Leicestershire Half Marathon, Prestwold Hall

Today I do the Leicestershire Half Marathon which is the rather curious name they have given to a race that starts and finishes at Prestwold Hall. Which is, granted, in Leicestershire but then so are countless other places… 

It is organised by RunThrough who specialise in events that make you run through places repeatedly. This one is centred on Prestwold Driving Centre which is right next door to the hall and is just ripe for doing laps of.

It actually turns out better than I expected with the start\finish in front of the hall and even a trip out on to real roads, the only issue there was we had to do a short cross country section to get there. Then we finished off with some inventive looping of the Driving Centre e.g. they didn’t just make us go round. They were quite cunning and made us double back on ourselves and stuff like that.

Anyhow I must have done ok because my time of 01:44:57 can only be bettered in the last twelve month by my Robin Hood time. I even, sort of, enjoyed it.

Nottingham Winter Warmer, Wollaton Park.

This morning L, Daughter and myself are all running the Nottingham Winter Warmer Run at Wollaton Park. It’s a 10k but there’s also a 5k option. As ever with Wollaton Park it’s a one lap or two lap choice.

Daughter is joined by two of her men. A +1 I suppose and a +2. They all park at ours and walk across while I, although I know it’s not really the done thing, drive over so that we can take the dogs with us. I manage to park them nice and close to the start, so then it’s easy to give them a run around both before and after the race.

I initially try to stay with Daughter’s +1 or was it the +2, the one that regularly does the parkruns with us, but he’s far too fleet footed (e.g. young) for me to keep pace with but I will blame the somewhat slippery conditions.

I slither around in a mind bogglingly bad 49:02 but given that the whole thing is miserably wet, cold and very muddy, I was just pleased to get around without getting injured. If ever the phrase 'Winter Warmer' had been misused, this was it. The only thing warming about it was the hot shower back at home afterwards.

Anyhow. Training run ticked. Naturally, L loved the conditions.

Draycote Water 10k

This morning L and I head over to Draycote Water, where we did the ten miler last year, to run one of their regular monthly 10ks. Mainly because there is nothing else on. It’s not multiple laps like the 10 miler but does require a short out and back to make up the distance. My time of 48:43 isn’t great but then it was very windy again.

Afterwards we don’t initially appear on the results and I had to email to find out why. They quickly get it sorted and we soon exist again. Our times were apparently on their ‘backup’ system but not the main system. It’s odd it effected both of us because we neither started nor finished together.

Gerald Story Memorial

On Sunday there is no Three Villages 10K, which is everyone’s ‘go to’ race at this time of year because although it’s clearly organised at the last minute on the back of a fag packet, it’s all there is. It also usually goes ahead no matter what, including the year we had to ice skate round. This year though it is off due to ‘technical difficulties’ which presumably means someone’s lost the fag packet.

However, panic not. At Clumber last week they mentioned the Gerald Story Memorial race. We looked it up and it’s a 5 miler from Worksop College, so we decide to go there. I expected to hear that it was a new race but apparently it’s been running for years and years. Yet nobody told us. They give me number 007. I actually does say ‘007’ and not just ‘7’. I am your running special agent.

The race turns out to be 4.8 miles but it’s a useful leg stretch at this time of the year.

Langdale Christmas Pudding 10k

This year we return for a race that we have run many times before, Great Langdale’s Christmas Pudding 10K run which is under new management this year.

The Brathay Trust, who are based in Ambleside, have taken over the running of this race along with the Langdale Half and Full Marathon. The youth charity already organises the Windermere Marathon.

This year it is the 30th running of the event and the new organiser has invited the long time previous organiser, Rod, to start it.

Then a thousand of us, less those who have wimped out because of the high winds and cold wet weather, set out from outside the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel at 12.10 once the local bus has been let through.

This year there is a new course which I was a little worried about, and I wasn't only one. Rather than being the practically out and back run of old the route now takes us around the back of Elterwater village and back to Langdale via Baysbrown Farm which must surely have off-roads sections? Apparently not, it turns out that due to some excellent footpathing, it doesn't.

It isn’t easy though and it was at Elterwater that it started to get serious with a climb that went on far longer than I recall from when we've walked it. There was a reward for completely this part though and I could smell the drinks station probably half a km before I reached it. Yep, smells like mulled wine to me. It's not really good athletic practice to stop for such things but I wasn't going to pass up on this.

That sort of spurs you on to the finish which is in the muddy swamp that used to be the field in front of the New Dungeon Ghyll. I then rush to get some clothes on and to warm up, just as the rain starts again with poor L still out there.

The other change the organisers have made is to downsize the Christmas pudding. It is no longer one you can feed your whole family off on Christmas Day but a tiny individual one. Which for us is probably better, it might actually get eaten, and we already have one for Christmas Day from the Heanor run.

Some folk resorted to fancy dress to keep warm. 

Nottingham Christmas Half Marathon

As regards finding a distance race to run at this time of year, beggars can't be choosers and canny race organisers know this. Step forwards www.time2runevents.co.uk creators of the Nottingham Christmas Marathon and other races throughout the year based on multiple circumnavigations of the regatta lake at Holme Pierrepont.

This is L’s worse nightmare, hence why she’s not doing it, but I just welcome the simplicity of it. It’s also full, so I’m not the only sucker.

They have a marathon, a half marathon, a 5k and a 1 mile fun run. The Marathon is eight laps and is held on the Saturday, I am running the Half Marathon which is on the Sunday and a mere four laps.

Well, four laps and a bit to make up the distance. Which means the start is right around the other side of the lake, 1.4 miles from registration.

They do provide lap bands in case you forget what planet, I mean lap, you’re on. I hope I can count to four but I can’t guarantee it. I will simply run for about an hour and three quarters, then stop.

At least it’s all on tarmac and there would be a good chance of a fast time if it wasn’t for the notorious Holme Pierrepont winds.

One lap of the lake isn’t quite 5k but I would have though they could have done a short loop out on to the car park or something to make up the 5k, which would have made the laps a nice neat distance. That alone would have enabled you to get some meaningful split times. It would also have given them the option of putting out km markers, which would have been even better, because there are none at all. With the non-standard lap distance they would have been just too confusing.

Of course you’re all screaming at me to wear a GPS watch and let that do my splits. I’m such a dinosaur. I do train with a GPS watch but have never worn it to race in. Wish I had today and make a note to myself to do so next time. Not that I will remember.

Therefore my time was almost a complete surprise when I crossed the line but 1:47:47 isn’t too bad.

There is no t-shirt, unless you’re willing to pay extra for it, but there is a Christmas themed medal. Hmmm. 

L says she has the next running of this event in February down for her half marathon comeback, who would have thought...