The Running Thread Vol 2

[johnwilliams77]

tenohfive said:

First point: do it. Give it a go. I'm not a road runner, I made the jump to the trails very early on and I still enjoy running on the tarmac but you're spot on about the attitudes. Every ultra I've done I've spent at least half the race nattering with complete strangers when our paces seemed to align for a bit - which really helps the miles slip by.

Second point: tried podcasts?

I actually completed an off road hilly trail race (15 miles) last year starting in the dark at 1800-1900. Very difficult and technical in places (greater chance of injury / DNF which quite a few suffered from). Requires more effort in terms of training travel time than running from my front door.

Yes, I recently downloaded 'talk ultra' which is amazing and recommended by someone on here. Really helped me last week (did 100km of running about 7-8hrs) and with a couple of long drives (it's taking over my life!) I enjoy the 150bpm heart rate pace which sadly is just a touch under 6min per km for me but I know there will be plenty in the same boat. I also spend most of my current miles on tarmac but make an effort to go to the woods (only 10min drive away) at least once a week to keep me sane. The difference in enjoyment is insane.

Any other podcasts you can recommend? I enjoy watching 'run steep get high' by Jamil from barkley marathons on youtube but obviously thats hard to do whilst running.

[egor110]

tenohfive said:

johnwilliams77 said:

I really feel like getting into trail ultra's where there is a much more relaxed attitude about running and much less chat about pace. It's all about getting out, enjoying the countryside, keeping away from cars / pavement. I think that's where I am at, totally chill man.

I finally got myself up to a 50 mile week which was rather boring sometimes on my own...!

First point: do it. Give it a go. I'm not a road runner, I made the jump to the trails very early on and I still enjoy running on the tarmac but you're spot on about the attitudes. Every ultra I've done I've spent at least half the race nattering with complete strangers when our paces seemed to align for a bit - which really helps the miles slip by.

Second point: tried podcasts?

Where abouts are you ?

Down here in the south west i'm pretty spoilt with loads of events on dartmoor/exmoor and the black rat races down cornwall.

Road races for me are like 1 night stands , you turn up blast around get your pb and forget about it , the hard off road stuff is more a running sportive / day out.

[tenohfive]

johnwilliams77 said:

I actually completed an off road hilly trail race (15 miles) last year starting in the dark at 1800-1900. Very difficult and technical in places (greater chance of injury / DNF which quite a few suffered from). Requires more effort in terms of training travel time than running from my front door.

Yes, I recently downloaded 'talk ultra' which is amazing and recommended by someone on here. Really helped me last week (did 100km of running about 7-8hrs) and with a couple of long drives (it's taking over my life!) I enjoy the 150bpm heart rate pace which sadly is just a touch under 6min per km for me but I know there will be plenty in the same boat. I also spend most of my current miles on tarmac but make an effort to go to the woods (only 10min drive away) at least once a week to keep me sane. The difference in enjoyment is insane.

Any other podcasts you can recommend? I enjoy watching 'run steep get high' by Jamil from barkley marathons on youtube but obviously thats hard to do whilst running.

Podcast wise Science Of Ultra is interesting more often than not, Ginger Runner is pretty easy listening and DC Rainmaker is okay if you're into the gadget side. But personally I'll often listen to non-running related podcasts when running (and listen to the running stuff when I'm sat in traffic in the car.)

egor110 said:

Down here in the south west i'm pretty spoilt with loads of events on dartmoor/exmoor and the black rat races down cornwall.

I envy you, I did a spot of running in Exmoor not so long ago and I'd love to have that on my doorstep.

[egor110]

tenohfive said:

johnwilliams77 said:

I actually completed an off road hilly trail race (15 miles) last year starting in the dark at 1800-1900. Very difficult and technical in places (greater chance of injury / DNF which quite a few suffered from). Requires more effort in terms of training travel time than running from my front door.

Yes, I recently downloaded 'talk ultra' which is amazing and recommended by someone on here. Really helped me last week (did 100km of running about 7-8hrs) and with a couple of long drives (it's taking over my life!) I enjoy the 150bpm heart rate pace which sadly is just a touch under 6min per km for me but I know there will be plenty in the same boat. I also spend most of my current miles on tarmac but make an effort to go to the woods (only 10min drive away) at least once a week to keep me sane. The difference in enjoyment is insane.

Any other podcasts you can recommend? I enjoy watching 'run steep get high' by Jamil from barkley marathons on youtube but obviously thats hard to do whilst running.

Podcast wise Science Of Ultra is interesting more often than not, Ginger Runner is pretty easy listening and DC Rainmaker is okay if you're into the gadget side. But personally I'll often listen to non-running related podcasts when running (and listen to the running stuff when I'm sat in traffic in the car.)

egor110 said:

Down here in the south west i'm pretty spoilt with loads of events on dartmoor/exmoor and the black rat races down cornwall.

I envy you, I did a spot of running in Exmoor not so long ago and I'd love to have that on my doorstep.

