And when they were up they were up, and when they were down they were down, and when they were only half way up......they said "Sod this I'm walking!"

Snowdonia Marathon Sat 24th Oct 2015.

Well the day had finally come, it was the morning of my last charity run this year as part of my 14RUNS charity campaign (soon to be renamed 'Running with Gru'), and it was going to be a tough one.

This event sold out in the first 48 hours of opening for this year so I felt privileged to have a place in such a momentous marathon and had indeed been looking forward to it since January when the places went on sale.

I had only done my last tough event less than 2 weeks ago with the 'Seaside24' 35 mile ultra I blogged about recently, and I had done my best to rest and recover as much as possible ready for today.

The lead up to this event was pretty touch and go as I hadn't managed to secure a lift as I didn't know for sure if I was going to be physically fit enough or injury free enough to even contemplate this event after the ultra. For that reason I hadn't booked any kind of travel or accommodation just in case I cancelled.

Thankfully once I had decided I definitely could do it, and definitely did want to do it, I put a few lift requests out across social media to fellow running friends across the North West. True to form a few came forward to offer lifts from Liverpool. Only problem was I had to get to Liverpool pre public transport hours, so I would be looking at £30 worth of taxi and a donation towards petrol, a cost I couldn't justify.

True to form a good fellow running friend Ben aka 'Ultra Ben' mentioned he was going and after a polite and not so subtle " any chance of a lift?" he came up trumps and even volunteered to pick me up from my home in Southport. Big thanks to Ben for that one.




The night before/morning of the run......


Well I'd gone to bed early in a vain attempt to rest and sleep, and I managed a fair few hours but still woke up at 3am feeling hungry and I was tempted to get up even earlier than the 4.30am I had set my alarm for.

I stayed in bed and dozed a little til 4am and then gave up and got up as I was wide awake, hungry and quite excited to be honest.

I was genuinely excited because I used to holiday with my family in the area that this marathon is held, and I was extremely familiar with the starting point at Llanberis next to Llyn Padarn. It was nice to finally be going back and doing something I truly love i.e. running and in an area I love..

Llanberis next to Llyn Padarn with Snowdon in the background.

The weather forecast for the day was atrocious to say the least, with heavy rain forecast all morning and the first 2 hours of the run at least. Temps were forecast at 9C but a 'feels like' equivalent of 3-4C. This didn't bode well with running gear selection.

I finally decided on a Tech t, then a zip up second layer running top and then a fully waterproof jacket.I finished it off with a peaked cap to keep the rain off my face and a thin pair of running gloves. Bottom half was compression shorts, running shorts and long compression socks with a secondary pair of socks to help prevent blisters when my feet were wet and sliding especially on downhills. Shoe selection was my Hoka Cliftons which I knew would bode well for the 90% or so of road we would be running on.




6am and we are off to Wales......


A nice prompt pick up at 6am by Ben and we were off on our day trip to Wales, and at this point it was still completely dark, and the race wouldn't be starting until 10.30am!

The trip there was fairly straight forward as there are main roads pretty much all the way there, although we did get caught out by unannounced roadworks at Runcorn and ended up following the official 'Diversion route' which seemed to be a mickey take diversion of 99% of the surrounding countryside in the dark. We could of been going around in circles we wouldn't of known as it all looked the same in the dark.

Eventually after a 10 minute or so diversion we were back on the A55 and and along the Welsh coast, shadowed by very impressive yet daunting cliffs and hillsides along the way.

Daylight finally arrived and so did the rain and at this point we were not too far from Caernarfon. The road there thankfully was a fairly newly resurfaced one and nice and wide as the rain was coming down that thick and fast it was hard to see where the road was, never mind where we were going.

Caernarfon castle.

Safely at Caernarfon and then off towards Llanberis down a road I must of been down a hundred times as a kid. I could of almost followed it blindfolded and it brought back fond memories of the route, including going past Bryn Bras castle which is next to the caravan park we used to holiday at.

A little further down the road and we were at Llanberis itself and we swiftly parked up by the roadside on the outskirts of the village.




Registration and number pick up.....


Our first port of call was the registration and number pick up at the Electric Mountain Visitors Centre. We had to pick up our numbers by 9am but we still had 20 minutes, so there was no panic. On arrival we found the big room at the back to check our numbers on the lists on the wall, and then line up to collect our number, our t-shirt, some HI5 goodies, a nice little memento race booklet and a nice big waterproof 'poncho' which had Brooks running printed on the back. It could just as well of said "Welcome to Wales".

