And Now For Something Completely Different

Have you ever wondered if you could be as successful, or better, at a different sport than the one you are currently doing. I did, when I was young, changing from a rubbish hockey player to a slightly better footballer and then I discovered running. To be fair I wasn’t much cop when I started running either, but there was something, and I can’t pinpoint what it was, that made me believe I could get some personal satisfaction out of it.

I persevered through the inability to complete a session, through being dropped in speed sessions and longer runs and running through a stitch in my first cross country event, where I finished 129^th, well out of the points and completely unnoticed. I improved through dogged perseverance and a small degree of natural ability before deciding I needed some outside help, a coach. My first attempt to use a coach was a disaster, he was much more interested in his established athletes that he paid little credence to me, the session he gave me was completely wrong and totally unenjoyable, so I walked off and went back to running with the old boys at Belgrave Hall, which in fairness, was probably a better introduction for a novice. My 2^nd coaching experience was much more enjoyable, as the group of athletes were all of similar age and ability to me, but that coach was competing against us as well and I always thought his coaching was geared more towards himself rather than us, which I suppose is fair enough if you’re not getting paid. It was my next coach, Arthur Bruce who started me onto the road to being the athlete I have become. However by the time I joined Arthur I’d been running for almost three years.

With this in mind, and the fact that the next few years brought me more success than I’d ever dreamed about, there was no way I was going to switch from running to any other sport. In fact I stopped playing other sports, such as badminton and squash, for fear that I might end up injured and unable to run. I would go to parties and not join in with party games that required anything nearing an explosive move.

As time moved on and I started to decline, I wondered if I should switch to something else, where I might be able to use my running fitness to excel, but it was never the right time and I could never think of anything that would give me the same satisfaction of running. Triathlon would be the obvious choice, I knew of many good runners who switched to that, but I am such a poor swimmer and suffer from occasional vertigo so cycling fast downhill is not my thing.

So I just continued with the running, which I still love, I just don’t win as much. However, this year I came across a local fencing group. Now fencing was something that I had always fancied having a go at, ever since I watched the Russian, Boris Onishchenko, cheat at the 1976 Olympics. At the time I came across the fencing group I was wondering if I’d be able to run pain free again, so it was maybe the right time to consider something different. I had nothing to lose really.

I arranged to go to a taster session and I was going to take Carole along too, something we could do together where we were both starting at the same level. But, come the day of the taster Carole was working late and my hamstring was feeling a bit dodgy, so I decided best to leave it. Eventually I managed to get onto another taster session, in September. Carole still couldn’t make it, but I was determined to give it a go, even though I was now, finally, running without any issues.

That first session was interesting, we did a warmup, which was a lot more energetic than I needed, considering I’d already done two training sessions that day, then after some coaching, us newbies were let loose on each other. We were fully kitted out with all the protective gear but it was still carnage as we charged in at each other like jousting knights on elastic bands, there was no finesse and we hadn’t a clue who was scoring what as the finer points of scoring hadn’t been dealt with yet. But, it was great fun, I was dripping with sweat by the end of the session and I hadn’t had as much fun in ages. I was definitely going to sign up for the five week course.

The following week I was back and this time there was a bit more structure to the session, I still felt a little out of my depth but I felt I was more controlled in my fight sequences. Carole made it along this time, but it really wasn’t her thing, so that was another thing we wouldn’t be doing together. Four weeks later I really had improved, sure I was no Errol Flynn but I was scoring well against my fellow newbies and even got close to beating an experienced and cheeky youngster, with age and flexibility on his side.

Now I had to make a decision, was this really the sport for me. I was having fun with it, the people were nice but where was I going to go with it? Despite running being very individual I see it as very much a team thing, cross country leagues, relay champs, etc. But I could see myself being isolated within a fencing environment and that wasn’t what I was after. Plus I was just starting to get my running form back and was in hard training, I didn’t want to pull something by doing too much, and, lastly, I kept getting hit on my right knee, by just about everybody I fought. I was sure it wasn’t a conspiracy theory but it was getting a bit annoying and painful. I was told it was a pay as you go, if I wanted to continue, which seemed pretty reasonable so I decided I would like to continue, but maybe not every week. Unfortunately that was about the time I came down with my cold so all these weeks later I’m not sure I’ll actually get back into it.

What can I try next?   

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

British and Irish Masters International Cross Country Championships 2014 – My Part In It

I consider myself very lucky, I’ve been selected for this event on five consecutive occasions, which means I’ve raced in each of the Nations represented. Lucky because to be selected as one of the top six runners in your country is no mean feat, and of all the countries to gain selection for England must be the hardest. Having said that it is now four years since I was last selected, although in that time I’ve only put myself forward once, as I’ve just not been performing well enough to consider I might get selected. On those occasions I did get selected I enjoyed every one of them, representing your country in a tough race against fellow internationals. The camaraderie and atmosphere is fantastic too.

During the summer I reduced my race list so that I could increase my training load with a view to being in better form for the BMAF cross country relays. Unfortunately, as you’ll know if you read my last blog, I developed a bad cold before that, though I feel I still acquitted myself well on the day. I seemed to improve in the days after that relay so I decided to enter the Open race, attached to this International meeting, particularly as it was taking place in Nottingham, as a way to show what form I’m really in. Unfortunately, the day after I sent off my entry I developed a chest infection, so bad I had to stop running for a couple of days, and all runs for the next two weeks were plods.

I don’t go to the Doctors very often but on this occasion I had to, I was given antibiotics and a chest x-ray, and eventually it started to subside. So in the week leading up to the race I started upping the pace, still not up to max but a big improvement on the previous two weeks.

I left my decision on whether to race or not right up to the last minute but on the morning of the race, despite a tickly cough refusing to go away, I decided I was well enough to race, though understandably I was still a little nervous.

Even though I’ll happily travel to races on my own, it was nice that Carole wanted to come along to support me, and cheer on her fellow Scots, so we thought we’d make a weekend of it. This meant trying to find something to do in the evening. There didn’t seem to be a great deal on but in the end I stumbled upon James Blunt, so booked us a couple of tickets, and we decided to stay the night in Nottingham.

My intention had been to arrive before the start of the first race, 11:30, but the compromise option (with Carole in tow) was to arrive before the M50-64 race, at 12:30, probably a much better option for my own run at 14:00. As it was we arrived in the park just as the ladies were finishing, so by the time we went along to pick up my number there were only the stragglers finishing. This still allowed me a chance to catch up with old friends from previous events, many I hadn’t seen for four years.

With Carole accompanying me I decided to walk around the course, rather than run around, figuring I’d be better saving any exertion for the race. As we walked around it was clear this was my kind of course, multiple laps with firm going, which just made it more annoying that I couldn’t have been at my peak.

The M50-64 race started as we were half way around the course, by the time they’d reached us it was clear England were going to win this one, with three of the team in the first four. It was a good race to watch, with Ben Reynolds and Guy Bracken pushing the pace to make a break, Ben finally getting the gap on Guy on the last lap, though Guy never gave in and was still close at the finish.

I watched most of the lads finish that race and chatted with a couple of my Scottish pals, Ian Stewart and Andy McLinden, then I went off to get changed for my own race. Then it was time for the start of the M35-49 race, the one I’d have been in had I been good enough. It was a fast and furious race and it didn’t take long before it was spread out. There were many runners I didn’t know or recognise, thanks to my being away from the championship scene for so long. But amongst them were some of Britain’s top master runners. Obviously there were a number of faces I recognised, particularly the Scottish contingent, though there were far less than I expected to see, a sign that I’m not alone in losing form as I age. I watched two laps of the race and then went off to make my preparations for the open race which would be on soon after.

Lining up for the start of the open race I didn’t really know what to expect, the race was truly open so it was likely that there would be local youngsters taking part. All the reserves for the international races were able to run so that would be interesting. I knew Nick Jones, Andrew Whittingham and Alex Rowe and, my Salford team mate, Hayley Kuter, would be lining up alongside me but I wasn’t really aware of who else was there.

