uck i hate this. 10 miles, OK Im gonna have to walk a bit. 11 miles in, only 2 miles to go, I can do this. 11.1 miles in, I'm going to die. 12 miles in, nearly there oh is that a hill. no its only Deptford Bridge. No its like a mountain. 13 miles....sprint finish.......I'm sure it said 100m to go not 400. Never again will I do a half marathon without any run training. A personal worst, a horrible experience not helped by one of the dullest courses imaginable.

5km 28:01
10km 57:28
15km 1:30:44
20km 2:06:00

finish 2:13:02]]> Report]]> Quality v Quantity
Mileage]]> Report]]>
It all started on a Thursday in late June. I met up with a guy named Mick from GLL to discuss the possibility of putting a race on at Charlton Lido. 10 weeks later on 14th September the idea had come to fruition and race day was upon us.

To say that 10 weeks was hard work would be a lie. To say the final 2 days was hard would be an understatement. That is the reality of race directing. Manic periods followed by days, weeks even of waiting. You are waiting for people to get back to you, waiting for the entries to roll in, waiting, lots of waiting. Patience is required but you also need tenacity. People aren’t inherently lazy but, not always by choice, things get in the way. They have lives, jobs, families and in the case of triathletes 10 hours+ of training a week that comes first! Your race, that’s relying on them, comes a distance down the list that doesn’t even register. You have to remember that just because you have chosen this path, to prioritise the club and the race above your own triathlon goals for the immediate future, others can’t. This results in a need for tactful chasing of people, the people doing you a favour. They don’t mean to be distant, they can have good intentions, but when you have tight deadlines you need action and sometimes it’s not forthcoming. You run the risk of alienating them but you can’t. You need them more than they need you! It’s a balance that is hard to get at times

We started off getting a date set and permission to use the centre. This was followed by application to the local authority to use the park. We couldn’t gain this though until an application to TE went in to affiliate the race. This meant a risk assessment had to be produced for the parks people, the lido and TE. What you or I perceive as a risk is not what the authorities perceive in all cases. It had to be watertight, such risks as head on collisions in the pool, trip hazards on the course, people walking dogs, to serious risks of people getting lost or, heaven forbid, drowning! As part of this we had to get first aid cover so the order went in to St Johns Ambulance. Then we had a wait.

Whilst the wait for the above permissions went on we set up the rest. We found a timing company, the single most expensive part of putting a race on. The next time you put a chip on your ankle and think about the amount you paid for the event remember, that’s the majority of it going there! Most companies are in excess of £1000, even for a small event so imagine what it costs at the bigger events!

We set the website up both ours and entry central. Thankfully I had some good help there. Saved me a few hours! Then wait was over, permissions granted so game on. The websites went live and the entries were opened. We emailed every swim, athletics and tri club in the South East area, TriTalk and Runners World had posts, TE put a note out and leaflets were put up in GLL centres but the entries were slow coming in. This was going to be a problem. A race isn’t much cop if no one races! End of the season lethargy and the fact we had not been backed by the London league meant our usual band of followers from London’s tri clubs were not readily stepping forward. The London League is a guaranteed entry stream. We had to work harder!

Whilst doing this we were talking to local businesses, we needed help with prizes, money, anything. Thankfully Cycles UK of Greenwich stepped forward with some marvellous prizes as did a local pilot who offered 2 flights for 2 across the channel for the winners. GLL backed us with swim and gym memberships. Things were taking off....except the entries!
We decided to organise medals and goody bags but dropped the t-shirts this year. I felt they were a waste of money with them costing over £9 each! So a club branded swim hat and swim bag was ordered, still £7 a pop for a race that costs £12 and £18! We got some cheap medals. Everyone loves a medal and trophies for the podium places. Still the entries struggle. With just a couple weeks to go we had 30 and were on a hiding to nothing. Time for a bigger push! Thankfully we had a flood of entries and ended up with over 50. still well down but enough to make a good morning out of it.

In the final weeks we agreed the course but boom, first major issue! The timing company had double booked. This was sorted at almost double the expense but a new company was found. We had a backup plan but even for a small aquathlon that costs £12 people expect these sorts of things.
As race day approached I was calm, relaxed even and things had generally fallen into place. Things had not been as difficult as expected. I wrote up the race pack for competitors and emailed that out and by Friday sent details off to the timing company of all entrants who would turn up at 6am on Sunday morning with the entry packs, including chip and numbers. This is going too smoothly.

