Wednesday 1 June 2011

Donations

In attempting to run 70 miles along the Pennine Way my hope has been to support HelpforHeroes a fundraising organisation dedicated to helping members of the armed forces injured on active service

If this expedition prompts you to make a donation in support of our service personnel injured in the line of duty, go to
www.bmycharity.com/70at70tohelpHeroes

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Gargrave to Edale, how the day went

Standing on the bridge over the River Aire in Gargrave at 3 am on Saturday morning I wondered why on earth I had got myself into this situation. While there was a personal agenda, a self imposed challenge, I focused on the many people who had given donations and pledged support for the Help for Heroes charity and it was for the sake of all our soldiers injured on active service that I had to complete the run

.
It was dark, it was drizzling and there was a fresh breeze that I knew from experience would multiply many times in strength once we were on the higher, more exposed sections of the run.

Ian Charters, very experienced in both running and supporting long distance challenges, was with me on the first leg and we decided that full, heavy weather waterproofs would be the best choice early on. It was a decision that we were to be thankful for later in the run.

Initially I had split the route into four equal length sections, but Ian had opted for a longer first leg so that the changeover of support could be located at a more convenient spot.

While Ian’s wife Pauline drove round to meet us at a pre-arranged rendezvous we picked our way through fields and disturbed the cows and sheep from their early morning ruminations en route for the Bronte Country, Top Withins and the Widdop area where the first changeover of support was to take place after seven hours and 23 miles of running.

Along the way the wind speed increased and the rain got heavier. They were conditions in which it was hard to keep the pace up yet we arrived at Widdop a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Ian and Pauline swapped roles and my brother Ed, who has been a constant support in planning and training, took over roadside duties. Completing the support team for this section was Julie Laverock who assumed navigational duties as well as sharing other support tasks such as carrying spare clothing and high energy food and drink. On any ultra distance run it is vital to take on regular food and drink and the support team must have the experience to make sure the runner doesn’t neglect this aspect.

By now the rain had stopped leaving behind a strong, cold wind and we traversed Heptonstall Moor heading for Calderdale before crossing the valley and heading up to the monument on Stoodley Pike. For the first time physical problems began to appear in form of a thigh strain that I feared would jeopardise the attempt. In a bid to keep the problem at bay Ibuprofen and a few stretching exercises were tried. The climb up to Stoodley Pike was inevitably slow and a chance to take on more engery food and drink.

Across the top of the ridge heading for the White House Inn on the A58 the pain had gone. The wind was head on and energy sapping but by now the sun was out save for a few squally showers Across Blackstone Moss we reached the M62 and the next changeover where the ladies were replaced by Ed, John Parker and Nicole Kirkham. Road duties were taken over by John Coope who has helped me on many of my long distance challenges. So far 40 miles had been covered and we were still making good progress.

We made good time across Standedge and Black Moss to Wessenden and the long climb up to the A635. From there we had one of the longest between road sections, nearly nine miles, to Torside reservoir near Glossop, where again the strong head winds were making their presence felt to the extent that at times it was hard to keep running. We made it to the Torside rendezvous about an hour late which was a major disappointment as it made a mess of the strategy for the later stages.

The plan had been to reach Kinder Scout before nightfall and hopefully reach the descent before darkness. It was now obvious this was not going to happen and in the company of my daughter Sally and son Eden and their travelling companion from the South, who answers to the name of Spud, we set off up the last major climb of the day to Bleaklow Head and then on to the Snake Pass road, where Julie emerged from one of the support cars to take on the onerous task of navigating over Kinder in the gathering gloom.


Crossing Kinder in the light can often be a challenge even in good weather but in strongly gusting winds and in the dark it became a question of safety first. With head torches now on we were very much down to a walk over the rocks and peat groughs of Kinder and time was passing slowly as we made towards Edale Rocks with the lights of the Manchester conurbation well below us. It was with relief that we saw the jagged teeth of the rocks against the night sky and knew that the final descent was not far ahead of us.

By now there was not much energy left in me and balance was affected by tiredness. I was ably supported, often physically, by one or other members of the team as my gait became more unsteady. The rocky descent of Jacob’s Ladder was much of an ordeal for everyone in the dark and we were all glad to reach more level ground on the track to Upper Booth.


There we were met by Ed and yet another brother, Bob, who had been drafted in as a support driver. Our navigator Julie who had done such a magnificent job guiding us over Kinder, opted to drive to the finish.


