100 Not Out !

I’ve managed it at last – I’ve just recorded my 100^th road race win in today’s ‘Christmas Cracker’ 20km at Moreton Morrell!  It’s been some time coming – I realised I was getting close a while ago, but injuries prevented me actually achieving it until today!  And it was made even more special by the fact my coach of 29 years, Les, was there to share it, especially after everything he has been through over the last 12 months.  He marked the occasion in style by arranging for some balloons printed with ‘100’ to be handed to me just before the finish, for me to carry and wave as I crossed the line!

 

Crossing the line with my '100' balloons (which Les also managed to colour co-ordinate with my kit!)

My 100^th win comes from a total of just 254 road races (not including all the track, cross-country and trail races where I’ve also notched up quite a few wins too).  My first road race was in 1987 as a junior and since then I’ve run over a variety of distances ranging from 5km to 100km.  In addition to my wins I’ve also finished 2^nd on 52 occasions and 3^rd on 22 others giving a total of 174 podium finishes from the 254 races!  A few facts and figures:

 

·         My first win was in 1992 in the Rugby Women’s 10k.

·         My first Warwickshire AA gold was in 1996 in the Chelmsley Wood 10k.

·         My first Midland Counties AA gold was in 2000 in the Erewash 10 mile.

·         My biggest win was the 2010 50k World Trophy Final in Galway.

·         I’ve raced in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Morocco, The Netherlands, Slovakia and South Africa.

 

I’ve had some fantastic opportunities and have many great memories from my road races – winning the 2010 50k World Trophy Final and setting a national record; standing on the podium at the European 100km champs. and watching the Union Flag hoisted; the amazing atmosphere in the Comrades Marathon in South Africa; beating Berhane Adere in the Great North Run and being mentioned by Brendan Foster and Steve Cram on the TV commentary; the incredible atmosphere of the London Marathon; proudly wearing my GB vest on five occasions, including two World Championships; standing on the podium in the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium – the list could go on and on! 

 

Of course, my 100 wins haven’t come without an awful lot of hard work and dedication.  And one thing is sure, I couldn’t have done it without the support of many people – Mizuno for supplying me with shoes and kit; X-Bionic for their fantastic compression wear; The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club for the use of their gym; my physio Mark Buckingham for putting me back together when I’m broken; my club, Leamington C&AC for their encouragement and recognition in making me a life member; my family for all their support and finally, of course, Les who has been there at nearly all of my road races to celebrate the successes and pick me up when things haven’t gone so well.

 

It was a great race to achieve my 100^th victory today – superbly organised, as ever, by Raceways Multi-sport Event Management in aid of their charity ‘Kids Run Free’ (http://www.kidsrunfree.co.uk/site/index.php). The course was a two-lap undulating route through the Warwickshire countryside and was well-marshalled.  An uphill climb at the end of each of the two laps was made harder by the strong wind blowing straight in our faces, but at least the pre-race rain held off!  And despite my clocking up 254 road races I’ve never actually raced the 20k distance before, so I ended up with a PB too!  I think the celebratory mince pie afterwards was well-earned!

 

 

‘Making my century’ was a fitting end to the year and it was great to finish on a high.  After the World 100k in September I was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the GB team for the World 50k champs. in Doha, Qatar.  This meant I spent three months training for a race that I didn’t know if I would be running!  I was always on stand-by to jump in at the last minute if the girl who was selected had to withdraw, however I didn’t hear anything from the GB team management so I assumed all was OK with her.  It came as somewhat of a surprise, therefore, when I read the results of the race, to find that she hadn’t even started!  I was never called upon to take her place, despite making myself available right up to the last minute!  So much for selecting a reserve!

 

The last three months haven’t gone to waste though, as I’ve been working with one of the personal trainers at The Warwickshire, Sam Baker, on my strength and conditioning.  He’s been really great working with me on my technique, trying to get my glutes firing, working on core and upper back strength and addressing a muscle imbalance in my legs.  He’s very knowledgeable and excellent at explaining everything (and very patient with me too, when I can’t seem to make my body do quite what he’s looking for!)  I’ve also been working with my physio on addressing my ongoing hamstring tendinopathy.  He’s recently acquired a new ‘toy’ which he’s been using to give me Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy – basically it’s a probe that pulsates on the affected area.  It’s early days yet, but fingers crossed it will start to have a positive effect soon.  I’ve also started to wear a sacroiliac support belt to see if that helps too.

 

And on top of all this I’ve ventured back to the athletics track in Leamington to start doing track sessions again, after a gap of 18 months!  It’s a vague hope that I’ll get some speed back in my legs again, although I think it’s a bit optimistic!  However, it’s been really good fun and I’ve enjoyed training in a group again; encouraging and pushing each other, as well as the friendly banter.

 

So 2015 hasn’t been a bad running year for me really.  I’ve managed to come back from my injuries last year to finish 10^th in the World 100k championships and go to 5^th on the UK All-time rankings, and to eventually reach 100 road race wins.  Here’s to 2016 – I may have reached 100 but I hope I’m not out just yet!

 

Have a great Christmas everyone, and I hope you have a happy and healthy 2016.