Kent Fitness League 2017/18: Knole Park

The 2017/18 Kent Fitness League cross-country season got underway at the stunning Knole Park in Sevenoaks. For details on car parking, toilets and an in-depth course description please have a look at my main Kent Fitness League information page or my blog post from 2016's race.

The run up to the race had been pretty good, topped off with a sub-20 5k at Southwark parkrun just two weeks before the race - this meant I was in roughly the same shape (if not slightly faster) as I was a year earlier. 2017's event saw slightly fewer participants than the record-breaking 2016 event, but there was still a very high turnout of 493 participants.

At the starter's orders we all shot off on our first KFL outing of the year. I had already had a decent warm-up and flowed with the pack as we negotiated the early part of the course. By the time I was nearing the top of the long, gradual incline I could feel my stomach starting to tighten. I held my pace and focussed on my breathing in the hope that I could bring it under control.

It seemed ok until I hit the short, sharp downhill section at the far end of the course. At this point the feeling in my stomach changed to a stitch or possibly a stomach cramp on my left hand side, and it was the worst running pain I've ever had. My pace slowed and runners from behind started to stream past. I shuffled on, maintaining a pace, but it was not much more than what I would run during an easy run.

All the way through the second lap, runners continued to catch and pass me, and there was nothing I could do. The pain was too intense. Then, with about a mile left in the race, another pain which felt more like a traditional stitch appeared on the right hand side. I had no choice but to stop and walk - I strategically picked the incline into the woods to do this so as to lose less time than on the flat.

At the top of the incline I shuffled back into a run and before I knew it, I had completed the last kilometre and crossed finish line. I was handed finish token number 146, which is my worst ever KFL finishing position.

After looking forward to this race for so long, it was a huge disappointment that it panned out how it did. However, I mustn't linger on it and I suppose I should be happy that I finished only about two-and-a-half-minutes slower than in 2016 despite the horrendous race I'd just had.

Links:

• Official results
• My GPS data
• The relive fly-by video of the course

Kent Fitness League 2016/17: Knole Park

I've done a few training runs and races in Knole Park over the last few years, but this was the first time I had been in a position to run the Kent Fitness League cross country race here. I won't waste any time talking about the history of the building or the park as I have covered these details in previous posts:

• Sevenoaks Rotary 10k 2011
• Sevenoaks Rotary 10k 2014
• Sevenoaks 7 2016

After missing almost all of the previous season's races, I was fired up and ready to go by the time this race came around. I parked the car in the Sevenoaks Leisure centre car park (free-of-charge on Sundays), popped in to use the facilities, and headed into the grounds of the Knole Estate, which covers 1000 acres of beautiful parkland. It's stunning setting for a race and at this time of year the trees and foliage are looking great as their autumnal colours are starting to emerge.

knole park

The weather had been dry and fairly mild for the time of year so the ground underfoot was actually pretty firm and the course itself has a long section on a stony path, so I had brought my trail shoes with me rather than my spikes.

I met up with my Dartford Harrier team mates and the chat instantly turned to shoe choice. We had all sorts being used. I had already decided to wear my light trail shoes as I had come to the conclusion that as we had had barely any rain in the last month that the course would be dry enough for them. Plenty of other runners had gone for spikes - if the weather had been wetter I would probably have chosen spikes as well.

I soon set off for a warm up jog up to Knole House to find a toilet, and then back along The Gallops which is the valley that runs north-south along the western side of the park. 11 o'clock soon came around and after a quick team photo, the runners assembled for the start of the 2016/17 KFL cross country season.

dartford harriers

The start is at the northern end of The Gallops at the lowest part of the course. The first 300 metres are almost flat, but then the next 2km are all uphill, starting with a steep section that leads up to the level of Knole House. Here the runners run parallel to the wall that surrounds the formal garden. 

This eventually leads the runners onto the perfectly straight, central avenue of the park, Broad Walk. This path is all uphill and is where the gravelly path is found, however any runners that have opted for spikes can take to the wide grass verge on either side of this path.

