The Vegetarian Cycling & Athletic Club
(Established 1888)

New Forest Excursion 9/05/2010 - Nik Windle

It had been Jane's idea that we spend a weekend in the New Forest. She had seen sunny photos of a 50k road and path ride in the CTC magazine and the plan was she could ride this while I rode the New Forest Excursion. I'd ridden the organiser's other 200 a few times and knew to expect an interesting route. It was also a fine excuse to stay in Ashurst at a favourite vegan B&B, The Barn, where we could carbo load on a 3 course meal the night before.

I got up early and rode the 18k to the 8am Lymington start with the wind on my back, the forecast was cold with a Northerly so I opted for winter gear. There was also the possibility of wet feet from the numerous fords on the route. 24 cattle grids mentioned on the route sheet suggested we were not spending too much time on main roads. The first 25k to an Info control near Winkton rolled by nicely. The open land was yellow with flowering gauze and the young animals wandering around everywhere, including in the road, were very cute. The forest bits were full of birds, Goldfinches seemed to be doing particularly well this year. We turned due North to Fordingbridge but the headwind I braced myself for didn't seem bad at all. I joined a small group of riders who were vaguely familiar and we took turns to lead the group at 25kph over gently rolling countryside. A few miles before Cranborne I eased off and let them go as my knee had a minor grumble to remind me of last weeks long walk over Salisbury Plain.

A lemonade and packet of crisps at the 60k Cranbourne control and I was off again. This stretch was hard work, I realised the wind had swung Easterly and I was now feeling it's full force. There seemed to be a lot of short ups and downs and my resolution not to use the little cog soon dissolved. No one seemed to be passing me though, despite my feeble progress, so I found comfort in the knowledge that others too were suffering, a nasty trait that that I suspect we are the only species to indulge in. There was an Info control due at 90k opposite the Cuckoo Inn so I dug in and resolved to get there without stopping then have a rest and stuff my face. I was joined there by several other knackered riders and we enjoyed an impromptu picnic before we headed off South for a much easier leg to Bolderwood at 116k.

I was getting rather alarmed by my pathetic average speed - 17kph moving average according to my GPS. Even I couldn't be that slow! Jane was to meet me at the finish about 7.00 pm, at this rate it would be nearer 9.00! Anyway I was going well, rolling along nicely in the big cog. The penny dropped. I had recently updated the GPS software and I'd not changed the auto-pause settings. It was calculating my speed including all the time I'd spent stopped. I'd actually covered over 100k in less than 5hr 30m including stops and was bang on schedule with the toughest bit behind me.

We were gently descending over open moorland, wind on our backs. I had no larger gears and was happy at nearly 40kph. A lady I recognised as Ann-Marie flew past me and then we were both passed by a yellow tandem with a Rolhoff hub gear piloted by a chap who may well have been Andy Blance, SJS Cycles Rolhoff guru. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear a sonic boom the rate they were going. My earlier companions were next to pass. Well I couldn't spin any faster so I let them all go. A bit of a rise and I passed Ann-Marie, we yo-yoed for a while and I mentioned Jane was out riding the 50k but may well of finished by now. A few minutes later, descending the Ornamental Drive, I made out a familiar figure up front and caught up with Jane who was having fun turning the 50k into a tour of New Forest pubs and teashops.

A Lyme Regis bar at the bike shop control in Bolderwood then I was off to the seaside at Lepe, into the wind again but I'd got it's measure now. The smell of chips at Lepe beach cafe was good so I settled for coffee, chips and beans and left feeling good. The tandem crew had overshot a turn earlier and were still at the cafe with Ann-Marie. The New Forest is actually a bit small for a 200k so the next leg was back up north to Ashurst then onto Acres Farm Cafe near Lyndhurst. Acres Farm was in a great setting, down a grotty lane through a ford, but only had cake and cream teas to offer. Anyway I was still going well on my Lepe feast. A can of coke and a nibble from my rack-pack and I was on my way for the last 30k leaving my companions from the first stage to work on their cholesterol levels.

A small herd of deer eyed me just feet from the side of the road but declined to either run off or run in front of me and went back to their grazing. The route took me back to Beaulieu then onto an Info, then swung round for a 10k tailwind to the finish which gave the day a real feel-good factor. 10h 35m so Jane wasn't kept waiting again, a bowl of tinned fruit then bikes on the car roof and off home with my Randonneur Round the Year completed with a fine ride.

Tewkesbury Half 9/05/2010- Jim Cheseldine

Tewkesbury was my second half of what is planned to be a half-marathon based year. After a comfortable PB off-road in February, I was looking to finally get below 1:30, and saw little reason why this couldn't be achieved on the day.

Entry to the official car park was very slow, and by the time everyone realised it would have been far quicker to park in town and walk to the start, it was too late. I parked right by the start in the end and everything was smooth from thereon, the start only delayed by five minutes. It was cold and blustery - better than painfully hot as was the case on my previous visit in 2008.

The start is fairly constricted and I wasn't near the front, so was moderately crowded for the first mile through town. I find I'm less able to be philosophical about slow starts as I become more target-based and times get faster; as soon as I get behind race pace I am vulnerable to pressure about how and when I will be making it up. Thus after two miles at 7.06, feeling sluggish - 9.30 start? - and with a head-wind, negative thoughts were already creeping in - 'maybe this just isn't the day...'

I picked up 6.44 for the next two miles, but somewhere my pre-war Garmin got ahead of the course mile markers, and I kept missing my mile splits as a result. By the 6-mile marker I semed to be over a minute behind schedule and felt pretty rubbish. Nonetheless, I was constantly overtaking people and took some heart from this.