From that point it was simply a matter of crossing a few fields to the finish by the Nags Head Inn at Edale. But it was not as simple as that, being the only section that had not had a recent recce. Uncertainty over the route for the last mile meant much wasted time, almost within sight of the lights of Edale.

With that final problem solved we made it into the small square in Edale in a time of 22 hours 50 minutes, well within the time I had allowed but outside the time I had hoped for.


The whole day had been a great team effort and would not have been possible without the support of so many people, working in many different capacities to give me a day to remember.

I have always felt we do not sometimes use enough of the abilities we have to help others and I hope that in completing this run the money donated from a wide variety of sources will go in some small part to help the soldiers, sometimes horrifically injured in the line of duty on our behalf, to have a chance of a better life.

My heartfelt thanks to all who helped to get me through this challenge and to all who have made or pledged donations.


Postscript: The estimation of the distance run was taken from two sources. The Wainwright Pennine Way guide calculates the distance as 70 miles and there is a sign in Gargrave indicating the distance to Edale as 70 miles. However over the years there have been a number of variations to the initial route and Paddy Dillon in the Cicerone guide to the Pennine Way calculates the distance as nearer 75 miles. Whoever is right it did seem a very long way.

A photographic record can be seen by clicking here to go to the regular blog relating to activities of my support team who train and race regularly together.

Thursday 26 May 2011

The team completed

The final two members of my support team are Ian and Pauline Charters who both have a background in long distance walking and running.

Ian joined our Saturday group a few years ago and soon progressed beyond our capabilities, going on to complete both the Bob Graham round and the Joss Naylor traverse and even longer challenges. He has helped me on other ultra distance runs and his experience is a welcome addition to any team. Ian has the questionable privilege of helping me on the first leg, starting at Gargrave at 0300 on Saturday morning.

When Ian moved on from our training squad he kindly provided a substitute in the form of Pauline who initially denied being a runner but eventually could no longer hide the fact that she is a very able runner with limitless stamina.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Meet the team - two more Johns

A relatively new recruit to our Saturday morning training squad is John Parker who joined us after a lapse of several years from serious competitive fell running to train for an attempt on this year's Winter Hill fell race.


His performance there showed he had not lost any of his previous ability and he followed up his appearance on Winter Hill with an attempt on the English fell championship where after two races he is in joint first place for the over 70 title.

Adding further experience to the team will be John Coope who with my brother Ed been the has mainstay of our Saturday squad for many years and is much the senior of my helpers. He has supported me on all my Lakeland long distance challenges where his experience and encouragement have been invaluable.

Unfortunately knee trouble has affected his fell running for the past 12 months and he is only now making a cautious return to the fells. In the inaugural years of the Joss Naylor traverse he took on the 48 mile Lakeland challenge and became one of the early winners of the coveted tankard.

His role on Saturday will principally be as a driver for the support team but hopefully he will be encouraged to don his fell shoes and run a few miles with me.

Friday 20 May 2011

More training, more miles

The 25 miles taking me to Darwen Tower, detailed in the last training update, left me with little energy the next day and 2 miles was all I could manage, very slowly. But if recovery times are a good guide to fitness the two six mile runs on the Friday showed some progress has been made.

Saturday was a repeat of the previous Saturday, but somewhat faster, and was followed the next day with an eight miler, and then 12.5 miles on the Monday which was very close to a personal best for that particular route.

Having missed a swimming session because of the fall of the previous week, Tuesday saw me back in the pool for a few easy lengths followed later in the day with a four mile run - another minor energy crisis.

The shortage of energy was short lived as the Wednesday, back to Darwen Tower for another 25 mile run, saw me back on form with a nine minute improvement over the previous Wednesday followed by six miles on the Thursday.

And so, with eight days left to go the serious training has been completed and a winding down of the mileage will hopefully leave me in peak form. With this in mind a short recce was planned for Friday to re-aquaint myself with final leg from Colden over Bleaklow to the Snake Pass road.

The intention was to check the line off Bleaklow and then return to Colden, but the best laid plans (of mice and men.....) don't always work out. The obvious path from the summit cairn soon petered out into a maze of peat groughs and certainly no Pennine Way. So it was a case of retracing steps to Bleaklow and following a less obvious route which eventually proved to be the way down to the road. This turned out to be a worthwhile recce as valuable time could have been lost on the day of the challenge if the same mistake had been made.
Meet more of the team

Travelling up from the South of England specially to help on the last section of my Pennine Way challenge will be my daughter Sally and son Eden, both of them successful marathon runners, Sally in the London marathon and Eden in the inaugural Brighton marathon last year.