The end of Broad Walk marks the end of the long uphill climb and after a curve at the southern tip of the park, the runners head down a very steep slope into The Gallops where they head north for about 400 metres before heading off to the left to go through a wooded section which lasts for about 600 metres.

around the course - the gallops and the short, sharp incline

Dropping back down into The Gallops, the runners soon rejoin the uphill section to start a second lap of the main loop. At the end of the second lap, the runners head back towards the start area which is now the finish.

My race: I lined up quite close the the front, but wasn't aggressive enough with my start and before I knew it I was trotting along at fairly sedate pace behind the hoards of runners that had streamed past me in the first 50 metres. By the time I reached the first short, sharp incline, I knew what a huge mistake I had made and had to now try to recover as many positions as possible.

I made good progress along Broad Walk where I made up quite a few places. Then as we went through the single track wooded section, I got caught behind some more runners that were slowing and had no choice but to wait until we rejoined the wider path in order to move in front.

around the course - section near the house

The second lap was much less congested, but the damage had been done. I continued to make up places during the second lap, but suffered a stitch during the last 2 kilometres, which I pushed really hard to get through. As I entered the final 400 metres I glanced to my left and saw some runners coming out of the woods at a different point to me. It turns out that a whole bunch had taken a wrong turning in the woods and added an extra half-mile to their races.

In the last 200 metres, I got involved in a crazy sprint finish with another runner, but it turns out that we unleashed our inner Bolts way too early. We both kept pushing really hard and as I crossed the finished line I was convinced that I was going to see my breakfast again. Luckily, I didn't. I recorded the route on Strava so if you're interested in that, you can find it here: Strava - KFL Knole Park 2016

I picked up my raffle ticket and saw that I finished in 100th position out of 561 which initially I was fairly happy with as my goal before the race was to finish in the top 100. However after thinking about my poor start and seeing how much difference even 20-30 seconds would have made to my finishing position, I became a little disappointed with my performance. Another runner I know, who I would have expected to have been very close to, finished almost 50 seconds ahead of me. That's what happens when you start poorly in a cross country race.

around the course - finish approach

Disappointment aside, I really had enjoyed the race. I've always known that cross-country races have very aggressive starts and I know how important it is to get a decent position early on, but somehow I managed to forget this detail whilst waiting for the race to start. I'm making a mental note for the rest of the season.

The amount of runners at this race was unprecedented and it looks like it has not only surpassed the previous highest attendance at this venue by more than 100, but it also became the highest attended race in the history of the Kent Fitness League, beating the previous record by 24. Usually the most popular event is at Swanley Park, so it's possible that we could see another attendance record in a few weeks time.

the finish area

The official results are now online, here: KFL - Knole Park 2016. I finished in an official time of 39.25 in position 100 overall. My gender position was 95th out of 371 and that gave me a rating/score of 74.66. The rating is based on the percentage of the field that a runner finishes ahead of - so I finished ahead of roughly three-quarters of the male runners and ahead of over 80% of the entire field, which doesn't seem so bad.

Lastly, the photos in this blog have come from many different sources and I have lost track of who took each one, so a big thank you to everyone that has been kind enough to take and upload the photos.

Link: For details on all of the Kent Fitness League courses please see this post: Kent Fitness League

Sevenoaks 7 2016

The Sevenoaks 7 (also known as the 7oaks7) is a seven mile race through Knole Park, the stunning deer park that surrounds Knole House in Sevenoaks, Kent. It is hosted by Sevenoaks Athletics Club and this year was the 23rd edition. It took place on the August bank holiday Monday. It's not the first time I have raced in Knole Park, in fact my first ever 10k race was run here and I returned to that race a few years later to see how much I had improved. However it was the first time I had run this particular race.

sevenoaks 7 / knole [photos: 7t]

The race HQ was at Sevenoaks Rugby Club which is about a 10 minute walk from the start-finish area of the race. I entered this race on-the-day and my lack of planning meant I had to pay a £15 entry fee. Had I been more organised and entered in advance I would have paid the very reasonable £11 affiliated runners fee. Unaffiliated runners would have paid £13 in advance.

pre-race [photos: m white / 7t]