The mid-section of the course involved lovely country lanes that were actually closed to traffic. Total revelation, I don't think I have seen this before. I relaxed and began checking my strides per minute once per mile. I clocked between 6.50 and 7.00 for miles 6, 7 and 8, I was still behind, hoping for a short mile somewhere to balance out the ever growing discrepancy between GP and course miles. It didn't come.

At mile 9 I sensed the end coming, and decided not to die wondering. I continued my efforts to overtake anyone in sight - a Stroud vest on the horizon gives me the strength of an angry bull. My last five mile splits were 6.33, 6.27, 6,46, 6.31 and 6.13. Five miles in 32.30, only three seasons before that was my actual 5 mile PB.

I stormed down the final stretch as I could see the clock nearing 1.30, ending up with a chip time of 1:29:18, better than I hoped for and much better than I anticipated during the race itself. 89/1200 runners means another top 100 position in a big race this year which feels great, but afterwards I was left wondering why the first half had felt so difficult and what else might be possible - and how to make it possible.

The answer could well be to do more than 25 miles a week, of course.

London Marathon 2010 - Keith Hammond

My intention from the outset was that I would run the London Marathon at an easy pace, as a sort of very long training run for Halstead. A week before London I ran my local race, the Flitwick 10K. I did this as a full on effort and managed a Pb by just two seconds in 38:57. I cut back the milage in the next week, and with the forecast predicting warm conditions was pleased that London would be at a gentle pace.

I didn't wear my Garmin for the race and the belt for the water bottle that I always run long races with broke about 30 minutes before the start, but this wasn't a problem as I could do without it. I briefly met Peter on Blackheath Common as I made my way to the start. At this stage it was raining and quite cold.

The Good For Age runners were in a separate start, which wasn't too crowded and I lined up in the middle, intending to avoid going off too fast.

I spent the first couple of miles letting runners pass me and making an effort to stick to a manageable pace. Mile 3 was mainly downhill and took less than 7 minutes, not quite as planned but I was going slower than a lot of those around me.

Around mile 5 I decided on a change of plan. It wasn't a last minute change as that would have had to have happened 36 minutes earlier. Maybe this was the day I should try for a fast time. So putting to the back of my mind that I had only recently run a full on 10K, a 21 mile run and a 10 mile race at marathon pace, I decided to stick to my current pace.

I made it to halfway in the alarmingly fast time for me of 1:32:23, but still felt okay. Two miles further on the course twisted around Docklands and I and quite a few others around me started to slow a bit. The weather wasn't too warm, but it seemed quite humid. At mudchute I remembered to look out for Kathleen, who did well to see me given that I was 10 minutes ahead of my original prediction. After that stretch things got harder through the 19th and on towards the 20th miles.There seemed to be quite a few runners walking, or stopping to stretch, and even though I would have loved to join them I knew that was never an option.

I reached 20 miles in 2:22, the fastest I have run that distance, so I would have just over 48 mins to cover the last 10K.In the context of a 10K race that would seem easy to me, but as in previous marathons I started to slow.Importantly, though, I was still overtaking more runners than I was being passed by, which meant that I was probably still hanging onto a reasonable pace.

On through the 23rd mile, which was the slowest so far. This section is lined by high buildings and the crowd noise was particularly loud here, which made me feel more tired. I saw Sharon at the water station and she said I was doing really well - later that evening she said I actually looked like I was finding it hard, but reckoned that I wouldn't want to hear that. The section throough the underpass before The Embankment provided a release from the crowd. Then, as in each of my marathons, the 25th mile was the slowest at 8.00 mins, but not disastrously so.

Many runners say that the last stretch up to the finish can be uplifting, but by now I seemed to have blocked out any peripheral details, so I didn't notice the crowd, the noise, Buckingham Palace. I did notice the countdown boards, 800m, 600m, 385 yards, 200m. Balancing somewhere between going too fast and stopping, and going too slowly and stopping, I crossed the line in 3:10:19, a PB by 48 secs.

After collecting my bag I had to sit down for 45 minutes to recover. Once I felt better I met Peter and some VRUK runners who had taken part. We went for a post race meal, after which I was well enough to walk back to St. Pancras.

When I got home I told Sharon there had been a late change of plan and that I would now be taking it easy at Halstead. She did point out that I probably wouldn't have much choice other than to take it easy.

In conclusion, it was a great day out. In contrast, all my other marathons have been meticulously planned - sometimes ending in success, sometimes not - but on this occasion it was very much a case of just turn up, run and see what happens.

The Compton Challenge - Nik Windle 5/4/2010

I ran the Compton 20 miles last year and had not forgotten that it was painfully hilly in places. This year's plan was to walk the hills at the beginning so I didn't end up walking the flats at the end; to watch and learn from the ultras doing the 40 mile version; to finish in 3hr 40m; and, most importantly, to enjoy it. Fellow VC&AC member Andy Jordan spotted me at the start, I took a moment to recognise him as he was all dressed up in weather gear while I was just in shorts and t-shirt. The ultra runners had to allow for potential rain and sleet forecast for the late afternoon when us 20 milers would hopefully be home and safe.

The start was imminent. Andy moved to the front of the field while I took my place near the back. All I was likely to learn from chasing Andy was how much it hurts when you're gasping for breath trying to run with the fast boys! We were off, once round the playing field then into a copse. As we left the field a small dog with smaller legs pulled his man onto the course, I guessed this was a clever way to accomodate without violating the, 'no dogs on the school field', rule.

