Yorkshire (Sheffield) Half Marathon great event even with the windy ascent!!

It was now time to start my Half Marathon challenges to raise money for Dexter's school (Shepley First School) and first up was the Yorkshire Half Marathon. There were three of us from the school taking on this half marathon and I don't think any of us were quite ready for the challenge that unfolded, but each one us completed it with satisfying times and/or performances.

The day started bright and early with a stop over at Skelmanthorpe to pick up my friend Steve before picking up a couple of other parents from the School. Emma and Andy were also raising money for the School by running the Yorkshire Half Marathon with me. They had chosen the Yorkshire half over the Huddersfield and Leeds halves for different reasons but all 3 of us were still a little apprehensive about what was only an hour away. As we arrived at the edge of the city we all suddenly felt the nerves kick in and the excitement start to build. So when we finally parked up we were just itching to get up to our assembly points and soak up the atmosphere. We arranged a meet up point for afterwards, wished each other good luck and joined our different starting points, things were now getting serious. Steve joined the blue group, Emma and Andy in the green group with myself in the red group, or at least I was suppose to. Whilst I was walking down the road to find the start of the red group I noticed a pacer with a 1hr45 banner amongst the blue group so I just jumped in there. Even then I thought I was still to far back, so when I saw another friend and fellow stadium runner Steve Taylor we moved further up the group together. I was now just behind the 1hr35 pacer and it felt about right, there was still a lot of people in front of me which just showed how popular the event was. There was music blaring and as the mass warm up started it got louder and almost everyone started jumping up and down whether they wanted to or not, the atmosphere just got to them. After the warm up there was a couple of interviews at the start line, Kell Brook the world champion boxer followed by Harry Gration the legendary News reporter. There was a short delay whilst they closed off the roads and then they set us off and the Yorkshire Half Marathon was under way.

As always there was the runners false start (when runners start running too soon and the runners in front of them haven't so there is an abrupt stop followed by a woohhoo) which always makes me chuckle. We did manage to get going the second time and as the roads widened I could start to get up to pace and weave my way through all the slower runners that had wrongly positioned themselves at the start (always happens too). There was great support roadside from hundreds if not thousands of people who came to cheer and clap the runners along and it really helped and was a big difference from the rain hit Liverpool half a couple of weeks ago. There didn't seem to be a gap in the crowds for at least a couple of miles and even then it was because of road junctions etc. This was also the first year with the new course and after last years water fiasco I think a lot of people had just come to see that things went OK this year. 

