The 2013 Comrades Ultra

So this is it. Sunday starts at 3am and we have to be in the start pen by 5:15am otherwise you start from the back. We have a taxi ordered and experience of Durban cabbies has made us extremely dubious of any promises they make, even in standard office hours, let lone crack of dawn runs into the centre of town.  But, we seem to end up picking cabs from the same company over the past few days and …

Comrades Trip Day 2 Joburg to Cape Town

Morning dawns, buffet breakfast gets polished off and a long discussion ensues with the owner of the place, Corlien,  over what we can do today and where she can get a driver to take us. Maarten has a potential job in Joburg - rather him than me I think on balance - and he'd vanished in a suit already for an interview.  My Cape Town flight was due to leave at 3:30pm so by the time the eggs had a…

Comrades Trip Day 1 - Johannesburg

So finally, 9 months after being talked into running this race and ticking it off the bucket list by my friend Helen who's here too, it's time to pack the bags and head out to South Africa.I cannot think of any race I've done, and I have entered a lot since I went for my first London Marathon in 2000, where the anticipation has reached anything like this pitch.  I guess that first London would be…

Woodhouse Challenge 13.5M May Bank Holiday Monday

Despite taking this one easy as I'd run 38 miles 2 days before and that the scenery was at least as good as the Oxon 40, I failed to bring my phone so all photos herein are stolen.  I've pinched a couple from the race web site and I hope to blag one or two more from @mikew30 who was far better organised than me. This race rounded off a fabulous bank holiday weekend of running.  Not one I'd heard…

Oxon 40 - Saturday 4th May

I decided on the Oxon 40 as the lastlong training run for the Comrades. It's local being just past and around Henley and compared to the alternatives available on the same day it was incredibly cheap at just £12. The sort of price you might expect to hear from your Grandparents in the context of 'eee I remember when races were just £12, and bread was 3d and we all had to live in a shoebox'. …

End of Comrades Training

One last curry and a couple of pints of the local Windsor and Eton Brewery's finest polished off.I've had my pre-race massage and go-faster haircut which did it's usual trick. It looks great until precisely 3 minutes after leaving the barbers whereupon it forms into a ghastly widow's peak type of arrangement and needs several litres of wax to stop it looking like I'm about to protest about somethi…

Eve of the Comrades

Tomorrow I'll be on a plane bound for Johannesburg, fretting I've brought the wrong shoes and whether I'll make the cigarette-paper thin connecting window in Paris.I've been thinking about this race since I entered it last September but right now I can think of nothing else; it has completely taken over my life.  Despite all this thought I've still no clear idea how to tackle it.I've run many ove…

The 2013 London Marathon

This is the year is the year that reaffirmed my belief that London is the greatest marathon in the World.In this, my Comrades debut year, I had originally planned to race London as part of my build up; aiming for a p.b.  Having started packing each week with long runs from November 2012 and battering myself into the floor with them I came to my senses and decided that was not an option.For one th…

The EnduranceLife Coastal Series Sussex 50k

The run up to the Comrades Marathon continues relentlessly and I've come to my senses and realised that racing the London Marathon this April is not going to help my cause.  Much as I'd love to, a 7-10 day recovery cannot be afforded.  So, it's all about ramping up the distance, the endurance and the miles in time for the 2nd June.I only found this race late in the day and it was already 99% ful…

The #VLM2013 - my advice on the run-in and the race

The London Marathon is now fast approaching and unless disaster strikes late on like it did last year, I'll be toeing the line on the 21st April for the 9th time.The race has a chequered history for me. I've never quite had triumphs - my best run is 2:43 at London despite (I always think!) being in shape to break my 2:37pb there. I have certainly had my fair share of disasters though including a p…