Monthly Archives: May 2019

parkrun tourism: Eden Project parkrun

by Lolly

Ever since we did Lanhydrock parkrun last year, we’ve been planning to have a weekend in Cornwall to go to Eden Project parkrun. But, as always, there have been so many reasons for it to not happen. Happily, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law recently had a baby, which gave us the perfect excuse to head down to see them… and take in a parkrun on the way of course.

Eden Project parkrun is, unsurprisingly, based at the Eden Project, near St Austell in Cornwall. In case you’re not aware of it, the site is an old clay pit that was transformed into spectacular gardens, with two giant biomes housing plants from around the world. We stayed over on the Friday (and Saturday) night at the St Austell Premier Inn, which is approximately 10 minutes drive away (parking space to parking space) and so we managed a fairly laid back start to the day.

Building in car park — Meeting point. If I’d taken the photo at 8:30 not 15:30 it would have been a bit busier…

The parkrun course starts in the car park, and so as long as you park in ‘Banana’ it’s really straight forward to find. Having set up the buggy and walked over, we made use of the toilet block, and then decided we all had too many layers on and sent Ben back to the car with an armful of them. Had we wanted to keep coats or hoodies on a little longer, there are bags provided for the volunteers to take your layers to the finish for you (which I imagine is most welcome in winter).

The first timers’ briefing was very well attended – not exactly a surprise that on a sunny May weekend we weren’t the only tourists. From the course description I picked “2 and 3/4 laps”, “hill” and “go past the big tyre 3 times”. The hill part (which we were well aware of before arriving) was the bit that worried me. Particularly as Lani had decided to run with Ben, and so I had KK in the buggy. And hadn’t really had a proper run since Glastonbury.

Family gathered for run — Still need to work on our start line selfies…

The actual start is on nice wide road. At the briefing here we were reminded that the route we were about to take into the Eden Project is not regular pedestrian access – you need to make sure to leave through the main visitor centre. After a quick countdown (which we could actually hear from the back!) we were off. It was quite busy near the back at first, so Lani and Ben initially got away from me (with being able to weave through), but I slowly started to pick my way through. My legs were feeling pretty rough, and so the slight incline didn’t help to warm up. But we quickly turned a corner, and the downhill began.

When you’re on solid path (which we were), running downhill with a buggy is pretty fun. My biggest worry was weaving round various people as I tried to find where in the pack I should be. This continued for almost half a mile, at which point we joined the main lap and were well and truly inside the Eden Project. Now surrounded by beautiful plants, the path took a sudden turn up. Around this point I found myself running with two BHAM runners and a guy from Shepton Mallet – somewhat of a Somerset takeover!

We quickly reached the top of the hill, with my thoughts consisting of “Oh that wasn’t so bad” and “Hmm I bet that will feel harder later”. We passed the massive tyre mentioned in the briefing. Looking at it later, it is from one of the trucks that worked on the clay pit. The actual truck is the size of a 3 bedroom house! I was a little confused, though, at it being used as a lap reference as we didn’t seem to be anywhere near the finish yet.

Top of zigzag path, with biomes in background — By the end of this path, you’re down at the bottom of those giant biomes!

There’s then a short sharp drop down, which is great for getting some momentum going again, that takes you to by the visitor centre path. The next section of the course is amazing. It’s called the Zigzag through Time, and is the main path that sweeps down from the visitor centre towards the biomes. There’s so much to see, with plants and information panels surrounding you. My main efforts focused on a) making sure I was in control not the buggy and b) not knocking into anyone, but I still managed to appreciate the scenery.

At the end of the zigzags you turn right and continue down towards a marshal. The path then follows to the left to go around the back of The Core and, you guessed it, has another little incline followed almost immediately by more downhill. The path on this section was much narrower than other places, and felt almost like a tunnel of wildlife. We then re-joined the main path and headed alongside the front of the Mediterranean biome, towards the stage area.

Running alongside the stage area, the finish line was in sight ahead. Except, of course, we had to turn left and do another two laps. And so begins the proper hill. Steep uphill zigzags, with just a short section of down a little way in for relief. Particularly challenging for me was staying to the left of the path. We’d started being lapped a fair way earlier (due to long first lap), and so I had to stay tucked in on sharp turns I would normally take the outside line for with the buggy. Not helped on a couple of these where the runners lapping me decided to cut to the left to take the inside line for a corner!