For early arrivals parking was available at the rugby club. However the car park here isn't big enough for all entrants so extra parking was available free-of-charge at the near-by leisure centre. Toilets were available for use inside the rugby club clubhouse as were refreshments including tea, coffee and cake. I bumped into quite a few people that I know from the fantastic local running community and I always enjoy these pre-race chats.

start and course map from the official website [photos: m white / 7t]

The race itself started at 10.30am in the valley on the north-eastern side of Knole Park, not far from the footpath that leads directly from the rugby club into Knole. After quite an amusing welcome speech and briefing the runners were sent on their way. With the race taking place in the summer after a long period of dry weather, I decided to wear my light trail shoes, but road shoes would have done the job.

through the stunning deer park [photos: dani]

It was the first time I had entered a seven mile race. To be honest I think it's the only one I've ever heard of. The course was run over mixed terrain with a split of approximately 4.3 miles (7km) on grass or dirt paths and the remaining 2.6 miles (4.2km) on tarmac or gravel paths. The course can be described as very undulating or probably more accurately as 'hilly' and it's certainly a challenge.

marshals etc [photos: 7t / dani]

The course is made up of a 2km tail, followed by two clockwise loops and then the runners return to the start-finish via the tail. The first four kilometres are almost totally uphill, at which point there is a very steep downhill that takes runners down into the valley. This section is ever-so-slightly downhill and allows the runners to open up and get their pace up.

more terrain / feeling good at halfway [photos: 7t / dani]

The steepest section of the course comes at the end of the valley and is a 400 metre slog up to the end of the loop. It's generally around a 6% incline but my GPS data registered a couple of points where it hit double figures. After the second loop is complete it's time to head back to the start-finish, and the remaining two kilometres is largely, although not completely, downhill.

more park shots and me with 2km left to go [photos: 7t / dani]

At the end of the race, bespoke 'Sevenoaks 7' medals were given out by double gold winning Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes. The timing was done by chip which was embedded into the back of the race numbers and the official results were online later that day. I got around the course in a chip time of 51.40 (gun time 51.48) and was the 45th runner out of 257 to cross the line.

end [photos: 7t]

All in all this was a really enjoyable race and I am pretty certain that I put in the best performance I could possibly have done given my current fitness level. My kilometre splits were all over the place, but that's to be expected on a course like this. However my two 3.6km 'Sevenoaks 7' loops (see my Strava segments) were run with only an 8 second difference so I think I got my pacing spot on.

Result:
Time: 51.40 (gun time 51.48)
Position: 45 / 257
Full results: Swift Timing - Sevenoaks 7 2016

Knole Park 10k 2014

The Knole Park 10k, or to be more precise, The Sevenoaks Rotary 10k Charity Run is held in March in the picturesque grounds of Knole House and Park, in Sevenoaks. The 1,000 acre park lost 70% of its trees during the great storm of 1987 and is the last medieval deer park in Kent. It is home to around 500 deer. Knole House sits at the centre of the park and ranks in the top five largest houses in England.

knole (with thumbs up)

The Sevenoaks Rotary 10k was the first 10k race I ever took part in back in 2011, so it was nice to come back to run it again. The race start time was set for 11am, which seems quite late for a race to start. However, the extra time in the morning is quite handy. It gives the runners and organisers a bit of extra time to prepare on race day.

race hq

Car parking is provided free of charge at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre, which is also home to the race headquarters. I tinkered with the idea of cycling to Sevenoaks, but in the end thought it would be better to save my energy for the race. If I had cycled, I could have easily secured my bike to the spacious bike rack outside to leisure centre and dropped my bag into the secure baggage storage area.

yes please

I entered the race online via runner's world just a week before the race took place and picked up my number on the day. This year, the race bib had the timing chip built in to it which was quite convenient as I didn't have to attach one to my shoe as well as pinning the bib onto my singlet. The toilets in the leisure centre are quite small - the gents consists of one cubical and one urinal, so it's worth bearing that in mind when arriving.

start/finish area

As race time approached, there was a mass movement of people from the leisure centre down a steep path and into Knole Park. It took about 10 minutes or so to get down to the start line. There is plenty of space for warming up around the start and as 11am neared we were instructed to assemble close to the start funnel. I was kitted out, for the first time, in my new singlet featuring the name of the running group that I run with in Dartford on Tuesday evenings - So Let's Go Running. It also has the hashtag #TeamSLGR on the back.

