I have created a separate page for my Imber Ultra 33 miler. For the people that receive automatic Blog email updates you won’t have seen this yet, here’s the Link . This covers my preparation to what will be a great event.

Your weekend run will almost certainly be the longest simply because you have the most time available. A Long Steady Run (LSR) will also vary in length depending on what you’re training for. With 52 weekends a year the question still remains, “where ?”

Maps are a great starting point, whether that’s Ordinance Survey (OS) or Google Maps but again you need to know where to look. Researching the area and asking fellow runners will help you choose between flat or hilly, road or countryside, Strava segments or your local park. Personally speaking I like to get off the beaten track and breathe in lungful’s of countryside air, that’s why I’d like to share with you a fantastic site that will answer all your questions.

Gps-routes.co.uk have assembled all the key information in an easy to use format with a huge choice of routes that are only a “click” away. As I have discovered there are hundreds of footpaths, trails and rights of way that you simply wouldn’t know existed unless you’d been told about them.

The “Walking routes in England, Scotland or Wales” are then divided up between counties which makes this resource very specific. You can also find alternative choices of national trails and country parks as well as rail and canal walks. Naturally whenever the site says “walking” we can read “running” in its place !!

Once clicked into your local county there’s an alphabetically listing of the routes and they all have photos, the distance and a summarised description. All of this information will help you make that first decision of which route sounds right for you. Click on the route’s link and a standard format appears. This standard layout is again very helpful when you are comparing one route with another.

The route description is followed by a link to an OS map that can be either viewed, printed or downloaded. The following sections have photos, videos (if available),GPS route downloads and a Google maps option with the route marked in red, so all of the information you will ever need for your LSR. Discover your local area by running it.

Gps-routes.co.uk your next run is only a click away !!

Listening to the advise of four knowledgeable people, in very pleasant surroundings, who look at a topic from different angles, must be quite rare. Our subject for the night was “Marathon Talk” with the venue being the recently built Hilton hotel, which is part of Hampshire Cricket’s Ageas Bowl complex. Our speakers were, in order of appearance,

1. Dan Young : Head of Sport & Exercise Medicine at Perform, (Ageas Bowl)
2. Jo Meek : Team GB ultra marathon runner
3. Kyle Pepperman-Hackett : Clinical Sports and remedial massage therapist
4. Louise Damen : 2014 Commonwealth marathon athlete

I’d received an email from a non marathon running friend who’d suggested the talk would be right down my street. Once I’d asked if I could attend I then found myself in the pleasant position of being able to invite some running buddies too. I chose a handful of people that I’ve run most frequently with and who’ve helped me with my Blog so, in a way, it was a thank to them. It was funny to meet up with everyone in jeans and t shirts rather than trainers and running kit 🙂

Once we’d arrived and been served with our tea and coffee I popped “back stage” to pass on Kyle’s 3rd place trophy from the Chilly Hilly 10K that he’d run with some of us the previous day. As I was passing Kyle his trophy this also meant I could say hello to Jo Meek as we both have Blogs and follow each other on twitter, “small world” !!

Around 70 of us took our seats and Dan’s 25 minutes revolved around training errors, leg pain, shoe selection (pronated, neutral, supinated) and that 90% of running injuries are “over use” related and usually consist of several related factors. Dan’s advice on avoiding injury came from his Perform sports medicine centre background who treat the public as well as the cricketers. Reducing the number of training days you loose to injury keeps us running for longer and avoids those “grumpy injured” days that both us and our partners can relate to !!

Jo Meek’s section of the talk revolved around her ultra marathon experiences. It was very interesting to hear about her preparations for the MDS with heat chambers and back to back runs which resulted in her being the second lady and 20th overall in 2013. Jo’s ultra races have taken her to both Europe and America with solo achievements as well as being part of the GB gold medal winning team at the 100K world championships in 2014. Jo runs locally for Winchester and even though she has a 2.45 marathon pb she can still be found running competitively in local park runs trying to keep ahead of the young Winchester whippets.

