London Marathon 2010

Last weekend I hit the tarmac of London for the second time. After a fairly good winter of training I was hopeful of getting inside last years pb of 2:24.

The high temperatures predicted never materialised and the conditions were near perfect. Similar to last year I did not want to get involved in the group of top brits over the first few miles and I stayed a minute or so behind a big pack up until around half way. Went through half way in just over 70 minutes feeling OK with the race so far.

With a marathon the race only really starts in the second half. Most of the race I had been running with fellow Scot Ross Houston. Annoyingly he managed to sustain our pace and I slowed down slightly although I still had Orlando Edwards (Shaftedbury Barnet) for company. As ever last 6 miles were tough and all thoughts of time and position went out the window you just want to finish.

My 2:25:51 was slightly dispaointing but still generally happy to finish 33rd in a race with over 30,000 runners. As ever great event, support and superb atmosphere.

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PEN DINAS - Owain Llŷr James

The fourth race in the Eryri Harriers Tuesday Night Series took place yesterday, with about 500m of climbing in about a mile, it was a hard race. My new X Talon 212's got their first airing, and they performed superbly in the dry conditions.

Another win in my category still leaves top of the U16 series table.

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Hartcliffe Hill - Yum Cake!

Last Thursday I ran Hartcliffe Hill fell race - another short, fast, evening race, famous among ShUOC for the amazing cakes as prizes!
I was using it to decide whether to run anniversary waltz at the weekend as I had developed a bad cold after the british elite orienteering champs last weekend. It was sunny and lovely and I set off with no intension of running fast. Apart from a bit of breathing difficulty (as expected) I didn't feel too bad to begin with and accidentally found myself in the lead. My legs felt good and like I was running comfortably. I wore my new Mudclaw 270s which was a little excessive for this course, but I wanted to try them out. They felt a bit bigger than other pairs I've had so I might need to re-adjust my mudclaw size in future.
I was waiting to be caught, however coming through the last field it still hadn't happened and I ran through the finish in 1st!
I also got a PB by 30s (but don't be mislead to think I was running too hard with a cold, hartcliffe hill happens to coinside with a certain ShUOC related late night out in sheffield every year....)
Stuart Bond got to pick the first cake and it was an AMAZING hill complete with green icing grass and runner! I think I would have had trouble cutting it it was so good! I picked a very tasty chocolate cake with added chocolate :-)
I was hoping to have more to write in this blog but I also confirmed my suspicion that I shouldn't run this weekend, so I took a stroll up cat bells in the sun on Saturday and took photos instead.
Now I'm hoping to shift the cold before coniston!

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Meall nan Tarmachan Hill Race

On the banks of Loch Tay, and to the west of the Ben Lawers Munro range, sits the Munro Meall nan Tarmachan (The Hill of the Ptarmigan). On Sunday, 18th May, 68 runners (including me!) flocked to it for the inaugural Meall nan Tarmachan Hill Race.

A sustained climb to a knoll at 923m, a short descent to a coll and then a short, steep, rocky climb to 'bag' the Munro at 1044m, a dash along a broad ridge to another coll below the rocky summit of Meall Garbh, a rough, grassy ridge descent to a stony track, and 3km along it to the finish, makes up the circular 9.5km route, with 700m of ascent. We also had to contend with a fresh covering of snow above 800m, patches of remaining deep snow and mist on the highest parts of the course, making it a tough, but enjoyable, wee race, which suited my choice of inov-8 330s!

I crossed the line in 59:52 in 11th place, 1st LV40 and 2nd Lady behind Angela Mudge.

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Tuesday Night Series - Mynydd Mawr - Owain Llŷr James

It was the 3rd race of the very popular Tuesday Night Series, organised by Mike Blake and Eryri Harriers yesterday. Still competing as an U16, I was able to start with the senior runners, but as the rules say I can only run 4 miles, there was no trip to the top of Mynydd Mawr today.

A good start saw me in 12th place before the long slog to the top (for most at least) started. At my turn around point, I'd made some places up and was 6th overall.