Official T-shirt given out pre race so no problems getting the correct size.

Now it was hang time as we tried to kill an hour and a half of waiting around until the start.
We used the time to talk to people we knew as there were quite a few that either I knew or Ben knew through our usual running social circles. I bumped into Eamonn, Rachel and Jane all from Penny Lane Striders from the Liverpool area and a regular sight at these tougher events. I also bumped into Gillian from Liverpool Running Club which was a surprise, but then again as I was stood near a toilet queue it probably wasn't that surprising because that is were most of us bump into each other.

Priority number one was now frequent visits to the loo as my guess was we wouldn't be finding any Porta Loos on this course, and I hadn't been to the loo yet as I got up so early.

Next was last minute food and in my case it was a large flapjack bar to ensure I felt at least a little full. As I was eating it I saw a cameraman accompanied by a presenter and watched as I saw her stop people and ask them on camera why they were running the Snowdonia marathon etc. I panicked and did my best to look like I was really busy eating my flapjack and avoided eye contact and they went past..phew!

Ben returned from his visit to the loo and I was totally blindsided and caught out when the presenter and camera man reappeared in front of us and said something in Welsh. I'm guessing she asked if we were Welsh or spoke Welsh, I panicked and pointed at Ben who then looked as panicked as me. I had to quickly open with "Sorry, we are both English".

She thankfully smiled and then spoke to us in English and asked if it was OK to ask us a few questions while they filmed. "Yes fine" we said and she started with Ben and asked "In three words describe today's event" Ben replied "3 big hills!" which got a laugh out of the presenter. She then asked "Why are you here today?, or why did you choose the Snowdon Marathon?" (something like that) I replied "I used to holiday here as a kid, and I thought it would be nice to come back and run here".

She moved onto Ben and I mentioned he was on his 97th marathon and was doing the last 3 next week after this one. She was flabbergasted, and as Ben explained that he was doing it as part of his attempt at joining the '100 Marathon Club' she had to start again and ask him to explain. He calmly explained on camera that this was his 97th marathon and he is doing another on Tues and then Wed and then the final one on Saturday!




10.30am and it's time for the off!....

The starting line up at this years event.

The start line was a little stroll down the road and yes it was still chucking it down, but by now we were getting used to it. We walked down with Eamonn, Rachel and Jane and readied ourselves for the starting gun/whistle/horn or whatever it was going to be.


A quick 'have a good race' to and fro and we were off. Ben was taking it easy he said as he obviously had his marathons next week to get through as well, but I knew full well his 'taking it easy' was my 'full throttle effort' so after the initial 3-4 miles we gradually parted company as we dodged other runners of various paces who were in front of us.

Dodging the camera bike become a regular chore after a while at this point as it kept appearing from behind and driving through us all while beeping it's horn to warn us. It seemed a bit dangerous to me and to be honest bloomin annoying, and I won't repeat what came out my mouth on the 3rd or 4th time I had to move over for it.





The first 5 miles and the approach up to Pen-y-Pass.

 Llanberis Pass to Pen-y-Pass.

The first section of the route was up Llanberis pass through the magnificence of the valley and the enormous and steep mountain side on both sides of us. This is truly a reminder of how small and insignificant we truly are when compared to the vastness of nature and the World around us.


I recalled looking up at these mountain sides in my youth and looking at the tiny specks that were mountain climbers attempting their latest death defying feat of climbing up the valleys vast mountain sides. The Llanberis pass has a long history of rock climbing and to this day is a mecca for the adventurous among us.

Water station 1 came and went half way down the valley at just past 3 miles, and it was onwards to mile 4-5 and what was the start of the long climb out of the valley to Pen-y-Pass and the YHA buildings there.

This was a tough long and slow climb and at it's highest would reach an elevation of 1000ft+, but with it being the start of the race most of us had the freshness and energy to still run up it.

I was starting to struggle and had to constantly tell myself that I'm not allowed to stop and walk at this point because I was better than that, and that I can have a rest at the top. I was also getting overheated as I was fully wrapped up against the rain and this was causing me discomfort as well, but I decided being dry at this stage was better than being soaked early on.

Still smiling.....if only I knew.

The final bit of the climb before Pen-y-Pass finally arrived and the steepest part of the climb, and boy was it hard not to walk it. A timing mat was there and I crossed it with a time of 44mins 40secs for what was about 4.75 miles and I was in position 986 out of 2000+.

