Battling the elements is half the fun- isnt it?

A lot of fuss has been kicked up in the media this week after the Original Mountain Marathon in the Lake District was cancelled several hours into the race because of adverse weather. The race organisers are being critcised for letting the race start in the first place, but I think this is completely misjudging the spirit of such events. Fell runners who sign up for the race are experienced mountaineers and are expecting to withstand the tough conditions of a two-day outdoor race in the unpredictable British weather, carrying all their own camping equipment and food, and climbing some 2500m in the process. I've always believed that one of the personality traits which trail runners and endurance runners share is an element of masochism, and surviving against extreme challenges is one of the biggest sources of satisfaction. Of course when things get ridiculous (as in the pictures we've now seen of racers up to the waist in muddy water) events will be stopped, but who can blame the organisers and competitors for being optimistic and giving it a shot? What worries me about all the fuss is that it would be really sad if organisers were too scared to run extreme events for fear of criticism and attracting the health and safety police. If this event is classed as too dangerous, where would the line be drawn? What about ultramarathons across exposed moors? At some point shouldn't it be accepted that individuals are responsible for their own actions and it is up to them to choose whether to take part or not, not the organisers?

The big one!

Eek! I've found out that I have got a place in the 2009 London Marathon. I'm thrilled, but also slightly apprehensive that I haven't managed Athens yet. Still, at least this means I'll have a second chance to fine-tune my training.

Recently my marathon training has veered off-track as I had a bad cold which turned into flu, which I then made worse by attempting a casual 8 miles when I thought I was better, so I'm worried that my preparation for Athen's has been less than ideal. With less than two weeks until the big day now I've decided the most important thing is to get well as soon as possible, so am taking it easy as much as possible, and am chugging down lemon and ginger tea whilst eating oranges for vitamin C. Finger's crossed I'll be back in my trainers soon.

Runner's immunity

My training has been suffering this week, as I have come down with a stinker of a cold. The only thing doing any running is my nose (groan, terrible joke I know)! I am blaming a trip to Glasgow in the middle of the week, which not only involved a sudden change in temperature (it's chilly up there), but also meant getting up at 4am for a flight. And I could be right to blame my current state on this trip. Tradititional marathon wisdom says you should avoid germ-filled environments (e.g. in this case planes, I'm not suggesting Glasgow itself is a source of germs!) and be sure to get extra sleep in the build up to the race.

I remember reading a Runner's World article earlier this year which suggested there is a maximum running time and when you are training above this limit your immunity is weakened, especially in the hours following your run. The time for average runners was 90 minutes, but I guess this would vary depending on your levels of fitness and what length of run constitutes a strain for your body. The article suggested that when you are training at high levels, over your strain-inducing time, you should avoid situations which increase your exposure to germs and be careful about washing your hands, getting plenty of sleep, and getting the right nutrition. Unfortunately it's not always possible to wrap yourself in cotton wool before a race, especially when work requires you to travel and it's hard enough to fit in the hours of training. I just hope that missing one long run and taking a few days off isn't going to have too much of an effect on my ability to complete the marathon. Only two weeks to go now!

Bust-a-move

If you are one of those runners who feels naked without your headphones, the best music for running to sparks an interesting debate. A website called JogTunes attempts to make the choice for you by providing suggestions which match your running pace to the beats of certain songs. You calculate your pace in steps per minute and the site will come up with lists of matched tunes and instructions on how to download them from iTunes. You can also get ready-made playlists based on your pace over a certain estimated distance, so the music will accompany you at a matched pace throughout your workout.

However I have discovered that people's tastes vary hugely, and I'm not sure that the music you find most motivating or that you most enjoy running to is anything to do with the pace. My hubby's choice for long runs is the mellow, slightly-trippy Icelandic group Sigur Ros, which I guess is either a philosophical choice, or just plain bizarre. And Paula Radcliffe is said to prefer to train to Angels by Robbie Williams, which wouldn't meet the fast-pace=good workout music ethos of most gyms.