Kyle was up next, he treats club runners and up to international level. I mentioned his 3rd place earlier, that also goes with a 10K 31.20 pb so he “understands” performance at the top level but, as he said, all runners are ultimately looking to get quicker whatever their pace and that’s exactly what he talked about. Biomechanics consist of your foot strike position, knee flexion, hip stability and arm swing. His video analysis of your running gait can be done frame by frame so all in all a visit to Kyle for a running MOT would make you faster and more efficient. Kyle’s practical demonstrations also brought home what he was explaining.

Our evening was rounded off with Louise Damon (2.30 marathon pb) her topic was marathon day preparation and her experiences at the Commonwealth games. I was particularly interested to hear that Louise will run 40K about 5 weeks before a major marathon. She mentioned caffeine as being part of her preparation and the fact that she would reduce her twice a day running down to once in the last week. She mentioned taper and the fact that what you do in the last two weeks won’t impact on your fitness. The three day countdown of Olympic village food choices was another interesting slant on our marathon knowledge. Finally I was heartened to hear that even Commonwealth runners use Vaseline on their toes too 🙂

Naturally it’s tricky to sum up a two hour talk but suffice to say everyone in the room left with food for thought and golden nuggets of advice from all four speakers.

The plan for today was to run 23 miles in preparation for the 33 miles I will be running at the Imber Ultra in 4 weeks time. That’s 70% of the race mileage and plenty of time to recover. Today “marked” the welcome return from injury of Mark Greenfield to our long runs, also accompanying us were Howard Stinton for the outward 8 miles and two newcomers Jess Davidson and Trevor Kettle, who would be with us for 16 miles.

The 23 ish miles were an out and back run along the South Downs Way from Queen Elizabeth Country park (QECP) to Old Winchester Hill (OWH) and back. This was then to be followed by Mark and myself on a 6.75 miles loop that takes in part of the Staunton Way. Total elevation 2,600 feet. Naturally Strava & other apps may state differently but over 2.5K !!

Our 7.30am start meant getting up at 5.40am for me but we were still home by 1pm with all the miles done. As we set off from QECP the darkness had just began to lift and Butser Hill was approaching. We had no “pace” agenda today what with the hills, miles and mud so a couple of fine tuning stops weren’t an issue as we began our ascent. Howard soon disappeared up the incline but then also looped back. The wind picked up as we got to the top of the Downs and made our way to the Sustainability centre and those huge houses opposite. The wind could almost be looked at as extra resistance training !!

A steady descent down wireless hill, due to the slippy chalk, was then followed by a mixture of muddy trails and roads until we reached the path that leads to OWH. It was at this point that I had a “coming together” with the ground, a combination of the camber and a lack on concentration meant I did a graceful forward roll !! We then pressed on to the bottom of OWH which naturally meant running back up. The photo below shows the steep incline waiting for us. Jess and Trevor have a long hilly run in Cornwall planned so I threw this steep section in just to add some more ascents.

 Howard left so as to run home and the four of us made our way back. The return route had the advantage of the wind behind us but also a number of long gradual hills. As we made our way from a long concrete path onto the mud again there was a shout from one of the two oncoming runners, Chris Hall from Stubbington Green gave me a hearty “hello Roger”. The long chalky climb up wireless hill was a real leg burner but we all taped out a rhythm and were pleased to make it to the top. Trevor had picked up a calf strain so well done to him for largely ignoring it. A couple of wet miles followed with those puddles that fill up the whole track as well as your trainers and we were back at Butser.

 

Quite soon after these photos Mark ended up on the seat of his pants when his legs went away from underneath him but again, as with my fall, it was laughable more than an injury !! At QECP we thanks Jess and Trevor for joining us and they both said they’d be back for more “Thomasson Tours”.