An steep and undulating race to the finish saw me confirm my 1st place as U16, and also confirming me as 1st overall in the series.

Next race is at Nant Peris on the 27 April.

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Clean Sweep for Team Inov-8 at British Orienteering Championships

Oli and Rach after the middle distance

Team Inov-8 athletes won all four titles in the British Orienteering Championships last weekend. Oli Johnson and Rachael Elder took the honours in the Middle Distance in the technical and tough forest of Haverthwaite in the Lake District, while Graham Gristwood and Sarah Rollins won the Sprint event around the streets and parks of Chorley the following day (see Sarah's report below).

The two races offered contrasting challenges, with the middle distance demanding concentration and caution amongst the crags and knolls of one of the most technically demanding forests in England. Meanwhile the sprint race required high speed and quick decision making around housing estates, town centre and parkland terrain. This weekend continues a great early season for Team Inov-8, which will continue in two weeks time with the Long and Relay disciplines of the British Championships, followed by the European Championships in Bulgaria at the end of May.

Last weekend offered an opportunity for some of the athletes to try out the new O-Roc 280, the lightest orienteering shoe on the market, which was the perfect footwear for the rocky slopes of Haverthwaite. It looks like this will be the shoe of choice for the international season.

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Highlander Mountain Marathon

Photo - Dave MacFarlane

A week ago saw the 4th running of the Highlander Mountain Marathon, this year based at Gairloch in the far North-west reaches of the highlands. I know that good weather helps make these locations idyllic, but wow - what a vista! Tropical looking flat calm seas, mirror perfect lochs, prehistoric sandstone giants towering out of the moorland, snow capped peaks, azure skies, and most perfect, no midges.

The area for day 1 was the Corbett laced wilderness north of the Torridon giants, with fantastic sandstone and quartzite geology everywhere you looked, and some amazingly good running. Only a few days previously Chris and I had been running or skiing through deep snow around Aviemore, but here we were being slowly baked under the intense sun in T-shirt and shorts. Fairly simple nav and good going made for an enjoyable day, and we were all finished and in camp for 1pm, washing our kit and hanging it out to dry in the warm breeze at Sheildaig.

What a difference to be able to laze about and socialise rather than huddling out of the weather in a cramped 1-man tent! We had to wait another hour before the next team on A arrived, giving us a very comfortable lead and allowing us to enjoy the ceilidh, beer and happy ambience of the camp.

Day 2 was run entirely on the area East of Gairloch - a stark contrast to day 1. Low, heathery hills, with intricate contour detial and much route choice. The controls were sensibly hung mainly on water features, as fine nav on 1:50 000 maps with little detail is 'interpretative' at best, but can be very misleading if you're used to fine detail. The sun shone down again giving us a good incentive to 'get the job done' and get back before the midday sun made life harder. All the while the excellent air quality gave the most stunning views of the area around us, but I couldn't help being sad that we were spending an exceptional day not up some of them!

Finally we got back and had a long wait, about 1hr 45mins until 2nd came through, then an even longer wait for prize giving - it was a shame we had to head off so soon, but Chris had to get to work on monday morning and we were meeting our respective families en route somewhere down the A9 (Pitlochry as it happened) on the 9hr drive south.

Another fantastic weekend, expertly organised and run by the folk at Hands on Events - thanks to Alastair and Henry and team for all their hard work and vision, and to Alec and his planners for the great running. If you haven't done a mountain marathon yet - try to get to this one next Easter, you won't be disappointed.

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British Sprint Orienteering Champs 2010 - Chorley

Inov8 athletes take the British Sprint O Titles!

Graham Gristwood (GG) and Sarah Rollins (me!) finished well clear of the rest of the field (47 and 26 seconds respectively) in the British Sprint Orienteering Championships held on 18 April in Chorley near Manchester.

The race format included heats which took competitors into Chorley village next to Astley Hall (a complex housing estate) and then back into the park next to the Hall, followed by a final that started in the town centre and then brought them back through park and woodland to the finish back outside the Hall.