it's a lovely day, so let's go running

After a brief few words from the race director, 'Baron Sackville, of Knole in the county of Kent', started the race. I managed to line myself up fairly close to the front of the field because when running it back in 2011 I got caught up towards the back and had difficulty filtering through the pack, and I didn't want this to happen again.

the main grassy section in the valley

The course is made up of two 4.8k loops with a little 200 metre tail for the start and finish (that adds up, right?). Underfoot is part grass/dirt paths, and part gravelly/tarmac path. And it is not flat. My shoes of choice today were my trail shoes, however as conditions had been dry for the last few weeks, the ground was firm enough for road shoes.

typical scenery in the park

The first 2 kilometres are run along a valley which steadily climbs as you progress along it. As you reach the end of the valley, the course bears right and the runners are faced with a steep climb until they reach a path. This path continues to climb but in an undulating style, until the runners reach the water station at around 2.3 kilometres (approx 7km on lap two).

steep downhill at the 5k/9.8k point

This is also the point that the course changes. Instead of running uphill on grass, the runners are now able to pick up some speed as the back straight undulates but with more elevation being lost than gained. The path here is gravelly, but it is possible to run on the grass verge for a softer foot landing. Towards the end of the back straight, the runners are directed to the right hand side where they negotiate a 180 degree turn, before turning into the park and running on a tarmac path.

200 metres to go

Again this path undulates but is still giving more than it is taking. The path eventually leads towards the rear end of the Knole House walled gardens where the tarmac gives way to grass/dirt. As the runners progress along this stretch, spectators can be seen waiting at the end giving much appreciated encouragement. Then there is a sharp left turn followed by a steeper downhill section. This brings the runners past the 5k point and back out in the valley.

there it is

First time around, the runners continue onwards to repeat the lap. On lap two they take a sharp right hand turn and enter the 200 metre finish straight. Once past the finish line, the runners filter into the finish funnel, pick up a medal and then head along to the water and banana station.

first #teamslgr race completed (photo: by Pete Gibson)

It was a warm morning and the water station was much appreciated. The section along the valley was particularly challenging in the heat, but the rest of the course felt cooler. 

My race went really well. I reached half-way in 20.29, but struggled a little on the uphill part of lap 2 (kilometre 7) and ended up running the second lap a bit slower than the first. I'm really pleased that I managed to beat my previous course time by over nine-and-a-half minutes and finished in position 15 (out of 451) in a time 41:15 by the gun, but 41.12 by chip. It was a challenging course (GPS data is here) and this is reflected in the official times with only the top 9 runners coming in under 40 minutes (by chip) (only the top 7 were sub-40 by the gun time).

results posted at race hq immediately after the race

After the last runners had come in, I went back up to watch the presentations outside the leisure centre. Some friends of mine from Oxted Runners picked up the Ladies team prize, so that was a brilliant result for them. All in all, it was a brilliant morning down in Sevenoaks. It's a brilliant race in a stunning location and I will definitely run it again.

Riddlesdown parkrun sixty-two (plus Knole park)

In our house there are two adults that want to run at parkrun every Saturday and one baby that needs looking after. This week it was Mrs7t's turn to run so I became a marshal for the event.

It was my first time as a marshal, I donned one of the communal hi-vis jackets and the baby wore her own baby-sized version.

We were posted on marshal point seven - which is the point where on lap one you have to make sure the runners follow the first lap sign and on lap two make sure they all head down the final straight to the finish.

Marshaling involves a lot of clapping and a lot of saying 'well done' or 'well run', as well as occassionally pointing any new faces in the right direction. The baby did her fair share of clapping too, which was well recieved, as most runners gave her little wave as they ran past.

Everything went to plan and there were no incidents to deal with. After about 40 minutes the job was complete and we removed the direction signs from the ground and headed back to HQ.

After the run we went to the Horseshoe for post-run drinks and some socialising. The main discussion was of a potential relay using part of the Riddlesdown parkrun course. I will keep you informed.