I had a gel and drink at this point and stopped for 5 mins to try and pack away my waterproof jacket which folds into it's own pocket and then straps around your waist. Unfortunately this jacket clearly wasn't designed to be worn with the strap whilst running because it bobbed annoyingly up and down even when I tied the elastic strap as much as I could. I resorted to carrying it in one hand in it's packed up state.





Miles 5 to 13 Pen-y-Pas to Beddgelert.

The steep descent from Pen-y-Pas down into the valley.

Next was the rapid decent down to almost normal ground level before a sharp right turn that took you towards Bethania and Beddgelert and at this point I hit a 7 min mile as I tried to be careful and not blow out my quads by running too fast and damaging them for later on.

Shortly after the bottom of the hill and the right turn you take a little road down the right hand side of the main A498 and this is a farmers track with loose stone, mud,grass and lots of water and trip hazards.

It was also by now full of road runners wondering what the hell was going on and running fairly slow and cautiously down it. At this point I thought 'sod it' and ran without a care in the world down what was going to be a fun part of the route.

My kind of running trail.

We rejoined the road at roughly 8 miles and the road was open to traffic, so this became a bit of a battle between runners and road users who thankfully on the most part were quite patient and courteous to one another apart from the odd **** with their 4X4's, camper vans etc etc who clearly were in too much of a hurry to consider other peoples safety.

Mile 8 to 9 was alongside Llyn Gwynant and past water station 3, and it was a welcome distraction to what was still an uncomfortably wet run as it was still raining and as I had taken my waterproof off I was pretty wet and not that warm

Llyn Gwynant.

Mile 10 approached at Bethania and it was at this point I tried to work out how I was feeling physically, as the earlier miles had taken some toll with the ups and downs and the damp weather was not suited to keeping my leg muscles nicely warmed up. I could feel my right hamstring was not particularly happy and it felt way to loose and relaxed considering it should of felt slightly pumped and firm, it was at this point that I started to worry that if it felt as weak as it did, that it could turn into a major issue later.

Mile 11 was alongside Llyn Dinas and onto water station 4 and if I remember rightly the water stations now had HI5 electrolyte drink as well as water so I started on them.

Llyn Dinas.

I was now trying to run at a comfortable pace and was telling myself that I can have a breather and a walk break just after the half way point at Beddgelert, which I knew also had HI5 gels which I was going to have to take regularly to avoid hitting 'the wall' at the later stages. Miles 12-13 seemed to go on forever but I managed to keep running by convincing myself it was just around the corner, I avoided looking at my Garmin and just used the regular mile markers to gauge where I was.

Beddgelert arrived and the welcome sight of some gels and lots of support from the local crowds who were good enough to come out and cheer us on in the wet weather. I lost track of how many times I heard "Da iawn" which I presumed was Welsh for "Well done" and several "Oh my goodness" as I passed. I was a little concerned at the "Oh my goodness" comments and started to check my clothing to ensure I wasn't showing more than I should in anyway, my shorts were fully intact so no problems there.





Miles 13 to 21 Beddgelert to Waunfawr.

The bridge at Beddgelert.

At some point in or around Beddgelert the halfway timing mat was in place and I clocked it at 2hrs 00mins and in 755th place. I didn't know it at the time but I had gained 200+ places at some point since the 5 mile timing mat, and I'm guessing it was the long downhills I bombed down. I was now knackered though and was very willing to lose places from now on as I just tried to survive the second half of the course.

Coming out of Beddgelert is a several mile long 600ft+ climb, and I won't lie I had always planned on walking this one in an attempt to preserve my legs for the later stages.
I didn't realise just how long this climb was and felt guilty at times to be walking, but I can walk fairly fast with my long legs and quite a few others were now walking this section too. It rapidly became a game of cat and mouse with several other runners as we alternated between running and walking etc.

Miles 13-15 were pretty much the long drawn out climb and a chance to admire the surrounding scenery which was indeed magnificent and worth all the pain I was in.

My hamstring was now feeling pretty tired as would be expected and my other one was tired as well, but by now my previously injured one was making me limp a bit so I knew it wasn't working 100% and wondered how it would deal with the final miles, the final big hill climb and indeed the leg bashing final decent back to the finish.

At the end of the climb was a welcome water stop at Pont Caer Gors and mile 15, and again it was HI5 electrolyte time. Then it was back to running again finally.

Welsh highland railway at Pont Caer Gors.

Mile 16 was alongside Llyn-y-Gader and Rhyd Ddu and water stop 7 and this time I stopped to take a gel, I realised how tired my legs were at this point as I nearly fell backwards when I stood at the side of the water stop to take the gel. I think this is partly down to standing still when you have just ran 16 miles or so leaning and moving forward and your bodies balance is a tad confused.

