London Easter 10k - 6th April 2026

My original plan was to spend my Bank Holiday Monday running 31km, my last long run before the London Marathon in three weeks time.  Instead I chose to take advantage of Lauren and the girls visting Jan and booked myself in for a 10km race in London.  I enjoyed a successful half marathon in Middlesbrough in March along with my parkrun performance at Clare on Saturday and so I wanted to get a 10km race in to complete the set.

I last ran a 10k at the end of October last year in 47:48, now with five or so months of good training behind me and my 20:58 5km from Saturday I felt that a sub 45 minute 10km should be achievable.  I had done a little pre-race research and it looked like a small event of 200 or so runners.with not alot of super speedy ones so sub 45 would have me fairly near the front.

I was a little keen, and so left the house not long after 7am and arrived at the station in plenty of time for my 7:45 train to London.  Hopping on the circle line to Great Portland Street and the short walk to Regents Park for the race.  I arrived about 9am and had plenty of time to waste with the race not starting till half 10.  

I haven't been to Regents Park before, but it was beautiful.  A perfect spring morning and I enjoyed a stroll around the park, whilst trying to scout out the route as a I did.  With the walk to the station as well I managed to hit my 11,000 steps for the day before the race even started.  I did a short one km warm-up and got myself back to the start in time for the briefing.  Nothing too dramatic to report, 10km is 3 laps and count your own laps.  

The kids in the two mile fun run were right at the front and I was a couple of rows further back.  I just wanted to avoid any slow moving traffic in front.  I did ok in that respect, but only just.  One woman ran, then stopped dead on the start line, presumably because she didn't have satelitte signal or some such.  It was mental, but we all managed to avoid crashing into the lunatic.  

The race then turned onto a nice wide path and I could get into my running.  The park was still open to the public and so there was some weaving.  They had said in the race instructions that it was a no headphone race and I took them at their word.  I didn't want to mess about with bagdrops and so I ran the 10k with my big headphones round my neck.  The course wasn't the most straight forward and so hearing the marshalls instructions was useful and you are generally a bit more in tune with your surroundings when headphoneless.  

The race spread out quickly.  I was working hard throughout the race, breathing heavily from the start and throughout, and this time I didn't have the music to drown it out.  I could feel the effort level was a little too high and I was hunting for km signs early and often.  

It was difficult to tell who was in the race and who wasn't.   You would come past a runner and they might be someone you were lapping, or a runner happily enjoying their run, obvilious that a race was going on.  There were also dogs off leads, walkers and kids out with their parents enjoying the Bank Holiday sun.  It all meant that you had to have your wits about you.  As the race wore on and the fatigue set in that became harder and harder.  I managed to remain on course and not trip over any innocent bystanders.

There were some bumps around the course, nothing too dramatic but enough that you had to work.  The roll down the hill after the fountain that I used to recover, then turning around and back up the slope before a nice gentle downhill and a second gradual incline.  I was hanging on heading into the third lap and that is shown in my splits, here they are for the entire race:

• 4:16 - 1km
• 4:23 - 2km
• 4:14 - 3km
• 4:21 - 4km
• 4:23 - 5km
• 4:15 - 6km
• 4:23 - 7km
• 4:29 - 8km
• 4:26 - 9km
• 4:19 - 10km
• Final 0.07 miles 26 seconds (5:52 min/miles)

That cluster from 7km-9km you can see I am clinging on.  All mid to high 4:20's before a final push of 4:19 and then a sprint for the line and that 26 seconds of extra effort I could have done without.  Rather too long than too short though.

I finished strong, relieved to have finished, I could so easily have resorted to a 30 second catch your breath walk at numerous points during the race but didn't.  My final time of 43:55 really was my maximum effort and I left nothing out there.  I finished 27th out of 218 finishers, but was disappointingly only the third fastest Simon, in a stacked Simon field.  

This race was my 27th 10km race and my fifth fastest , it was also my fastest in nearly 11 years, since my PB race of 41:44 in May 2015.  WAVA has me achieving 63.37% yesterday which is my best ever over the distance, that PB from 2015 was only worth 63.28%.  Which seems a little cruel for having gone more than two minutes faster, but that is what the world expects of fit young 31 year olds, they are a little kinder to 42 year olds trying to cling onto their running dreams.