Recent heavy rain and 200 runners feet meant paths throught the wood had been churned to mud. Hardly on our way and already reduced to walking through the resulting bottle necks while trying not to step in anything too deep. Over a road and across a gently climbing field, a few runners seemed to know the chap with the dog but 20 miles on those little legs seemed most unlikely and someone joked that he'd be carrying his team mate over the finish line.

Onto a bit of road that climbed steeper, a few walking up ahead so I got with the plan and walked till we left tarmac and it flattened out a bit. I caught up with VR Anna Finn who was running the 40 - it was a special race for her as this would earn her entry to the exclusive 100 Marathon Club, she had run number 99 the day before. We chatted away a few miles, the terrain constantly changing from field to hill to wood to mud with very little tarmac. The Hampstead Norreys checkpoint was a chance to rehydrate followed by a short walk up a steep footpath, then a gentler ascent through a field and a beech wood onto the flat of an old airfield. Downhill to Ashampstead then up we go again. A few miles rolling then steeply down to the 10 mile checkpoint at Woodfarm.

A gel and a drink then I was off again, alone for awhile, knowing that the worse climb was imminent. I slowed to join the procession of walkers testing their tendons up a straight, steep path through a field. I had some space round me so walked 50 steps forward then 20 backwards to spare my muscles. Winding through the woods that followed to cross the road at the top of Streatley Hill and we were running across Lough Down with great views across the Thames to the Chilterns on our right. I was still feeling loose enough to let myself go down the long, grassy descent that followed.

I knew there was a mile long drag up to the 16 mile checkpopint but maybe I was struggling a bit now as it seemed more like 2. One bit of wisdom I'd received earlier was that if walking a hill it's best to start running again just before the top. I'd neglected to ask how I'd know where just before the top was! The last few miles were along the Ridgeway and similar chalk tracks. I kept myself going through growing knackeredness by reminding myself just how rough I'd felt at this point the previous year.

Anna stopped to refuel at the 19.5 mile checkpoint, glad to be at her halfway point, while I wound up the pace a bit back through Compton, making very sure that I didn't follow the 40 mile route by mistake. A young lady that we had left walking a couple of miles back came charging past. I could quite summon up the energy to chase her over the line.

I managed 3:36:33, 112/178 in the end, and yes I thoroughly enjoyed most of it. Andy Jordan was rather more impressive, coming 13th out of 105 40 milers in 6:13:33.I'm told the little dog was still going strong when he dragged his team mate over the line 10 minutes before me!

To 'Ell and Back - Steve Coote 7/3/2010

It's official

For the sake of my sport I've been there, done that and got the certificate if not the t-shirt.

It can sometimes be a mistake waiting for the runners start in LDWA events. I remember the 100 miler a few years back that I dipped out on the two earlier starts for only to discover that those who were left were serious ultra runners rather than those who for reasons of pride couldn't quite bring themselves to admit that age had increased their times that much.

But I did it again this time round. I guess I should have known when the guy in charge of car parking took one look at me and said, 'most of the walkers have already gone, you know.' The conversation continued. 'I'm a runner.' 'Yeah, 15 miles.' 'No 30.' 'Good luck with that, then.'

I sometimes feel I may not look the fit, young-ish athlete I used to when lining up at the start of events.

The first 6-miles from run HQ at Greetland Rugby Club to checkpoint 1 were suspiciously easy, downhill then along a river and canal bank, but the hill up from there soon reduced my average pace. And on it went. And on and on and on; up hill and down dale. Glorious views on an early spring day of cloudless sunshine but very taxing as the miles started to mount and the lack of hillls on which to train around south Manchester started to cost me dear.

At 20 miles I told Jane, with whom I had fallen into step from the get-go as we had both fallen for the runners start thing, to go on ahead, but the route description that had served us well up until then seemed suddenly lacking in detail and I kept catching her up looking baffled at turnings. We settled for her wishing I were younger and fitter, and me wishing I had never heard of the LDWA, as I tried my level best to run the flats and downhills if I could do nothing about the ascents other than swear and endure.

But all things both good and bad come to an end, and despite having had to call into a house at one point having lost the route completely - the people Googled the rugby club and got us back on track - we eventually reached our destination. Admittedly from the wrong direction and two hours behind schedule, but hey, the name of the game was to Ell and Back, and we certainly felt like we had done 30 miles worth of that .

Sadly, he lied manfully, no timings of even the most approximate sort were offered for the event and, consequently, no positions to be worked out Settle for that.

Burnham Beeches Half Marathon - 17/8/08

At this popular event run mostly under the cover of trees we had ideal cooler weather. The 2-lap course is more uphill in the last two miles of each lap before entering the school fields for a lap around the perimeter. David Palmer was our early leader before being overtaken by Ade Gibbon followed by Peter Simpson by the end of the first lap. With less than a mile to go Peter passed Ade. Both pushed hard around the field passing other runners with Peter maintaining a 7 second gap on Ade at the finish. Simon Cope ran his best time for this course. VC&AC Results: 207th Peter Simpson 1.36.42, 209th Ade Gibbon 1.36.49, 353rd David Palmer 1.44.31, 602nd Simon Cope 1.56.29, 699th Caroline Chapman 2.01.47, 924th Nicola Hatch 2.42.19.

Europeans Veterans Championships held in Slovenia (24 July - 3 August) In the V80-84 age category Ron Franklin competed in the 5K track championship and finished 5th in 34.27.