Path surrounded by plants, with drop visible to left. — Look at the height Lani is stood at compared to the path…

By the time we made it up to where we’d joined for lap 1 I had nothing left, and so slowed to a walk. Which I should point out is not exactly a rest, as fast-walking a buggy up a steep hill is arguably harder on your arms than running it is. Needless to say, I was relieved to get to the top and enjoy the downhill. Although I was surprised to see at this point that my average pace was still pretty good. The zigzags down did not disappoint, and I managed to read a few more information signs on the way past. The trickiest bit of this lap was the narrower path round The Core, as I was both lapping and being lapped at the same time. Typical timing!

And so to lap 3, by which stage I was definitely feeling tired. I ended up slowing for a walk considerably earlier than on previous laps, but this did give me extra time to enjoy the scenery. And got me a couple of complaints from my buggy buddy. At the top of the hill I lapped Ben and Lani. I could hear Lani saying that she wanted to catch up with me, but as I launched myself down the zigzags one last time she had no chance.

Other than getting stuck behind someone on The Core path, I managed to finish the rest of the lap feeling strong. And even correctly aimed the buggy into the finish funnel. Tape guided you from the tokens to the barcode scanning. There were a few steps in between, but someone kindly helped me carry the buggy down.

Having scanned in, I took everything out the buggy so I could leave it there and head back to find Ben and Lani. KK had a great time exploring round the path, and trying to get into the stream when he thought I wasn’t looking. My aim was to get somewhere I could take a nice photo of Ben and Lani running. Naturally, irregular toddler pace meant that I actually ended up just near a corner when they came past and so I didn’t spot them in time.

People running through gardens, with biomes and stage in background. — There are worse places to run!

Once we were all gathered back at the finish, Ben grabbed the buggy to take it back to the car (and pick up our backpack). The kids and I headed straight to the café, which was selling bacon rolls, spinach & mushroom rolls, and an insane collection of cake (the cinnamon buns are AMAZING). Once Ben had joined us and we’d finished our food, we got changed and headed off to explore. Because, as if this parkrun wasn’t already amazing enough, you get to stay in the Eden Project as long as you want, for free!

I can’t really recommend this parkrun highly enough. The surroundings were simply beautiful, with so much variety that there’s no chance of saying multiple laps is boring. The volunteers were fantastic – apparently on the final trek up the hill Lani was given a high-five by every marshal. And the course was challenging and yet surprisingly accessible.

One word you cannot use to describe it is ‘flat’. I think over the entire 5k there was about 50m where we weren’t going either up or down. But the surface was solid throughout, the worst of the hills were in sharp bursts, and it was massively net downhill. There’s no denying I’m in pretty good shape at the moment (just think how good it would be if I actually trained), but there was no way beforehand I expect to walk away with a buggy PB. I think what I’m trying to say is, don’t be put off by the hills, just be aware of how you handle them.

We’re already planning our next parkrun weekend trip, this one was so much fun. But with only one new-to-us course left to visit in Cornwall (for now), I’m pretty sure we’ll be making a return visit to Eden Project parkrun in the not too distant future.

Family on path surrounded by plants, inside biome. — Exploring the Mediterranean Biome.

Town Tree Trail: race report

by Ben

May and June are pretty relentless as far as Somerset Series races are concerned. The Wambrook Waddle and Town Tree Trail were back-to-back this year; Sunday/Wednesday. After a tough hilly race on Sunday, there were quite a few tired legs out there on Wednesday evening: mine included!

This was an interesting race for me; it was the first time since my switch to Minehead that I was taking part in a race with a significant presence from Running Forever. There were a few comments, in jest (I think!), about tripping me up, but I emerged unscathed!

While writing my report for the Wambrook Waddle, I was musing about my pacing tactics; specifically, I came to the conclusion that “at the moment I feel my best tactic is to push hard early and then try to hold on.” I noticed that at the Town Tree Trail last year, although I’d averaged 7:06 per mile, my first mile had been a 6:26. I thought about it some more, and decided that on a flat course, maybe it would be worth trying for a better pacing strategy. Maybe take things a bit easier early on, and have a more even pacing.