My main aim, when entering the race, was to see how I shaped up against those who had been selected as M45s and, as I’m approaching the age group, those M50s selected. Though having struggled with illness now all I was thinking about was to get round without too much trouble, plus I had a side ambition, as it was four laps, of not getting lapped by the winner.

It was an uphill start, a gradual uphill that got ever so slightly steeper as you approached the top, not too difficult but certainly slowed you down a little. Typically some of my good Scottish female friends were waiting at the top to give me some abuse. Turning the corner there was a sharp drop down to the next corner. This is the sort of downhill I used to love when I was younger as I could just let myself go and would invariably pass loads of runners. Now I’m older I’m a bit more conscious of the jarring in my back, but I decided to give it a go anyway and took the brakes off. I did pass a number of runners and I continued to pass or get closer to other runners on every lap. Turning another corner there was a soft climb to the next corner. I was actually a bit disappointed with that, there was an opportunity to switch us back up the same hill we’d just come down and take us around a clump of trees which would have made it a more challenging course, still probably better for me in the circumstances. Being so flat and firm the course allowed for a good pace, already, half way round lap one I could see Nick Jones leading in the distance as I struggled to keep a bunch of England vest wearing runners behind me. Right at the far end of the course was the mud, though in all honesty it wasn’t enough to dip a hippo’s toe into, and then just a firm run back to the start for lap two.

On lap two I did start to struggle a bit, I felt I hadn’t really pushed as I was a bit nervous about my recent illness but still I seemed to pick up a stitch at the top of my abdomen. This baffled me a little as I’ve never had one there before but I wasn’t about to pull up, it’s only temporary pain and the pain of dropping out lasts a lot longer.

Round onto the third lap I had no idea who was winning or where I was in the grand scheme of things, all I was thinking was if I could get to the end of this lap without being caught by the leaders I wouldn’t get lapped, so I tried to work a little harder. I made it, no lapping today, now I wanted to throw in a good last lap, it was only 2k so only about 6-7 minutes of running left. But something was holding me back, the fear of pushing myself too hard too soon. I did pick up the pace a little but I know I could’ve run that last lap much harder. For the last time I climbed the hill to face the barracking Scots, I couldn’t help but smile at them as I crested the hill. A little while later I’d finished. I’d got through it, I was glad I’d given it a go because it was an enjoyable course, now I’m looking forward to  a full recovery and hopefully some good results next year.

I finished 14^th in the race, nearly 3 minutes behind the winner, Mark Powell of Leicester. I was 4^th M45, but more importantly was beaten by three M50s, though they weren’t actually that far ahead of me. As for where I would’ve featured in the main events; I would have been contending for 25^th spot (out of 30) with three Scotsmen, in the M45s, understandably a long way behind the 6^th English runner. As an M50 I’d have done a little better, coming 16^th (out of 30) but still behind all 6 English runners. However, realistically, once I’m fit I should be able to perform much better than that, I know I’m better than my result shows and I have a year to prove it.

One of the things that I’ve become aware of is that this past two years, whether I’m blogging or just talking to fellow runners, I seem to be full of excuses as to why I’m not running well. Well it’s time to stop it, whether I run poor or I run well it’s time to just get on with it and try to enjoy the running rather than worry about the result. After all there are plenty of people worse off than me. So that’s it no more negativity around my running, I’m still running and I still maintain a healthy weight, which not all of my friends can say about themselves, I’m one of the lucky ones.

Next week one of my friends and big rival, Rob Tudor, shows he doesn’t just beat me in races but he will beat me into the M50 age category. Happy birthday Rob, mines a pint of real ale, not that muck you drink. Of course that means he doesn’t have long to try to beat my best M45 time for 10k, which is a saving face in our relationship.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Masters of the Cross Country Relay

I’d been looking forward to the Masters Cross Country Relays for months. I’ve been training hard and was desperate to make the Salford M45 A team, as I thought I was finally going to re-find some decent form.

October has been a busy time for me. Not only have I tried to continue the greater emphasis on my training load, but I was also due to attend two weddings and a stag weekend. Not quite good enough for a film title but three excellent consecutive weekends of partying for me. First there was my partly British, partly German and now partly American cousin Franny, who got married in Rushton Hall. It was a fantastic wedding, beautiful setting and it was great to meet up with members of the family I hadn’t seen in years. Then it was my old Belgrave Harrier mate, Al Stewart, who had his stag weekend at Burnham and Berrow golf club, followed a week later with his wedding in Pennsylvania Castle, another great wedding, beautiful setting and another chance to catch up with new and old friends, in particular the Belgrave bunch (Al, Paul Coughlan, Bruce Barton and Paul Freary – would make a decent Masters team if they could stay injury free for long enough).

Rushton Hall, venue for wedding no. 1

Pennsylvania Castle, venue for wedding no. 2

I managed to keep training hard throughout the party period, but, inevitably, burning a candle at both ends is going to take it’s toll somewhere along the way. I like my food and this month there’s been lots of it to like. I know it’s far from the most appropriate thing to do as a Personal Trainer, but all health food and no excess makes Rog a dull boy. Though lots of excess and not much health doesn’t make Rog an attractive boy either.

Still everything was going to plan, the morning we left Penn Castle, to head back home, I had a great training run, into the wind blowing past Portland Bill I was flying. That was to be my last hard session before easing down for the Masters cross country relays.

Unfortunately on Wednesday I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold, Thursday I was feeling a lot worse, Friday I was feeling a bit better but still far from well. With the race on the following afternoon I was debating if I should just withdraw, but I held off, improvement from Thursday to Friday night had been significant, and it was only a two mile race….

Saturday, race day, I woke up feeling much better but still not 100%, had the race been three miles I would definitely have pulled out but at two miles I figured, even if I held back a bit, I could still get around without costing the team too much, at least that was what I hoped.

I’ve done this fixture with Salford Harriers for the last two years and each time we’d finished behind a very strong Leicester outfit, in the M45 category. Not by much but enough to make it painful. This year we had our strongest team of the three years and I was confident we would finally defeat the mighty Leicester, or would my cold come into play.

As usual I travelled down with my number one fan, Carole, and club mate Rob Tudor, but joining us this time was Phil Leybourne, another club mate who had never done this fixture before.

I tend not to get nervous before races, unless I’m coming back from an injury and worried I might have come back too soon, but I was nervous here. My resting heart rate was normal but the cold was still affecting me. My mind kept going back to 1996, where I raced the Surrey Cross Country Champs with a cold and I ended up with a heart strain, but I’ve subsequently run with sniffles with no ill effect.

Rob was on first leg and he set out his stall pretty early, getting in amongst the leading bunch. Salford M35 John Lloyd had obviously got up even earlier with his stall as he shot off from the gun and was already gaping the field within the first 100m. Come the start of the 2^nd of the almost 1 mile loops Rob was just behind Leicester’s top M45 runner Gordon Lee. At this point I sensed we could pull it off, I was confident that Rob would stick to Gordon and push past towards the finish.

Rob Tudor on his way to fastest M45

It wasn’t to be, Gordon’s a tough man to beat and although Rob was within two seconds of him, he couldn’t quite get his devastating kick going. Off went Phil on second leg and immediately went past Rob Sheen of Leicester. Within half a lap Phil had a big lead on Leicester and things were looking good. At this point I bumped into Rob and he informed me that the Leicester M45s didn’t have a team, the M45s that had made it here were running in the M35 team and we had a big lead already on the 2^nd M45 team.

As I got ready to head off on my leg I pondered what Rob had said. It meant I could afford to hold something back and we’d still, more than likely, have the lead, and with two strong runners after me we couldn’t lose. But I didn’t want people to say that we only won because Leicester didn’t turn up, I wanted to show that we were deserving of our victory, so I decided I’d go as hard as I felt comfortable.

