2016 - Re-learning how to run!

So as 2016 draws to a close it’s time to reflect on another year’s running and racing – my 30^th year of competitive running.  To be honest 2016 was rather frustrating as I seemed to spend the whole year taking one step forward and two steps back.  The year got off to a particularly bad start when, just two weeks in, I developed a recurrence of the high hamstring tendinopathy that I’ve had on and off for the last couple of years.  An MRI scan revealed that this had caused a third stress reaction in my pelvis (ischial tuberosity).  So there I was yet again – absolutely NO exercise whatsoever, as anything that used my hamstring would delay or prevent healing.  Obviously I was gutted at not being able to run and totally fed up that this had happened for a third time.  All the races I’d planned on doing gradually came and went, including the British Championship 100k in Perth, Scotland, which I’d set my sights on running in March.  I did go to Perth with my coach, Les, as he had another athlete running and we went as her support crew.   At first I was very dubious about watching a race that I was desperate to run in, but in actual fact I really enjoyed crewing for Mel and found it was a really positive experience to be on “the other side” at a race.  It made me appreciate even more just how much Les does for me when he’s supporting me.

As mentally tough as the injury was, I just had to try and accept it and make sure I was disciplined about resting it and doing everything I could to help it heal.  Luckily I’m the sort of person who is never at a loose end, so I had plenty of other things to fill my time, which is so important during times like this.  Eventually, after three months of complete inactivity, I took my first tentative steps back “running” again.  Of course I’d lost a huge amount of fitness, and had put on several kilograms of weight, but I was overjoyed to be able to run even just a short way, however slow it was.  I very gradually built up the distance over the next few weeks and by the middle of June was up to an hour of easy running.  It wasn’t all plain sailing and I was still feeling my hamstring and getting pain in my hip, but with the advice of my brilliant physio Mark Buckingham I was able to manage it enough to be able to run. 

Then, in the middle of June, disaster struck again!  I was out for an easy run on the canal towpath when my foot caught a piece of stone and sent me flying.  Badly grazed and bruised knees and elbows meant another few days rest / easy runs.  Luckily things weren’t quite as bad as they could have been and at the beginning of July I managed my first race of the year – a 3000m track race for my club in the Midland League!  3000m is far too short and fast for me anyway these days, but with my lack of fitness this one was even worse and I struggled round finishing last but one!  But just by turning up and running I picked up some valuable points for my club, Leamington C&AC, which is what League meetings are all about. 

After this things started to pick up – the length of my runs moved into double figures and I began to introduce some slightly faster paced sessions.  At the beginning of August, on my 45^th birthday (and in a new Masters age group!), I ran the 18 mile option of the Railway Ultra near Ironbridge.  I felt really good at first, but by 11 miles I really started to struggle – my legs were like lead weights and I had to find every ounce of mental strength to keep going.  I thought this was just down to my lack of fitness, but over the next few days I developed a cold, which then transpired to be a chest infection, resulting in a course of antibiotics and more time off running!  I didn’t know it at the time, but this run would end up being my longest run of the year!

At the beginning of September I gradually eased myself back into training again and ran the Kenilworth Half-Marathon purely as a training run.  I knew I was nowhere near fit and deliberately started somewhere buried in the middle of the pack, rather than at the front, which was in itself a novel experience!  A couple of weeks later things started to fall into place again.  I had my first attempt at a one-hour track race (round and round a 400m athletics track) and managed to set a new British W45 Age Record of 14172 metres.  A week later I was helping my club out again, this time in the Midland Road Relays, although at just 4.3km the race was over before I’d even got going! 

A month after Kenilworth I accepted an elite place in the BUPA Great Birmingham Run and found myself appearing on Channel 5 TV as I lined up on the start alongside the likes of Sonia Samuels, Elizeba Cherono, Andy Vernon and Chris Thompson.  I ran 5 minutes quicker than I’d run at Kenilworth, which was really encouraging and I felt things were going in the right direction at last.  The following month, in November, I ran another half-marathon at Dorney Lake near Eton and exceeded all my expectations finishing as first female and recording my fastest half-marathon time for three years.  I was feeling really motivated and positive after this.  I thought that I was finally getting somewhere and my training was starting to pay off, and I was really enthusiastic to get stuck into even harder training.

Throughout all these months of trying to return to fitness I’ve been working closely with my physio, Mark Buckingham, to try and address all the possible causes of the hamstring tendinopathy.  I’ve looked at Vitamin D and bone density and I’ve been working really hard in the gym doing the hamstring strengthening exercises that Mark has given me.  In the last two or three months, once I’d built my hamstring strength up, we’ve been looking at tweaking my gait to try and recruit the ‘lazy’ muscles in my glutes and take some of the load off my hamstrings.  Basically, I’m re-learning how to run!  I’ve known for many years that my glutes don’t fire as they should and I’ve tried to address this at various times, seemingly without much success.  However, I’ve made a really concerted effort this time and I feel that I might just possibly be making some progress.  It takes a lot of concentration while running, and a little bit of help from Kinesio tape, but I’m determined to keep working at it.  At the end of the day I’m not looking to completely change the way I run as I don’t think that will ever happen, but if I can make just a small percentage of difference to my gait I’m hoping it will help.  My hamstring tendinopathy still isn’t 100% better and I’m still experiencing some discomfort in the area, but I’m hoping that we can manage it enough to allow me to run and to prevent another stress reaction.

The risk of trying to change my running style was always going to be injury elsewhere as a result of other muscles and tendons being asked to work differently.  Sure enough this proved to be the case when I developed very sore calves, with a small tear in the right one, after the Dorney Lake race.   So guess what, more time off running!  The positive high I’d felt straight after the race soon turned to despair as I realised that my hard-earned fitness was slipping away again.  I had three weeks of rest / minimal training and a visit to Mark who confirmed the tear had healed and the soreness I was still feeling was scar tissue.  We both agreed, however, that the risk of picking up other injuries was one worth taking in my quest to try and get my glutes working.

My final race of 2016 was the Christmas Cracker 20k at Moreton Morrell.  I’d been really looking forward to it – the same race last year had been my 100^th road race win and I was hoping to retain my ‘title’ and at least run somewhere close to my 2015 time.  Sadly, with all the missed training from the calf tear I managed neither, although in the circumstances 3^rd lady wasn’t bad!

 

 

Another disappointment during 2016 was not being selected for the GB team for the World 100k Champs. in Spain.  I was one of only two GB female athletes to have achieved the qualifying standard, but I wasn’t selected, presumably because the selectors decided I wouldn’t be fit enough after my hamstring injury.  Often selections are made based on an athlete ‘proving their fitness’, but sadly I wasn’t given this opportunity on this occasion.  However, in hindsight I think it was probably a blessing in disguise.  With all the setbacks throughout the year I would have struggled to be at full fitness and would not have done myself justice in the race.  I would have had my work cut out trying to get enough long runs in and cramming them in would have been asking for trouble in itself.  As it happens I’ve been able to take my return to fitness slowly and steadily and have been able to give plenty of time to addressing my hamstring strength and changing my gait. 