A few laps of the field with Matt and Will sufficed for a warm-up, before we then ambled around waiting for the start, which ended up being late. There was more or less a full course description in the pre-race briefing, during which I must admit I completely switched off.

The race

Starting on the front row probably wasn’t the best idea for a controlled start. I had Ali and Sam, both club-mates at Running Forever, just over my left shoulder; both were likely to be quicker than me. As we set off, I consciously avoided going with the leading pack, which Danny and Matt were both part of. Three-quarters of the way around the field though, I realised that Will was still behind me. Bugger; he’s quicker than me too. As we left the field, I glanced at my watch; 6:03 pace. Double bugger.

As we hared along the short stretch of road (and let’s be honest, given the silly pace, it definitely was ‘hared’), Ali and Sam eased past me, shortly followed by Will. Right – the pace might still be a tad too quick; I clocked about a 3:50 first kilometre, which is quicker than my average during my quickest-ever 5k, but at least I’d shuffled down to roughly the right spot.

Leaving the fields, we entered a stretch of fields. In contrast to the lonely race I had at the Wambrook Waddle, I was rarely without another runner during this race. Through this first field section, I had Sam about ten metres ahead, and Nick Brooke closing in behind me. My pace had dropped to something more sensible, and I was happy to tag on behind Nick when he passed me.

During the middle section of the race, it twists and turns around the Town Tree Nature Garden, which is a lovely landscaped garden open to the public year round. As a runner, it’s a pretty unique place to run, featuring a narrow paths around tight corners, including more than one complete 180 degree hairpin. We went over a small bridge which we later ducked under; there was a little waterfall feature we ran under, and countless arches made out of old horseshoes. Through all of this, I remained a couple of paces behind Nick, and now about the same ahead of another Series regular, Andrew Piper.

I was starting to have some concerns about the race distance; we had gone past the two mile marker a little while before entering the garden, and yet my watch bleeped for four miles while we still had a fair bit of the garden left to do. As far as I was aware, we would be following the same route back from the garden, which added up to more than 6.22 miles by my reckoning. I made a mental note to possibly expect a “long 10k”.

When we came back out of the garden, I was feeling pretty comfortable, and soon realised that this was due to the pace having dropped quite significantly. Feeling that I could push on, I opted to move past Nick, figuring that if nothing else, we could work together to keep a decent pace for the last couple of miles. Ahead, Sam had moved out of sight, but another runner was in view, and I felt that I might have a decent chance of catching him. For the next three-quarters of a mile, I was slowly reeling in the runners ahead. One, who was struggling, was passed quickly, while both a runner from (probably) Yeovil and Sam were getting closer.

And then, disaster. A stitch. I haven’t had a bad stitch while running for years, and this was quite an awkward time. Looking back, I was probably running more or less at my limit, and this was just a sign that maybe I’d pushed a little too hard. Or maybe it was something completely different, who knows. I had to drop off my pace a little; I could only take relatively shallow breaths, and although my legs were still miraculously strong, I just couldn’t push. When we got back to the road, with around a kilometre to go, Nick and Andrew cruised past me.

A smile hides the pain and frustration of my finish.

Having eased off my pace for a while, the pain lessened a bit, and I hoped that I could push on to get them back at the finish. I thought I was more or less maintaining the gap as we ran around the final recreation field that we’d started in, but when I looked at it honestly, I was slipping back. My focus switched to the runner closing in behind me, and I concentrated on running hard enough to keep my position, which I managed.

Post-race

I haven’t seen any results yet, but I’m guessing that I placed somewhere in the 20s, which isn’t awful for the Series. We’d been quietly hoping before the race that we might have a good chance at the men’s team prize, as I was likely to be the last of our four finishers. Unfortunately, for both our hopes of the team prize and himself, Danny busted his ankle in one of the fields and had to drop out just short of two miles in. Dammit Danny!

After grabbing a cold shower, I headed with Matt and Will for some food (a sausage roll (thanks Will!) and a donut). While we were eating, the race director came over as asked for our race numbers and approximate finish times as apparently some runners had been missed, and they were trying to work out where the gaps were. This delayed the presentation ceremony a bit!

