My Half Marathon Challenge – by Mark Summers

It seemed a good idea at the time, a challenge borne out of an end of season slump in motivation. 2015 had started well, a 106 mile Cyclone sportive entry had me covering unheard bike miles together with healthy run distances. Half marathon, 10K and Blaydon Race PBs fell as my fitness benefited from my cross-training regime. A last minute injury forced me to withdraw from the event and led to a slump in motivation which lasted the best part of six months. I needed something to aim for but what?

A reasonable GNR time despite very little training planted a seed in my brain, “how would I do if I prepared properly?” Not just training but also improving my experience of the distance? What about running one half marathon per month for the whole year, I run 10 miles on a Sunday anyway, how difficult could it be? The answer was, harder than I first thought. As with all challenges it wasn’t just physical but also a mental challenge testing my resolve and my opinions not just about myself but also about running. This has changed my attitude forever but what have I learned along the way?

 

1. Enjoy the day, you don’t know what’s around the corner

 

Brass Monkey race day dawned bright, cold and clear with a good squad meeting at Hadrian Leisure Centre early to make the drive down to York. Temperatures were below freezing but the gritters had been out on the roads and the course. Spurred on by my clubmates, we broke 5 PBs between us, I took over 5 minutes off my previous best. Little did I know I would run for over 19 hours before I troubled my PB again

 

 

2. Keep on going

 

I thought it would be easy running 13 miles once a month and to be honest it was, avoiding annoying illnesses proved to be more difficult. A winter virus robbed me of my pace and energy and dragged on for weeks. I kept on going though and regrouped when my one half marathon a month fell by the wayside. In many ways this made the challenge easier as it was difficult to find races towards the end of the year and I didn’t relish the thought of running laps of a track in December. I found it really difficult to accept the step back I’d taken as a result of the virus and thought it would never end. I ran the Milton Keynes Festival of Running Half on will and the encouragement of friends and family at the finish. Probably shouldn’t have done it but missing two races from my schedule was not going to happen. A full 15 minutes behind my Brass Monkey result, it was about the finish not the time. I kept going through March and April waiting for the viral headwind to ease and the virtual handbrake to be released.

Druridge Bay Half saw an improvement in my fortunes and gave me my first experience of multi-terrain running. A nice little course running two laps of the country park including a section along the beach. Respect to my clubmates who run the Coast and Castles Half each year, running on sand is tough. Some woeful Winter Grand Prix times were run during this time where I finished last more than once, but you never know when a good handicap time will come in useful J.

 

3. Phone a friend

 

I ran many of my races solo and while I enjoy this, the best ones were always where I was accompanied by friends and clubmates. New challenges or unfamiliar territory is always easy with a friend.  We’re part of a great club with some great people, some we already know but others may be new or else we’ve never had the opportunity to spend time with. Racing together and better still, a road trip, gives you a chance to chat get to know people in a way which doesn’t happen on a normal club night. That has been for me one of the pleasures of this challenge. Names are too numerous to mention, but special thanks to Julie Williams with whom I tackled the very challenging Hadrian’s Wall Half, of which more later, Alan Moses for Hexham and N2N as well as invaluable advice and kit for trail running and the great club turnouts at the Brass Monkey, Sunderland and Morpeth to Newcastle. I look forward to running with you all again soon.

 

4. Learn to love the hills but don’t be afraid to walk

 

When you’re trying to complete a race per month you often have to enter whatever races there are available with only a cursory look at what they may entail. Hadrian’s Wall was described as a ‘multi terrain trail race’ with about equal quantities of road, grass and gravel to challenge the ankles. I could run 13 miles no problem but 13 miles off road was another matter.

 

Julie Williams and I were running along steadily doing our best in our roadrunner mindset. A female runner from a County Durham club was always just ahead of us but instead of trying to run up the steep hills she just powerwalked them. We would catch her up on the walking stages but she would recover far quicker at the top and pull away. This was an important thing to learn and I’ve used it in many races since. The summer period saw many hilly races including Tynedale, Hadrian’s Wall, Coquet Half, Hexham and Clennell and while they offered no opportunity for PBs they were a great challenge all set in beautiful countryside. With training, experience and nutrition you learn to love the hills.

