Dartford parkrun 28 - if you clap they will run faster

Things aren't going great at the moment running-wise. I've had a small amount of discomfort in my left knee for a while and I've drastically cut back my training. I also took a trip to see the physio on Tuesday evening and have been doing some stretching and strengthening exercises of the muscles that could be contributing to my discomfort.

So the question as to whether or not I should run at Dartford parkrun event 28 kept bouncing around my head and during the walk (that's a clue) over to the park I paid close attention to how the knee felt. I couldn't feel any discomfort at all. Undecided I met Richey and Adam then we got onto the course inspection and set up.

dartford parkrun 28 [photo: dani]

There were a few icy patches around the park but fortunately none of them were in positions that interfered with the parkrun course. The grass/trail section had held up pretty well and actually felt firmer underfoot than it has for a few weeks. The incline was still a little slippery underfoot but still runnable.

So back at DpHQ, also known as the Dartford Harriers clubhouse, I had to make the final decision as to whether I was going to run. During the previous 24 hours it had improved to the point of feeling completely normal and it was this noticeable improvement that lead me to opt out of running at the event. My logic was that I did not want to undo the progress that I had made.

marshal7t [photo: richey estcourt]

So I became a marshal at 'Angie.... Aaaaangie's corner' which to anyone other than me and Richey is probably better known as the first corner. I headed over there with my daughter and just about made it there in time to point the 128 runners in the right direction. As a marshal the main thing to remember here is that you send them to their left on lap one and to their right on lap 2. Once they had all filtered through we had about 9 minutes of spare time until the lead runners would reach us for their second laps.

As I was directing the runners down Mick Jagger's Leg my daughter called me over and said 'if you clap they will run faster'. I'm not sure how solid the science is on that, but I gave it a go anyway. Once all the runners had passed on their second laps we headed back over to the start/finish where I was supposed to be barcode scanning.

give us a wave [photo: 7t]

However the scanning was already being taken care of so after spending a few minutes at the registration desk I wandered off to cheer the runners as they made their way towards the finish line. After this I started to collect some of the signs where I bumped into Adam and Jane who had already retrieved some signs for the far side of the course.

It was feeling quite cold by now and we were all quite relieved to finally make it back to the clubhouse where we were able to warm up, have a drink and a good old natter. I was disappointed to have missed a run but I thoroughly enjoyed marshaling and was very impressed with myself for being sensible enough to sit it out.

My full course description can be found in this post.

Dartford parkrun 27 - running with tony, a slippery trail and our first female overall first finisher

My initial plan for Dartford parkrun event 27 was to use it as an opportunity to practice my 20 minute pacing role which I will hopefully take on again in a few weeks time. However, none of the super-speedy kids turned up and I found myself right in the mix at the front of the pack from the off.

Through the first 200 metres or so I kept the pace relaxed and eventually another runner went past me to lead the group of 121 runners around the park. At this stage I still had it in mind to practice my 20 minute pacing so I didn't follow him as he edged slightly further away.

running alongside tony [photo: brian page]

As we progressed along the grassy trail section I found that I was running side-by-side with the President of Dartford Harriers AC, Tony Durey. We stayed this way for the rest of the lap by which point we had moved up into positions 1 and 2. Shortly after this we expanded into a trio when we were joined by the lead woman.

The three of us stayed together shuffling around between the first three positions. We were briefly separated during the second time up the slippery trail path and then we shuffled around a little more. By the time we had made it to the end of the football pitches, Tony and the lead lady had edged ahead of me and they both used the downhill path to greater effect than I did, increasing the gap.

coming down the twisty path on lap 1 [photo: brian page]

I managed to close the gap a little during the first half of the final kilometre but as we neared the end, they again started to edge away from me and I watched the battle for P1 unfold from a few metres behind. In the end the lead woman finished in overall first position. This was the first time that the overall first finisher had been female at Dartford parkrun, but she did not have a barcode and went down as an unknown runner.