It was a successful race for both my clubs; Matt got a trophy for being third overall, and Verity was third lady. Meanwhile for Running Forever, Sam was first female, while Ali took home the prize for first veteran male 50+. For me, no trophy, but a surprisingly quick run. Considering that last year I was running pretty well in May, I actually ran a quicker pace this year (though the added distance meant a slower overall time.) Along with a decent Wambrook Waddle race, I can hopefully build on these for the summer races, and maybe an autumn PB attempt at either 5k or 10k. Or both?

Did I enjoy this race? Actually, yes. I didn’t have particularly good memories of it from 2018; not that it had been bad, just that I’d felt it was a bit bland. But, yeah, I enjoyed it.
Would I do this race again? It’s in the Somerset Series, so yes, I expect so.
What’s next? Lolly will be running the Wells 10k on 26 May, then I think I’m doing the Crewkerne 10k on 2 June.

Wambrook Waddle: race report

by Ben

This is the third time I’ve run the Wambrook Waddle; I previously took part in 2017 and 2016, while Lolly ran it in 2015. Last year, it took place, but wasn’t part of the Somerset Series, so I gave it a miss.

Running hasn’t really come together for me this year. Am I running badly? No, not really. But am I running well? No, not really. I really, really, really want to break 40 minutes at 10k this year, but without a sustained period of decent training, it’s not going to happen. But anyway, that’s not what this post should be about. Suffice to say, that more or less as always, I’d have liked to be more prepared for this race.

This was the second race for my new club, and it sort of underlined part of the reason behind my switch; I was one of four from Minehead, while there was no one else from my old club there. Well, technically, Lolly was there, but she wasn’t running, just spectating! (Mostly stopping the kids from killing themselves, actually.) After a little pre-race potter about, we headed out for a warm-up, which included the field we would climb up at the end of the race. During this (in which I actually ran quicker up the hill than I would in the race) we discovered that the car park hadn’t been marshalled very well (at all), meaning that there were cars parked across the race route! Thankfully, the gaps were big enough to get through easily, but it was one to bear in mind for later…

More faffing about ensued for the next ten minutes before the race start: mostly I dumped my sweaty warm-up top on Lolly (I’m sure she appreciated it), and switched to my race vest. The pre-race briefing sensibly suggested not tripping over anything, and kindly reminded us that this was quite a hilly race. Hopefully, it wasn’t too much of a surprise for anyone!

… and GO!

I love the start to this race. A 600 metre dash downhill to a stream crossing. I started what felt like relatively conservatively, but ended up second behind only Matt. Not so conservative after all. I actually felt like I could have pressed a little bit quicker than Matt was going while remaining comfortable, but I opted not to be a complete prat, and stuck in behind him. I took a slightly different line to Matt through the stream… and it turned out to be completely the wrong one. I sunk down a lot more than I expected (and a lot more than Matt), and nearly fell in. As it was, my vest, head and arms were all soaked from the splash/sinking combination.

Immediately after the stream, the route follows the old adage; ‘what goes down, must come up’. Or whatever. I wasn’t surprised when people came streaming past me as we climbed the long hill (well, it felt like they came streaming past me, in reality I was still in 10th at the top of the hill.) I was completely prepared for this; much as I would love to say that I could pace properly, and be that guy who conserves his energy for the last push, it’s just not how I race. Maybe when I’m closer to peak fitness I will give it a go, but at the moment I feel my best tactic is to push hard early and then try to hold on. I’m aware that this is probably just a really bad idea.

As usual, in warm conditions after a slog up the hill, I was glad for the 1.25-mile drink station. The hill went on for a bit longer before the fiddly twists and turns through the wood at the top. Through this section I heard footsteps come up quite quickly behind me, but before the runner could get passed, the course dropped downhill again, and I was able to stay ahead. I maintained my slim advantage all the way downhill, until we reached about 2.5 miles into the race, and then he inevitably went past. And that, for all intents and purposes, was the end of my actual racing. I was in 11th place, and maintained exactly that position for the rest of the race. The end.