A good end to a great weekend for the Inov8 Team (GG, Sarah Rollins and Rachael Elder)!

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Wardle Skyline and Bunny Run 2

Its been a busy week for racing! Last Saturday was the Wardle Skyline race, near Rochdale, a new race for me. I led from the gun (a little bit worrying as I was a bit sketchy on the route....) and had opened up a good lead by the first summit. A few dodgy route choices on the tops but managed to extend my lead. Really enjoyed the moorland sections, bouncing along firm paths under blue skies and bright sunshine, then opening up down the long descent back to the village. This is what summer running is all about! Negotiated a tricky descent down a cobbled lane, a couple of cheeky little climbs, dodged a few horseriders before coming into the finish to win by 2 minutes. Great event.

Tuesday evening saw a return to the familiar surroundings of Penistone Hill in Haworth for my first Bunny Run of the year. These are a series of fast and furious 3 mile races, notable for the enthusiastic, fun atmosphere, the manic start and all the youngsters sprinting off at full pelt in an attempt to capture the Egg Stage, the timed first km special stage. A good chance to test my new X-Talons, on their way to becoming my favourite racing shoes. For once I got a good start but couldn't keep up with Ilkley's Tom Adams, who pelted off to take the Egg Stage. Ian Holmes, came past as we began the second lap, en route to his 29th win! I spent the rest of the race tussling with Tom before he pulled away at the top of the last climb. Still, 3rd place and the same time as I ran at this time last year so am pretty satisfied that preparations for the summer are going well.

The last race of the week was a total contrast; a long leg at the National Road Relays in Birmingham. Very hot day, plus, being on a later leg there were few other runners to aim at, meaning this turned into a bit of a slog. Basically, a race which made me realise why I enjoy off-road running so much!

So, the last few weeks have been a bit of a break from hard training after the long cross-country season, a chance for me to enjoy some easier running and to get a few races under my belt. Now, as summer approaches, its time to add in some sessions; a mix of track and speed workouts, long threshold runs and long hill reps, as well as sustaining a fairly high mileage. This should get me in shape for a good crack at the mountains again in the summer. Looking forward to it.....

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Herod Farm

Last night I thought my legs needed a bit more punishment in order for me to be running slow enough to think at the weekend, so I headed over to Glossop for the Joe Barber Herod Farm race. 3miles with 1100ft of climb proved to be quite a lung buster!
The pace was quick (of course...its 'only' 3 miles) and at the top of the first hill I got stuck the wrong side of a stile queue - this meant a speedy descent (in which I could feel the mournes slightly) to try and catch back up to the first 3 women. The second climb was more my thing - hands on knees and plough past people! I gained a lot of ground and was about 100m behind zanthe in 1st at the top of the climb, however the summer air (yes it is deffinately summer now) did not mix well with my lungs which made me light headed and the unheard of happened, I got overtaken going downhill! I ended up not catching any of the 1st 3 and coming 2:30 behind zanthe in 1st. However I did win 2 easter eggs for being 4th and in the first womens team :-) So that should fuel me through a few races!
Added bonus I took 3:30 off my PB from 2007 :-)

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Highlander Mountain Marathon

An amazing weekend in north west scotland

Just back from an absolutely amazing weekend of mountain marathoning around the hills south and east of Gairloch up in the north west highlands. The weather was perfect, clear and warm and the scenery was gobsmacking all weekend. The hills up that way are so beautiful.

Tim and Chris were racing too and had an absolute stormer to win by a massive margin. I was running with my 2009 OMM team mate, fellow Ilkley Harrier and previous British fell champion Andrea Priestley. We made some 'interesting' route choices along the way (the planner Alec Keith set a fantastic course that certainly made me think). Despite these dodgy decisions we finished our course and won the ladies category.

The marquee and band on Saturday night helped to add to the spirit of this friendly event. I really enjoyed this race probably the best mountain marathon I've ever done :o)

I would recommend it to anyone it's well worth the trip!

