Cyclopark Christmas Cracker 2014

The Cyclopark Christmas Cracker had its first event in 2013 and I really enjoyed running at the venue. If you are unfamiliar with the event/venue, it's 5k and is run over two laps of the 2.5km cycling track which undulates throughout. What it takes from you in inclines it pretty much gives back with its super smooth tarmac running surface.

the 2014 race flyer [image courtesy cyclorun]

The event also featured a 1 kilometre fun run which took place straight after the main event. We had arrived and registered on the morning. It was £6 to enter the 5k and £3 each for the 1 kilometre fun run. The Cyclopark has all the facilities you might need during your stay - lockers, toilets, a cafe etc. Once the registrations had been taken care of I headed off for a warm up around the track.

the 5k line (btw i'm standing next to a dartford legend) [photo:dani]

At 10am the 35 runners formed on the start line and the Race Director, Steve Cable, made a few short announcements before sending us on our way. The initial lead was taken by my SLGR teammate Richey and I soon joined him and ran next to him as we approached the first hairpin corner. After this we parted company and I went off in search of a new course best time for myself.

easy does it [photo:brian page]

My previous best time on the course were 19.37, which I ran at the Cyclopark Christmas Cracker 2013. Although it was worth noting that I ran a 19.26 5k split at the Gravesend Floodlit Series 10k (December 2014) just 10 days before this event. This course was also the venue for my first sub-20 5k buggy run, which I ran back in June at the weekly Cyclorun event. With that recent 10k split in mind I was hopeful that I could possibly squeeze under 19 minutes if things went to plan.

hi-five [photo:brian page]

As the first lap went on the sound of other people's footsteps behind me slowly faded and I found myself running completely alone. It was a bit windy out there but the temperature was very mild at 8 degrees. I had worn my club vest along with my arm sleeves which I found to be the perfect upper body attire for the conditions. Along with this I had worn one of my Christmas hats, which although made my head a little warm, was pretty much compulsory for this type of event.

over the finish line in 18.48 [photo:dani]

I passed the halfway point in approximately 9 minutes and 26 seconds and picked up a great hi-five from Matilda, then headed on to complete lap two in a similar time. Eventually coming in with an official finishing time of 18.48. Once I had finished, I looked back down the long incline that I had just run along and there was still no sign of the second placed runner, he eventually come in 1 minute and 47 seconds behind me.

the 1k start line [photo:brian page]

At 10.45am it was time for the 1k fun run. Somehow between finishing the 5k and starting the 1k, I had grown a white beard! At 2013's event I ran this with Matilda in her running buggy, but over the course of 2014 she had started running herself. So this year, the whole family ran it together. All the way around she kept a steady pace and when it came to the last section on the long incline, she just plodded away as if it was a flat piece of tarmac - I'm very impressed with her natural pacing skills.

a fine finish to the 1k fun run [photo:brian page]

Once we had finished we popped into the main Cyclopark building to warm up and to have a complimentary mince pie. The official results were posted to the Cyclorun Facebook page a short while later. We had a great time and we'll be looking to be back for 2015's event!

Related: SLGR news

Dartford Harriers Xmas Dash and Kids' Fun Run 2014

The Dartford Harriers Xmas Dash and Kids’ Fun Run 2014 was the second running of this festive event through Central Park in Dartford. I had picked up a couple of entry forms quite a way in advance of the event but only filled them out and registered on the day, which really was the easiest way to enter the event.

richey, me and dawn [photo: brian page]

We had pre-arranged with our friend that we would take her son with us and he and my daughter could run the fun run together, just like they do when they go to Gravesend junior parkrun. The race HQ is in the Dartford Harriers clubhouse at the southern end of Central Park, which is also the HQ for Dartford parkrun, and upon arrival it made a pleasant change not to have to worry about course set up, volunteers, and everything else that goes with staging an event.