Wycombe Half Marathon - 20/7/08 Apart from the windy conditions the weather was ideal for this event. Most of the members gathered towards the rear of the start on the Rye. The start line was flanked by two diggers highlighting the sponsors services. The toughest part of the course was in the first mile or two as we climbed out of High Wycombe onto the top of the Chilterns. Sharon Davidson was our early leader, passed by Ade Gibbon and Peter Simpson on the huge climb. Starting cautiously Ade & Peter spent most of the run moving up the field especially in the 2nd half. Peter thought he would catch Ade but the early gap opened by Ade proved too much to close. VC&AC Results: 175th Ade Gibbon 1.40.13, 193rd Peter Simpson 1.41.19, 491st Sharon Davidson 1.55.50, 501st Mary Davis 1.56.23, 529th Steven Boswell 1.57.46, 610th Simon Cope 2.02.33, 629th Caroline Chapman 2.03.35 and 728th Gwen Morys 2.11.00. Following the event we were invited back to Ade & Jill's house for a veggie buffet lunch in the garden with members of the Wycombe Hashers. This arrangement has proved popular over many years.

Princes Risborough 10K - 6/7/08 The cooler conditions were a relief following the high temperatures in previous years. The turnout by VC&AC members was our best to date. Sharon Davidson had one of her best runs here to dip under 50 minutes. VC&AC results: Men - 136th Steven Boswell 48.14, 168th Simon Cope 51.43, 173rd Rod Paris 52.34; Women - 28th Sharon Davidson 49.20, 48th Caroline Chapman 52.58, 114th Nicola Hatch 1.02.40.

 

August 2008 Bearbrook 10K (near Aylesbury), 10/8/08

Located near to a significant number of members, this 120th anniversary event was well supported by the local members. With the exception of the London Marathon, the 11 VC&AC runners who ran the event was possibly the highest since the Great North Run in 1998 when I recall we had 12. We met up at the start and the finish and I remembered to bring a camera to mark the occasion.

Results: 1. Keith Hammond (V40) 41.09, 65th / 501 2. Peter Simpson (V40) 41.41, 79th 3. Ade Gibbon (V50) 44.56, 146th 4. Steve Coote (V50) 47.55, 215th 5. Mary Davis 51.30 (V40), 282nd 6. Simon Cope (V40) 52.21 294th 7. Caroline Chapman (V40) 54.56, 359th 8. Gwen Morys 57.16, 386th 9. Sharon Davidson 57.38, 391st 10. Sharon Hammond (V40) 1.00.37, 436th 11. John Munson (V70) 1.03.01, 461st

October 2007 - Leicester Marathon (Graham T)

As I was born in Leicester and it will always have a nostalgic place in my heart I committed to doing this race the second I heard about it, particularly with the Abingdon marathon that I've done the past two years on this weekend was cancelled. Although I was keen to break 3 hours as I'd done last year, I was determined that the weekend should not make or break on this point, as with some of the most important people in my life living in Leicester the race time was not the be all and end all.

The morning was a warm one, with around 600 runners in the marathon and 1000 in the half-marathon. The race started in the city centre for the first time in 20 years, and a lot of effort had gone into road closures etc. Credit to Leicester for having a city centre marathon when somewhere like Manchester refuses to host one on the grounds that it inconveniences shoppers and that a �30 mass 10K should cater for all runners needs. Even so, I think Leicester could make this bigger and better next year.

My final time was 3 hrs 11 mins and although it was a bit disappointing not to break 3 hours again I have to be honest and admit life has been a bit hectic to expect to do it despite all the training. At the start I was talking to a guy who had run 450 marathons and he was only 40. Now then now then this seems even to put Jimmy Saville's tally of over 200 marathons into the shade! I never realised Leicestershire was so undulating, it was going okay til about 11-12 miles with solid 7 minute miles but then I realised it wasn't going to be plain sailing. We went through Rothley the home village of the McCanns - I am a big supporter of the much- wronged by the media couple and was half hoping I'd see them on their way to church but it wasn't to be. I got to halfway in 1:31 so knew then it'd be long shot to break 3 hours, especially as the field seemed more spread out than usual and there wasn't a group who were running metronomic miles. Luckily from 15-20 miles I fell in with a tough guy from Great Yarmouth who pounded out the miles, I felt a bit bad cos he was chirping to me all the time and it was as much as I could do to grunt one word replies. The highlight of running with him was when two marshalls were chatting and didn't notice to correct us when we went the wrong way, when we realised we had a right eff and jeff at them - very naughty really (and I do always thank marshalls usually) but you're hardly in the most gentle of moods after 18 miles and it got our adrenaline going for a few more minutes! I got to 20 miles in 2:21 and then realising 3 hours was definitely off the menu I lost my focus for a bit, that horrible point in the marathon when you have to be honest and decide how much you want it. Sorry to say I completely lost it mentally and did some walk breaks for a couple of miles, luckily knowing I had friends on the finish line who I'd promised I'd be there by 3:15 at latest spurred me on and I ran the last 4 miles okay. This is a bit of a 'don't try this at home kids' but was in the pub by half past two, and was absolutely hyper for virtually the whole day and night, must have been an endorphin thing, although rather pathetically I ended up getting up a bit emotional at last orders. All in all it was a long and vivid day with a whole host of different memories. Back in the Ibis after midnight feeling the worse for wear for numerous reasons I recall watching Channel 5's highlights of the Loch Ness Marathon - just for one day it felt like Britain revolved around marathon running!

Sept. 2007 Nottingham Marathon (Peter S)

Back to a familiar location and course, staying overnight at a veggie B&B, Anson's Place, I decided to take a fold-up bike to give me that independence. However, I did have 3-4 miles to cycle including a long climb and descent and coming back into the city on the eve of the event for a meal at the Alley Cafe, I did wonder if it would make an impact on my performance. On a fold-up bike it is more difficult cycling uphill. The owners of Anson's place were also one of the main volunteers for the event, helping to setup the site at the Recreation Ground working many hours each day over the week leading up to the event.