Whilst 2016 has been frustrating I’m trying to take the positives and look forward to building on them in 2017.  My total mileage for this year is only 1,616 miles, which is a long way short of usual, but it could have been worse and I’m grateful that I have at least been able to do some running.  I did manage my fastest half-marathon for three years, set a British Age One-Hour Track Record and I feel I’m making progress with my hamstring and glute strength.  I experienced a race as a ‘support crew’ (which was hopefully of assistance to Mel, and Les too!) and I have some fabulous training partners at Leamington where I’m really enjoying our weekly track sessions, overseen by Les of course.  I’d like to thank all of “Team Les” for their support and encouragement, both for my successes and when things aren’t going so well – it really means a lot to me. 

 

Also a massive thank you to Les for putting up with me for 30 years and still setting my training schedules, overseeing my sessions, supporting me at races, massaging, coming to physio appointments and generally looking after me.  He is my star and I couldn’t do it without him.  I’m also indebted to Mizuno for their continued support with fantastic shoes and kit and to The Warwickshire for the use of their gym.  Strength and conditioning is an integral part of my training, but the gym has been particularly invaluable for my specific hamstring strengthening work.  A huge thank you must go to my brilliant physio Mark (even though his treatments can be torture!) and particularly for his patience when I’m struggling to explain exactly which bits hurt.  And finally a big thank you to my friends and family for being so understanding when my training and racing has to come first.  Athletes need a good team around them and I’m extremely lucky and grateful to have all these wonderful people supporting me.  Whilst the latest setbacks this year have already scuppered my plans for the early part of 2017 I’m sure that there will be more races, fun and enjoyment to come.  One thing is for sure, my commitment and desire for training and racing is still as strong as ever. 

Here’s to 2017 – I hope it’s a happy, healthy and successful one for you all.

Great Birmingham Run 2016

When my request for an elite place in the Great Birmingham Run half-marathon was accepted I felt really excited and privileged to be lining up alongside other international, world class athletes at the very front of around 20,000 other runners.  I was looking forward to really pushing myself and seeing how much (if at all!) my fitness had improved since the Kenilworth Half-marathon six weeks before. 

 

 

My enthusiasm on the day, however, was at first rather dampened by the pouring rain (and having to drag myself out of bed at 6.30am on a dark Sunday morning)!  I was soaked through before I’d even got to the elite athletes’ area by the start, let alone done my warm up!  Miraculously, though, it stopped raining about 30 minutes before the start, and the sun even made an appearance.

 

 

 

 

I lined up alongside the other elites and my tactical start-line positioning paid off (behind Sonia Samuels and Andy Vernon) as I managed to make an appearance on the Channel 5 TV coverage!  The claxon sounded and we were off, heading along the dual carriageway towards Moor Street Station and Selfridges.  I couldn’t help thinking about all the times I’ve been Christmas shopping in Birmingham when this road is full of buses and cars – it was rather surreal to be running right down the middle of it!

Getting ready to start (left); with Almensch Belete and eventual race winner Elizeba Cherono (right)

 

The route took us out to the south of the city, to Bourneville (I didn’t spot Cadbury’s World, which was probably a good thing), before heading back again, through Edgbaston Cricket Ground and round Cannon Hill Park, before finishing on Broad Street by Centenary Square.  There was a notorious hill which was brutal, lasting for over a mile from just before the 11-mile point and just seeming to go on for ever and ever.  But this wasn’t the only hill - there were numerous others, especially just after the start, at about 3.5 miles and around the 5 mile point.  In fact, the whole of the first half seemed to be mostly uphill!

Deep in concentration?!

 

Despite my pre-race enthusiasm to really push myself, I found it hard going and was having constant battles in my head, trying to push out the negative thoughts with positive ones.  My legs were feeling really heavy, but I kept trying to convince myself I was feeling light and strong – it didn’t work!  My lowest point was when Nell McAndrew passed me somewhere between 7 and 8 miles!  I managed to stay with her round Edgbaston Cricket Ground and Cannon Hill Park, but she pulled away on ‘the’ hill and I couldn’t get back to her.  She eventually finished exactly 30 seconds in front of me - I’m not sure I’ll live that down!  I did manage to make a second TV appearance though, as I can be spotted in the background while Nell is doing her post-race interview! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprint finish with my Leamington C&AC club mate (he won!)

 

I can’t be too disappointed with my run, especially considering my current state of fitness post-injury.  I was 22^nd in the women’s race, over 5 minutes faster than I ran at Kenilworth (1:27:59), but most satisfying was that I won my age category!  It was great to be part of a big-race atmosphere again, with runners of all ages, sizes and abilities pounding the streets for their own personal goals and achievements.  That’s the beauty of running.

Finisher's medal, personalised number and wristband telling me I'm an elite athlete - apparently!
 

 Many thanks to Les Barnett for the photos.

Another false start!

I’m beginning to wonder whether I’ll ever get back to anything even remotely resembling the runner I used to be!  To be able to have even a few months consistent training under my belt would be a good start!  Since resuming running back in April, after my hamstring injury, it just seems to have been one thing after another to scupper my progress!  First of all it was a nasty fall on the canal towpath back in June (you can read all about that in my last blog post), then a sacroiliac joint problem and now it’s a chest infection that’s been hanging around for the best part of a month and resulted in a course of antibiotics. 

In hindsight I think I was going down with the chest infection when I ran the 18 mile version of the Railway Ultra at the beginning of August, although I didn’t realise it at the time.  I really struggled with the last 5 or 6 miles of the race – my legs ached and felt like lead weights and I felt I was running on empty.  At the time I put it down to the fact it was my longest run since January.  I wasn’t really prepared for the race, having missed yet more training the week before due to the sacroiliac joint problem, and I was only intending to run it as a steady training run. 

I’d done the full 36 mile version last year and, although the multiple out and back course can get a bit tedious, especially with the rough stony path (which seemed to be even more pot-holed this year), it’s a very scenic route on a disused railway line along the River Severn near Ironbridge.

This year it had the added bonus of being on my birthday (and a new Masters age-group one to boot), so we made a long weekend of it and took in the sights of Ironbridge too. 

It also meant I earned the second part of my finishers’ medal – a train carriage to go with the engine I won last year! 

I should have realised, however, that the last few miles felt even harder than they should have done, even allowing for my untrained state and lack of fitness.  To cut a long story short, I developed what I thought at first to be just an ordinary cold, but was later diagnosed by my GP as a chest infection, resulting in the best part of two weeks’ missed training.  It’s extremely frustrating that every time I feel I’m making some progress something else happens to thwart it.  I feel like I’m taking one step forward and two steps back!

Anyway, having finished the course of antibiotics I decided that as I’d already entered the Kenilworth Half-marathon I might as well give it a go.  I managed to squeeze in 4 or 5 days of light running leading up to the race, but this really only served to wreck my quads before I’d even started the race!  I knew I wasn’t going to be competitive at the front end of the race, or anywhere near my course record of 77:37, so I started somewhere in the middle of the pack, which was quite a novel experience for me!  I had a bit of a panic whilst we stood there waiting for the off, thinking “I shouldn’t be this far back!” but then reminded myself of my pre-race plan – to start steadily and try to pick up in the last 4 miles if I had anything left in my legs.  It felt a bit strange having to walk a short way before crossing the start line and being able to get running, but I have to say I quite enjoyed experiencing a race from a bit further back, with no pressure. 

