Category Archives: Uncategorized

parkrun tourism: Somerdale Pavilion parkrun

by Ben

Continuing our catch-up on parkrun tourism, we go back once again to September, when we visited Somerdale Pavilion parkrun in Keynsham, near Bristol. Lolly has family around Bristol, and so it had always been our intention to do this one while visiting them, otherwise we would have likely visited it much earlier. So, when the first post-Covid get-together was organised, this joined it in the calendar.

We headed up on a glorious morning, and followed the course page directions easily to find plenty of parking, and met up with Lolly’s parents, who were looking after KK for the morning so we didn’t have to run with the buggy. The course page has a disclaimer ‘The course is very bumpy so please consider if this course is suitable for your child and buggy.’ A fair warning – we’ve done worse, and it would be perfectly fine for experienced buggy runners, but may not be right for a first-time buggy runner with a young baby.

I’d heard a fair bit about the ‘curly-wurly’ on the course, and I knew that it was on a off-road bicycle track of some sort, but I didn’t really know what to expect. It turned out it was a cyclo-cross course, which isn’t dissimilar to cross-country running, except with a shorter lap and more jump ramp hillock things. Sadly, the parkrun route avoids the more exciting parts of the track, going around each of the jumps. Even so, it is a continually twisting route, and it is pretty hard to keep track of where you are compared to anyone else, because even if you are metres away from two other runners, all three of you could be in completely different places on the route.

I was running with Lani, like a couple of weeks earlier at parkrun tourism: Stratford Park parkrun, Stroud. From the start, we did a small zig-zag and then went almost immediately into the ‘curly-wurly’, in which the course spirals in to the middle, and then back out again. There was lots of chat about people getting dizzy and stuff through here. Maybe it was because I was running pretty slowly with Lani, but I didn’t have any issues. One woman though, who had got overwhelmed and worried, was paying so much attention to the other runners in the spiral (which was pretty spectacular) that she tripped and twisted her ankle badly, forcing her to drop out. On that – the route isn’t bad, but there are holes, divots and lumps, as on any trail or off-road course.

The course continues to twist and turn, following parts of the course. Personally, running with Lani – something I hadn’t done too much over the previous year or so – I found it quite demoralising: you thought you were nearly through a certain section and then it looped back around another bit. I imagine that at a more normal running speed, it’s actually quite fun and exciting, particularly if there are other runners about to ‘race’.

The final third of the lap is more straight-forward, although it still tucks inside close to the finish funnel to add a bit of distance, before going back to the edge of the field to pass the start line. A second full lap follows, and then there is really just the curly-wurly and then a short sprint to the finish. Lani had a great finish, and despite her grumbling a lot on the way around that she “was doing really badly” she got a great time, her second ever sub-40.

The course page advertised coffee in the Pavilion cafe, but this was closed during our visit, and we headed into town to get brunch from Bonzo Lounge – great service!

Next on our tourist adventures, at the start of October, was Sharpham Road Playing Fields in Cheddar…

Run Exe Winter 5: race report

by Ben

Within reason, I’m racing more or less anything I can find at the moment, given the dearth of races. But that said, this race was organised by City Runs, who I’ve always heard good things about, and was along Exmouth promenade, which is as flat as you can get. As an added bonus (of sorts) I’ve never raced a 5 miler before, so it was a guaranteed PB!

The race did have two potential downsides: it was on a Tuesday evening, and racing is always slightly tougher in the evening; and Exmouth promenade is very exposed to the weather, so if there was any wind, it would have an impact on my race.

This event was a trial race, ahead of a planned monthly series. My current running is all based around improving my 10k time, and a 5-mile race is a great substitute for the 10k distance, so hopefully I can get as many of these done as possible to benchmark my progress (weather and Covid-depending, of course).

Race day

Things worked out quite conveniently, and I was actually doing a training course at home on race day, which meant that I wasn’t as exhausted as I might have ended up. It also meant that I was a bit more in control of what and when I ate, so really I had close to ideal preparation. I took my weekend runs pretty easy ahead of the race, and was rewarded with the rarely seen “Peaking” from my Garmin: result!