Both of them know the sort of terrain they will have to cope with having accompanied me on last year's abortive attempt at this challenge. Sally, who lives in Fleet, Hampshire, and Eden, from Hove, have been training hard to build up the stamina to run up to 17 miles through the northern moorlands.

They are both keen martial arts enthusiasts, Sally being a black belt, second dan, at Karate and a veteran of the Karate world championships held in Manchester a couple of years ago, while Eden is a black belt at Kendo. So
no problem with team security.

They will be accompanied by triathalon ironman Spud who learned a bit about the north while working in Lancashire for a number of years and took part in the Bolton ironman event. I'm told that unlike The Stig he has a first and last name but has been known universally since childhood as Spud
.

The pictures above show Eden and myself on our last visit to Edale and Sally ready for the Fleet Half Marathon.

Monday 16 May 2011

Running commentary

Due to internet problems updating the Blog was not possible for a few days last week so updating progress has been delayed. However, the training did continue with high mileages.

With three weeks to go to my Pennine Way challenge on 7th May saw a group outing on the section of the run from the A672 by the M62 to the B6105 near Colden. John Coope who will be supporting the team at the road crossings on this section was using the outing to check his route and timing and it also gave the quartet of runners, brother Ed, John Parker, Julie and myself a chance to familiarise ourselves with this part of the Way.


Having a car at all the road crossings enabled us to travel light and we made good progress as far as the A635, experiencing a little rain and increasing head winds. Julie must had known what was coming as she took the opportunity to leave us for the comfort of the car, having an outing on the Calderdale Relay race the following day.

As the three of us headed over Black Moss the rain increased and by Laddow Rocks above Colden Great Brook conditions had deteriorated and the combination of wind, wet rocks and coldness was slowing us down.

We dropped down to the reservoirs and across the valley to where the car was waiting on the B6105. We had covered 18 miles in a little over four and a half hours.

A fast six mile run the following day took my total for the week to 87.5 miles.

Thankfully, the Saturday outing had not set my progress back and following Sunday’s lively run Monday’s early morning 12.5 mile run was again encouragingly fast.

Tuesday morning saw me back at the baths for a few lengths followed by a 10 mile run later in the day.

Wednesdays have developed as a good day for a long mid-week run and so the next day saw me again out on the West Pennine Moors, starting at Rivington and following the previous Wednesday’s route via Healey Nab, White Coppice, Abbey Village and round the Roddleworth Reservoirs. At this point last week I had opted for the shorter return to Rivington but today felt that a trip to Darwen Tower was a good addition to the route even though I was beginning to tire.

At the Tower, now looking strange without the top that was removed by storms last year, I encountered Katy Thompson of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers who had read about my run in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. We ran together for a short while until our routes diverged.

The earlier tiredness had reduced and a good pace along the Belmont road took me to the Ramp and then over Winter Hill, Two Lads and down to Horwich via George’s Lanes and Gingham Brow. Unfortunately the rough descent off George’s Lane caught me out for the first time in a couple of years and the resulting tumble left me bruised and a little bloody. As falls go it was not a bad one but the abrasions to the left left leg would keep me from the baths the next day.

Back at Rivington the Garmin (GPS device) showed an average pace of just under 12 mins per mile marginally faster than last week but with the addition of Darwen Moor the pace was encouraging.

Friday 6 May 2011

More training

The Barbondale LDWA event, run on the same day as the Three Peaks and over adjacent territory, turned out to be a severe test due to the excessively strong winds. Great Coum, the first of the two major climbs had us battling the wind head on and at times barely making progress. Fortunately this was followed by a lower level section down Dentdale in warm sunshine and some shelter.

This was not to last however, as the second major climb had us head on into the wind again on a fairly exposed section in a huge horseshoe which turned to summit on Calf Top now with the wind behind and blowing us over the minor tops of Castle Knott and Esk Holme Pike before returning to the village hall in Barbon.

I finished the 24 miles in just under five and a half hours totally exhausted and not sure just how much could be attributed to the high winds.