 

I had a bit of banter with some of the other local runners as we ran round, and I tried to offer some encouragement to my Leamington C&AC club mates when I passed them.  The Kenilworth Half is always a great race – very well organised with plenty of friendly marshals who always offer a lot of encouragement to all the runners (and plenty of yummy cakes at the finish too!).  I always seem to have a fair bit of local support out on the course too; as I live within a stone’s throw of the route there are always people I know out the course cheering the runners on.  Living on the doorstep also means I know the course like the back of my hand – I run most of it week in, week out, as part of my tempo runs, so I know exactly where the hills are and every twist, turn and pothole in the road!  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not!  My race went pretty much to plan, although the hills smashed my quads even more and meant I couldn’t push the last few miles quite as hard as I would have liked.  However, I did seem to be picking people off for the majority of the race and ended up 9^th female, and 3^rd W45, in what was my slowest ever half-marathon (1:33:26)!  But that was still faster than my coach, Les, was expecting and, to be honest, after the year I’ve had so far I was relishing just being there and competing in my first road race since last December!  I think I ran the whole race with a permanent smile (apart from maybe the last hill!) as I was just so happy to be out racing on the roads again.

 

A close encounter with the canal towpath!

Hmmm, well that wasn't quite what I'd planned as part of my comeback from injury - another injury!  What had started out as an easy Sunday morning run last weekend ended up as anything but.  I was bowling along quite steadily on a stretch of towpath that I've run on thousands of times over the last 30 years with absolutely no problem at all.  All of a sudden, about 2 miles into the run, my toe caught a piece of rock / concrete protruding from the path and the next thing I knew I was flat on my face!  I'd fallen quite heavily on the rather unforgiving gravely surface and, inevitably, ended up with bloodied hands, elbows, knees, thighs and tummy (well, if I will wear a crop top!).  A combination of pain and shock, or perhaps a slight bang to my head, then caused me to pass out!  Luckily a few passers by stopped to help and check I was OK, which was really kind of them.  I did have to have a little chuckle to myself, though, when one lady, who I'd just passed minutes before, said "I saw your legs sticking out across the path but thought you'd just stopped for a rest"!  Little did she know that I have, in the past, run 62 miles without stopping for a rest!  She then went on to say "you're the lady who wins everything aren't you - I recognise you from the paper"!  I found that rather amusing too!  Anyway, I eventually staggered to my feet and managed to hobble / walk / jog the 2 miles back home and then spent the next hour or so picking bits of gravel out of my wounds!

So the upshot of this little mishap is a very sore knee, which I hope is just bruising and nothing more serious, and a slight setback to my attempt at returning to fitness.  Luckily it hasn't come at a crucial time and I guess that I've been relatively lucky regarding trips and falls during my 30 years of running (in fact I can't actually remember any), so in all honesty I was probably due one!  After a couple of days off I'm now back doing some very easy, short runs and have even faced my demons and run on the same stretch of towpath again!  Providing my knee is just bruised, and nothing more, it may even have been a blessing in disguise - stopping me from trying to do too much too soon in my in build-up from the hamstring / stress reaction injury.

 

So with my running being less intensive at the moment I've had more time for other things, including taking part in some events to help promote the Aviva Women's Cycle Tour, prior to it passing through Warwickshire on its second stage.  It was fantastic to see top class international women's sport on my doorstep.  I was also very honoured and privileged when, a few weeks ago, I was invited back to my old school, Stratford Grammar School for Girls, as guest speaker at their Sports Awards evening.  It was a fabulous evening and I thoroughly enjoyed presenting so many girls with awards for their achievements in such a wide variety of sports; and it's great that their achievements have been given the recognition they deserve.  It's clear from the awards I presented that there are some extremely talented sportswomen at the school, but it's also fantastic that all the girls have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sports, at all levels.  I hope, too, that my speech might just have inspired them in some small way - the fact that I went from an average runner to Great Britain international by having dreams and ambitions and working towards them with hard work, dedication, commitment, patience and perseverance.  I told them there are many opportunities out there waiting for them, and I hope they take them and get as much fun, fulfilment and satisfaction as I have had from my own running career. 

 

From my own point of view, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to 'give something back' to the school where, really, my athletics career began with huge encouragement from Miss Lawton, my PE teacher at the time.  It was while there that I first had the opportunity to try the 800m and 1500m, and found that I enjoyed those events and was better at them than sprints, jumps and definitely throws!  So I then joined Leamington C&AC and haven't looked back since!  Then, when I was in the sixth-form, I started a lunchtime cross-country running club as up until then we didn't do cross-country at school.  I'd started running cross-country for the club, really enjoyed it, and wanted to do schools events too!  We went on to win medals in the Warwickshire Schools Cross-country Championships and I'm really happy to say that my legacy is still going strong.  The school still competes successfully at cross-country races nearly 30 years later.

 

So that's about all at the moment really.  I guess it's a case of seeing how my knee is over the next few days and trying to steadily build back up to the hour's running that I'd got to just before the towpath incident.  With regard to the hamstring tendinopathy / stress reaction, I don't feel I'm completely out of the woods with that yet as I'm still getting some pain / achiness, but am following my physio's advice and working closely with him both in terms of building the running up and specific hamstring strength exercises.  I'm also working on addressing a strength imbalance between my right and left legs.  So I guess it's a case of 'watch this space' for further progress updates!

A Tough Three Months

Three months.  This is the longest time I’ve ever had without being able to do any form of exercise whatsoever, let alone run.  My body is used to physical endurance, but this has been a real test of mental endurance.  As with any injury, it’s the body that is physically hurt, but the mind that really suffers.

Those twelve weeks have taken me through the five stages of injury grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance - although not necessarily in order and with no clear-cut ‘moving on’ from one stage to the next.  You may be thinking “it’s only an injury; there are plenty of people worse off” and yes, there are.  I’ve tried to reason with myself, to look at it rationally, but running is my life, my world and is what I know and love.  I can only equate my feelings to myself, not to others whose lives I don’t know.  Running is part of who I am as a person; it gives me purpose and a sense of self-worth.  No, it’s not the be-all-and-end-all, but it is a huge part of my existence.

My first reaction to this latest injury was disbelief – how could I possibly have yet another stress reaction (a precursor to a full blown stress fracture), my third in two years?  I’d followed all the advice after the previous two episodes; it surely couldn’t have happened again?  This denial stage didn’t last long as an MRI scan revealed that, yes, I did indeed have “osseous oedema of the right ischial tuberosity” and “tendinopathic change of the right hamstrings at its origin” (a literal ‘pain in the bum’ in layman’s terms!).  Although a small part of me questioned whether the scan was right, in reality I knew I couldn’t dispute it, so my emotions turned to anger and frustration. 

I had desperately wanted to run for England in the Anglo-Celtic Plate / British Champs. 100km in Perth, Scotland at the end of March.  Despite winning medals at international level I’ve never won a UK Championship medal and I really wanted to put this right at long last.  To be denied this opportunity yet again was a bitter pill to swallow.  What had I done to be deprived of the chance of a UK medal once more?  How dare my body be injured without my permission!  I also sensed an overwhelming frustration about the amount of time I felt I was wasting with not being able to train or race.  Life is so short and I want to be able to make the most of it.  I feel there are so many opportunities out there and that I have so much more to achieve along with my coach, Les, and I just want the chance to try before it’s too late.  I know how much my running means to Les, too, and I am angry that my body is preventing us from doing the things we want to while we still have time together.  There was anger and frustration, too, about the fitness I’d worked hard to build up but was now losing.  All the effort I’d put in before the injury - the long runs, the track sessions, the tempo runs, the gym sessions – all that was now in vain as I would have to start all over again from scratch.