Given that I did not have to cycle back into the city on the morning of the event and the route to the venue was flat, helped get me to the start line feeling relatively fresh. If you are not familiar with the scale of this event, previous events have seen over 7000 finish. I line-up at just inside the 1 hour 40 mins estimated finish time and we were brought forward before the start to ease congestion behind. There was a wheelchair race that started 5 minutes or more before the main race that also included the marathon and a corporate relay. I went off at a steady pace towards the city centre where we had one of the testing climbs up to the Castle. The course was then easier until we had to climb out of the University where the scenery was the best part of the course with tracks passing alongside lakes. The off-road scenery continued through Wollaton Park, the home of the Inter-Counties Cross Country Champs. There was another stiff climb up to Wollaton Hall thereafter the course was mainly flat and on the main roads. In the 2nd half of the course I began to detect some stiffness in the lower legs and was hoping the calf strains would stay away. Training had gone well in the weeks leading up to the event so thought I was in better physical shape for the half marathon. Around 8 miles or so runners were being told to steer clear of a disabled runner coming through who turned out to have two replacement legs. As we turned towards the river Trent, we did notice some wind but it made little difference to my pace. The run along the Embankment prior to the finish always seems a long stretch, allowing runners to build up to a fast finish which is what I did. With a large field, there were a few finish points. As I turned towards the finish I could see the clock was 1 hour 37+ mins but just failed to keep to this time. My chip time however was later known to be 1:37:20 so, a satisfying run with any problems. Foil blankets were available, giving the feel of the London Marathon and other major events.

July 2007 Belvoir Olympic Distance Relay Triathlon - Victory Report (Steve C, Steve W & Paul E)

This is the promised report from our victorious team event at Belvoir Castle. The event was held in and around the very beautiful castle grounds. The build up was a bit nervy as Steve, in spite of his absolute reliability, made a fashionably late entrance due to circumstances beyond his control. It fired us up though, and we ultimately beat the second placed team by a good two minutes! It really was a good day. It was good to feel a part of something in the name of a good cause. This is how it appeared in each of the team's own words. We hope you enjoy.

1500m swim - Steve Coote Thanks to a prolonged diversion through the highways and byways of Nottingham, I finally arrived at the venue car park at 8.45am. Two frantic minutes later, wet suit flapping around my middle, I was sprinting to where I hoped the start was going to be; only to be told by a marshal that I called to en route that though the (separate 10k) run event was indeed off at nine, the first wave of triathletes would not start until ten. Gratefully, I took the opportunity to return to the car to don my swimming trunks, having earlier decided to go commando rather than waste precious seconds looking for them! My swim could only be described as gritty. Both literally, as the silt stirred up from the bottom of the shallow lake left a lingering taste in the mouth; as well as making swimming in a straight line near impossible without sighting every other stroke for those of us who hadn't practiced open water swimming much of late. And figuratively, since though I had trained hard and well for the event, the truth is I am no swimmer. But with two top class performers waiting in the transition I tried to drive hard round the first lap of the course, and, when the time came to unload rather than finish unsatisfied with energy still left in the tank, managed to up my game a little. Strange as it seemed doing it at that stage, as in a normal solo triathlon there is no point gaining thirty seconds at the end of a swim at the expense of starting the bike leg exhausted. Running up the long, grassy slope towards transition, I felt satisfied with my effort if not - as usual - with my result.

43.5k bike - Steve Wigglesworth Steve came bounding towards transition like a man possessed, the tag put me in full race-face mode and I quickly recovered my racked bike and headed out on the course. Ah, the course. I'd ridden it in practice the night before as it had sounded technical on the pre-race info. In confirmation, it's one of the toughest I've taken on in recent times. Severe hills, twists, blind turns, car infested villages, gravel strewn and pot-holed surfaces, there really was something for everyone. Oh, and the rain had left it all lovely and greasy. The worst parts were the fast and technical descents. Blimey they were quick, and often meant hurtling round blind, muddy and gravel strewn bends at 45+mph. Not for the faint hearted! It was a course for my `light / hilly' bike that is basically a full on road race bike with clip on tri-bars. I simply daren't use my low profile bike as the brakes are useless and wheels too weak for the kind of mad roads we were on. Given that I hadn't had to swim, and wouldn't have to run, I gave it everything. I'd soon passed most of the cyclists who'd got away before us and was able to concentrate on keeping good form. It went pretty well up until the point that I thought I'd hallucinated. This was about 15 miles in and at the top of a long steady drag. I was gulping in huge volumes of air and trying to control the lactic build up when I saw a large and sturdy creature trot nonchalantly across the road only a few yards in front of me. For a second or so I couldn't compute what was happening, this was no domestic creature and a collision was a real prospect. A quick flick to starboard saw our trajectories depart but the mystery of identity remained. Only those into endurance sport know how random puzzles just have to be solved half way through a race. My brain insisted on flicking through a list of native mammals before it finally found the correct entry of Wild Boar, and allowed me to continue with sanity intact. It did raise a weary smile though that the porker had nearly defeated the only certain team in the race that wouldn't have eaten it. I pressed on up hill and down dale, and with a constant need to fully concentrate, was surprised how quickly the one and a quarter hours of purgatory came to a close. Thankful to be entering the castle grounds without having binned it, I gave it a last blast to the long run into transition. This meant cycling down the same course that the runners were already heading up and some judicious dodging was required. Seeing the number of runners already out of transition I smelled a rat, and sure enough it subsequently transpired that very many cyclists had misunderstood the multi-lap course and had finished the bike section having only done one and a half, and not two and a half loops of the course, effectively ending the bike leg 6 miles short! An organiser's nightmare that rumbles on even now! Still, I knew we were well up by this stage and could see Paul bouncing up and down on the start line like a Thompson's Gazelle. A quick sprint through transition, a tag, and my bit was done.