A slow six mile run followed on the Sunday, again a little disappointing, and this took the week's total mileage to 83.5. The Bank Holiday Monday saw a more encouraging outing with a 13-mile run in 1hr 58min, a significant improvement on recent road runs.

Tuesday had an eight-mile dawn run scheduled which turned out to be on the slowish side and a 10-mile afternoon outing was shortened to 4 miles due to tiredness.

The week was now showing signs of degenerating into a series of low performances and something was needed to lift the spirits.

A long midweek outing was called for and so, favouring familiar territory, I left Rivington Lower Barn heading for Anglezarke, the Yew Tree, Healey Nab and White Coppice. Running through the trees surrounding the Roddlesworth reservoirs was very pleasant in the sunshine and made the miles pass more easily.

At Piccadilly the option of turning for Darwen Tower was saved for another outing and I took the road down to Belmont and then up the Ramp to the masts. From there the route took me down to Gingham Brow, round the backs to Rivington and and Blackrod School and the through Lever Park back to the the Lower Barn in 20.5 miles. The distance was just short of 'a long run,' so a quick tour of the top barn took the total to 21.5.

The time was three minutes longer than the same run two weeks earlier which had come after a rest day and so, especially as the last few miles had been appreciably faster, Wednesday's time was just the encouragement I had been looking for.

Having suspended swimming training for April to concentrate on running, I was back in the pool on Thursday feeling very tired and followed this with a lunchtime six miles at a steady pace.

The conclusion was that the necessary fitness is not quite there but with two weeks of training left I hope to remedy this.

Friday 29 April 2011

Training update

The diversions of Easter Saturday did not at first seem to have had any adverse impact on picking up the training schedule but after posting good times for a couple of days delayed tiredness kicked in and some mileage was lost.


A recce from the M62 northward on Wednesday proved to be slightly better with an 18 mile run that turned just short of Stoodley Pike. A minor diversion at the Aiggin stone on the outward leg was soon corrected and in spite of lack of signposts at some crucial points a worthwhile recce was accomplished at 13.5 mins per mile

The run was completed in almost unbroken sunshine, marred only by a strong wind that at times was bitterly cold.

The following day the tiredness returned and only a short run was managed. An early outing on Friday saw some improvement but with the 24 mile Barbondale Round LDWA event on the Saturday the run was limited to 8 miles.

Tomorrow's outing will no doubt be an indication of the state of preparation and whether any changes need to be made to the training programme. With only 4 weeks left I don't want any complications in training.

Sunday 24 April 2011

The best laid plans....

For more years than I can remember, so long it is now almost a tradition, brother Ed and myself have enjoyed a run from the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel in Langdale to Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, on the morning of Easter Saturday.


It all began so we could dash back to Horwich do the Pike race and then have the satisfaction of having done two Pikes in one day. It was a silly idea in the first place and after several years it has become a harder challenge each time and times have slowed -- but a tradition is a tradition and to break it might make old age a little nearer.

It was an achievement we kept much to ourselves for some time, but eventually word got out and more and more people have come to question our sanity.

Making the round trip to the Lakes and back in time for the 3 o'clock race has become increasingly hectic and our start times have had to come forward to accommodate our schedule.

And so, following an early alarm call, a meeting at the Hob Inn followed by a dash up the motorway, we were on our way to Rossett Ghyll by 8.15.

All was straightforward until just past Angle Tarn where we entered low cloud and visibility of less than 50 yards. A couple of early walkers were encountered who said they were heading for Scafell Pike and after consulting their map said they were on the right path. Alarm bells were soon ringing; the path was not right. By the time we had established our true position an already tight schedule demanding a steady pace was in disarray and at Esk Hause we had to admit that the first Pike of the day was not going to be achieved.

Heading back to the Dungeon Ghyll we passed the usual Easter hordes making their way up into the clouds. Hopefully they had better success than we did.

A quick dash back down the M6 and we were back at Horwich with minutes to spare. And from then on it was off with the gloves and sibling rivalry was back on the menu. Ed was off to a good start and was ahead until just past the school where he lost ground taking a short cut. I could hear his voice not far behind as we climbed to the tower and was waiting for him to come storming past on the descent. This he did as we exited the last field and he stayed ahead until we hit the road.

Once I had my nose in front the result was not in doubt and I stayed ahead to win by eight seconds.

So the day was only a partial success and probably means we have no option but to try again next year (and no doubt the year after).