I am hoping to get the originally planned 31km run completed tonight after work, no time goals, only to make it feel as easy as possible and boost my confidence as the London Marathon looms ever closer.  On Monday though there was no thought of the marathon, only the joy of having given my all for 44 minutes, the smile stayed with me all the way home.

Clare Castle parkrun - 4th April 2026

 It is always good to start the weekend with a parkrun, my opportunities have been few and far between with the girls dance commitments curtailing those.  This weekend was the Easter shutdown and so I took advantage and got myself along to Clare Country Park .   This was my second appearance at Clare, my previous one coming last Easter,  On that occasion I ran 24:31, and now much better trained I was hoping for 21:00-21:30.

It was a family affair, being the Easter weekend.  Lauren and the girls were there as my support crew, along with my Mum and Dad.  My brother Luke also ran with his son Thomas who is a regular at junior parkrun, and this was his second full parkrun, Thomas ran brilliantly, and comfortably came home in under half an hour.  Luke's wife Amber also ran strong and got under 35 minutes, far exceeding her expectations.

As for my race I had done some research and it looked like if I achieved my target time I would be finishing in the top 15 or so and so I positioned myself at the front on the right hand side ready for the go signal.  When it came, I hared off far too quickly.  I always like to go out hard, but even I knew this was excessive.  A glance at my watch and seeing 3:30 min/km confirmed it and I tried to ease back after that.

Looking at my 1/8th of a mile splits they have me going through the opening half mile as follows:

• 0.13 miles - 42 seconds (5:33 min/mile)
• 0.25 miles - 44 seconds (5:48 min/mile)
• 0.38 miles - 49 seconds (6:31 min/mile)
• 0.5 miles - 49 seconds (6:36 min/mile)

I managed to ease up sufficiently that I went through the first km in 3:53, stupid, but not as stupid as it might have been given the fast start.  It had me in 5th place, behind a young boy in an orange t-shirt.  The leader was off and out of sight, so it was clear my maiden parkrun victory would have to wait.  I ran 4:08 for km two, and a group of four runners went past me.  The race is three laps and so you get a look at those in front and behind you, I could see a steady stream of runners nipping at my heels and was concerned another wave would come past me.  In the event that didn't happen.

I saw Luke and Thomas running well as I headed back towards the start on the first lap, and waved and grunted at my supporters on completing the lap.  It was very much just trying to keep at it, I knew the time was good it was just a case of keep on, keeping on.  The third km was completed in 4:15.  I saw Amber on my second lap, and I was told after the race that she heard me before she saw me.  When I am at max effort I do make some horrible heavy breathing as I search for any available oxygen.  Thankfully I had my headphones on, playing my carefully curated Spotify playlist and so didn't hear myself.

Two laps completed is always nice, knowing that you are heading out on your final lap and you are seeing each spot for the last time.  I went through the fourth km in 4:13.  Clare is a narrow course and with it being three laps it can be a little awkward passing people, particularly near the end of the lap and the loop section.  You are then trying to fit in four lanes of traffic into what is a comfortable two lanes, and three at a squeeze.  Everyone was very accommodating and it didn't slow my progress.

I was relieved to make it out of the woods and onto the finishing straight.  I worked hard all the way through the line and was very pleased to receive a 9th position finishing token.  My official time was 20:58 just five seconds short of my time at Middlesbrough that I ran just after Christmas.  Middlesbrough is a much faster course, no sharp 180 degree turns, it is entirely on tarmac and is ever so slightly net downhill.  I was also 41 when I ran that and now aged 42 my WAVA is actually better for this weekend's effort.  

In fact, based on WAVA the only one of my 68 parkruns to beat this weekend's effort was my PB of 19:21 ran back in March 2011, that gave a WAVA of 66.67% compared to Clare's 66.06%.  Some other positive numbers from this weekend's effort, it was the first time I have run a sub 4 minute opening km since 2015, a more concerning stat is that my 5th km was 4:16 and the slowest of the day.  I normally start fast and finish fast, holding it together in the middle, with my third of fourth km being the slowest.  Today is only the second time ever that my slowest km has come in the final km.  It was only by a second, and the extra bit of distance at the end I ran in 15 seconds at 5:17min/mile pace so I did still leave a little something in the tank.

Overall I was really pleased with my performance, a comfortable course record and very close to my recent best.  I am hoping to run Southend parkrun next weekend and perhaps I can get sub 20:50 if the wind plays ball.  I won't fret too much, the plan is to take some big chunks off my 5k time during the course of 2026, for now Clare Castle parkrun was a very pleasing start to my Easter weekend.