Miles 17-18 was now a case of running a mile and walking for a couple of hundred yards and running another mile to ease my legs a little.Mile 18 was the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel and the official cut off point where if you hadn't passed this point by 4 hours into the run you had to stop and jump on the sweeper bus that takes you back to the finish. I was at this point extremely happy to see this and felt a lot better in myself that come what may I will finish even if I have to walk the damn thing.


Mile 18-19 was alongside Llyn Cwellyn and miles 19-20 took me to Betws Garmon.
The 20 mile marker was at Betws Garmon and finally the sun showed it's face and blessed us with some warmth for the first time in the day.

Llyn Cwellyn.

I glanced at my Garmin on mile 20 and was quite surprised it stated 3hrs 19mins which is how long my flat training runs take if I have walk breaks or food or rest stops. This meant that even though I had wasted time on walking the previous long hill and had a fair few little walks I was on a decent time for that terrain, for me anyway.





Miles 21 to 26.2 Waunfawr to Llanberis, the final stretch and the the final 1000ft+ hill!



Mile 21 and the sight of Waunfawr in the distance was a welcome one, even though I still couldn't comprehend running to it. I was having regular walk breaks at every mile marker now just to keep me going. I told myself no more walking, that big bloomin hill is coming up soon and you can walk up that as a rest lol.

22 miles and Waunfawr was finally here and the famous right hand turn up that hill. Thankfully a water station with HI5 electrolyte and gels were in abundance ready for the task ahead so I grabbed a few of those and did my best to power walk up the hill, or at least walk it quicker than the oldish man that I am would do if on a stroll.

Mile 22 beyond Waunfawr and up towards Bwich-y-Groes (older picture).

23 miles and another welcome water station in which I think I just had water to help all the previous gels and electrolytes along. There was also another timing mat here as we were almost at the top of the hill and I crossed it at 3hrs 53mins and position 1125.

All the walking in the previous miles had now taken it's toll on my position but I wasn't there for a position, I was there for the fun, the adventure, the stunning scenery and the leg busting challenge. I was just below the highest point on the course and the hardest bits (I thought) were behind me, I was on top of the world and rather ecstatic!!

24 miles and we had topped out the hill and there was a flat stretch ahead, my head and my legs really didn't  want to start running again but I forced myself to as I knew the downhill was coming and time would probably be lost there as well. The final check point was here as well, so a quick final drink and off.


25 miles and after a few minor ups and downs and a mile of water soaked paths with running water going across them and I'd totally given up the notion of trying to keep my feet remotely dry. It was now the dreaded quad busting ,hamstring busting, knee busting and now for me foot busting final decent for 1.2 miles straight down the hillside paths which went from stone to mud and path to grass back to mud and path, water and more water and eventually after many slips and almost falls finally some tarmac.

No rainbow on the day, but this was the view we got as a reward on the final descent, albeit on a far wetter and more muddy and slippy day.

I had to walk a lot of it as it was way too slippy to run in road shoes, and I for a brief second wished I'd worn trail shoes just for this section alone, but the other 90% of road in them would of trashed my legs and feet even more.

The final bit on the farmers track was ridiculously steep,and if you couldn't run it with fresher legs you had no option other than slowing to a walk/jog. I had to lean back to slow down and my knee was taking a beating and really hurting and so was my foot as another old reoccurring injury had come back, and the bones in my mid right foot were killing me.

So now I had a very sore right hamstring, a very sore and painful right knee and a very sore right foot, I was surprised I could run in a straight line at this point and hadn't already ran of a cliff or into a prickly roadside bush.

At long last the roads of Llanberis arrived for the final third of a mile or so and a welcome section of flat terrain, and finally a bit of speed returned to my legs as I could see and hear the lovely Welsh welcome home reception that the locals were giving each and every runner as they ran down the high street on the final approach to the finish line, and finally I was over the line in a welcomed 4hrs 35mins.

A visible sense of relief that I had finished.

Afterthoughts....

It was a truly lovely event in a lovely area and I would recommend it to anyone who is capable of a marathon and at least the odd hill already.

The Welsh hospitality was second to none, and there was no feeling of been rushed or jostled along at any point which you tend to get at most road marathons.

It would be a good idea to try and stay locally in a B&B the day before or even the day itself because there is some lovely cafes etc there and the scenery of the area surrounding it all is fully accessible from Llanberis as a central point.