After leaving the music of the start area behind you could hear the cheers from the crowd a lot more as you made your way towards what we all knew was coming. After the first mile the route then took an uphill direction, and for the next 4 miles as well, which was ok being from Yorkshire I'm use to it. However there was a strong wind on the day and it was only going to get stronger as we climbed the hill straight into it. This section was made a little easier by the fantastic people of Sheffield, everyone was waving their plastic batons, smashing them together or ringing cow bells. I was really taken aback by the music coming from shops, people's houses and the various groups on the street, there was at least two brass bands some bagpipers and a choir. They were all at different points on the climb so each of them had its own effect on me, helping me keep a positive attitude and keeping my pace up all the way to the top. At mile 4 there was a King of the Hill timed section over the next mile and it was also where the wind felt at its strongest. It was rather funny to watch all the runners strewn across the road start to tuck in behind each other to shelter from the wind hoping that they could draft off the person in front. If the race hadn't of been so large it could have quite easily been single file up that final climb. At the top was a water and jelly baby feed station and greatly appreciated too before the route took a left on to a much flatter part of the course. Mile 6 came quite quickly and so did the downhill it started steady at first past some photographers and then after a left turn the downhill got steeper and the wind was now behind me. I was able to try and gain back some of the time the uphill had stolen, I also saw a familiar face, I had managed to close up on my friend Steve and was gaining pretty quickly too. I think I should now tell you that prior to the race I had put out a post on Facebook asking for sponsors and I had a couple which was great, but then Steve said put him down for £10. I said thanks Steve that's great to which he replied and I'll double it if you beat me on the Yorkshire Half. Now he usually is faster than me by a couple of minutes so the chances of me beating him was slim, but Steve was struggling with an ankle injury so wasn't as fast as usual. So this was my only chance of actually finishing before him and as I came shoulder to shoulder with him I asked how he was doing, before sailing past him still increasing the speed. It was a good feeling even if he wasn't 100%, a less than 100% Steve is still a very fast Steve, so I kept my speed up and tried to focus to keep attention on the race and not Steve trying to keep up with me. At this point there was another timed section, this one was the final 10k section and just before it started there was another water station with more Jelly babies too great for that extra bit of energy. As I reached a little village on the way back down to the city centre the route levelled out for a bit and the crowds grew again helping me to keep pushing. I was also running with a guy who was trying to rev up the crowds by waving in a Mexican wave type of way, it worked and the crowds got louder as we came through, it was awesome, hair standing on end and things like that. It really made me feel a bit special until I turned a corner and was faced with a little uphill out of nowhere. It was only small but it took a lot out of me as I tried to keep my pace going at the same as I was on the downhill, silly I know but I'd just been pumped up by the crowds and felt full of adrenalin. Luckily it was only small and I was soon facing another downhill and flat section, before I rejoined the main road we had used to go up the first hill. The crowds were still there cheering every single person on, which was even neccessary at this point as the legs were starting to get heavy and I was finding it harder to keep my pace up. Even counting down the Km and Mile markers wasn't helping keep my mind focused, so the cheers and shouts of come on Matt meant so much. The downhill finished with about a mile and a half to go and it was now all down to grit and determination to finish strong, plus the crowds were thinning and there was even an empty part of the course as they were all gathering at the finish. I kept it together and pushed for the final mile with help from some excellent marshals cheering me on up a final hill before turning down towards to the finish and huge crowds 5/6 deep lining the final 100m sprint. I crossed the line in a time of 1hr34m10s and considering the hills and wind I was really pleased with the time, but I was more pleased with the fact that I finished just behind Kell Brook.

I hadn't realised he was running too and from behind I hadn't realised it was him at all until the media pulled him to one side to interview him. So I must have walked past him being interviewed looking rather gormless until it clicked who it was and then a look of realisation replaced the gormless look. That must have been great TV having my silly mug in the background, still I finished just behind a world class professional sportsman. More importantly I finished in front of Steve and an extra £10 for the School, I waited for Steve just after getting my goody bag, t-shirt and Medal and he was only a couple of mins behind me at the end.

His ankle was clearly hurting him as he hobbled towards me and we congratulated each other on our performances, 1hr36m with a dodgy ankle was brilliant so Steve was happy. We weren't quite sure when Emma and Andy would finish so we decided to go back to the car and get some stuff before returning to our meeting place. When we returned Emma and Andy were there waiting with Andy's wife Penny and their kids Ellie and Ethan. They looked happy as we approached, I was hoping they would be and not ready to lynch me for convincing them to take part in such a horrible race. They were very happy and pleased they had done it, Emma had completed it in a Superb 1hr48m which she was very happy with and Andy finished it in an Amazing 1hr43m which seemed to be a complete surprise to him. They did excellent especially as they were joking before the race about just finishing just under 2hrs, they did themselves proud and they've raised money the School in the process. Let's just hope they remember the good feelings when I come calling on them to run for the school next year too. We had a quick chat about how good the race and atmosphere was before we headed back to car and home to have a well deserved bath and some food.

Next up is the Huddersfield Half Marathon this weekend and another set of brave and awesome parents from the school. The Huddersfield half/full marathon is one of if not the hardest road marathon in the UK so anyone who completes this race is worthy of a massive pat on the back and great praise. So no pressure, Lisa Parry, Emma Jagger, Andy Munro, Mike Makinson, Philip Thwaite and myself, let's just hope the winds aren't as strong as they were at the Yorkshire Half.

Good luck to everyone running the Huddersfield Half or Full Marathon this weekend

Keep running everyone

There must have been something in the water this parkrunday, PB'sgalore!

Since my last blog about the Huddersfield 10k I've been trying to keep my distance runs going and increasing the distances at the same time. This is mainly because I have the Huddersfield half marathon quickly approaching on the 27th April and it will be the longest run I have ever done, so far. 