All, that remainder were 6.75 miles with about 850 feet of elevation which we took in our stride with short walks when needed. The 20 mile marker was celebrated by taking on some sweet snacks we’d brought and even though the wind was still blowing at least we’d missed the rain. On arriving back at QECP it was “job done”, 23 miles, 1 fall each and a very satisfying feeling that we were both on track for our future targets. It’s a reflection of Mark’s general fitness that after only a few weeks of gradual training he bounced back with this long run. Another mark of the run was that I washed off the worst of the mud before putting my compression socks in the washing machine and I cleaned my shoes as soon as I’d had dinner as they were filthy and smelt !! Mud, glorious mud 🙂

Great morning, great views and great company.

“Two runs and one great morning”, that sums up today in one short phrase. Felix lives locally in Swanmore and was involved in a serious traffic accident in October 2015. From being a high achieving young athlete he is now facing the toughest challenge of his life on his road to recovery. The 3.8K run through the 100 Acre Woods was the first fundraising event for 2016 with a number of others planned for later in the year.

The muddy cross country route started at 9.10am and the idea was for people to have fun running in the forest and also give donations. It was good to catch up with Emma Burton, thanks to Brian Penniall for telling me about the event and I was also lucky to have a quick chat with Felix dad, Stuart. There had been some good coverage in the local media but as I reached the start I couldn’t believe that there were a good 400 people there. I took it steady and aimed at weaving my way in and out of the masses. There really was a “feel good” factor and I’d imagine a lot of money was raised. The link to this run and other events is on their website. I was proud to have contributed to the £5,000 raised !!

 100 Acres with hundreds of people !!

After a quick clean up and dash across to QECP I was parked and getting ready for the 11am Chilly Hilly 10K. The chilly refers to both the temperature and the bowl of food at the end !! I was also aiming to meet up with a couple of people I’ve chatted to on Twitter, Kyle from Hackett massage and James from eGlove. James was busy selling gloves but I managed a quick hand shake and hello. Kyle said he saw me at the start but had to press on and leave as soon as possible. He certainly was in a rush, he came 3rd !!! #awesome.

The 10K course promised to be very muddy and it didn’t let us down, I was really pleased with my Saucony Peregrine trainers in the testing conditions. We had a good turn out from the club as the photo suggests and there was quite a mix of local club runners too.

The route began on firm trails but we were soon on steeper muddier trails where the recent rain was also playing it’s part. I didn’t know the route that well but suffice to say there were endless ascents and descents which meant you never got into any kind of rhythm, in other words, proper cross country running. I almost fell just before half way but managed to rescue myself with some comic arm and leg movements to get my balance back. The combination of a chalk surface under the mud can make it like an ice rink at times. A big thanks to the numerous marshals and Pompey Joggers for hosting it.

We have two Rob Morgan’s at the club and English Rob was testing out his new Gopro so I look forward to watching that as he was near me for quite a while. Our post race chilli really hit the spot and Paul volunteered to take Kyle’s award on his behalf. So, when the two morning runs were coupled with miles to and from the start/finish I clocked 12.4 bringing my January total to 101.3 miles. Countryside running, “Simply the Best” !!

 First 3 Crusaders, Robert Morgan (Welsh Rob) 26th, Rod Nairn 41st, me 83rd !! Out of 231. Full Results

As Paul Coates, Howard Stinton and myself chatted in the car there was a definite air of excitement and expectation which could only mean one thing, we’d met up for a long countryside run. The plan was 18 miles and 2,100 feet to start from the Sustainability Centre. Our 8am departure was met with quite low lying fog and as we were on top of the Downs the wind meant early morning egloves.

Howard set off at quite a spritely pace (his Ironman training is obviously going well) on the 4 mile South Downs Way (SDW) trails that led to Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP). The tracks wide puddles were a good indication of the conditions to come. As we descended from the top of Butser Hill you couldn’t see QECP, half a mile away, but the wet springy grass underfoot did need our attention, so we concentrated on that rather than the view !!

