Pride10k PBs, Burnham Beeches, Trail des Fantomes, World Beer Mile

Plenty of running to report on once again - although Gavin did me a big favour by pinching news of the big turnout at Battersea last week - highlights including a 10k target being hit at Pride, picturesque jaunts round Somerset, Burnham Beeches, France and Belgium as well international honours at the World Beer Mile.

First up, Natan Doran was one of 9 Heathsiders who popped over to East London for the Pride 10k in Vicky Park and for him it marked something of a milestone: “So one of the main reasons I joined Heathside was to do three things this year: a sub 20 min Finsbury Park Parkrun (achieved this in April); a sub 90 min half marathon (achieved in April); a sub 40 min 10km.

My last 10km attempt took me 40:04. I've always struggled at 10km. Too far to bomb it like a 5km, not far enough for my endurance/ability to keep plodding to be a real asset. After upping my training following good advice from Coach Jacob I finally did it, finishing in 39:03. So happy and I owe it all to Heathside.” You can see just how happy Natan was in the pic above(!). Of the other Heathsiders at Pride Michael Cockings lead everyone home with his own PB, followed closely by Alan Smith who also went round in under 38 minutes.

The previous day, Henry Hamilton sends a postcard from France: “A report from South West France where I ran 'La Feriascapade de Dax' 10k. It ran the 22nd version of ‘La Feriascapade de Dax’ 10k in South West France, a race that attracts nearly 4000 runners and many more spectators as the small town of Dax celebrates its annual festival with the race kicking off the weekend early on the Friday morning. A beautiful 1 lap course winds its way through the town centre and out along the river and then back into the athletics stadium for a grandstand finish. With a huge number of runners the first two miles were fairly congested but this was more about the carnival atmosphere than running a quick time and the bands and shouts of "Allez London" from the crowds made this a most memorable 10k.”

Elsewhere, Race Reporting’s Gavin Evans was over at Burnham Beeches (the spelling is crucial, as this is nowhere near the coast): “As half marathons go, this run is at the lovely end of the scale. It’s just a few miles from the friendly bombs of Slough, but you wouldn’t know it: forests and fields the whole way and very well organised and marshalled, and at the end there’s the bonus of a swimming pool swim and sunbathe. It was a hot Sunday, but the shade of trees provided the necessary protection for the two-lap course. I ran the first half at a leisurely pace (plantar fasciitis has meant that I’ve done no long runs for ages, so I was worried about surviving the distance), but in the second half I picked it up and for the first and, no doubt, last time in my life, did a negative split (in fact, my first half was three minutes slower than my second). I came in at the 1:27:02 mark, getting overtaken on the line by another V50 although it turned out there were two more our age ahead of us – and the first woman home was also a V50, which must be a first”.

Best of the rest

In Triathlon Corner, Claire Sliwerski was another Heathsider on the comeback trail: “I did the 3rd in series of triathlons over at Hillingdon on Sunday.  Was my first triathlon back after 3 years after a super long injury layoff. Really nice course, perfect weather and being able to park up about a metre from transition made it a more than adequate return. Did my usual thing of getting out the water in a decent position and going backwards from there but I did actually overtake someone on the bike leg which confused me no end!  Shame it looks as though this will be the last of these races as the HS2 route is due to go straight through the existing lake. Let's hope it gets a stay of execution for another year.”

Arthur Reed and Ula Cartwright-Finch were both taking on the 800m at the latest Watford Open Meeting, u-13 Arthur clocking 2:47.76 in his heat while Ula was a sliver outside her PB later on.

Laura Boothman ran the latest of her 10 x 10 mile races: “I ran the Harting MT race in deepest Somerset on 6th August, a very friendly, well organised 10 mile trail run with plenty cross-country views, locals, hills and mud. I finished in 1.46.48. And I scrumped some apples on the way back to the station. Highly recommended”

Meanwhile, European correspondent Bas Vlaming has apparently been missing the hills now he’s back in the Low Countries: “After doing this race last year, and Snowdonia a few weeks ago, I already had the nagging suspicion that I'm not really cut out for steep hills - and I'm pretty sure now. The Trail des Fantômes goes through some fantastic scenery and lots of beautiful, narrow forest paths that are great to run on. However, the route also features plenty of gruelling climbs, several river crossings, and more elevation gain than I care for (some 1350 m in my 33 km race, a bit more than Snowdonia). At least I was considerably faster than last year (4:55:18 and 188/380) and the post-race beer is excellent in Belgium, but I'll stick to nice and flat races for the near future for sure.”

And last but not least, David Hellard picked up where the UK World Championships medalists left off in the World Beer Mile at the Allianz Park last Saturday: “I was a bit nervous about representing England and not messing up my beers, so went off at a steady pace, intending not to be too out of breath for the drinking. Overtook on each beer and while they weren't easy, just refused to stop chugging and finished them all in one. Not really experienced at short races, so by the fourth lap I realised I'd just been jogging the whole time and was completely fresh. Finished in 6'12 at least 25 seconds down on what I was expecting, but due to the difficulties others had with holding down their beer or not finishing their bottles, I ended up 5th in my race and 12th overall. As third Englishman home I also counted towards the team, who came third. So weirdly I'm now a global bronze medalist - Sweet!”

Parkruns:

First finishes this week for Chiara Borg at Oak Hill, Tom Aldred at Medina (IOW) and Cas Wright at Dartford. Everyone else’s results can be seen here:

http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2017-08-12

Full Results:

Harting MT Trail Race, Somerset, Saturday 6th August

138th Laura Boothman 1:46:48

Watford Open Meeting, Wednesday 9th August

800m

Heat 1 Arthur Read 2:47.78

Heat 10 Ula Cartwright-Finch 2:20.84

Feriascapde 10k, Dax, France, Friday 11th

456th Henry Hamilton 44:14

Pride 10k, Victoria Park, Saturday 12th

37th Michael Cockings 37:29 (PB)
39th Alan Smith 37:53
45th Doug Rendle 38:14
61st Jonathan Litchfield 38:47
63rd Natan Doron 39:03 (PB)
102nd Leigh James 41:04
107th James McBride 41:!4
122nd Joe Garrood 41:33
260th Jessica Vinluan 45:35

Thames Meander Half Marathon, Saturday 12th

36th Monika Newton 1:35:20

Burnham Beeches Half Marathon, Sunday 13th

14th Gavin Evans 1:27:02

London Summer 10k, Regent’s Park, Sunday 13th

56th Andy Naylor 45:07

Trail des Fantomes, Sunday 13th

188th Bas Vlaming 4:55:18

Hillingdon Triathlon Series (Race 3), Sunday 13th

55th Claire Sliwerski 1:46:16 (12:15 swim; 35:38 run; 58:43 bike)