Newsletters are produced three or four times a year by Liz and contain articles of interest, race reviews and results.
Liz is always needing articles so please if you have any information you would like to share with members send your articles to HERE or pass them to Liz at the club.
Printable word file -
Newsletter October 2011
I have decided to change the newsletter to reports and articles from people- so that
should keep it short! I will produce a separate sheet on results.
Peninsula Half Marathon February 20th
When Peter and I were planning our holiday to South Africa and Swaziland in February,
I thought it would be fun to include a half marathon if I could find one in one of
the areas we would be visiting. February is the hottest month of the year in Southern
Africa so not a lot of races take place at that time of the year. I knew I would
be lucky to find something. Fortunately the weather in the Cape is less hot than
other parts of South Africa so I was delighted to find that the Peninsula Marathon
and Half Marathon was taking place on Sunday 20th February. I entered online from
here for the half marathon. After ascertaining that there was a 1st, 2nd and 3rd
prize for over 60 ladies, I decided to do my best to get one of those. My son tells
me that at my age I should just run for the sheer joy of it and stop competing for
a prize or PB but I guess competitiveness is in my nature -
The Cape was the last place we would visit on our holiday so the race was going to take place after I had been indulging in good food and wine in the earlier part of our holiday. I had to get up at dawn for my training runs because to run at a later time would have been uncomfortably hot. I always felt safe running on my own so that was not a problem for me. Anyway I managed to keep up the training and thanks to a tummy bug, didn't pick up any weight. I thought I was over the tummy bug when we arrived in Cape Town but unfortunately on the morning of the race I had diarrhoea and after four visits to the loo I knew the most sensible thing to do would be to pull out of the race. Since I have never been blessed with good sense, I decided to run and it would have to be on an empty stomach because I was worried that eating breakfast would be too risky. I had a bottle of Rooibos apple tea to sustain me on the route and knowing that a prize or PB was not on the cards that day, I made for the start. Once I got to the start and mingled with the other runners, I realised I was feeling better by the minute. Another bit of luck for me was the Coca Cola that was handed out at every water table.
Every race in South Africa has water and coke to drink at the water tables. I have been told that coke contains potassium, salts and sugar that a runner needs. Because the coke was served in plastic cups and was a bit fizzy, I only took two or three sips and had to walk to drink it or it would have gone up my nose. I felt reasonably good and managed to run all the way except for a little drink walk at each water station. A lot of the run took place along the sea front and although the scenery was beautiful we were running against a strong headwind and I had to take my peak off or it would have blown away. Apparently, the wind is something the runners have to contend with every year. Apart from the wind, the weather was lovely, the race was very well organised and the atmosphere was great. I finished in 2:17:43 which was a lot better than I had expected. Not only that but I still managed to be in the prizes by being 3rd lady in over 60. To be honest, even if I had achieved a time of 2:05, I would have still been third. I felt like a celebrity as I was approaching the finish because my name was announced over the tannoy and that I was from the U.K. I got a big cheer and applause and was waving at the crowd like I was Paula Radcliffe. I had no more problems with my tum after that and enjoyed the rest of my holiday.
Jean Hughes
Virgin London Marathon Training Day 26th March
I arrived at Eaton Lake on Saturday 26th March a little nervous and excited about the prospect of the day ahead.
I was attending a Virgin London marathon training day that I had been selected for as part of a competition hosted by Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling, her husband Martin and Paralympian Gold medal winner Richard Whitehouse who has prosthetic legs.
The day began with a presentation from them both about their careers, Liz telling
her story of the marathon in Beijing Olympics where she and Paula Radcliffe, who
share the same coach led for 13miles then she was clipped and fell, picking herself
up and finishing in agony with a broken rib-
Richard shared his running journey and showed a video of recently winning gold in
the 200 metres in the world championships -
Both are hoping to qualify for London 2012 in 3 weeks time as I make my marathon debut!
The day progressed with a chance to do my last long run with the athletes and other
coaches and I managed 7 and a bit laps of a 3 mile circuit around the lake which
was a bit tedious but good mental training. There were fuel stations with Lucozade
drinks and gels (yuck-
The day continued with Liz talking to us about strategies for the taper phase now and told me I’m not allowed to race the Taunton Half next Sunday, just use it as training and pacing run and definitely not a PB!! And I guess she knows what she’s talking about so I will take her advice! I will have to crack sub 2 hrs next year.....