Snowdon itself is accessible via the Snowdon Mountain railway based at Llanberis so worth a trip to fully appreciate the wonder of God's country that you have just ran through, and indeed the great mountain you have just circumnavigated over a very tough and challenging 26.2 miles, it's one hell of a way to sight see.

A massive thank you to 'Ultra Ben' for the lift there and back and to all the other people I know that ran it and wished me well, and all the people who supported me in the lead up to the event itself.

Thank you also to all my friends in my running circles, particular my running group 'Run or Cake' who fill me with confidence ever day with their on going love and support, you truly are my running family.




A final few pictures.... 

The route circumnavigating Snowdon.

The beast itself 'Snowdon'.

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"Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside"...Oh shut up Eamonn!

The lead up to the big day....

Well this day had been a long time coming, since August actually when this event was originally planned for as part of my ultra training for the City to Sea 53, a 53 mile charity run in the Devon hills and coastline. The 53 mile ultra was the THHN Torbay Holiday Helpers Network inaugural Ultra Marathon event,this is the charity that I personally run for, and I had been looking forward to it since it's conception last year.

Sadly I got injured on a training run within weeks of running another marathon back in May, the Claire House Excalibur marathon  which was 26.2 tough miles through the Clywdian range in North Wales. I suspect it left my leg muscles weakened and a little 5k training run turned into months of injury woes and a yearlong charity running campaign turned on it's head as a result.

Because of the injury and my stubbornness of continuing to run my subsequent charity runs shortly afterwards, a simple hamstring injury would take months to heal adequately and would count me out of training for the biggest challenge, the 53 miler.

The Seaside24 Pier to Pier 35 mile challenge that this blog is about was originally penciled in 3 weeks before the 53 miler so I could use it as my longest ever training run and to see if I was actually capable of such a daft distance.

Once it became obvious that the 53 miler was out of the question due to sheer lack of healing and training time, I made the decision to move the Seaside24 back to later in the year to buy me some training time and also to help the mad people who had volunteered to run with me.

It was Summer of course, and it became apparent that people were not really marathon ready at this time of year, because who runs 20 mile training runs in the middle of Summer? certainly not me at the moment a man who can't run in heat, and by the looks of my friends running reports, they weren't either.

So I officially moved the event to October 11th much to the relief of myself and certainly my friends. I was extremely relieved mentally because with the reoccurring injury and the pressure of the runs for charity I was getting more and more stressed and slightly depressed, especially after pulling out of my main charity event of the year the City to Sea 53.


The Seaside24 a brief history....

So as some of you will know I created a local charity event in 2015 called the Seside24hr Relay in which myself and a team of almost a dozen people ran in relay around my local Marine Lake in sunny Southport for 24hrs.

It took place last August to coincide with a charity event at my workplace that was raising money for a charity called CHUF the Children's Heart Unit Fund, and I had decided I wanted to do something to help their fundraising efforts so I developed the Seaside24 concept to raise money for them and another charity that our hotel supports CLF Community Link Foundation.

Our team of intrepid and brave runners came from my list of running friends within the North West and a selection of staff who could at least run a few laps without dying on me.

We raising in total over £1600 for the charities we ran for and straight after the event people were already keen to sign up for it the next year, but it was way too early for me to consider it until we entered 2015 at least.

So 2015 came and by now I had already planned my charity running calendar and running campaign on behalf of THHN as I launched a second year of my 14runs charity campaign that I had set up in 2014. This meant for a while during the year I did not know for sure if the Seaside24 would make an appearance in 2015 due to my other running commitments.

Once I had finalised all my running plans for the year I saw the need to get a really long training run in for the City to Sea 53 mile ultra, so I managed to adapt the Seaside24 concept to incorporate this by turning it into a Seaside to Seaside run event, ideal I thought, so how far is it to Blackpool? ...gulp! and the rest is history.




The fundraising runners and support crew..... 

So now it was time to choose a team of people mad enough to join me for this tough challenge. I started with the list of last years participants in the Seaside24hr Relay as this seemed the most fair. Several said yes and now it was time to carefully invite others on board from my running friends and people I trusted the most to be reliable and who would genuinely train, fundraise and indeed turn up on the day.

Our intrepid team of runners and support crew.

This one has our volunteer runner transport in Janet.

The final list of runners who made it to the start line were Chris Wills, Darren Seeney, Barry Rimmer, Eamonn Brady, Maddalena Capp, Sal Seeney, Rachel Kenny, Jane Blacklin, Chrissie Stewart and myself.