So a couple of Fridays ago I'm found myself with a morning to myself and decide to go for a 10-11k run on a route me and Steve had run before. This run turned into a bit of a freedom run as I knew I had plenty of time and no rush to go home as SJ had taken the boys out for the morning. This lead to me just running wherever took my fancy and I ended up running 16k for the third time in my life. One was at the Yorkshire warrior last year and the other was in training for the Yorkshire warrior, I mention these only because in the space of a year I have managed to knock 18 mins of the 16k run. I was quite proud of my time last year but to knock 18 minutes off it was brilliant and that positive feeling stayed with me into this past weeks training runs too. After a quick 6k on Wednesday I met up with Steve on Thursday evening to run a 10k, with the intention or trying a slightly different route than last time. 

Oh how we paid for that decision, we didn't set off until gone 7 and by that time it was dark but as we knew where we were going it wasn't an issue. Up until the point where we slightly changed our route that was still true, from here on we didn't see our feet or where they hit the road for about 4km no street lights only the light of the moon and stars to guide us. Even the odd passing car was more of a distraction than helping us to seeing our footing. With the dark also came other unexpected concequences, the lack of visual markers meant we lost track of our pace and how fast or slow we were pushing. It also hampered our judgement when it came to elevation and distance. As we turned up on to near bank we felt strong and even the head wind wouldn't matter on this small climb up to the Soveriegn. Well we won't make that mistake again, the wind picked up on every corner and every headlight from passing car seemed to be brighter and more dazzling than the last. The hill went on for what seemed an eternity and when we thought it would flatten out from memory we were greeted by yet more incline. By the time we reached the top of the hill our legs were shot and the strong and constant wind had almost taken our will too. Even though from here it was a long downhill home part of me wanted to just stop, cry out in relief and swear until I could feel my legs again. We hit 10k just a few metres down the hill and ended up completing 11k just before we return back at my house still cursing the hill we had just climbed and swearing never to repeat the route. However when both Steve and myself got PB's at parkrun this weekend maybe we will be revisiting that hill.

Parkrun this weekend was really good for many reasons, it was taken over by local running club Stadium Runners so there was plenty of volunteers and had things very organised, not that they are unorganised normally. Even at the start there was a very obvious happy feeling and plenty of smiling faces on the people warming up and those ready to go. Maybe it was because the weather fairies had worked their magic and given us a very calm, bright and slightly warm morning for the first time in a long time. 

SJ was back running after her bad back and was running with Dexter and Flynn so I was free to run quickly. I wasn't expecting to run a PB but when I saw we had a 22 minute pacer I thought I would try to stick with him and see what happend. At the halfway point I was ahead of him and was feeling ok but was starting to worry about my stamina and if I could keep going. At 4k I was overtaken by the 22 minute pacer and my heart sank a little but when he looked at his watch and slowed his pace it gave me the push I needed to keep it going and pushed hard to the end. I even managed a small sprint finish and crossed the line in 21.37 knocking 16s off my PB and making me feel absolutely brilliant, I didn't think I was in that great of shape to beat my PB but to knock 16s of it was ace. I saw Steve and he had managed to break his PB and got a sub 19 minute time, well done Steve. Whilst gathering my breath I saw Jo who was also following the 22 minute pacer, and she too had a new PB. There was a definite buzz in the air and it seemed to spread as more runners came in to cross the line, even after pushing to the end everyone was crossing the line with huge smiles. This is very common at parkrun but there was something extra this week, and this was shown when the results came in later on. After a little rest I went back to meet up with SJ and Dexter to see how SJ's back was and if Dexter was behaving himself. I helped them round the last couple of Km's and they finished in 39 mins but the couple of weeks off for SJ meant that it had been harder than usual for her. Dexter was even calling for a PW (personal worst), it wasn't and for many it was the complete opposite. There was 598 runners and 169 of them achieved a new PB one of which was Becky, well done Becky. It was massive number but it didn't stop there, many other parkruns had a large number of PB's too. My little sister Jessie got a PB at princes parkrun in Liverpool too, well done Jessie keep it up. Twitter was on fire with people saying that had smashed there PB's which added to my own excitement on my PB. My buzz still hasn't gone away and I hoping that I could with a bit of luck get a similar time next week too. 