Essex 20 - Race Report

 It has now been a week since my race at the Essex 20.  It was a tough morning's work, and I think it has caught up with me now.  I booked this race before realising it was on Mother's Day, and it will likely fall on that weekend in the future, so I may have to swerve it for the foreseeable. It's a pity becauase it's timing as preparation for a spring marathon is pretty perfect.  

The course itself definitely has a high boredeom factor, five laps of a four-mile circuit around an airfield, but that familiarity and rhythm is useful for pacing yourself and also means you are never far away from the loos, or your car for a resupply.  Thankfully I didn't require either, but it was a comfort to know it was there if needed.

The race was a half nine start and was a decent drive from home, I wished Lauren a happy Mother's Day and left the house about half seven getting to the airfield and parked with plenty of time to spare.  I got to meet up with Charlotte who was also running, in preparation for Edinburgh Marathon which comes a month after London.  We had a nice chat before the start, I then went for a short warm-up whilst she went to see her clubmates.

The race got underway on time with the 500 or so runners heading out on their opening lap.  It is a strong field, the race doubles up as the county championships and is very club runner heavy.  With the looped course you were never far from company but also had plenty of space to run which I like.  

Given it is on an airfield you might expect a good surface but there were plenty of potholes to avoid and so there were big stretches of eyes on the floor and being wary where you placed your feet.  The conditions were good, the temperature was near perfect and it was dry, the one condition working against us was the wind.  Strava tells me it was 12mph, but it felt stronger than that and definitely picked up in the second half of the race.  The early section of the lap was sheltered by trees but there was a long straight once you come out of that and it felt like a block headwind to me.  It was there early on the fourth lap that I had my first walk break.

I ran this race in 2023 totally untrained when I completed it in 4:06 with 2:15 of it spent walking but walking was definitely not on my 2026 race plan given the good six-month block of training I have been able to put together.  In the end I was able to keep the walking contained to 13 minutes.  Here are my five-mile splits:

• 41:14 (Total 41:14) 8:15 min/miles (5:08min/km)
• 42:07 (Total 1:23:21) 8:25 min/miles (5:14min/km)
• 43:55 (Total 2:07:17) 8:47 min/miles (5:27min/km)
• 49:11 (Total 2:56:28) 9:50 min/miles (6:07min/km)
• 1:31 (Total 2:57:59) 7:15 min/miles (4:30min/km)

As you can see my pace faded section by section before a 90 second sprint for the finish line.  

The section 1 to 2 fade is ok, it will largely be explained by a couple of excitable opening miles.  The section 2 to 3 fade is contained in miles 14 and 15 where I walked.  That fourth section is the run when you can, walk if you can't section.  What a slog that was.   Then a satisfying run to the finish over the final 400 metres or so.

I was relieved to complete the race and there were definitely moments that I could happily have pulled the plug, but the one area I consistently miss are the long runs and so it was good to get a 20 miler in the bank, even if portions of it were walked.  It also allowed me to test out my nutrition, I had four gels through the race, and for some reason opted for no liquids of any kind which might have been an error.  

It is a tough pill to swallow but my time target for London will need to be revised downwards off the back of this.  From the 3:30-3:34 I had hoped to run and earning a PB in the process to something more like 3:50-4:00.  Given the six months training I have managed to put together that is frustrating, but I need to keep my eye on the summer of 2028 timeline and use this six months as the strong building block that it is.

I have run lower mileage this week and all of it has been easy.  Despite that my body is still bust up.  Tightness in my lower back and left calf, something isn't quite right in my right quad.  Ontop of which I woke up Sunday morning with a sore throat that is worsening.  I just want to try and stay calm about it, I hope to be running strong again by the end of this week.  I can then have a good two weeks of hard training before the long overdue taper down prior to the race.  The Essex 20 was a reality check, but I'm still in good shape.  I ran a 1:42 half marathon just three weeks ago and as long as my body doesn't break, London should be a very special race.  Onwards and upwards.

If Carlsberg Did Weekends - Middlesbrough Half Marathon Race Report

 From the glamour of Dubai it was a bump back down to earth at the Middlesbrough half marathon this weekend.  Or so you might think.  I had a brilliant time in the north-east, heading up on Friday night to stay with my mother-in law for the weekend.  Jan (mother-in-law) and River (the dog) were waiting up for me when I arrived at just after 9pm.  I had a catch-up with Jan, and cuddles (with River) before heading to bed.  