We had two great support car drivers Keith Peacock and Annie Mcc who took us all there to Blackpool for the start and then met us aid stop by aid stop with water and food and all our kit etc. We also had another generous driver Janet Hill who drove several runners to Blackpool to drop them off for the start because we couldn't all fit in the two support cars.

We also had a support cyclist Vicky Simpson who kindly volunteered to follow us on her bike to check all the runners were OK from front to back etc.

I would like to say a massive heartfelt thank you to all the support crew mentioned above and indeed my fellow runners listed above for having the faith in me to join me in this challenge and to give up their time for free to do it all.




What was it all for?.....

I chose two charities for this particular event this year. First was always going to be CHUF again as I felt I owed it to them to raise money for them again at this event.

The second was THHN who I am personally running for throughout the year in the 14runs charity campaign, and if your reading this blog or have read any of my previous ones you will already know this as it's all over the blog.

The Main event... 

So finally onto the main event itself as I've gone on a bit with the back story and I'm conscious this is going to turn into a mammoth blog due to it's 35 miles of fun,frolics and mainly pain.


So it was 7.45am I was casually eating my toast and my mobile rang.."I'm here" said the voice on the phone, and then it suddenly became very real that this was it, my biggest challenge ever and certainly longest. It was Keith on the phone sat outside my flat ready to load up the water and refreshments for the day and take them and myself to our meeting point outside the Ramada Plaza Hotel on the Southport seafront.

Once loaded it was onto the Ramada to meet the other runners and the rest of the support crew. Hello's, good morning's and how do you feel? seemed to be the order of the day at this point.

Lots of hugs all round and it was into the support cars and the extra car for runner transport and we were off on our adventure.

I chose to take us all on the reverse of the run route we were going to be running for 35 miles to give them an idea of the route, and to help them see the terrain and paths etc they were going to run on. Several area's had sections of grass verge they would have to run down when the path's disappeared, so it was vital they could see them.

It became apparent as we were driving, that it was a bloomin long way and I was quietly smiling to myself and wondering what the rest of the runners were saying to each other as the realisation kicked in, after all they had never seen the route before.

We got there promptly and it was time for several pics as we got ready to run and we had parked just across the road from the Sandcastle, as that was next to the South Pier our official starting point and an obvious photo op to prove we were actually there.

We have landed safely in Blackpool.

Smiles all around as we used various methods to stay warm.

Everybody ready? right then we're off!..... 

10am was the officially planned start time and at roughly 10.05am after a few subtle coughs from Keith it was time to go and personally I couldn't wait.

Off down the Blackpool Prom we went with several started families wondering what a group of mainly middle aged day glow runners were doing plodding along the Prom in such a happy enthusiastic mood.

Within minutes it was onto the seawall and the welcome sight of the sea, but it was then I realised and pointed out that I could already see the actual finish over in Southport a mere 10 miles across the Bay, whereas unfortunately we were going to have to run 35 miles via Preston as it was the only crossing point over the River Ribble between Blackpool and Southport.

It was at this point that it all started. We had brought along for encouragement the legend that is Eamonn Brady. If you are part of the running community in the North West you will know of Eamonn, he is always the life and soul of the party and seems to be part man and part Terminator as he never stops, and I don't mean just running. The immortal words came out of his mouth "Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside" and the realisation kicked in that i might have to listen to this for another 34.5 miles :)




Aid stop No.1 and 5 miles in @ Fairhaven Lake St Annes.

There is a joker among us and his name is......

The first stop was a mere 5 miles down the road via South Shore at Blackpool and of down the the main road to St Annes. It was at this point that I noticed a nice long section down the beach alongside the dunes which is my preferred running terrain, but I couldn't be so cruel as to take the group along several miles of beach as this would truly sap their leg strength.

After the high dunes stretch alongside the main road out of Blackpool towards St Annes we took a right turn onto the Promenade and all the lovely continental looking hotels there.

Onward past St Annes Pier and to Fairhaven Lake which is a lovely area for a day trip if you fancy it on the Lower Promenade of St Annes.

Our aid stop was originally planned for a car park there but the car park wardens were out in force so Keith and Annie chose a sude street to park in for aid stop no.1.


It was a welcome sight as it was a bit warm when the sun popped it's head out from time to time and it was clear the running vest was going to be the attire of the day.

I'd packed all sorts in my bag in Keith's support car just incase the weather was difficult. It turned out the weather was ideal for running, not too hot, not too cold and a slight cooling breeze.

We fed and watered ourselves and took a few pics, as did Annie who was also official photographer for the day because she has an eye for a good photo and was also in the ideal position of being at the aid stops before us, so could take photo's as we approached and came in to the aid stop.