On Saturday we arrived at the lido at 6pm to begin setting up the inside areas, transition, lane ropes, markings to be told they had Google in and we couldn’t work that evening and no one had told us. 20 volunteers had shown for nothing! This wasn’t great! So Mick and I agreed to meet earlier Sunday morning to get a head start.
Sunday 5am. Race Day.

This started by running the course with big km marker boards and my Garmin running. I handed this over after one lap showing people the course. We got marshals to mark out transition, mark out the finish shoot, and I took the run course marshals on a tour....Where are the timing company? 6:20 and they aren’t here, registration had been open 20mins and we had no numbers and chips. Plan B, register them and give numbers out later. Thankfully they showed up shortly after...the starter worked with the timing company, and when my watch had 5mins to go I went to the referee to organise the race brief.........30secs to start the timing company called...WTF! its 5mins 30secs? “Not by our system”. This was a major mistake. All of us needed to sync our watches, not just the starters. The timing system was inflexible and we had to go on time or it will not work. OK quick decision, numbers 1-10 hurry I talk them through, luckily most were veterans of the sport and understood snake swim 750m get changed and run the course that’s marked...OK, panic over. I walk the course looking for any problems and I arrive back at finish just in time for the first lady to cross the line. I hand out the goody bag and medal, pleased with our efforts so far. Streams of people flood in and the time is ready for the shorter second race to go off. Things are running nicely now. A few minor issues I make mental notes of but happy when the final person crosses the line and the hard part is over. I go to prize giving and the team of marshals help to take everything down. Brilliant. We present the prizes of flights, running shoes and numerous vouchers plus a prize draw for the 6 month memberships of GLL UK premises! Everyone goes home happy!

I finished helping with the clearing up, made notes and went and have a well deserved coffee and cake in the lido cafe. All done by 8:30! I notice my Garmin is still running from 5am ....11.6km. I’d gone further than if I’d raced!

Post race feedback is brilliant, except one guy, in the £12 race who complained about the goody bag. £12 and he got 8.50’s worth of freebies and he wasn’t happy. There is always one!

Without all the people involved it could never have happened. The marshals and various committee members who helped in the build up and on race day were all stars. The competitors who showed up raced with smiles and fairly. And GLL, especially Mick, who without we could never have put this on. Finally thanks to Cycles UK for coming along on the day, helping out when they didn’t have to, and giving incredibly generous prizes. Role on next year!]]>
I arrived at Hever Castle in plenty of time, a stunning backdrop for a brutal day ahead. We entered the water from the Italian loggia and it was pretty cold and very dirty. It also wasn’t much deeper than my waste! This could be messy. The gun went and we started the first of two laps. A beautiful venue involved a swim of around 700m up the lake before a double back and a turn into the river section. A very narrow river swim followed before turning off and back onto the lake. It was uneventful but the first lap took me 34minutes. Very slow for me on an accurate course, but I had my suspicions. The second lap I felt quite sick for and didn’t enjoy at all. I even contemplated not starting the bike I felt so rough. The river was surprisingly congested this second time around and a lot of water was ingested. NOT GOOD! Still my relief came soon as I exited the lake in 1:11:28 ... a PW Ironman swim, but after chatting with 2 others it was nearer 4200m! Still the lead swimmer went 50 so no excuses, I swam badly.
After an eternity in T1....about 10 minutes, I headed out onto the bike course. It was raining, but quite warm and we were immediately met by the first hill. Then the second, then the third. See the pattern forming? The course was stunning but involved either going up or down. No middle ground. The miles ticked off slowly and after Hartfield, the home of Whinny the Pooh, the long slog up to Ashdown Forest started. This is around a 4mile climb. The views at the top were worth it. Stunning! We then had the long descent down to Maresfield, a short dual carriageway section and back up the 5miles to the top. Yep, back the way we came. ouch! Now the rest of the lap was up and down, including “le col de Groombridge” its about a mile and half long topping out at 20%. It hurts, even with a 27 on the back! After that another descent a couple more climbs after Penhsurst and 2hrs 30minutes after setting off Im back at the start.....yep 2hrs 30mins and only one lap down. A quick calculation and the day is starting to look like a long one! The trip through Hartfield just before the second climb up to Ashdown was where i started getting my first low. Not only did I know what was coming but there is an adventure playground there and I started thinking, what a lovely day I could have been there with El Niño. Made me feel a bit selfish if I’m honest, but its all part of the mental battle. Small things become big things! The climb to Ashdown seemed to take forever and was beginning to hurt and now I was getting tired of hills. I just wanted some respite from it all. Well the low lasted quite some time as my back was starting to get pretty sore also. Not the usual being on a bike too long soreness but my lower back, which has given me minor problems on and off this year, was becoming unbearable.
I was eventually lapped by Fraser Cartmell towards the end of the second lap, which took me close to 2hrs 40mins...yep 10mins slower, and as I started the third I knew I was struggling and would be in pain when getting off the bike. I also knew that Id never had problems with running before and that any time Ive had any pain in the lower back, running has eased it within seconds of moving. “I’ll be fine” i thought. Lets get this bike over with first. Well the third lap was a battle of will. I was pretty low passing the playground this time as I thought about my motivation all again and actually thought then, Im not wasting a day off just to quit. It fired me up and I was soon over the bad spell, which had lasted a lot longer than any race previously. Still I rode slowly up and down hills and rolled into transition after 8hrs of cycling... a very slow time, showing not only my issues but how tough the course was!