10k run - Paul Elliot Having been stood around waiting and warming up for about half an hour, the sight of Steve running across the field with his bike was a welcome one. My time has come. Having walked around the course the day before I knew all about the series of steep hills which made up the first mile of the circuit to the castle, and these flashed through my mind as I waited at transition for the tag. I was raring to go, and once tagged, I was off. I set off steadily, resisting the urge to fly up the hills as fast as I could the first time around. The climb up the first hill seemed to take no time at all, possibly because I was busy dodging the returning cyclists still pouring down the hill towards T2. At the main entrance I knew I was half way up and I was just getting going. Turning the corner to head uphill again through the trees I was alone and thought it was probably going to be a lonely race with all competitors well spread out along the course. When I got to the final bit of the climb up to the castle, there were a number of runners going up and down and I felt better to have people to race against. I made it to the top in just over 7 minutes, turned around and headed back down the hill. I was getting into my stride now and threw all caution to the wind on the descent, enjoying being able to stretch my legs and go for it. It didn't seem long until I was at the bottom and running past the transition area again. The first lap felt good but I knew the hard part was yet to come. So I was heading off uphill again, not missing the chance to pose for the photographer. There were a lot more people on the course now, although it was impossible to know which lap they were on. I attacked the hills with a bit more effort the second time around with the knowledge that they weren't that bad if you knuckled down. The castle seemed to appear much quicker, and although I was fighting for breath this time my legs were feeling really good. Back down again, taking long strides and getting my breathing back under control, I knew the last lap wasn't going to be a problem. I'm sure I was even smiling at this point! It was nice to have the two Steves shouting support as I passed them for the second time and I was spurred on to attack those hills again. I knew it was the last time up and that the downhill was easy, so I put everything into it. The course was busy by now and I was passing a fair few people, some plodding slowly up the hill as if they were pedestrians. It had though, for them, been a long and gruelling race. I felt a bit guilty as I hadn't done a fraction of what they had earlier that morning, and there I was making it all look relatively easy. Still, we had a race to win and I had the bit between my teeth. Turning the corner and seeing the castle appear again I knew the finish line was within reach. One last push up and then it was all downhill, this time with reckless abandon, past runners who must have though I was crazy to be going down like that. The finish appeared and I seemed to have a fair bit of energy left to sprint to the line. Afterwards I still felt fired up and I wouldn't have minded at all if there was another lap to go. I can honestly say I enjoyed that immensely. It was made all the more enjoyable to find out that we were the fastest team. It was a good day for team Veggie!

26 Nov 2006 Hadleigh 10 mile in the rain

I have been running the Hadleigh 10 mile race for many years and thought I had experienced most that the weather could throw at me, but today was a first. 30 minutes before the race start the clouds opened and the rain came down with a ferocity that was impressive. I managed to warm up in the stand of the football club (the race HQ) and at 10 minutes before the start the rain stopped. People appeared from all over and we all rushed to the start line on a country lane nearby. Looking at the sky there were some very black clouds looming but we still had the sunshine. Then as the final race instructions were announced the rain came again, Noah would have been inspired to get on with his ark, we had to get on with the race. To make matters worse 400m into the race was the first puddle across the road and everyone tried to avoid running in the deepest water at the road side nearest the banks. Eventually we were actually running at race pace, although to be honest the rain and my glasses meant I could see very little. I focused on a tall bloke in blue and tried to keep behind him. Efforts to dry my glasses met with no success as everything was wet and so I just got on with it. The underfoot conditions were either ankle deep water or mud and debris on the higher land, it felt like a cross country race. Runners ahead of me had mud smeared all up their backs, I noticed one runner had a brilliant white Nike running top with a superb mud splatter. Unlike most races no one spoke, everyone was concentrating on survival and not slipping over or getting into deep water. I made an effort to see my watch at the 5 mile marker and rubbed at my glasses and watch face, 36:05 was suprisingly good for me given the situation. I knew there were more hills to come so kept in touch with tall blue man and a couple of others who were going along at an even pace. The big hill at 8 mile was soon over as I was just keen on getting back, and of course the rain intensified as we approached the finish. 71 mins was my time as I crossed the line, the last 50m was on grass which had been sanded to try and give some footing. My first stride into the sand saw my foot sink in to the top of my shoe, but luckily it was not quicksand. The club handed out goodie bags for everyone at the finish, I did not check the contents until I was at home, not suprisingly the very nice diary was very damp. I collected my kit and decided against changing at the race HQ as I would only get wet again before I would get back to the car. In the car park a number of us were peeling off wet vests and socks. I pulled on a fleece and leggings and drove home in my wet shorts, which was not a pleasant experience. I arived home cold, wet and tired and of course got no sympathy from my wife, not suprisngly I suppose. Despite or maybe because of the weather and the mud it was an experience. I can only thank the Hadleigh club marshalls for standing out in such weather and up to their ankles in water, to allow me to get wet too.

