The Running Thread Vol 2

[smn159]

Ricky Road Run 10 miler this morning. Quite a hilly course, with a real killer right at the end before a gentle descent to the finish. My first run of that distance and I treated it as part of my training plan as I work up to the MK half marathon which I've signed up to; finished in 1:24, which I was reasonably happy with.

[Smitters]

Double run weekend for me - Saturday parkrun in Cheltenham, followed by Sunday LSD in the dark, both shoving my boy in the buggy. Paying for it today though - not in the legs, but the cold that was threatening last week has landed nicely. Whoops.

[ukaskew]

Is there a reliable source of events that people use? I'm gradually building up a picture of the companies that operate locally but I've not found a site that gets anywhere near pulling even a decent percentage of them together (I guess events need to submit to these sites).

I've tried RunBritain, Running Bug and Running Diary amongst others. Running Diary has been pretty good to find out about some smaller events.

[egor110]

ukaskew said:

Is there a reliable source of events that people use? I'm gradually building up a picture of the companies that operate locally but I've not found a site that gets anywhere near pulling even a decent percentage of them together (I guess events need to submit to these sites).

I've tried RunBritain, Running Bug and Running Diary amongst others. Running Diary has been pretty good to find out about some smaller events.

Normally your biggish localish running club will have a pretty good calendar of events.

What sort of terrain/distance are you looking for ?

[ukaskew]

egor110 said:

Normally your biggish localish running club will have a pretty good calendar of events.

What sort of terrain/distance are you looking for ?

10k to 10 miles mainly, on or off-road. I've got a pretty good bank of events now, just a little frustrating when you enter something and then randomly discover a better/more suitable event later, or find something when it's sold out (like the Westonbirt Christmas 10k).

[egor110]

ukaskew said:

egor110 said:

Normally your biggish localish running club will have a pretty good calendar of events.

What sort of terrain/distance are you looking for ?

10k to 10 miles mainly, on or off-road. I've got a pretty good bank of events now, just a little frustrating when you enter something and then randomly discover a better/more suitable event later, or find something when it's sold out (like the Westonbirt Christmas 10k).

If your looking at westonbrit i take it your sw based ?

Are you looking for certain months or just anything ?

Endurancelife, puretrails , trail events all do off road stuff in the south west pretty sure they all offer shorter versions of there big runs .

Road runs if you want pb beating then bideford half in march , langport 10k in august , bristol half in sept cardiff half in oct .

Ditch the roads though and head off road though a much better laugh.

[RizzoTheRat]

Fetch Everyone tends to have a reasonable list of upcoming races in your area as it's populated by it's members

http://www.fetcheveryone.com/races-map.php

[Smitters]

I've always used a combo of my local club calendars and the RunnersWorld event guide. It's worth noting that all Westonbirt events sell out in about a nanosecond.

These guys are local to me and organise a good event. Depends where you are in Wilts, but worth a look perhaps?

https://iamoutdoors.uk/cotswold-allrunners/

[ukaskew]

egor110 said:

If your looking at westonbrit i take it your sw based ?

Are you looking for certain months or just anything ?

I'm in Wiltshire. Anything and anywhen really, i.e. if I'm doing longer distances towards my Bath Half training I'd rather do it in a Sunday race whenever possible.

I'm signed up for the Bath Half and the 4 Bath Skyline 10ks from Nov-Feb. I've really enjoyed the smaller off-road events that I've just happened across in local press so far, such as the White Horse Gallop (which was incredible and very challenging) and the Westbury Lions 10k.

RizzoTheRat said:

Fetch Everyone tends to have a reasonable list of upcoming races in your area as it's populated by it's members

http://www.fetcheveryone.com/races-map.php

Thanks, that's awesome and exactly what I was after. Loads of stuff on there I've not seen anywhere else.

[Smitters]

Has anyone done a 24 hour race before? Could you share any tips/experiences? I've only ever done distance events before.

[KTF]

Smitters said:

Has anyone done a 24 hour race before? Could you share any tips/experiences? I've only ever done distance events before.

As a solo or part of a team?