These feelings of anger and frustration took hold in my mind and mingled with feelings of despair, despondency and hopelessness.  The tears flowed.  I felt I had yet again lost the world I knew and loved, and questioned whether I would ever get back there.  Little things like weight gain all added to my low emotional state.  I have never been as heavy as I am now; never before has doing up my jeans or work skirts been an issue!  And being deprived of all forms of physical exercise also affected my mood and mental state in other areas of my life.  I had no outlet for relieving the stresses of everyday life; no release of those feel-good endorphins in my brain.  I had all that pent-up energy stored in my body; at times I felt like a coiled spring that just wanted to explode.

Eventually, at some point, I started to accept things.  After all, what other option did I have?  My emotions still went round in circles, like a goldfish swimming round a bowl; a perpetual motion of thoughts and feelings.  Some days I could accept things and just get on with life; other days the feelings of anger and despondency returned, like that proverbial bad penny.  I wasn’t idle with all the spare time I suddenly had on my hands; that’s not in my nature.  I put it to good use doing all those things, however mundane, that I don’t have time for when I’m training.  Several bags of unwanted ‘stuff’ went to the charity shop and the tip!  Three of the twelve weeks were spent with Les in Portugal.  This had been booked long before the injury emerged and should have been our annual warm-weather training trip, in preparation for the 100km in Perth.  It would have been a waste of money to cancel, so we went anyway for a holiday.  Luckily, my level of acceptance of the injury was by this time high enough to allow me to have a fabulous time away.  But let’s face it – who wouldn’t enjoy three weeks in the sunny Algarve in February?!  We definitely made the most of our time away, despite not being able to run, and had a great time pursuing our other interests – photography, birding, eating cake, drinking wine!  We met up with our friend (and former training partner) Kay and her husband Trevor who had recently moved out there.  We even discovered several new places to visit, despite this being our 14^th trip!  I savoured the rare opportunity to have a real holiday; a break from everything, including running.  And I can honestly say that I loved every minute, although my light-hearted comments to Les whenever we saw other athletes out running on the trails - “they don’t know how lucky they are” - were perhaps tinged with a dash of envy!

I had also come to terms with the injury enough to be able to go to the 100km in Perth to watch and support the England team.  Les had been coaching one of the other girls in the England team, Mel, and so we went up to Scotland to act as her support crew.  I tried as best as I could to supress my feelings of sadness at not competing and was actually very relieved not to have to get up at 4.00am to have breakfast before a 7.00am race start!  Getting up at 6.00am on Easter Sunday, as we did, was bad enough!  I woke with similar pre-race nerves to as if I was competing, only this time it was anxiety over whether I would manage to hand Mel her drinks / gloves / sunglasses / gels etc. with no mishap!  Having never experienced being someone’s support crew before it was rather nerve-wracking – the responsibility of not wrecking their race!  In actual fact it was great to experience a race from ‘the other side’ and made me really appreciate everything others do for me when I’m racing.  I valued the opportunity to be able to ‘give something back’ and to be able to help others.  I’m so glad I went; I really enjoyed the day and the 8 hours plus went much quicker than I expected them to.  I managed to keep my emotions in check until the very end.  Mel crossed the finish line as first woman, and British Champion, and I was so thrilled for her, knowing all the hard work she had put it, and for Les too.  My tears welled up in happiness for them both, but also, I have to admit, with some sadness that I had been denied the chance to try myself.  It was a very strange mix of emotions.

So, where am I now?  Well, the twelve weeks have come and gone and I’m now following my physio Mark Buckingham’s advice to the letter in my quest to return to running.  We’re trying to get to the bottom (excuse the pun!) of why these stress reactions keep happening.  Mark referred me to a sports medicine consultant who looked at my bone density, bone metabolism and Vitamin D, none of which were such a significant issue to be the root cause of the injuries.  My Vitamin D level, although well in the ‘normal’ range for the general population, was slightly lower than optimum for an endurance athlete, which should be somewhere between 100 and 200 nmol/L, so I’m currently addressing this.  However, this still hasn’t ascertained why the injury keeps recurring, so we’re also looking at correcting a strength imbalance between my right and left legs, specific hamstring strengthening, lower back mobility and tweaking my gait to reduce the mechanical loading on my hamstrings.  A slightly daunting prospect, but if it gets me running again I’m willing to give it a go.  I have total confidence in Mark’s knowledge and expertise.

At the moment I’ve started some ‘easy’ jogging, which is, in fact, anything but ‘easy’!  I feel as though I’ve never run before in my life – my lungs are burning after even a few minutes of jogging and my legs feel like jelly!  My gait is more of a ploddy shuffle and I couldn’t even keep up with my training group’s warm up jog!  I feel overweight and unfit but, more worryingly, there is still pain.  That’s a huge disappointment.  After resting completely for three months, being patient and doing everything I’d been told, I was really hoping for a pain-free return.  However, a further visit to Mark has revealed that it may not be all doom and gloom.  A stiff sacroiliac joint and tight sacrotuberous ligament, which continues into the hamstring tendon, could be to blame for at least some of my current pain.  One of the first things Mark does each time I see him is to check my pelvic alignment and mobility.  Recently it’s been fine, but I do have a history of a rather fickle pelvis, which often seems to stiffen up of its own free will (apparently this is quite common in females)!  So the plan, under Mark’s and Les’ watchful eyes, is to continue slowly building up the running and hamstring strength work in the gym, to see whether the joint mobilisation has had any effect.  Fingers crossed!

Right now I’m feeling a bit more optimistic, but I still have doubts as to whether I will ever get back to anything remotely resembling the fitness I had previously.  I know I’ve come back from injury before, many times, and often I’ve come back stronger.  But this time feels harder; even more of a struggle than usual.  I’ve had longer than ever off, I’ve not even been able to cross-train to maintain general fitness – no swimming, cycling or anything – I’m heavier than ever and I’m not getting any younger!  It doesn’t bode well!  One of the hardest things about injury is the not knowing.  The uncertainty of how long it will take to heal; knowing whether or not it has healed; how long it will take to regain fitness; whether I’ll ever get back to where I was.  That uncertainty is very real for me right now; but it won’t stop me trying.  Providing my body will just give me a chance.  And anyway, Mizuno have just sent me two pairs of super new shoes which I’m definitely not going to waste!

Coping with setbacks and challenges makes us stronger, or so I’m told.  But does it?  Right now I’m not so sure.  I’ve had to cope with many injuries over the years and yes, I’ve learnt a lot.  I’ve learnt patience, perseverance, determination, dedication, diligence, tolerance, the importance of listening to my body and much more besides.  I sometimes feel I’m a bit of an injury expert with all the experience I’ve had!  I do believe the injuries have made me mentally stronger.  But that doesn’t make a new injury any easier to accept or deal with.  It doesn’t make the frustration any less.  You still have to navigate your way through that myriad of emotions and hope you can find your way out the other side.  But just because I’ve found my way out before doesn’t necessarily mean I will again.  Each new injury fills me with the same doubts.  Each new injury means more dreams in tatters.

