Tag Archives: runners

#Race to the mud, moisture and glorious end! @vigorunners #Vigo10 #ToughLove #Review

February 13, 2017

challenge, endurance, endurance running, events, fun, Fun Run, Great moments, hills, Inspiring, kent, Mental, Mental Strength, momentum, mud, poo, race run, Racing, review, running, Trail, Trail running, training, Twitter, Ukrunchat, UltraBaby, ultraboy, ultraboyruns, value, Value for money, vigo

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I’ve written twice previously about how awesome the Vigo 10 (Tough Love) Race is. It’s the crazy mix of trail and XC with the hardest, sharpest hill around and the best downhills for miles, a shed load of mud and so yes this is an awesome race.

This year Vigo Running Club (in conjunction with the Harvel Hash Harriers) dared to amend a near perfect route – the result? an even better albeit slightly slower running experience. I wince at the thought of the mud sat here writing this now but yesterday as I battled across Kent I was in love and once the clarity of memory subsides I’ll be in love again.

I’m not going to go into great depth about the race again there’s a few highlights talked about below and you can read my previous reviews here (2014 review) (2015 review) but be assured that if you loved it before then you’ll love it again. All the best bits have been kept and it’s amazingly gotten even better!

I can honestly say that never have a medal and a mars bar been more keenly earned.

Below therefore is the brief overview of my 2017 Vigo 10 and it goes a little like this;

Pre-race 45 minutes on the toilet with epic bowel issues
Arriving to catch up with Mr Hrabe, Emma and to meet Chelsea (and husband) in a ‘stood next you and notice each other’ kind of way, ace
Wonderfully chilly conditions
Wonderfully moist (soaking) underfoot
The finest marshalling team
Great route directions and amusing signage
The best uphills
The best downhills
Great views
A few minor adjustments to the route to make it even better
The nastiest mile 9 climb ever (and I include Como Lupslido on Lanzarote when I’m comparing)
Mud everywhere
I didn’t lose my shoe as I did in 2015
An outrageous and awesome (met him at my first ultra 4 years ago) runner on the PA system calling our names and numbers out, making me hurl myself at the finish!
A medal I’ll treasure and a mars bar I delighted in eating
Incredibly well organised
Wonderful support from the rugby club and the many supporters stood in the cold, a real community affair
A great value 10 mile run
A post race 45 minutes with hideous bowel issues, thankfully my race was unaffected!

As you may be able to tell this is just one of those races that you a) need to do and b) love doing. I’ll be back again next year because this race gives me joy in my running and I might not have pulled my hamstring dancing like an idiot at a rave the day before when this race next comes round.

My only minor complaint was the lack of the cannon firing to set us off, however, I imagine health and safety might have come into play with this – but I like the cannon and know other runners do too. However, this is a minor gripe in a race made for runners.

Final mentions: my special thanks go out to Mick Hrabe for catching me at the final hill, that gave me the incentive to really push for a fast finish – you weren’t beating me two years in a row! And of course we should all be grateful to both of the running clubs involved – Vigo and Harvel, truly great work.

Running? I’d rather be Funning

May 18, 2015

Altra, Altra Running, distance, endurance, family, fun, Parkrun, running, Sport, teamwork, TP100, Trail, Trail running, training, UltraBaby, ultraboy, ultraboyruns

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‘I don’t feel well UltraBoy’ came the whine from UltraBaby, ‘look I’ve got big horrible spots everywhere, I’ve been crying all night, I’m full of snot and I look like a B movie monster on a reduced budget’.

She did look unwell, she sounded unwell and she moaned miserably, it’s fair to say that Friday had been a rough night on both the GingaNinja and I. At 5.30am we decided it wasn’t worth fight in her anymore and we all got up. Breakfast happened, puking happened and bath time happened. At 7.30am I said to the GingaNinja, ‘I’m going to take her to Parkrun, let you get some sleep and hopefully so will baby’.

Then it was race on – I hurled out the UltraMobile (or the Mountain Buggy Terrain to you), inflated it’s tyres, relocated the changing bag to the Salomon 14+3 vest, chucked in a bottle for her and a bottle for me and we bounded out of the house like a pair of runners possessed. I hadn’t decided which Parkrun we would be attending but I’d enjoyed Dartford a few weeks earlier and so we trundled along to the start line with just moments to spare.

UltraBaby was wide awake in the MB Terrain and as we started out we made our away from the back of the pack to sit quite comfortably in the middle, we even made a few sprints round people, taking in larger than needed cornering to let the ‘real runners’ through but by the time we had hit the end if the first lap we were fully into our stride and decided that we had the edge and would not be so generous in letting people past.

‘MeMeep’ I called out several times as we swerved round runners who had started to flag a little and ‘woohoo’ as we tried to stay ahead of the ladies who UltraBaby had decided were pacing us – Danielle (we left her at about 3.5km) and Jo (almost had us at 4km but we put a bit of a spurt on to finish just ahead of her).

