irunoffroad

The 3 Forts marathon is on April 30th and it’s a great addition to my RTTK preparation. The race is 27.2 miles and has 3,450 feet elevation. Starting north of Worthing it has all the classic South Downs Way features ….. hills & views.

My trail running buddy Paul and I will be joined by numerous other runners as this race is one of the classic trail running events of the year.

Really looking forward to a great day out. Taxing, but great training !!

With my first marathon of the year completed last Sunday I’ve been using my cycle commute to work as “therapy” for my legs. Each day has brought “looser legs” after all the hills and the 26.6 (as it turned out) miles. We were told there’d be on extra charge, so those 0.4 miles were free !!

Today’s plan was quite simply 4.5 miles down to the coast and back. A beautiful sunny morning welcomed me back into the world of running and as the initial couple of miles passed by I felt it had been the right decision to take a week off running.

Once I reached the sleepy village of Titchfield the sun was casting its shadows and even though April has only just arrived I’d used sun block on my forehead. The village was quiet as I ran through and without any car in sight you could almost imagine yourself transported back in time.

The canal isn’t very wide but it does make an interesting and scenic route as it winds its way toward the sea. The initial track has been flattened and compressed so as to give an all year round surface, however, mud and tree roots add an element of interest the further you travel away from the village. I was in the company of walkers, cyclists and nature watchers what with Titchfield Haven being a nature reserve. The grasslands, lakes and open spaces mean photographers with huge lenses are also a feature of this area.

I’m no expert but the mornings bird song certainly came in a variety of different tunes !! As I approached the coast I could see fellow runners heading towards me and within a brief moment Dave, Ed and Kate from our running club passed by with smiles and a “morning Rog” as they progressed on their 16 miler.

The tide was out as I reached the sea and the Isle of White beckoned in the distance. Quick questions, what’s missing from this photo ? Clouds !! There was hardly one in sight 🙂 April the 2nd and 15 degrees …. the first sight of Summer !!

Retracing my steps back along the canal it was also evident that work has be done on fencing off both the water and the fields were sheep and cows occasionally graze. Ultimately fencing has to be practical but it was great to see some more traditional features with the weaved look that had been used to the right hand side. With the bright sun and the dappled effect this was giving through the shade of the trees you did have to be mindful of the tree roots on the sections of the path which weren’t as compressed.

 That said, who wants a path with no variation, it’s always good to be thinking and having to choose your line of direction. Running this path does take me back a couple of years when Mark Greenfield and I ran it in February with head torches and ice in the puddles. I thought I could see a wide stretch of ice ahead of us that night but the river had overflown the banks and our reward was to run through freezing cold water 🙂

These kind of quirks are what make running off road unpredictable and enjoyable. All that remained was to join the tarmac pavements for a couple of miles and that was my recovery run done.

The plan now is to ramp up the miles, run both days at the weekend and generally move up a notch for Race to the Kings double marathon in twelve weeks time.

I had some really unexpected and exciting news on Monday. This twitter post seemed too good to be true but sure enough, after replying, I found I’d won 4 pairs of Asics trainers. I’m not gloating, in fact I’m still in shock but tomorrow I’m off to Gosport to try on a selection of road and trail Asics running shoes at Absolute Running .

The random thing is that all I had to do was follow Asics (8,000 twitter followers) and retweet that they were celebrating their 1,000th tweet.

The moral of the story is, “you have to be in it to win it”, don’t delay, enter a competition today 🙂

I will post again as the story unfolds ……. Needless to say, thank you very much to Asics

#tobecontinued #luckylad

Gel-FujiTrabuco on the left (road/trail) good for the Spring Summer with firmer trails.

Gel- Kayano on the right, road shoe

Look forward to testing them 🙂

With the Second Wind Running QE marathon a week away I chose a 10 miler down to the coast and back for my taper run. Generally speaking I try to avoid tarmac pavements but today it was worth it to witness the sight of the swell on a windy day. The combination of running against the wind for the first half and watching the kite surfers made for an interesting change in scenery.

Today, I also made the decision not to run with a watch. It’s funny how liberating this experience can be, no pace guide, no mileage guide. Naturally I had a fair idea of the miles I was running but it certainly added to the taper mentality by running how I felt and just listening to my breathing. I’d recommend this now and then because you relax into your run and find your natural rhythm.

The outward miles were against the wind which suited me perfectly knowing I would get the benefit on the way home. I ran past an old friend, Andy Rogers, on the way out. He was running in his Southampton FC top and no doubt had a few comments from passing Pompey supporting car drivers !!

The wind was certainly getting amongst the road side daffodils which meant they looked like they were dancing from side to side, all they needed was some music. Also the tall trees on the outskirts of Stubbington looked like the wind was trying to shake the very last of the leaves that Autumn & Winter hadn’t dislodged.