Once at the QE park run it was great to see a number of Fareham Crusaders, some running and some marshalling. I had a chat with Phil Hobby from Peak Health who was also adding extra miles and in no time we were off. Simon Hanson and Robert Morgan (new trail shoes) were to join us on our second batch of extra miles after the 5K. The park run itself was considerably heavier going than last week and as such a good test for us, while still being achievable for everyone. The forested 5K was an enjoyable two lap course of muddy trails. Results wise 4th Simon, 15th Paul, 19th Rob, 26th Phil, 46th Howard, 56th me, 78th Paula Williams, 79th Gary Galliford. Marshals, Sarah Beattie & Tracey Morrison. Well done all.

So, Paul, Simon, Rob, Howard and I set off on the next 6 3/4 mile leg of our run. Our first task was the climb out of QECP along the SDW, so soon after the hilly park run. I’d mapped that the park run had 450 feet and this loop 850 feet of “great” elevation ascents. The trail is firm underfoot here so good progress was made. My first surprise for everyone was a left hand turn onto a steep trail with a number of tree roots that leaves the SDW, now when I said it was a 100 feet, that was the elevation and not the distance so I did get some abuse at the top !! The wide forested track that followed led to an open field with no crops and compacted soil as well as a gradual drop down to New Barn Lane. It was here I realise I had a bleeding nose that had come from nowhere, but we pressed on.

Now, with any “offroad” running a downhill is naturally followed by an uphill, this was in the shape of a tarmac country lane moving onto a narrow chalk/muddy lane. As we passed through Chalton everyone was in good spirits and “enjoying” the terrain I’d mapped out and that none of them knew. We joined the Staunton Way for a long gradual climb back towards QECP that went on for ever !! We all had to dig in along this section and the fact that the fog had hidden the style and woods we were aiming for made it more of an unknown. After gels, drinks and some more “thanks” for the route choice, we were off again and joined the lower trail from the earlier park run which was now considerably more churned up after the 100+ runners from the hour before !!

Today was Rob’s first experience of a longer muddy off road and the first time I’d run with Simon, we shook hands with them and they both said they’d be back for more. So we “just” had Butser Hill and the last 4 miles left. Butser is about a 400 feet climb so this was done in combinations of running and quick walking, I have to say it was hard work and after reaching the top all three of us were thankful to of made it to 15 miles. The remaining miles were steady and satisfying in the knowledge that we’d done all the hard work. The chat and banter came back and it was all smiles by the time we’d had a cuppa at the centre and I’d also had a ginger beer for some added sugar !!

My Saucony Peregrine shoes that I got for Xmas were really comfortable and dealt very well with the conditions. Paul kindly took lots of photos and videos today and I’ve compiled the best of them into a video diary with music. All in all thanks to Paul and Howard for a great mornings running that also involved lots of like minded “off road” runners. It’s great to be out in the countryside with friends 🙂

If you want a rural park run with some challenging hills and beautiful countryside you won’t do much better than the QE Park run. Situated in the scenic Queen Elizabeth County Park close to Petersfield the course consists of two laps that will test you with their ascents and descents. The nature of a park run is that’s it’s just that, a run so it can be treated as a great hill session which will improve your strength for both uphill and flat racing as well as quite simply being a great place to take your exercise.

I was meeting fellow Crusader Paul Coates with a view to adding some South Downs Way miles onto our park run 5K. On arrival it was -0.5 degrees and I was glad I’d brought my Xtreme eGloves with me that are suitable for 3 degrees and below (see my Reviews write up and the 20% discount that you can use). I was pleased to see both Ros Clarke who I’ve known for some time and Andy Paton (Liss Runners) both at the start line. I say start line, to be fair it’s a start hill !!

I introduced myself to Race Organiser Kiernan who I’ve talked to on Twitter before and it was time for the race briefing. Essentially we were to run through our forested surrounding and whenever we came to a junction, turn right. The cold air hit your lungs from the very first step and caution was needed what with the frost making the mud quite rutted but it’s always a joy to see so many people who may never race an actual race enjoying the park run experience. Results wise of the 78 people Andy P was 7th, Paul 8th, I was 35th and in 54th and with a course p.b. Ros. Great work guys. A great route, thanks to Kiernan and his team, I’d recommend it.