Okay, so it wasn’t quite that simple, as I still had another 3.7 miles to run. The immediate battle was the second climb of the race. I took a brief walk towards in the middle of the hill, but tried to push on as best as I could. Mostly because there were a couple of marshals on the hill, and I felt guilted into it! Another descent took us down to the third river crossing of the race, before easily my least favourite hill.

I don’t really know what’s so bad about it; looking on Strava, it doesn’t look the steepest of the hills, and it’s far from the longest. Maybe it’s partly the underfoot conditions. Probably, it’s just that it’s just barely over halfway through the race. Far enough in that I’m already knackered from the hills already run, but not far enough that I feel like I can push on through because I’m nearly finished. Thankfully, after the short, sharp climb through a field, the second drink station gives a handy excuse for a rest. The course continues to climb after, and I was able to see the runners both ahead and behind me. The gap looked similar each way, and I was a bit concerned that this meant I was slipping back into those behind me. I couldn’t do much about it at that stage though, I was struggling a bit with the hill, though it was a relatively friendly 1:10 or something.

From mile four, the course mostly runs through relatively flat fields until a couple of drops and climbs right at the end. A couple of fields into this stretch, not long after my watch beeped for four miles, I realised that I’d sunk into something of a plod. I made a conscious effort to drive my arms and generally ‘get a wriggle on’, otherwise I was definitely going to fall into the clutches of those behind me. (I could see a group of three; my club-mate Verity and two men.) Having sped up, I slowly built up the gap on that gap, and hoped that would dissuade any of them from making too much of an effort to catch me. Conversely, I briefly saw the group of three ahead of me; all three were Minster Milers runners. It looked like Ed had caught the two ahead of him, and I was hopeful that it meant they were struggling. As it turns out, they either sped back up, or it was something of an illusion, as they both finished around a minute ahead of him.

Although it had given me a brief impetus to speed up, it soon became apparent that I wasn’t going to catch anyone, and I settled back into a steadier pace, aware that I had another race coming up on Wednesday. In fact, I ended up running the last hill (though the car park field) slower than I’d done it during our warm-up.

A half-hearted attempt at a sprint-finish.

I had a lonely second half of the race; I finished in 11th, over 90 seconds behind Ed and 50 seconds ahead of the next runner. For the Somerset Series I was chuffed with an 11th place, and it was also a course PB by about 45 seconds, so I can’t really complain.

Did I enjoy this race? Yes. It’s really tough, because the hills kill you in the first half of the race, but this is the sort of race I love.
Would I do this race again? Again, yes. This is the third year I’ve run the race, and I’d love to do it again.
What’s next? The ‘Town Tree Trail 10k’ on Wednesday 15 May. I ran this last year, but didn’t blog about it. It’s off-road, but almost pancake flat, with some lovely twists and turns around the Town Tree Nature Garden.

Round the Tor 10k: 2019 race report

by Lolly

This year Ben and I have decided that we both want to do the Somerset Series (ie 8 qualifying races), which means that at least one of us has to do pretty much every race (factoring in the ones we can’t do). I did the Babcary MT race back in February (and failed to blog about it), and my next outing was scheduled as what is officially known as the Round the Tor 10k. Or Glastonbury 10k as pretty much everyone calls it.

I ran this race back in 2015 and really enjoyed it, helped by the fact that it was the first time I went under an hour for 10k. This year I wasn’t too sure how it would go. A recent parkrun PB indicated that my form was good, but my training was inconsistent to non-existent. Anytime I was asked what I was aiming for, I said it was a benchmark run. Which it should have been. Except, of course, when you’ve set a massive landmark PB at a course once, you kind of want to do it again.

In the morning we set off early, so that we could go to Cheddar junior parkrun on the way. It was a lovely little event, and worked perfectly in terms of timing. I also got a little bit of sprinting practice in when little man decided to run away from my marshal point. After the event finished, we took the short drive to Glastonbury and headed to the designated race parking, where we were able to park easily.

The atmosphere before the race is a bit crazy, with all the other distance events going on at the same time. My prep took the form of: collect number, get Ben to put number on vest, get Ben to re-position number, go to toilet (no queue!), take Lani to toilet (big queue!), panic visit shop to buy pre-race snack. Seamless. I headed over to the start area with 10 minutes to go, and managed a little warm up before chatting with club mates. I was asked again what time I was aiming for. I replied that if it went well then hopefully about 55 minutes, but there was also a good chance of me collapsing at around 5 miles.