Once down at the coast I ran along Hill Head to try and get some photos of the kite surfers who were revelling in the windy conditions. In a way they were a little too far out to sea to get a good photo but at the same time they looked like colourful seagulls flying to ad fro. I ran down onto the beach and could taste the salt water that in the air.

I’ve always lived near the coast and days like today make you feel privileged to have it only 5 miles away.

 Heading down Lee On Solent seafront there were numerous runners, cyclists and simply people out enjoying a mornings walk in the “fresh” air. I reached the half way point and noticed an immediate difference when running with the wind behind me. These seaweed covered boulders help with the beach erosion but also make a great contrast photo wise !! The Absolute Running breakfast club runners would have passed this way at 8am today, I was closer to lunch time 🙂

The second half of my run was pleasant with the supporting wind and my mind turned to the coming week. I’ll be keeping up my liquid intake up (no cider) stretching whenever possible and then hitting the pasta towards the end of the week. Am I prepared for 26.2 miles, probably not, am I going to let it worry me, probably not. I’ll start at a steady pace and use my local knowledge to spread out my efforts. I’m really looking forward to both the race and the challenge. The thousand metres elevation will be #hilltastic 🙂

I was very pleased to be asked to write an introduction to Trail Running for our local magazine. The links in a blog that I’d written were what the editor had seen so I was only too happy to put together a piece. The final result came out really well due to the layout that the magazines used.

The link to the magazine is here.

Have a read 🙂 This is my first published article so I thought I’d share it with my blogging friends.

PS remember it’s not too late to vote for irunoffroad in the Running Awards Shortlist here

Many thanks, Roger.

The aim for today’s run was simply to get a descent amount of miles and hills done as preparation for the Second Wind Running (SWR) QE Spring marathon. Seeing as SWR’s Phil & Teresa had organised a 13 mile guided tour of the half marathon route for 10am Paul Coates and I decided the 9am QE Parkrun  would be an ideal addition to our day. The Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP) is one of my favourite places to run what with it being in the South Downs National Park and only 13 miles from home. The Forestry Commission people had been logging recently so as well as the mud, hills and chalky paths we also had to keep an eye out for where their machinery had churned up the soil.

Park run wise there were 69 runners (I checked the results) taking on the two laps that make up the 5K. Temperature wise we started with misty fog that lingered between the trees giving us quite a spooky atmosphere. I bumped into Phil Prophett from Fareham Crusaders and found he was also running both the parkrun and recce.

Well done to Race Director Katie from Liss Runners and James at the 3K marshal point who was volunteering for the 100th time. It’s both a challenging and beautiful 5K route through the forest but today I limited myself to 9 minute miles. Paul’s 23.01 was good enough for 10th place on the day.

Meeting up with Phil and Teresa at the QECP centre there must have been about 15 of us for the 13 mile loop that makes up half of the March 26th marathon. I was pleased to see Mark Lee who had come up from the New Forest and who we know from previous runs. The banter between Phil, Paul & I started almost immediately as we haven’t seen each other for a while.

I knew from previous experience that the first 2 miles are quite steep so we made a steady start, climbing in elevation, and running into the hanging mist. It was apparent fairly early on that regrouping would be the order of the day but that’s what running with a group is all about. No one should ever apologise or say “sorry for slowing you down” because all miles are good miles, regardless of the speed. Conditions underfoot were reasonable with sections of mud rather than it all being muddy !! There was a great atmosphere with everyone chatting when the terrain allowed it 🙂

Dropping down through the park we reached where the first water station would be at about 4.5 miles. This water station is of note because after it there’s about a mile climb back up through the trees which tested us all. Those that knew about it could afford a smile and some light hearted comments, the rest realised it was a test when the chat quickly turned to silence as we got going. Once regrouped over the other side we encountered our first real mud.

As we re-joined the South Downs Way we bumped into Aaron from Fareham Crusaders out on a Saturday morning walk. Pressing on there was a pleasant downhill section which would only mean one thing, yes, another uphill section which by now was taking some prisoners, from a walking point of view, but again this is inevitable as well as understandable. We took a quick drinks pit stop and all agreed what a beautiful location we were running through. It was also noticeable the sun was trying to shine through too.

Setting off again we were making our way towards Chalton were one of the ladies needed to rehydrate at the Red Lion pub. A pint of squash seemed to do the trick and the rumour was that some alcohol was consumed, as well, but I couldn’t comment because I wasn’t there 🙂 The Staunton Way took us back towards QECP. This is a good mile long and the style that takes you back into the park can be seen from quite some distance away.

Tersea took great pleasure in commenting that she was way ahead of Phil on a hill which is a comment that few of us have ever been able to make !! That’s Phil in the distance with the orange top making sure everyone was being looked after. Or had he been in the pub ?