I had arrived with plenty of time to spare and spent it chatting away to SLGR and Dartford Harriers team mates, as well as some other friends from other clubs around the local area. The route for the 5k Xmas Dash was 3 clockwise laps around the main body of Central Park – mostly on tarmac, but a short section was on the grass.

richey and me [photo: brian page]

It made a change running around the park in the opposite direction to that of the weekly parkrun and following my heavy legs from the previous day’s run, I had decided to just have an easy jog around the park – after all, there was no chip timing and the times and positions were not recorded at all. This was essentially a Christmas fun run with no pressure to push the pace – just as it should be!

In the start funnel, I lined up next to SLGR team mates Dawn and Richey and we stayed together for the whole of the first lap, even posing for a photo when we saw our club chairman with his camera as we approached the end of the first lap. After this we ended up separated from Dawn, but we continued our way around the course for the next two laps until we had the idea to put in a proper effort on one of the Strava segments on the course.

#teamslgr and the mayor

We were briefly separated during our all-out efforts on the 300 metre out-and-back Strava segment, but we were soon reunited and after taking a quick detour around the back of the Dartford Harriers clubhouse, we finished and were presented with our festive medals by the Mayor of Dartford – Cllr. Avtar Sandhu MBE.

There was a great turnout of So Let’s Go Running runners and after rounding them all up we managed to have a great team photo taken with the Mayor before it was time for the kids to have their turn at running.

the kids fun run [photo:7t]

The original kids' fun run course was supposed to be up to 4 laps around the track (with each child free to decide when they had had enough), but as the track is currently undergoing refurbishment work, this was changed to a loop (or two) on the tarmac paths around the edge of the main grass area in the park. My daughter and her friend took part and had a great time, and were thrilled when they also received their festive medals. We managed to get a quick snap of the three of us with our medals before returning to the clubhouse to warm up.

showing off our rudolph medals [photo: dani]

It was a fun, family event and definitely one to add to your family's pre-christmas calendar!

The Bridge (10k and) Fun Run 2014

‘The Bridge’ area of Dartford is a bit of a no man’s land between central Dartford and the River Thames/Dartford crossing. It was originally marsh land (in Mother Nature’s eyes probably still is) and with the exception of a couple of footbridges is virtually cut off from the main part of Dartford by a dual carriageway (University Way / Bob Dunn Way).

the bridge

Since 1939 it has been home to Littlebrook power station – an evolving series of four oil and coal fired power stations (A, B, C and D). At the beginning of the 1980s Littlebrook D with its 215 metre (705 ft.) tall chimney, which is the fourth tallest in the UK, replaced the earlier stations and is now one of the most prominent features of Dartford’s skyline and can be seen for miles in every direction.

littlebrook d

The area is currently being developed further with a mix of industrial warehouses, housing, a sculpture trail, and a school. It is very quiet apart from the odd car, lorry or ‘fastrack’ bus service and completely flat – which does of course make it good for a nice fast race (providing it’s not too windy). The Bridge Events Dartford run a number of events in the area throughout the year and one of them is a race that I ran in 2013 - The Bridge 10k.

sporting a slgr wristband

Moving on to 2014 and the 10k event clashed with the Tonbridge Half-Marathon, which I had chosen to enter instead. However, I had hurt my foot and decided to pull out of the half marathon and rest. So on the morning of the event I was now at a loose end and my daughter really wanted to ‘run with the other children’ – my first thought was to go to a junior parkrun, but as the car had a flat battery (again) we decided to take a walk down to The Bridge instead, where in addition to the 10k there was a 2km kids’ fun run.

horsing around / warming up

We arrived on foot just after the 10k had started and found a decent spot to take some photos of our So Let’s Go Running (SLGR) team mates. Both the main race and the fun run use the relatively wide shared-use pedestrian/cycling paths – this year the 10k used a different route to the 2013 event. As the 10k race progressed we made our way over to the race HQ where we continued to take photos before putting an entry (£3) in for the kids’ fun run, which was scheduled to start at 11.30am.