Eight hours of uninteruppted, childfree sleep later I woke up refreshed Saturday morning.  I opted to skip the parkrun, and go out for a gentle 7km run, leaving the intensity for Sunday's race.  Jan and I then went to Jean and Rick's for tea, cake and chat.  We spent a very pleasant hour there before heading home for lunch and one of the famous pies from Petch's.  It was then into the car to the beach at Skinningrove for a walk.  River made himself some new friends and we enjoyed the sea air and some sun.  We got very lucky with the weather, as soon as we got home it began to rain.

The day finished with a trip to the Royal Oak in the village for dinner with Jan, Daniel (Brother-in-law), Tori (Sister-in-law) and Roman (nephew) he was at his super smilie best.  Against all dietary advice I opted for a full Hot Shot Parmo.  Jalapneos, Chilli flakes and pepperoni all washed down with a Birra Moretti.  The pre-race dinner of champions.

A solid seven hours of rest and recovery Saturday night, I got ready for the race in peace.  Driving myself to Dan's who had kindly offered to drop me off near the start.  That all worked really smoothly and I was at the start village by 08:15 ready for the 09:00 race.  It was a little fresh when waiting to start, my garmin would later tell me it was 7 degrees but with the wind chill it felt like 0.  Once you got moving though it was perfect, very different from the 19 degrees and high humdity of Dubai a couple of weeks earlier.  Short loo queue, room to warm-up comfortably, 3,500 runners so not too busy, estimated finish time seedings that worked.  Great North Run? No thanks, give me the Middlesbrough Half Marathon everday.

Running, like almost everything in life is all about the gap between your expectation of something and the result.  For this race my confidence was starting to falter, I had been tired on runs, struggling to hit target times on effort sessions, all that hard work, was my fitness fading?  I was a bit lost on a time to target, sub 1:50, 1:45 as the stretch target.  1:50 is 5:12 km's and so I had that in mind when I positioned myself just in front of the 1:50 sign ready for the off.

The course was busy and you had to be wary of those around you, but it was definitely more spacious than Dubai.  I like to try and find myself some room, I was thinking about it during the race, ideally I am aiming for something the size of an Atlasphere from Gladiators.  In this race that was achievable for much of it, but I will have to adjust my target at the London Marathon next month, maybe the size of a hamster ball could be achievable.

I felt strong from the off, moving through the field, cautious not to trip over others, or be tripped.  Here are the splits from the first 5km:

• 1km - 4:58
• 2km - 5:04
• 3km - 4:53
• 4km - 4:58
• 5km - 4:51

Total 24:44

That 5:12 pace looked overly cautious.  I was running comfortably, my heart-rate was steady, creeping up to 162 BPM by kilometre 5 but it was in the zone.  The course was very flat, there were some minor inclines early on but nothing substantial.  1:45 is 5 minute km's and that started to come into my mind, I was feeling good.

The second 5km looked like this:

• 6km - 4:49
• 7km - 4:46
• 8km - 4:45
• 9km - 4:48
• 10km - 4:44

Total 23:52

Life was good in this section, 1:50 was now way in the rear-view mirror.  There was always the possibility I could explode, but the heartrate was holding steady in the early 160 BPM.  I was keen to get to 11km and then we could start counting down the second-half.  The crowds were good, there were definitely quiet spots on the route, particularly in the port section later on in the race, but I am happy just working away.  I did spot a great one two punch of a sign that two women had, "Go Hard" followed by her friends sign "That's what she said." With a picture of Steve Carell from the American Office.  That is my level.

The third section splits were:

• 11km - 4:40
• 12km - 4:41
• 13km - 4:43
• 14km - 4:47
• 15km - 4:51

Total 23:42

This was my I got over excitable section.  I was feeling strong and wanted to really push things on.  I attacked a short climb over a bridge a little too hard and my HR hit 170 plus, by the end of km 15 my HR was now averaging 168.  I felt sub 1:45 was well on, but there wasn't anything else to particuarly target time wise, just get it done as fast as you can and don't blow up.

The fourth section

• 16km - 4:56
• 17km - 4:50
• 18km - 4:51
• 19km - 4:54
• 20km - 4:56

Total 24:27

It was holding it together at this stage.  I had been comfortable throughout almost all of the first three quarters but this final section stung.  The drummers were a nice little pick me up and we got two bites at them with the looped nature of the route.  My pace drops by about 10 seconds a km in this section but I felt as long as I was in and around 5 minutes a km I could bring it home in a time I would be pleased with.