[Smitters]

KTF said:

As a solo or part of a team?

I'm dumb as a box of bricks. Solo.

[SHutchinson]

Smitters said:

Has anyone done a 24 hour race before? Could you share any tips/experiences? I've only ever done distance events before.

I've done the Thunder Run 24 hour race as part of a team (ended up running a 10k loop every 4/5 hours) and the 69 mile 'The Wall' ultra. The 24 hour race was great, loads of rest meant that each lap was nice and fast. The 69 mile ultra had loads of rest stops so every 4 hours or so I got a sit down and a meal, but I was anything but fast by the end. I remember at mile 50 seeing how fast I could run a mile, I managed it in about 8:30. It took me 5 miles to recover!

[KTF]

Smitters said:

KTF said:

As a solo or part of a team?

I'm dumb as a box of bricks. Solo.

Ah, I have lots of experience as part of a team but not solo.

[RizzoTheRat]

My Mrs solo'd Endure 24 last year, I think her main observations were

• The start of each lap was uphill, walk that bit while eating
• Walking poles are actually pretty good when your legs get tired, but stash them in a bush before the finish of the last lap so you can look good for the photo
• It's useful to have someone else around to prep food for you, and to drive you home (she fell asleep before we left the carpark*
• Calf compression tubes with short socks are better than long compression socks as it's a lot easier to change your socks
• Have a decent sized USB battery powerpack and put your GPS watch on charge any time you're stopped
• Take a decent head torch
• Don't do parkrun first!

The Endure 24 Facebook group has a lot of posts from soloists asking for and giving advice so could well be worth a look.

* Mind you it's also pain being expected to sort out food for someone else when you're got a few hours to eat and sleep yourself, and having her snoring in the car on the way back didn't help keep me awake (I was in a team of 8 last year, and in a 6 this year while she's soloing again so I'll have even less time)

[Smitters]

RizzoTheRat]Useful stuff[/small said:

Cheers - helpful stuff. The event's local to me but being driven home is a really good point. I'm not sure I'll have a crew so may end up doing my own food, but I'm aiming to be moving at the end, not setting world records, so a few minutes every few hours to prep proper hot food may help not hinder. Calf guards and poles very much in the kit list.

I shall get into the FB group - that's cracking info.

[egor110]

Smitters said:

Cheers - helpful stuff. The event's local to me but being driven home is a really good point. I'm not sure I'll have a crew so may end up doing my own food, but I'm aiming to be moving at the end, not setting world records, so a few minutes every few hours to prep proper hot food may help not hinder. Calf guards and poles very much in the kit list.

I shall get into the FB group - that's cracking info.

Re calf guards i've had a couple of pairs of compressport ones that have frayed at the bottom and become lose/useless , whilst my 2xu ones have been washed the same way and are still fine.

[Smitters]

egor110 said:

Re calf guards i've had a couple of pairs of compressport ones that have frayed at the bottom and become lose/useless , whilst my 2xu ones have been washed the same way and are still fine.

Should have bought a horrible colour. My "bright" yellow ones are faded to a weak piss yellow, but still tight and functional as ever. I've been hoping for ages to get a new pair, but there's no need... Looks odd when they're on for post-run recovery in the office too. Didn't think that through!

[egor110]

Smitters said:

egor110 said:

Re calf guards i've had a couple of pairs of compressport ones that have frayed at the bottom and become lose/useless , whilst my 2xu ones have been washed the same way and are still fine.

Should have bought a horrible colour. My "bright" yellow ones are faded to a weak piss yellow, but still tight and functional as ever. I've been hoping for ages to get a new pair, but there's no need... Looks odd when they're on for post-run recovery in the office too. Didn't think that through!

To be honest i've used velosport ones for a fraction of the price of compressport/2xu and i can't really tell either brand works better than the other.

[The jiffle king]

Had a nice 14 mile run this morning in the relative cool weather here... before it hits 25C later on today. It's been unusually hot for this time of year and was 30C yesterday mid afternoon. Cooler in the morning though and nice to get through a faster paced longer run. Target race is in 5 weeks so need to get in some quality now