Essex 20 - 2026 Race Report

 I can't believe it has only been a week since my run at the Essex 20 it feels like an age ago.  My body is still suffering from it, and so I have eased the pace and mileage back this week.  I hope I am fit and firing again early next week.  The most pressing issue is tightness and discomfort in my lower back, but my quads are also shredded and I'm starting to feel some tightness in my calves.  I woke up with a sore throat this morning, when it rains it pours. 

The cause of these various niggles, a 20 mile race on Mothers Day, 5 laps round a 4 mile loop of an airfield.  I have done the Essex 20 three times previously but only once on this course.  That was my effort back in 2023 when with no training to speak of I decided I would run the race anyway.  I say run it was very much run/walk.  Two and a quarter hours of the four hours and six minutes were spent walking.   

The 2026 version of me was much better trained, particularly up to half marathon distance, with my very pleasing performance at the Middlesbrough Half (1:43) coming just two weeks prior to this race.  I was struggling for a time target for this race.  I knew I wasn't in shape to compete with my PB of 2:36:24 from 2017 but I thought 2:40-2:45 was reasonable. 

I met up with Charlotte beforehand, we had run Benfleet 15 together in January and it was nice to see her again here.  The race is a very club heavy race and also forms part of the Essex Championships and so the standard is good.  It is a no frills affair, but that is fine, for almost everyone there it isn't an A race, it is a building block in their preparation for a spring marathon.  For me it was London at the end of April and for Charlotte she is heading to Edinburgh in May for her marathon.  We chatted before the start and I then left her with her clubmates before doing a short warm-up prior to the 9:30 start. 

We got going on time, I had four lucozade gels in my pocket, one to be had at the end of each lap, with the fourth one fuelling me for my fifth and final lap.  I hadn't really had much nutrition on my longer training runs, not wanting to carry bottles, so it was good to have something here.  I didn't have any adverse reaction to the gels, but for whatever reason I decided not to use the water stations at this race. 

Five laps round an airfield has it's pros and cons.  One of the pros you might expect is a nice tarmac surface but it was far from it, it was pothole central, nothing too dramatic but you definitely had to watch where you placed your feet at times.  The pros were you were only ever four miles from your car and portaloos, neither of which I required but it was good to have that comfort.  I did see a number of runners popping back to their cars to de-layer or to pick up supplies and they were close enough that little time will have been lost. 

A mixed pro/con was that you knew what was around the corner after that first lap.  Conditions were good, dry and a pretty perfect temperature, the one big downer for me was the wind.  Strava tells me it was only 12mph, but it felt considerably stronger and definitely picked up after the first couple of laps.  The early section of the course was sheltered but there was a particular straight that was very exposed and the wind was right in your face.  It was on that straight on the third lap that I had my first walk break.   Walk breaks were definitely not in my pre-race plans and so from there it was very much trying to limit the damage.  I would end the race having walked for 13 minutes, which is 13 minutes too long, but is also 2 hours less than I walked in 2023. 

If we look at my five mile splits: 

• 1-5 miles -  41:14 (8:15 min/miles) 

• 6 - 10 miles - 42:07 (8:25 min/miles) 

• 11 - 15 miles - 43:55 (8:47 min/miles) 

• 16 - 20 miles - 49:11 (9:50 min/miles) 

• Sprint of the line - 1:31 (7:15 min/miles) 

 

Total time of 2:57:55 and 330th out of 509. 

 

As you can see I get progressively slower section by section before finding a sprint finish of sorts.  The first two splits are all running, and that extra 10 seconds a mile isn't too sad, much of it will have been me getting over excited in the first couple of miles of the race. 

 

The third section includes the first walk break, miles 11,12 and 13 were clean, and the extra time then comes in miles fourteen and fifteen.  Maybe a minute and a half lost in the third section before the time really hemorrhages in the 4th and final section, call that seven and a half minutes for a total of nine minutes lost in total. 

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.

Back to Back Century Months

 I completed my planned interval session this evening, some max effort 400m intervals along with the warm up and cool down it gave me a little over 8km.  I have now hit 109 miles for the month of November with five days still remaining and with a further four runs planned the total could go as high as 130 miles.  

I have now run a century of miles in 35 different months, but managing to string together a series of consecutive 100 mile months has proven more problematic.  There have only been three really significant chunks of training where I achieved this.

March 2014 - July 2014 - 5 months and a total of 553 miles, averaging 110 miles a month.

November 2014 - May 2015 - 7 months and a total of 944 miles, averaging almost 135 miles a month.

October 2016 - March 2017 - 6 months and a total of 846 miles, averaging 141 miles a month.

It is that last block of training that I will look to take inspiration from, and hope to better over the next six months plus.  Although the overall mileage might look something similar once I am done, the make up of the runs should be very different.  

That 2016-17 block contained 35 commutes, these were my 7.5 mile commutes home from Southend, a really time efficient way to get the miles in.  Work and family commitments now mean I have to be a little more creative with where I fit my sessions in and hour long run commutes are a luxury I don't have.

What I do have is the structure and intensity of Runna.  It is still early days but the number of quality sessions with a real focus to them is far in excess of any previous block of training.  I have managed to get the miles in through consistency, rarely falling below my four run minimum.  I have also done it without a true long run.  My 15km - 20km long runs would have been medium-long runs in days past.  I am hoping that as we hit 2026 the true long-runs will return as the marathon approaches.

It is all building nicely, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.   I've now got a base to build from, and as long as I remain free of injury I can continue to gradually increase the mileage.   In addition to my core four runs a week I am trying to make a short easy lunchtime run a regular fifth run of the week.

Included in that 2016-17 block were two of my PB's which still remain today.  My 10 mile PB of 1:10:39 run at the Test Track 10 in February 2017 and my 20 Mile PB from the Essex 20 in March 2017 of 2:36:24.  I'd love to better that 20 mile time in 2026 and will have the chance to try in March at the Essex 20.  The 10 mile attempt will have to wait a good bit longer, the next race at that distance is currently the Great South Run in October next year.  I could potentially be on a run of 12 consecutive 100 mile months by then and that level of graft surely deserves a new PB.

I'll try to keep myself in the present and just focus on each session as it comes, but it's nice to have some longer term goals as well.  We can add a PB target at the London Marathon to the wish list.