The “Rhondda Rollercoaster” To coin a well known phrase “It does exactly was it says on the tin.” This marathon is in, on and around the Rhondda Valleys of South Wales and it’s a real Rollercoaster, either up or down with not much in-between – think Beachy Head Marathon on Crack Cocaine! and it will give you an idea of what this event is like. My club-mate Ade Holloway of “Run Yer Socks Off” (he’s the organiser of my big charity fund-raising event the “Littledown Marathon” on the 17th June – still time to get your entry in if you’re quick) suggested a few months ago that he thought it would be a good idea if as part of my challenge, I was to run two LDWA events in Wales, one in the Rhondda Valley and one in the Clun Valley. He would support me and run the two events with me and we could camp in the Brecon Beacons during the week between the two events. Well, it seemed a great idea at the time and Patsi (who likes a bit of camping) was up for it, so I entered both events. However, in the last few weeks family commitments (very good commitments – more on that later) have meant that plans have had to be changed, I could no longer run the Clun Valley event and camping was also not going to happen. I still wanted to run the Rhondda though and so I left home at 5.00 a.m and met up with Ade at the Trehafod Community Village Hall just north of Pontypridd for the 9.00 a.m start. After having a second breakfast, all supplied by the lovely ladies of the South Wales LDWA, consisting of toast, jam, marmalade, biscuits and as much tea as you could drink, we were off and within a few minutes we were climbing up through the forest. When your first mile takes nearly 13 minutes and you go off course you know you’re in for a long hard day and that proved to be the case. We plodded on with a bunch of other runners and I let Ade take charge of the navigation, well he is Welsh being born just a few miles away in Cardiff, he was also better organised than me with his laminated route descriptions and GPS, I just wanted to focus on the running. We seemed to be going for ages mostly uphill when we arrived at the trig point at the summit of Mynydd y Glyn. This first checkpoint was unmanned and acutely called ‘self clip A’ which, for all the uninitiated, means that you have to clip the card you were supplied with at the start, with a small clipping device (much like a staple gun without the staples) which was suspended on a piece of string dangling down from the trig point. I noticed from the card that there was another one of these checkpoints ‘self clip B’ at mile 19.9 and thought to myself why don’t I just use this same clipping device to clip my card and skip that one (what me cheat – no never!) Obviously I didn’t, which was just as well, as those LDWA folks aren’t stupid you know – ‘self clip A’ stamped out the letter ‘H’ whereas ‘self clip B’ I was later to find out, stamped out the letter ‘A’ Fascinating don’t you think? Anyway back to the running or more like plodding, Ade seemed to be in his element as he was pushing on while I always seemed to be playing catch up and I found myself running with a young lady Angie who I started chatting to (I know I can’t help-myself) She had a very large rucksack on her back and I assumed she was training for some long distance ultra marathon event as it looked heavy and she seemed to have a lot of stuff in there. She said she wasn’t in training and in-fact this was her first marathon, she just liked to be prepared for any eventuality (what even washing up, I thought, as she seemed to have the kitchen sink in there) – what a first marathon to choose. At about the 15 mile point just before the village of Ton Pentre I was descending a steep rutted flint track alone (Ade and Angie were upfront by this time and out of sight) I ran through a metal gate which had been left open and as I did so my hydration tube from my backpack snagged on part of the gate post, the tube was pulled off the bladder and energy drink poured down my backside and the back of my legs. Not wanting to lose all the liquid I stopped, took out the bladder from my rucksack and refitted the tube. In my haste to catchup with Ade and Angie I started running down the rest of the descent as fast as I could but I clipped a large piece of flint with the front of my right foot and I found myself flying forward, in a millisecond I could visualise landing belly flop style onto the track ruining my good looks, ha, ha but more importantly wrecking my 60 marathon challenge with a busted leg or knee (perhaps I should stick to nice flat road marathons instead). My legs seemed to be spinning around at about 100 miles per hour and somehow I managed to regain my balance and keep upright, but it was a close call and really shook me up. Ade was waiting for me down in the village and we made our way to checkpoint 2 which was in St John’s Church for a rest and a sit-down. The food laid on here was amazing, and the LDWA volunteers were all busy making assorted sandwiches and pouring out the tea and coffee. There were biscuits, jaffa cakes it was fabulous and you could eat as much as you liked, problem was once we sat down and started tucking in we didn’t want to get up. Eventually after about 25 minutes we managed to drag ourselves away and get going again, once out of the village we soon began climbing again through a wooded area and we hooked up with Angie again, we had now caught up with a lot of walkers who had started an hour before us and were walking with them, as it was almost impossible to run with the severe gradient, up up up towards what looked like in the distance a dormant volcano “surely we’re not going up that thing” I said to Ade the answer came back “yes we are”. I was beginning to regret stuffing myself with all those sandwiches. We started the ascent up through a gully and I could see we were walking on horrible black sticky ash type gravel, other walkers were making their decent. At the summit was ‘self clip B’ and according to the route description we should have a compulsory 5 minute break to admire the views! Angie told us that this huge mound was called ‘Tylorstown Tip’ and was in-fact an old mining slag heap – we were standing on-top of all the waste left over from the coal mining that took place in the nearby valley Towns of Tylorstown and Stanleytown now long since gone, thanks to the Thatcher Government back in the Seventies (better not get political). We could see in the distance the River Seven Estuary with England on the other side and even the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. I could also see the roads around Ferndale and Mountain Ash an area where in 1971 I had raced in the 4 day Ras De Cymru bike race for the 34th Nomads, I had come 2nd and my Welsh team-mate Gordon Jennings had won the King of the Mountains competition. In the distance to the North was the village of Aberfan where on the 21st October 1966 a generation was wiped out when a slag heap (much like the one we were standing on, but much bigger) slid down a mountainside and engulfed a farm, several houses and the Pantglas Junior School. 116 children and 28 adults were killed in the disaster which devastated the local community and saddened the whole country – I was 14 at the time and remember hearing the dreadful news during our school assembly. We made our way down the decent and pushed on to checkpoint 3 at 21.2 miles this was conveniently at the Brynffynon Hotel, in the village of Llanwonno (don’t ask me to pronounce that one) as we entered the hotel lots of walkers were drinking pints of beer – very civilised, we stuck to water and juice. The 3 of us didn’t hang around too long here as with just over 5 miles to go we were all keen to get to the finish. Although the rest of the route wasn’t as hilly it was still undulating with mud, bogs and rutted tracks. We finally saw Trehafod, where we had started in the distance and after another long quad crunching decent we finally arrived in the village. It was Saturday afternoon and like all the other villages we had passed through it was deathly quiet with hardly anyone about – the demise of all the mines in this area had left the places looking like ghost towns. The run wasn’t over yet though, a long drag up through the village, another hilly track through a wooded area and then down to the river, another half mile then over the footbridge and finally the three of us ran into the community village hall in just over 8 hours. My Garmin showed nearly 28 miles (all down to Ade for going off course) only joking Ade, well done with all the navigating. We both ended up with PWs, but a PB for Angie who I made an honorary member of the 60in60at60 club – cheers Angie for the company and pacing, hope I didn’t slow you down too much. There was more food to eat with a choice of soups on offer – lentils and garlic or black bean chilli, with bread and yes more tea and cakes for afters, these South Wales LDWA folks certainly know how to put on a fantastic event and keep everyone well fed at the same time. Diolch yn fawr iawn. (thank you very much).