The finish:

• 21km - 4:42
• 400m - 1:44

Throughout the race the race signs were coming earlier than my Garmin splits, so my biggest concern was the course was going to be short, in the event the end was really long.  My Garmin was telling me I was done with the finish line still some 200 metres in the distance.  I was shattered and about ready to pull over and call it a day.  I pushed and pushed for the line, willing it to me.  Finally getting over the line in 1:43:12 I have it measuring at 13.30 miles with me crossing the half marathon at 1:41:42 but we will go with the official time of 1:43:09.

I got my medal, a bottle of water, some Haribos, ginger biscuits and some Volatrol.  A very useful little stash.  I got myself to Mcdonald's and the agreed pick up with Jan at 11am, I skipped Mcdonald's opting instead for brunch back at Jan's.  Full of bacon, sausage, french toast, beans and tea I drove the four hours home to Essex with a huge grin on my face.

Since running 1:41:55 at the Southend Half Marathon in June 2015 I had done 10 half marathon's with times varying from 1:47 to 2:44, so this weekend's 1:43 is my fastest half marathon in 11 years, and was also a minute a mile faster than my 1:57 ran at Basildon in September last year.  We keep this momentum up through to the autumn and Basildon 2026 and I will look to go sub 1:40 or better there.  For now I will enjoy the after glow from the Middlesbrough half marathon weekend.  

Burj2Burj 2026 - Race Report

 We are now two weeks on from the Burj2Burj, the half marathon in Dubai.  I had booked this back in May last year, a good excuse to see friends Amy and Col and their two daughters.  It was also a nice bit of warm weather training in the middle of my London Marathon training block.  

I flew to Dubai Thursday night and arrived 7 hours later, 11 hours later with the time difference at 7 o'clock in the morning Friday.  Col was there to pick me up and we caught up, before I left him to get some work done whilst I went for a 5 mile run to get acclimatised.  Running in 24 degree heat mid-morning was a big change from the 2 degrees, wet, windy runs that had been my staple diet in recent months.  I was pleased to get it done so soon after the flight and having only grabbed 90 minutes sleep on the plane.

I then got to enjoy the weekend with the Rowlings family, a beer at an Irish bar, followed by a Friday night curry, then up early for the girls football tournaments.  I fully immersed myself in proceedings, and we debriefed at the golf club after the tournament over a couple of pints in the sun.  I then got out for a 5km run,  this time with the temperature at 28 degrees in the heat of the day.  Amy and I also picked up our number from the expo enjoying a Corona Cero before picking the girls up from a party.  The day ended with a BBQ and something of an early night, the race start was half 6 and our taxi was booked for 5am.

I got up at half 4, but time soon evaporated.  I move slower at that time of the morning/night but Amy and I were kitted out and ready to go when the taxi arrived.  Col and the girls would see us at the finish around half 8 in the morning.

We got to the start in plenty of time and tried to get our bearings.  There was a good hype man at the start, offering us a drink if we broke the half marathon world record, and putting forward the offer of a Lamborghini from his colleague.  I'm not sure it was a legally binding offer, but I was confident we wouldn't be collecting.

There wasn't a great deal to do at the start and so Amy and I got ourselves into position early.  I was about 2 stone heavy and considerably slower when I signed up for the race and so had on a pink 2:15 bib, Amy and I were now targeting a 2 hour time.  There was some effort to get people into their correct pens but it didn't work at all, the paid security might as well have had the morning off for all the good they did.  By the time we eventually got over the start line at 6:45 it was a real fruit salad of bib colours, pinks and oranges and greens.  

The race started on a wide road that was able to accommodate the large number of runners.  The organisers proudly announced that this year's entrants were a record 15,000 runners, 5,000 more than last year.  Money talks but I think they may have gotten a little greedy, as there was congestion on the course at points.

As I said, our target time for the race was 1:59:59 so around 5:40 a km.  I was hopeful that I was in 1:45-1:50 half marathon shape and so would be strong enough to help Amy along.  As it was our 2 hour target was about right for me in the Dubai heat.  19 degrees and 85% humidity meant my shirt was soaked through after 8km or so and it remained that way for the rest of the run.