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Training update

Preparations are going well for the PW challenge in aid of Help for Heroes. At last, time and fitness have provided the opportunity to go over 100 miles in seven days for the first time in years.

Passing this milestone was aided by another recce of the Pennine Way on Tuesday along the route from Widdop in the company of Julie who will be one of the supporters on this section.

Knowing that Julie was conscious of the approaching Three Peaks race and the need to start winding down for this classic event the day started for me with a solo 20 minute warm up along the road to Walshaw Dean reservoir and then back to the meeting point.

The weather couldn't have been better, not a cloud in the sky and virtually no wind as we traversed the slopes of Heptonstall Moor, heading for Colden and then on to Calderdale. We crossed the main road and canal and headed up into Callis Wood, picking up the route of the Howarth Hobble to drop back down into Hebden Bridge. Declining the full challenge of the climb up to Heptonstall we skirted the tree clad side of the valley to emerge at the car park by New Bridge Hall. From there it was a pleasant trek up the valley, past the NT mill and Hardcastle Crags, keeping to the valley trails to return to the cars.

At this point the Garmin showed 14.5 miles, enough for Julie but less than my target for the day. So it was back up the road to Walshaw Dean, a chance to recce the official PW route - not the tarmac option used by most on the Hobble. Still short of miles, a run round the higher of the Walshaw reservoirs was an attractive choice which took me full circuit to the tarmac road and back down towards Widdop.

Halfway along the tarmac road is a track to the left where two walkers were encountered who did not conceal their delight in heading for the Pack Horse Inn across the fields. The track seemed a good choice to add more miles and this took me eventually up the road to the pub where the two walkers were forlornly stood outside. The pub did not open lunchtimes till Easter - a bad business decision as three cars pulled up in as many minutes.

The poor walkers were faced with the long walk back to Howarth with no food and no drink in the midday heat. At this point I surrendered my remaining Lucozade Sport to them as I was nearly back at the car.

The morning had been a great outing in superb conditions over a varied and attractive route. The pace had been leisurely, five hours for 20.5 miles, but valuable as a recce.

Friday 15 April 2011


Meet the team - Ed swift


Hi, I'm Ed, one of John’s three brothers. There are six of us in the family, four brothers and two sisters, all now well over 50 years of age. Most of us have done a bit a bit of running, but only John has taken it beyond the point where reason fades and obsession threatens to bloom. Guess I must rate second in the “overdoing it“ stakes, as I’m currently in Spain for the Madrid marathon which will be my 56th full marathon.

John and I are fiercely competitive in individual races, where he, despite his extra 7 years, invariably has the upper hand on the road, whereas I tend to have the edge in fell races.

However, over the years we have worked well together on the long challenge events such as the Bob Graham Round (72 miles and 42 Lakeland peaks) and the shorter (a mere 42 miles) Joss Naylor challenge, where we supported each other, on our individual completions.

One particular event that gave us both a lot of satisfaction was the Old County Tops, a fell race run in pairs that started at the New Dungeon Ghyll in Great Langdale and visited the highest points in the old Lakeland counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and Lancashire (Helvellyn, Scafell Pike and Coniston Old Man). In the early/mid 1990’s John and I twice won the award for the fastest pair with a combined age of over 100.

John’s upcoming challenge offers him the opportunity for further excesses on his beloved fells, and I’m sure that the team will have a fine long day out. In addition, with your help, we can raise some funds for those that have suffered more that a few blisters and aching joints for their country.

The picture above was taken at the end of my Joss Naylor Traverse, when I had run from Pooley Bridge in the north east Lakes to Greendale Bridge in the south west, over 30 Lakeland tops in just under 18 hours. I’m the one in the silly Tshirt in the middle, John’s the one on the left, and most of the others will be out in support on the 28th of May.

My role on the day will be to provide road support, carry John's kit for parts of the run, ensure he's eating and drinking sensibly, keep an eye on the pace (not so fast as to blow up, but not so slow as to get too much behind schedule) and generally jolly things along. I'm not allowed to be involved in the navigating as I get confused over which end of the compass points east, or is that west?

Profiles of other team members will follow.

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Coniston 14 Plus

Part of the strategy of preparation for the PW challenge has been the inclusion of occasional road races as a attempt at speed training. Saturday's outing was the Coniston 14 Plus - that is the original 14 mile course with extra distance to avoid a bridge damaged by floods in the winter before last.

