The Marcothon challenge is upon us again, how will this years challenge go?

My blog posts these days are very sporadic and when I do post it seems to be just race write ups, and when I do have something other than races to write about I don't seem to find time to blog. The other reason I don't blog as much as I used to is a little 2 year old called Flynn!  Yeah he's 2 now and very bossy too. He has discovered words and a few sentences so I get told to get him things a lot or take him places he can't quite reach yet, like cupboards, shelves and mainly the fridge because he wants everything now and won't wait till Lunch or Tea. The main reason I don't blog as much is my best ideas come when I'm out running and by the time I'm home it's gone, memory like a sieve some times!

A Flynn selfie

So what have I been up to recently? Well since the marathon I've taken it a little easier dropping the distances on my runs to no more than about 10 miles and I've been happy to now and again say to myself, I don't have to run today so I won't. That's not because I've lost the love of running or the inspiration to get out there and pound the streets, no. The thing with marathon or longer training is the amount of time you're away from family, and it's especially unfair on SJ as my runs we're mainly when she gets home from work. So she would come home we would have a little time together then I would be out running for a couple of hours, come home jump in the shower and then she would be out doing her things (Judo, Pub Quiz and Beavers). So it's been nice to be able to sit down with her and just do nothing, watch a bit of TV and just enjoy being in the same house together.

A photo of SJ and I at the recent Stadium Runners 10th anniversery awards night and a rare night out for us, it was a great night.

I have done a couple of races since the marathon, the Guy Fawkes 10 over at Ripley castle which was a tough hilly 10 miler, but I finished in a very pleasing time and comfortably too. Then there was the Leeds Abbey Dash which I entered for one reason only, to go for a sub 40 time as I had been so close to it at the York 10k a few months back. Things didn't go to plan and I finished it in 41.04 which is my second fastest 10k time and a nearly 5 minute course PB, which I had to remind myself about as I was a little annoyed that I couldn't break the 40 minute mark. I know it will come but I had set my sights on it and was feeling great leading up to it, plus it's probably the first race that I've done where I haven't hit my target or surprised myself at how well I had done. I've stopped being so hard on myself and just got on with my usual weekly runs but as always my thoughts have moved on to the next challenge or figuring out what the next challenge is.

As it is nearly December it would be a shame not to do Marcothon again as it had such an impact on my running last year. For those of you who aren't familiar with Marcothon it's a challenge that someone started a few years ago that has increased in popularity over the last couple of years. Basically you have to run everyday throughout December for a minimum of 5k or 25 mins that includes Christmas Day as well. Last year I started it with a 21.28 5k PB and a 45.33 10k PB and ended the challenge with a 20.52m 5k PB and a 43.14min 10k PB. I did go on to smash those PB a month later but it was the Marcothon challenge that started the transformation in my running. 

This year however I am going to try to run each weekday with Flynn in the buggy unless the weather is bad as it would be just too cruel to take him out in it. That at least will be a little tougher than usual and could just be what I need through December to give me a good start to the new year and hopefully kick start my next set of races in 2016. 

When I started running, now 3 and a half years ago, I just wanted to be able to drop the boys off at school without breaking into a sweat (check, done, unless we run up because we are late) but as I got fitter and could run further I wanted to keep going to see how far I could run. At the time I was thinking 10k, 10 miles, half marathon possibly, but I didn't think about marathons until I had been running about a year, that was just silly to think I could run that far. That seems to be the case with a lot of people who are new to running they build and build and test themselves and push boundaries and limits, but most people will get to a point and then discover their favourite distance. Even if they have run further before they find a distance which challenges them enough without it turning into pain and that feeling of why on earth am I doing this. 