Despite all this I am trying to remain positive – I really am.  If nothing else, the enforced lay-off has given me chance to do other things and has saved money on race entries and travel!  (Although this has been more than off-set by the costs of MRI scans, Sports Medicine Consultant and physio fees!)  There have even been times when I’ve been thankful not to have to go out running in the cold, dark, wet winter months!  And it has given me valuable experience of seeing a race from the ‘other’ side.  I’ve also managed to win a medal without even running for three months, so that can’t be bad!  It was a lovely surprise when an envelope containing a Midland Masters bronze medal arrived in the post.  The MMAC have a Virtual Marathon and Half-marathon Championship, which is based on members’ best times anywhere, at any time, throughout the year, which is then age-graded.  My time of 2hrs 59.46 in the 2015 Shakespeare Marathon was good enough for an age-graded performance of 80.04% and the bronze medal!

I’m trying very hard to keep everything in perspective.  There are plenty of good things I do still have in my life; plenty to be thankful for.  This injury is just another one of those challenges that life throws at us, and I have to find a way of dealing with it.  Mark told me in his last email that he will never give up on me!  I know Les has faith in me still.  So as long as others keep believing and have faith in me, then I will keep believing and have faith too.

30 years as a runner Part 2: Marathons and Ultras 2000 - 2016

So, to continue where I left off in Part 1 of this blog, which charted the first 15 years of my competitive running career, I will now recount the next 15 years starting in 2000.  Not only was it a landmark year in terms of the Millennium (plus I moved house and started a new job at Warwickshire County Council), but it was also a very significant year for my running career.  I realised that although 16:32:73 wasn’t a bad time for 5000m it was never going to get me into the Great Britain team, which was my dream and ultimate goal.  I ran the Erewash 10 miles that August, which was the Midland Championships, and won the gold medal, in what was only my second race over that distance.  I followed that up with my first ever half-marathon at Stroud, where I ran 79:20, and so my road racing career was launched.

 

In 2001, at the age of 30, I decided along with my coach, Les, that it was time to make the big step up to the marathon.  I was offered the chance to run in the Hans Christian Andersen Marathon in Odense, Denmark, with a place on the elite start and my travel and accommodation paid for by the race.  This felt a bit unreal at first – I had no idea opportunities like this existed for the likes of me!  My philosophy in life is always to grab opportunities with both hands and make the most of them, so I did.  I finished 3^rd in Odense, in a time of 2:48:53.  It was amazing to be standing on the podium on my debut marathon!  I was totally wiped out when I finished and didn’t know whether to sit, stand, lie down or curl up in a little ball, but almost straight away started talking to Les about ‘the next one’!  The marathon bug had bitten me and I’ve since gone on to run a total of fifteen marathons in eight different countries (and all of them sub-3 hours!).

A podium finish in my first marathon, Odense, Denmark



Mixing with the elites (Haile Gebrselassie)

I was extremely fortunate in that the times I was running in races meant I was able to get invitations into the ‘elite’ fields of races.  All the marathons I’ve run abroad, plus my three London Marathons, have been as an invited elite athlete, with my race entry fee, travel and accommodation paid for me by the race.  When I first started out in the sport I had no idea that opportunities like that even existed, let alone that they would be available to the likes of me!  The benefits of being an elite invited athlete, apart from saving on travel and accommodation costs, are having my own personal drinks put out at the drinks stations, staying in the official race hotel with all the other ‘elites’, transport to the start and back again after the finish, separate toilets, a technical meeting on the day before the race and often we are driven round the course before the race in order to suss it out.  It took me a while to believe that I really belonged in that environment – it felt very unreal walking into a hotel lift and coming face to face with world class athletes you normally only see on the TV!  I realise I’m very lucky to have all these benefits, although they haven’t come without a huge amount of hard work and dedication in order to get to that level.

After my performance in Denmark I was invited to the UK Athletics marathon squad training weekends that were held a couple of times a year.  These offered a fantastic chance to train with some of the country’s top marathon runners as well as listen to talks on nutrition, training, injury prevention, recovery, psychology etc.  I learnt so much from those sessions, met many people and made numerous friends.  I started making a few tweaks to my training – more long runs, more tempo and race-pace runs and core stability work.  Twelve years ago I started going to a Pilates class at The Studio in Warwick and have attended weekly classes ever since as I can really see the benefit it has had on my running.  I also started to take a more professional attitude towards my training, particularly paying attention to recovery.  I started having ice baths, wearing compression clothing, having massage two or three times a week and seeing my physio, Mark Buckingham, once a month for a general check-up.  I also made sure I refuelled straight after a session, to the extent of packing sandwiches to take with me to track sessions to eat on the way home.  A few years ago I had some sessions with Stuart Chambers - a sports psychologist at Athletic Mind.  These were invaluable in helping me to foster a more positive mind-set and develop strategies for dealing with certain situations and feelings.  Slowly all this dedication started to pay off.

My second marathon was in Dublin in 2002 and things were going well until the drinks station at 15km.  I was running in a group and as we veered over towards the drinks table someone clipped the back of my heel and pulled my shoe off!  I had a moment of panic – this kind of thing happened in muddy cross-country races, not on the road!  I couldn’t run 27km on tarmac with only one shoe, so had to stop and put it back on, meanwhile losing contact with the group I’d been running with.  I tried not to panic – easier said than done, especially in those days when I was much less experienced – and carried on at my own pace.  Despite this I still managed to finish 5^th in an international field, knocking ten minutes of my PB (2:38:52).

Beirut Marathon 2003

The following year I was offered the chance to run in the first ever International Marathon in Beirut, which was a truly memorable experience.  The elite athletes’ accommodation was a very upmarket five-star hotel with a huge selection of food on offer in the restaurant buffet.  However, just a stone’s throw away were derelict buildings pockmarked with bullet holes and scarred from years of fighting.  It brought home the reality and made me realise how lucky we were to be able to visit at a time of peace (sadly there have been troubles there again since then).  The race itself was ‘interesting’ to say the least!  There was an area by the start allocated for the elite athletes with our own portable toilets.  Unfortunately, though, when we came to use them we found they were still locked!  A few frantic phone calls by the Race Director ascertained that the man who was in charge of them was on his day off!  Eventually we managed to break the locks and use them, but as they hadn’t been properly set up they soon became pretty disgusting!  As this was a new event the locals, understandably, didn’t know anything about the etiquette at the start line and everyone tried to get as close as they could to the front, regardless of their expected finishing time.  There was an almighty crush and stampede when the starting hooter sounded – it was really very scary!  One poor tiny Kenyan girl in the elite race got completely trampled!  Once we got going and the field spread out things quietened down, although the temperatures soared to around 30 degrees!  It was a brilliant experience, though, to run along the palm tree-lined Corniche, with the dazzling blue Mediterranean Sea stretching away to my left.  One highlight from this trip was that we were taken to see the Roman ruins at Baalbek World Heritage Site in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley the day after the race.  On the way back we stopped for a traditional Lebanese meal and I found myself sitting next to marathon Olympian Ron Hill, who had run in the 10k event as part of his aim of running in 100 countries by the time he was 70!  Now that would be an interesting thing to try and emulate!