Peter's results update April 2006

It was a further high class performance by Fiona Oakes from the elite women's start. I followed Fiona around the course from the start where she was clearly visible and near the front then near the Cutty Sark at 6 miles, at Canary Wharf and the Embankment where I settled to see the leading and fast club men. A report by Fiona's partner Martin is given below to remind us that she was also running for her charity, Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary based in Essex. Our top three men were close together with John Morris from Shrewsbury competing in his third consecutive marathon crossing the line first followed by Marcus Whelband (Newport Pagnell) & Graham Tracey (Manchester) who were both allocated a place through the Club. All three achieved personal bests with Marcus & Graham making substantial improvements. My apologies if you could not find me at the Club meeting point, many did with lots of photo taken that will be available later. Congratulations to all of the following members for completing the marathon and hope you recover well: Fiona Oakes 2.51.38 John Morris 3.07.04 PB Marcus Whelband 3.08.03 PB Graham Tracey 3.08.51 PB Dave Arnold 3.16.55 David Palmer 3.41.28 Gert Cowling 4.03.17 Sid Molyneux 4.27.13 Sharon Davidson 4.30.03 Jenny Green 4.33.17 Trevor Chanter 4.41.10.

Noticed in Athletics Weekly that Suzanne & Peter Benyon were also running for VC&AC last Sunday in a 10K at Crewe. Following Suzanne's win on 9 April at the Newcastle-u-Lyme 7 miles, she is victorious at Crewe in a time of 36.16 around I believe her PB and Peter finished 3rd in 33.31 also near his PB.

Peter's results update

Following the success for the Club & individual members over the weekend I would like to share the news with you now. It is also an opportunity to keep you up-to-date on other events and performances.

The Birchwood 10K road race near Warrington, Cheshire was held last Sunday with Peter & Suzanne Benyon competing in this event for VC&AC as they did in 2004 where Peter achieved 19th in 34:38 and Suzanne 2nd female in 36:07. Given the Club's rise to prominence in this event, it was going to be a worthwhile visit and personal workout. The event has become increasingly popular with the entry limit of 1000 reached on the day. As members will have seen in the most recent results, Peter & Suzanne are always aiming high and looking to win. It was a sunny and warm start so it was obviously going to get hotter during the race especially for the faster runners. Despite the large field we managed to meet up before the start. The course was in a relatively new area with a good quality surface and country lanes. There were a few climbs to get over the local motorway otherwise the course was fairly fast. By the time I finished Peter & Suzanne had long since finished and cheered me to the line. Peter had in fact not only lowered last year's time but improved his personal best by a clear minute to 33.28 for 7th and Suzanne was again 2nd female in 36:47 but was aiming to do better. Despite Peter's significant improvement, it was unfortunately not good enough for a prize and in fact Suzanne took the honours for the Club in the prize presentation. Suzanne's mother also won an age category prize. For the record my own time was 43:03, an improvement of a minute on the previous weekend's Aylesbury 10K where David Palmer also ran a time of 45:21 mins. A short distance for David who ran 50K at Boddington, Gloucs in 4 hours 58 mins on 31 July. Peter & Suzanne's times at Birchwood could well be the Club's fastest 10K times of the season. If I am correct, not since Anna & Nick Berrill were running these times have we had such a promising couple. Watch this space!

Pursuit of Commonwealth Games Qualification. We have heard recently that Fiona Oakes is now being coached and encouraged to attempt to qualify for an England place in the Commonwealth Games. In her e-mail, Fiona writes: "I have found a new coach who can help me with my speed work. It is a very tough schedule for me as I don't really concentrate on speed much, I am mainly endurance based. The coach is a middle distance expert and I am beginning to post some good times for 800 and 1500 metres. (2.20 and 4.38 respectively). I am still doing the long work as well, but it is tiring. The reason I am telling you this is that it has been suggested to me by more than one senior athletics official that if I try for a quick time in my next race I might stand a chance of qualification for the Commonwealth Games. I honestly don't know if this is within my reach. I know I did not run well in London but how much more there is to come I am not sure. With this in mind, I have decided to try for Amsterdam in October. I know I had originally said I may do Nottingham but I don't think I could achieve the sort of time I am looking for on that course and in that time frame. I believe I will need the extra 5 weeks of hard work to come through with the sort of time I want to run. The organisers of the Amsterdam Marathon have invited me to run in the Elite race which will get a lot of publicity as Haile Gebrselassie is going for a world record. This race will be televised on Eurosport and I should be able to get a lot of exposure for our cause". [Fiona by choice will be wearing the Vegan Runner's vest]. Despite Fiona switching from Nottingham to Amsterdam, the number of Club members entered has risen again with new member Marcus Whelband running in the marathon and Vanessa Hudson in the half marathon. After the event I am hoping many members will come along to the V1 vegetarian fast food restaurant in Houndsditch, in the City Centre. It has also been advertised in the Vegetarian Society magazine that the restaurant has added some healthier options to its menu. Looking forward to tucking in!

Other news, Sharon Davidson ran in what she described as her hardest half marathon yet in the Indian Queens (village) half marathon in Cornwall. As Sharon will testify, if you are visiting Cornwall for a run, do not expect it to be comfortable, hill training would be a more appropriate description. The event was a series of hills and by the end Sharon could hardly put one foot in front of the other but nevertheless achieved her 2nd or 3rd best time. Spare a thought for Chris Smith from Newcastle-upon-Tyne who completed the Vikingman Ironman Triathlon on 6 August at Fredericia, Denmark, First out of two finishers in 55+ category, 5th out of 8 finishers 50+yrs , 104th overall from120 finishers [99% of whom were Danish and young!]. Great personal achievement for Chris!

VC&AC 10m time trial - Emma Smith

Steve Wigglesworth decided to run the VC&AC 10 mile Time Trial event as part of national Vegetarian week, to try to promote the club and the concept of a vegetarian lifestyle. The event was very successful, attracting 55 riders in total for three events; Medium Gear, Open, and Tandem. Neil Clurow was the VC&AC rider in the Medium gear event, achieving fourth place overall and a very respectable time of 27.08. In the Open Event, Nick Guy flew the VC&AC flag, in his first race for two years, achieving a very pleasing time of 25.13. The vegetarian buffet afterwards, courtesy of Wendy Wigglesworth and Lynn Chapman, was a resounding success, receiving numerous compliments. The VC&AC fliers were left beside the buffet and, happily, many were taken away by the riders. Overall, a great debut event that will hopefully become part of the annual cycling calendar.

