A Forest: The DirtRun Summer Sizzler

So, last Friday evening we completed another run in the lead up to the epic 24 hour race. This was the DirtRun Summer Sizzler, an off-road 10km around mixed terrain. When we arrived there weren’t too many people about, and the race itself was probably a little undersubscribed. This meant we started near the front and went off a little quickly with the genuinely fast people. It was only after two rapid kilometres that we hit the woods. This was the one truly difficult part of an otherwise straightforward and relatively fast race. Unfortunately the route through the woods was confusing, dense with foliage (especially nettles), uneven and involved sharp descents and inclines (one where you had to pull yourself up on a rope). Despite having dropped a little behind Rach, I overtook her briefly in the woods as her group went the wrong way. I needed to “pull over” to let faster people through as there was barely enough room to run, let alone overtake. Once out of the wooded section, which was over 1km long, it took me a good couple of kilometres to recover before I could start pushing on again. Fortunately, anyone behind me was well behind me by that stage (perhaps lost, following an unwitting pied piper into oblivion, or eaten by monsters) and I started to gently reel in other racers over the flatter stages. It was really quite warm and dusty, but mostly flat, with only one proper squelchy puddle to contend with. I could even see Rach for most of the race, on the more open sections, but still couldn’t quite catch her. It was by no means a fast course, so our times were not wonderful, but we both placed quite well. Out of 55 competitors, Rach came in 15th in 55:01 and I was 18th in 55:48. What was even more impressive was Rach finished as 2nd placed female runner (of 18), so was presented with a couple of beers and lots of energy bars. I was 2nd placed Sam (of 3). There was no prize.

At the end of the race we received an unusually high-quality t-shirt and a free BBQ item. We therefore sat on the grass eating burgers we didn’t want before trying to drive to Manchester. There were photos, but Rach's ironically-monikered smartphone chose not to retain them.

We’re now going to crack on with training for the Equinox 24 Hour Race, only doing other intermediate races if they fit well with our overall preparation.

The day before we completed the DirtRun, the amount raised on the charity website surpassed the £2000 mark. This is pretty awesome, but obviously includes amounts raised from tandeming exploits as well. We hope to get near to the £3000 target by doing the 24 Hour Run in September, but there's still plenty of time for donations to roll in by then.

This ends the lesson.

Making Your Own Fun: Midweek Monster Duathlon

Now, it was our intention to compete in the Mega Manic Midweek Monster Duathlon at Castle Combe this week as a relay team. However, due to the distance we would have to travel to get there after work (65.6 miles one way) it was possible/likely that we wouldn’t get there in time to register for the event. Therefore as a more viable alternative we decided to run a Midweek Monster Duathlon of our own devising in the environs of lovely Upton.

The duathlon at Castle Combe was conducted on an actual race course, which is pretty flat, and yields very quick times. Our planned course was less flat, and involved more traffic but was still chosen for speed and avoiding too much altitude change. Also, as a “monster” there were three runs and two rides in the following configuration:

2 mile run
10 mile cycle ride
2 mile run
10 mile ride 
2 mile run

  We were hoping to complete it in less than 2 hours, although I wasn’t very confident of that happening. We started in one of our local car parks amongst the truckies with Rach doing all the running and me doing all the cycling. In the end we were surprisingly quick, finishing the whole thing in a couple of seconds under 1 hour 47 minutes. Despite having to run 6 miles (9.66 km) in three separate bursts, Rach still managed a kilometre in 4.14 minutes in the final leg. My second ride was completed with an average speed of 18.5mph (approx 30kmph) and a top speed of over 30mph. As we were using different GPS devices to measure distance/pace (having previously mapped the routes on Google) Rach did have to run around the car park once per lap, and I failed to record all the info for my first lap, but old-fashioned timekeeping proved we finished in 01:46:58. Roughly, because of the vagueries of my first lap, “transition” (in which I mounted or dismounted the bike before going/sending Rach off) and the fact I can’t be bothered working it out, I completed my 20 mile ride in 1 hour 4 minutes, and Rach her 6 mile run in 43 minutes. For a homemade, one-team, relay duathlon on public roads (with many undulations and some wind) that’s pretty damn quick. We’re pleased anyway. Today we are mostly aching. 

One extra benefit of not doing the official organised duathlon is that we didn’t have to pay the entrance fee. Therefore we’ve put that straight into the charity fund. Please feel free to help us support WaterAid, Oxfam, Disability Snowsport UK, Cancer Research and Honour Village Cambodia by visiting www.teamsnow.co.uk and donating what you can. Also, tell your friends about how we are mental and need help, giving them the relevant link. The 24 hour run is less than 3 months away now, and beginning to loom large in our consciousness. Hopefully all this training will go some way to protecting us from complete bodily disintegration.

Our next race is the Dirtrun on Friday 11^th July, which is a 10km off-road run. We’ll update you as per usual.

A bientot.