2004 - What have you got planned

[Pollard]

I thought i'd get the ball rolling by suggesting a few races i am considering to do.

1st Feb Dewsbury 10k
14th Mar Lord Mayors 10k
27th mar Coniston 14
2nd may Sheffield half
22nd May White Peak marathon *
21st aug Clumber park 10k
26th sept Great North Run
7th Nov Derwentwater 10m

If i manage to do half of these i'll be pleased. (* I'm planning to run 20 miles of this race, a sort of dress rehearsal for a full marathon in 2005.)

London & New York Marathons are on my 'To Do' list.

[Pollard]

"considering to do"...."considering doing" that should read!

[El Gordo]

Hi Pollard

Good question. It's that time of year, isn't it?

Well, I've made the mistake before of planning (publicly) my races, only to find that injuries or some other better idea like a weekend-long bender got in the way, making me look even more foolish than nature alone had contrived. But...


I've already entered the Bath Half on March 7.

I'm thinking about the Hyde Park 10K on New Year's Day again.

I'm keen to do the Wokingham Half this year at the beginning of Feb.

The plan is to do a marathon at the end of April, though I've not yet decided which one. Which means I should aim to do the Bramley 20 end of Feb.

And there's Antonio's Almeria Half at the end of Jan, and a half in Ireland that I'd love to do in March, but these are susceptible to the unpredictable climate of domestic-politics. Probably unlikely, to be honest.

That's about it for the first few months. I'll leave the second half of the year till I see how I get on with the first.

Remember to book early for the Great North Run and (I kid you not), you want to start looking for accommodation NOW if you're planning on stopping over on Saturday night. Last year I booked one of the last rooms at the Premier Lodge in Gateshead in December (just about this exact week in fact). I couldn't find anywhere else that had a room within miles of Newcastle. The organisers buy them all up and sell them for double the normal price.

[El Gordo]

Originally posted by Pollard
"considering to do"...."considering doing" that should read!

Pollard (and others) - remember you can edit your posts by clicking the button marked, er, Edit. This isn't yer cheapskate Runners World forum software y'know.....

[Pollard]

Didn't know about the edit feature, i'll be on here for hours now!!

Can you edit someone elses ? Could be fun...

chris

[Pollard]

Re: GNR

I'll probably drive up and down on the day, shouldn't be to long from Sheffield. Just the other side of Leeds isn't it?

[Nigel]

Chris - logistics is the main curse of the GNR. It's more or less inescapable because of the out-and-back route shared with 47,000 others. Buses are full and metros are fuller. Leaving your car at South Shields might be an option, but the roads there are largely closed or chokka.

My own cunning plan of leaving the car at Durham station was hatched to avoid the traffic. It appeared elegant enough, but in execution it ultimately proved to be flawed. 2003 Timetable - left South Shields 2:00. Two hour metro queue, then metro to Newcastle 4:30. Train to Durham 5:00. Arrive Durham to pick up car from station 5:30. Pass Leeds via A1 / M1 crawl 9:00 (en route to London / Guildford 1 am).

My best advice, then, is to rent a helicopter for the South Shields to Newcastle Central leg, and then take the train all the way to Sheffield. Or failing that and in extremis, consider drinking 5 celebration pints at the pub in South Shields and leave the homeward journey to Monday. Maybe you could ask Andy which option he would choose.....

[Seafront Plodder]

A 1/2 in February and the New York Marathon in Nov .....errr.....that's it so far.

[El Gordo]

Re GNR - agree with Nigel that the logistics are horrible, particularly if you have to get away sharpish.

Perhaps the best approach, work-permitting, is to take the Monday off, and stop over in the region on Sunday. At the end of the race, we found a pub, had a good lunch and a drink or two and waited for the traffic to thin out enough to get us back to Gateshead, where I watched the ManU - Arsenal game over another pint or two. Then a quiet, relaxing evening and an early night. Set off for home the next day after the rush hour had died down.

If you really have to get back the same evening, then try either parking your car a mile or so outside South Shields so that you don't get snarled up (though this means having an accomplice, or doing this early in the morning then getting the Metro back to Newcastle for the start), or just have a few beers in South Shields before getting the train back to Newcastle/Sheffield. It has to be better than joining Nigel's 2 hour queue for the train.

Another option completely is to try to find accommodation in or near South Shields, and then you won't have to worry about transport at all apart from getting the metro to Newcastle for the start which is probably no problem. Stop over Sunday night and you'll be OK. If you can stomach camping, there are very cheap campsites in the town centre for about £5 a night.

All in all, can be a bit of a nightmare to be honest.

[El Gordo]

SP - If you're thinking of doing the Brighton Half in Feb, let me know. I'm hoping to do it. It's on 22nd Feb.