I headed down in plenty of time, and arrived on the promenade about 50 minutes before my start time. The race was organised into waves of six runners, each released a minute apart. I was in the fourth wave, giving me a 7:03 start time. I had a little wander around, used the toilet, and then warmed up along the course, just to get a feel for the route. (Sure, it was just along the promenade, but it was also getting pretty dark, so I wanted to check out how good the pavement was and stuff…)

The race was twice out-and-back along the promenade, so each leg was 1.25 miles. The wind had died down from earlier in the day, and was also coming off the sea, which meant that for most of the course it was a cross-wind, rather than a headwind, though it did feel slightly against you on each of the “back” parts of the course.

Race

Soon enough, it was time to get into my ‘race pen’. Each pen was coned off with plenty of space for six people to socially distance, and the race rules also meant that we had to wear a face covering until 30 seconds before we started. I opted for a buff, which I then put onto my wrist as a sweatband, which I tend to wear anyway.

3-2-1-GO: It soon became clear that I didn’t want to run as fast as the other guys in my group, and I let them move away from me. I was still dragged along a little quicker than I should have been, I probably went through the first quarter of a mile averaging sub-6 minute miles, which is far too fast for me. But, I regained a bit of discipline, and brought my pace back under control within the first mile.

I started passing slower runners from the earlier waves within about half a mile, and not much later I, in turn, started to be passed by quicker runners from later waves. Although this was quite odd, constantly passing and being passed by other runners, it did mean that it was rare to be alone for long during the race.

My first mile came in a little bit quicker than I had been aiming for: 6:26. My expectation was that something around 6:30 would be about the quickest I would manage. Even though there was only a slight wind, I planned to focus on good “out” legs, to try and offset any time-loss in the “back” legs.

According to Strava, I slotted into a decent rhythm for the rest of the race. It felt like it was just getting harder and harder, and my pace was falling off a cliff, but actually, it was pretty perfect. I clocked through the middle three miles in 6:32, 6:34 and 6:33. Honestly, I don’t think I could have hoped for any better, even if it felt like my legs were going to fall off. I absolutely did not realise how well it had gone until I got home and checked Strava: I even told Lolly that I’d run a horrible positive split. (In fact, I ran a to-the-second-perfect even split.)

The second lap was quieter than the first, but there were still plenty of other runners about, going in both directions, so the race was never lonely. I had seen the “race leaders” during my first “back” leg; they had started in the final wave, and I wondered if they would catch up with me. Some quick mental maths suggested that they probably wouldn’t. Spoiler: I was wrong.

I was starting to really feel the exhaustion in my legs during the final mile. The start/finish end of the course was not that well lit for long sections, and by this point, there were few to no runners heading back the other way. Then, with around a third of a mile left, the lead (well, not exactly) bike passed me: “Keep left, lead runners coming through.”

The finish area was exceptionally well lit!

The combination of the bike, and then the runners gave me an injection of pace, allowing me to be dragged along behind them slightly. Sure, they were running over a minute per mile quicker than me, so I couldn’t actually keep up with them, but it still gave me that push (well, pull) when I needed it. I completed the final mile in 6:31, to finish in 33:00 exactly. (Sure, my mile times don’t add up to 33:00: my GPS tracked 5.07 miles, so there are another 23 seconds, but whatever.)

Summary

Before the race I’d used McMillan Running to work out some decent race paces.

My recent 10k PB at the Power Run 10k had been 41:57 in windy conditions: that was equivalent to 33:30, so that had been my minimum target: Done.
The next target at 10k, which had been my target at the Power Run 10k was 41:00, that was the equivalent of 32:44: Not done: target for the next race.
The ultimate target of my current 10k training is 39:59, which is the equivalent of 31:56: Not done: target by the end of the winter, maybe?

Did I enjoy this race? Yes, definitely.
Would I do this race again? Yes, definitely.
What’s next? Probably the next of these. I had another race cancel, the Big Cheese, a 15-mile hilly trail race, so I guess my training now can be completely focused on this flat and fast stuff.