My plans for the next few weeks are all up in the air as on Friday Patsi and I fly to Sydney to stay with our Gorgeous Daughter Karleh and Cheeky Monkey Grandson Henry for two weeks – we can’t wait to see them, it’s going to be fantastic. Karleh’s expecting our third grandchild on the 21st May – just hope she can do the business while we’re there. I’m going to try and run at least one marathon down under, not sure where or when – so watch this space and I will be back in time for the South Downs Marathon on the 9th June.

This weekend I was back staying in the same Premier Inn (I should buy shares in that company) near Caldecotte Lake that I stayed in when I ran the Enigma Quadzilla, 4 marathons in 4 days back in February – those 4 days of pain and suffering are seared into my memory. This time I just had the 1 marathon to contend with, the inaugural Milton Keynes Marathon which was to start just outside the MK Dons Stadium and finish inside. The weekend didn’t get of to a very good start, on Saturday all loaded up and ready to drive off, the car wouldn’t start. Despite several attempts it wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry and from the sound of it, it seemed like it was quite a serious problem. It was time to put plan B into operation, trouble was there was no plan B, however, the good news was that at least the marathon was tomorrow and I had plenty of time to get there. I thought about various options – train, coach, borrowing a car from someone. I came to the conclusion that the easiest and best solution was to hire a car, and luckily Alamo car hire just behind Bournemouth train station had a small Peugeot which was perfect for the job. Looking out the window on Sunday morning I could see the torrential rain and the gale force winds (just the way I like it, I tell myself) it was gonna be a great run – I remembered an old Chinese proverb “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing” (don’t think it’s really Chinese though ha, ha) I had booked a car-parking space at the park and ride and was due to catch the bus to the MK Stadium, but on the Friday received an email saying that I had been upgraded to park at the stadium itself – great I thought, extra half hour in bed. Problem was that I think everyone else had been upgraded as well, as the queue to get into the stadium was horrendous, but once in, there seemed plenty of room – for cars anyway, It was a different story for the runners. It was still raining hard and naturally everyone headed for the only obvious shelter which was inside the east stand of the stadium, there was chaos as spectators were also trying to get in as well – according to the race brochure spectators shouldn’t have entered the stadium until the marathon had started, obviously most of them hadn’t read the brochure or couldn’t care less, (can you blame them in those conditions) and as far as I could see no one was trying to stop them. I gave up trying to get in and found a slight overhang which provided a little bit of shelter near the baggage trucks and got changed as quick as I could. Once ready I covered up with an extra large bin bag, I prefer the huge wheelie type myself not these silly little small thin bags most others seem to use, which wouldn’t keep a mouse dry. The marathon was started by my mate Liz Yelling and I gave her a wave (don’t think she saw me though) in waves of about 5 minutes apart which was a good idea as just after a mile we were on the so called redway, the footpath that snakes its way around the parks and lakes on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. Although very narrow in places with lots of underpasses, overpasses twists and turns I thought it was great as there was no traffic to worry about and the early miles seemed to go by quite quickly, despite the continuing rain. The main problem (well not problem as I prefer challenge – puke puke) was the flooding, or big puddles, one of my pet hates is runners trying at all cost to keep there feet dry, they skip, hop and jump around the slightest bit of wet stuff, nearly falling and breaking their necks and other runners necks as well. “It’s torrential rain, your feet are going to get wet for god’s sake, just run through them” I shouted out several times in vain. At the risk of being called sexist I have to say that most of the culprits seemed to be girlies trying to keep there nice new pink running shoes clean and dry for as long as possible. Having said all that, a couple of times we were diverted onto the grass (or more like muddy quagmires) by the marshals, it looked like it was turning into a cross country marathon at some stages. Although adding extra distance (I made it 26.75 on my Garmin) this was definitely the right decision, as the flood water was so deep there could have been Tesco shopping trolleys lurking down there (other supermarket’s trolleys are also available of course). I was running at my usual pace of 8.45 min mile and enjoying myself as I was well wrapped up with rain cape, hats (yes two – which worked well) and gloves, and trying not to look at my Garmin too often having told myself that my time today was irrelevant especially in these conditions. I still wanted to finish as quick as possible as at 15 miles I was starting to get cold, my feet were frozen and numb, which was possibly a good thing as at least my left foot wasn’t causing me any problems this week. So far the route had been slightly undulating although long stretches had been into a strong headwind. At about 20 miles I overheard a guy saying to his mate “that’s the worst of the hills over with, it’s all flat from now to the finish”. I thought to myself that’s nice I should get well under 4 hours, then I thought Barry you know better than that, one of the golden rules of marathon running is unless you know someone really well and you are completely sure they know what they’re talking about, then don’t believe them. So it proved to be, the under and overpasses seemed to be getting steeper and around every corner there seemed to be another hill especially at 24 miles which went on forever. With a mile to go we were on the road (Saxon Street) which was closed to traffic and I could see the MK Stadium in the distance and hear the supporters cheering. Entering the stadium was a great feeling and I was please to cross the line in 4.04 very wet and cold. I made my way to the baggage truck and unfortunately there was more chaos, bags hadn’t been sorted into number order and the only chance you had of getting your bag was to describe it and hope for the best, some runners were up on the trucks looking for their own bags, I eventually got my rucksack and it was soaking wet – the torrential rain obviously getting into the truck. Before the start I nearly left my bag in the car, now I wish I had. I didn’t bother to change, my fingers weren’t working anyway, so I just jumped into the little blue (an appropriate colour) Peugeot and drove back to my hotel. Patsi had run me a hot bath and while I was having a lovely soak brought me a nice cup of tea, although she drew the line at washing the mud off my legs. I don’t want to be too negative about this, the first Milton Keynes marathon, after-all organising a marathon is a huge undertaking and probably the biggest factor that determines success or failure is the weather conditions. If the weather had been like last Sunday at the VLM everything would have been fantastic and I do therefore, feel sorry for the race director Andy Hully and his team – it was certainly a baptism of fire. I’m sure lessons will have been learnt and improvements made for next year’s event. On the positive side it was a great venue, a fabulous course with lots of musical entertainment and despite the horrendous conditions the supporters and marshals all around the course were amazing. It’s definitely a marathon I would do again and one I would recommend. I later heard that the Shakespeare Marathon, which I did last year and thought about doing instead of this one, had been cancelled – all the runners were told on the start line that due to flooding on the course it was now going to be just a half marathon. I would have been gutted – so glad I chose MK.

Monday morning arrived and having set my alarm for 6.00 a.m I was awake for two reasons – to enter the VLM ballot for 2013, which surprisingly went incredibly smoothly and to get ready for my 6.40 a.m interview with Steve Harris on Radio Solent. I looked out the window, the sun was up with a clear blue sky, it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day and so it proved to be. After breakfast we walked around the lake (the very one I had ran around yesterday) it was lovely, what a pity it wasn’t like this yesterday, but then again this is Britain.

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Pictures: MK Marathon in the rain, with two hats – well it’s not a fashion contest. Steve Harris (a marathon runner himself). MK Stadium in the background and my little blue Peugeot. Caldecotte Lake – the day after .

Second Live interview on Julian Clegg’s Breakfast show, hosted by Steve Harris Radio Solent – 30.04.2012

