Run 18: Flitwick 10km

Sunday, 17th April 2016 (10:30am)

 

Well advertised by Tesco

Run number 18 took me to the little town of Flitwick in Bedfordshire. The event itself was very well advertised locally; you couldn't walk in to a local shop without seeing the poster somewhere (in fact, I wouldn't have known about the run if not for the great advertising.) As serendipity would have it, I was in Aylesbury the night before for a birthday party, so combining the weekend with the Flitwick 10km was perfect.

The event itself is organised by the Flitwick and Ampthill Flyers who really outdid all expectations I had of the event. The collection point was incredibly well-staffed and the course was professionally marshalled by the many volunteers all throughout the winding run through nearby villages. Much like the Glynneath 5 Mile, there was an incredibly friendly atmosphere as if old (and new) friends were coming together for a fun little jog around the local villages.

Hordes of local running clubs catching up and chatting

While waiting for the run to start, I saw a great deal of uniform running shirts, different running clubs from the local area; Flitwick Flyers, Bedford somethings, Leighton Buzzard something elses, this and that A.C, and so on. I looked for the garish red, white and black striped running top of my own kind of but not really running club, the Saint Edmund Pacers but didn't see any. I had, in fact, in all the hurry to make sure I had my costume for the party the night before forgotten to pack my own Diabetes UK running top and wig. I was beside myself with panic. I felt naked running in my normal t-shirt. As a compromise and to affirm that I was still running for a good cause and not just running, I made myself a little sign to wear on my back.

Unfortunately not enough people run and text nowadays so I received no new donations!

There were over 700 participants in this year's Flitwick 10km and the race began with the similar mad scramble to get past all the slower runners. There was a lot of support in the streets too, before the run went out in to the back-country roads. I was worried - mostly because I'd bought shiny new trainers but also because it is my weakness - that the run would go cross-country and I would have to slip and slide in mud, but the course was entirely over roads (apart from the last 30 metres or so). These roads were well marshalled and diversions were expertly put in place during the event.


Beautiful day for a run said 700-odd people

Having been training for the London marathon at a slower pace, I pushed myself in to race-pace (closer to 7 minute miles than my 9 minute marathon training miles). Owing to an increase in training, a much slightly fitter body, new running shoes or an increase in adrenaline, I ran the first few kilometres with no problems at all. In fact, there were no problems to speak of - except the hills!

The route took us up and down quite a number of elevations and the hardest part wasn't running UP the hills per se, but controlling momentum on the way down. There were a lot of hills but for some reason, they didn't pose the same problems they would have a few months ago - were they nice hills? Maybe.

At 5k, I noticed I was hitting 23 minutes and, feeling my body wasn't in too much pain, decided to push myself to try and hit a good time. My marathon training has made me an energy gel junkie so I popped some of the good stuff at 6k and pushed on forward, hitting the last kilometre particularly hard and sprinting the last few hundred metres (being careful not to slip in the mud at the end).

As I rolled past the finish line, I forgot to look at the clock but shortly after completion (mere seconds after) I received a text message stating my time was 44:06 - which means I smashed my Personal Best by 22 seconds!

Surely the donations for Diabetes UK will come rolling in now?

My only gripe about the run was that there were no medals at the end - but I did get a shiny new running t-shirt (perfect for those runners who realise they left their running top at home!)



Well chuffed with my new t-shirt (and the PB is good too)!

Run 1: BHF Greenwich Park Run

Saturday, 15th August 2015 (10:30am)

My first run of the campaign took place in an area of London I'm quite fond of; Greenwich. I'd been there a number of times the previous year, principally to see Monty Python reunite at the O2 arena. I had never, however, been to Greenwich Park.

The logistics of my travelling to London were a little complex. In order to save money, I had decided to travel up on Friday, stay with a friend for free, do the run on Saturday morning and then return that afternoon. Due to a miscommunication with dates, I was unable to stay with my friend and didn't fancy forking out for a hotel. As such, I left Swansea on the National Express at 2am, changed at Heathrow at 7am, and arrived in London Victoria at 8am. After a number of tube connections, I arrived in Greenwich with plenty of time to spare at 9ish.

My camera skills didn't do justice to the spectacular views over London

Set up and ready; just needs runners!

Greenwich Park was easy to find, and it really was quite lovely. The park was bigger than I expected, and it took a little longer than I anticipated to find "the Bandstand" where BHF had set up their bold red camp, ready for the race.

I wasn't the only one running!

At this point I should mention that I was operating on very little sleep (I got about 3 hours on the bus) but I was very pumped to be there and doing my first run.