 

5. Food, food, food!

While I’m definitely not an expert in pre-race nutrition I have at least an understanding of the massive difference it can make. Carbohydrates in the days leading up to the race, a good breakfast 2 or 3 hours before the race and a banana an hour before the start made a massive difference to my performance. Whereas I was previously hanging on at 10 miles, proper preparation meant I still had something left in the tank. I remain unconvinced about gels but use 2-3 per race which seemed to work well.

 

6. Trail Running isn’t Road Running…forget the PBs

It’s not just the terrain or the loose attitude to race distances that make them different, trail runners are a breed apart. It’s about completing the challenge more than the time and if there is a surprise hill before the finish you just need to deal with it. This doesn’t fit well with a road-running mindset so you need to put it to one side enjoy the scenery, laugh at the ridiculous hills and enjoy the experience. They’re just runners too and have a lot of knowledge and experience to share. Hedgehope 2017, here I come.

 

7. The last mile always feels much longer

As I ran along the seafront at the GNR in 2015 passing the 800 metres to go sign and spotting 400 metres in the far distance. “That can’t be 400 metres” I thought. Sadly the long last mile isn’t unique to the GNR and finds many forms to surprise and torture the runner as they push towards the finish. I’ve seen all sorts of finishes during this challenge and don’t really know which I prefer. The fact that you don’t trust the signage to the finish means you don’t want to commit to the final sprint until you can see the finish for yourself. Twisting, turning finishes like the Brass Monkey have you hanging on until you can see the line. Others show you the finish in the far distance which approach agonizingly slowly as the clock ticks on. A mixture of the two is probably best, I love to see the finish not too far away and a chance to open the taps for a final sprint. No matter how hard the race, there’s normally a bit left over.

 

If I’ve learned one thing this year it’s that I like running half marathons. It’s a distance that suits me and that I can understand. It’s all about the miles, if you put the training in then the speed will come. I’ve run some great events this year some of which I’ll do again either to work on the PB or to erase bad performances. It’s been great fun sharing these new experiences with friends and club mates, I’ve pushed outside my comfort zone and tried to embrace new experiences and have enjoyed all of them, eventually. I’ve been down and fought back to fitness when I felt like giving up. Friendship, knowledge and experience are all around us at our great club, you just need to ask. I look forward to 2017 with trail runs in the Cheviots and my first run in in the Dark skies of Kielder. I missed sub 1:40 this year but I believe I can do it. That, in a nutshell, could be the message of this challenge – believe, you will always surprise yourself if you keep going and give it your best

 

Race Calendar

Date	Location	RaceTime	Elevation Gain (Ft)	Average Pace(min/mile)
17th January	Brass Monkey	1:41: 51	33	7:47
5th March	MK Festival of Running	1:56:49	164	9:00
17th April	Druridge Bay	1:55: 28	440	8:52
1st May	Sunderland Half Marathon	1:46: 08	453	8: 09
15th May	Tynedale Half Marathon	1:48: 42	912	8:20
25th June	Hadrian’s Wall Half Marathon	2:05:33	1034	9:32
3rd July	Coquet Half Marathon	1:53: 17	951	8:40
31st July	Hexham Half Marathon	1:50: 39	840	8:36
7th August	Clenell Trail Race	2:35:41	1975	11:09
11th September	Vale of York Half Marathon	1:42:22	72	7:48
25th September	Redcar Half Marathon	1:41:01	102	7:41
30th October	N2N Half Marathon	1:40:27	420	7:40
Total		22:37:58	6483	8:36

 

Challenge Stats

Number of races run	12
Number of races entered	14
Total Cost	Prefer not to say, the wife will read this !
PB s	3
Season PB improvement	6:30
Toenails lost	1
# posted	0