We then convinced Ros to join us on a section of The South Downs Way run. She wasn’t sure initially saying we were too quick but that isn’t always a factor in long distance training, time on your legs can be just as important. As we ran up the hill out of QECP the early morning sun was starting to appear and it must have been at least 1 degrees !! With the competitive element of the morning out of the way and a steadier pace it was time for some banter and a catch up. However, don’t be fooled, there are numerous short sharp hills along this trail and we were all still working hard.

Google maps is a wonderful tool, here is a link to the cottage Ros wants to own and once you’ve navigated 180 degrees you can follow the street view by clicking ahead along part of the route that we took. I don’t imagine the fields, hedgerows and landscape has changed much out here for hundreds of years, it’s quite simply beautiful to run through.

My new Saucony Peregrine’s were great to run in and my Xtreme eGloves kept my hands warm, while still being able to take photos wearing them. Paul headed on further and I ran back with Ros, 11.4 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation for us plus more for Paul. A cracking mornings run with friends, looking forward to next week already !!

After the best part of 6 weeks with a cough/cold this afternoon’s run restored my confidence, self belief and hunger for 2016. I’m buzzing with anticipation and considering it was a boring steady tarmac run then “role on” the countryside miles.

After 4 runs that totalled 19 miles last week I must admit I wasn’t “feeling it” so todays run was still a case of exploring what stage I’m at. When running is such a large part of your life, if it isn’t going well, it has a knock on effect. Yes, I have to admit I’ve been Mr Grumpy recently but after today I’m back to being Mr Positive.

The run it’s self was largely uneventful as it was along the main road and apart from Titchfield Hill it was pan flat. The enjoyable part for me was the fact that I was getting descent lung fulls of air and this meant a growing sense of anticipation for 2016.

As darkness fell and only the street lights marked my way forward there was even less to look at but it didn’t matter because I knew I could start to think about planning ahead.

I’ve had a number of improvements lined up but they were all waiting for my germs to go. I’ve changed my watch to the Forerunner 305 so I can start playing with the heart rate option to run more efficiently with aerobic fat burning. I’ve got new Saucony Peregrine trail shoes and the kind people from eGloves have given me two parts of gloves to try (separate Blog to follow after next weeks forecasted cold weather).

On the back of all this positivity I now have to decided what to enter next.  The answer is The Imber Ultra, March 6th 33 miles and 3,100 feet of elevation. So my second weeks mileage started with 10 and finished with 27 #gameon !!

After three weeks of a cough/cold I was definitely feeling withdrawal symptoms from not running, so there was only one cure for this restless condition, “go run”. I was in need of some fresh air and a track to follow but as I had no idea how long I’d be out for I didn’t wear my Xmas present new trainers. My favourite saying is “your legs achieve what your mind believes” however, today, I was happy just to run.

I’m lucky to be only a mile and a half away from an old railway line that can then be linked with a numbers of fields, so that was my plan. For this tester run I decided not to take my garmin watch.

So, 15 minutes into my run I arrived at the disused railways line. As you can see from the photo above the conditions were muddy rather than messy and if you can’t have any hill top views a tree lined corridor to run along is probably the next best thing. After my urban mile and a half to get there, within about 5 minutes I’d seen a squirrel darting from branch to branch and I could hear birds chirping in the unusually mild weather.

The going was muddy but fairly good underfoot and it was easy to avoid the tree roots that cross the track as the fallen leaves from Autumn, which had hidden them before, were largely all gone. Before this route gets fully into the countryside there’s a surprise in store with a short dark tunnel that runs below the motorway and then as you emerge into the light the narrow track continues with fields either side.