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M21 – Milton Keynes

Well would you believe it? I’m a third of the way there, yes 20 marathons done and dusted and it’s great to have reached that point by running the best marathon in the world the London Marathon! Back for my 4th time – 2 x Flora 2008 and 2009 and now 2 x Virgins (no jokes please) 2010 and now 2012. When I first started thinking about my challenge this was my only must do marathon, especially as it was Olympic year and after missing out last year I really wanted another London on my spreadsheet as it could well be my last. Not sure what happen to my supposed live interview with former British triple jumper Jonathan Edwards, CBE – think it was dumped in favour of a real celebrity instead, well that’s the BBC for you (oops sorry BBC you did squeeze me in, during the highlights after-all – cheers) Another fabulous weekend in London and as usual taking the family with me. Our hotel was just opposite the Excel Exhibition Centre, so it was nice and easy to pick up my chip and number etc. We then had a slow walk around the docks and a couple of drinks (orange juice for me of course) in a nearby bar and had a lovely time relaxing in the sunshine. I was at the bandstand in Greenwich Park nice and early for my interview with Jonathan, and it was great chatting to other runners who had also been lucky to be selected. At about 9.00 I was summoned onto the stage with Sarah, a lady who was running for a cancer charity and had recovered from cancer herself. We were standing and chatting to Jonathan for about 10 minutes waiting to go on air, then Louise the producer said “that the previous interview had overrun and our interviews were going to have to be pre-recorded and broadcast later”.The upshot was that most of my waffling was cut out (not a bad thing I hear you say) but at least my interview appeared during the BBC’s highlights program later on Sunday evening, unfortunately Sarah’s wasn’t shown at all – a great shame, as her story was much more inspiring than mine. The weather was perfect for marathon running with a sunny blue sky, but not too hot, it really is a waste of time taking any notice of the weather forecast these days, which predicted showers all day. It took me a few minutes to cross the start line but despite being surrounded by other runners I soon settled into my usual pace and as always the crowds were enormous with a fabulous atmosphere. After 6 miles we ran around the Cutty Sark, now fully restored after fire nearly destroyed it in 2007, then just before halfway we went over one of London’s best landmarks, Tower Bridge, with all the cheering from the crowds creating a deafening noise. At 14 miles I saw my Team Light supporters club – Patsi, Lussi, Trevor, Baby Thomas and family friend Amanda, and had a quick stop for kisses and cuddles, then off towards Canary Wharf. Once I was coming out the other side I could see my time dropping to near 9 min mile pace and realised I was not going to run a sub 4 hour marathon this week – I was starting to regret pushing really hard in Brighton last Sunday and as usual my left foot was really painful. Just after 21 miles on the way back towards the Tower of London I was spotted by Team Light again, although I didn’t see them this time as I was getting into the zone and just focussing on the last few miles. I was wearing my TeamPB running vest today (Prostate Cancer and Breast Cancer Care) and so I was also being cheered on by all their supporters, as well as loads of people shouting out my name. Running along Birdcage Walk with a mile to go I saw a young lady lying in the road with paramedics attending to her, she looked in a bad way and the police were erecting screens, I realised that it was obviously a serious situation and later found out that it was 30 year old Claire Squires. Claire who was in the prime of her life and running for the Samaritans had collapsed and later died in hospital, a real tragedy for such a beautiful young woman, her family and friends. After hearing that sad news my disappointment of just running 4.09.09 and not breaking 4 hours paled into insignificance and I realised I should be more than satisfied with just being able to finish each of these marathons. I always enjoy meeting up with everyone in Horse Guards Parade, lots of Littledown Harriers had been running today as well and it was great to chat to some of them. Jane, another family friend joined me, she interviewed me for her website “Not Yet … Because it’s never too late” – A forum for people who prefer not to be defined by their age – if that’s your take on life then check it out Here. The rest of Team Light finally arrived after fighting their way through the crowds and the usual photos were taken. They then made their way to Canary Wharf while Jane and I went to the TeamPB’s post-race reception at the Royal Society, in Carlton House Terrace for tea and sandwiches (note, no alcohol and all very civilised) and to meet up with Phil Catt and some of the other charity workers. As we left the predicted rain showers arrived and we walked to Charing Cross tube station, Jane headed home and I joined up with the rest of the team for a nice meal and a few drinks before making our way back to our hotel – it had been another long day and a great weekend to remember in my home city of London.