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Silent Valley British Champs race - 1st U23

1st British Champs fell race of the year - above (bottom) Silent valley from the res at the start - Doan in the background, slievenagloch on the left, slieve binnian out of shot on the right. (top) Mournes from a viewpoint on the long race, Slieve binnian on the left and doan sticking up on the right.

On Friday I headed over to Newcastle in Northern Ireland for the first British Champs fell race of the year - the silent valley race. This was a new race and I had no doubt the organisers would provide as good a challenge as ever on the 10mile route with 4500ft climb.
After a very dissapointing JK orienteering Festival last weekend in which I gave up orienteering twice(and promptly rethought and raced again twice)I was hoping for a better result!

Saturday was sunny and clear so we could see the top of everything we were climbing! Vest and Shorts weather :-). I had been looking forward to this race for a while as the Mournes is my favourite place to run, rough and steap with little let up, but so pretty!

The route started with a big 1500ft climb up Slieve Binnian before loosing all of that height again to drop down to the dam wall via a checkpoint at a col. Another 1200ft ascent up doan then some more 'runnable' climbing up carn mountain and slieve muck followed, before descending to the final 500ft climb up slievenagloch and down to the finish.

The pace was fast at the start and I felt the JK still in my legs, so I stuck to a comfortable pace, knowing there was a lot to come! Descending to the dam my mudclaws proved to be the right choice as I was confident with my footing when passing people on the narrow trod. After 50mins of running and a drink at the dam I felt my legs were more into the race so I attacked a bit up doan. The rough terrain suited me and I overtook constantly up the hill.

I found myself in a race with two other ladies for the remainder of the route, one passing me on each of the more runnable climbs and me overtaking again on the descents. At the top of the final climb the effort started to tell as my legs felt a bit jelly like but I dug in and raced down the hill, gaining on the group ahead of me. The last few hundred meters on tarmac proved to be too much for my legs and one of the women behind me ran past. I ran as hard as I could for the finish and crossed the line in 2:27:48.
This put me in 15th position and first U23 female. It was a good start to the British Champs and probably my best race to date.

I felt in control throughout the race and timed all my efforts right so that I could still run just enough by the end. My shoes also lasted perfectly to the end, however its time for a new pair after a years hard racing in them. I thought about xtalons but I like mudclaws too much and they work well for me so I'm sticking to mudclaw 270s for now!

I'm now looking forward to Coniston in a few weeks, but before then there are the British Elite Orienteering Champs (where I need to remember to slow down and think!) and Anniversary Waltz as a 'warm up' :-)

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Spring Orienteering Season

The new orienteering season is now well under way, and inov-8 athletes Sarah Rollins, Graham Gristwood and Oli Johnson leading the way. Sarah has already written a bit about her results, but the boys have been performing too!

First up the last weekend in March were the first elite races of the year, and Oli and Graham finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Then Easter weekend brought the JK orienteering festival, and 4 new races in varying terrain types. First up was the sprint race, 15 minutes of balls out running around Bicton College, and Graham Gristwood took a narrow victory. Day 2 was a middle distance, in the mudfest at Cookworthy forest (see top picture!). Again Graham was victorious, by a fair margin! Oli got a solid 4th place, although he wasn't happy with his race.

Sunday was further north, a long distance on the sand dunes of Braunton Burrows. Oli finished as top Brit, and 2nd place overall, and took an overall 2nd place in the orienteering festical combined category. Graham sat out the race.

Monday was the relay, back in the sand dunes, and Graham took a 3rd victory of the weekend, running the anchor leg with his club to win by a comfortable margin from Oli's team, South Yorkshire Orienteers who finished second. A good weekend for inov-8 athletes!

Since then, there have been a few lower key events happening, including a race in Wheal Florence on Wednesday, which Graham won, and then a super special event around the Eden Project in Cornwall, where Oli took revenge and the victory, with Graham 3rd.

Yesterday was the first ever Nottingham City Race, starting and finishing in the market square and taking in a lot of the city centre. Oli again showed that he is just getting better and better as the season carries on, taking another victory with Graham in 2nd in front of some other top athletes.