Phil ran a great leg, bringing us home 2^nd in the whole race, behind Coventry and a step in front of Mansfield. I set off 2^nd and was immediately relegated to 3^rd as fastest M35 runner, Mark Johnson shot past me. I didn’t make any effort to keep with Mark, all too aware of my frailty, but still pushed as I didn’t want to lose any more places, in particular to the Salford M35 team, who we had a side bet, weren’t that far behind.

Phil Leybourne moving Salford through the field

It was a tough leg, I could feel my chest was in some discomfort but I was sure I could continue at the pace I was going. It was a typically lonely relay leg run, I was passed by Mark in the first 100m and I eventually caught the Coventry runner with 200m to go, giving us an overall net even, went out 2^nd came in 2^nd. But more importantly I hadn’t lost any ground to any of our M45 rivals, finishing 1 second quicker than the next fastest M45 on that leg, though I had given away 2 seconds to Dave Hudson and the charging Salford M35s.

Happy to finish my leg, make that ecstatic, it began to dawn on me what a stupid thing I’d just done. Without wanting to sound melodramatic I’d just got away with something that could have finished a whole lot worse, I didn’t need to be in the team for us to win today but I’d been selfish to prove I was getting back to form, sometimes ambition just takes over from good sense.

Me getting the better of M55 fastest leg and Salford colleague Stan Owen

Derek Crewe was next out, along with myself and Dave Lockett one of the three members who have featured in each of the Salford M45 medal taking teams over the last three years. Derek’s solid as an oak and usually runs a time similar to me, he didn’t disappoint and with one leg to go we surely had the championship in the bag.

The only bald man in the Salford M45 team, Derek Crewe keeps us in contention with the leaders of the overall race

So often our fastest M45 man Dave took on that last leg with ambition, not saving anything despite the lead we had over the 2^nd place M45 team, mind you we were lying in the top three overall at this point. Dave eventually lost a place to 2^nd fastest M35 of the day, Leicester’s Mark Powell, but set the 2^nd fastest M45 time of the day, just a few seconds behind Rob’s fastest. We finished 4^th overall, 1^st M45, and 1 place ahead of Salford M35, who were just one place away from getting their own set of medals. As well as Rob and Dave, Phil took 3^rd fastest M45 time and, surprisingly, I was 4^th fastest. 

Dave Lockett sealing the deal

Appropriate celebrations were duly carried out and off we went with our medals.

The winning M45s

Another successful day for Salford Harriers, though in fairness our least successful of the three years over the age groups.

But the stats still make pretty good reading:

M35 – 4^th

M45 – 1^st

Fastest Leg – Rob Tudor

M55 – 6^th   

Fastest Leg – Stan Owen

M65 – 3^rd

A further plus for me was that 2^nd M45 team was taken by the club I left to join Salford, Herne Hill Harriers, with Vic Maughn and Mike Boyle, team mates from when we won the M40 championship back in 2005, in the team.

The downside was that this event still doesn’t seem to be supported by as many clubs as it should, it’s a great event, a great venue and always a close race. Having it on the same day as the Scottish cross country relay champs probably didn’t help but we could still do with some more support from the other British clubs. It was mentioned, at the presentation, that they would consider taking out B teams next year, but that would be ludicrous, Salford have so many athletes that want to take part that it would not be in the best interest of the event, this year we had nine teams taking part.

This week, I’m still struggling to shift the cold. It has affected my running, I’m holding back a little and I’ve dropped certain sessions. At the moment I’m also without a race plan. Think I’ll wait until I’m training properly again and then I can start to think about my performance.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Race day pictures courtesy of Sid Sacks

Obsessions of a Runner?

It’s a debate I’ve had many times, with Carole, she thinks I’m obsessive about running and I think I’m just pretty good at it and feel the need to give it my best shot. I’ll admit there are things about me that aren’t attractive but I don’t think I’m an obsessive. I think that people who do things differently are seen as obsessive, and sometimes I’m the one thinking others are obsessive.

So to set the record straight, and get Carole off my case here are some things others may think are obsessive and my explanation of why I don’t, and some of the things I see as a bit obsessive in other runners that I know. Of course this isn’t a be all and end all list, I’m sure there are some other runners out there battling with other obsessive/non obsessive tendencies and of course non runners who might equally fall into the category of obsessiveness.  

Before I start on the running side of things there is one area where I feel I share a common ‘obsession’ with other male friends, and that is around the loading of a dishwasher. It just makes sense to me to put items in the slots that allow maximum utilisation of the space provided with the best possibility of getting everything cleaned within one application of the dishwasher cycle, so why do the women I know think that jamming everything in but wasting space is more effective?

Right onto the running nonsense:

Mileage - Runners like to keep a log of everything they do in training. Some logs are written in a huge amount of detail, it’s almost a confessional. Me, I just write down how long I ran for, what type of session I did (fartlek, reps (how many)) and how many miles I think that was. Of course I don’t use a garmin (we’ll come to that later) so my mileage is a guess, but it’s been a guess for 25 years so what’s the problem. Oh dear I hear people say, how can you use that as a training guide if you’re not keeping accurate information, to which I reply, it’s accurate to me, I’m not obsessive about my mileage and I do use the diaries to remind myself how I was running at a particular time in my life, it helps me to remember more about the training I did. Sometimes I add in where I was and who I was with, what the weather was like and even if I had an injury or an illness. I do add up the wholly inaccurate mileage at the end of a week, month and year, because I like statistics but to me it’s not about how much mileage I’ve done it’s about how I’ve performed in races that counts, and I know that one can be directly influenced by the other, positively and negatively but….non obsessive! As well as my training log I also keep a record of every race I’ve ever run, including clippings, well who wouldn’t.

Over the years I’ve come across athletes from different countries and at one point Belgrave Hall used to be a Kiwi meeting place. Some of my Kiwi pals told me the story of how, on a night out, one of their running mates asked if they could run to the pictures so that he could get in the required mileage for that week, this being the final day of the week. Now I don’t know if the story is true, some of our fellow runners can be a little loose with the truth, especially when you get them on the beer, but it sounds like the sort of obsessive attitude one would expect from some runners.

Collections – I do collect things, I don’t think it’s obsessive, maybe at times just a bad habit. I’ve come across friends who have a back catalogue of running magazines, not me, I read them, maybe cut out a particular article that might be of use in the future, and then I chuck them out. But like many of the guys in the Facebook group ‘I was, Or Am A Runner !’, that I’m a part of, we’re now enjoying the benefit of seeing old results posted by those clever chaps who managed to hold onto their old magazines. Having said that I do have copies of my old club magazines, Belgrave and Herne Hill, but mostly for egotistical reasons, i.e. I featured in them.

I don’t collect race numbers, after the race I take them off as soon as possible and throw them in the bin or recycling box. Though by accident, i.e. somebody once presented me with the numbers I wore on my International debut (Masters disclaimer here, I’m not famous) in a presentation case so I’ve been keeping International championship numbers ever since.

I keep all my medals, most of them mean quite a lot to me, but I don’t really display them anywhere, I just keep them in a box for when I’m old and bored. I’ve got hundreds of them and if I start winning some more I’m going to have to get a bigger box, or another box. I remember being misquoted by somebody at Edinburgh AC when I once said that I didn’t enter races to win money but that I considered myself to be a championship runner who ran for medals rather than money. This came back to me as Roger only runs if there’s a medal, but then people are so easily misunderstood.