Now I have done a marathon I can say with almost 100% certainty that I still have further to go, the fact I went 26.2 miles for the first official time and only got a tiny bit of cramp at the finish line has made me question just how far could I go again. I am really looking forward to finding out too but like I said earlier it does take up a lot of time away from the family, so this is going to have to be planned very carefully as I love my family to bits and I don't want my hobby (if I can call it that), to take over their lives too much, it's just not fair. Now don't get me wrong it's not like they hate running they quite enjoy it taking part at parkrun each Saturday and junior parkrun on a Sunday too, there are more things in our lives other than running. SJ, Dexter and Clark have taken up Judo and really enjoy it, so much so that all of their faces light up when they talk about it, just like I'm sure mine does when I talk about running. 

So 2016 is going to be the year of Judo Mons, Judo belts and running miles (or Km if you're like me) let's just hope we can all progress together 

Keep running everyone

2015 Yorkshire Marathon race review and my first of many????

All the miles, the sweat, the blisters, the mistakes, and the time away from the family, led me to this, the 2015 Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon. 

I hadn't followed a proper training plan leading up to the marathon unlike many of my running friends but I knew what I needed to do and I was determined to get the miles under my belt. I knew I was fit and my legs could take the miles but I just had to do the long runs to prove it to myself mentally before the day so I could just turn up on the day and enjoy the experience. The only thing that could have thrown me mentally was the fact that on my long runs I had only managed to keep to my hopeful marathon pace for the first 13-15 miles then I had slowed down. Now granted there was things called hills that got in the way or failed fuelling runs but it was a negative on the training. Luckily I have some amazing people around me that can't fail to inspire me, keep me positive and just make me happy. Negative, what Negative?! I am normally a very chilled and relax person and take things in my stride good or bad but when it comes to running I'm very positive and very positive with other peoples running too. So when I woke up on Sunday morning at 5.20am feeling nervous I was a little anxious, luckily the walk up to Shelley to meet up with Steven Taylor who was driving Steve, Dan and me over to York gave me time to collect some thoughts. So by the time we were on the M1 I was excited again and I just couldn't wait to get there.

Arriving at Elvington Airfield for the park and run bus service we parked up and jumped straight on a bus heading for the university campus, it was really smoothly done, great organisation. It wasn't long before we pulled into the campus and we were off looking for toilets as you do, and then we hung around the event village and got changed and ready in our outfits, got our gels ready and then dropped off our bags before once again going to the toilets. 

It was getting close to the start of the race so we went to find our assembly zones Steven was in zone 1, Steve and Dan were in zone 2 and I was in zone 3 because I signed up before my running had improved so I was down as an estimated time of over 4 hours. As my running has come on leaps and bounds since the start of the year and my training has been going well, I was aiming for a time somewhere between 3h30 and 3h20 so to be back in zone 3 was confusing whether or not it was a good place for me to be. As I tend to set off a bit too fast was it better that I would have so many people in front of me to hold me up but at the same time they could hold me up too much. They could also help mentally as I will hopefully be overtaking lots of people and the more positive thoughts I can get as I run round the better but I could also fall into a slower pace by following the wrong person, so it was a strange and hard to predict what would happen.So I made sure I was right at the front of the zone to give me the best chance ofnot being held up, but it still seemed really far back from where my friends were and I could see the 4 hour pacer in zone 2 and the 3h30 pacer in zone 1. Plus in between zone 2 and 3 was the corporate relay runners but at least they should be faster in theory as they were only running 5km each before handing over to another runner. Just before the start there was a minutes applause for a fellow runner who was due to run the race but sadly died before he could test himself on the streets of York. It was a great show of respect and a reminder that it doesn't matter that much if you reach your goal or fail just as long as you try. It was that moment that I just focused and said to myself just stick to my target pace as much as you can and if I needed to slow down it doesn't matter just enjoy the occasion. If this was going to be my only marathon because I just couldn't do and it was just a bit too far for me at least I could enjoy the atmosphere and remember the day for that and not the failure.