I arrived about an hour before the run was due to kick off. There were lots of volunteers on hand but very few runners. I was worried. I took the time to talk to some of the volunteers and scope out the event; there were no running chips but there was a running clock - I made a note of this so I would be able to record my time later. They were giving out race t-shirts and I dutifully went to pick one up but purposefully didn't wear it for two reasons; firstly, I wanted to stand out in the inevitable sea of red t-shirts, and secondly, I wasn't even raising money for the British Heart Foundation and didn't want to seem false. In my defense, I have participated in and raised money for BHF events in the past and it is a charity that has a special place in my heart (pardon the pun) but for me the focus is very much on Diabetes at the moment.

A hearty bit of face-painting

The lack of people, the lack of sleep and the solo DJ-esque figure on the microphone trying to get a non-existent crowd pumped up was a little disheartening. Although I wasn't wearing a red BHF t-shirt, I decided to participate in some way and after donating some spare coins to the charity, I volunteered to have my face-painted with some lovely little hearts.

These hearts later merged with my sweat to create a stain of blood face-paint along the side of my face. Whilst on the tube returning home, a concerned stranger asked if I was ok, pointing out the obvious bloodstains on my face.


At 09:45, the 1k fun-run kicked off. The future Mo Farahs and Usain Bolts of the world set off from the start line for a little stretch around the block. One particularly adorable youngster looked as if he had only just started walking, let alone running.

At 10:15, all the runners were called to the Bandstand, where the previously-mentioned DJ-guy was still trying to get everyone pumped up. This is where the real magic happened. What had previously been a small handful of people quite quickly turned in to a really large collection of people, all with their own different reasons for running. We were given a few generic speeches and then introduced to two young boys (around 4 and 6) whose grandfather had suffered heart problems his entire life. In voices trembling with excitement, authority and nerves, they thanked us for running, told us to have fun and filled mostly everyone's face with a smile. Then their grandfather came to thank the BHF, and us, the fundraisers (me guiltily lowering my gaze), for enabling him to live long enough, despite his heart conditions, so that he could see his children, and grandchildren, grow up around him.

A few more people this time; now it's a race!

Then it was off to the start line to wait for the 10 second countdown and begin. My usual race strategy is to start somewhere in middle, or towards the back. The reason for this is because I push myself to overtake people and I feel better when I do, so having people in front who I can soon overtake is incredibly motivating.

As I crossed the start line, I noted the time 00:00:24. As there were no timing chips, I would need to remember to take 24 seconds off my final time.

The beginning of the race was, much like most races, a scramble to weave through the slow runners and find the runners of the same pace. This continued for the first kilometre or two until we got to the first hill. I must admit that I was rather unprepared for this first hill, as were a large number of people. I simply didn't expect it. Some people just didn't abide it, and started walking. This was my first boost of motivation, passing a throng of people on the first hill, before 2km.

The route was well laid-out, with distance markers every kilometre, adequate signposts and ample number of volunteers. Over the course, spectators shouted encouragement and clapped. Just before the fourth kilometre mark was another hill. Again, I passed a few older people on this hill and this gave me confidence. My mood was soured when on a number of corner-turns, I noticed a girl ahead of me cutting the corners.

After 5km, it was one more lap of the same circuit on the road to 10km. I noticed, as I passed the start line, that the clock was at just over 25 minutes. I would need to pick up the pace if I wanted a sub-50m time. The rest of the 5km was routine; I slowly overtook people on the first hill, was overtaken by a large number of people on one straight, but caught up with them at the next straight. As I reached the last hill, and the last 2km, I had two goals; overtake the guy in the bright yellow t-shirt and that bitch who kept cutting corners. I overtook the guy on the last hill, and heard his howls of rage fading in to the distance behind me (actually, he was panting a lot from the difficulty of the hill). After cresting the hill, I saw her. Gracefully running in front of me, she leapt care-free over the grass, forgetting entirely about the path and the route marker. I scowled as I ran dutifully around the marker points. I found it hard to slowly make up the distance between us and then she did it again. By this point I was livid and there was less than one kilometre to go.

00:50:28 on the clock!

My tactic is usually to save a sprint for the last kilometre or two, but here I was out of energy. In the last 500m, telling myself I must beat this girl who has no respect for the rules of the running route, I pushed myself and, with a cocky grin on my face, overtook her, sprinting through to the finish-line.

I hastily took a really bad quality picture of the clock as I crossed the finish line, noting that my time was 50 minutes and 28 seconds. Taking my 24-second delayed start off the clock left me with a rather disappointing 50:04 (5 seconds slower than what I would have liked!)

Overall, the first run was very positive. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was great, the scenery was beautiful, and the time really wasn't terrible. The course itself was a little hilly, with some winding routes. There was just enough variety to make it challenging and fun without it being difficult.

By the end of the day, the total raised was £89.32, which was unfortunately a little short of the £100 target I had anticipated.

Total money raised: £89.32