A box of medals

I have kept every team singlet I’ve ever worn and owned. After 25 years you may think that they’re a bit tatty, like those we sometimes see on some runners, but no, my policy was always to wear a club singlet in races but not in training. Of course once I’ve left a club that gives me training rights over that club’s singlet so eventually they will make the grand depart. I even still have my very first Belgrave singlet, which I think was made out of wool and probably accounts for why I finished 129^th in my first cross country race, but it sits at the bottom of a drawer awaiting a revival when, once again, wool is the singlet of choice. I have a mate who frames his singlet every time he wins a national championship, they do look good on his walls, but I’m not sure people wouldn’t think I was obsessive if I started to do that and I know Carole wouldn’t approve, plus I don’t actually have enough space.

Team Singlets, worn by me. South of England, Belgrave Harriers (the adidas years), Herne Hill Harrriers, Scottish Masters, Belgrave again (kept a sheep warm), Edinburgh AC (with the old name) England Masters, Salford Harriers

I have rather a large collection of trainers, why wouldn’t I, I need different trainers for different occasions; racers for dry days, racers for wet days, racers for roads that might have mud on them or sections of gravel paths, cross country spikes, trail shoes, track spikes, trainers for plodding, trainers for speed work, trainers for gym work and used trainers for putting out the rubbish. Naturally I have my trainers on rotation and currently a couple of pairs sitting in boxes waiting to be used. In fact I have more trainers than shoes, I’m sure Carole isn’t happy about how many pairs I’ve got littering the hallway but then I don’t have as many wardrobes full of clothes as her so it’s not an argument about to happen.  

Those cotton t-shirts you get given at races, yes I keep them all, I find them quite useful for wearing in the sun as I don’t like to ruin my nice t-shirts with suncream. I also use them to change into after a run if I’m out somewhere and need to drive to somewhere else and I use them down the gym. They do get thrown away when they get grubby but, because I have so many, I see nothing odd about wearing one from a race that occurred 15 years ago. Carole has a different opinion on that but why waste a good t-shirt just because it’s part of history.

As I’m still running and thanks to digital media, I have a growing collection of photographs of me running. It’s rare I look good in action but I still have to keep them, they’re a record of my past and I’m sure I’ll look a hell of a lot worse in the future. I’m sure every runner must keep pictures of themselves in action or holding a trophy so I can’t see this as any kind of obsession. Keeping photos of other runners maybe…..

Food and drink – As a PT I often get asked about nutrition and yes I do know about and advise upon nutrition, but I prefer the non diet method; cut back and eventually out the junk, watch portion size but don’t eat too little as well as too much, keep drinking fluid and be careful about alcohol consumption. I feel that I eat and drink in a well balanced way, with occasional blowouts, I’m only human, but I am careful what I eat and drink the day before and the day of a race, particularly an important race. In fact contrary to normal advice I drink very little water before a race, though I try to ensure I am hydrated, reason being I’ve found that water sloshing around in my stomach doesn’t suit me. I’ve experimented with food and found what works for me, sometimes it stops working so I have to change, but I also eat very little on race day. I can get away with stored energy on the runs I do. I know my body and how it ticks, you have to find your own thing. Like a lot of the runners from my era I did used to drink the night before races, though only occasionally to excess, I still enjoy a drink the night before, just depends how fit I am and how important the race is as to how much I drink, but beer is out, I can no longer handle beer before a race, though after is a different story.

Garmin/Strava/MapMyRun – As I’ve written previously, I do keep a log of my training but I don’t upload anything to the computer. Partly because I’ve never owned a garmin, have always liked using small watches, and can’t be bothered with the faff, the casio suits my purposes. I have many friends who upload everything and whilst I can see the benefit that can be derived from using technology I’m happy with what I’ve done. I know when I’m running well, I don’t need anything or anyone else to tell me. I also know (and here’s the psychology) when I’m not running well but I don’t need technology to tell me I’m running worse than I think I am, plus, whilst I’m quite open about my training, I never lay it all out for my opponents to see, uploading my runs onto the internet would give away all my training secrets… I run how I feel, if I feel good I run fast, if I don’t I don’t run fast, it’s simple really.

So having written this blog and gone through various pointers it’s clear I’m not obsessive, just a little different. It’s also made me realise that some of my friends aren’t as obsessive as I thought they were, though they’re still more obsessive than me.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Back in the Game

It’s been a little while since my last blog and my training trip to Spain. Before I went I had started to up my training but it was Spain where I feel the start of my current progress began. On my return it was obvious the training had been tough as both my achilles were aching. Of course mentioning this to fellow athletes and physios that I work with brings out all the advice one could wish for, but I knew it was just from tired legs and so I treated myself by taking an easy week. With the North West Road relays the following Saturday and not having run any decent times this year I thought this would be an opportunity for me to show where I’m at, in terms of form.

It wasn’t that easy a week in the end, I trained just once a day but because I was in the Salford F team there wasn’t really anything to save myself for so I agreed to take a client out for a run on the Friday, normally this would’ve been a rest day. As it turned out I had a decent run in the relay; 12:18 for 3.6k. Ok, nothing spectacular, it still only equates to 17:08 for 5k, had I been able to maintain pace, but it was more about how much closer or ahead of my peers I was than I had been all year.

Once again Salford showed their strength in depth with 9 teams (not including the juniors), both the Men’s and Women’s A teams finished 3^rd overall, with the Men taking 2^nd Greater Manchester. Sadly no teams for Cheshire or Lancashire and I think the Women’s was a mixed county team so no county medals there either. My F team, featuring Trevor Rayner, Rob Tudor and John Lloyd finished in 23^rd place, not bad considering we averaged close to 50 years of age, though with baby face John in the team it kept it nearer mid 40s.

Two of Salford's teams in action, I must be running fast, both feet off the ground at the same time.

The following week it was the North of England Relays. With 6 Men in each team and not being county dependent I found myself promoted to the D team, but still nothing to prove and as my achilles was no longer sore, as I suspected it wouldn’t be, I bunged in a hard week of training. Faster, longer, harder and back to two sessions a day, plus another client wanting a run on Friday morning.

This was a bit longer, at 6k, and I knew I’d suffer more than the previous week but I was still determined to have a crack. Unfortunately our A leg runner wasn’t feeling well and had a nightmare leg, these things happen, I should know, but at least it gave me something to chase and someone to chase me as the leading Women’s team was just behind us. I went hard, perhaps too hard, but I held myself together and managed to pass more than 20 runners and nobody came past me, though I was caught by the leading Lady (never know if I should call them Women, Ladies or Girls), unfortunately for her I was just at the point of telling myself to do what I tell my clients to do, relax and push, and I pulled away again – though she ran 2 seconds faster than me in the end, nice one. I was pleased with my effort, it shows consistency and placed me close enough to my peers to give me some confidence that my training is going in the right direction.

Salford again had great strength in depth; 8 teams, not including the juniors, with our ladies finishing in 6^th place and the men in 4^th (men’s B team in 7^th), my team finishing in 73^rd – not bad for a D team.

Coming towards the finish, wish I could learn to keep my mouth shut

So now I’m back training hard, I have a little gap before I’m due to race again so it’s more miles, more pace and more effort before I ease down for an important race. Of course with increased intensity comes the risk of injury, my knee was sore on Monday after the 2nd session and now my IT band is a little sore, at least the knee has survived the week. I’ll be keeping a close eye on how my body reacts to my training and I will ease off if necessary, but I’m really enjoying being able to push myself towards my limits and I’ve lost that couple of pounds that have been hanging around for the last couple of years. And I do feel like I’m back in the game.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

pictures courtesy of Sid Sacks and Jerry Watson

In the Heat of the Moment

Those who know me well will know that I’ve enjoyed competing in the World and European Masters Champs, since I turned 41. I can’t say that I’ve been overly successful, though I’m proud of the two bronze medals I’ve achieved, both of which I felt were good performances. However competing abroad can be costly; both financially and in terms of time that could otherwise be spent with loved ones. Two years ago I was due to compete in Poland, though the European championships were split between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, however, as with all the outdoor t&f championships I’ve competed in, with the exception of Ljubljana, the distance runners compete some distance away from the main event. On that occasion I was injured just before the championship and was unable to take part in one of my events and could only run the other one at 70% effort, it was a costly way to run below par, so since then I’ve kept my money in my pocket, my form hasn’t justified my attendance, much as I’ve had the desire to go.