The day dawned bright and by the late morning start the heat was becoming a worrying issue. I had travelled up with younger brother Bob who like me was making return to the Coniston 14 after some years break. The race always has a slow start on account of the big entry and the narrow roads over the first mile and this prevents using up too much energy too early.

I was fully expecting last year's over 70 winner to turn out and take the prize and having missed him at the start assumed he was way ahead. With the prospect of him beating me yet again being a constant incentive to keep the pace up I put in maximum effort on the many hills and still saw neither hide nor hair of him. One of the many rewards that this race offers is the magnificent scenery and views of the surrounding fells and in the brilliant spring sunshine the surrounding landscape was at its best.

This is a race that has a reputation for toughness on account of the severe hills especially in the last few miles. The one good thing about the finish is the flat last mile as runners cross the top of the lake.

Back at the John Ruskin School, start and finish for the race, there was still no sign of last year's winner and when the results were posted yours truly had won the over 70 category by about 19 minutes in a time of 2hrs 22mins 50secs finishing 271st in a field of over well over 1000.


Brother Bob's story was somewhat different. He had warned me there would be a long wait for him, especially as he had trained for a 14 mile race, not knowing the effect of the changes to the course. Being much taller and nearly half as much heavier than myself his build is always going to make running more difficult for him. He finished in 3hrs 28mins 41 sec in 1041st place, and later expressed disappointment and an intention to return next year.

Monday 11 April 2011

Meet the team - Julie Laverock

My first introduction to the long Saturday run was by John’s brother Ed. This was a mere 14 miles. Having been trained up to a sufficient Saturday morning standard I was then introduced to his older brother John. What an inspiration to my long distance training he’s been. Here was someone nearly twice my age regularly running that distance as a training run during the week as well as at the weekend, posting times in races I could only ever dream of.

With John’s guidance and support I recently completed my first ultra-distance event, running as his partner at the Haworth Hobble in March 2011. No bad for someone who not so long ago thought that 33 miles was the distance you ran in a week not in a day.

It is indeed a privilege to be asked by John to provide running support for his 70@70 challenge. What better way to spend a day than in the company of friends, doing something you enjoy whilst at the same time helping to raise money for such a worthy charity.

Monday 4 April 2011

Saturday run

The usual Saturday morning off road/moorland run was dropped in favour of a long road run as brother Ed had but two weeks to go to his Madrid Marathon. He has been learning some essential Spanish phrases, well he needs to keep hydrated the night before, but has not yet learned the most important race request "How far to the next Portaloo".

Julie joined us for the road outing which started early for me with a 5-mile warm up around the Anglezarke area before meeting up with the others. The basis for our squad road training centres on the former Bolton 40 course. This is a race that is sadly no longer organised and one that Ed and myself did several times. It started outside the Parish Church in Horwich and circuited Winter Hill by road in an anti clockwise direction to Rivington and than via the Millstone back to the starting line. Three laps made up the 40-mile race distance.

Being a hilly route it has always been an ideal training course for such races as the Snowdonia Marathon and the Langdale Marathon. Are there any big hills in Madrid?

And so the three of us set out at a steady pace until we reached Belmont where the route took us past the Blue Lagoon and up to the top at Horden Stoop. This 1.3 miles climb has become (mostly at my insistence) a time trial and Saturday was no exception, with the much improving Julie leading the way with 12mins 34secs, yours truly next in 12mins 55 secs and Ed in third place.

We dropped down to Rivington Green where Julie left us to return to the lower barn and the remaining two added another lap of Anglezarke reservoir where the climbs were beginning to take their toll.

My total time for 23.48 miles was 4hrs 22mins 18 secs, a pace of 11mins 10 secs per mile, not particularly fast but a worthwhile training run considering the total climb of 2,900ft.
Training log

Preparation for the Pennine Way run is going well with some encouraging training times. Mileage is the driving force in the training programme and last week's total of 69 miles was probably not quite enough even though the individual runs showed an improving pattern.


Mon AM: 6 miles; 54mins 40secs; better than average pace.
PM: 6 plus miles; an intended 10 mile run aborted due to lack of energy (very tired)

Tue AM: Swim 600 metres
PM: Run 4 miles with son Eden; 35mins 24ses.

Wed AM: Run 4 miles; 36mins 24secs: morning runs are always slower.
PM: Run 4 miles with Eden; 32mins 38secs; best for about 3 years.