My personal best-running-track-ever is Molly's Chambers by the King's of Leon. I don't often run with music, but when I feel in need of a soundtrack to my exploring this is the perfect song to put a spring in my step. Although I do sometimes feel the desire to stop running and shake my booty when it comes on!

Marathon Reads

I've been reading about the history of the marathon in an entertaining book by John Bryant (the London Marathon: the History of the Greatest Race on Earth) and am feeling inspired. I would really recommend it as a fact-filled book that still manages to be fun and uplifting- perfect light reading for crawling into bed with knackered limbs after training.

I picked up this book as part of my research for a short guide to marathons I was working on for the website Bookshelf Boyfriend. The completed article can now be seen here: http://www.bookshelfboyfriend.com/articles.php?article_id=266

Hazardous activities abroad

When travelling to take part in a marathon in another country, insurance for the trip is perhaps one of the last things you think about. The training plan was put into action months ago and the footwear has been carefully considered, but insurance is often one of those last-minute things you remember, along with currency and locating your passport under piles of bills.

I just discovered that our annual multi-trip travel insurance specifically states it does not cover long-distance or marathon running, and yet does include elephant rides, shooting (rifles), rugby, and motorcycling. An interesting choice of potentially hazardous activities which I would have thought placed at least as high as running in the injury stakes. It is also interesting that in the policy I eventually bought, they specify 'amateur' runners only are covered- surely you are more likely to get injured if you are an amateur not less, as you are more likely to be inadequately prepared, suffering from existing medical conditions, or attempting your first race, and are without the benefit of a professional support team watching over you. As a professional you will have careful monitoring of your training and health on the day, and possibly will have spent time training in the race conditions beforehand whereas amateurs may be forced to go from chilly britain to running under intense sun within a short time frame, making dehydration and fatigue more likely and raising the risk of injury. Of course, these factors which affect performance and health should be considered by any runners attempting a race abroad, but I find it interesting what insurance companies classify as risk.

It is also notable how many companies go to the trouble of mentioning in their policy odd sports such as tug-o-war and hurling. Are there really many people who travel overseas to take part in a tug-o-war? And if so, where are they going, because that sure sounds like a fun holiday!

Expedition: failed

I have not been very consistent in my posts this last week because I have been away for work again, and this time I was trying to limit the size of my luggage so that I could carry it on the train, which meant my running shoes won priority over my laptop. A colleague expressed surprise that I had bought my running gear (plus spares, and a swimsuit, but they didn't know that!) to a conference and I explained that my trainers are always the first thing to go in my suitcase, no matter where I'm headed. I now have a bit of a reputation as an exercise-addict, but nevermind, I can't hide in the closet forever!

Anyway, I was hoping to do a bit of running whilst I was away, giving those trainers a change of scenery and making more notes for my running explorer's map. Unfortunately for this week's trip I was in Stansted, which is not the most exotic of places, and the hotel was literally at the airport so I was not expecting to come across too many exciting sights, but in the end I failed to even leave the hotel. The only morning I could have got away for an early-morning run it was so foggy outside I could barely see the road, and I could not find any roads or paths around the hotel that led anywhere other than the car park or the tunnel to the airport terminal. I had a sudden ridiculous image of myself stumbling out onto the runway and being startled by a boeing 747 bearing down on me out of the mist, so I gave up and returned to the hotel gym instead.

Actually the gym was very nice. Should anyone ever find themselves with a few hours to kill at Stansted there would be worse ways to spend them than in the clean surroundings of the Radisson SAS health club, and it would certainly be better for your health than hanging around the airport cafes. But I feel I have failed as a running explorer for this week, and can't wait to get back out there in the outside world, to do some 'real' running.

Long run strategies

This week's long run was 20 miles and after speaking to an experienced marathoner (with an age-group winner title under his belt) we decided to try running 4 loops of a five mile route, allowing us to return to the car for drinks/discarding clothing as necessary. I have not tried this method of training before, as I usually prefer to run to a place and find reaching a destination a certain distance away more satisfying than weaving around one place to clock up the correct distance. But I found this strategy a nice change, and would definitely do it again to achieve a large number of miles.
As well as providing some confidence because you are never too far away from your base should you get injured or feel unable to continue, the best thing about this method is that you can drive to a favourite part of a route and just do that section. We drove to a car park at Fremington and ran a loop along the coastal path and back through quiet villages with good pavements, thus getting the benefits of running this great route whilst avoiding having to run up the sharp hills that would otherwise have got in the way of running in this direction and made a 20-miler considerably harder.