This year the European Championships were held in Turkey, a country I’ve been to many times and used as a hot weather training base before I competed in Hungary, four years ago. But I didn’t enter, I’m not running well enough this year and I’m not one to make up numbers, I want to be competing for the medals, and I genuinely believe that if I can get some solid training behind me I could do that again, in the future.

However, August being the height of holiday season meant many of my clients have been away enjoying themselves, giving me some free time. A perfect time to take Carole away on holiday. Of course, as you can imagine, she might but I don’t, I use it as an opportunity to be more focused in my training. So two weeks ago we hopped onto a flight to Spain, the scene of much of my warmer weather training. The place we go to, the Costa Colida, has some great beaches, but more importantly, for me, the venue I stay at suits my training – large open road areas and one or two steep hills.

After training it's nice to walk up a long steep hill to find the castle is closed.

I’ve never had a problem with heat, I’ve competed in high temperatures and high humidity and enjoy the challenge. The only time I encountered difficulty was after the European Masters 10000m in Hungary, I was fine during the race, though a little unsure of how many laps I’d done which accounts for the 10400m I ran that day, but after I’d sat down I was unable to get up again for about 20 minutes and it was a good few minutes before I could actually swallow any water. Generally I just need a day or so to acclimatise and I’m able to train hard, once I went to Spain and the first days training consisted of 10 x 30 sec reps, because that was all I could manage, yet two days later I was back to normal training.

On this occasion it was hot but didn’t feel too hot so I had set myself tougher than usual targets, in my long term plan to get myself fit in time for turning 50. Having got up at 3am on the Saturday to travel and enjoying some of the local produce that evening, it was understandable that we overslept on the Sunday, but I was up and out running within 30 minutes. It was hot but not too bad so I decided to get straight into my hard reps, 1, 2 and 3 minute reps totalling up to 24 minutes of hard running in a 46 minute session. I felt good as I set off on my first 1 minute effort, the 2 minutes was a little tougher but the 3 minutes got a little extreme towards the end, still one set down and I had two more reps to do before facing that 3 minute one again. By the time I’d done 3 sets I was knackered, but I didn’t want to cut my session short, I was sure I could manage the fourth set, I did but that last 3 minute effort was so hard and when I stopped there was this huge surge of heat that passed through my body. I felt exhausted and shuffled the 8 minutes back to base, I must’ve looked like an old man I was going so slow. Once back home I drank a homemade isotonic pint and I was fine again. For the rest of the stay I was able to get up an hour earlier and, although still hot, I never felt as drained as that first session. I sweated a lot, particularly on the long runs around the golf course, which required a steady climb to the top of the village with a steady climb down to the golf course with a steeper hill back to the top of the village before a steady descent to base, but I drank a lot of fluids during the day so I never felt dehydrated.

I'm a great fan of David Bedford's training method.

My goal was achieved, I trained hard and even did some back to back training, though I hadn’t planned it this time. I’m back home now and I have to reacclimatise, my first session back, yesterday, wasn’t vintage Rog but I’m hoping I can now start to show some decent form in races, only time will tell.

It's something Mo Farah and myself share, tourists like to have their picture taken with us. Here I am promoting the 1998 Hillingdon 5 whilst visiting Guadalest. Incidentally in 1998 Belgrave won the team race; Kassa Tadesse, Alex Hutchinson, Kevin Nash and myself - we're still awaiting the prize.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

No Flash in the Pennington Pan

28 July 2012 – the last time I ran a parkrun at Pennington Flash. I’d been having a good year, 2^nd M45 in the Cheshire cross country champs, 2^nd M45 at the Alsager 5, I’d set the M45 record at Princes parkrun, in May I’d come close to my best at Pennington with a 17:01, I’d been 1^st M45 at the Hollins Green and Lymm 5ks as well as picking up a couple of bronze medals at the BMAF 5k road and track champs. I was rounding into shape for an assault on the Euro Masters 10000m and 5000m in August. And then I ran at Pennington. I won, in 17:19, quite an easy victory but going down one of the hills I felt a slight twinge in my hamstring. A few days later my hamstring went. I rested and despite the Euros being only a few weeks away I still went along. I wasn’t even running when the 10000m was held, I started with a 5 minute jog two days after that but within three more days I took part, maybe not wisely, in the 5000m. Starting slowly I gradually wound up the pace to run 17:37 to finish 9^th, later upgraded to 8^th due to the winner having a dodgy substance in his system.

Having the good base of fitness meant I was able to get back to a decent level reasonably quickly for my new club, Salford Harriers and I was gunning well for them, until the end of the cross country season when I fell apart. Since then, due to the ongoing achilles and hamstring injuries I’ve not ventured to Pennington, knowing that the rough terrain would not suit my injuries, whilst I continued to train through the discomfort. I’ve wanted to go many times, I enjoy the course, I like the people, but it just wasn’t worth it as I struggled to get back to normality.

About five weeks ago the pain went, I mean I was able to go out for a run without my achilles or my hamstring bothering me and for the first time in nearly two years I’ve been able to train fast and long without causing any problems, other than the usual niggles. Knowing that I lack a base I’ve turned my summer over to hard work, doing two sessions a day most days and it’s working, I’m getting back to the level of fitness I had before my injuries started. I’ve done a few low key 5ks, but my legs have felt heavy and I’ve not performed to the level I feel I’m capable of, but the big picture is 2015 so I’m not concerned about my form this year, I know what I can do when I’m fit and getting fit is what this year is all about.

So feeling good about my lack of injuries, but also knowing that I was in an intensive training period, I decided I wanted a challenging 5k, not a fast 5k, what better chance to revisit my favourite parkrun. So last Saturday Carole and I ventured up Leigh way to Pennington Flash. It was a beautiful sunny morning, a sight better than we would have 24 hours later, and it was great to get out of the car with the view of the flash. We jog/walked over to the start where we bumped into a number of Pennington regulars, who remembered me from all that time ago. Unfortunately Run Director, Bill Bradley, was having an off day – that’s not to say he did a bad directorial job, he was off working elsewhere, but no doubt we’ll catch up soon. It was good to catch up with local boy and fellow Salford Harrier Tony Taylor, Tony didn’t run this event when I was doing it more regular but since I’ve been away he’s run it loads of times and has a sub 17 minute clocking to boot. We had a brief chat before the race got going and then we were off.

I had a good track record at Pennington, out of the 15 runs I had done I had won 10 and been 2^nd in the other 5, my best time being 16:56 (30/7/11) and my worst 17:50 (17/9/11). So I had a reputation to uphold, but I’ve never been one to worry about my reputation, chances were I wouldn’t win, I knew damn sure I wasn’t going to set a pb and to be perfectly honest I had a feeling this was going to be my first post 18 minute run around the course, but I didn’t care, I was running, I was running in a place I love and there is a sort of feeling of freedom as you run around the course with the view of the flash and all the space around you, it makes you feel glad to be alive, and happy that you decided to get up early to make your way over there. To hell with reputations, being a slower runner doesn’t make me a worse person, nor a better one to be fair, I’m just the same, you just have to wait a little longer for me to finish these days.

Since my injuries I’ve been a noticeably slower starter, and tended to limp away from a standing start, but these last few weeks have helped me to bring back some of the old Alsop starting zip. Though I was still surprised to find myself heading down towards the gate in the lead, not only that it seemed nobody was coming with me. Oh well I wasn’t going to panic so I pushed on, but it wasn’t long before I’d been reeled in. After the first hill I started to feel a bit heavy legged, well what should I suspect with the training I’m doing. Down in third I saw the two up front pulling further away from me and coming into the third lap I was caught by another runner. I hung in there, more not wanting to let anybody else past rather than to try to snatch back 3^rd. Finishing I was surprised to find I’d run 17:56, yes it may be my slowest time ever on the course, but it was under 18 minutes, which felt like a victory to me. Then it was off the reverse way round to cheer everybody else on, as is my way.

