Tag: daftrunners

Daft Runners London Series – Introduction and Burgess Parkrun! 4th January

We spent quite the period of time journeying around the United Kingdom during 2019. That was lots of fun of course, but it did give us a thought: perhaps there are some fun running opportunities closer to home? Perhaps we don’t need to brave the trains, planes or automobiles to get our running freak on.

Everything needs a bit of branding nowadays, so we thought we’d label our new plans for 2020 under the exciting title of: The Daft Runners London Series (cue dramatic music)! As part of this series we intend to run in every London Borough (33 in all), preferably at an event such as a Parkrun. At the same time, we hope to find some other, local hidden gems to share with you all.

So our first park run of the year is….Burgess Park! Admittedly that was obvious from the title. We rocked up after a quick journey on the tube to find a refreshingly busy start line on a surprisingly sunny day. It then occured to us that it was the first Park Run of the year, which explained all the keen runners with their New Year resolutions!

After a quick verbal tour of the park run by one of the kind volunteers, and an internal pep talk, we were off. Burgess Park is…well…lovely. There’s a long straight to start and finish of around 1km that tapers to an underpass, bit of a choke point, midway through. Then you take a sharp left turn and circle round the lake and rejoin the straight. Very picturesque indeed!

We also had the chance to see the quick runners (you know who you are) loop back round. I find it’s always interesting to see the more elite types as they sprint their hearts out. The nominated speaker at the start of the race had suggested giving them a high five. They did not look receptive to such an idea! We also had some mid-race entertainment from the local wildlife.

Pugilistic geese aside, I was extremely proud of this result, not only because we explored a new Park Run, but because I personally passed three prams during the run. Usually it’s the other way round, so it’s nice to get my own back a little (I know, they’re still much fitter than I am).

To round things off, we then had an exploratory run deep into south west London, following the Northern line past all the Clapham Common stations. It turns out a busy London highway isn’t quite as pleasant running as Burgess Park. Something to work on in the future.

Until the next Park Run!

Podcast link.

Mentions

Events mentioned in this episode:
Burgess Parkrun – Event Link

Podcast link.

The Craft Half – 17th February 2019

Distance – 13.1 miles over two laps
Course – mostly trail with a bit of running over concrete paths

Beer. Sweet, hoppy marvellousness responsible for making many of social engagements more entertaining (for me). I quite like beer and I quite like running. I also quite like having beer after running. But the two don’t really mix at the same time. Or do they…? That was the question posed by the Craft Half: a half-marathon in two laps round Wimbledon Common featuring frequent pit stops for mature liquid refreshment.

Out of all the races we’d run so far in 2019, this was the one I felt the most prepared for. I had a few 10ks under my belt as well as some 13-14 mile training runs and I was regularly practicing my beer drinking. In fact, I made sure I had a couple of craft beers the evening before to ensure my palate was prepared. Nothing had been left to chance.

So we rocked up late morning before the run started, queued to collect our t-shirts/race numbers and enjoyed the late morning sun as the start time drew nearer.

What ensued was possibly the most fun I’ve had while running. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this for everyone and it’s important to note that you should always drink sensibly. But the beer was excellent with just a bit of running inbetween stops (three every loop).

We strategised that we would be quicker if we picked up our beers at each stop and then walked while we drank quickly. We then tried running and drinking. We finally realised that it was much more fun to have a chat with our fellow competitors/ Wimbledon Wombles at each stop than focus on the running. By the end, we were enjoying a nice leisurely walk to the finish line. This was probably the only race where I’d be proud of a DNF and we had even lapped one set of astute runners.

  • It’s empty
  • I think there’s more beer this way

The course itself was a pleasant trail with some initial hills over the first couple of miles before we hit the main park itself. We were greeted with some delight by various day trippers who were also enjoying the sun. Obviously we weren’t the only ones who had considered running and drinking beer to be contradictory.

We did get a little bit lost at one point, but any sense of usual panic about losing time was absent and we just enjoyed trying to pick-up the trail of inebriated looking joggers.

Organisation – 10/10
Beer stops every few miles. They nailed it.

Race goodies – 10/10
Lots of beer. 🙂

Race route – 3/10
Just a couple of loops round Wimbledon Common. Very pleasant but not particularly challenging.

Adventure status – 6/10
The beer elevated the adventure status of the race.

We had a huge amount of fun during this race and will definitely be doing it again. It also drew our attention to another run we’re planning later during the year: the
Beer Lovers’ Marathon in Liege. Something to look forward to!

Hadleigh Legacy 10k – Race Report – 27th January 2019

Distance – 10k over 2 laps
Course – Rocky, trail & mud

Benfleet. Not a name that makes you immediately think of running, or anything really (sorry Benfleet). So what were we doing early morning on a Sunday, sans coffee and at an isolated and graffitied train station in Essex? Well, this sleepy seaside location is home to a certain prominent mountain bike course featured in the the London 2012 Olympic Games. The race promo from the organisers (Castle Point Joggers) had promised hills, more hills, mud and more mud! How could we resist?!

This race appeared to literally be a steeper challenge than our previous ones in Crystal Palace and Stratford and, being on the coast, it was very windy! The race reception was a quick cab journey away and we hustled into the warmth to queue for food and coffee. Rather than have my usual unhealthy treat after the race, I went with one before…

If you’re wondering if I regretted this by the end of the race, you’d be right.

So pre-race nutrition was going well, but how about training? I’d failed to do much after the Stratford 10k, so was keen to make sure I improved on that record at least. I’d managed to attend a couple of pilates classes in a belated attempt to improve my core strength, which I think was likely behind many of my niggles. With a couple of mid-week runs tacked on, I felt relatively ok.

With the sound of Status Quo’s Rockin’ All Over The World, we started running. The organisers certainly weren’t wrong on the hills. We immediately plunged down a trail that had obviously been frequented by mountain bikes moments earlier and then curved round to go right back up the hill, which was pitted with interesting points of scenery like boulders/ concrete tunnels that I imagine muddy bike tires would make short work of. One thing I did enjoy in-between gasping for air was seeing the crowd trail off in front of me and behind as I progressed along the course.

  • High five for the finish line!
  • The steepest descent

Making the top of each hill was greeted with a windy applause; probably sarcastic as I definitely walked a fair bit. But these sections were balanced by some fun descents. I had some running battles with a few racers of a similar pace, but by the second lap we were having a good natured joke about the hills. Finally I neared the end and there was just a penultimate weaving hill climb and then a straight run up to the finish line.

At the end my watch read 9.25km, but to be honest I was thankful it wasn’t the full 10k. With over 200 metres of elevation gain, it was truly a challenging course. Probably quite entertaining with a mountain bike as well. I don’t think my enhanced core strength had helped, or my mid-week runs. Back to the training drawing board!

Organisation – 10/10
Well organised with a nearby cafe with junk food for me. Perfect. Brave wardens considering the wind as well.

Race goodies – 4/10
Jaffa cakes were on hand, but I’d had my treat already.

Race route – 6/10
Very challenging and great training for the start of the year. Lots of hills but not that much mud.

Adventure status – 4/10
A seagull looked at me funny at the station.

After the race we grabbed a lift back to the station and opted to wait for our train in a cosy pub instead of the windy station. The Anchor Inn was friendly, warm and had some tasty ales; as well as being 600 years old. Looks like there were at least two interesting things in Benfleet after all.