Charlie's Running Section
Many thanks to © Darren Aherne 2012 for picture from Cambridge Half Marathon, passing King's (click for full version)
Many thanks to © Darren Aherne 2012 for picture from Cambridge Half Marathon, passing King's (click for full version)
The Virgin London Marathon on 22 April is done (see below), so my plan now is to recuperate before some short summer races and then some autumn half marathons -- including the Great East Run in Peterborough, maybe my last chance to try for sub-1:15.
For London I used this spreadsheet to produce both a timetable of where I hoped to be at what time for the family (and where the elites would be too), and a custom dual-column (A and B target) pace band for myself. Do take a copy and put in your own target times. You can't rely on GPS distance in London so a pace band is vital!
I previously just referred to my powerof10 page, but recently (as RunBritain) they've stopped including many small races (if they can't find a licence number, apparently). So all the modern-era ones are tabulated below. I also have a Parkrun results page.
| Date | Race | Time | Placing | Finishers | Notes |
| 13-May-2012 | Dereham 10 mile | 58:39 | 5 | 180 | Started OK with the wind, but faded rather into the increasing breeze on the return leg; disappointed with the time. Caught by two in the last mile but out-sprinted one for the line. 2nd MV40 prize. |
| 10-May-2012 | Kevin Henry 5k (Impington) | 17:34 | 9 | ~167 | Inter-club event. Bit muddy and windy. Went off far too fast and wilted horribly. |
| 06-May-2012 | Lode 10k approx (~6 miles) | 34:23 | 2 | 47 | A low-key but very friendly village race. 1st MV31-50 prize. |
| 22-Apr-2012 | Virgin London Marathon | 2:42:38 | 260 | 36672 | My annual big treat. Thought I might have an outside chance of 2:40 but that 2:42 was more realistic, so I hit half way on a 2:41 schedule and then tried to hang on. Slowed a bit from 18, and had a shock slow mile 25, but overall kept my focus and it hurt a lot less than last year. Unbelievably though, I just equalled my PB of last year to the second, gah! Also beaten by 26/27 in the earlier elite women's race. |
| 11-Mar-2012 | Cambridge Half Marathon | 1:15:45 | 13 | ~2500 | Good even-paced run, new PB; great atmosphere; flat but twisty course. Timing chip problems meant I was missing from the results list initially and many others probably are still. 4th MV40 prize. |
| 26-Feb-2012 | Tarpley 10 mile | 57:02 | 2 | 223 | Quite pleased with this as I generally felt reasonably strong, though I was about a minute off my PB from last year. Beautiful weather. 2nd overall and team prizes. |
| 18-Feb-2012 | Cambridge Parkrun 5k | 17:24 | 3 | 300 | Not raced for a while due to more injury woes (an arm problem, then back problems), so this was a quick test of how slow I'd become... not as bad as I feared. With 2.5M to get there and 8.5M afterwards, 14M total run. |
| 27-Nov-2011 | City of Norwich Half Marathon | 1:20:02 | 22 | 2243 | First race after a couple of months on the injury bench, and a pretty strong wind too, so reasonably happy with this (didn't really earn the race number 7 I was honoured with though!). |
| 31-Jul-2011 | Southern Men's League 5000m | 16:24.8 | 4 | 18?? | (Technically 1st out of 3 in the 'B' race.) Pretty warm but only a light breeze; 8s down on PB, but reassuring after lousy 5000m 2 months ago. Paced much better this time. |
| 17-Jul-2011 | St Ives 10k | 34:33 | 2 | 460 | 2nd overall and MV40 prizes; would still like to go sub-34, but maybe it's just beyond me. About 20 sec slower than the same race last year, though the wind was probably stronger this time. |
