Monday 9 March 2015

The Run Cross Challenge Is Coming

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was trying to put together an event that would be both fun and a challenge to runners. Well it took me a bit longer to announce than I had anticipated, due to waiting a few weeks for the selected venue to get back to me and give me the all clear, but I can now announce that the event will take place on Sunday 31 May 2015.

The event is something I’ve had in my mind for a number of years and is based upon something I really enjoyed during my competitive track racing years. The format is based on the qualifying rounds, leading to a final, of a championship event, with a bonus for fastest time set. There will be a series of races held over an approximate 800-1000m grass course. The course will be fast with some small hillocks and a few twists and turns. Each race will act as a qualification race for the next round, with the first 50% of runners in each race going through and the rest being eliminated. However anyone eliminated, at any round (with the exception of the finalists), will get another race for a chance to chase the fastest race time of the day. Prizes will be given for fastest time by a male and fastest time by a female, along with overall winner of both. At this moment I haven’t decided on prize value, depends how many take part, but the more that take part the bigger the prize.

I’m pitching entry at £6 an athlete (plus £2 levy for non UKA athletes), which works out at £3 a race for anyone eliminated at the first hurdle and cheaper if you last longer. Obviously the number of races will depend on how many enter but there will more than likely be a limit on numbers. The £6 also includes use of toilets and shower/changing facilities, plus there is parking at the venue, though car sharing would be advisable. Entries will be limited to age 14 and over (I was going to make it a bit older but having been well and truly beaten recently by a number of youngsters I don’t think they will feel out of their depth, and distance wise it is perfect for young athlete’s development).

The venue is the playing fields at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, with the Leisure Centre providing the toilets and showers/changing facilities. There won’t be food or drinks made available, as the races are short I would expect competitors to look after their own rehydration and energy replacement just as if you were going to a track event or a parkrun.

The format may change slightly, dependent on entries, but I’m aiming to get the races running smoothly without too much of a gap between them. I envisage I’ll start with male 1st round followed by female 1st round, then male 2nd round and losers chasing times, then female 2nd round and losers chasing times, and so on. Number of competitors per race will be dependent on number of entries and number of timekeepers/helpers I can muster up. There will also be a minimum time requirement to qualify as I don’t want the races to become jogging events, I want to see some proper racing in each round, if you don’t make the cut-off time you don’t progress, even if you’re in the top half of your race, but it’ll be a realistic cut-off time. Competitors will be chosen for each race using a random number generator, so it’s quite possible the fastest runners may meet in round one, may even meet again in round two, I feel it will add a bit of spice rather than trying to seed it.

I see the benefits of the event in a number of ways. Firstly they are short races so it’s similar to a track training session, albeit recoveries will not be short, secondly it will help sharpen up athletes who want to run on the track and also give them a chance to practice tactical awareness and thirdly I hope it will bring some fun to a day out.

It’s a little different to what most people would expect of a Sunday morning race but I’d like to think that difference is what will attract runners to it, plus, if you get eliminated before you expect to, there is a grass track that you could train on if you wanted to, or even if you want to do a few reps in between rounds.

Obviously, until I have a clear number of entrants I don’t know how long the event will go on but we aim to start at 10:00 and, with a short break for lunch, get through to finals early afternoon.  

I will be setting up an entry form and facebook page so I’d welcome your support in an aim to make this a success and, furthermore, a regular event. I’m also happy to take any advice off other meeting promoters and feedback from competing athletes.

Written by Roger Alsop
www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Tuesday 3 March 2015

The Senior Men’s English National Cross Country Championships 2015

Some people were enjoying watching Mo Farah break the 2 mile indoor world record, some people were probably out shopping or at a football match, but the hardy cross country fans were trampling through mud to watch the current star mudlarks and those that slipped, slithered and sank, take part in the English National Cross Country Championships on Parliament Hill on Saturday 21 January. True the Welsh and Scottish Nationals were also on this weekend but for sheer volume and spectacle you can’t beat the English National, where it was expected to be a record number of entries.

I don’t have much of a history in the National, having run just seven in the previous 25 years since I started running. My first, and lowest position (851st), was in Leeds in 1990. The following year I progressed to 713th in Luton. Subsequent Nationals I took part in were 1999 – Newark – 286th, 2001 – Durham – 161st, 2003 – Parliament Hill – 106th, 2004 – Leeds – 211 (when Belgrave won the team title) and 2011 – Alton Towers – 500th. So it was clear to see I started badly, made some progress, peaked and I’m now on a downward spiral. I also took part in one Scottish National, in 2008 I finished 89th at Falkirk.
A young Rog enjoying his 2nd National at Luton 1991

I’ll admit I’m no great shakes at cross country though I’ve had some fine runs and won three championships and did achieve a 2nd place in the BMAF championships at M45, but I do like it. Unfortunately my body doesn’t as I’ve found over the last couple of seasons if I do too much my body gives in. So this year I decided I would restrict my cross country outings, so far I’ve done the BMAF relays and the International Open Race, both in November, and that’s it.

Alton Towers was so muddy it put me off doing the National completely, plus reaching the age of 50 says it’s no longer something I should really be taking part in. No disrespect to those of 50 and older who enjoy and compete well in the championship, it’s just I have other things I could be doing.

So why did I choose to do this year’s National. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, I’d been ill since November and come the date of the entries I was still showing no signs of significant recovery to get back to racing fitness. But, although I can be quite competitive when I’m fit, I do just love running and I really do enjoy being a part of big events, even as an extra that nobody notices. I see myself as being fortunate in that I wasn’t a schoolboy prodigy, which means I’m not precious about who beats me or where I finish (though obviously there is a limit to this preciousness). So I took a chance that I would be able to cover the distance and asked Salford to enter me. I probably wouldn’t have entered if it was just anywhere, but being at Parliament Hill, which evokes some good memories for me, and the fact that a large number of old friends and new facebook friends from the group ‘I Was , Or AM A Runner !’ were going to be present swayed me.