I struggled to get off the bike such was the pain, and passed my bike to a helper and was bent double. In the tent I just sat down and contemplated my race. Do I want to risk long term health potentially, for a medal and tshirt? Hell yes It’ll be fine I convinced myself and off I set. Yes I was in pain but surprising felt good apart from that. I ran out of the grounds and was ok. First hill i started to walk up it and that’s when I realised this wasn’t going to be fine. Far from it, it was getting worse. Without the back I know I was in good shape to run a fairly decent marathon, but the back was there, and it wasn’t a niggle that could be ignored. It was almost seized solid. I walked down the hill. I then jogged some flat ...felt not too bad but the next hill bang it got worse again. With the hills and the very muddy trail in places,this was going to take a toll on me. After about 7km and an hours “running” I started to realise this was just pointless. Yes I could walk the marathon in 6.5hrs, yes I knew I’d get round and get a medal, but really, at what price? at what sacrifice? I’ve proven myself before, I had nothing to prove by finishing and I had nothing more to say to myself. how do you convince yourself that it will all be ok when it clearly isn't. this was no normal, my legs hurt and I need to stop battle, but proper pain. In fact my sensible head was winning over the competitive one that would have me finish at all costs.
I came into the grounds of the castle. In agony I come around the finishing straight towards the end of my first lap of the run, 10.5k. I check the watch 1:29minutes. I know my day is over. I know I will not finish the Bastion this year and almost in tears I walk straight into the tent and sit down and just stay there thinking. You know if it had eased just 5% Id have got back up and walked out for another lap, but it wasn’t going to happen and thankfully I didn't get that opportunity. Who knows what could have happened had I continued.

After the event I know there was nothing sensible I could have done differently on the day but I should have heeded the warning signs months ago and seen someone! The only bad DNF is one you don’t learn from and I am learning from it. I immediately went to the gym and done some testing on my strength and conditioning to reveal a very weak lower back. I have bought some stretch cords and will do a load of body weight exercises to condition myself better. I will seek professional help and I will go back and beat this race in the future. I have the midnightman in August to look forward to also, and being a flat race I'm hoping it will not lead to any more problems, problems that disappeared the day after the race and havent returned I might add!. At least I can use it as a training day to swim and bike a bit and stop if there’s any reoccurrence!