she means business

The course for the fun run took the children (and some adults) on a 2km clockwise loop around one of the lakes and through some of the housing. The course was fully marshalled and it was all on pavements, but with my daughter being only four years old I didn't really want her to be out of my sight and all alone so far away. As the run drew near, I started to think that I should accompany her around, but my foot was hurting and jogging would have been difficult…

moments before they were released

… fortunately a couple of my SLGR team mates volunteered their services and very kindly ran/walked with her while I stayed at race HQ. I am very grateful to Steph and Rachel for doing this, especially as they had both just finished running the full 10k race not long before and could probably have done with a little more time to recover!

getting into the swing of things

So at 11.30am they went off on the 2 kilometre loop, I took some photos at the start, and before I knew it they were out of sight and I did my anxious parent routine while waiting for them to reappear. Approximately 16 minutes later I caught a glimpse of the three of them heading towards the finish line. As they reached the finish funnel, my daughter’s fantastic escorts peeled off so that she could enter the finish funnel and cross the line on her own.

matilda flanked by her #teamslgr escorts

I could see her looking for me as she got closer to the finish line and when she spotted me her face lit up and my heart melted. She looked so, so proud of herself and I, equally, was proud to watch her approaching and then crossing the line in a finishing time of 18-and-a-bit minutes (by my watch – the fun run wasn't officially timed). She was presented with her finisher’s medal and after a quick hug, she made a bee-line for the water and snacks that were available for all of the participants.

wohoooooo go matilda!

Afterwards she was reunited with the rest of #TeamSLGR for a quick photo-shoot. Then she ran off and played with some of the other children for a while. Our little trip down to The Bridge was almost at an end, but not before handing the DSLR to Matilda so she could take some more photos, which are all in an album on flickr. We had a great morning and we took a mixture of not-so-good and fairly decent photos of the rest of the SLGR runners during and after the 10k.

#teamslgr

Cyclopark Christmas Cracker 2013

I found out about the inaugural Cyclopark Christmas Cracker only about a week before it was scheduled to take place. I've always wanted to run a Christmas race but have never actually been organised enough to make it happen. After a few tweets with @cyclopark I had formulated a plan.

arrival at cyclopark

The main event was a 5k race plus there was also a 1k family fun run. I decided that it would be fun to enter both, that way I could run the 5k as a race and run the 1k with my daughter in her running buggy - I gave her the option of actually entering and walking the course herself but she chose the running buggy.

On the day, we arrived at the Cyclopark, which is quite a new cycling facility built adjacent to the A2 in Gravesend. There is a spacious car park and parking costs £1. I hadn't registered in advance so we went into the registration room and sorted out the paperwork and payment. The 5k cost £7 for adults and £4 for children, while the 1k was a flat £3. The 1k family run was short enough to tempt the wife into entering too!

almost ready

With it being Christmas, I had arrived dressed for occasion and for those that hadn't, there were santa hats included in the entry fee - so no excuse not to look festive! The cyclopark has lots of different cycling facilities - one of them being a 2.5km long beautifully smooth undulating tarmac track, which is what was used for the race.

The 5k

For my first race of the day I lined up on the track at 10am and after chatting to a fellow runner and posing for a few fun photos we were sent on our way. It was two laps around the tarmac track. At the start, as usual, plenty of people went out way too fast but after 500 metres nature brought everyone into line and that left about four of us in the lead pack.

and off.. I am wearing the santa beard

The runner I was chatting to beforehand was leading the race, but when we were chatting beforehand he said that he usually runs 5k in around 22 minutes, so I knew that he had gone out way too fast (and he said the same post-race). Before too long a couple of us caught up with him and filtered past.