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Pictures: With Jonathan on the Bandstand. With my cute Grandson Thomas. With my supporters – Team Light. Jane at the TeamPB post-race reception.

Video: My interview by Jonathan shown on BBC 2 Highlights program – blink and you’re miss it.

Video: My interview by Jane of “Not Yet” at Horse Guards Parade.

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M20 – London

It was a very early start today as I was meeting up with some of my Littledown Harrier club-mates at the Littledown Centre at 5.30 a.m – Ade Holloway volunteered to drive and I was happy for once to be a passenger and able to relax in the back-seat. We had with us Phil Sparkes and former Harrier now running for Bournemouth AC Richard Nelson. We arrived at the park and ride in plenty of time and caught the Bus to Preston Park where the start of the 3rd Brighton Marathon was due to take place at 9.00 a.m. Surveying the scene it reminded me of a mini London Marathon and that’s what this marathon turned out to be in more ways than one. As always, the first task when you arrive at the start of these big marathons is to search out the nearest portaloo which doesn’t have a massive queue and do the business – no problem here as there were plenty to chose from. The one I opted for looked and smelt like I was it’s first visitor of the day, what a bonus – sorry if you’re reading this while having you’re lunch. The race was started by Brighton and Hove Albion’s FC Manager Gus Poyet and once we got going I was running just behind Ade and Phil, Rich had shot off and was on a mission for a sub 3.15. We did a lap of Preston Park, about a mile and a half and as we were running along the A23 towards the town centre saw on our left runners still in their pens and waiting to cross the start line. Just like two weeks ago in the Sussex Marathon, today was another trip down memory lane and like then my thoughts as I was running along the A23 turned back to my bike riding days. Living in Streatham, South London, one of the many early season training rides I would do with a bunch of other guys would be to ride down to Brighton and back on this very road, a round trip of about 90 miles, little did I know then that when I was 60 I would be running a marathon along it. We snaked our way through the famous lanes and through the gay area of Brighton (or so I’m told) before turning left onto Marine Parade and heading West past Roedean girls school at about 7 miles. At the first dog leg at Ovingden I saw Ade on the other side of the road, he must have been about 3 minutes ahead of me, I saw Phil as I was running back, I had overtaking him while he was on a pit stop, I was sure he would catch me later. I do like these dog legs as you get some idea of your position and of course see the elite guys steaming towards you and appreciate just how fast they are moving. After a U-turn we were running back towards Brighton along Marine Parade again, past the marine on our left at 11 miles and into a head wind which made the going pretty tough. The halfway point was opposite the derelict West Pier which I reached bang on 1 hour 50 min (it looked like I was on another sub 4 hours, unless I blew up) The crowds were 2 or 3 deep (just like London) and were fantastic all cheering and shouting encouragement – with lots of people calling my name out. Another dog leg from miles 14 to 18, but by this time the leaders were long gone. Phil caught and past me at about 15 miles looking strong and soon after that I just saw a glimpse of Ade as I passed him, he seemed to be struggling now and still had 10 or 11 miles to go. He was still recovering from a bad cold he caught just after that fantastic run in Barcelona and probably shouldn’t have been running at all today – but you know what us marathon runners are like. Going through Hove and just before mile 20 we started yet another dog leg this time around Shoreham Power Station, not a particular attractive part of the course but still lots of spectators. We hit the prom at 23 miles and I was now starting to suffer, with my left foot as usual hurting like hell. I could see the pier ahead and knew the finish was just beyond, but it still looked a very long way. The crowds here were again great and the noise was deafening, again just like London and I just had to stay focused and keep trying to maintain my pace which had been dropping over the last few miles. At the 25 mile point there was a sharp left and we were back up on the road again and at last the pier seemed to be getting closer, I saw the 800 meters to go sign and tried to lift the pace and finished in my second fastest time of my challenge 3.52.47. I met up with Phil who had a really good run with 3.45.55 and Rich who smashed his 3.15 target with a 3.09. Ade typically toughed it out to the finish and completed his 51st marathon in 4.13.51. We all had a very welcome cup of tea at a nearby cafe before making our way back to the bus. It was a great marathon and I think all the boxes were definitely ticked – Tim Hutchings and the organisers are planning on making this the best and biggest marathon after London and I think they are on the right track, It’s definitely one I would do again. Looking forward to London this Sunday, all being well it will be marathon number 20 and a third of the way through my challenge – not just the running but a great weekend with the family, Good Luck to everyone else taking part.