Start of the Beirut Marathon (left); 
Roman Ruins at Baalbek World Heritage Site, Lebanon (right)

The following year, 2004, I ran my first London marathon, which was also being used as a trial for the GB team for the Athens Olympics that year.  I’d been going to the UK squad training weekends and there was a good group of women all capable of achieving the qualifying time of 2:37:00.  My preparation had gone well, but in the event the cold weather caused my hamstrings to cramp up and, despite a PB of 2:38:20, I finished just shy of the qualifying time and missed out on selection.  I’ve run London twice more since then (2005 and 2010), but that first one remains my highest finish – 15^th in the women’s race and 5^th Brit.  I have mixed feelings about the London Marathon.  It's an amazing experience to run past the famous sights – Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, along Birdcage Walk and past Buckingham Palace to finish in The Mall.  Without a doubt it has an incredible atmosphere and the crowd support is tremendous; at times I’ve been glad to run through an underpass just for a brief respite from the deafening noise!  At the same time though, running in the elite women’s race is a pretty lonely experience in terms of athletes around you.  Selection policies for the GB team always stipulated we had to run in the elite women’s race rather than the mass race, but the field was always relatively small and soon became strung out.  I found it much harder to run that distance on my own, without a group to sit in with, even though all my training is done on my own!  In 2010 it was a little better as there was a small group all running at the same pace until around the 20 mile mark.  That was the year I beat the 2008 Olympic marathon champion, Constantina Dita from Romania!  On balance, however, I’d still rather have the perks of an elite place – my own drinks, accommodation at the Tower Hotel, transport to the start and back to the hotel afterwards on a river ferry, pre-race drinks reception on the river with VIPs, my name listed on the TV coverage and the opportunity of mixing with world class marathon runners.  I can cope with a lonely race for all that!

My first London Marathon in 2004 - a lonely race!

In front of the Olympic Champion, Constantina Dita, in the 2010 London Marathon

All was not completely lost after narrowly failing to make the 2004 Olympics, as I was selected to run for Great Britain in the Kosice Peace Marathon in Slovakia.  Eighteen years after my competitive athletics career began, at the age of 33, I finally realised my dream of representing Great Britain.  My first race in a GB vest was very successful – 2^nd in a new PB of 2:37:00.  The awards ceremony was rather unusual - as we stood on the podium, as well as our trophies and bouquets we were handed a live dove to release as a symbol of peace, this being the Peace Marathon.  This was also the first time I’d stood on a podium with the Union Flag raised in my honour, which was a very proud moment.  The build-up before the race was full of ceremony and tradition.  This is the oldest marathon in Europe (it celebrated its 80^th anniversary the year I ran) and is a huge event in the town, to the extent that there is a bronze statue of a runner standing on a plinth displaying the names of all the winners in the race’s history.  The day before the race the elite athletes were all taken out onto the steps of the Town Hall to be introduced to the crowd of fans.  The crowd then all lined up in an orderly queue for us to sign our autographs on their official race programmes!  There was also a torch-lighting ceremony in true Olympic fashion, and a press conference where we met the Prime Minister of Slovakia (who was also running the race).  It’s a wonder we had any energy left to run the race after all that! 

Team GB by the Kosice Peace Marathon statue and flame

Releasing a dove of peace from the podium

 As a medallist I was required to attend the post-race press conference.  This was my first experience of being actively involved in a press conference, sitting at the ‘top table’ along with the other elite athletes and race VIPs!  I was really nervous – what would they ask me, what would I say, would I make a fool of myself?!  In the event no-one asked me anything at all – they just concentrated on the race winners!  Over the years I’ve been involved in other pre-race and post-race press conferences and, yes, I have been asked questions!  I’ve also done several on-the-spot media interviews for local television and newspapers in various countries and have become quite used to having a microphone shoved in my face just after the finish line, before I've even managed to get my breath back!  Over the years I’ve become more accustomed to being interviewed and it doesn’t faze me now as much as it used to.  I’ve never been comfortable being put ‘on the spot’, but learning to handle it in a running situation has really helped me to become more confident in other situations too.

Press conference at the Beirut Marathon (left);  post-race media interview (right)

Another highlight of 2004 was that it marked the beginning of my long-standing relationship with Mizuno.  I had already been wearing Mizuno shoes for two or three years, but in 2004 they agreed to include me as one of their ‘supported athletes’ and I am very proud to still be one of their ambassadors today.  I am a massive fan of Mizuno shoes and would choose them over any other brand every time.  This support is yet another example of how much my running career has progressed over the years.  I used to think how cool it would be to be a ‘sponsored athlete’, but never imagined for one minute that I would get to a standard where that would be possible.  Now I’m supported not only by Mizuno, but also by X-Socks / X-Bionic, whose compression gear is superb (I wouldn't contemplate racing without their Effektor socks), and by The Warwickshire where I have use of their first-class gym facilities.  I know I'm very fortunate to have all this support and I’d like to say a massive thank you to all of them - it really is invaluable.

Standing on the podium in an Olympic stadium!

So, back to my racing, my time of 2:37 in Kosice was within the qualifying standard for the 2005 World Championships to be held in Helsinki and I was hopeful of being selected, but unfortunately it was not to be.  So, instead, I ran the Amsterdam Marathon, lining up alongside the great Haile Gebrselassie on the start line in the 1928 Olympic Stadium.  I finished 3^rd and therefore had the enviable position of standing on the podium in an Olympic Stadium!  I also managed to run most of the second half with a burning pain in my foot – when I finished I realised I’d had a blood blister which had burst, soaking my shoe in blood and resulting in me being pushed to the prize-giving ceremony in a wheelchair!

The following year, 2006, I ran my PB of 2:36:13 in the Hamburg Marathon.  This was inside the qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but once again I wasn’t selected.  I was, however, selected for my second Great Britain international in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada, which included an International Team Challenge between Canada, Great Britain, Mexico and USA. 

My second GB vest, Toronto

Despite being in better shape for this marathon than any of my others, having run a 10 mile PB of 55:44 a few weeks before, things didn’t quite work out on the day and I was bitterly disappointed with my 7^th place.  We were 2^nd in the team competition, though, which made amends slightly.  The weather was quite windy and, unbeknown to me, the well-meaning volunteers at one of the drinks stations decided to sellotape my drink bottle to the table to stop it blowing away!  I ran past and tried to grab it, but it remained firmly stuck in place.  Les and the GB Team Manager had been given permission to cycle round the course and Les saw what happened, stopped to un-stick the bottle and cycled after me with it.  Unfortunately, though, a spectator stepped out into the road right in front of him and he went over the handle bars!  The long and short of it was that Les ended up with a broken elbow (though he didn’t know this until we got back to the UK) and I never did get my drink!  This was just one of many bike mishaps Les has had during races and training, but I think that race was one to forget for both of us!  The best part of the trip was seeing the sights of Toronto and being taken to the stunning Niagara Falls the day after the race.