If your down here again give me a shout and i'll show you some good routes , the quantocks are also pretty good.

If your up for a bit of a running holiday in october check out the exmoor beast and trail events half/full marathon.

[andy_s]

johnwilliams77 said:

I completely agree. On one hand it's great to see improvement, on the other hand it adds pressure and is much harder on the mind to sustain >170bpm (for example) in terms of absolute enjoyment.

I am at a cross roads in my thinking of focus. I really feel like getting into trail ultra's where there is a much more relaxed attitude about running and much less chat about pace. It's all about getting out, enjoying the countryside, keeping away from cars / pavement. I think that's where I am at, totally chill man.

I finally got myself up to a 50 mile week which was rather boring sometimes on my own...!

I'd second the previous reply; I can't speak for road races really but clipping through bogs, trails and hills is great fun in and of itself - time/pace is almost a secondary/tertiary consideration but, for me, it makes running an enjoyable experience rather than a chore. An 'ultra' distance gives you chance to ease back on pace and just enjoy the day (or push on if that's your thing of course), it's still satisfying as a challenge due to the time on feet/distance etc and as said before - some great people in a very casual atmosphere; even I've broken into the odd smile.

It's also a great leveller in terms of age/sex/ability and my own pet theory is that it's better for you in terms of injury as you rarely have two successive foot falls the same as opposed to a very repetitive, cyclical style on tarmac.

With the variety out there now there is certainly scope to be able to concentrate on what rings your bell once you see what aspects you particularly enjoy too; variety of terrain, distance, staged or not, 30 to 240+ miles, home or abroad, iconic or small field - or just get out yourself of course. Best thing is it provides ample excuse to buy new kit!

[egor110]

Just remember on those long off roaders to always clean out your water bladder and not give yourself a stomach bug .

Only a complete idiot would do that

( yes i have , no my dumps still aren't solid )

[tenohfive]

I've switched from bladders to bottles so I know how much I'm consuming/have left, but for walking I've got one and it lives in my freezer. Quick rinse when finished then chuck it in the freezer, no opportunity for gunk or bugs to grow.

If I can find an excuse to head down Exmoor way egor I'll give you a shout - cheers for the offer. And those runs look interesting although I'm assuming they've missed a 0 from the ascent figure on the ultra (judging by previous experiences.)

[egor110]

Never thought of sticking it in the freezer.

I used to use a race vest but pulled the nozzle off at some point during the grizzly in march .

Had a few quiet runs then the night before my long run realized my race vest bladder was broke , so dug my old camelback out the garage ran a bladder of water thru it then filled it with squash and off i went .

I now also use bottles as there easier to wash.

[anonymous-user]

johnwilliams77 said:

I completely agree. On one hand it's great to see improvement, on the other hand it adds pressure and is much harder on the mind to sustain >170bpm (for example) in terms of absolute enjoyment.

I am at a cross roads in my thinking of focus. I really feel like getting into trail ultra's where there is a much more relaxed attitude about running and much less chat about pace. It's all about getting out, enjoying the countryside, keeping away from cars / pavement. I think that's where I am at, totally chill man.

I finally got myself up to a 50 mile week which was rather boring sometimes on my own...!

I've been running 35+ years. Was a fair bit quicker @ age 20! But better now according to age grading..
A few years ago I woke up one day & decided not to race as such, Was quite enjoyable taking it easy in the pack, far more sociable . Didn't last long though, until that competitive urge returned!

[Willy Nilly]

The lady that won the MDS is in my running club.

[Jordan210]

Quick question to anyone who has run the London marathon. Is it worth traveling down in a pair of non running trainers and put on the running ones once at the start?

[andy_s]

Willy Nilly said:

The lady that won the MDS is in my running club.

That's pretty good going!

MdS gets a bit of flack for its expense and it's hyperbole; for sure it's not cheap but there's no race that's supported to the same level in my experience - there's pretty much a 2:1 ratio of competitors to support staff even apart from the long, long list of material logistics over pretty remote areas, it's cost is comparable to other exotica certainly.
Is it the toughest footrace on earth? No, of course not; cut offs are generous and there are other harder races out there in some aspects (there is always a 'harder' race!), but it certainly isn't easy and certainly presents a good challenge for those that are new to the multi-day/ultra type race and a radical condition change for the more experienced runner. And those cut-offs? Well, the slower you are, the longer you're on your feet and the longer you have to keep going - I stuck to some pals on a similar thing and the long stage took over 24 hours, which after 4 days continuous going is a bit of a grind. Anyway, if it's easy, you're obviously not running hard enough!
Never underestimate it and hats off to anyone that's done it, it's a great experience.

[REM2112]

I'll go to London in the shoes I'll race in, but will take my super comfy OOFOS sandals to put on my sore feet afterwards. Just hope no one treads on my feet on the pub!

