Easingwold Advertiser 24th October 2008

EASINGWOLD RUNNING CLUB

With temperatures hovering around 6ºC and a biting gusty wind to also contend with, the words “enjoyable”, “great”, “fantastic”, “pretty” and “would run it again”, don’t immediately spring to mind. Nevertheless, these were the general comments of the majority of the field who competed in the first Thornton-le-Clay/Foston 10K on 4th October (also Round 2 of the Club’s new championship season). A very well organised race planned by fellow Club members Richard and Tracey Harrison. The route took on the form of a figure of 8 on undulating terrain. Starting in the village of Thornton-le-Clay and climbing out onto the Sheriff Hutton and Flaxton roads, the route returned back through Thornton-le-Clay and headed down into Foston before returning along farm tracks to finish behind the village school. Vocal support from the villagers and spectators, coupled with a clear vista across the Vale of York with York Minster standing proud on the near horizon and views beyond, all contributed to the wonderful atmosphere of this event. The icing on the cake, as it were, was the refreshments served in the village hall afterwards – homemade sandwiches and cakes and tea and coffee served in china cups no less!

As an inaugural race, on a Saturday, it was difficult to judge how many runners would be competing, so it was a pleasant surprise that around 40 people entered the race on the day making a respectable field of 140 competitors. Twenty ERC members supported this local event and some excellent times were achieved despite the strong winds. First home was Mark Whiteman, taking 2nd place in the M40 category; Al Byrne ran his best time for months finishing 1st M45 and Anne Hartley achieved a PB with time of 48:17. Tricia Rees-Hughes and David Rogers, who have graduated from the beginners group, both finished in under the hour and also achieved PBs. Everyone who finished the race, received a unique Foston/Thornton-le-Clay hessian shopping bag (with chocolates as well) – very useful and in the era of reducing the usage of plastic bags, environmentally friendly.

The previous week was Round 1 of the Club Championship with another local race – the Sutton 7. A good representation again from ERC was evident with 16 members competing, and another successful event. Nigel Ramsden and Mark Whiteman finished 1st and 2nd in the M40 category; Sheila Capper 1st F40, Kim Phillips 3rd F45 and Harriet Reid 2nd F35 who collectively also won the ladies team event.

Round 3 of the Championship is the Pickering & Moors 10K due to be held on Sunday 26 October.

Last week’s training session was a bit of fun with the team mile relay event. Ten teams of 4 raced in this event which should have seen each team finishing more or less in the same time. The winning team finished around 20 seconds ahead and was led by Peter Johnson. Each member of his team – Sally Walker, Cliff Simm and Andrew Nelson-Lee, -was awarded a bottle of wine for their efforts.

This week’s training is a tri-discipline – hills, shuttles and intervals.

Terry Fox Run - Afghanistan

Canadians look at you aghast when you say ‘who’s Terry Fox’.  It seems he was a cancer victim and amputee who decided to run the breadth of Canada on his one good leg and one artificial leg to raise awareness of the disease.  I guess each nation has someone like Terry Fox and Jane Tomlinson springs to mind as the UK’s equivalent.  Every year there are numerous Terry Fox runs throughout Canada, and anywhere that there are large numbers of Canadians; hence this morning’s run in Kandahar.

The whole point of the run is that it is non-competitive.  There are no numbers, no finish times and no results.  There was however a choice of 5k or 10k races, sorry runs.  Obviously I wasn’t going to get out of bed at 0515 for a 5k so 10k it was.  The Canadian physical training instructors treated us to a truly cringeworthy warm up routine, complete with Eye of The Tiger backing track.  The great British reserve prevented me from getting too enthusiastic although it did make me recall a similarly embarrassing Mr Motivator at the start of the Great North Run many moons ago.  My training partner Jem, a dentist from Leeming, got a much better start than me but the route (round the airfield to a halfway point and then double back, as always) was poorly marshaled and his group turned too early.  So although he beat me (remember Gus, it is non-competitive) I was able to give him a hard time for cheating, and on a charity run of all things.  Shameful.

That is now 3 races completed in eleven days: one 10k, one 10 miler and one half marathon.  And boy-oh-boy is the scenery getting repetitive.  Still, I have a couple of weeks’ leave starting on Monday so I shall be back in Yorkshire and hopefully out training with you all next Thursday evening.  If I do not make it there then I have entered the Pickering 10.  Having not seen a gradient of more than 1% or any mud for a long time I am not going to run with any great expectations, but it will be good to catch up with friends again.

Finally for the coaches and training gurus amongst you, ‘does 4 months without alcohol improve your running performance’?  Buy me a beer at the Galtres Centre after training and I am prepared to discuss my findings with you.  I am ready for it.

All the best

Gus   

Music City Marathon

‘Where is Music City?’