The race brief was clear and detailed, talking about potholes we should expect for approximately half the course. Amusingly they couldn’t find the starting hooter, so it was a very muted start. But as it’s a chip to chip race this wasn’t much of a problem. The first task was always going to be getting into the right position – I had no idea where in the line up I needed to be, and the mass of Millfield students always adds the extra random factor.

My entire race plan was pretty simple: Aim to do the first mile in 9 minutes and go from there. I felt pretty strong heading down past the town hall (who wouldn’t on a downhill start), and was excited heading up the high street knowing my family was at the top ready to cheer me. Lani put her hand out to give me a high five, and as a result ended up giving them to several other runners as well.

Heading along the main road I felt pretty good, and tried to settle into some form of rhythm. My watch beeped for one mile sooner than I expected – in fact 20 seconds earlier than my target. This gave me a bit of confidence to push on, although I was wary that my short training runs could lead me to burn out too soon. We reached the next milestone I was looking for – the out and back section down a side road.

Glad to have that ticked off, the next target was moving from the main road to the back roads. Which coincidentally happens just before the end of mile 2. I always keep my watch in mile laps, whatever I’m running, and in a 10k it’s great because it means you get km signs and mile beeps and so there’s always another marker. The promised potholes and rugged edges were clear to see, as were the undulations I remembered this course for. But I managed to keep going at a reasonably even pace.

The water station was at the top of a hill, shortly before 5k. As my fingers touched the water cup, the girl handing it to me let go. So I got one leg absolutely drenched, and a tiny sip of water. This worried me slightly, but I knew there was another water station later if I was struggling.

And so we reached the 5k line, and for the first time I checked my watch against the course marking (because, easy calculation). It hadn’t even got to 27 minutes yet. That calculation was pretty easy then. If I managed to maintain a watch pace of around 8:30 then I would be well under 55 minutes.

I felt pretty good, and so despite the lack of training I was pretty confident I could do it. Until somewhere in mile 4, when I remembered the horrible heartbreak hill that would be greeting us near the end. Which somehow had been removed from all my memories of the course. Now I see why Ben reads his old race reports before he heads out!

Still, the second water station treated me much better (decent sip and splash over face), helped as well by the cheers surrounding it. On the nice gradual downhill that follows I was clearly feeling more tired, but not so much that I wavered from my 8:30ish average. As the surroundings changed to houses I mentally prepared myself for what was to come.

The hill did not disappoint, with most people round me slowing to a walk. I was pretty pig-headed by this stage though, and determined to get through it. My pace clearly did slow, but not beyond control. I reached the top feeling pretty happy, but also out of breath and realising that I needed to recover quickly if I wanted to make anything of the finish. And right at this point was one of the race photographers, just to help the situation!

But then came the moment I was waiting for, as we rounded the corner and saw the downhill stretch towards the finish. It’s fair to say I sped up a bit at this point, in some sort of desperate attempt to put the final icing on my perfect race cake. Just as the road levels of (and in fact starts to go up a little), I saw my family cheering at the side. I had nothing left to be able to move over to give Lani a high five (for which I apologised after), and just about managed a wave as I carried on to the line.

Like I said, I told everyone who asked me that this was a benchmark race. But I clearly wanted a course PB (previously 59:13), and my overall 10k PB of 55:22 looked in touching distance based on my parkrun form. So you might be able to imagine how it felt crossing the line in 53:27. Ben later admitted to being completely surprised at seeing my distinctive running gear appear so early (good job I wear Tikiboos or he might have missed me!).

It’s hard to fault the Glastonbury 10k as a race. Medal, technical t-shirt (if you sign up before cut off), free race photos, and great organisation. Oh and a course that is interesting but entirely manageable. Definitely one I’ll consider in future, although I’ve set my bar pretty high by crushing my PB both times I’ve run it so far!

And now I’m basking in the glow of being undeniably in the best running shape I’ve ever been in. Finally I can well and truly stop running in the shadow of 2015. I can’t bask for too long though – I’ve got another race at the end of the month!