This initially had a knock-on effect on the results because it meant that both of the day's first finishers' names were missing from the event history page. This is because unknown runners are recorded as 'male' by default. So the unknown female runner was listed as the first male finisher and Tony's name did not appear at all. The overall second female finisher, triathlete Tanya Brightwell, was listed as being the first female finisher. That was until Richey had a little chat with parkrun hq and was provided with a solution. The results tables now correctly show 'unknown athlete (f)' as the first finisher and Tony as the first male.

the final few metres [photo: brian page]

My splits from the run were pretty good and my last kilometre turned out to be my fastest of the entire run which doesn't happen that often. My pacing practice went out of the window and I ended up finishing just 1 second slower than the previous week which I was very pleased with considering I am 'having a break' and hadn't run since the Kent Fitness League race at Minnis Bay six days earlier.

After this I did some barcode scanning and then went out to retrieve the signage and cones from around the course. I returned to the clubhouse to find a lovely cup of tea awaiting me. As always it was another great parkrun morning.

Kent Fitness League 2014/15: Minnis Bay

Match 6 of the 2014/15 Kent Fitness League (KFL) took place at Minnis Bay on the Isle of Thanet in the north-east corner of the county. The Isle of Thanet is predominantly a flat area of low lying land which was once separated from the rest of mainland England by a combination of waterways which formed the Wantsum Channel.

isle of thanet and wantsum channel

This channel had largely dried up by the 16th century and the remaining watercourse at the northern end is now known as the River Wantsum. Interestingly, assuming the image above is accurate and I've got my geography right, the area that is used for this fixture would have been completely underwater just a few hundred years ago - which explains a lot about this race (it's a wet one!). As a note of interest, Thanet was temporarily returned to an island for a few days following the North Sea Flood of 1953.

This was my fourth race wearing the alternating light and dark blue hoops of the 93-year-old Dartford Harriers AC and I'm very proud to be part of this historic club. It was also my first opportunity to try out my cross-country running spikes which I picked up in Decathlon for £35 a few weeks beforehand. I was going to use 12mm spikes but the ones I had didn't have the hex key nut which meant I couldn't tighten them properly with the supplied key, so I went with the 9mm spikes that came with the shoes and they seemed to do a decent job at keeping me upright and speedy.

welcome to minnis bay [photo: 7t]

The main pre-race items to attend to were;

Car parking: There is ample free parking along the seafront.
Toilets: In the car park near the start line (just toilets, no bespoke changing areas here)
Cafe: There is a cafe/restaurant just next to the toilets.

The race started and finished on the grass area adjacent to the beach – I've heard that when the tide is out the race starts down on the beach itself. This year the high tide was at 8.58am and the beach was still underwater as we reached the 11am start time. As this race has a number of water features I decided that it would be too risky to wear my phone or Garmin. So for the first time ever I ran naked.

trying to get the shoe laces just right [photo: dani]

At 11am we were sent on our way (video of the start - thanks, dani) and we headed westbound along the seafront with the Brooksend Stream to the left and the sea to the right. There was a section early on which featured a tarmac path, but there was enough grass on the right hand side for runners in spikes to run on. However I found that I had naturally drifted to the left where the grass verge was narrow and bumpy.

I eventually managed to get across to the right hand side but was disheartened as I felt like I had lost a number of places. Once we reached the end of the path, the terrain became better suited to the spikes and I began to get used to running in them. Being right next to the sea there was always the risk of getting a battering from the wind but apart from being quite cold, the wind didn't really cause me any problems.

and they're off [photo: dani]

The terrain here was very wet and featured a chain of large, cold muddy puddles every few metres. At around the 3 kilometre point, the course met with the River Wantsum and we continued to run along the seafront until we reached Knock Point (4km) where the course turned left to head south taking us away from the sea. The southbound route continued for another kilometre along the top of a berm, which was muddy but dryer than the first section had been, until we reached the train line which runs from east to west.