Next week it is the Shepley First School Fun Run which this year is taking part at parkrun, a big thanks to Simon, Mark, Kerry, and everyone else at Huddersfield parkrun for letting us combine the 2 runs.

 

 

There will be about 40 of us donning the T-Shirts we've had made for it and about 15 of them will be children from the school too. About 30 of them will be first timers to parkrun and I hope that the fun run will be a nice introduction to parkrun and will mean they come back time and again. I hope that the kids will also enjoy themselves and return even if it's to a Junior parkrun.

Let's hope the weather stays for the foreseeable future and don't forget everyone, keep running.

17 and counting where will it go from here.

January so far has been full, action packed and a slight blur. My life as a stay at home father has returned after a short break as I returned to work. I joked at the time when I returned to work that I came back for a rest, and after a couple of weeks of school runs, baby feeds, after school clubs and countless parties the joke has defintely lost its punch line. 

The first week back coincided with the start of Jantastic, a website for runners to join a running community, log their runs, set yourself targets and achieve those goals for the first 3 months of the year. It's designed to help you keep to your New Years resolutions or to get back into the routine of running after the Christmas break. As well as that it's a very helpful tool to push your training that little bit extra and with the added social element of running teams and rivals it adds a little bit more fun into the cold winter months.

So during the day in the first week I was cruising around almost zombie like but on auto pilot and then on an evening I was pounding the pavements trying to get my running back on track and the training for the big runs of the year started. With a few 10k and 10m runs planned and my first half marathon all before the end of April I needed my training runs and my routine back. The second week has been a lot smoother and I even managed to find a bit of time to do a bit of shopping and planning for the up coming Shepley First School fun run. 

The boys have settled down too from the change from Mummy to Daddy during the day and we've had a lovely time almost getting to know each other again. It's a strange change for them too having just got use to Mummy and her routine and way of doing things to then have Daddy do things slightly differently or at different times. Just a slight change can throw them and that was all to true with Clark taking a couple of steps backwards with toilet training, luckily he seems to be gaining those steps back again already.

My running is also back on track and with the added pick me up of new shoes thanks to Nana and my birthday present I have managed to meet my Jantastic targets fairly easily. As ever the routine and awesomeness of parkrun is going strong and this weekend was another record breaking for Huddersfield parkrun. 621 runners, breaking the record by 9 and only 3 weeks into January is such a fantastic start to the year, keep up the good work guys. This parkrunday we also had 4 new parkrunners join in, Becky joined us a couple of weeks ago but this week her husband Paul came along and ran with their sons Zane and their new arrival Travis in his buggy, thus creating Team Horsfall. Along side Team Pattison and Team Horsfall was my sister Jessie and she had brought with her and all the way from Liverpool, her boyfriend Matty who was running his first parkrun and being a parkrun tourist as well. We've already talked about plans for us to do the return trip to Princes' parkrun (Liverpools parkrun), as I've already said to a few people 2014 is the year of parkrun tourism. 

I then got thinking about how many people I have directly or indirectly introduced to parkrun and how many of them have really enjoyed it and continue to take part in parkrun. When I say indirectly in kind of mean the butterfly effect, I.e. They registered because they came with someone I introduced to it via word of mouth or social media. Roughly counting I think I got to about 17 people that I know of that have taken part in parkrun resulting from me taking part for the first time back in June of last year. Only 7 of these are family members and the rest comprise of friends or friends of the family, and this is just the start, I wonder how many of these 17 will end up encouraging others to take part too. This is one of the main reasons for the success of parkrun and why Mr Danny Norman gets wildly passionate about parkrun when talking stats and growth on The parkrun show podcast. I enjoy Danny's passion and I hope that it rubs off a little on everyone, then hopefully the stats and growth will continue.