P.S – I have just heard that I’m going to be appearing live on the BBC just before the start of Sundays Virgin London Marathon. Yes, British triple jumper Jonathan Edwards CBE, former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion will be interviewing me – I’m much more nervous about that than I am the running.

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Pictures: In the changing tent, with Phil and Ade. Boys at the Seaside – Ade, Me, Phil and Rich after the Brighton Marathon or (London on-sea) and a nice cuppa.

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M19 – Brighton

This was the 2nd edition of the Sussex Marathon, with the start and finish in Heathfield and the route following country lanes through beautiful villages in this picturesque area of South East England. The race organiser Natasha Fielden described the course as “undulating and challenging” and she wasn’t wrong – the hills just kept coming and coming, in-fact I would say that this was one of the hilliest road marathon I’ve ever done with over 2,400 feet of ascending and descending. For me personally it was also a trip down memory lane, in-fact two memory lanes, firstly back in the early seventies during my bike racing days one of the popular road racing circuits I use to race around was at Rushlake Green. The marathon route went through that village twice and it was strange to think I was racing along the same roads, then on my bike 40 years ago. Then between 1980 – 1986 Patsi and I lived just outside Eastbourne (about 15 miles south of Heathfield). I was working as an Assistant District Manager for the Britannic Assurance Company in Eastbourne (a previous life) and Heathfield and the surrounding villages were in my patch, one of my main jobs was to sell insurance, would you Adam and Eve it? After all my travelling of the last few weeks there was no let up this Sunday, as the Sussex marathon involved a round trip of 240 miles (luckily I had a full tank of petrol) The event started at 9.30 which also included the half marathon runners and I met up with my two brothers (who were doing the half). Soon after the start we realised just how hilly it was going to be as the first mile was down a steep hill, one that we would have to run up to complete the first lap (their finish). We ran together and I reached the half point in 1.56 which was probably way to fast as I knew my second lap, which was slightly different from the first was going to be tough. I felt I was still running strongly (for me anyway) and I thought if I could manage the hills and keep running even switching into pigeon step mode if necessary, then I would be able to run the descents pretty quick – I like to think I’m reasonably good at running down hill. This seemed to work for a few miles and I found myself overtaking lots of runners on the descents, but soon my quads were screaming at me to slow down, even though I was going down hill. I realised that it was a lot harder running this sort of course with loads of short steep ups and downs, than say a marathon like Snowdonia where although you have more ascending (over 4,000 feet) it’s just about 3 climbs and you have very long stretches of lovely descending. Halfway around the second lap I knew I was not going to break 4 hours this week, but I thought if I keep running the hills I wouldn’t be far off. The last hill to the finish seemed to go on forever and switching into pigeon step mode didn’t seem to do much good as guys who were walking were overtaking me. I was completely out of energy, my legs were hurting like hell so I thought if you can’t beat them join them, so I walked for awhile as well, once the hill levelled out a bit I started running again and crossed the line in 4.13.19. Considering the course and the fact that I had beaten some of the 100 marathon club runners who had got the better of me in some recent marathons (they will remain nameless) I was pretty chuffed with my time. In-fact I only noticed later in the results that it was another victory – yes 1st in my age category again (it’s nice to be old), so hopefully another trophy will be winging it’s way to me (I don’t know – more dusting for the wife!). Finally if you like tough challenging marathons along country lanes (like I do) then I can recommend this one, the marshals were all very friendly, plenty of aid stations with water, food and gu energy gels and for a country area lots of local supporters, great medal (you can’t have too many of them) and a nice technical t-shit. Natasha and her team at TL Sports Events put on a great race and I’m sure it’s going to become a very popular event on the marathon and half marathon calendar – I could well be running again next year to try and get my own back on some of those hills. I’m looking forward to marathon number 18 on Easter Sunday, as no travelling involved – yes it’s my BBBB marathon again and all are welcome to join me. We start on the Westcliff at 9.30 and you can download all the info Here, if you can’t make it then Happy Easter from the Lights.