We concluded with a very motivational and emotional talk about the big day, including playing the music (gulp!) and some brilliant and invaluable advice which left me chomping at the bit for April 17th
All in all a brilliant day for a novice like myself and left me full of confidence and inspiration for London.
Mel
My Barefoot Journey
Hoping for a short trip
I was nearing the half-
Barefoot or minimalist running is simply that, running without shoes or running in shoes that offer the minimal amount of protection from debris such as stones, grit and glass and devoid of any form of cushioning.
Signposts (what the research was telling me).
Briefly then it is only relatively recently (the 1970’s) that shoe manufacturers had started to target fitness enthusiasts with a product designed specifically for running in. As time has progressed this footwear has become more and more technical (at least that’s what they tell us in their sales literature) by technical they mean padded on the heel to forgive those heavy heel strikes, hardened in the arch for the more flattened footed amongst us, tension bars in different places to compensate for many forms of pronation and ever jazzier colours for the fashion conscious. However what they don’t mention is that in the near fifty years of running shoe technological advancement, the proportionate amount of running injuries has not gone down.
Research suggests Lieberman et al 2010, Kerrigan et al 2009, this may be down to the fact that running in this type of footwear encourages a heel strike landing; this has a chicken and egg effect. We heel strike, so the manufacturers put more cushioning on the heel, this raises the heel profile. A raised heel profile facilitates a further heel strike as the depth of the heel increases and so on. This is fraught with problems as in doing so a shock wave is transmitted through the skeletal system absorbed mainly through the soft tissues of the joint areas, namely the knee and hips.
However if we look at the forefoot striking runner, the force is transmitted to the flexing action of the foot from front to heel and absorbed by the action of the calf muscle.
The human body is a fantastic piece of organic engineering and over thousands of years we’ve been fine tuning this wonder, so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that we are physiologically able to cope with the forces that running puts on us. If you observe young children you’ll notice that they have a natural propensity as they run to land on the front of their feet. The Tarahumara Indians* routinely run in excess of fifty miles well into their sixties in little more than leather sandals; guess what, yup, they’re forefoot runners.
I’m not anti-
My personal Marathon (well it felt like it)
I’d managed to buy a pair of minimalist shoes, Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) from an internet auction site and eagerly anticipated their arrival. I had mixed feelings when it came to their delivery, I knew from the information I had researched that I should start of on low mileage and build up slowly because I would be altering my running style (gait) radically. Three miles into my first run with my calves feeling like they were being torn from my heel bone I knew I ought to start heading back home.
I wasn’t put off and maintained a steady increase in my mileage over the preceding
months. I ran for several months, withstanding the tenderness in my calves, the
numbness in my toes from the sub-
Now with no discomfort from running in my VFFs I strive to my final goal waiting the summer months. I intend to kick off all manner of material encumbrances for running (on my feet that is) and feel the earth beneath my feet.
I have referenced some of the more interesting articles below and would encourage anyone of you to take a look and decide for yourself or stop me if you bump into me and I’ll gladly espouse the joys of barefoot running.
Martin Carnell
http://www.barefootrunners.org/
Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners.
Daniel E. Lieberman1, Madhusudhan Venkadesan1,2*, William A. Werbel3*, Adam I. Daoud1*, Susan D’Andrea4, Irene S. Davis5, Robert Ojiambo Mang’Eni6,7 & Yannis Pitsiladis6,7
The effect of running shoes on lower extremity joint torques.
Kerrigan DC, Franz JR, Keenan GS, Dicharry J, Della Croce U, Wilder RP.
*Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-
Marathon de Sables Race Report 1 -
I’m very proud to report that I successfully completed the MdS in April this year.
Known as the “Toughest footrace on earth”, it is a 250.7km (156 mile) self-
The race was incredible, far tougher than I expected and we were challenged by the longest, toughest and hottest event they have run. Temperatures reached 56 degrees which was quite some test! The scenery and camaraderie were something else though and more than compensated for the pain.