Niagara Falls

Of course, during my marathon-running years I continued to race shorter distances too, as part of the build-up and preparation for the longer races.  I ran several Great South Run 10 mile races, including in 2002 when Sonia O’Sullivan set a new world best time of 51 minutes (I finished 7^th in what was then a PB 56:15).  I met Sonia after the race and had a chat with her as she was interested in the fact I was planning to run in the forthcoming Dublin Marathon in her native country.  A month after the Great South Run I ran my half-marathon PB of 73:43 in the Great North Run.  I finished 10^th female and 2^nd Brit behind Liz Yelling, and also beat the reigning World Half-Marathon champion, Berhane Adere from Ethiopia!  What’s more, I was mentioned by Brendan Foster and Steve Cram on the television coverage of the finish!  They were a bit flustered as they didn’t know who I was and there was a slight pause as they had to quickly look up my name!

In the days of Ceefax!

I was hoping to have been selected for the GB team for the World Half-Marathon Championships after my Great North Run performance, but unfortunately once again it wasn’t to be.  A few years later, in 2005, I was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the World Half-Marathon in Canada, but again didn’t get to go!  In 2005 I set my 10k PB of 33:58 when finishing 2^nd in the Lincoln 10k.  Les and I were waiting with baited breath at the prize-giving to see what my official time was – we knew I was close to breaking 34 minutes, but weren’t sure if I’d actually managed it.  As soon as we heard the words “thirty-three” we were elated!  My trophy was a bit of an anti-climax though – a very naff plaster cast running shoe on a plastic plinth!

Midland Cross-Country Champion 2004

Although I’d been concentrating mainly on road races since 2000 I did continue to do a few cross-country and track races.  In 2004 I won the Midland Cross-Country Championships, becoming the first senior athlete from Leamington C&AC, male or female, to do so. 

In 2007 I was part of a small England team that travelled to Reims in France for a half-marathon.  I was really pleased with my run there, finishing 4^th (and 1^st European) in my second-fastest half-marathon time ever of 74:03.  A couple of years later, in 2009, as part of my build-up for the Rotterdam Marathon I ran the Bramley 20 mile race, finishing 1^st in a time of 1:57:22, which was (and still is) 10^th on the UK All-Time Ranking list.

 

One of the benefits of being part of elite marathon fields meant that Les and I were able to make several valuable contacts including athlete managers and race directors.  Through these I was invited to run in a 10k in Voorthuizen and a half-marathon in Breda, both in the Netherlands, and a half-marathon in Marrakech.  These were fantastic experiences, both for the races themselves, and for the opportunity for some sightseeing after the race. 

Marrakech Half-Marathon 2008

Marrakech was fabulous in this respect and the vibrant Jemaa el-Fnaa square, with its snake-charmers, story-tellers and musicians by day and dozens of food stalls by evening, is definitely not to be missed.  The race itself was another of those ‘interesting’ ones!  The elite athletes were all taken by bus from the hotel and dropped in front of the start line.  As we made our way towards the start we’d hardly joined the mass of runners already waiting there when the starting gun was fired and we had to quickly turn round and immediately start running!

Marrakech:  the elite athletes' hotel (left);
road closures for the race caused a bit of a traffic jam (right)

After running the 2010 London Marathon, and narrowly missing out on selection for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, another opportunity was offered to me – the chance to run for England in the IAU 50k World Trophy Final.  Although I’d toyed with the idea of running ultras I hadn’t really seriously considered it until then.  I suppose it was really a continuation of my natural progression up through the distances.  I wasn’t getting any quicker over the marathon and needed a new challenge to keep me motivated.  So, always ready to accept a challenge, I jumped at the chance, although I must admit that the prospect of running anything longer than a marathon was somewhat daunting as well as exciting.  The race was in Galway, Ireland and went better than I could possibly have hoped as I not only won, but set a new English National and World Masters record of 3:15:43 (both of which still stand).  It was an amazing feeling to be running round the streets of Galway leading an international race and it made me feel very privileged to have a lead car and motorbike outriders with me to stop the traffic!  The only downside was that it took me five hours to give a sample for my drug test afterwards!  Incidentally, Sonia O’Sullivan was at the race to participate in a ‘master-class’ which was being held in conjunction – and she remembered chatting to me at the Great South Run eight years previously!

Winning the 2010 50k World Trophy Final (left); and with my medal and trophy (right)

On the podium (left); a very happy coach and athlete (right), Galway

Comrades Marathon, South Africa

The 50k in Galway marked the start of the next ‘phase’ of my running career – ultras.  In 2011 I was offered the chance to run for the South African 'Nedbank' team in the World’s largest, oldest and one of the most famous ultras – the Comrades Marathon in South Africa.  This race has a long history and tradition, dating back to the first race in 1921 to honour and remember the fallen Comrades of the Great War.  The route is approximately 89km and alternates direction each year between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.  The year I ran was an ‘uphill’ year, starting at sea level in Durban and finishing at an altitude of 870m in Pietermaritzburg.  It was, without doubt, the most incredible, but gruelling, race I’ve ever done!  The notorious ‘big five’ hills were interspersed with several smaller ones too, plus some downhill sections, which resulted in my legs turning to jelly and feeling as if they didn’t belong to me!  For the last 10km or so I could hardly control them and was really just shuffling rather than running!  However, there was no way I was going to give up, and I ended up 13^th female in 7hrs 13:11.  The atmosphere along the way was awesome – everyone came out to have barbecues (braais) along the route and cheer on the runners.  The race is massive in South Africa, with twelve hours of live television coverage, and it was awe-inspiring to be part of it.

En route to Pietermaritzburg from Durban, Comrades Marathon

Crossing the finish line

Following my run in Comrades I was selected to run for Great Britain in the 2011 IAU World and European 100km Championships in Winschoten, Netherlands.  At last – the chance to run in my first ‘major championship’ – 25 years after starting my career and at the age of 40!  It just shows that there is always hope and that you should never give up trying.  Patience definitely is a virtue!

50k World Trophy, Assen

Before the 100k, though, I was selected to run for England again in the IAU 50k World Trophy Final, this time in Assen, Netherlands.  Several of the GB team for the 100k were running in Assen and we were using it as a training run in preparation for the 100k.  I desperately wanted to repeat my success of the previous year in Galway, but knew I had to be disciplined and stick to a strict pace schedule as there wasn’t enough recovery time between the 50k and 100k to go for a fast time in Assen.  As it happened I still won the silver medal and ran a decent time of 3:25:05.

 

 

Silver medal, 50k World Trophy Final, Assen, 2011

So then it was on to the main event – the 100km World Championships.  It was a brilliant experience to be part of a major championships – staying in the athletes’ village and taking part in the opening ceremony and flag parade through the town.

Team GB at the opening ceremony of the World 100k Championships, 2011

World 100k Champs. 2011

Unfortunately, the race itself didn’t quite go to plan as my inexperience over the longer distance told with regard to pacing and my choice of energy gels and drinks during the race.  I paid dearly in the last 20km for starting out too fast and felt lightheaded and nauseous from a nutrition strategy that clearly wasn’t working.  However, I was representing my Country and there was no way I was going to let the team down.  At no point did it even cross my mind to drop out.  I used all the mental strength I could find to keep going, albeit at a walk / jog, to get to the finish.  The effort was well worth it in the end as we won European Championship team silver medals.  Individually I was placed 21^st (11^th in the European Championship) and ran a time of 8hrs 27:33.