Despite being entered I still wasn’t entirely sure I would run, I picked up another cold whilst holidaying in Cambodia and only shook this off about ten days before the race. A week before the race I felt I had to go out to prove to myself that I could run 12k cross country. I chose to run in my local parkrun, Delamere. To be quite frank, I love Delamere but I have a, can’t quite put a reason on it, dislike for the parkrun course, which made it perfect for a tough challenge.

The run went well, a solid 18:23 behind a bunch of youngsters, but the important thing was I didn’t push myself and could have kept going at the same pace for longer. So decision made, I would run the National. I spoke to my mate Rob Tudor, he was already sharing a hotel room with mates and there was a chance they could fit me in, all good.

On National day it was an early start, with the drive down to London. I didn’t feel any pressure and was quite looking forward to meeting everybody and having a fun race. It looked like being a dry day, though the temperature was changing from mild, for the time of year, to a bit chilly. 

Once we got to the course I tried to find the Salford crew, but naturally for such a big event there were many faces I recognised from my past years as a Southern runner. Offers came in to use the Herne Hill and Belgrave tent, to change in and store my stuff, I knew Salford weren’t bringing the tent down, The Belgrave tent seemed just that bit better an option for what I visualised as my pre and post race journey. Decision made I perused the grounds and found the Salford crew, numbers were picked up and I was ready to go, about an hour before the start.

Up near the top of the hill was the I Was A Runner banner, it was great to meet the people I’d been exchanging words with on facebook, and especially to meet those guys I’d been racing against for years. Just down from the flag Salford Harriers had put up their flag so I trampled down to that to catch up with what was going on. At first there were just a few of us and we didn’t appear very strong, but then in walked; Carl, Tom, Josh, Simon and Gary. Five of our top boys, but it’s six to score!
Some of the IWOAAR crowd, before the race and the beer

As you may know each team is allocated a pen, but with those five, amongst others I thought I was yet to see, I’d end up well back up the hill, so I took up an offer to use Warrington’s pen, they didn’t have anybody show up, well not to the designated pen anyway, so I wasn’t in the way, but I was on the front line and raring to go. It’s a funny old world but as I stood there I found myself next to the Belgrave pen, oh the times I’d been part of that team. But I wasn’t here to reminisce I was here to do my best.

Then the gun went off, my decision to start on the front row was good, I was away as quick as anyone, but then my foot hit the mud and I slipped and slid and saw hundreds of runners surge past me. What were they doing that I wasn’t doing? But that wasn’t to be my biggest surprise before I reached the top of that initial hill. Never before have I had to stop in a cross country race unless it was of my own doing, i.e. a fall, but today I only got about 250m and the crowd in front of me just stopped dead. There was nowhere to go, one of the largest fields in recent history had bottlenecked and I was caught up in it. Precious time was lost while I stood still and then shuffled forward (and in this type of race 30 seconds can make a big difference.

I went over the top of the hill, still angry with getting caught in the pack and immediately plunged shin deep into a muddy downhill. I will say this isn’t the muddiest course I’ve ever come across, but it’s close and it certainly wasn’t pleasant. I hated every step of the first half of the lap. Over the other side the ground was a little firmer and I was able to get my legs going a bit better. Coming round onto the 2nd lap all I could think was that I really didn’t care where I finished, but I was going to finish. By now the field had spread out a little and I was able to find my own line through the mud, which didn’t seem as bad now I was expecting it. I was able to pick up my pace slightly, though still finding some parts hard going. Onto the firmer ground I knew this was almost firm to the end so I started my finishing move from a fair way out. I was passing loads of people and having a great ding dong battle with a guy from Dulwich Runners. Not that we were necessarily fighting each other for position but the fact that we were travelling about the same pace gave us both someone to focus on. The sight of my old rivals, Hercules Wimbledon, proved a spur and I worked hard to catch it. Only as I came up close did I realise it was Peter Clarke, brother of three time National Champion, Dave Clarke. I gave Peter some encouragement as I sped past him and onto the finish.

I kept passing people all the way to the final downhill, this was slippery in places but I managed to find a good line and romped down the hill, only to turn into a quagmire of a finish straight, and a long one at that. I tried so hard to keep my pace going but that last bit to the finish just seemed to go on and on and I was all over the place, watching people pile past me and making me lose a place in the top 700.
Determined to get to that finish I was too fast for John Mather's box camera

And then I was through the line, I’d done it, and I was adamant I’m never going to do it again. I traipsed up through the mud, feeling dejected, and headed for the Belgrave tent and some dry kit. On the way I bumped into Tom Cornthwaite, it seemed he’d had a good run and I was happy for him. I was wondering how Salford the rest of the team had done, and where I’d finished in the pecking order. It was a difficult race to gauge position, you were in a big crowd of people you didn’t recognise and anybody could have got a big jump on you during those stationary moments. I got changed, said goodbye to Belgrave Harriers, went off to meet my pals and headed to the pub.

As it turned out I was sixth scorer in the Salford team, but at 707 a long way behind fifth man, what a shame one more of the top runners hadn’t turned out, surely we’d have been far higher than twentieth team.

I was stiff and sore the next day and it took me a further three days before my legs returned to normal and then I screwed them again by leading a leg heavy boot camp, they ached for days. But I’m back in the land of the running, I feel renewed vigour in my body and I’m raring to go in my next proper race. Funnily enough the rubbish run in awful conditions has given me more confidence than if I’d sat it out.

Written by Roger Alsop
www.rogeralsop.co.uk

Photos with thanks to Yvonne Kintoff, John Mather and IWOAAR