[Pollard]

Nigel,

Thanks for the info.

I'm hoping to be finished in just over the hour, depends on interviews with the Beeb how quickly i can actually get off, i hate all the fuss actually. Much rather be on my way back and stop off for a bacon buttie somewhere.

I shall see if i can find some parking info from the seasoned campaigners out there, probably leave the car in South Sheilds tho.

If i bring a medal back from Athens i might just give it a miss.

[Seafront Plodder]

Originally posted by andy
SP - If you're thinking of doing the Brighton Half in Feb, let me know. I'm hoping to do it. It's on 22nd Feb.

Yep, one of my clients is one of the cyclists pacing the whippets, he's going to let me know the details but I certainly do intend to do this again.

[El Gordo]

Originally posted by Seafront Plodder
.........but I certainly do intend to do this again.

Ah, so you've done it before? Is it along the sea-front, like the 10K?

[Seafront Plodder]

Yes I have. Starts in Maderia drive, run west along to Hove Lagoon and back - flat as a pancake for the first 8 or so miles, but then the fun starts! Up and over hills past Roedean and into Rottingdean Village - and back!

Finishes roughly where it starts.

[Griff]

So far I'm in the Bath Half in March and will no doubt go for the Bristol Half later in the year.

However, I've never done a 10K and would like to try the distance. Based on my 5 mile normal training run, I might turn in a sub 49min time if I tried.

Any thoughts of one in my area guys? (Bristol/Bath)

[gblackman]

what to do in 2004?

Not really got a definitive list, want to do maybe another 3 marathons although slowly, and preferably off road, ones on the maybe list are Steyning Stinger, Three Forts, Clarendon Way, Beachy Head, And Chichester Int March, but will wait and see, suffering from sore knees at the mo, so can't predict especially

Aim to do the Butlins Swimathon in March again this year 5km, and the London to Brighton Bike ride, plus a coupl of other 50 mile plus cycles.

May also try to do both a half marathon and a full marathon on the indoor rower (ever tried it ?)Fabulous Machine...done 1.1million meters this year....but almost 3 hours on a seat going nowhere now theres a challenge? ....Might also try a triathlon, want to diversify to something different this year as well!!.....

So loads of targets, none quickly....just challenges!

[Seafront Plodder]

You heard it here first folks!! Andy's promised to do this one....
SP - If you're thinking of doing the Brighton Half in Feb, let me know. I'm hoping to do it. It's on 22nd Feb.

Andy, and others. Enter the Brighton 1/2 here..

http://www.sussexbeacon.org.uk/2004marathon

[gblackman]

i had done the old Brighton Half in 2000, but looks like it has been renamed, and also the route looks a bit more hilly than before!....it used to be all along the front!

[Debbie]

Hmmm, goals for 2004. I never like to be too prescriptive about these things, because life has a funny habit of scuppering those best-laid plans, but tentatively:

1) FLM 2004. I'm lucky enough to have a ballot place so although I will be fundraising, I'm spared the added stress of having to raise a set amount.
2) Possibly Trent Park Triffic Trail 10K on 27th June. Did this earlier this year as my first 10K. It's a fairly undulating course with a variety of surfaces including tarmac, woodland trails, grass and dirt paths. Nice scenic course and I hope that my marathon training will knock a few minutes of last year's time (51:56).
3) Would like to improve my Nike 10K time - was disappointed with this (51:34) as although it's fairly undulating, it's all tarmac and I was expecting a more significant PB than I got, especially as I was training for the Windsor half at the time and was sure that the extra training would help. That said, it was a humid day and just one of those 'bad' days we all get as runners occasionally - just wasn't feeling on form.
4) Windsor half - did this in September as my first half and had a great race. Would obviously like to do it again to try and beat this year's time!

That said, I'd also like to try some new races as it can be a bit daunting having the pressure of a previous time to beat on the same course.

[parky]

So far the only thing positively confirmed is FLM 2004, but will probably do the following :-

Essex 20 Miler (15 Feb)
Brentwood 1/2 (sometime in March),

but still trying to improve at cross country every other weekend.

Theres the usual number of 10k's which I'll do including

Hatfield Broad Oak - nice course pretty village, very large field.
Willingale - quite course bit more low key
Southend - flat and very fast but large field
maybe Frinton/Walton 1/2m if its run again (basically because I pb'ed there this year!)

I also intend to do more trail races this year to get me off the roads and depending on how london goes maybe another marathon later in the year. Possibly abroad - I quite fancy the 3 laendar marathon round a lake - starts in Switzerland, through Germany finishing in Austria, or Munich as you finish in the Olympic stadium emerging through dry ice to finish (with the roar of the crowd spurring you on to finish first!!! Yeah right in my dreams).