I will split our race up into quarters.  Here are the first 5km splits:

6:05, 5:37, 5:30, 5:30, 5:42 = 28:24

The initial km was a slow one with all of the crowds, I was surprised how quick it was.  At points I thought we were going to run a 7 minute km so bad was the traffic, but just over 6 minutes was perfect.  Amy and I were running relaxed and working our way through the crowds.  Amy had those 5:40 splits in her head and although there were a couple of slightly quicker splits early, she ran to that pace beautifully.  I barely looked at my watch and we just slipped into a rhythm.  

5:40, 5:35, 5:35, 5:39, 5:39 = 28:08

The second 5km was when the road narrowed.  Where we had initially got a nice wide motorway it was now split over both carriages, but keeping a lane open either side so cars could still use it.  It definitely felt a little dicey when running by the cones on the edge, and it wasn't always possible to run stride for stride with Amy due to the crowds.  I found myself on the other side of the road and had to leap some roadside foliage but successfully landed the jump without injury.  

5:38, 5:44, 5:48, 5:48, 5:48 = 28:46

We had now got away from the narrower lanes and were on one straight road to the finish.  This course is not interesting or scenic.  It is a get it done kind of course.  The one positive was the road was slightly wider and so gave us more room, you did still feel pushed along by the other runners, it never really thinned out.  The crowds at the side of the road were ok, far from wall to wall but there were good numbers out.  Lots of signs referring to brunches missed and the early start.

Amy had said her legs were struggling from 10km and she did really well managing her efforts throughout.  In this stage she just asked to take the pace down 10 seconds a km or so.  By the end of the 15th km we were just a touch ahead of 2 hour pace but I could feel we were in manage it territory and so the sub 2 hours would probably escape us.

6:01, 6:17, 6:18, 6:07, 6:21, 5:55 and 1:19 (final bit).

It was in this last 5km where we had our first walk breaks. How Amy kept them to just 90 seconds total I do not know.  When I am on my own and decide I am cooked and need a walk I can hemorrhage time.  It would just be a little 10-15 seconds to stretch it out, get the heart rate down a touch and then getting going again.  It was during this period I made myself useful and got Amy some orange.  She was running with a CamelBak and so didn't need any liquids at the aid stations.  

We saw Col and the girls approaching the finish and that was a nice cheer to get us to the line.  There was a right hand turn and so the finish line only came into sight at the very end.  Our hard earned medals were received and we then found Col and the girls.  Some quick sweaty cuddles and it was onto the next thing.  A Mcdonald's breakfast at 9am, one of the joys of the early start.  Then into the car and a race across town for some more girls football watching.

The girls had play dates with friends and so Amy, Col and I headed for a beautiful roast in the sun at Joe's Backyard.  The day didn't end there though, I decided in my wisdom to get a taxi booked for 2:30 in the morning to get me to the pub for the start of the Superbowl at 3:30 am Monday morning Dubai time.  I had a few beers and some food watching a rather uninspiring Superbowl and decided to cut it short at 7am with half of the fourth quarter remaining and the result beyond doubt.

I managed to run Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to end the holiday.  Nothing too quick or too long but it was good to keep up the momentum.  A massage on Tuesday evening helped to relieve the post race aches and pains.  

The race itself might not have been the most beautiful or inspired race, but it is always a pleasure to run with Amy and it gave me a great excuse to come and share an incredible five days with the Rowling's family.  Same again in 2027?

A Brutal Benfleet 15 - 2026

 I completed the Benfleet 15 this Sunday, a popular and infamous 15 mile off-road race.  The weather had been wet in the lead up to it and so the trademark mud was there in a big way.  The weather on the day was actually near perfect.  I had run this race three times previously, but only once on the new course, way back in 2017.  Then, I had completed it in 2:17.30 and felt I was in good shape to get close to that.  The reality was I was way off it.

Perhaps I had been too ambitious from the get-go.  I ran the Rudolph Run, a local 5 mile race in December and completed that in 37:01, I also ran this the December prior to my 2:17 in a time of 35:08.  Lots of different things to factor in there, but 2 minutes slower x 3 for the distance gets you to 6 minutes, maybe add another couple of minutes because it is hilly and a mudfest, I could maybe justify 2:25, my final time was 2:31.  Six minutes for mental fortitude lacking? Yeah I can see that maths.

I have gone over the numbers, both mile splits and km splits between 2017 and 2026, used various run websites and apps to try and piece together the race that was.