I hope to increase my tally of people I have help to discover the joys of parkrun in the next couple of months and with the Shepley First School fun run being held at Huddersfield parkrun this year I could easily double my number if not treble it. Only a few people at Dexters school have heard of it never mind take part in it, so with the possibility of about 30-40 people taking part in the fun run, my number should increase a lot. However It's not about how many I can introduce it's how many of them continue and return on a regular basis to increase their fitness, better their times or just as a regular fun and social event. This is usually due to the fun friendly atmosphere and people that run, volunteer and organise Huddersfield parkrun. So a big thanks to Simon, Mark, Kerry, Kev, Jo and many others sorry I don't know everyone's names, keep up the good work and let's keep breaking those records too.

How many people do you think you have encouraged and introduced to parkrun and all its awesomeness?

Keep running everyone

Shepley First School Fun Run

Finally the day of the Fun Run arrived and after quick breakfast I was itching to get up there and set it up. Dexter was also very excited to help set up, so Dexter and I went up with signs piled up on Dexters lap. We were up at the Windmill nursery and Coffee shop at 8.30 and to no surprise the gates were shut. It wasn't necessary that the gates were open so we headed off on the route with my running app going. This was to let us know what distance we were at, so we could place the distance markers in the right place. In certain places I had signs to warn drivers and other traffic that there was a fun run taking place. When we arrived at the 4km mark I had some arrows to show runners the way as this was the first big turning on the route. This was also the place where Dean our first Marshal will be for added safety and help. Then a bit further along the route was a smaller and easier turning to miss, so this is where Katherine was our second Marshal. From this point on it was just signs to show the route as it was fairly obvious which way we would have to go. At 7km we had a water station which being managed by my mum, this was also the turning point for the 5k runners who were running the opposite way round to the 10k runners. Dexter and I arrived back at the coffee shop just after 9am so I decide to take him home and get changed before coming back up to finish off setting things up. As we pulled in at home my Dad and Janice had arrived to help and not long later my sister Jodie and her son Liam turned up. So I left them all catching up and set off back up to the start to carry on with setting up. I reached the start at 9.50 and people were already turning up so I had to quickly park up and get sign up sheets out followed by their numbers. As my Marshals and family turned up things got sorted a lot quicker, so I could start getting ready for the run myself. I sent Dean and Katherine off to there spots and my mum to her water station and as everyone turned up it was clear that it was going to be a good morning.

There were a few runners that couldn't be there for various reasons like injuries/illness and other commitments, but the silliest reason had to be my failure to ring Luke at 9.00am to wake him up. He had been out on the lash with other friends the night before (his fault) but I had known about this and agreed to ring him to make sure he got up in time. I had only remembered this promise at 10.20am ten minutes before the start of the run. The atmosphere was building at this point and with everyone doing their warm ups and getting good luck hugs from family it was clearly time to get everyone to the start.

 The time came to start the run so we all went out onto the road where the start line was and we gathered facing the correct direction for the distances we were running. We had also a couple of late changes which meant we had 3 people doing the 10k on bikes. After a last bit of route info from me, Sarah-Jane gave the 5 second countdown 5.4.3.2.1 and we were off.

We set off down the hill towards the first corner and the first killer of a hill up to the viewing point. At the top we turned left onto the 2.5km steady downhill, this meant my split times were great in the mid 4mins. From 3km to 5km is a steady uphill which drained the stamina of most of the runners and possibly even a couple of the bikers. 5-7km is a nice stretch of little ups and downs to keep you on your toes, but it was here when my knee started to feel a little sore. My times were still not too bad in the mid 5mins but I ruined that by stopping at the water station to talk to my mum. I told her off a little which was a bit of a role reversal, as she was in the wrong place. She was, as well as a water station the turn around point for the 5km runners, and as she was in the wrong place the 5km run turned into a 6km run. There was only 2, 5km runners in the end and as I found out later they didn't mind too much. I got going again and the little rest actually helped my sore knee and I felt good and was ready to tackle the final hill. It's not a very big hill but its about 1km long and then when you finally reach the top and turn a slight corner you can see how long you've got left to go. There is about 1.5km till the finish and its lined by 100ft tall windmills and its mainly downhill until the finish. It's a great finish straight or at least I think so, even if after 9km I landed funny on my left and my knee gave in. I managed to run another 100m before I had to walk, then as I got closer to the finish I could hear people cheering runners across the line. This gave me a boost and I pushed through the initial pain and was running again. As I got to the finish everyone cheered me across the line which was a great feeling and a very nice finish to a great run bad knee and all. As you crossed the line there was Dexter Liam, Clark and Phoebe handing out the bottles of water wrapped in a T-Shirt and medal for taking part.