Now just over halfway into the race, it was time to head eastwards and head back in the general direction of the start/finish. From 5 kilometres to 8 kilometres, with the exception of a short twisty section at around 6.8km to visit the five water ditches (dykes), the race followed the straight-as-an-arrow path to the north of the railway line where a train, which sounded like a jet fighter, came thundering past from behind and scared the life out of me.

during the stampede at the start [photo: dani]

There had been a few days of heavy rain in the weeks leading up to the race so the five dykes were well stocked with plenty of muddy water. Before the race I had imagined them being extremely cold, but on the day the water didn't actually feel cold at all; if anything they were warmer than the air temperature and the five separate crossings were over within a minute or two. The worst thing was that my gloves got wet and that meant that my hands felt colder for the remainder of the race.

during the splashy 'out' section [photo: funk dooby]

At 8 kilometres the path took a slight left turn over the Brooksend Stream and headed back towards the seafront along a nice muddy single track path for part of the way where we re-joined the opening 1 kilometre section to head back to the start/finish area. This time the part along the tarmac path was slightly different as we were directed away from it to run over three lumps - I think they are usually referred to as sand dunes, but they were muddy, definitely not sandy. It was a fun and enjoyable section to throw in right at the end.

1 of the 5 dykes [photo: mick wraight]

After this we were back on the grass start/finish area for the final sprint. I headed into the finish funnel and worked myself around to pick up my finishing position raffle ticket, which I was pleased to see was number 36 - much better than my previous effort a few weeks beforehand. I was pretty cold so I headed off to get changed into my dry clothes (I am finally getting better at this cross country post-run stuff!).

As I didn't wear any GPS technology to track my run, I don't have any split times, strava segments or the course profile to analyse and you know what? It's actually really refreshing. So until the official results were published I had absolutely no idea of my finishing time. Looking at other runner's GPS data the course was 9.7 kilometres (6 miles) in length, and for the record it was pancake flat with the exception of the odd short, sharp incline to climb over a berm or something similar. I definitely felt much more confident on the slippery mud wearing the spikes and I'm looking forward to the last match of this season's league in a few weeks.

post-run - looking a lot cleaner than i actually was [photo: dani]

Results

Finishing position: 36 / 361
Finish time: 42.16
Team result: 3 / 18

(the full results can be found here)

Links to my other blog posts from KFL fixtures in the 2014/15 season:

Match 1: Knole Park (did not take part)
Match 2: Swanley (did not take part)
Match 3: Oxleas Wood
Match 4: Fowlmead
Match 5: Nurstead Court
Match 6: Minnis Bay
Match 7: Blean Woods (did not take part)

Dartford parkrun 26 - an icy morning, my first time as a pacer and an accidental first finishing position

Dartford parkrun event 26 was quite a cold one. The overnight temperatures had dipped below zero, frozen all of the puddles and caused a light frost. After the course inspection, the course didn't seem to have suffered too much so the decision was taken to go ahead as planned.

twenty minute pacer [photo: richey estcourt]

The event fell on the third Saturday of the month which meant that it was pacers day. I had volunteered to attempt to pace at 20 minutes and a few minutes before the run started I had the 20 minute pacer label attached to my back. The pacers were introduced to the runners during the run briefing and we were then sent on our way.

early morning frost and ice [photo:7t]

My plan for the pacing, considering the course is not completely flat was to keep an even effort rather than an even pace, so my rough plan was this;

To start with a 3.59 first kilometre, then as the second kilometre starts with a downhill, let gravity do some of the work and put in a 3.50. The third kilometre is flat so another 3.59 would be perfect. Kilometre four is always my slowest and can sometimes be over 4 minutes, so I planned for this to be a 4.10 split. Then the last kilometre would be a return to the 3.59 pace and an overall time of 19.57.

around the 1 kilometre point adjacent to the football pitches [photo: richey estcourt]

The thing with plans is that they seldom work out. So here's what actually happened...

I got as far as the other side of the bridge and as I turned right to go onto the grass/trail section my feet caught a slippery patch and I found myself hitting the floor with a bump. I was helped up within a second or two and I continued my way along the grassy path - fortunately the only injury was a slight graze to my right shin.

frost and a sign (but no cones) [photo: 7t]

I continued around the trail and up to the football pitches where my Garmin buzzed to alert me that I had reached the 1 kilometre point, the Garmin said 3.55, so the first kilometre was pretty much on target. I was running with the front runners at this stage and we continued together around to the 2 kilometre point which we hit at a pace of 3.59 (according to Garmin). Total time 7.54 (pacing target of 8 minutes).

still on the football fields [photo: richey estcourt]