I met my friend Charlotte before the race and we had a good catch-up and ended up starting the race together.  We were a little far back, I didn't want to be right at the front with those throwing themselves down the big hill to start, but we definitely lost 30-40 seconds in the initial flurry as we tried to negotiate the traffic.  At one point early on the cattle grid was closed and so we all had to funnel through a small gate to the side where more time was lost.  The less said about the queue jumping guy in black the better.

After the big downhill start we were greeted with our first uphill of the day, there would be plenty more throughout the course.  Five or six if I were counting.  Steep enough that even at my moderately fit status I needed to walk them.  There was some congestion here too, and it was difficult to get into a rhythm with everyone having slightly different approaches to pacing themselves.  

I regretted entering the race at this point, what must have been half a mile in.  As I said I had done the race before, but I think your mind blocks out the worst bits for self preservation.  There were parts of the course that came back to me and felt familiar but there was none of that over the first 3 miles.  Through 3 miles I was about a minute down on 2017, I could put most of that down to the congested start.

The first big chunk of time I lost was in km 7, I did 6:52 compared to 5:10 in 2017.  I can't quite piece together what went wrong there, this was over the serious mudfest section.  That was a brutal couple of miles, sliding this way and that.  Walking was harder than running.  Once through that we popped out at Leigh-station, there were good crowds there, then it was onto paths along the coastline.  I think I got a touch overexcited in this section.  The surer footing made moving so much easier and perhaps I put in too much effort.  There was a 5km section in here where I was 15 seconds up on 2017.

I got to 10km about 3 minutes down on 2017 (I didn't know any of these splits at the time), there was the initial 1 minute lost plus 2 minutes in that funky 7th km, but aside from that it was fairly even.  We hit the marina at mile 8 and it was at that point, just over halfway that I knew it was going to be a slog.

It was out on the long stretch along the sea wall at Canvey.  There were runners as far as the eye could see, and the fast ones at the front were already coming back the other way.  I didn't mind the seemingly never ending trip out, the more miles we were getting in the bank now, meant less miles in the mud or on the big uphills to the finish.  It was in this section where I did begin to flag and showed some mental weakness.  There are lots of very valid sections of this race where you can walk at my fitness level.  The big hilly sections, or some of the tricky to negotiate mud sections, but on the flat, breeze in your face or on your back, you need to be running and for parts of this I did stop for the occasional walk break.  Anyone that has had walk breaks knows when you start, it is a very hard habit to break.

I got up to maybe mile 11 when I was passed by Charlotte, who had done a much better job of pacing her race than me.  I managed to keep her in sight for quite a while, we got off the sea wall and went up past Benfleet station, up an insane hill, kudos to any commuters who get up that every evening.  Past the aid station, which was no help to me.  They have a no plastic policy, insisting you bring your own beverage holder.  I had paid £2 extra on entry for a reusable cup, but didn't bother picking it up, I didn't want to run 15 miles, cup in hand.  It was cool enough and short enough that it probably didn't affect my performance much if at all.

I again lost some time in these final miles, there was some downhill to take advantage of and some flat, but my legs were shredded and my spirits dampened by this point and so I will have haemorrhaged more time than was strictly necessary.  There was still time for some more uphill before the big finish.  There was a zigzag section where everyone was walking, only beginning to run again on the final zig or is it zag as the gradient eased a little.

There was then just the final hill to climb, I think I ran the entire thing in 2017 but I didn't have it in me.  A good march to the top was all I could muster.  Once there I saw Charlotte and she encouraged me to get running.  The threat of "I'm filming you all the way to the finish" was sufficient to keep my legs moving all the way to the line.  My legs really didn't feel my own for that final 150 metres.

Charlotte and I then met up for a post-race debrief, reliving the various hills and mud, which was a nice way to end our mornings work.  The event is epic and isn't very conducive to time goals, but time goals is what I had and so I am left disappointed and concerned for exactly what kind of shape I am in.  My watch has been telling me bad news for the last week or ten days and so maybe there is some illness lurking in the background.  

My body is aching two days after the event, particularly lower back, but there are two or three other body parties also crying out for attention, I have just managed to complete a 5.5km recovery run, get back on the horse and all that.  I have the Middlesbrough half marathon 1st March, on the road, and that should give me a much better gauge of exactly what sort of shape I am in over the longer distance, and whether a push for a marathon PB at London is realistic.  I'll dust myself off, or rather deep clean and pick the matted mud out of my hair and go again.  Benfleet 15 you may have beaten me this year, but next year I'll get my revenge.