Approaching aid stop one, and getting a little warm.

Aid stop No.2 and 10 miles in @ Warton BAE.

Eamonn and myself representing the two charities by being charity vest bookends for the photo.

The next aid stop was in Warton 5 miles down the road again, but we had the pleasure of running along the coastal path at Lytham and past the windmill which of course was an ideal photo opportunity for us all.

It also became apparent at this point that toilets on the Fylde coast would require 20p to get through the locked door. Ever the experienced runners several of us took turns to use the bushes that were there to try and make the toilet blocks look a bit more scenic.

It was pretty much all path to Warton and easy to follow as it was the A584 so a main road, it changed from built up area's to countryside and then back to built up again.

It was on this approach that I noticed a weird numb feeling taking over my right previously injured hamstring, and I was although not feeling any pain extremely concerned at what may follow.

We all got to aid stop 2 safely and started to eat and drink again and take the odd pic and have a good chat. It was turning into a really good social run as we distracted ourselves from the task ahead.

I choose at this point to try a bit of Deep Heat on my hamstring, but to be honest it already felt really warm so it made no difference, no pain though so still good.

I think that's my 'and relax' walk.

Aid stop No.3 and 16.5 miles in @ Preston Riversway Dock.

Aid stop 3 at Preston Riversway, and a cake and coffee feast.

 

The next stretch to aid no.3 was off down the A584 past Freckleton and to the end of the dual carriageway, and down the A583 to Preston.

This was going to be the longest section at near on 6.5 miles and would include several sections of grass verge alongside the dual carriageway as the paths regularly disappeared.

There was a strip of tarmac on the edge of the road that cyclists were using but it was a tad close to the traffic and I happily chose to run in the slightly awkward and uneven grass verge, but compared to the tarmac it was like a carpet and I quite welcomed it.

The group spread out quite a bit at this stage as it was a tough section and we couldn't always see each other but with it being a long clear straight stretch you couldn't really get lost.

I wasn't that alarmed by people being further back especially as one runner had alerted everyone to the fact that she liked to run at the back because she gets wind!

Phoar, better waft that one about abit!!

Eamonn ever the gentleman offered to run to the back of the pack and check on how they were doing. they were always fine and where we could we would incorporate a 5 min walk break for a bit of a rest in the middle of the longer sections. This seemed to work well and often gave the group a chance to get back together again.

The end of the dual carriageway came and it was a right turn and along the A583 towards Riversway Preston. This would be a couple of miles so it was a 5 min walk break again to rest a little and give the back a chance to get nearer.

The final approach to the Preston Riversway docks involved a right turn and down a lane so we decided it would be wise to stop for 5 minutes to get the group all together again to run the last 0.5 miles to the aid stop.

We were all back together again and in we came past McDonalds and into the adjacent car park to the welcome sight of Annie and Keith and a friendly visit from a member of my Run or Cake Facebook group Andrea who had popped in to see us.

Plenty of food and drink followed including lots of beautiful cakes and treats hand baked by Annies daughter Aoife and tea and coffee for those who wanted it. Multiple pics and a clothes change and toilet stops for several as all the amenities were on hand at this stop, and we had an agreed 30 min time stop here to ensure we had adequate rest for the rest of the run another, 18.5 miles!

Happy to see a smiley face at 16.5 miles.

Aid stop No.4 and 20 miles in @ Hutton roundabout.

Aid stop 4 at The Anchor Pub, Hutton.

So off we went again towards aid no.4 after a nice break and to a chorus of Ooh,ooh, Ouch, ouch and Flippin eck! as we realised our muscles etc had started to stiffen up after the extended rest.

It was vital though to be adequately refueled in order to get through the rest of the run, especially if appetites bottomed out and people were unable to eat as you can often feel sick in the later stages.

We headed off alongside the Preston Riversway dock and back up the flyover and over the River Ribble which was the cause of our 25 additional miles on this route just to cross it.

Next was the dreaded Penwortham Hill which is a pretty steep hill, although on foot it wasn't actually that bad. The front of pack decided to run up it and then wait at the top to ensure everyone else was up without incident, and quite frankly it was another excuse for a rest and welcomed by me in particular.

Any excuse for a rest from now on.

Next it was through Penwortham and along the dual carriageway and after a couple of miles another welcome walk break for a few minutes.

This section of the run was one of the shortest with it only being 3.5 miles as I had factored in the hill might demoralise a lot of us and our upcoming pit stop was at the big roundabout where you turn left towards Southport down a very long stretch of road, so mentally we would need a little stop.