Too busy racing!

by Ben

Argh! I’m so far behind. I promised a second blog summarising my overall thoughts on the Bristol Half Marathon and my training plan, and how everything had gone. And then I’ve gone and done three more races; the Red Bull Steeplechase, the Exmoor Stagger and the Herepath Half, since then.

Out running – back in November! (Races in red)

I’ve picked up an array of bling, clothing and a glass:

I got both a medal…

… and a brilliant hoodie from the Red Bull Steeplechase.

A technical tee from the Stagger.

And this lovely half pint glass from the Herepath Half.

What I haven’t had, is much time to write. So my apologies for anyone who has been waiting in anticipation. I’m planning on taking a couple of weeks off running (though I’ll probably still do a little bit of light running) so I’m hoping to be able to use some of that time to catch up on the blog.

Race Fees: What Does it Really Cost?

by Ben

This post originally appeared on Ben’s old blog, Running From the Physio.

Recently, over on one of my new favourite blogs to read, Magpie in the Sky, Stephanie posited an interesting idea: a race price cap. She has decided that she will only pay a maximum of £1.90 per kilometre in the race, meaning that she is willing to pay more for a marathon than a half, and more for a half than a 10km race. It seems a pretty sound idea, and as she suggests, is a good way of deciding which races to do, out of the thousands available.

So, I decided to take a look at my own races: I haven’t done all that many, but I was interested. I discovered quite quickly that my first two races exceeded her limit, but that after that I had fared pretty well.

The first two races I ran were pretty big events: both marquee events for their relevant cities. They are the sort of events that are always going to be expensive, but when you’re trying to motivate yourself to get into a running habit sometimes that’s the kind of event you need. In contrast, my more recent and future races, particularly at the 10km distance, have been much smaller and cheaper events.

But, having done this, I got thinking. The entry fee isn’t the whole cost. I recalled another blog, the brilliantly named Medal Slut, discussing the cost of races last July. She had worked out that the Paris Marathon had cost in the region of £750, once travelling, accommodation and other costs were taken into account. Looking back at Stephanie’s blog, most of her races seem to be pretty local to her, a bonus of living in the London area. Living in the south-west, this isn’t a bonus I share.

So, I added two more criteria: the distance to the race, with a relevant fuel cost, and any accommodation costs. For the fuel cost, I decided that I would use 12p per mile. This may seem a little low, but I currently have a company car, and that is what I am charged fuel at (lucky maybe, but you should see my tax-code as a result!) Although I have not always had this, it seems fairest to charge all races at a flat fuel fee. Accommodation was pretty simple, the cost of the hotel room. I didn’t put the cost of food into the mix, as I still have to eat at home, and working out the difference between the cost of a meal at home, and the cost of a meal in a hotel / restaurant seemed far too in-depth.

The sharp ones among you might wonder while the Isle of Man 10k has “0” distance, despite clearly not being in the south-west. Basically, we were staying with family in the Isle of Man anyway, and from where we were staying, I was able to walk to the start. No extra distance was driven to facilitate racing. Also, all distances are rounded to the nearest 5 miles.

Unsurprisingly, the two races in which I stayed in a hotel the night before leap away as the most expensive per kilometre. Among the rest, the most significant change is probably for the upcoming Chew Valley 10k, which becomes a lot more expensive compared to some of its peers because of the distance I will have to travel.

My conclusion from all of this is that I’m not going to worry too much about race entry costs. While I might be on the look out for races that seem a little more expensive for their distance (such as the Wellington 10), or vice-versa (the Isle of Man 10k was a bargain), the difference is more academic than practical for me at the moment. Maybe if I start entering significantly more races then I’ll pay more attention, but at the moment I don’t think it is significant enough for me to worry. However, what I have decided is that I will only enter a maximum of one race per year which requires me to stay away from home: the accommodation cost really slaps a lot on, and unless a holiday can be incorporated, then I can’t afford to be doing that too often!