Oli, Graham and Sarah have all been selected for the British team for the European champs which are being held in Bulgaria in the beginning of June. Graham and Sarah have also been selected for the World Cup tour in June, and Graham is in the team for the World University Games in Sweden in July - it's going to be a busy year!

Next up are the British Championships middle and sprint distance this coming weekend, then long and relay in May, followed by the World Championships test races.

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Open 5 Series Finale!

Easter Monday saw the final event of the Open 5 series based around Moel Famau near Ruthin. Neil and I came in to the final event as series leaders after our victory in Sedbergh and as a result were handed our named gold number board. We had worked out that if we scored 567 points even if the Powell brothers cleared the course we would win the series, as it hapened they couldn't make the event due to prior holiday commitments.

The cycle to the start provided a good warm up although some competitors grumbled that it wasn't really that 'short' but it's all relative. We set off on our bikes first as normal as it seems to work well for us, we decided to head straight up to collect the controls on Moel Famau with fresh legs. The going was fairly slow as the bridleways were very wet and muddy but things soon sped up going down towards the valley below. We continued to mop up the controls passing both Andy Conn and John Houlihan going the opposite way round, really enjoying a fast byway descent to control seven. We decided to drop one control on the bike to be able to clear the rest of the high pointers and came back in to transition after three hours and ten minutes after a really enjoyable ride.

My plan for the run was to take an anti clockwise route taking account for height gain and to drop the 15 pointer out east leaving a couple of ten pointers till the end if we had time. The use of more technical control features made an enjoyable navigational challenge with a good mix of terrain especially the strength sapping heather! Tim Higginbottom's influence was definatly evident and a welcome extra challenge. Luckily we did not make the mistake of climbing the tower on top of Moel Famau thanks to a passing competitor but many did, we also passed John and Andy again going the other way round. We managed to push on and execute the plan and arrived back home with 3 minutes to spare and a total of 575 dropping only two controls, a clear 86 points ahead of second. However the biggest plaudits must go to John Houlihan for clearing the course with a minute to spare.


The big smile crossing the line was knowing we had done enough to clinch the male pairs series title by a clear margin! Looking forward to this summer's endurance series

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Manx Half Mountain Marathon

After a winter of far too many runs and sessions on dark, chilly city streets, its a relief to get back out on the hills again. First race of the summer (is it too early to say that yet?) was the Half Manx, 13 miles across the hills and clifftops of the southern end of the Isle of Man.

Despite the grim forecasts, the day was clear and dry, although days of rain had left the route waterlogged. The start of the course climbs steeply uphill through the forest from St. Johns and when we started, Lloyd Taggart, my England teammate from the World Trophy in 2008 and now Manx resident, took the race out hard. We quickly pulled away from the rest of the field as I rediscovered the lung-busting, leg-burning sensation that comes from running hard up a steep mountain-side.

With both of us well clear of the field, Lloyd started to pull away after the first summit, clearly enjoying the boggy conditions, and with no-one threatening from behind I settled for enjoying the views over the cliffs and sea and staying on my feet, especially as the route led along narrow clifftop paths towards the end. The views were stunning - you don't get this in your local road 10k! My Roclite 305s kept me on my feet though on some of the slick descents I found myself wishing I'd packed my Mudclaws!

I finished a clear 2nd, loving the race and the terrain. A great race which I'd recommend to anyone. I'd come to the Isle of Man with a team from Leeds' Doss AC who were competing in the Easter Athletics Festival, and so I found myself roped into a road relay leg the next day, 5km out and back along Douglas promenade - quite a contrast to the previous day! Despite protesting legs, I ended up with one of the top 10 times of the day, which suggests I'm in decent shape going into the summer. This whole weekend has just whetted my appetite and I'll be hitting the fells more as the summer's mountain races approach.

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Jan Kjellstrom 2010 Orienteering Festival

Unbeaten so far in 2010.....