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M17 – Sussex

Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” last week, Freddy Mercury’s and Monterrat Caballe’s “Barcelona”  this week, next week I’m running back in England so it could be Ken Dodd and his Diddy Men singing “Where’s Me Shirt? For sheer Spectacle “The Barcelona Marathon” has got to be one of the best marathons in the world – it really is top drawer stuff. Our daughter Lussi and husband Trevor dropped Patsi and I at Bournemouth Airport and we caught a Ryan Air flight to Girona last Friday our 38^th Wedding Anniversary (not doing the joke again) with some of our Littledown Harriers club mates. We all caught the bus into the centre of Barcelona before saying our goodbyes and making our way to our respective hotels/apartments for the weekend. It was our first visit to the capital city of Catalonia and typical of my organisation skills, I had only booked our hotel with a week to go, so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. According to the reviews our hotel was at the top end of Las Ramblas (whatever that was) I was later to find out that this area is right in the centre of Barcelona and is known all over the world as Spain’s most famous thoroughfare – well no one told me! It was only a 15 minute walk from the bus station, so we were soon settled in, washed and changed before hitting Las Ramblas and finding a typical Spanish restaurant. We shared a great big dish of paella and a couple of bottles of wine, I know alcohol is not recommended before a marathon (in-fact it’s a definite no, no, to all you young marathon runners out there) but it was a special occasion and I did have Saturday to sober up and rehydrate with loads of water. Next morning we had plenty of time to make our way to the Expo and pick up my bib and chip and suss out the start and finish, what a difference from last week when I was rushing around like a headless chicken. Losing an hour with the clocks springing forward on Sunday morning was at first quite annoying, especially as I hardly slept because of the constant hubbub from Las Ramblas (the downside of being in the centre). But once on the start line with 20,000 other runners with the sun coming up a clear blue sky and knowing it was going to be a hot, hot day I was glad it was really 7.30 in the morning. 10 minutes before the start Freddy exploded form the loudspeakers singing “Barcelona” the song that became the 1992 Barcelona Olympic anthem and has represented the city ever since, at the same time all the surrounding fountains burst into life and as we crossed the timing mats to start we were showered by ticker tape, it was another one of those “why I love running moments”. I’m not sure where to draw the line in describing this marathon, as I know I have a habit of waffling on, so I’ll sum up as follows: If you love big city marathons (as I do) then you’ve got to do this one – it’s fantastic, the crowds, the atmosphere, the sights (for all you football fans you get to run around Barca’s FC Camp Nou, and if you’re interested in culture and architecture you run past some of the incredible buildings and works of art by Antoni Gaudi. My race plan was as usual to start steady for the first few miles at 9 – 9.15 min mile pace, speed up slowly to 8.40 – 8.50 pace and hold that to the finish and this week it worked as I finished in 3.54 my first time under 4 hours in 8 weeks. When I arrived at the pre-arranged meeting point I met up with Paolo who had run a good for age time for the London Marathon of 3.15 and Ade Holloway, who I knew was in front of me having seen him on one of the out and back sections. This was Ade’s 50^th marathon including 25 ultras he ran 3.41.23, what a great marathon to commemorate that achievement. Some other great performances were from Helen Gilbert this was her first marathon and she did 3.55.23 and Debbie Dowsett of Bournemouth Joggers her first time under 4 hours with 3.56.37. The whole area surrounding the finish was stunning, with the fountains, the architecture and the views of Barcelona with the mountains as a backdrop – relaxing in the sunshine you didn’t want to leave. It’s definitely one I would love to do again next year.

Pictures from the top: Running past Gaudi’s incredible Basilica of the Sagrada Familia. The medal shot, us at the finish. Paolo relaxing “what me 3.15″. Ade in the restaurant later celabrating his 50th marathon. In the restaurant later got the medals got the t-shirts. On the way back to our hotel, sign in the metro, stairs left escalator right – decisions decisions?

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M16 – Barcelona

If all roads lead to Rome – why does it cost so bloody much to get there? Rome – the Eternal City, can’t believe I’m back here again after 44 years, yes I was last here when I was 16 with a bunch of my cycling chums from the 34th Nomads. But that’s it for now folks, I haven’t got my laptop (I’m not attempting to do this on my mobile) I won’t be back home until late on Monday night and I will be going to my dear Auntie Elsie’s funeral on Tuesday, so this will have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday – so check back then…