UltraBaby crossed the line a little ahead of me as I pushed the MB Terrain forward a bit and we finished in a time of 27:28mins, not bad when you consider I’ve been ill for two weeks, she’s ill, my feet still aren’t recovered from TP100 and the MB Terrain as good as it is, is still a challenge to push.

Anyway we did post run chat with some of the runners, including the lovely @thayer who came to witness our inaugural Superhero Parkrun teamup.

So lots of fun had at Parkrun and despite being unwell UltraBaby felt like she had definitely been funning.

Saturday night though brought more and more tears, angst and spot related pain that would culminate in us attending hospital the very next morning. Thankfully a big dose of antibiotics and creams are hopefully going to help but once again the GingaNinja and I were pretty exhausted and with the baby in the house never of us could really rest. Then UltraBaby piped up

‘How about a trail 10km UltraBoy?’

‘Saddle up pard’ner’

Out came the MB Terrain again, we loaded up, added in some sun cream as it was bloody hot and then started running with explicit instruction to the GingaNinja to get some rest. We flew, fast down the hills, fast up the hills, bounced along the technical bits and thundered through the narrow paths cutting a swathe through the undergrowth. The kilometres fell and so did UltraBaby (but thankfully just asleep).

Interestingly on a weekend of outstanding results at Dukeries, the NDW50 and lots of other great races I found myself being grateful that I wasn’t racing and simply fun running with my daughter in the Kentish sunshine.

There really is something to be said for funning. Happy running guys and thanks to Dartford Parkrun for some lovely running pictures.

Kate, Joe & Conrad … You turned up just in time

March 26, 2015

teamwork, Twitter, Twitterverse, Ultra runner, Ultra running, UltraBaby, ultraboyruns, Ultrachat

#Boston and a year later

March 31, 2014

Boston, Hillsborough, marathon, Racing, Remember, running, teamwork, ultraboyruns, Walking, WNWA

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I wrote the following post almost a year ago and with Boston approaching I’m revisiting the sentiments I put down as when I wrote this it was still so very fresh in my mind. Below is the posting

It’s been a few hours since the Boston Bombings, I suppose you’d say the Boston Marathon Bombings and maybe to me that’s the difference, you weren’t attacking a political ideology here, you weren’t looking to exact revenge on anybody you were simply causing mayhem at a high profile event.

Runners are a rare breed, they go out daily no matter the weather, often without thought to other commitments and they are truly special breed-made of the sternest stuff. They can be liberal, conservative, fascist, communist or donotgiveafuckist, they can be male, female, black, white, yellow or even grey. Sexual orientation and even musical taste cannot separate these people. These people just go out and share running. I’ve never met a runner who couldn’t leave their allegiances behind in favour of an hour of pounding the ground. So why attack them, or those that support them? To a point you can see why a terrorist organisation would attack a building like the twin towers. They were a powerful symbol of Western life and capitalism and while the loss of life was horrendous you can see the logical lunacy of fanatics the world over who would want to destroy something like this in the name of whoever. But this attack, like the car bombings and such that we see in Iraq or Afghanistan are not against symbols they are against individuals. These are acts intended to inflict not just death but affect our spirit.

The running community seems united in its condemnation of this and so we should be for those who we know not, yet share a bond with have been attacked for doing something they love, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That seems so wrong to me, perhaps because this attack feels very personal – I wasn’t there thankfully but I aspire to run Boston. I know that should I ever qualify my partner would be near that finish line camera in hand. Had I run it this year she might have been in the firing line, that thought turns my stomach.

When I go running tonight I will be offering my thanks for the life I have and each step I take will remind me and others that being attacked like this won’t stop runners, we will line up again, especially at Boston and they will not win.

It’s the London Marathon this weekend, one of the showpiece European events – a possible target? Who knows, I hope not. I was thinking of going to watch but other things had overtaken me and was unsure if I would make it but now I am determined to be there, showing my support for the runners who put body and soul on display.

Our thoughts are with you today Boston. Take care.

As I reread the above posting all the feelings that I felt as I wrote it came flooding back – the revulsion and the stupidity of the attack, the horrendous maiming of innocents and the deaths caused – this was a dreadful day.

However, a year on and there have been enormous reminders of the power of the human spirit in the face of this horrific human tragedy, think about all the runners who showed their support as they crossed the line at the London marathon or the huge, near universal condemnation of the attackers and the ferocity with which they were hunted down. The memorial at Copley Square, which saw thousands leave mementos and tokens in honour of those affected and plans are set for these items to be displayed at the Boston Public Library in April as part of the #BostonBetter events that will mark the anniversary of the tragedy. Think about all those who are thinking about Boston, writing about it and talking about it. What happened almost a year ago will live long in the memory.

So this year as the Marathon runs and remembers and I am completing the WNWA96, in honour of the families, victims and supporters of the Hillsborough Justice Campaigns my thoughts will be with those who have lost their lives or been affected at sporting tragedies. Boston, I really felt, both as a runner and as a human being and I hope that you’ll give a few moments of reflection too over the next few weeks because as I’m writing this I feel like a very lucky person.

—UltraBoyRuns

Saving the world one run at a time

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