There was a countdown and the 2015 Yorkshire marathon was underway but it was a further 3 minutes before I was crossing the start line and off running through the centre of York. The crowds did help me not shoot off trying to catch the guys, they kept me honest and settled my adrenaline boost until I was running nice and steady at a good pace just overtaking a few people at a time. I found my target pace of 4.45m/km and kept my focus on the route and the surroundings rather than the other runners, just so I didn't start picking someone out and trying to chase them down. There were exceptions to that and they were people that I knew or had met on the day, for instance Steven Taylor's friends that run lots of marathons with him. There was a guy dressed in a full clown costume, I forgot his name but you don't forget a clown costume, another guy with a red top on that I briefly saw before we started and Mike Wells who wore a halo and wings but I knew I would be any near him as he's a phenomenal runner on a run streak of 1500+ days which is just incredible in itself nevermind the distances he puts in. So when I could see the clown in the distance I felt myself pick up the pace a little and as I passed him I got a psycological boost and then kept to my plan and pace. I was soon closing in on the guy with the red top and again I picked up the pace until I was passed him. I was just hitting the first 10k check point at this point and was bang on track, it seemed to fly by the first 10k which was a great feeling. 

It wasn't long before I was catching another stadium runner in Andy Pigg who was aiming for sub 3h30 and I could see the 3h30 pacer not far in front of him so I thought he was doing well. I slowed a little to chat to him to see how he was doing and feeling but he was a bit down beat as things weren't going to plan and he could feel a couple of niggles. I tried to keep him positive and gave him a wish of good luck as I picked up my pace again and set my sights on the 3h30 pacer. This however was the first real time I was held up since the start as we hit a narrow country road section of the route. The swarm of runners that surrounded the pacer was so big that for runners like me that we're trying to slowly make our way past were having trouble and had to be very patient so as not to trip anyone up whilst we made our way through the pack. I even had to wait until wider parts of the road or grassy verges so I could go round people safely, I didn't want to affect other people runs just because I was a little inpatient. Eventually just after the 10 mile mark I was clear of the pack again and the difference in the size of the field was amazing, I had plenty space to pick up my pace again and get back on track with my plan. It was long before the halfway point was in sight, some timing strips and a clock, I hit the timing strip at half marathon distance in a time of 1h40m44s which was pleasing I just had to hope that I can keep my pace up and that the second half wasn't too much slower than that. I expected that from that time I would end up crossing the finish around about 3h25m which was still under my target so a great confidence boost. SJ was at home keeping an eye on my progress via the Yorkshire marathon app and this is what she got at this point.

From my memory of the course route I knew there was an out and back section coming up and it was long before I could hear it too so as I reached a road junction I could see runners going in both directions so I knew where I was and this was a chance to see my friends going the other way and to see if I was catching them at all. I saw Steven Taylor and gave him a big clap and cheer and then a bit further back I saw Dan and gave him a big cheer as he was doing really well and was looking strong, he was also doing his first marathon and was in an excellent position at mile 14. After I hit the switch back point I started to keep an eye out for the runners I knew, to see how they were doing, I saw Andy Pigg and gave him a big cheer. Once again I was upping my pace as I was closing in on Dan and after a little chat with him was passing him and on my way up a very slight incline towards mile 16 and the start/finish of the second out and back section. I hadn't paid enough attention to the route as this section seemed to go on forever, luckily there was a couple of spectator points here with quite a large crowd of people at each point cheering everyone on, it was great and kept my spirits high. Not that they had dropped or anything as still at mile 17 I felt amazing and was have a great time. I saw Steve for the first time at this section and he looked like he was flying, I gave him a cheer and carried on to the switch back point where just before it I saw Steven Taylor and he just said this is where it's all in your head. Which was a great reminder and bit of advice because I said to myself, you're feeling good and all you have to do now is run 13km which you do pretty much every other day at home it's nothing. So with a long steady climb back up to the end of the out and back section I took all the excitement and positive feelings I had and put my foot down so to speak. Reaching the top of the incline and the end of the out and back section I still felt amazing and passing the 20 mile marker I just said to myself only a 10k left. This is where at the start of the race I was afraid I might fall apart as I hadn't had the best long runs in training past this distance, but I saw Steven Taylor a couple of hundred metres away and used him as a target like with the others. As he got closer I thought if I just stay with him I know I should be on for a great time, but as I drew alongside him and had a little chat with him I knew I had more in the tank. So when he said kick on I didn't hesitate at all, and before I knew it we were down to the final 7km, not that 7km to go is a distinctive point in a marathon but it just stood out to me. I found myself counting them down now and as I did that my pace started to slow so I had to focus and remember to lift my knees more and to keep swinging my arms otherwise my posture would slump and I would start to drag my feet rather than thrusting my knees forward. I could feel the muscles in my upper legs becoming slightly painful from about 4km to go and I knew that if I was to slow now or speed up too much I could quite easily get cramp, so I really had to maintain my pace more than ever. 