Feeling a little buoyant from my run I felt that I was now ready for a proper race. Generally speaking my road race 5k times are about a minute quicker than I run at Pennington so I was thinking I might be ready to run sub 17 again. I targeted the Sale Sizzler, this Thursday, rearranged work and even changed my training so I would be fresher, but then I went and spoiled it all by doing something stupid like running 5 miles on the treadmill on the Wednesday morning, it wasn’t fast, I’d deliberately tried to run 3-4 minutes slower than I usually do when I’m running on the treadmill, but it was fast enough to make my calf tighten up on Wednesday night, it was still tight the next morning and I just couldn’t get it loosened enough so by 4pm on Thursday I gave up on my plan and went out for a run instead, right decision as every time I pushed on it tightened up. Still a little tight this morning (Friday) but it’s easing out. Oh well back to the heavy training but I’m going to look for another race in September, it’s time I started to run like Roger Alsop can.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

The Boot Camp

Boot Camps, they’re everywhere, often with a military theme. Prior to becoming a PT I’d never been to one, I was a runner and all my training time was spent running. A few of my running mates went to BMF and seemed to enjoy it, but I was focused on running so I didn’t join them. As a runner I did tend to concentrate on the running side of things, I tried circuits, I tried drills, I never tried weights but I used other cardio machines, mainly though I ran, I ran fast and I ran long, occasionally I also ran slow. Things have changed and it’s probably my understanding of alternative exercises that has helped me to adapt my training methodology, that and the fact that I can’t do the mileage I used to do without breaking down. However I still believe, as an endurance runner, your primary focus for training has to be running.

During my PT training one of the modules was about creating a boot camp. It was fairly common sense and all it really taught us was to use your knowledge to be creative with your environment. I enjoyed the module, particularly as it was run predominantly as a number of boot camp sessions, both in and outside, and I passed the exam. I was now free to set myself onto the exercising public.

But I waited, I was still working at the time, that coupled with my own training and preparing for a move down to England meant I had no time to put into the boot camp experience and anyway it would have been short lived, with the move.

Once in Cheshire I tried initially to establish myself as a gym based PT. Alongside that I established running group training, I figured that any PT could do a boot camp and I needed time to find my own training theme before I could hope to excel at that, but, although any PT could have an understanding of running, I figured my understanding of how to develop running training plus knowing what it took to improve from jogger to International standard would set me aside. Then after a while I started to run a boot camp after my Saturday morning run group.

As time went on and I became more established I decided it was time to free up my weekends for family time and races and with the 1:1 PT going well there was less time to do the boot camps. So I took a break from running them.

Last year I was contacted by the Sandbach Round Table, to organise a one off training session before they tackled the three peaks challenge. They enjoyed it so much they asked if I could do it as a regular boot camp. So all summer we did a once a week boot camp in the Sandbach area. It worked well and you could see the group getting fitter but also exercising better as I explained movements to them. Winter came and we couldn’t find a suitable indoor venue so we let it drop and I used the time to increase my 1:1 PT. But this summer we’re back in Sandbach with a bigger and better boot camp experience. The group comprises of both male and female members and we’ve opened it up to non members of the Round Table at £5 for the hour long session.

With all the training I do for my own goals (twice a day minimum) I’d always thought my own involvement at the boot camps should be one of demonstration, observation and encouragement. However I think the group wanted me to show them that I could do what I was asking them to do so we made an agreement. If I didn’t break 17:15 for 5k at the BMAF champs then I would do the next week’s boot camp alongside them. Now that may seem like a weak goal, considering what times I’ve run in the past, but I’d been struggling to get under 17:30 all year. As it turned out I ran 17:11 so I was saved! But come the next boot camp I decided to join in anyway, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to join them regular and count that as my second session of that day.

The benefits are clear, my involvement allows me to push the group harder because I can feel their pain, I tell them if I’m finding an exercise hard so they know I’m suffering like them but at the same time I’m grunting encouragement. The other benefit, to me, is that I no longer have to find the time for that second session of the day, plus I really enjoy the boot camp, it gives me everything I need to help my running, strength, endurance, core exercises and plyometric movements, and we have a laugh. So I’m going to continue going and work to make them harder each week, why not come and join us.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Northwich Five-O

I’ve been a little quiet lately, it’s been a busy period workwise so I’ve cut down on my social and social media activity. But I’ve also been doing some self analysis of where I am with my running and where I’m going with it.

To recap (for any new readers, regular readers feel free to ignore this paragraph); When I turned 45 I was running great, highly ranked in the UK, in my age group, and running times I hadn’t seen since before I turned 40, I had some good results in national competitions and even took a medal in the European champs (the one for old people). Injury took it’s toll and I dropped some form but was still performing well until I hit 48 and had the worst injury of my running life. It’s been a long time getting over that, and various other associated problems with my legs, glutes and back, but these last couple of months I’ve been pretty much able to train without associated muscle injury pain.

So what has this meant to me: For starters it means I can take part in races without the fear of breaking down. It means I can train at 100% and, more importantly I can train at a ‘relatively’ high pace, I’m also able to start quickly in races (for a long time I had to let others go whilst my legs got warmed up, even after a lengthy warm up the standing around at the start was enough to stiffen the muscles). However for two years I’ve missed a lot of training and what training I’ve been doing has been of a far lesser intensity and quality to that I would like to achieve, so, understandably, my form has deserted me and my results pale into insignificance compared to where I was before the big injury.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be running and running sub 18 minutes for a 5k is still pretty good, but being an ambitious runner it just isn’t good enough for me. But I’m also pragmatic, I’ve been here, relatively, before and I know it’s just a matter of persevering with the training, that I know works well, and being patient. Yes I’d like to be running faster now and I’d like to be contributing more to the Salford squad, but I’ve accepted that now is not my time and I’m happy to see my friends and fellow team members have successful runs whilst I persevere with my training programme.

So I’m looking forwards. Next year I turn 50, It’s hard to visualise it myself, particularly as I keep seeing postings of my results and pictures of me running in the 1990s, but yes I will be a quinquagenarian. I’ll be ranked against a load of people older than me rather than younger than me, although there are some extremely good runners turning, or recently turned 50, so I’ll still need to be running well. The main point is that instead of trying hard to find my fitness over the next few weeks I can concentrate my training so that I come into form next year, assuming I stay injury free.

So that’s what I’ve been doing/will continue to do over the next few months. My running continues to be focussed around improving speed and endurance but I’ve incorporated specific cross training sessions into my training as the 2^nd session of the day; Boot camp, kettlebells, weights, other cardio work and core activities. Yes I know I’ve done all that before but because of my injuries I wasn’t able to keep it as regular as I wanted to. Now I feel I’m back on track, though, as results show, I’m a long way off recovering my best form. Here’s hoping to a long sustained period of training that will see Rog back to his best form.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Don’t Let It Get You Down

I’ve had good times, my personal bests for all distances above 400m (excepting the steeplechase, which just goes to show Rog can’t jump) are pretty respectable, I’ve got a box full of medals and I’ve represented my country, in fact I’ve represented my Wifey’s country too (and she still won’t forgive me for that). I’m far from being a household name but I’ve been a ‘known’ runner within the running community and, I think, I have the respect of my peers for what I’ve achieved and how I’ve conducted myself as a runner. But, I’ve also had times where I’ve been out injured, I’ve struggled to run to the form I know I can achieve or I’ve just felt like I’m going nowhere. During these periods of poor form it would be so easy to accept defeat and stop training hard, run for fitness but don’t push yourself, after all it hurts to train hard, doesn’t it. But I’m a stubborn old git and I tend to push through it, punishing myself for no apparent return, until one day you turn a corner and you’re back in competitive mode.