…Well if you’ve checked back I now at last have the time (on Thursday) to write a bit about my adventures in Rome, it’s going to have to be brief as I’v got to pack for my trip with Patsi to Barcelona – we fly out tomorrow (Friday – our 38th Wedding Anniversary) shall I do the joke about not even the Great Train Robbers getting that sentence? no I better not, she may read this. Anyone who’s run a big city marathon knows that the running is just a small part of the whole experience, the travelling, accommodation, picking up your number and chip etc. is the major concern and takes up a huge amount of time, especially if you’re in a strange city. I was attempting to do Rome as cheaply as possible hence the reason why Patsi didn’t come with me. Travelling to a big city marathon the day before the event is not ideal and I knew it was going to be a very tiring and stressful journey. My main concern was getting to the Expo centre to pick up my race pack before it closed at 8.00 p.m. I left home at 8.00 a.m and to cut a long story short only arrived at the main train terminal in the centre of Rome at 6.45 p.m. I knew I still had to catch the metro to the nearest station and then had what looked on the map like a long walk to find it in the dark. I was struggling to even locate the ticket office to buy my ticket let alone get on the right train going in the right direction. When I saw a bunch of Italians who I guessed were trying to figure out how to get to the Expo centre as well. I said “parla I’inglese?, non parlo I’italiano” they all turned to the smallest guy in the group and said “si” pointing at him, it turned out that his name was Felice and he was the ring leader, his English wasn’t great but it was much better than my Italian. I soon made him understand that I was running the marathon and he intermated that I should join them and follow them to the Expo, however, I quickly realised that they didn’t have much of a clue of how to get there either. Felice grabbed my arm as we all charged down this escalator to the metro, I tried to tell him that I didn’t have a ticket yet, but he just waved his arms around and said “no problem” and he just pushed me through the turnstiles, squeezed in with one of his mates. Once on the metro we attempted to talk about, (what else but marathons) and I gathered that he had in-fact run over 50 marathons. Once we got off the metro we started walking for what seemed about 3 or 4 miles and we finally arrived at the Expo centre with about 40 minutes to spare. Felice rushed around talking to nearly everyone and he seemed to know lots of people, he bought me a strong black coffee and when we arrived back at the metro station and I told him I was going to buy a ticket this time as I didn’t fancy being shoved through the turnstiles again, he insisted on buying it for me. When we arrived back at the Termini train station we said our good-byes and they wished me luck in the marathon, they got off as their hotel was nearby, I had to stay on for a few more stops and then catch a bus to the outskirts of Rome (the price you pay for doing cheap). To cut another long story short, I got completely lost and ended up having to pay €15 for a taxi to get to my hotel which seemed to be in a really dodgy area, I finally reached it at about 10.30 p.m. – I was completely exhausted, I had a shower, a few slices of cold pizza which I had left over from lunch and went to bed. Luckily when I booked in the guy on reception spoke good English and pointed out where I went wrong. He told me exactly where to catch the bus in the morning to get to the Termini station and then a few stops on the metro to the start which was at 9.00. Next morning I had to leave the hotel at 7.00 a.m to get to the start. I was on the start line with the Colosseo (Coliseum in Italian) in the background and Dean Martin blaring out of the speakers singing “that’s amore” that’s love (in Italian, I know that much). The atmosphere was great and once the marathon started we were soon running past some of the most iconic buildings in Rome. I was forced to start a long way back but I could see up ahead the 4 hour pacemakers who had pink balloons tied to their waists, so I thought it would be a good idea to gradually catch them up, stick with them and then push on with a kilometre to go and get under 4 hours, least that was the plan. In Rome like most ancient cities there are lots of cobbles, we seemed to be running over all of them today and they were made very slippery at every aid station with all the water and Gatorade spilled over them. At the 10k point I had caught the pink balloons and was running comfortably and for a few miles even running ahead of them. At about 16k we turned a corner and there in front of us was the magnificent Basilica Di San Pietro in the Vatican City, this has got to be one of the most iconic images in marathon running and I thought I even saw the Pope waving from his balcony. It was turning out to be a hot day and at every aid station there was a mad rush to get liquids on board with elbows, hands and legs flying everywhere. At the 25k station I was shoved in the back, I thought I’ll let it go, but then the same guy pushed me even harder, I thought who do these bloody Italians think they are, do they own the place or something! I turned around and said “who do you think you’re f****** pushing” the reply came back “sorry mate, didn’t mean it” he was English of course. With about 10k to go it seemed to be all cobbles (no nice mats to run on) and a few hills as well, lots of runners seemed to be cramping up, although I’m pleased to say not me, but I was starting to feel the effects of the previous day and the pink balloons were pulling away in the distance. My cunning plan of pushing on with 1k to go was not going to materialise and I was just praying to catch sight of the Coliseum again with 2k to go. I finished with a chip time of 4.11.44 which I was disappointed with, but after reflection not bad I suppose considering the trauma of the day before. The Maratona di Roma is a great marathon and I would love to return next year with Patsi and be able to spend more time in this magical city. So later that afternoon I went back to the Trevi Fountain (we had run right by it) I chucked two 10 pence coins in (I told you I was on a tight budget) one for Patsi and one for myself, a traditional legend is that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are certain to return to Rome – I remember doing that when I was 16 so it worked for me.

P.S – I had some great pictures, but seem to have lost the memory disc they are on in Rome.

P.P.S – I have had a comment left on my Home page from Felice – check it out.