Leaving the Deviation line is done by following a short muddy incline where the water runs off the fields. In a “very” short space of time the backs of my legs had just changed colour from white to brown. The incline takes you to a bridge over the new railway line and from there I ran through Knowle which is a small out of town development.

Picking up another trail that heads out of Knowle I ran along the outskirts of a large “as far as the eye can see” field and then turned off through a wooded section. With the trees having lost their leaves you feel like you are surrounded by large “stickmen”, this was at about 4 miles. I retraced my path and joined another trail that leads from Knowle heading back towards home. I pondered on the fact that I hadn’t really seen that many people at all on my travels, but then again, that does allow you to soak up your surroundings.

After taking care along a narrow section with barbed wire on the fence I was again running along the edge of a large field which I’m sad to say has been earmarked for development. The track along side the field was quite firm to run on until the last quarter of a mile. On reaching a waterlogged section to run through I decided to embrace the moment and just plough through the middle. You can only laugh as your feet sink below the water and it squelches out through the eyes of your shoe laces.

I reached the main road and bumped into Andy Lee from Stubbington Green Runners who was going in the opposite direction, we exchanged festive greetings and laughed at my trainers/legs as that’s where they were going. All that was left then was a trot home on the boring pavements.

In summary, the 8 miles of therapy were complete and I couldn’t resist a “dirty legs” photo by our Xmas tree after running past so many others. Slow and steady but the comeback has started. Countryside running ……  #loveit 🙂

What makes running such a great sport, “The Runners” it’s as simple as that. Ultimately your fellow runners give this individual sport of ours, its “Team Spirit”. The last 24 hours have emphasised this to me through a new pair of shoes and a local event that I’m not running in.

Friday 3pm, I visited “Runners Need” which is part of the Snow & Rock shop in Port Solent as they had a sale on. I’d heard good reports from Paul Coates and was very impressed with the knowledge and service I received from Olly the running specialist who clearly spoke from experience. Out of the various brands we concluded that the Saucony Peregrine was the shoe for me, even with its bright orange laces !! Christmas present sorted ??

On arriving home I posted on twitter for peoples thoughts. Lee Rhodes who I know from our local Bayside Tri club commented that he’d run a 100K Ultra in them with no blisters, Absolute Running’s Nick commented “awesome” and Gosport Road runners Ben Jarvis had found them comfy on his trail marathon. Thank you to our local twitter community.

I posted a “Portsmouth Marathon/Ultra Good Luck” message on facebook in the evening to my Fareham Crusaders club mates with Louise Riches commenting back and a number of likes. I asked two separate club mates if they’d mind writing race reports for the club website. Michelle Edmundson replied, “of course it’d be a pleasure. George Divine’s reply, “would love to”, thanks guys, look forward to reading them.

This then brought us to Saturday morning and a trip to Absolute Running regarding the shoes. On my arrival I was immediately asked if I’d like a cup of tea and the two customers Nick was serving (who also had teas) seemed happy for me to be served while they were drinking. I chatted to Nick and Ros Clarke, who I also know, then tried on two different pairs and we concluded the Peregrine’s were the answer. Again excellent service and the fact that AR’s Nick was keen for me to have the right shoe rather than him make a sale spoke volumes.

I was then introduced to the 2 tea drinkers and as it turned out they were Phil and Sarah Hobby from Stubbington Green runners. After Phil’s first comment being “we read your blog” we chatted for a while and then it was time to go and pick up my bright trail shoes from Port Solent. Bright, yes, but as Olly said, they’ll be brown within a mile of running just like everyone else’s.

So that was “10” runners I’d directly talked to, one way or another, in 24 hours with nothing but positivity on every occasion and no actual running. A real running #community.

Finally, this is my 50th Blog since I started in April and as we are talking about people I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone that voted for me before the December 4th Running Awards Best Blog shortlist was announced. I made it there with your votes … Thank You.

Voting starts a fresh for the shortlist so if you voted before I’d really appreciate you doing so one more time please.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year  from Roger