Turning the corner at the 40km mark a very helpful man was shouting not long to go now just a mile, normally that would be really hard to find exciting but after 25 of them the last one sounds brilliant. It was also at this point that the quiet( village roads started turning into more busy city roads full of sounds from the spectators shouting their words of encouragement and taking photos. Then as I reached University road I knew I was almost there, all I had to do is push myself up this final hill which was steeper than I remember when running down it at the start. I did it though and I was on the final 500m stretch where Kath Pinnington captured this photo. 

I was now running down the hill to where I started round the little round-about and then down to the finish where Mr Simon "the bunny" Brass was marshalling and shouting. I was so happy to see him and hear him it was one of my favourite moments of the race and if I hadn't been trying to hit my target I would have stopped for a big bunny hug. So a high five was it for now although I did start to cramp up as I passed him so I ended up crossing the line a little tenderly, I had done it, I had run a marathon. It didn't hit a first as a just walked on like I had crossed the line at parkrun and done it a hundred times before even stopping to say hello to Tom Williams (parkrun uk Manager) and have a brief little chat although because of the slight cramp I had to keep moving. 

SJ then got this message on her app.

On to the T-Shirt and medal area I went where I met Steve where I also remembered to look at my watch for the first time. I had completed my first marathon in 3h19m57s which was better than I had expected, I was gob smacked and even more so when Steve showed me his time of 3h19m24s which meant I was within 30ish of him. He's such a good runner that if I can get close to him I know I've done really well. Then as Steven T crossed the line and in a time of 3h24m10s it hit me that I had finished my marathon with a negative split, I was speechless for a little bit and didn't know what to do with myself briefly. Then Dan came across the line finishing his first marathon in a time of 3h27m44s which was brilliant and a sub 3h30 which he had planned and trained for, well done Dan. We headed off towards the event village to pick up our bags and meet family etc. and when we got there we went straight over to get our medals engraved with our times on. It was whilst in the queue and checking phones that the emotions hit me and at one point I was very close to bursting into tears. It was so overwhelming and a little surprising that I felt that emotional but at the same time I was thinking damn right look what you've just done, well done you. 

After we had all got our medals engraved we went for a well deserved beer and sit down. We all went through our phones tagging photos and responding to all the message and comments on Facebook and Twitter etc. and after that it wasn't long before we were talking about which marathon to do next. It was a truly amazing experience that how couldn't you talk about another one, even if it did hurt a bit, it was worth it. All the emotions that came with the race and day made up for most of the pain and all the comments from friends and family at home gave me such a great buzz that I will never forget the day I completed my first marathon. According to my chip time result I came 324 out of 3951 which puts me in the top 10% (8.2% to be prescise!) and that is just fantastic. We finished our drinks and headed back to the buses and to the airfield to pick up Steven T's car so then we could get off home and into a well deserved bath. 

Now that the marathon is out of the way the rest of the year seems a doddle up next is the Guy Fawkes 10 mile race and then the Abbey Dash to try and get my Sub 40 10k. If I can get my sub 40 before the end of the year I will be one happy boy. Other than entering races I also have another race to organise this time it's the Windmill 6 on the tops above Birdsedge and Ingbirchworth resivoir, keep your eyes out for that one, it should be a cracking race.

So until then, keep running everyone.