We were given a soft start to the race with a night in a five star hotel in Ouarzazate, Morocco but the adjustment to the hardships to come soon started with a seven hour coach transfer to the Sahara on Friday 1st April. We had assembled a group of 8 for our tent which soon named itself the Happy Cocks! Tent 105 was the same as all the other bivouac tents – a carpet on the rocky ground with black sacking draped over the top. When the wind blew, it
blew straight into the tent along with a fair bit of sand! Saturday was a day of queuing as we picked up numbers, dropped off bags and made the final painful decisions about what we would and wouldn’t take with us for the next 7 days in terms of food and clothing. Once those final decisions had been taken the rest of the day was left to hover round the bivouac getting increasingly nervous and gazing into the distance at Erg Chebbi, 13km of the highest dunes in Morocco which were on the menu for the first stage....Check points (CP’s) are approximately every 10k where water rations are given, there are rest tents & the ever presence of Doc Trotters.
Stage 1 -
Atmosphere amongst the 849 like minded folk on the start line was electric. 140 were female and I must admit, I was starting to feel a little out of my depth! There is me, a very slow club runner who is the wrong side of 45 with a decidedly average pedigree! Chatting to people around camp, it seemed that most were sub 3 hr marathon runners, PE teachers, fitness instructors or from the forces!
We headed off at 9am to what was to become the most irritating song I have ever heard
-
The route to CP1 was pretty much a flat & stony path. Weather wise it was overcast
albeit warm. The concern however was not the potential heat, but the massive dunes
that loomed ever closer! Once through the CP, it was straight into the sand. The
sun came out and the increasing temperature was brutal! Judging water intake was
a challenge as the going in the sand was much slower than I could ever have anticipated.
It seemed that for every step taken, you slipped two back in the soft sand. 13km
of dunes!!!!!! Doc Trotters had a mini clinic about half way through this ginormous
sand-
come quick enough -
Took myself off to Doc Trotters to get my feet sorted. Large blood blister on my R heel and a small blister on R toe. Discovered how bloody painful iodine is on raw flesh!!! On the bright side, the views were stunning and there is nothing like miles of nothingness! Freeze dried Chilli con Carne has never tasted so good!
Stage 2 38km
843 on the start line today. 5 retired & one person collapsed so was carted off in the ambulance!
Day 2 – Mainly flat, but made more interesting by the desert wind arriving with a vengeance. All sorts of eye protection appeared as we set off on what was easily the most boring day of the route. The wind was relentless and it is not pleasant being sandblasted for 8+ hours! Made it to the final small dune set where the wind really kicked up and visibility dropped massively! Thankfully it was brief and we clawed our way into the bivouac in reasonable time to be informed by the rest of tent 105 that the tent had blown down twice already! We knew day 3 would be tough so an early night was on the cards. Sadly for me, my blisters
were now becoming an issue and another visit to the excellent services of Doc Trotters was my first priority! 7 new blisters of which 2 had to be strapped. I felt physically great from the ankles up but was getting increasingly anxious about the rapid deterioration of my only means of transport for the week! Was dreading tomorrow!!
Stage 3 -
Another 6 folk retired from race plus another who fell hard on rocks & fractured their leg!
Day 3 was a stunner – 38km of mostly sand based fun. The views were breathtaking all day and although this really was a tough stage it was an incredible day out. Temperatures started to climb and with a bit of wind around still it was a testing day. It was a tough stage which saw further competitors dropping out. I must admit, my feet were now in a total mess so I was reduced to a hobble. My walking poles were literally my crutch & saw me through this
8 3/4 hr day. The massive pile of emails plonked on my lap once back at the bivvy
were just what I needed to gather myself together & prepare myself both mentally
& physically for tomorrow -
Stage 4 82km
Day 4 – The Long Day!! Well this really was what it was all about. My game plan for
the race had been to get to the start of Day 4 in decent shape, get through it somehow
and then just hang in. Well, here I was -
hours on the trail was very intimidating. My plan was to just think about one CP at a time. At 7pm it was still hot and we eventually scrabbled into CP3 at 38km. We were given our glowsticks at this point – these are attached to the back of your rucksack so the organisers can spot you...the added advantage being when you can barely walk you can just follow the person in front.