 

 The Kids loved being involved and some of the other kids were running the last 10m-20m in with the runners. I was about 15th of the 31 people doing the 10k or at least I think I was, we should have taken note of who came where just for personal reference, as its a fun run not a race. A few of us kept our own times because we like to know what we've done but it would be another thing we could do for next time for everyone.

A few people had other things to do and got off soon after finishing the run which is understandable the rest of us stayed to welcome everyone across the finish line. The last of which was Rachael Briody but she new she would be as her training hadn't gone to plan and was almost considering doing the 5km. She got a big cheer as she crossed the line and was clearly pleased with herself and so she should be. Now all the runners had finished we had a photo to commemorate the day as some people had left they missed out on the photo.

 I gave Dean and Katherine a T-Shirt and medal for helping out before they left and I also thanked the Windmill Nursery and coffee shop for letting us use their car park and facilities. Everyone was happy with the Fun Run and I got lots of thanks for a well organising event, which was nice and finished off a great day. We were all done and on our way home by 11.50am, but 1 thing occurred to me as I was packing up. Where were the St John Ambulance first aiders we had organised, I asked Sarah-Jane if she had seen anyone but nothing. It was a good job no one was in need of first aid and I hope I don't have to pay for them still. The day went well no one was hurt and everyone had a great time so it was a success and will hopefully be the first of many. The attention now goes to the sponsor money and how much we've raised for the school. Early indication is that this is going to raise a lot of money and it will surprise some people how much.

A big thanks has to go to Shepley Spring for supplying the water and the T-Shirts as they made the Fun Run a little more special

I will update this post with more photos if/when people send me some of theirs that they took on the day, but until then keep running everyone.

Winter running and added enthusiasm

I had my meeting this past Wednesday with The Friends of Shepley First School (FOSFS) about my fund raising 10k run idea. They wanted to hear what I had in mind and they had some concerns about the organisation and safety involved. I reassured them about the safety of the run and told them there wasn't too much to organise and that I would handle that side of it. After a bit more discussion we came to the conclusion that we needed to offer different distances to attract more interest and not to put people off if they think 10k is too far for them. We would also include the option to do a 10km bike ride as well, so the Shepley First School Fun Run to Cannon Hall Farm was born. We set a date for the Fun Run of Sunday 17th of March 2013 and lets just hope it's as warm as it was last year. Everyone at the end seemed happy with the idea and some were already planning their training. I left the meeting and as giddy as a school kid and had to stop myself from running home and actually caught myself skipping now and again. I got home and as soon as the boys were in bed started designing the sponsor forms and flyers.

I was still buzzing and excited about the meeting when I came to do my run yesterday. Which helped as I was on my own as Rob has a slight knee injury, I hope it gets better soon as I can tell that he's missing the running. It also helped me get through the first 5 mins as the winter temperatures are upon us. I went on the usual Monday route but with a slight twist which added a couple of hundred metres to each lap. I was running at a good low 5 min/km pace and the added twist on the route helped with my cardio, and even when I hit 8k when i normally start to struggle I was still full of energy. I was close to the end of lap 4 and was still feeling great so much so that I picked up the pace and finished off with a fast last km. I finished lap 4 in 59.35 and a distance of 11km and was delighted to have equaled my distance PB.

It was good to get that run in, with the winter temperatures and cold winds getting worse the enthusiasm to get out running will drop. You just have to get out and do it, but it helps to have something to run for and the Fun Run is one of those things. I have also just signed Dexter and I up for the Santa Dash around Huddersfield centre on December 9th. He is looking forward to it and the practice run we will have to do in the next 2 weeks. The Sponsor forms came in the post today, so the excitement just got notched up a bit.

I'll keep you informed about the Santa dash and the fun run, and thank you for reading. Don't forget to follow me on twitter by clicking here.

Keep running everyone