As an aside if anyone wants to do a proper race in beautiful surroundings, this is the one. A scenic swim, stunning but brutal bike and a hard trail marathon. Early bird discount for next year makes it £224, a relative bargain also. I would recommend this to everyone. Just be prepared!]]> I was in the water just in time as the gun went off at 7am!. The swim is an easy, clockwise, square course of two laps and with a smallish wave of 50 people there was no biff. I went from the start and noticed two people head off so hit the feet of one of them. After 100 meter he blew up and I noticed a group ahead of me, but just too far now to bridge. I caught this group though within another 100 or so meters and they were on the second lap of the previous wave, so here I was alone for the swim. I lapped people from the previous wave occasionally and caught a guy from my wave also that must’ve swum 3k not 1.5 as he was all over the place. I easily left him zig zagging away. I was feeling quite ill during the first lap, very sick and even brought something up into the murky lake. I felt a bit better after this and spent the whole second lap swimming alone. I exited the water in 25:57 and was a touch disappointed as I had swam a 1500 the day before in 23:30, but knew this course was long and that I was near the front of my wave. A quick transition of 1:31 and I was soon on the revised bike course of 8 shorter laps.
The bike had a slight decline one way and slight up flat on the way back. It’s fast apart from the dead turn at one end. It usually has two dead turns at either end of the dual carriageway but the revised course missed one end out due to road repairs required after the flooding earlier in the year.
The first two laps I had to settle into but after that the laps ticked off with no real issues and I actually felt quite good. After 4 laps I checked my Garmin and see 30mins and only 11ish miles, so knew it was going to be a fast all be it short day out on the bike. I got a bit of concern on lap five seeing a club mate lying motionless on the floor after a heavy fall, but thankfully he was up and about the next time around.
I rolled into T2 in a time of 1:02:35 and with just 22.x miles on the clock. Had i not checked my garmin at halfway I would have ended up doing another lap!
A quick T2 in 46 seconds and I was off and running. I found my legs quite quickly and felt quite good considering the large training week. I had concerns pre race that i may not run to my best but perhaps this is a new tactic for me It’s a pretty uneventful 3 lap affair around the trading estate, but it’s quite an enjoyable route for some reason. I noticed after about 3 miles that my right foot was becoming sore and rubbing as I hadn’t pulled my tongue through enough so i quickly adjusted that but it was too late by that stage. It was a little sore but manageable. I managed to continue to keep a fairly consistent pace until the final lap when i realised I was on for a sub 2:20. This spurred me on to up pace a little bit and eventually finished the 3 laps in 47:49 for a time of 2:18:31.
After checking the results I noticed that in my wave I was first out of the swim and 4th fastest. I came 5th in my AG and 36th overall so am very pleased with my overall performance. If only I had got in another wave with some faster swimmers I’d have been even quicker there!

overall positions :-
swim pos 16th
bike pos 32nd
run 53rd
total 36th

Swim 25:57
T1 1:31
Bike 1:02:35
T2 0:46
run 47:49
total 2:18:31
pos 36
AG 5]]> I set off and caught the guy half a length ahead just before i hit 75m. 2 Scheds then kindly let me through. I just swam, no discomfort but was shocked to exit the pool in 7:10. Something was wrong and it must’ve been the counting as that’s way outside what I swim even to warm up. Oh well, no problem.
I took my time struggling with arm warmers in T1 but was out in 1:50, very slow and the bike didn’t start well. I was rattling very badly and I ended up stopping twice to check wheels and bars for tightness. In the end I gave up and thought “lets put up with it” as everything seemed ok. I then lost my spare tub so had to stop and go back for it, but after the hiccups I settled and rode well.
The bike is pretty hilly and I seemed to climb quite well, which considering the lack of bike miles over winter I’m pleased about. The ride was over far too early as its only 15.5miles long, and I entered T2 with a 54 on the clock. Only a couple minutes off a bike course pb so not too bad and would have been a pb bar the issues.
I set off on the hilly 5mile run but felt like I wasn’t recovered from the marathon. Legs took an age to get going and the problem at Sevenoaks is all the hills come early. Still i pressed on and after about a mile and a half was running well for me and enjoying it. I started to push when I realised i was on for not only a run course pb, but a race pb so pressed hard and even pushed on up webs alley to round the corner and finish in 44:08, a run course best, and a race time of 1:48:14. This is a 2minute course pb also. Chuffed

Time
Swim 7:23
T1 1:52
Bike 54:02
T2 0:46
Run 44:08
Total 1:48:14]]>
The morning came and I was very nervous, unusual for me. I ate porridge but also a nice batch of chia. I got to Blackheath in heaps of time, and just laid back and watched the various races start on the big screen. Casually I walked to pen 4 for my start and before i knew it 10 o clock hit and off we went. Pen 4 on the heath is a great place to start, busy but through in 3 minutes and my first problem hit. My tri top pockets must have loosened over time so my gel flask wouldn’t sit tight in there. I took it out and thought, OK hold it, no problem as its only small. Then with that I lost my 3 caffeine gels. Some bloke next to me found it hilarious, “3 down not many left” he joked, but I just smiled and thought, no problem as i have 5 in the flask and I can always grab one or two at 14 or 22 miles at the two Lucozade gel stops if required. As i got a few hundred meters along I see my wife and son and gave them a hug and went on. Nice start I thought as last time I missed them! First 3 miles down to Woolwich was pretty uneventful. Nice start as I went through 5 k in 27:27, bang on time. The next drag up to Greenwich also was uneventful, although seeing a club mate cheering me on was nice. 10k in 56:03....a 5k split of 28:36, including a pee stop. OK I thought, more than happy and feeling pretty good. Greenwich was mental, I almost turned back to run through it again, and with loads of club mates out cheering including from the Galleon window up above the one way system, made me think of those people who I was representing having been lucky enough to get the club spot.