[MattS5]

Jordan210 said:

Quick question to anyone who has run the London marathon. Is it worth traveling down in a pair of non running trainers and put on the running ones once at the start?

I'll wear mine to the start, and probably for 3 hours after the finish until I get back to the car.
I did that last year and was fine.

Picked my number up today too. Far quieter than doing it like I did on a Saturday last year.
In and out within 20 mins including a walk round a few stalls.

Good luck to anyone else running it

[Willy Nilly]

andy_s said:

Willy Nilly said:

The lady that won the MDS is in my running club.

That's pretty good going!

MdS gets a bit of flack for its expense and it's hyperbole; for sure it's not cheap but there's no race that's supported to the same level in my experience - there's pretty much a 2:1 ratio of competitors to support staff even apart from the long, long list of material logistics over pretty remote areas, it's cost is comparable to other exotica certainly.
Is it the toughest footrace on earth? No, of course not; cut offs are generous and there are other harder races out there in some aspects (there is always a 'harder' race!), but it certainly isn't easy and certainly presents a good challenge for those that are new to the multi-day/ultra type race and a radical condition change for the more experienced runner. And those cut-offs? Well, the slower you are, the longer you're on your feet and the longer you have to keep going - I stuck to some pals on a similar thing and the long stage took over 24 hours, which after 4 days continuous going is a bit of a grind. Anyway, if it's easy, you're obviously not running hard enough!
Never underestimate it and hats off to anyone that's done it, it's a great experience.

Have you run it? She's turned pro and I think gets paid to run it, might be wrong on that. I've no idea how you go about training for it. We'd do cross country races of about 5 miles and she'd run 20 or 30 miles home after. She's running London at the weekend.

[andy_s]

Willy Nilly said:

andy_s said:

Willy Nilly said:

The lady that won the MDS is in my running club.

That's pretty good going!

MdS gets a bit of flack for its expense and it's hyperbole; for sure it's not cheap but there's no race that's supported to the same level in my experience - there's pretty much a 2:1 ratio of competitors to support staff even apart from the long, long list of material logistics over pretty remote areas, it's cost is comparable to other exotica certainly.
Is it the toughest footrace on earth? No, of course not; cut offs are generous and there are other harder races out there in some aspects (there is always a 'harder' race!), but it certainly isn't easy and certainly presents a good challenge for those that are new to the multi-day/ultra type race and a radical condition change for the more experienced runner. And those cut-offs? Well, the slower you are, the longer you're on your feet and the longer you have to keep going - I stuck to some pals on a similar thing and the long stage took over 24 hours, which after 4 days continuous going is a bit of a grind. Anyway, if it's easy, you're obviously not running hard enough!
Never underestimate it and hats off to anyone that's done it, it's a great experience.

Have you run it? She's turned pro and I think gets paid to run it, might be wrong on that. I've no idea how you go about training for it. We'd do cross country races of about 5 miles and she'd run 20 or 30 miles home after. She's running London at the weekend.

Yes I've done it twice ('05 & '10) as my wife wanted to do it as well, we've done a few other similar ones after that too but it got expensive with both of us doing them so we've stuck to more local stuff recently. To be honest the training depends on how much you want to push it (completer or competer), by days 3-4 it was fairly common to overtake fairly accomplished marathon runners with a fast walk - the dangers (apart from feet/fluids/fuel) are striking out too optimistically and blowing up or doing loads of running in training and then finding out you're actually walking most of it due to terrain/pack weight/heat - he says in the spirit of a true plodder... The 'elite' sort of runners crack on at an amazing pace though, one of the days they set off a few hours after the bulk of people and to see them zip past is amazing, depressing and inspirational at the same time!

[WolfieBot]

Jordan210 said:

Quick question to anyone who has run the London marathon. Is it worth traveling down in a pair of non running trainers and put on the running ones once at the start?

Usual advice I'd give is to be wearing the full kit you intend to run in to the race (under trackies) including shoes. You never know what problems you might encounter at the last minute with traffic or delayed trains or queues to the toilets etc.. The last thing you need if you are running late is to be worrying about getting changed at the start line.

[MattS5]

Looks like I'm running out of Blue, Pen 3.
Anyone been in there before care to give an indication of how long it takes to cross the line from the gun going off?

I was in Green last year, pen 3, and was away within 2 minutes of the start.

I appreciate it's all based off chip time, but would still be nice to know for reference.

Thanks
Matt

[john2443]

I'm marshalling at the Fast Good For Age start - they all get across the start line very quickly....followed by the Red start masses who take over half an hour to cross the line.

[Cybertronian]

MattS5 said:

Looks like I'm running out of Blue, Pen 3.
Anyone been in there before care to give an indication of how long it takes to cross the line from the gun going off?

I was in Green last year, pen 3, and was away within 2 minutes of the start.

I appreciate it's all based off chip time, but would still be nice to know for reference.

Thanks
Matt

Not long. Less than 2 minutes for me, but congestion was still shocking even from pen 3 on the blue start.