CP4 is a big marker for the race – miss the cut off here and you are out of the event but Zoe and I were well within the cut off. Arriving at the CP was like a scene from MASH. People trying to sleep, people getting treatment, people cooking. Things were becoming increasingly surreal. We stopped for around 15 mins but getting started again was agony. We hit dunes at around 3am where glow sticks are also positioned around every 500m so you should be able to spot these from the tops without getting lost. Compass bearings are given prior to entering dunes too as a double safety net. This is all very well until localchildren come into the dunes & steal the glowing markers! Even with compasses, this is extremely unnerving. We did not fancy being one of the MdS lost or dead statistics!! The lights from CP5 were a welcome sight! I was freezing cold, tired & in a lot of pain. The plan was to rest up for a couple of hours but because I just couldn’t get warm, we only stopped for about 30 mins & headed off into the darkness. I was flagging pretty badly so told Zoe to leave me. I was happier having a little cry & swearing session on my own. My ipod came
into its own on this section too.
CP6 appeared at around 5am. I had totally had it! Ripped my shoes off, stuck my legs
in the air & collapsed for 2 hours. Some pals came through the CP & boiled a kettle
-
my tattered running shoes! Agony to get them back on as my feet had swollen up with being off my feet for a few hours. Took some pain killers & strode out! Finished the last 10k in 1 3/4 hrs. No 10k or any other records being broken by me that’s for sure!!!!! Crossed the finish line with great relief. The day I had been dreading the most was over & I was still in the race!!!
The rest day
Amazing. The whole of Tent 105 made it home. Spent the next 3 hrs in a queue to see the Doc Trotters. 15 large blisters needed to be sliced
& diced....nice! Many people shredded or just plain exhausted. The last runner came
over the line after around 32 hrs. The whole camp turned out to cheer the poor young
Japanese chappie over the line -
Rest day was not so restful. What with seeing doctors, doing some washing(yes, I washed my socks, knickers, shorts & running top in my limited drinking water), cooking etc the day flew by.
Day 6 – marathon stage 42.2km
My feet were absolutely killing. Had to take double dose pain killers & wait an hour or so before I could forcibly shove my feet into my shoes with a few tears & gritted teeth! Met a girl called Eve who used to swim for England & climbed Mt Everest last year! Another fit lady but not really a runner. We got on great & got each other through the day. There were a few hills and climbs to get over and I was keen to get to the flatter easier second half of the course. Spirits were high, it was only 42km after all. The scenery was lovely as we wound our way through oasis and palm trees on to the second CP. Temperatures were creeping up though and we started to slow. By the time we crept into CP3 it was blistering hot. We learnt that temps that day topped 56 degrees. It was brutal and
the last stage took me apart. My feet were wrecked, it was too hot and the finish
just wouldn’t come. One of the course commissars caught up with us and told us we
had only 4km to go....it nearly killed me. 4km at that point seemed impossible. But
what can you do, I took a deep breath, tried to get it together and walked on. I
fell into the tent at 8pm. I knew my feet were now infected as the smell was not
good. I also had a nice red line tracking up my left leg & a swollen lymph gland
in my left groin! The overdosing of pain killers was also giving me bad stomach ache!
Who cares -
Day 7 – 17.5 km – ‘the fun run’
Happy days. The girls of tent 105 donned their union jack dresses and prepared for
the final few miles to the glorious finish line. Spirits were high-
The aches, pains and lows from the past week had disappeared & I felt amazing. We finally arrived at Tazzarrine and suddenly the enormity of what we had done started to hit home. I actually managed to trot the last 2 km to the finish line too. Smiles broke out amongst the racers and happy greetings were exchanged with the locals. We found ourselves on lovely, smooth, delightful TARMAC!! Indescribable. Tears were shed, hugs exchanged and finally race organiser Patrick Bauer hung the medal round my neck and gave me the traditional
French greeting -
The MdS was a truly amazing experience. Its cliché to say it but if you haven’t been there it’s difficult to describe just how tough it is. I enjoyed it, I had some low moments but on the whole I found this an incredible experience and I’m immensely proud with what I’ve achieved. I wouldn’t do it again, never say never but there are other events out there which I would like to try out.
Its been a journey. My enormous thanks to Zoe, Jill & Kerry and the Tent 105 boys Pete, Nick, Stewart and John without whom I wouldn’t have made it. The emails and support were just brilliant and really kept me going.
Now pass the wine please!