P.S I also saw Roman who I had met at HARP 24, both before and after the race.  He monstered it in 1:55 getting himself a silver medal in the process.  What a nice chap he is.

Rudolph Run - 2025 Version

 I ran the Rudolph Run along the seafront in Southend this morning.  It is a nice local 5 mile race with plenty of runners in festive fancy dress.  I opted for normal running attire, the only nod to Christmas being the Santa red of my running top.  

I managed to get the morning off ferrying the girls to gymnastics, and took advantage and got parked up ridiculously early.  I spent it in my warm car reading a book for forty very pleasant minutes, before getting myself out for a walk warm-up followed by about four wees.  A combination of too much water, some nerves and the cold.

The start was delayed by a few minutes as we waited for various Santa's, elves, snowmen etc to get to the start line.  The runners were coming from the car park towards the start, but were in the direction we were heading so we patiently waited for them to get into position.  A quick briefing and we were off.  There were a couple of runners too far forward but I managed to get myself into some space and was running fine within 10 seconds, too fast, but fine.

My head was all a bit jumbled trying to work out my target time prior to the race.  The 21:23 parkrun at the end of November was giving me the ridiculous prediction of 35:18.  My PB from 2016, the only other time I have done a 5 mile race of 35:08, was that in danger? I knew it wasn't, and settled on 36 minutes or 4:30 per km as my target.  I have always been better the shorter the distance, and as we move away from 5k the relative performance drops.  In hindsight perhaps the 37:50 prediction off my 10k at the end of October would have been a better benchmark.

In any event, 4:30 per km was the goal pace, I went through the first km in 4:16, which on paper looks ok, but that was wind assisted.  The first mile was wind assisted, 2.5 miles wind against, then turn and 1.5 miles wind assisted to finish.  I began the second km and looked down to see my lace undone, my pretty baby blue Nikes had let me down, that or my weak bunny ears.  I pulled over to deal with them, my hands weren't my friend in the cold and my Garmin has me stationary for 15 seconds.  Thus a 4:39 2nd km, 4:24 plus a stop feels about right.

We were now turned around at the fort and heading back towards the start, the wind in our faces.  I was working hard, making some horrible noises, km's 3 and 4 done in 4:32 and 4:34.  Except for the shoe lace stoppage I could about get onboard with those first four km's.  

My heart rate was now at 174bpm and we are getting close to maxing out, I went through the start/finish point and out the other side, 4:42 and 4:44 kms into the wind before the relief of the final turn.  This was after 6km or so.  Heading for home with the wind on our backs.  The course was now a good bit busier, we ran back in the cycle lane in the main, but with no headphones on I was able to stay safe and hoped back on the pavement when required.  

I managed to catch a few people on the way back in, 4:33 and 4:17 km to finish as well as 47 seconds for the final 0.13 miles.  They may have had us running a few extra metres but it mattered not, an official finish time of 37:01 and 35th place out of a field of 616, the top 6%, a very flattering metric, as this definitely had strong fun run vibes.

A couple of excuses/interesting things to note.  I had run 10 miles yesterday, far from max effort, but still not ideal pre-race preparation.  2016 was it turns out a long time ago, 9 years by my calculations, when I was 32 years old.  Using the new WAVA tables my 35:08 performance would get me 60.12%.  Compare that to my 41 year old self today, 37:01 is good enough for a WAVA of 59.83%.  I intend to carry on training strong through 2026 and return to the Rudolph Run next December, a PB there aged 42 and I would be looking at a WAVA of almost 64%.

Other 'positives' the 2016 edition was actually a slightly different course and Strava has today measuring at 5.09 miles and the 2016 course at 4.94 miles.  On the negative side, reading my 2016 notes I had been ill in the lead up to the race and run 9 miles on the Friday after work, I also have a note saying I went to bed 4am Saturday, woke up at 9am did some work and then ran an easy 5 miles.  Which puts my grumbles about my 2025 preparation into perspective.

My initial disappointment at today's time has now eased.  It is funny the power that expectations can have on your perception of the result.  It was another good hit out, 5 miles at 7:16 a mile pace.  All good miles in the bank.  There are 17 more potential running days in December and I should be good for another 100 plus mile month, there is also a parkrun pencilled in for the 27th December and it would a great end to 2025 if I can beat that 21:23 time from Southend in November, and send me into 2026 with a spring in my step.