Before setting off on the run I had advised the timekeepers that if my pacing was going well I should reach them in a time of around 9 minutes and 30 seconds - as I passed them towards the end of lap one I heard a shout of 9.12 - That was a little faster than I had expected due to the feedback from the Garmin, but I thanked them and continued on.

another sign and more frost [photo: 7t]

The third kilometre passed fairly quickly and I found myself back on the grassy trail section (without slipping this time), the Garmin split time for kilometre 3 was 3.55, meaning an 11.49 3km split (11 seconds in front of the target but in line with my plan) but the notification came a touch later than I was expecting.

heading towards the start/finish area [photo: richey estcourt]

Up the trail, across the football pitches for a second time and then it was back down the twisty path and into the main section for a final whizz up to the library and back. My Garmin definitely should have alerted me to the 4 kilometre point as soon as I entered this part but it didn't.

limette the fox-viking-marshal [photo: dani] 

When my Garmin did finally alert me to my kilometre split, it gave me a 4.01 as my fourth kilometre split time, which I thought was great but as it came further down the path than I had expected. The total time according to Garmin was now 15.50 - just 10 seconds in front of the target. However I was now very suspicious that it might not have been tracking the distance as accurately as it usually does.

at the end [photo: richey estcourt]

The last kilometre was a case of just maintaining the pace I had been running for the last 4 kilometres, so that's what I did. I was hoping that I'd cross the line within 1% of my pacing time. A pacing goal of 20 minutes means that a 1% tolerance is equal to 12 seconds, so I had a window of 19.48 - 20.12 in order to stay within this percentage.

frost and cones (final corner) [photo: 7t]

I ended up crossing the finish line in 19.28 (P1) which was 32 seconds quicker than my target time, so I was a little disappointed for not being closer. The Garmin ended up tracking the course a little short and if I had continued running until it had registered the full 5k I would have been very close to the target - So, I'm blaming the technology for my failure!

from l-r gary (in the background), adam (24 min pacer), me (20 minute pacer), ben (30 minute pacer)

Further analysis using the course Strava segments shows that I ran the first 2.5 kilometres in 9.44 and the second 2.5 kilometres in 9.50 (they don't add up to the total official time, but it gives a fairly rough idea of splits). I'm not entirely sure if my pacing actually helped anyone to complete the course any faster, but it was still fun to do. It was great to put another slightly different angle on the event and I'm really looking forward to doing it again.

After the run I did a bit of barcode scanning, helped to pack away some of the signage and then spent the rest of the morning in the Dartford Harriers clubhouse with the rest of the gang... it seems to have been another successful event!

Dartford parkrun 25 - strong winds, a difficult run and some clapping

I didn't sleep very well the night before Dartford parkrun event 25. The wind was howling and every now and then I heard random things being blown over (turned out to be some wheelie bins). The forecast for the Saturday morning was for the windy overnight weather to continue.

It seems Mother Nature was being quite kind because although the wind had picked up, it was accompanied by a significant rise in temperature. So when I left the house at 7.20 to jog over to Dartford Central Park it was around 13 degrees. In January.

deep in thought [photo: gary bignell]

I had heard mutterings of parkrun cancellations on my early morning twitter feed, and while the course at Dartford is fairly well sheltered, there are plenty of trees. My worry was that the wind could have created some tree debris (or even brought one down) on the course.

After a thorough course inspection it became apparent that the course was actually a lot clearer than it had been on many previous weeks - the biggest obstruction I had to deal with was a twig! Further to this the grassy-trail section was a lot dryer than it had been a week earlier (where we switched to the B course) and the trail itself was looking pretty good.

finished [photo: richey estcourt]

Before the run started I noticed that, as promised, a photographer had turned up from the Dartford Messenger newspaper and was floating around getting some shots of the volunteers and the typical pre-run rituals that we all do. I thought it'd be a good opportunity to get some publicity for the Dartford Half-Marathon so I stuck my promotional t-shirt on for the day's run.