We were within 1.5 miles of the finish now and allowed ourselves a group photo. Sorry I snapped you with your eyes shut Teresa. Judging by all the smiles even though it had been a challenging run everyone had really enjoyed themselves. Paul and I agreed that SWR put on great running events, whether its a race or a recce. I enjoyed meeting Phil from the Crusaders who I didn’t know before, as well as Mark. The added bonus was lots of new runners I’d never met before. Caroline, Nick, Emma & Co. I hope to see you on the  trails again.

In total today was 16.5 miles “logged” with great company !!

This Forestry Commission (FC) site has a network of varying trails and wooded areas. Some of the trails are well surfaced, some are natural dirt tracks. Once I’d run the more obvious “new visitors” sections I couldn’t resist taking off down a few muddy routes that had no signposts. The Forest of Bere has trees that tower above you and which sway in the breeze as well as more densely planted areas that the sunshine struggles to get through. In short it’s ideal for trail running.

This FC map shows you the layout and the three pay and display car parks. The main car park at West Walk has toilets and running water (always useful) then there’s small car parks at Woodend and Upperford Copse which lead down to the Meon Valley Trail (MVT) . The links above will give you loads of information from their official website. Once I’d been running for a while I also noticed a food and drink mobile shop had been opened up by the Great Big Food Company who are locally from Wickham and offer quite a selection of drinks and snacks. They are there at weekends and school holidays.

The first trail I ran was the signposted route from the main car park through the two others and down to the MVT or as some may be more familiar with it, the old Wickham railway line. These trails were a combination of compacted gravel and occasional mud. Mileage wise it was about a 5K round trip.

My second route was the old oak trail on the other side of the park which has some of the oldest oaks. The trail was a lot more demanding with boggy sections and narrow tracks. Once back at the West Walk main junction of trails I set off down quite a steep hill, did some 600m reps, and then followed the circular route back.

Next it was time to go “off piste” and try some muddier and quieter routes. I largely relied on counting how many left and right turns I’d made here because there were no signposts. As I suspected the reward was some great running. You certainly get a better work out when running hills and mud because it’s impossible to keep up an even pace.

Autumns’ leaves have all disappeared and Springs daffodils aren’t out just yet so todays Winter sunshine and the double digit degrees gave you a hint of what’s to come. Dirty trainers may not be everyone’s cup of tea but forests really do have a special feeling. The trees go through their cycle of the seasons and I come to visit whenever I can. Running with views like these made the nine miles a real pleasure.

Happy Trail Running 🙂

What’s been the talking point on the South Coast’s running scene recently ? Donald Trump … “No” … Absolute Running (AR), with their trademark “what can we do next” approach, have opened AR Southsea (pictured above). In a clever move that really complements their Wednesday 5.45pm AR Gosport run there’s now a 6.45pm AR Southsea option for a social and all inclusive 5K or 3K.

No. 14 Grove Road South is just North of both Palmerston Road and Southsea’s main shopping area. As I approached the shop those unmistakable grand windows were plain to see as well as a good 25 or so runners all listening to Kim Carter describing the route we would be running. Kim was taking the 3K group and Harry Carter the 5K group. As I opened the shop door David Brawn (sports journalist for The News) greeted me with a hand shake and a “good to see you nod”.

In no time at all we were off into the crisp night air and the streets of Southsea. Our run was mainly along the well-lit seafront people may know from the Great South. I say well-lit because the rows of colourful bulbs that are hung between the street lights give the whole area its seaside feel. We ran along Eastney Parade, past South Parade Pier, around Canoe Lake and then back along Clarence Parade before returning along Kent Road. I chatted briefly with some ladies as we got going and swopped likely upcoming races with David, then concentrated on keeping up 🙂

Once back to the shop I was impressed with the smart dark flooring and funky lights in the high ceiling, I also saw triathlete Mick Hawkes and met his wife for the first time too. AR have worked hard on developing their running community spirit and this shone through with us all happily talking to people we both knew and didn’t know. Harry was keen to make sure everyone had a refreshing cold glass of water as well as answering questions on what plans there were for the shop. With tonight’s Wednesday run established the Sunday breakfast run has now also been advertised, all comers welcome. It starts at Greens café , Canoe lake 8.15am for 8.30am, 30 minutes out, 30 back and then maybe add on some eggs & beacon !!

The shop has what you’d expect in terms of a great choice of shoes and related gear but I wasn’t expecting the place to be so stylish. The huge shoe display especially worked well as your eyes were drawn to the array of colours and makes. Naturally the treadmill was there for Harry’s running gait analysis and which shoe would suit you.

I chatted with Craig from the runr clothing line who I’ve talked to on twitter but not actually met before and as he said, it’s great to actually chat in person. So in summary a great run with great people organised by AR Southsea. Just like those coloured light bulbs along the seafront I’d say the shop has a “bright future” 🙂

Happy Running all …………