang in there and keep up a reasonable pace on the tired and sore legs, coming home in a better-than-expected 5.32. More grisly details are on my web page.

Bali Self-Transcendence 1 Miler #1

2009-02-15T04:47:00.000-08:00

The pic is of a temple in Sanur that I ran to in my post-race warmdown - as you can see it was the wet season (hence dull, but still hot and humid conditions). I was back in the exquisite surrounds of Sanur, Bali, five years after my first visit and I was thrilled to see that we would be racing twice a week on the same stretch of road we used in 2005, when Sri Chinmoy came in person to each race to inspire and encourage all his team members, from the fastest to the slowest.

Despite the jet lag, heat, humidity and 7am start, I actually felt quite fresh and had a good race, finishing strongly on the long home straight to clock 5.26. A full, blow by blow account is as usual blogged at sacred steps.

Cardiff Cross Challenge 2009

2009-02-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Dave Weedon of Les Croupiers for the unflattering photo :)
This was my first proper cross country race, after years of doing fell and trail events. While most XC races are club events or at least club focussed, this one is very open and a first time can register online then just turn up and go. The "masters" event for oldsters like me (vet 40 men or 35 for women) was last on the menu so the ground was good and muddy. The distance was around 6k, and was on a varied, scenic and very soggy loop course. Superb fun. Full report at my race site.

Hereford New Years Day 10k

2009-02-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

My 23rd race was a great way to start the new year - a freezing but extremely scenic run along frosty lanes from the middle of Hereford out into the lovely surrounding countryside. It's an undulating course so I was well happy to get under 40 minutes by some margin. Fran joined me for this one and also had a good run. Above photo shows the start line which is an old bridge over the Wye. Report & pics on my homepage.

Glynneath 5 2008

2009-02-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

Still waiting for the photos to go live on the event web site - pic will be added when available!Race 22 of 40 was on another chilly morning of intense winter sunshine, this time in the Vale of Neath on Boxing Day. I had a great run and for the third time in 2008 managed to hit a PB for this distance (5 miles). It was a real landmark for me as I dipped under 30 minutes for the first time, a very nice Christmas present! Full race report at Sacred Steps.

Merthyr Mawr Christmas Pudding 10k Challenge

2008-12-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

Race number 21 was the amazing Merthyr Mawr Christmas Pudding 10k challenge, which begins with a ludicrous ascent on soft sand of the "Big Dipper", apparently the highest sand dune in Europe. After that, the course is genuine multiterrain, with country lanes, moorland, more sand, some mud, a sewage farm and a splash though a section of stream to finish. This is a really entertaining race with a wonderful atmosphere, but at the same time it's a genuine athletic challenge, so it really does have something for everyone. Full report as ever on my homepage, with more info at http://www.brackla-harriers.org/

Forest 5 Trail Race, Forest of Dean

2008-12-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

Half way through my 40-race mission now, with race number 20 completed on Sunday in the Forest of Dean. A really exquisite course, all of it deep in the forest, with plenty of challenging (but runnable) climbs and endless twists and turns on quiet, scenic trails. Forest of Dean AC put on a good event here and there were spot prizes for most of those that stuck around for the presentations! Full report as ever at Sacred Steps.

Cardiff Parkrun 5k

2008-12-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

A totally free race! This one happens every Saturday in a quiet and scenic park in Cardiff, and if it wasn't for my job I'd be a regular at this one. Still, I finally managed to bunk off the first hour of a Saturday in Run and Become to get another race under my belt and finish 5k in 18.29 - slower than I'd hoped but a reasonable benchmark to aim at next time. Like all my race reports, this one is online in a bit more detail at http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk

Epsom 10 Mile Road Race

2008-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

A canter over Epsom Downs in the annual 10 mile Epsom and Ewell Harriers road race was a great way to revisit my home turf - especially as it was followed by lunch with Mum & Dad, Andy and Anita and the lads. I missed my target of 64 mins - it's a hillier course than I expected - but still a great workout and good build up towards a marathon next year. This was race number 18 of the 40 I'm aiming to complete before my 41st birthday - full report at http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk

Sodbury Slog 2008

2008-11-18T13:15:00.001-08:00

This race is incredibly tough - and very silly. Ploughed fields, a hill fort, trenches full of water, slurry and finally a long wade through a river all help make it a really testing event. There were over 1000 finishers, and it was really satisfying just to be one of those who completed the course. When I checked the results I found I'd done pretty well too - full report at http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk/

Tour of Torfaen Half Marathon 2008

2008-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

My sixteenth race of "40 at 40", Tour of Torfaen was a scenic course with a really fast downhill start! I started too fast, faded to a crawl, and flew around the track at Cwmbran stadium to scrape a PB of 1.25.06. Can't think of a better way to spend a drizzly Sunday :) Full story as ever at www.sacredsteps.co.uk/touroftorfaen.htm

Big Fun Run, Cardiff, September 2008

2008-09-29T11:12:00.001-07:00

Miraculously, I was first across the line in this one, with a PB of 17.28 - running is going well this summer and at age 40 I've hit my best ever times at 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles and now 5k. Full report of this race is on my homepage at http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk

Weston Prom Run September 2008

2008-09-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Weston Prom 5, September 2008

Despite a late start, courtesy of the rail network, I clocked a PB of 30.12......will never know what my actual time was, as I was the other side of the road when the gun went, but a PB is a PB all the same!

Next time, maybe, I'll have a crack at the half hour barrier. Full report at http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk/

Weymouth Classic Triathlon

2008-09-15T01:49:00.001-07:00

My first Olympic distance triathlon!

It was ideal for beginners at this distance, as the swim is in sheltered water with an easy-to-follow course alongside the harbour wall. The start is a run-in from the beach. Full story, pics and video at:

http://www.sacredsteps.co.uk/