| 03-Jul-2011 | Newmarket 10k | 35:02 | 5 | 181 | MV40 prize; felt like a strong run, but slower than I'd like. Reasonable but not super-quick course with signficant hill and an off-road stretch. |
| 26-Jun-2011 | Stortford 10M | 62:07 | 4 | 196 | MV40 prize but a disastrous run from 6M, possibly a touch of heatstroke. Some off-road. |
| 19-Jun-2011 | Huntingdon 10k | 35:37 | 2 | 386 | 2nd prize; mixture of good surfaces and some knobbly/muddy. |
| 05-Jun-2011 | Tilty Hilly 5M | 28:15 | 3 | 129 | 3rd prize; the clue is in the name -- not flat! But technically a PB. |
| 30-May-2011 | Hatfield Broad Oak 10k | 34:24 | 6 | 1248 | MV40 prize; undulating, hot weather. |
| 14-May-2011 | Cambs Athletic Champs 5000m | 16:51 | 7 | 7 | Last! Felt oddly underpowered and it just got worse. Windy, too. |
| 7-May-2011 | Cambridge Parkrun 5k | 17:01 | 1 | 217 | Nice to win, but I was hoping for sub-17... pretty dry course. |
| 17-Apr-2011 | Virgin London Marathon | 2:42:38 | 212 | 34804 | A PB, but my target was sub-2:40; ankle problem affected last month of prep. Became hot. |
| 27-Feb-2011 | Cambridge Boundary Run Marathon | 2:59:26 | 2 | 144 | Team prize. Not really racing, just VLM training exercise; whole field did a little extra near Addenbrookes! Quite a lot off-road. |
| 6-Feb-2011 | Bourne Frostbite (cross-country, ~5M) | 28:31 | 4 | 383 | Team event in nice woods, not too muddy. |
| 30-Jan-2011 | Reedham 10M | 55:57 | 3 | 401 | 3rd prize (fun shoe-shaped trophy) and a PB by 1 sec! Proper race amongst the lead group. |
| 16-Jan-2011 | Ramsey Frostbite (cross-country, ~5M) | 29:44 | 2 | 389 | Team event, did better than expected. |
| 8-Jan-2011 | Cambridge Parkrun 5k | 17:36 | 1 | 154 | An excuse to try out my 'birthday' X-Talon 190 shoes. Nobody challenging so didn't push too hard. |
| 21-Nov-2010 | St Neots Half Marathon | 75:55 | 4 | 855 | MV40 prize. Not the fastest course, so quite pleased; PB by 10 sec. Would still like to go sub-75 of course. |
| 19-Nov-2010 | Cambridge Fun Run (Science Park Relay, ~1.12M) | 5:49 | 5 | 441 | Probably not wise 2 days before St Neots! My watch said 5:45 (5:08/M). |
| 17-Oct-2010 | Abingdon Marathon | 2:43:09 | 11 | 707 | Perfect conditions and the most even-paced, controlled marathon I've yet run. |
| 18-Sep-2010 | Round Norfolk Relay (Gt Yarmouth to Bungay, 20.06M) | 2:03:17 | 4 | 54 | Surreal 11pm to 1am stage alone along main roads, with long-suffering clubmates tailing me in a car with flashing orange lights. Actually quite pleased with this. |
| 12-Sep-2010 | Grunty Fen Half Marathon | 76:05 | 5 | 434 | MV40 prize (GBP40? cash) and 3rd Cambs medal (counted higher than V40). Windy (as usual). |
| 31-Jul-2010 | Souther Men's League 5000m | 16:16.5 | 4 | 22? | Not brilliant tactically (led a group instead of sheltering) but time pleasing. PB. |
| 18-Jul-2010 | St Ives 10k | 34:12 | 2 | 430-ish | 2nd, MV40 and team prizes. Quite windy so pleasantly suprised by time. PB. |
| 10-Jul-2010 | Norwich Lord Mayor's 5k | 16:26 | 13 | 81 | Amazing race: huge city-centre crowd waiting for Lord Mayor's parade hoodwinked into supporting a very small number of runners... including a big name or two at the front. PB. |
| 4-Jul-2010 | Shifnal Steeplechase Half Marathon | 79:47 | 4 | 161 | Done for fun as it was handy for Clare's folks. Slowed right down once I had the MV40 prize safely in the bag to leave my legs fresh for Lord Mayor's 5k the following weekend. |