The drag up to Surrey Quays was fine, and I was still feeling great, before turning off at Rotherhithe to take in the worst part of the course. This was obviously an afterthought to make up distance, and although there was some crowd it was quieter than everywhere else. At around 10miles I bumped into T_C who I knew was recovering from a broken hip and cycled from Lincoln to the start the day before. He was struggling, unusual for him, and I stopped and chatted a bit to him, slowing me down, but its a social occasion in the mid pack of the London Marathon. If you can’t chat to people, or want a time, don’t run London.
At 11 miles you join Jamaica road at the Rotherhithe roundabout and I was well on course for my sub 4, feeling strong and enjoying every minute. I also noted I had hardly eaten a thing and didn’t need to. Was that the Chia I’ve heard about! Approaching Tower Bridge gets quite emotional as you can hear a noise that’s deafening. As you turn right on to the bridge the sight that awaits you is one of the best in sport. People standing and hanging from just about every part of the bridge it’s safe to do so, and the noise is something else. It really is a special moment and something that you have to savour.

Turning onto the highway it was empty on the other side. A good sign as it means I am on course still and I went through halfway in 1:59:12...a half time only 3 years ago seemed an unreachable goal, now it’s just an easy part of a marathon!
From experience this is where the race gets tough but I continued, feeling OK. At around 15 miles you turn right into an underpass, and the drumming from the band was brilliant. The beat was perfect to run to and as I exited was sad to leave them behind. Now I began to think though. It was around here that it all fell apart the last time I ran London, and I had some dark moments. I literally cant remember half of the Docklands course so was mindful that although I was feeling great now, things could change in an instant. It didn’t. I kept going and I felt good. I was actualyl enjoying it. Could I really make sub 4? Will I keep running until the end? At around 17miles approaching the docklands towers section, I was taking in the sights I could barely remember and making the most of it. My quads started to scream around here but a little bit of pain wasn’t going to stop me, I still felt great! Unfortunately I had lost touch with the 3:56 pacer around a tight, narrow section of the course just before 17miles and I couldn’t make the gap, so did kind of settle back down and think, so what if i miss the time, this is great!

The Docklands was amazing, I loved it here and this time I can remember it, no dark moments, no lost energy no trouble keeping myself from dropping. I just kept moving forward. I exited the Docklands happy and went through 30km in 2:51:36, still on course for my sub 4 but I slowed after this. I didn’t feel bad and didn’t intentionally go slower. I actually only noticed after looking at the results the next day where lost the time. I was getting rather warm at this stage though and consciously took on extra water at around 22miles so this is probably what went wrong. Just to add to the fact I still hadn’t finished my gel flask, only 5 gels but was full of energy suggests it had to be fluid.
Anyway dropping past Tower Bridge on to the embankment and 23 miles I was starting to fill a bit tired, finished my gels and had a lucozade one Id picked up earlier, had some more water, quite a bit actually and then got chatting to a guy with an IMUK cap on, Phil. The last 3 miles flew by chatting triathlon and plodding along. It did keep me focussed on what could have been a tough part of the race. Turning into the home straight and seeing 800m to go was a highlight, 2 laps of the track, but it does seem to drag. Past the Palace and now heading for home I was happy to cross the line in 4:09:11, a massive p.b. but a little short of my 3:56 (9min / mile) target. To be honest I didn’t feel any kind of negative reaction. I was really pleased with my performance as I had run the whole way, feeling great. Not one real bad patch and a time many would be pleased with. OK I didn’t go sub 4, but who cares. I had a far better day than my last London and feel I laid to rest the ghost of that difficult day in April 2011. Roll on my next London. I would do this race every year if I could. I suppose I need a 3:09 rather than a 4:09 to make that a reality

Place (M/W) 10628
Place (AC) 5455
Place (overall) 13884 – 37%
Finish time 04:09:11]]>