‘Isn’t it Nashville, Tennessee?’

Oh the conversation’s just sparkling at 0515 in the morning as we line up on the start line.

It is another weekend and despite being a heck of a long way from Afghanistan the Music City Marathon is another excuse for a race at Kandahar airfield.  Still, it’s another weekend and whilst the Music City Marathon, or to give it it’s correct title the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon, was held in the United States last weekend that would have clashed with the Army Ten Miler so we are running a little late.  I can only assume that the young US Army captain from the medivac team (helicopter borne medical evacuation; think MASH in a hot and dusty setting) who has organized this race lives somewhere in Tennessee.  She has certainly done a good job.  Everyone who pre-entered has a race pack with a number, pins and a t shirt and there is a choice of a 10k, a half marathon and a full marathon with plenty of water stations and medics.  The only disappointment is that she doesn’t look like Hot Lips Hoolihan.

Who would want to run a full marathon round an airfield?  It was certainly not my option, although a few hardy souls gave it a go.  I stuck to the half.  All three races started together and followed the same opening route (no, it’s not a ‘rawt’, as the Americans like to pronounce it).  A third of the way round the airfield, in the opposite direction to last week’s race, and then retrace your steps.  The 10k lightweights stop when they get back to where we started.  The rest continue round the airfield for another full lap.  And then the mad buggers on the full marathon repeat the whole thing again.

At the 10k drop out stage I could have stopped and had a top 10 finish.  I was tempted.  But, I pushed on with a Canadian guy stuck to my shoulder.  Having upped the pace a little I dropped him at about the 7 mile mark (not that there are any mile markers so you have to guess) and felt pretty good about that.  The problem being it left me completely on my own.  I had lost sight of the runner ahead of me so motivating myself to push on became a bit of a challenge that I probably failed to live up to.  A final finishing place of 5th seemed pretty respectable even if my time of 1 hour 32 was somewhat slower than I had hoped.  The good news was that we had been sent the wrong way so had added at least a couple of minutes to the route and the whole measuring thing is pretty unreliable here anyway, so I am not too hung up about the time.  The bad news was that the Canuk I dropped appeared a minute or two after me and started his second lap for the full marathon.  Perhaps I hadn’t dropped him with my superior tactics, he’d just hung back to conserve a bit of energy.  Hey ho.

Next up is the Canadian organized Terry Fox 5k and 10k on Thursday morning.  Another early start and no breakfast.  At some point we must put the running to one side and get on with fighting the Taliban.

All the best

Gus   

Easingwold Advertiser 11 October 2008

Army 10 Miler

Sunday 5 October

I notice from the latest Club newsletter that the nights are drawing in and that reflective gear, and no doubt long sleeves and Ron Hills are required.  No chance here in the southern plains of Afghanistan of needing to wrap up warm.  The temperature overnight has dropped to about 16 degrees but it remains in the high 30s during the day.  Consequently today's big race, the Army 10 Miler, started at the unearthly hour of 0600 with registration at 0515.  Seemingly the Army 10 Miler is the United States largest 10 mile race.  Starting and finishing at the Pentagon it is open to all comers, but unfortunately for us an all expenses paid trip to washington to participate was out of the question.

The Afghanistan 'shadow race' attracted about 250 runners, which was a bit disappointing given that there are over 13000 people in Kandahar at the moment.  The route was round the airfield's perimeter road as far as the Australian's compound and then turn and retrace your steps.  As flat as a pancake the taxing parts of the run are the large broken stones that make up the roads and the never ending moon dust that coats everything, including your teeth and tongue as you inhale rapidly.  That and the fact that massive Antanov 124 aircraft pass just above your head as you cross the approach to the runway at the two and a half and seven and a half mile points.

An hour and six minutes later and I am classified as the ninth placed finisher.  The bonus of out and back races is that you start to feel better as you pass the slower runners who have yet to reach the half way point and you know that you are on the way back in.  I know it is not in the Corinthian spirit of ERC but it made me feel good.  Better news than a top ten finish (i had managed a seventh place in the US Marine Corps' 8k race two weeks ago) was that my training partners, who are a pair of military dentists, one from the RAF and one from the US Navy, managed to place third and sixth.  With three in the top ten that made us the highest placed team so a place on the podium and a prize to boot.  I am now the proud owner of a 101st Airborne cap with the legend 'We have an appointment with destiny' emblazoned on it.  Hoooha, as our American cousins are want to say.  Don't you just love em.

Next week is the Music City Marathon, Kandahar edition.  There is a choice of a 10k, half or full marathon.  Half marathon for me.  The thought of over 3 hours round a dusty airfield is enough to test even the most patient of runners.

Have a good week, and wrap up warm.

All the best

Gus