As I mentioned before, the course undulates and it also has some nice sweeping corners. So we continued our journey around the first lap. The end of the lap is run up an incline and just before we reached the half-way point, there is a footbridge that passes over the track which was lined with cheering spectators.

runners 1, 2 and 3 just before half-way

At half-way, I was in second place and just a few seconds behind the leader. I remember the race organiser saying something along the lines of 'keep going - you're being chased by Santa!' to the leader as he passed, which I found quite funny. As we started lap 2, I could hear footsteps not far behind me and I was convinced I was about to be passed at any moment.

runner 1 crossing the half-way mark, followed by santa

As you'll see in the photos, I wore a Santa hat complete with beard and a tie that resembled Santa's buttons and belt buckle. I was burning up underneath that hat and the tie had swung around so that it was flying in the wind behind me and strangling me. I thought about removing both, but it was a Christmas event and I didn't want to remove my festive attire!

I continued around the course, which was actually quite windy so some sections were tougher than they would normally be and it probably knocked a few seconds off my time. By the time I came around the final bend and could see the incline in front of me I was still in second place. The runner in front had opened a wider gap so I knew first place was out of reach.

the first 5k done

I was more concerned, as I had been the whole of the second lap, about the third placed runner overtaking me, but as I started the final incline there wasn't any sign of him sprinting up behind me so I passed under the footbridge and across the finish line without being overtaken, finishing in second place overall.

I overheard one of the timers say 19.37 was my finish time and I was really pleased with that (official results to follow when published), especially considering the undulating course and the windy conditions. To be honest, I felt terrible the whole way round. Much worse than some of my recent 5k races or time trials.

everything looking a bit wonky post-race

I had my festive medal placed around my neck before having a few photos taken and then heading off for 20 minutes of recovery time before the next race was due to start.

Full 5k results were posted on facebook - here.

The 1k Family Fun Run

At 10.45am it was time for the family fun run to begin. I had already secured my daughter into her safety harness in our running buggy (the baby jogger 2) and I lined up at the front with the wife to our side - she had toyed with the idea of entering the 5k but in the end went for the 1k only. Again, we posed for the official photos and then the fun run was started.

waiting to go again

As the start is slightly uphill, it took a while to get going with the additional weight of the running buggy, and others had already started darting around in front of us so it took us about 100 metres to finally get some clear air by going around the outside of some other runners on the corner.

When I run with my daughter in the running buggy, she constantly shouts at me to go faster -  she loves it. So instead of a slow plod, we pushed the pace - we (I?) had come up with the idea that we'd like to complete the 1km in less than 4 minutes. I felt a strange overtaking all of the children over the next first few hundred metres, but you have to understand that I was being ordered to run faster!

her first medal

Once my daughter was satisfied with the pace, she went into her other buggy running mode, which is to quietly scream the whole way round as if she is on a rollercoaster - and that's actually what one section of the course is like. There's a short sharp downhill which we flew down, and by the sound of her scream, that must have been her favourite part.

The good thing with the tarmac track is that there are lots of different configurations and the organisers had changed the layout with some strategically placed cones so that we would only have to cover the 1 kilometre to return to the start/finish area. The last section was still up the incline and this time I had to push the buggy up it - pffff..

wife and daughter with medals and chocolate

So we crossed the line in first position and my daughter was very excited to be awarded her first ever race medal, and even more excited to be handed a selection pack of chocolates! The 1k race wasn't officially timed so I took our time from my 1km GPS reading - turns out that we did it in 3.59.

We turned around to watch the rest of the runners finish and more importantly to look out for the wife, who soon after came cruising up the incline glad that she had listened to my advice and stuck with the 1k race and not the 5k.

Post race/fun run

After the runs, there were complimentary mince pies for all runners in the race registration area so we dived in and grabbed one each. We then decided to have a spot of lunch in the cyclocafe before heading off, the mushroom omelette and salad was pretty decent. They also sell freshly squeezed juices, which I have noted for next time I pass by on the cycle path that runs adjacent to the A2 and gives cyclists a safe route between Dartford and Strood via Shorne Woods.

cyclopark

We had a brilliant morning and are looking forward to next year already! However, I do plan to go back and try out the cycling facilities in the near future.