Shepley 10k 2015 - New course record and lots of amazing times

The Shepley 10k returned again a couple of Sunday's ago, (Sept 13th) for its 3rd year and again we had an amazing day and turnout.

This year we were again graciously hosted by the Cricket Club and they were once again having their family fun day with stalls and games to play, along with a BBQ and some music. The local Beaver scout group also had some activities going on as well as crafts and glitter tattoos, the kids really enjoy it. The cricket club hosted the kids fun run again this year and were amazed by the turnout, so much so that they introduced age categories..

On the morning of the race I was up early to send the boys and SJ off to Huddersfield junior parkrun whilst I went to set up the course with Km markers, arrows and other signage. The weather was glorious and a complete change from the day before where it decided to rain pretty much all day, there was now barely a cloud in the sky and no hint of wind which is unusual for Shepley. I finished off the course and ended up back at the Cricket Club to make sure things at the start were in order. I organised the back of my car so I could use it as a registration base made sure I had all the goody bags, t-shirts and water. I had everything but a course map and as people started to arrive it was clear I really needed one, luckily SJ had arrived which gave me the opportunity to pop home and print one off and as I returned things were starting to build up nicely. My volunteers were arriving and quite a few on the day entrants had also turned up easing my nerves about breaking even on the costs.

As the start time was approaching I was getting more excited, more excited than last year and most other events I'd been to. I wonder if this will happen every year, whether it will get more exciting each year or not, I hope so. Next year there is the possibility of the Shepley 10k being on the Stadium runners championship calendar which would mean more runners, more excitement and more money for the Cricket Club. I don't want to think too far ahead but the Shepley 10k could be a really good event and I can't wait to see how it develops.

We all gathered at the start line and I gave a brief safety announcement and then left the countdown to SJ, 3,2,1 and we were off, I still didn't know at what pace I was going to run, fast, slow to watch people go by or with Jessie. Like last year it wasn't until I hit the road outside the club that I made up my mind, and as last year and pretty much most races I went for it, I enjoy going fast just too much. I headed down Marsh lane towards the co-op and made a left on to station road and then again on to Jos lane where I made up a few places on the long flat section of the course. The race director in me was still worrying whether the people in front of me were going the right way but as I went past marshals they reassured my fears as they all seemed happy that every was going the right way. This meant that I could just enjoy the race, the hills and the picturesque scenery on this glorious day.

The hills as big as they are flew by and I was soon up at Snowgate and heading out towards the main road and the final small climb before the long fast finish down Marsh Ln back to the Cricket Club and the finish. I crossed the line in 6th place knocking 8 seconds of my PB which is awesome considering some of the times that people managed on the day. There was some amazing times across the board and even our last place finisher did the route in a brilliant time considering the hills and his return from a slight injury. 1st place was taken in a new record time of 36m10s knocking 4 minutes of last years record, he ran round the course that fast that our announcer missed him crossing the line. Well done Tom and I hope you return next year to defend your title....

 Whilst the race was happening the cricket club was organizing the fun run for the kids and they did a great job, the numbers were great too. They had about 40 juniors on the day, so many that they separated them into age categories which made it a lot more fun for the smaller ones as it gave them a chance to win a medal. There was 3 different age groups and it worked really well and the kids all got a sweetie goody bag at the end, I think sweets at the end would've been enough for all of them anyway, so the medals for the top 3 was a nice bonus.

The family fun day was great again with BBQ, bouncy castle, stalls and music. With the sun shining everyone had a amazing time and the kids were running between stalls and activities making sure they got as many goes as possible. It was a great event for the Cricket Club but it could be better and hopefully next year with the race growing in popularity and it being added to the Stadium Runners club calendar it will bring extra people to the club. In all honesty the race could have been better too, as I think both Cricket Club and myself could have advertised the day a lot better and should have spread the word a lot more too. So considering we hadn't done the best we could the outcome we got was truly awesome and so encouraging. 

I might have some other news about the Shepley 10k and my new race The Windmill 6 coming soon so keep reading and keep running everyone.

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