Natural Running Course - Paul Horne

Natural Running Course 16-20th May 2005

Lodged somewhere between Kendall and Penrith is Fawcett Mill Fields, a renovated water mill in it's own valley, base for the Natural Running Course for 2005. For 5 days we trained like real athletes learning new skills and drills and essentially relearning how to run. The 10 trainees were essentially all runners with ages ranging from late 20s to early 70s, and most were looking for a change in their running patterns to avoid returning injury or to improve their style.

The accommodation with its tranquil setting, the small stream and the constant supply of excellent food made us all feel like professionals, run, eat and sleep being the basis of each day. At 9am we had an hour of warm up, mainly focussed on generating energy into the feet with lots of quick steps using the ball of the foot to bounce. Lifting the foot quickly and letting it fall relaxed and under gravity, to activate the nerves in the foot (only the lips have more nerves in them). Soon the bouncing became a stamping and was set to African chanting to keep us all in step. At the end of this we were fully warmed up and ready to face the real exercise. At 10 am we then ventured outside to practice drills with a variety of torture instruments, e.g. rubber "dog" leads which attached to your ankles and were used to speed up the foot movement by bouncing against resistance. When the leads came off you found your feet literally ran away with you with quick fast steps, generating the 180 - 220 strides per minute that was the target.

Following the drills it was then a matter of going out for a run, into the glorious Howgill Fells, on the flatter terrain shoes were removed and bare foot running was experienced. One of the two instructors, John Woodward, lives his life barefoot, and made a good case for the fact that without the hindrance of shoes, the foot is able to adjust and compensate as it lands. Obviously for mere mortals we stuck to barefoot running on the flat grassy routes, however the experience was surprisingly positive and the foot certainly more responsive to the ground. Running off road through the empty hillsides was a chance to practice the new running technique and to relax in the beautiful scenery.

Back at base and after a superb lunch, the afternoon was free apart from each of us having a 30 minute Alexander Technique lesson. Being new to this, and only having read about the technique I was surprised that it required no effort from me. Having your body aligned as you lay on the floor, and under instruction you are asked to release tightened muscles. One of the key phrases of the week was "You can't do an undo", and it was proved time and time again as it was all about releasing the tensed muscles to allow the body to move with true freedom. At the end of 30 minutes you were gently sat up and lifted to your feet, the absence of any tension made your body feel ten times lighter as you were walked around the room with a natural stride, and with your body poised and balanced. People appeared from their sessions walking slowly and carefully, trying not to break the spell, which unfortunately soon passed. The idea of the technique is to position your body to its correct point of balance, and over repletion the new position will become natural to you and help avoid the stresses on your body. One quick trick to see if you are aligned is to stand straight and release the calf muscles, in an ideal world you should gently topple forward, but in my case I tend to lurch backwards. With practice and awareness it became possible to at least know that your body was out of true; however the week of sessions was only a taster.

In the evening, an hour long seminar allowed John and Malcolm Balk (co-author of The Art of Running) to discuss what had gone on during the day, and to review our progress via slow motion video. The initial video shoot at the start of day 1 showed us all pretty much running the way you are told in running books, i.e. strike with your heel, roll forward onto your toe and push off. The push with the back foot and the landing with the heel were studied closely, in slow motion the jarring up the body as the heel hits the floor and breaks the motion is quite considerable. The aim of the week was to get us to try the POSE method (as promoted by Romanov), which aims to get the body balanced as quickly as possible after each stride, and to use gravity to move you forward. The essentials were the short and sharp steps, landing on the ball of your foot and then letting the heel drop. On each stride the subtle lean of the body from the forehead through to the ankle generates the forward falling motion. To regain balance the foot needs to be back up and repositioned under the centre of gravity as soon as possible. I was surprised to find that it was not a matter of right or wrong technique, but rather just another way of running, in fact Malcolm had used both styles during a marathon to allow his legs to rest the muscles. Traditionally running uses the quads to lift the leg and throw it in front of you, POSE uses the hamstring to lift the leg and keeps the knee and ankle soft to aid the bounce or rebound from each contact with the ground. My initial experience felt like I was putting in 100% effort for only 50% return, but the experiences with the "dog" leads demonstrated that when it goes well there is the capability for generating speed in the legs.

Having been through the lessons and drills and experienced the whole week, one of the key images to identify the style was of a toddling child. The POSE method is essentially that of a toddler, leaning forward and permanently off balance, the child has to run to get its feet beneath them. Using gravity to take you forward is using free energy, and making the whole exercise a lot more efficient. One week is only a taste of the changes that you need to make, but it gives you a better understanding of your body, its pivot points and its capabilities. I'm not sure that it will make me faster but it is worth persevering with if it can save me from further injuries. The early morning 10 minutes of stillness, when you lay on your back with your legs bent and feet flat, has already helped me identify the tense muscles in my body, and given me something to try and "relax". In addition to the natural running, the week itself was also a true holiday with no chores to be done, no computer, no TV and new friends to talk to. The course has been going for 14 years and is going from strength to strength, with a high demand for places, if you want to know any more just drop me an e-mail.

Fawcett Mill Fields web site www.fmf.freeservers.com

The Art of Running - Malcolm Balk & Andrew Shields (Ashgrove 2000)