| 13-Jun-2010 | Wymondham Midsummer 10M | 55:58 | 1 | 110 | A proper win! Had a huge ruptured blister in the last mile but couldn't very well stop when I was leading the race. Sped up nicely in 2nd half and only took the lead with a mile or two to go. |
| 16-May-2010 | Deepings 10k | 34:47 | 4 | 146 | 2nd MV40 prize. Faded rather in second half. |
| 8-May-2010 | Cambridge Parkrun 5k | 17:07 | 1 | 121 | Fairly dry course. On my own. |
| 25-Apr-2010 | Virgin London Marathon | 2:44:47 | 306 | 36500-ish | Wheels came off slightly in last few miles, but just squeaked inside 2:45 qualification for Championship start next year -- phew! |
| 21-Feb-2010 | Bungay Great East Run 20k | 74:13 | 5 | 500-ish | Got somewhat hypothermic in driving sleet. Nice glass trophy for 1st MV40 prize. |
| 16-Jan-2010 | Country to Capital (ultramarathon ~43M) | 6:03:15 | 3 | 90 | Epic event to celebrate 40th birthday; rain, ice, floods, fields, Wendover to London. 3rd prize. Planned and recorded Garmin course files. |
| 27-Dec-2009 | Shrewsbury Severn Loop 5k | 17:02 | 8 | 151 | Two 180 degree turns but also net downhill. |
| 20-Nov-2009 | Cambridge Fun Run (Science Park Relay, ~1.12M) | 5:41 | 4 | 543 | 2nd team prize (medals). |
| 18-Oct-2009 | Abingdon Marathon | 2:48:54 | 30 | 406 | Problem with L shin and R calf but first marathon since I altered my running style to reduce cadence, which worked nicely. |
| 13-Sep-2009 | Grunty Fen Half Marathon | 76:34 | 9 | 500ish | Started way too fast to keep with group providing shelter. Windy (as usual). New running style. |
| 19-Jul-2009 | RAF Marham 10M | 57:34 | 5 | 131 | Wind, rain, and a moderate hill up to airfield. |
| 12-Jul-2009 | Bushy 10k (Peterborough) | 35:04 | 4 | 405 | Pleased with placing. |
| 10-May-2009 | Halstead Marathon | 2:57:35 | 9 | 463 | Undulating; pretty hot weather. |
| 22-Feb-2009 | Draycote Water Marathon | 2:59:55 | 1 | 100 | Unexpected win in debut marathon as adult; very windy, and poorly paced, with agonising last lap of the lake. GBP65 cash winnings. |
| 21-Dec-2008 | Wolverhampton Turkey Trot 5M | 28:41 | 12 | 250 | Beaten by a guy in a Santa hat, but did get a seasoned turkey breast... |
| 28-Sep-2008 | Brompton World Championships, Blenheim Palace | 23:45 | 12 | 364 | OK this was a bike event -- suit jacket mandatory, start included unfolding the bike, then two scarily quick laps. A world ranking at last! :-) |
| 21-Sep-2008 | Chariots of Fire relay (Cambridge, ~1.73M) | 8:49 | ? | ??? | A sporting debacle; I ran for Churchill College but the committee decided I wasn't eligible, so our team cup was passed on to Catz! |
| 14-Sep-2008 | Grunty Fen Half Marathon | 81:58 | 27 | 500 | Very stiff legs after this and faded badly last 3M. |
| 02-Mar-2008 | Lode Muddy Marvel (~5M) | 31:07 | 5 | 159 | Cross-country behind Anglesey Abbey. |
| 24-Feb-2008 | Bury Nearly 10 (~9.4M) | 57:04 | 7 | 232 | First race of my modern career. |
| 21-Sep-2003 | Chariots of Fire relay (Cambridge) | 9:03 | ? | ??? | Favourite bit is always sprinting through courts and archways of Clare College |
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| Autumn 1994? | Oxford/Cambridge meeting Iffley Road, 3000m | 9:17.3 | 1 | ? | The only race I remember doing over a known distance at the tail end of university (everything else was cross country). After this I got horribly overtrained and so scuppered any chance for a Blue :-( |
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| 1983? | Masters and Maidens Marathon, Guildford | 4:12:?? | ??? | ??? | Ran aged 13 with my dear departed middle-aged, marathon-mad mum Bunty Wartnaby, along with Stephen Simmons and Mr Mansen the geography teacher... |