The run itself was a tough one for me. The wind was still pretty strong with gusts of 50 mph and even when I was not running directly into it I was still feeling the effects of it on my breathing. This resulted in quite an uncomfortable second lap. I also had some discomfort in my belly and felt sick throughout the last 2 kilometres.

post-run fun [photo:gary bignell]

I still pushed on and out of pure coincidence more than anything else, I completed the run as the first finisher (my fourth time at parkrun and second time at Dartford parkrun) which is always nice (even if there were a few faster runners out there taking it easy in advance of a race that afternoon). The Dartford Messenger photographer noted down my name and running clubs (SLGR and DHAC) - the article was in the 15 January 2015 edition of the paper, a photo of it can be found at the bottom of this page.

After the run, due to sheer number of volunteers, I was not required for barcode scanning so I spent the next 25 minutes or so clapping and/or encouraging the rest of the runners while at the same time playing hide-and-seek with my daughter and her friend (I should add that this was hide-and-seek in the middle of an open grass playing field - reminds me of the time we played it in a swimming pool).

on your march, get set... [photo: richey estcourt]

After the run I headed off over towards the formal garden area to collect some signs only to find that my old buddy, Terry (we've known each other for 15 years now), had already picked up every single sign - even the hard-to-find ones that even I forget on occasion! Everything was packed away by 10am and the results were processed very soon after.

Then it started to rain, so we dived into the Dartford Harriers clubhouse where the post-run chatting and cake eating session commenced.

the article in the dartford messenger 15 Jan 2015

Updated on 20 January 2015 to add the Dartford Messenger photo.

Gravesend junior parkrun 10

Sundays have been quite hectic lately, and this has meant that Matilda hasn't been to a junior parkrun since November. So with nothing else in the calendar, we got up and went over the the Gravesend Riverside Gardens to take part in the tenth Gravesend junior parkrun.

me and my number one running buddy [photo:dani]

It was the first event of 2015 and, even though the weather was cold, damp and foggy, had a fantastic turnout of 48 junior runners. Matilda wasn't in a pb hunting mood and we played our usual running games as we proceeded around the course.

half-way around [photo:dani]

This was her 9th junior parkrun and she was supported by her Mum and her Opi (Grandad on the German side). Her finishing time was 17.44 [results] which was actually her slowest on the course. I think that was mostly down to running with me.

chatting about something [photo:dani]

As always, the volunteers were fab - they had their big foam hands with them and Matilda was loving collecting the hi-fives as she went past. Once all of the runners had completed the course, we headed back to the car to warm up.

running along the foggy riverside [photo:dani]

It was brilliant to run with Matilda and it seems that this is slowly replacing our buggy running. It also got us out of the house nice and early before heading off across into Essex to drop her Opa off at Stansted airport. Of course, this whole blog post was just an excuse to post some photos of the two of us running together.

Dartford parkrun 24 - The 'b' course, rain and a return of the clunkiness

The forecast was for heavy rain all morning, and at first it was spot on. I left home at 7.20am. I was under-dressed. I got wet. I went on a course inspection with Richey (ED) and Anoushka (RD). The end of the grassy path was muddy and becoming waterlogged. We decided to switch to the 'b' course.

We put out the signage. I was drenched and freezing cold. The Dartford Harriers clubhouse was not available for use. I went to the public toilets and tried to warm my hands with the hand drier. It worked. However my legs and feet were freezing and I couldn't warm them up.

i'll just pretend i was running so fast that the camera couldn't capture me [photo:dani]

In order for the 'b' course to finish in the right place, the start line has been located about 200 metres away from the standard start line. We all headed over there for the pre-run briefing. Then we were sent on our way around the park. By this time the rain had eased off to a light drizzle.

The 'b' course takes place over 3 laps of the main side of the park and completely cuts out the need to cross the bridge and enter the grass and trail section. In order to squeeze the three-and-a-bit laps in, it is necessary to complete Mick Jagger's Leg three times instead of just once on a normal parkrunday.

In theory this course should be faster than the 'a' course, but after standing around letting my legs and feet get colder and colder, they really didn't have any life in them at all, so I resigned myself to the fact that this was not going to be a great running day for me.

looping around at the end of mick jagger's leg [photo:dani]

Judging by the results, not many people actually managed to take advantage of the quicker course and only 7 runners ran a new personal best. Maybe it was all down to the weather. Maybe not. Anyway, I was not on barcode scanning duty at this event, so I waited for the tail runner, Brian, to pass by on his third lap and then I followed in his footsteps and collected the signs as he and his tail-runees had passed them.