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M15 – Rome

The LDWA for those of you not familiar with the term, stands for the Long Distance Walkers Association and this year (2012) they are celebrating 40 years since their formation in 1972. There are currently 44 local groups around the country and between them they organise challenging events and group walks. The challenge events are normally between 20 and 100 miles, are open to runners as well and have to be completed in a defined time limit, they’re great events and really good value for money. As part of my challenge I thought it would be a good idea to include at least one of the LDWA events and as it happened the Wessex group were holding a 18 or 26 mile event nearby, starting and finishing in the picturesque village of Burley, right in the heart of the stunning New Forest – I of course had to opt for the marathon. Not to be confused with the New Forest Marathon held in September (I’ve done it twice) which is all on road with loads of signs and marshals, this one was nearly all on forest tracks, footpaths, heathland, woodland, bogs, crossing streams and, like last week in the Steyning Stinger, lots of mud. The other big difference and one that can be quite daunting, is that it involves self navigation. Yes that means there are no marshals to guide you and using the grid references supplied you use an ordnance survey map and compass to find your way to designated checkpoints. I know what you’re thinking why bother with all that outdated stuff when you can just use a GPS – well anyone who uses a sat nav will know they don’t always get you to the exact place you want to be and in-fact in some LDWA events (although not in this one) they are banned. However, on this events entry form it stated that “GPS ALONE WILL NOT BE SUFFICIENT” So on the Saturday I spent some time with map and compass brushing up on my Boy Scout navigational skills (yes I got the badge) – shame someone else didn’t do the same. Fortunately I was not to be the only Littledown Harrier running today and trying not to get lost, as I was joined by Helen Ryder and Paolo “Ironman” Deluca. I suggested that the three of us should stick together (one for all and all for one type of thing) Helen had admitted that navigation was not one of her strong points and anyway had forgot to bring her reading glasses, I would normally run in my contact lenses, which meant I certainly wouldn’t be able to read a map and Paolo was his usual grinning non plus self and didn’t seem to have much of a clue, it didn’t instil a lot of confidence and I thought it was going to be like the blind leading the blind leading the blind. I decided to run in my specs so as to give us some chance and as we lined up for the start at least we were pointed in the right direction by the starter.

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Pictures from the top: LDWA finish certificate, Fruit and custard at the first checkpoint, Catherine and Helen on the right track. 

There were probably about fifty runners (the walkers having started at 8.00 a.m) and I figured it wasn’t going to be long before we were on our own and having to stop every 10 minutes or so to get our bearings. From studying the route the day before I could see that it wasn’t just a case of running along a well defined track for say 5 miles and then turning left or right and running along another one, the route had lots of deviations, crossing heathland and woodland with no obvious tracks to follow. As much as I love running in the forest I didn’t fancy getting lost and being out here for 7 or 8 hours. For the first mile Helen and I were near the back running through a wooded section Paolo was about 20 meters in-front and I could tell he was champing at the bit and wanting to push on already. We crossed the first road and everyone in-front of us just scatted, some went left some went straight on and others went right, which way to go I thought, I didn’t want to get the map out already and lose sight of everyone – I decided to go right. Then we had some good fortune, by shear luck I saw running confidently just in-front of me a women wearing a New Forest Runners vest and thought to myself she’s a local runner I bet she knows the route, I caught her up and ran along side for a while. Anyone who knows me will know that I’m a very shy guy and wouldn’t normally talk to strange women, however, desperate situations leads to desperate measures and thought I would make an exception on this occasion so I struck up a conversation. It turned out that Catherine was indeed a local runner, living on the edge of the forest and knowing most of the tracks and footpaths like the back of her hand, even better she had been out checking most of the course just a few days ago – what a find! I asked her if it would be OK if Helen and I tagged along with her, and she said “that would be fine” (hope you meant it Catherine) but she said she was probably going to take between 5 and 5.30 hours to complete the course which was perfect for us. By this time Paolo had bounded ahead and was out of sight – I thought to myself I hope you know what your doing Paolo, we weren’t to see him again for a very long time. The early fog had cleared and it was now a beautiful day running and chatting with Helen and Catherine – well they were doing most of the chatting. When you start you are given a card with your name on and during the event you have to reach 7 checkpoints, 4 unmanned (where you record a number on a small post and the time) and three manned (where your card is marked with your time and signed by a volunteer) these are the best checkpoints with drinks and food such as cake, biscuits, jelly babies, jaffa cakes and would you believe it mixed fruit and custard – you don’t get that in the London Marathon. By the time we were nearing the end with a few miles to go we were all pretty tired, Catherine said we could push on if we wanted to (I’m sure Helen could have done) but I was happy to run at Catherine’s pace and anyway it wouldn’t have been very nice to have left her on her own after using all her navigation skills and local knowledge – thanks Catherine, hope we weren’t too much of a pain. I’m sure I could have got Helen and myself around, but it would have taken us nearer 6.30 hours rather than the 5.28 we did. Arriving back at the village hall I asked if Paolo had finished yet? and you know the answer “No no sign of him”. It was to be another two hours before he finished, having gone of course several times and with a dodgy Achilles heal he had actually run 33 miles (still good ironman training). Sorry I suggested that one for you Paolo but did you never read The Tortoise and the Hare story? Ha, Ha. This was Paolo’s 77th marathon my 40th, I’m catching him fast and the big question is will he reach his 100th before me? – keep watching this space to find out, it’s all to play for.

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Pictures from the top: With the girls at the finish, With one of the local residents, Paolo’s finish – 33 miles! and still smiling, Still smiling even though he’s just realising we beat him by nearly 2 hours!

To check out all the info of my marathon at Garmin Connect just click on M14 – LDWA New Forest