Thu AM: Swim 600 metres
PM: Run 10 miles; 1hr 37mins 54secs.

Fri PM: Run 6; 53mins 40secs.

Sat AM: 23.48 miles road run; 4hr 22min 18ses; (see separate posting)

Sun PM: Run 6 miles; 52mins 23secs (best for 11 months)

The plan now is to drop the twice weekly swim sessions for the next month and replace them with extra runs and this should make the mileage targets easier to achieve. With eight weeks left to the big challenge the next six weeks will be critical and the aim is to gradually push the weekly mileages to as close to 100 as possible before a two-week taper. There needs to be at least one run per week of over 20 miles and at least one run of 30 plus within the next month.

It is planned to include some recce runs and some Lakeland runs in the build up.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Two races, so different

Selected races were always planned in the build up to the Pennine Way run and two events in two weeks were both intended to be stepping stones to improving different elements of fitness.


Stamina obviously is a requirement for ultra distance running and the Howarth Hobble/Wuthering Hike over 32 miles of Bronte Country and Calderdale was to provide just that test. This event is for pairs or solo entrants and this year I was paired with regular training partner Julie and we were accompanied by a further training partner Pauline, both of whom will be part of the support team.

Soon after the start the group swelled to five as we linked with two members of Horwich RMI Harriers Paul and Geraldine, both very experienced and setting a sensible pace. This was to pay off later as the miles ticked by taking us to Top Withens, Widdop Reservoir and the via the Causeway to Todmorden.

From there the route was via Stoodley Pike to Hebden Bridge and then Hepponstall, Hardcastle Crags and back over the moors to Howarth. The last climb is always energy sapping but on this day there was enough left in the tank to keep a decent pace over Penistone Country Park and a resulting time 27 minutes faster than last year. Very encouraging -time taken 7hrs 12mins

By total contrast the second race was the pre-London Half Marathon in Fleet, Hampshire, an event that beckons on account of family ties in that town. This event was to be a token commitment to "speedwork" and in perfect weather conditions it ticked all the boxes with a two minute improvement over last year - time taken 1hr 40mins (and 6secs). Again, very encouraging.

Son Eden and daughter Sally, also in the support team, were also running, making it a great family outing.

The effect of all this racing has made it difficult to achieve the weekly mileage targets so with two weeks to go to the next race, the Coniston 14, there are a lot of miles to cram in.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Why, where and when

Welcome to my blog and thank you for your interest in my proposed attempt to run 70 miles along the Pennine way on May 28th. The idea for this personal challenge has come from two sources. Firstly as a long time fell runner with a little ultra running experience I have always been impressed by other veteran athletes who have continued to push the boundaries of endurance by extending such demanding classics as the Bob Graham Round to achieve perhaps 50 summits at 50 years of age, 60 at 60 and even further.


Obviously 70 peaks at 70 was out of the question and so another format was needed. The second inspiration came five years ago when I successfully completed a run of 72 miles along Hadrian’s Wall from Heddon on the Wall to Bowness on Solway in just over 17 hours. This was partly a solo run supported at times by my son and daughter who enjoyed the day so much they wanted another outing.

And so the idea of the Pennine Way run was born with the aim of covering 70 miles at the age of 70 within 24 hours, not a fast pace but an unrelenting strain on the body.

Initially a low key attempt was set up for the day before midsummer last year with the hope of maximum daylight and warm weather, starting at Edale and running North to Gargrave. Unfortunately the day was cold, overcast and with a debilitating Northerly head wind that was strong enough to take the breath away. Progress was painfully slow and by the halfway point, reached in 11 hours, there was little enthusiasm for continuing. Abandonment is always a bitter pill to swallow and so a rerun was inevitable.

This time the approach was to be more considered, with a bigger support team, still including my son and daughter, and as added motivation sponsorship would be sought for a worthy cause. I have always been shocked at the sight of so many servicemen returning from the front line in Afghanistan with broken bodies and minds and feel that anything that can help them build a future is a worthy cause. My chosen charity Help 4 Heroes can do just that. Another major change is that the run will start at Gargrave and head South to finish at Edale so that any head wind will hopefully be warmer than the one encountered last year.

This blog is to serve as a record of my preparations for the 28th May, and in due course, of the day itself and the aftermath and hopefully to raise the profile of the run for the purpose of raising sponsorship.

Donations can be made by clicking on www.bmycharity.com/70at70tohelpHeroes