More on TV please

I watched the Great North Run on TV this weekend, and all I could think of was an event miles away from Newcastle, and wish the BBC would extend it's eye, tentacle like, and show us some of the other amazing achievements going on across the country. As I was listening to presenters hyping the efforts of Lee from the Apprentice in the GNR, two of my good friends were slogging away on 26 miles of scenic trails on the Clarendon way marathon, along with 300 other people running their own challenge. This route runs over the gorgeous countryside between Winchester and Salisbury, and would have produced some very picturesque scenes on film, compared to the housing estates around Newcastle and South Shields.

Now I have done the GNR before, and think it is possibly my favourite UK running event. There is something about the crowd and the build-up to the start which creates an electricity and a togetherness I have not felt anywhere else, and I would definitely recommend it to new runners as well as seasoned pavement pounders who think they have done it all. But I wish there was more coverage of the amateur sports events happening up and down the country every weekend. Everyone knows about the London marathon and the GNR, but how exciting would it be to see glimpses of the London to Brighton bike ride, or watch people scrambling through the mud in the Salomon Turbo X? How inspiring to be able to watch 'ordinary' people doing crazy things like the 24 hour track race or the Thames path 50 mile ultra-marathon. Because these things happen every weekend, we just don't get to see them.

Route mapping tools part 3

For the past week or so I have been testing the route mapper on Realbuzz.com for planning runs. The tool used on this site is called Map Your Passion, which is a term I haven't quite got my head around yet. Although I love running this does not sound like a run planner, so I googled the term and discovered it is also the name of an advertising campaign for Campari where people can plot their favourite things, their lovers or their experiences on a world map. Now I cannot get this image out of my head whenever I visit the running map your passion and it doesn't seem quite right.

Anyway, the actual mapping tool is good- quite basic in comparison to mapmyrun.com, but functional and easy to use. You have to register with Realbuzz in order to use it, which may put some people off and means it takes a little longer to get on with the task because you have to log in each time.

The route can be planned on a choice of maps (satellite, street map etc) which includes terrain and therefore allows you to work out where the hills are and the climb involved. Realbuzz also boasts that you can add markers to maps to 'highlight your favourites, whether it's a restaurant you'll never forget or the best hotel or hostel you've ever stayed in', and it would be great for these purposes, but as you cannot add markers at the time you actually create a route so it is not ideal for creating certain points on a run or brick (e.g. cycle then run) training route.

All together Map Your Passion was a decent route planner, but I have been slightly spoiled by using mapmyrun, and found this tool not quite so comprehensive for runners or easy to use. For one thing this site became increasingly slow to load each new point as the route got longer, and as the longest run I used it for was 10 miles, this could become really annoying as your distance increases.

Marks out of 5: 3.5

Running shoe bargains

I have just been introduced to this great site called ransacker, which compares running shoe prices to give you the best deal in the UK. It just so happens that my shoes are coming to the end of their running life and I was thinking about ordering another pair so I could break them in before the marathon, when I came across this brilliant idea. So instead of wasting hours looking at different shoe suppliers for the best price, worrying that I'm being ripped off and then getting too bored and just ordering from the site with the nicest page design (I seriously do this sometimes and it's bad for my wallet I'm sure), this time it took me five minutes to order my new Mizuno waves for a price £20 less than I paid for my last pair. Result!

I am not the sort of girl who loves shopping and believes in retail therapy, but waiting for a neat new pair of running shoes to arrive makes me quite excited. And new shoes are a great excuse to go out for a run.

The site also gives you an opportunity to donate to the children's charity Sparks by buying running gear- which makes a feel-good purchase feel even better.