 

 

 

 

European team silver medals for GB

I was bitterly disappointed after my first 100km as I felt I’d failed and not done justice to all the hard work I, and Les, had put in.  However, I had also learnt a lot of very valuable lessons and was keen and eager to have another go.  I’d have gone out and run 100km the very next day if my body had let me!  So when I got selected to run for GB in the following year’s World 100k Championships I was really excited at the prospect of having the chance to make amends.  Sadly, however, it was not to be as a calf injury meant I had to withdraw from the team.  I was gutted; after all it’s not every day you get the opportunity to represent your country in a major championship.  My only consolation was the hope of being selected for England for the 50k World Trophy Final later that year.  It seems that 2012 was destined not to be my year, though, as another calf injury meant I couldn’t run in the 50k either!

Things picked up in 2013 and early on in the year I reached a landmark of 50,000 miles in training and racing since my competitive career began.  That's equivalent to running twice around the world (hence the overall title of my blog). 

2013 European 100k Champs., Belves

My hard work paid off as I was selected to run for Great Britain in the  2013 IAU European 100km Championships in Belves, France.  At last I had the chance to redeem myself over 100km!  The course was very different from the flat, 10km-loops of the Winschoten course.  In contrast this was a hilly, out-and-back route along the Dordogne Valley, with a particularly brutal climb in the last 5km to finish back in Belves, a lovely medieval town which sits rather inconveniently on the top of a rocky outcrop!  This time I started off at a much more conservative pace and had a completely revised nutrition strategy, both of which paid off.  Lying in about 7^th place in the women’s race at half-way I went through a bad patch and thought I had fluffed it again.  One thing about ultra-running, though, is that things can change very quickly and you need to have enough mental strength to get through the rough times and out the other side.  At about 70km I started to feel much stronger again.  I started picking people off and by 95km I had moved into 4^th place. 

2013 European 100k Champs., Belves

I then spotted a Russian girl in front of me as we started the final 5km climb to the finish.  I wasn’t sure I could catch her, but I put my head down and worked as hard as I could and soon realised I was closing on her.  At 99km I went straight past her and hoped and prayed she hadn’t got anything left to come back at me!  Luckily she hadn’t and I won the Bronze medal in only my second attempt at the distance, smashing my PB with a time of 7hrs 48:12.  This ranked me number one in the UK rankings and fourth in the World rankings in 2013.  It was hugely emotional to stand on the podium and watch the Union Flag raised in my honour, and well worth the blisters!

It was a hugely proud and emotional moment to stand on the podium in my GB tracksuit

A very happy athlete and coach (again!) - European bronze medal

CSW Sportswoman of the Year 2013

My success in Belves was recognised locally as I won the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sportswoman of the Year Award that year, as well as the Ellis Trophy awarded by Warwickshire County Athletics Association for the best performance by a Warwickshire athlete in any discipline.  This was actually the second time I’d won the Ellis Trophy, having previously won it in 2010, and at that time I was the only female to have won it, and the only person to have won it more than once.  I’m really flattered by the amount of recognition I’ve been given over the years, especially locally.  After my win in the 50k World Trophy in Galway I won the Warwick District Sports Personality award and was shortlisted for the International Association of Ultrarunners ‘Athlete of the Year’.  I have also been recognised by Warwickshire County Council with a special achievement award; presented with a silver clock from the County Council (and given standing ovations at two full council meetings!) and attended a formal dinner hosted by the Chair of the County Council!



Over the years I've won many Leamington C&AC Club trophies (left); 
winning the Ellis Trophy (right)

Once again, however, the high point of 2013 was followed by one of my lowest years ever.  2014 started with ‘high hamstring tendinopathy and a stress reaction in my left ischial tuberosity’ (sitting bone), and ended with ‘high hamstring tendinopathy and a stress reaction in my right ischial tuberosity’!  Somewhere between the two I managed a handful of shorter races, but the year was pretty much a write-off.  By 2015, though, I was back into training again and through a great deal of hard work managed to get myself into shape to be selected for Great Britain for the IAU World and European 100k Championships, again to be held in Winschoten, Netherlands.  In my build up for Winschoten I ran the Enigma 30 miles at Milton Keynes and recorded my first ever overall win, beating all the men as well as the women, and the Railway Ultra 38 miles at Telford.

 

I was really looking forward to Winschoten – knowing the course, the set-up, the athletes village etc. from 2011 was a huge bonus.  I was also looking forward to the atmosphere round the course - the locals all come out to cheer on the runners, have barbeques in their front gardens, play music, decorate the streets with bunting and balloons and there's a real party feel.  It's just what you need to keep you going when you're running round and round the town all day! 

Running through a giant party!

Enjoying the World 100k

 

Things went pretty much to plan on race day and the weather was almost perfect, although a bit windy at times.  My pace judgement went perfectly to plan, with a metronomic first eight laps (45.26; 45.26; 45.21; 45.43; 45.23; 45.52; 45.43; 45.54) and only slightly dropping off for the last two (47.19; 47.45).  I was a bit miffed when I was overtaken by a Swedish girl at 95km, especially as she was in the same Masters age group as me, but I guess I’d done the same thing to someone else in Belves!  I tried as hard as I could to go with her, but my legs just wouldn’t go any quicker.  I finished in 10^th place, 7^th in the European Championships and 2^nd in the World Masters W40 age group, in what was probably the strongest 100km field ever assembled.  What’s more, my time of 7hrs 39:50 was a PB by over eight minutes, is a British Masters W40 record and puts me 5^th on the UK All-time Rankings! 

World Masters 100k Champs. Silver Medal



2015 ended on another high when I recorded my 100^th road race win in the Christmas Cracker Half-Marathon at Moreton Morrell.  Not a bad turn-round from the injury ravaged year I had in 2014!

Celebrating my 100th road race victory

Once again, though, the high is followed by a low as I am currently side-lined with yet another stress reaction in my pelvis (ischial tuberosity) for the third time in two years (hence having enough time to write this blog!).  I’m working closely with my fantastic physio, Mark Buckingham, to try and get to the bottom (excuse the pun) of why this keeps happening.  However, one thing is sure, I am still as determined as ever to get back to running and racing again.  I’ve come back from injury many times in the past and the desire to keep running, and racing, is still burning within me. 

 

As you can see from both Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog, running has been a massive part of my life for many years and has helped to shape the person I am.  When I started my athletics journey 30 years ago I had no idea where it would take me.  But 56,328 miles later it has taken me to some amazing places, given me fun, enjoyment, fulfilment, wonderful opportunities, experiences and friends.  It has broadened my horizons, taught me to believe in myself and given me confidence that spills over into all other areas of my life too.  I am proud to have been a member of Leamington C&AC since starting out in 1986 and felt extremely honoured when the club recognised my achievements and contribution to the sport by awarding me life membership in 2008.  I am also indebted to my coach of all those 30 years, Les, who has celebrated the successes with me and been there to help pull me through the rough times too.  His positive attitude has been an immense inspiration to me.  Throughout my career I’ve always believed that there is more to come and that I can do better; and I’ve always been prepared to put in the hard work and push myself to my limit to try and achieve that.  I still believe that there’s more to come and I’m looking forward to continuing my journey once my body has healed.