I know many former star runners who no longer compete, some had injuries that just wouldn’t be fixed, others retired for reasons of their own, I never ask. Perhaps one reason I keep going is that I was never a schoolboy wonder, when I first started running my first 5k was over 18 minutes, so a 17 minute 5k, whilst significantly slower than my best, just doesn’t seem that bad.

I may not have been a star athlete in 1990, but I'd learnt how to win, and how to hold onto my watch picture as I crossed the line

The good times came to me in 1993 when I won my 1^st Surrey 10000m title, with a time of 30:33.7. Until that point I’d been a gradually improving club runner who was reliable but of B team standard. That victory propelled me into the big time, within six weeks I was running at Crystal Palace in the UK Champs. In front of full house I came dead last in the 3000m, yet, because of my previous lack of form, I was still able to walk away with a pb. I never became that big but I was always a contender in Surrey Champs and even won an individual South of England silver medal. 1993-1996 were my first peak.

getting ready to pounce past Mike Boyle to win my first major title, the Surrey 10000m, 1993

The good times came to a halt at the end of 1996, I’d won my first cross country race, the South of Thames Junior, in November and was in the form of my life. I had high hopes of a good position in the County Cross Country Champs, which were taking place in December, even had thoughts of a possible win (though I hadn’t expected Internationals Gary Staines and Jon Solly to turn up). But a week before the race I went down with a cold, a really bad cold. I rested up but really wanted to do the race. By the Saturday morning I was feeling fine so I went for a mile jog, it was easy, great I was able to race. That afternoon I hit the 1 mile point, in the 7.5 mile race, and it was like hitting a wall. I had nothing, I pushed through, hurting like hell as runner after runner took a place away from me. It was all I could do to hang onto 18^th place, the consolation being that Belgrave won the team event for the first time in 30 years.

I rested after the race and I really struggled in January, I couldn’t work it out so eventually I went to the doctors and it turned out I’d been lucky, I’d only strained my heart. Rest and a gradual increase in training activity were prescribed. 1997, by the previous three years standards, wasn’t a great year, though I still managed 3^rd in the Surrey 5000m Champs and 10^th in the Surrey Cross Country Champs, despite fracturing my metatarsal in May and having a further nine weeks rest. In 1998 I tried hard to regain my form of 1996 and was rewarded by my body telling me enough was enough, it broke down and I was out for a further 5 months. In all honesty I thought that was it, I couldn’t see myself getting back running, there was one defining moment that made me want to try again though – One sunny day as I was walking through Regents Park a runner from another club came past and said, in a disparaging way, ‘didn’t you used to be a runner’ – well that was like a red rag to a bull, he’d never come close to beating me and I had a feeling he never would.

As you can imagine it was slow progress at first, my first race back was in December, the Surrey Cross Country Champs, where I finished 66^th. I was back though and over the summer managed to get my 5000m times back to low 15 minutes, clearly I wasn’t as good as I’d been but I showed flashes of my old form with a win in the Surrey 10000m and the 3^rd fastest man in the Surrey Road Relays. Soon after I was off to Germany and the lack of distractions, housework, girlfriend, meant I was able to fully focus my training, when I wasn’t working.

A little less hair and past my best but still able to win the Wimbledon 10k in 31:56 and avoid being run over by a Jag

2000 started great, I set a huge pb when winning the Sidcup 10 and ran my 2^nd fastest 10k time a few weeks later, 31:04. Solid running continued until I tore my calf muscle in the Surrey 5000m Champs. It was another setback and another tough summer. I was now 35, I couldn’t see me having many years left at my peak. The next couple of years I was there or thereabouts but I was more of an also ran, though, on my day, I pulled off the odd race win in times that I’d be very happy to get within a minute of now. My decision to run the 2003 London Marathon meant I was training even harder than I’d done before and prior to the marathon I was in great shape. My marathon time, 2:34.10 was no great shakes compared by my peers but that 1^st marathon is like going into the unknown and I was just glad I managed to get round as my brain had been telling me to pull out from about 9 miles. The bonus being Belgrave took silver in the South of England Champs.

Following the marathon I really struggled to get any form back, sure there were a couple of 10ks run sub 32 minutes, but they were the exception rather than the rule. At the time I was approaching 40 and saw this as a reason to keep running. I was being realistic now, I couldn’t see me regaining my best ever form and one thing that had kept me going was fighting to keep my place in a very strong Belgrave team, I needed that fight to keep going but now Belgrave was overrun with young talent, I needed a Masters team to give me something to aim for. Belgrave just didn’t have the focus, so I took the tough decision to leave and join Herne Hill. Incentive in place I was running well, winning my 1^st Masters race and placing 1^st M40 at the Alsager 5, and then a torn hamstring put paid to the summer that had promised so much.

I managed to get back to form to help Herne Hill win the British Masters Cross Country Relay Champs, but then another change I was off to Scotland and years of shift work. I ran ok in Scotland, particularly in that first year. But I was definitely slowing down, it was an opportunistic Rog who found himself in the Edinburgh AC team that won the Scottish Road Relays in 2006, I took full advantage of my relay experience by taking EAC into the lead, which we kept to the end. After that my form started to dwindle as my body felt more and more tired from the ravages of night shift. I had some reasonable runs in that time but I was a different athlete to the one I’d been in London.

Edinburgh days, still got a turn of speed on the odd occasion

A 33:10 10k in 2009, aged 44, showed I could still pull out a good run but I did little else for the rest of the year, the job, the niggles, the uncertainties over redundancy and the studying to become a Personal Trainer all seemed to take their toll. At the back end of 2009 my life in Scotland was over, Carole, who I’d been with for a couple of years, took a position in Cheshire and I had to make a decision about my future. The offer of redundancy helped and I left behind my IT career, completed my training and started life in Cheshire, as a Personal Trainer.

It was a hard time trying to get established in a new area, particularly as we were living in a small village, but it did give me the time to train hard and 2010 started with a bang, 1^st M45 at Alsager, in a time faster than when I’d been 1^st M40 5 years earlier, 20^th and 1^st M45 at the Trafford 10k, in my fastest 10k for years, 32:19, and 2^nd in the BMAF Cross Country Champs. Those were the good times, a little niggle helped me to lose form but I was still good enough to take 2^nd in the BMAF 5k Champs and 3^rd in the European Masters 10000m Champs. After that I was exhausted, my form dwindled and a succession of niggles and injuries have stopped me from regaining that form. I’ve had good runs during the four years that have passed, I’ve won quite a few medals too, but in particular these last two years have been a real struggle for me, going from injury to injury. It’s the closest I’ve got to retirement since 1998, but there’s something encouraging about seeing my mates and Salford colleagues running well and it’s kept me going. This year’s been really hard I’ve had to work really hard to run slow times, but these last three weeks I’ve been managing to train properly for the first time in two years, yes there’s been pain but not the pain you get when you’re training through an injury. A few weeks ago I ran a 5k at the fast Christleton event and it was hard work to just break 17:30. Yesterday I took part in the BMAF 5k Champs and felt much better running 17:11. Ok, I know, It’s nothing special, the winning M45 time was 15:37 and there were three more M45s under 16 minutes, including my team mate Gerry O’Neill, but it’s progress towards something better and that’ll keep me in the game for a few weeks more.