Wet. Freezing cold. In need of some food and a warm drink. The core team all headed over to the pub to have some breakfast and process the results, but as I hadn't brought any trousers with me, I popped into Primark en-route to furnish myself with some of their finest tracksuit bottoms, which I really was in desperate need of.

New Year's Day 2015 parkrun Double (Dartford parkrun 23 and Shorne Woods parkrun 94)

The day started off with the usual Saturday morning routine of getting up at 6.55am and heading over to Dartford Central Park to get the Dartford parkrun course set up in time for the runners that would shortly be making their way towards the venue for our 23rd event. However, the day was not Saturday.

This was New Year's Day. A day where it is traditional for neighbouring venues to work together in order to enable runners to 'do a double' if they want to. In previous years I had always found myself in and around the Croydon area where the double run has been traditionally followed by a freedom run and a spot of lunch with the team at Riddlesdown parkrun.

the start line for event 23 [photo: alan smith]

For this year there was no place I could really be except for Dartford parkrun - the last few months have really changed my parkrunning focus again (and saved me a lot of touring petrol money) and I'm loving being part of the running community in my very own backyard.

9am: Dartford parkrun 23

So Dartford parkrun was set for a 9am start time and with the course set up and volunteers in place, the clock hit 9am and the 127 runners made the best possible start to the new year by getting out there and running 5 kilometres.

approx 4.5km point [photo: brian page]

I ran at my usual effort level and got around in a decent time. The grass and trail section has become a little more challenging, but the advantage of knowing the course so well is that I can generally pick my way along that section fairly well.

My usual post-run volunteering role of barcode scanning with my partner in zapping crime, Tessa, had been switched to 'post-event close down' and I was paired with event 22's run director, Adam, and between us we ensured the signage retrieval was in safe hands.

me and adam back at hq with the signage [photo: dani]

I had my barcode scanned [results] and waited for Adam before heading off in search of the tail runner, Brian, so we could clear away the course as he passed. Once done, we headed back to run hq where some of the volunteers were still in position awaiting the final finishers.

Last finishers in, kit away, we all bundled into the back of Terry's Magic Bus which he had kindly been given permission to use by his church in order to transport a bunch of us over to our second venue of the day.

terry's magic bus [photo: dani]

10.30am: Shorne Woods parkrun 94

Upon arrival at the woods, we parked on a road opposite the main entrance and walked the rest of the way. It's a good job we did because the car park was full to the rafters with parked cars. After a brief queue at the gents, I headed over to the start area where I was greeted by the sight of 361 parkrunners all eagerly waiting to get started - most of these had, I imagine, already run at Dartford or Maidstone beforehand and were completing their double.

The course that was being used was the 'b' course, which is the same one that was used when I ran here last. The main difference is that one of the pot-holed, bumpy paths from my last visit had been given a makeover and is now a loose gravelly-type surface with no mud and puddles, which was a bonus.

at shorne woods [photo: brian page]

361 is a lot of runners for this course to accommodate and about 1.5 laps into the 3-and-a-bit lap run, I caught up with the first of the tail runners. This was followed by a very large group of walkers heading in the opposite direction - I think we all managed to co-exist without upsetting one another.

Then when I was on my last lap I caught up with the bulk of the field of runners and was weaving, ducking, diving and taking to the muddy grass verges in order to filter through.

splashy fun in the mud [photo: richey estcourt]

I finished the run and had my barcode scanned [results] very efficiently by one of the volunteers - I then spent the next 20-30 minutes chatting to various people about various running related things (no change there then). Then the time had come to jump back into the Terry's Magic Bus and head back to Dartford. It was a fantastic morning and a huge thanks must go to everyone that dragged themselves out of bed to make this all happen!

Links to my previous New Year's Day parkrun doubles:

2012 - Roundshaw and Riddlesdown
2013 - Riddlesdown and Roundshaw
2014 - Lloyd, Banstead, and a freedom run at Riddlesdown