Nicky Chrascina
Berlin Marathon April 3rd
We arrived in Berlin on Friday 1st April and after checking into our hotel, went
straight to the half marathon Expo at Tempelhof Airport to collect my race number,
timing chip and goodie bag. No goodies in the bag but I did get an Adidas running
shirt as opposed to a t-
On Saturday, we did a lot of sightseeing and a bit too much walking for my liking. There was a lot to take in, it was our first visit to Berlin and we wanted to see as much as we could. In the evening we went to a restaurant that served German food and had a meal of eisbein, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, followed by apple strudel and cream.
It was okay but I wouldn't like to eat it more than once a year. No alcohol for me, Peter had German beer with his.
The next morning I made my way to the start while Peter went off to have a look at
the Olympic Stadium that was built in 1934 for the 1936 Olympic Games. The weather
was glorious, sunny and warm, and it got warmer as the day wore on. The organisation
seemed perfect to me and there were no problems anywhere except the queues for the
toilets. With 5 minutes to go, I had to abandon my place in the, still long, queue
and make my way to the start. The start gun went off on time but we were still
not moving and looking around me I noticed that there were some portaloos with no
queues. Because I had a timing chip I decided it was worth climbing over the railings,
going to the loo, climbing back over the railings and re-
I had left my water bottle at home so had to stop at every water table for a drink. The
first water table was at 6 km and with the heat I was desperate for a drink by then
and swore that I would never again run without my trusty bottle. The water was
in cups so I had a little walk at every water station and I looked forward to that
1 minute walk. My legs felt a bit tired and I just could not make them run faster
than 6 min a km. The atmosphere was great; the route was lined with spectators -
Jean Hughes
Brighton Marathon April 2011
After hearing good things about last years Brighton marathon from Jane I decided to make it my main race for 2011. Some of you may know about the training program Liz used to get her marathon time under 4hrs and as it worked for Liz I thought it might do me some good. I have done marathons in the past but have never followed a schedule and have maybe not given it my best shot. 16 weeks of 3 runs a week lay ahead and they had to start in December. Diane my ever present training partner was silly enough to train with me even though she would not be entering herself. At least starting in December the weather could only get better and we did not miss 1 run because of the snow or the cold. The big day finally arrived and having trained in the cold it took place on the hottest day of the year so far. Val and I met Sam and Will Mepham and headed in to Brighton. Sam was running it as well and as the others set off to spectate and drink coffee we waited nervously at the start. Not to bore you with the whole 26 miles all I can say was that everything went to plan. I was trying to do 3:40:00 or less and came in at 3:37:33. Liz's training plan worked I had knocked 16 mins off my PB. Sam did a very respectable 3:53 which in the 26 degree heat was impressive for someone who hates the heat. Hope more Langport runners have a go at this race as it might not be London but it is excellent.
Neil Stayner
Loch Ness Marathon October 2011
Whilst I remember and my legs are still sore from the memories of Sunday I thought
I'd write a short ditty for the newsletter :-
Will and I entered the Loch Ness Marathon
after my failed attempt at a PB at Brighton in April. Whilst the course is fantastic
at Brighton and probably ideal for a PB (as Mr Stayner discovered), the weather was
against me that day. I was still pleased with my time but felt I could do better.
I opted for an October marathon believing that the weather would be much kinder and
looking at the profile of the Loch Ness Marathon I thought it would be sure PB material.
Unfortunately, I think I stopped reading once I read on the course description that
there was approx. 1000ft of descent in the bag, so I thought!
On race morning the
weather was perfect, cool and drizzling (as you'd expect in Scotland). We left Thomas
with Nanna & Grandad and agreed to meet at the end of the run. We got on the very
warm bus (one of 15) which shuttled us to the start. We took a little longer than
expected to get there and as such they delayed the start by 10mins to give everyone
a chance to use the loo first. if I'm honest it was carnage there were people going
to the toilet everywhere...it was very funny really, I've never seen people queue
to wee in a bush :-
The local band had organised a procession of drums and bagpipes
to start us off and the gun went and we were off. After a brief chat with a couple
of runners from Sidmouth we ran on but were cautious that we didn't get carried away
as the first few miles were down-
True to
its reputation this marathon is absolutely beautiful and I hope to return next year
to repeat and improve on this year’s performance. However, there will definitely
be more 'down hill' hill training and no expectation for a PB.
Sam Mepham