Back to form in 2005, 2nd BMAF XC M45

After all these years I know that all that’s stopping me from getting back to the top of my form is a period of consistent hard training, I’m hopeful I’ll get the chance to prove I’m right.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk

British Masters Road Relays 2014 – An Alsop’s Salford Perspective

As last Saturday’s championship approached I had a growing anticipation of the race to come. It wasn’t quite the anticipation I had in the four years that I was a member of the Herne Hill team that finished runners up twice and won twice, but I was looking forward to a good day out in Sutton Park, with Salford. For starters there would be the usual bus full of Salford competitors and supporters, for the first time since I joined we would feature a ladies team in a masters relay, then there was the opportunity to catch up with old friends and competitors from years gone by, sadly Herne Hill, Belgrave and Edinburgh AC were without teams, but there were still plenty of people I knew, and lastly I was at least going to get a run this year, having missed out through injury last year. Still it was another injury that had put me into the Salford M45 B team, not a position I want to occupy but totally appropriate since I only started jogging a week earlier. I wasn’t alone, many of my Salford colleagues were returning from injuries, struggling with injuries or just hadn’t been able to make it to the start line at all through injury. But, what was good to see was so many old runners taking part and even more so, so many of them running really well, achieving times that runners many years younger would love to run.

All the Salford teams looked like they would be challenging for medals, could it be another Salford medal fest. As usually happens in the week before a major championship, there were dropouts, for various reasons, but we have numbers to cover and we were able to get five main teams out and a number of B teams to back them up, by far the largest contingent of teams and athletes in the whole event.

Arriving at Sutton Park it wasn’t just runners out enjoying the sunshine, the bottom end was packed with picnickers. As we approached the course the red and white Salford tent was standing out proud, with a number of the lads and lasses hanging around watching the first event, ladies and M65+.  We had a team in the W35 and, incredibly, three teams in the M65+. As expected the Salford A teams were in the hunt for medals and the Ladies were at one point leading the whole race. Unfortunately, on this occasion we just didn’t have enough strength in depth but it was a good start to the day, we’d shown our steel and there was more to come. The ladies finished 8^th, and the gents in 6^th, 10^th and 16^th respectively. Of course it wasn’t a complete medal free zone as Stan Curran picked up a bronze as 3^rd fastest M65 and Hayley Kuter took silver in the W35 event.

One race down, two medals taken as Hayley and Stan set impressive times

After my own warm up, I’d kept it short as I didn’t know how much running my legs had in them, I spent some time chatting with the many runners I’ve encountered in my 25 years as an athlete. It was good to catch up with Jon James, who I’d roomed with when we both ran for England, he’s had his own injury problems so it was good to see him back running, even more impressive to see him take a medal as one of the fastest M45 legs.

I was on 2^nd leg, the same as my mate Rob, so once the gun went there wasn’t a lot of time to hang around, last visit to the loo and then huddle around with all the other leg two’s waiting for your man to come in.

First man coming in to the handover area was Mark Johnson of Mansfield, with another impressive run, which would hold up as the 2^nd fastest M35 leg. Just two seconds down was the first of Salford’s teams, Matt Shaw bringing the M35 A team in 2^nd. These were followed in by a group of M35s before the first M45 team came home in 8^th, Thames Hare and Hounds, one of the teams tipped for glory. Eight seconds further back our reliable rocket, Dave Lockett brought Salford M45 A home in 3^rd M45 position, giving Rob Tudor two to chase. Steve Pennington handed over to me, M45 B, in 38^th position, Mike Grace wasn’t far behind in 42^nd with the M35 B team, not too far back, holding 6^th M55 position was Stan Owen, with Gary Thomason bringing home the M55 B team a little further back. What an incredible job Dave had done to get A and B teams out in all three categories plus three teams in the previous race, expect to see B teams in the Ladies soon too, we’re going to need a bigger bus!

At the end of leg two Salford Harriers M35 team were leading the way, but not far behind, in 2^nd and 1^st M45, Jon James had a great run. Rob too had run a great leg, pulling the M45 team into 4^th position overall and 2^nd to Wells, but with an ominous Leicester lurking in 3^rd. Woodford Green were leading the M55 race, with Cambuslang in 2^nd and our Eric Williams having his own stormer in 3^rd. My run was far short of spectacular but served it’s purpose in getting me round intact, not one painful moment during the whole 3 miles, and, even though I couldn’t be as competitive as I like, I still managed to gain 2 places. A mere 7 places further back another of our recovering injured, Dave Hudson, was running well for the M35 B team, showing promise for later in the year, and a little bit further back, Ian Johnson was pulling the M55 B team up 7 places.

By the end of Leg 3 our M35 team were back in 2^nd place, as former Belgrave colleague Simon Marwood of Altrincham passed our Jon Dance, but the gap was only 6 seconds. Thames Hare and Hounds were now in 3^rd with, to my mind, one of the top runs of the day by Martin Rees (M60) bringing M35 Les Croupiers into 4^th. Paul Simons, yet another long term injury sufferer had earned his place in the Salford M45 B team through persistence against pain but how he wouldn’t have wished he was in the sort of shape he’s capable of. I’ve raced against Paul for many years and he’ll always give everything he’s got for the team, and he did, taking the lead in the M45 category, 8 seconds ahead of Leicester, with Thames Hare and Hounds M45 team in 3rd. This was the last leg for the M55 race which Woodford Green won, Phil Quibell brought home Salford in 2^nd place, ahead of Bristol and West. That was Salford’s first set of team medal sorted. Salford M45 B team was still winning the battle of the Bs as Paul Birkett gained a further 4 places. The M35 B team were just over a minute behind as Phil West also gained 2 places, and Tommy Temple showed B consistency as he moved up the M55 team by 4 places.

M55 silver; Phil and Stan, minus Eric

Halfway through the main race and Salford’s M55 teams had set our standard with 2^nd and 25^th, at the end of the next leg we’d know the fate of the M45 teams.

Altrincham showed their intent on this leg, Matt Barnes set the day’s fastest time as he opened up a minute and 21 second gap over Thames Hare and Hounds, who had come through into 2^nd with a fine run by Simon Wurr. John Lloyd had run well to keep Salford M35 in 3^rd but Les Croupiers were now only 4 seconds behind us. It made a nice change for Salford M45s to be heading Leicester at the start of the last leg, but with Gordon Lee on that leg for Leicester it was always going to be tough to maintain the position. Gerry O’Neill is new in the team but he showed what a fine prospect he is, running not much slower than established luminaries Dave Lockett and Rob Tudor, unfortunately it wasn’t enough as Gordon went on to set the fastest M45 time of the day. 2^nd again for Salford M45, but we’ll have our day. Ben Reynolds secured team bronze for Thames Hare and Hounds M45 team. Ian Jackson moved M45 B team up a further 5 places to 27^th overall and Sean Cordell kept the Salford M35 B team in touch moving them up 3 places. More medals secured as the M45s finished in 2^nd and 13^th respectively.

More medals as the M45 race finishes; Dave, Rob and Paul, minus Gerry

At the end of leg 5 Altrincham were still in the lead, 1 minute 23 ahead of Les Croupiers, who’s Robert Sage had pulled them from 4^th to 2^nd. Pumlani Bangani kept Salford in the hunt, in 3^rd, 9 seconds further back, with Thames Hare and Hounds dropping to 4^th.  Salford’s remaining B team moved up 14 places, thanks to Trevor Raynor.

Was there any doubt? with Dave Norman on last Leg, Altrincham clinched the 2014 title. Les Croupiers put up a good show as Graham Breen ran fastest on leg 6 to secure silver for them and Glyn Billington kept Salford steady in bronze position. Thames Hare and Hounds vanished as they failed to run a 6^th man and Albert Castile pulled Salford B up one final place, finishing in 23rd.

Completing the set; Matt, Billy, Glyn, Jon, John and Pumlani

The end of some successful Salford plundering, with two team silvers, one team bronze and individual medals for Stan, Hayley and Matt. A total of 16 medals as Salford once again showed their support for Masters athletics.

Written by Roger Alsop

www.rogeralsop.co.uk
Photos, thanks to Sid Sacks, who also ran.