Rain? What rain?

By Andy Inchley

So I did see a few Bookface posts yesterday relating to freezing and wet conditions on various cycle rides. I was quite impressed that a few got out in the downpour that was falling over us all on Sunday morning.

Certainly, as Amy and I emerged from our flat at 8.15 to head over to Stevenage for the half marathon there was a large part of me urging my body back inside. A mile later and we stopped to get some Lucozade at the garage. As I got back into the car following my purchase, I saw the look on Amy's face and made the offer………. "Do you want me to take you home?". I was answered in the affirmative and five minutes later was heading off on my own to darkest Hertfordshire. read more

Preston Marathon

by Pete Mackrell

On Sunday I continued what appears to be a recent club trend of running a marathon. I picked Preston, which is in my home county of Lancashire and not too far from my parents' house in Burnley. This is the first time Preston has hosted a marathon, and there won't be another one for 20 years! It was arranged to coincide with the Preston Guild, a civic celebration held every 20 years. Preston's Guild dates back to 1179 and it is the only town in the UK that still celebrates its Guild. The marathon organisers have said they will not host another full marathon until the next Guild celebration in 2032, although the Half Marathon which took place on the same morning is set to be held each year. read more

Oxford CCCL

When most of us left Oxford on Saturday, Nick was nowhere to be seen. He was out on the course searching in the mud for Jordan's lost spike. Together with Mandy and the boys – as ever – they were first to arrive at the course in Shotover Park and clearly the last to leave. They were involved in eight of the nine races and also brought along the gazebos for us to change in.

The first races to take on the mud at the bottom of Shotover hill were the U11's, with LBAC having 10 within the age group spread across the two races. There were around 80 youngsters in each race and Leighton had a number of cross-country debutants. For the girls, Ellie Rabbits had a great race to be first home in 40th place as she led a team of six girls to 13th out of 20 teams. Sadie Towell, Chloe May, Melissa Chapman, Elspeth Eley and Josie Young all finished just over one minute apart. In the boys race, Dominic Grimshaw was trying to emulate his parents' cross-country achievements and led the team of Scott Towell, Max Rose and Harrison Philpott to 15th place as he finished in 46th. read more

Liverpool Marathon – Part 2

By Kate Owens 

 

Well its been a week since I ran my first Marathon and I’m still buzzing from it!

 

In June I decided if my running was going to improve I needed a challenge to work towards. I randomly picked Liverpool for no reason whatsoever really, apart from the fact is was at the right time. I have never even been there before and had no idea what the course would be like.

 

I followed a training plan from the Runners World website and being a bit cocky I decided to follow the intermediate one! Fitting in the training wasn't easy at all, I work as an air hostess and summer is our busiest time. The hardest time to get motivated was after an 11 hour flight to Cancun, getting to the hotel where everyone else headed for the bar, I got straight into my running gear and out in the 30c heat. Fartlek training in the heat! I was not a pretty sight on my return to the hotel. read more

Liverpool Marathon

By Ian Grimshaw

"3:13!… 3 hours and 13 minutes… That's 4 minutes slower than last year and I hit the wall again. What about all that training…. Right, I need to find another marathon that takes place 6 months from now." This was my frame of mind the day after the London marathon! I searched around for a marathon in October; Liverpool and Chester were on my short list. Both were near my parents, but I preferred Liverpool. The course looked good: starting on the Wirrel, through the tunnel, finishing in the city near Albert Dock and it looked well organised. (Not that Chester didn't meet either of these requirements I hasten to add). With a stroke of luck I won the entry prize draw too, more to come later. read more

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