After the parkrun I still felt the need to run, so on the way home we stopped off at Knole park and I completed a very easy paced circular route.

It was a lovely sunny day and probably a tiny bit too hot for running in. I don't like running with a bottle of water in my hand but with it being so hot I made sure I took one anyway.

There weren't as many deer visible as there were during my training run in Knole park a few days earlier. I imagine because there were more people around and, in any case, it was probably it bit too hot for them out in the open.

About half-an-hour later I returned to my starting point with a slightly sore right calf, which seemed to ease off once I had treated it with some frozen carrot and swede mix.

Knole park training (6 August 2012)

I am officially declaring Knole park as my number one training venue.

I have been to Knole park many times before but each time I visit I am amazed at how beautiful the place is.

These photos were taken during my training run on Monday 6 August 2012.

It was so quiet that I could here my trainers squeaking - I had no idea that they did that. I probably saw about 20 other runners during my 35 minutes in the park. There are many route options and you can also throw in a few steep inclines if you fancy mixing things up a bit.

There was a moment when some of the stags took an interest in me and I was slightly worried that I was going to end up on the wrong end of its antlers (are they antlers?)... Anyway, I discreetly slipped away through some bushes and all was well.

After the run I took Mrs7t and baby7t to prezzo for some pasta...

7t.

Video of the 2011 Knole Park 10k

Here is a video from last week's race posted on youtube by trekandrun.

At 6:41 you can just about see the wife and baby, and at around 7:30 you can see me picking up a post-race banana.




7t

Race: Sevenoaks - Knole Park 10km

This was my first 10km race. Before I get into the race details I'd like to say a big thank you to my wife (who blogs here - A Lime Less Ordinary ), firstly for supporting me with my running (especially the training, which often has me out of bed before sunrise). And secondly for taking lots of photos of the race.

the ladies

Firstly, the course, in Knole Park, was brilliant. It is a beautiful 1000 acre Deer Park, in Sevenoaks, Kent. We had some rain the night before which left parts of the course a little muddy, but overall it was fine. My wife heard someone complaining that a section of the course was too slippery, and therefore unsafe. I don't really have the same opinion - as far as I'm concerned it was a park/trail race, that was the attraction.

warming up

Anyway, the course was two laps of the same 5km loop with a little extra tail to accommodate the start/finish funnel..

the course map from the official race website

I started from somewhere near the back of the pack - I should know not to by now. So, yet again, I got caught up with people running much slower than my intended pace. 1st km was at 5.45 per km pace, and the 2nd km was at 6.12 per km pace - I can't even run that slow when doing 'slow' training runs! The sheer numbers of people (505) made it virtually impossible to pass smoothly so I spent a good deal of time on the verges running through the higher grass!

towards the end of the first 5k loop

Something unexpected happened at around 4km and 8.5km - My right shoelace came undone. Both times I had to swerve off the path to tie it up again. This may have had something to do with the timing chip, which was attached to my right shoelace, but more likely was my shoelace-tying style - in the future I will always use double knots.

it's all downhill from here!

I ran the first 5km in 26:14 - Well off my intended pace. There were two factors in the slow time. First was getting caught up for the first 2km with the slower runners. Second was the fact that the course has undulations, plus a very steep incline that has to be negotiated twice.

The second 5km I ran in 24:19 (if my maths are correct) - Much closer to my intended pace, but I hadn't taken into account the undulations when I was thinking about my target time.

So, according to my GPS timings, my total time was 50:33. I had been hoping for somewhere around 45 minutes, but considering the undulations and the slow start I'm pretty happy with it. On a flat, tarmac course I might have been around the target time. All good lessons for the future!

having my timing chip removed

A big positive for me: When I compare my split times for each km section (1st and 6th / 2nd and 7th, and so on) my second lap was faster than the first on each of the five pairs of timings.

the medal shot

My GPS data is on RunningAhead, as always!

Summary (including split times)

Map (check out the elevation profile.. 90 metres of height gain over 0-2km and again between 5-7km)

And one last positive, my fastest km was the very last of the race - I managed to knock out a 4.09. (In the three races I have entered so far, that has been my fastest km split)


7t.