.....although one second in the middle race was probably cutting it a bit fine!

It was a great weekend of racing down in Devon with the Sprint, Middle and Long races on all very different areas. The Sprint was at Bicton college, essencially parkland with tricksy buildings and walls, the Middle was in a muddy, marshy forest (on a particularly rainy day) and the Long was on open, grassy sanddunes.

I enjoyed them all for different reasons and feel like my training has paid off as I felt faster and fitter than ever before. Having said that, my navigation felt a bit rusty especially as it always lags behind an improvement in speed and in the sprint I seemed to find myself 'already there' when I wasn't quite ready! I needed the speed too as I made some mistakes in all the races - especially the long race at number 1! Frankly you needed a magnifying glass to read the map which was at 1:15 000 which is the norm for World Ranking Events which this one was (but that discussion is another story...).

Anyway - the plan now is to keep up the training but start to focus on my 'O' training, which I have had a break from over the winter. Looking at why I am running faster this year there are two things. 1) I have a great running coach who plans all my sessions - and I am resting much more than before and 2) I am now a midfoot runner (I changed last year following an almost 10 year history of achilles problems). It took a good 6 months to really make the change but a year on there is no looking back. And Inov8's are perfect for the midfoot runner! - check out Shane Ohly's article in UK AdventureSport magazine for more info about 'barefoot running'.

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f-lite 230's just as good on sand!!!!!!!!!!

Inov8 athlete's Andy Chatterton and Tim McDowell both choose to use f-lites for the feet and white hot peaks to keep the sun off, during the final 10km run of Saturdays Xterra Portugal triathlon event. The course featured a combination of road/parkland and sand surfaces. Both racers were sure-footed throughout. Andy taking 5th in his age group and Macca finishing 15th in the Pro race.

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Cumbrian Traverse - Steve Birkinshaw

I completed the Cumbrian Traverse unsupported on Easter Monday (5/4/10) in 7:45, which is a new fastest time for this route. The route is 35miles with 12000ft of climb starting at Broughton Mills in the S.Lakes and finishing at Keswick (http://www.gofar.eclipse.co.uk/cumbrian%20traverse.html).

I was staying in West Cumbria and so got the train to Foxfield and walked the 3 miles to Broughton Mills. It had been raining all night so underfoot conditions were very slow, with soft snow higher up, but I was helped considerably by a strong southerly wind.

I forget my compass and with cloud right down navigation was tricky to start with but I did not waste too much time. Fox Haw (between Stickle Pike and Caw) is not on the route but I could so remember if it was so I went over it anyway.

I missed several of the best lines in the low visibility and with snow around and I did not see anyone until the top of Bow Fell after over 4 hours. Climbing Great End was hard work in the deep soft snow with the wind blowing me sideways and by the top I was very cold. I decided not to risk the straight route to Styhead but returned to Esk Hause. I struggled in the snow and wind going up Great Gable but after that the weather improved and with the wind behind it was great.

I was wearing my Muclaw 270’s which were perfect on the wet rocks and grass.

It was an excellent route and a good day out.

I am planning another go at the Lakes 24 hour record (78 peaks in 24 hours) again this year (19/20 June) and this run was an excellent day out training for it.

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Tough Weekend of Selection Races

Last weekend was the first real orienteering races of the season and it was great to be back racing again!

The weekend kicked off with a middle distance that Sarah won (see her post below!) but I was pleased to be only 7 seconds down as had been struggling to get over a cold all week. It was a good sign that my winter training has gone well and I was happy to be orienteering smoothly.

Sunday was the long distance race which Norwegian Siri Ulvestad won by a massive 5 mins with the Brits (and Aussie) packing in closely behind - I came 4th but only 15s off 2nd - frustrating but I lost time executing several route choices out on the course and should have been several minutes faster. The Trossachs is tough terrain with a lot of climb on the course but it was great fun. Check out the map and our routes - there are some tough route choice decisions!

Middle distance results
Long distance results

Now I'm looking forward to the JK this weekend and trying to retain my title :)

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