We arrived at aid stop 4 which was alongside the Anchor Pub near the Hutton roundabout and I for one was really glad to see it as I was getting a few bad blisters as it felt like the plasters I had put on some of my toes had come off and were themselves causing me issues.

I checked my feet and replaced a few plasters, this time ensuring I put some on my little toes as these were the ones causing an issue as I hadn't covered them initially. I changed my socks as well, as I was wearing compression socks and they had bunched up my toes quite tightly and were possibly the problem.

We all took on board more food and drink and in some cases painkillers etc, inc Rachel who was having a few issues with hip pain among others and was trying Ibuprofen gel which I had offered. She also adopted pretty much a no stop strategy as stops were making it difficult with things tightening up and becoming more uncomfortable. within minutes of us stopping she was off down the road ahead of us all,on her own, a real trooper.

It was at this point that a few of our intrepid runners reevaluated whether they would go on to attempt the full 35 miles of the run, as I had given the option of doing smaller sections of the run if not feeling fully fit to do the full thing. I wanted it to be about the runners, and being part of the experience with friends was the key draw, and we all had the option to stop at any aid stop and become part of the support team instead until the end.

Sal who had initially committed to her sponsors to at least attempt 20 miles which was in itself a big ask, decided she wanted to go on.Jane who had been suffering for days with a really bad cold took the sensible option and joined the support crew in the cars while she decided whether or not to run the last stage or two at the finish when we were going to run in as a full group down the Southport Pier.

Just approaching aid stop 4.

Aid stop No.5 and 24.5 miles in @Liverpool Old Rd/A59 Junction.

Aid stop 5 on Liverpool Old Rd, a well earned sit down.

This was a very welcome aid stop for me as this was a long section as it was 4.5 miles and by this point my legs were starting to fill with Lactic Acid and my muscles were not clearing it fast enough, the pace from time to time was being pushed by Eamonn the machine Brady who honestly doesn't feel the degradation and breakdown of the leg muscle that us mere mortals feel. He has ran several ultras and multiple marathons and often takes out groups of fellow runners on a Sunday morning on the 'Happy Bus' even if it is the day after he has just ran a tough ultra.

From time to time Eamonn would drop back to check on the others near the back, and it was a welcome relief because I could then slow to a more comfortable pace. Chris and Darren who I was at most points running with happily slowed into my pace instead of Eamonn's.

As we neared the aid stop I had to give up and walk a bit as my legs were now killing me and a brief walk was a welcome relief before starting a plod again with fresher feeling legs.I was now also getting twinges from my hamstring tendon.

It was only just prior to this aid stop that Rachel had appeared on the horizon as she was way ahead of us because she had chosen to run on through the pain instead of stopping fully at the previous aid stops. I honestly thought at one point she had gone home as I hadn't seen her for miles.

Aid station finally reached and it was all smiles from Annie and Keith and another ideal photo op as we approached them as we ran down the country lane.

It was also a good to time to eat even more cake apparently....

Always room for cake.

Aid stop No.6 and 30 miles in @Texaco, Banks.
 

Time for a chillax at 30 miles.

Upon leaving the last aid stop I had had to put on my knee support that supports my knee and my troublesome hamstring tendon where it inserts into my knee.It had started to twinge and was getting irritated and painful along with my hamstring muscle itself and the whole lot was starting to give me serious trouble.

It was getting to the point were it almost felt as bad as it did when it went at the R'n'R Liverpool half marathon back in June and I had continued on to the end and in doing so completely screwed my hamstring for the Summer.

I knew it was another 10.5 miles from there and not finishing was not an option, I considered the fact that I had managed to complete the half marathon with the same issue and decided that even if I ruined my hamstring again it would be worth the price as I needed to finish this event whether I could walk at the end or not. I had watched Rachel and Sal struggle on for miles and that in itself made me more determined to stick it out, it was my event I could not fail to finish it.

We carried on towards aid stop 6 and the front and middle runners swapped and changed a bit as people tired at different stages. Vicky on her bike continued as always cycling up and down to keep us all company and to check we were OK and it was a welcome relief to know she was there to relay messages if needs be.

I was by now back to my accustomed hobble that I learned to run with at the Tour of Merseyside and the pain was bearable at it's worst. I eventually caught up with Chris and Chrissie who were also feeling it by now, and I adopted a pattern of walking for 0.1 of a mile every time another mile clocked over, this was welcomed by them as well as it helps clear the Lactic acid in the muscles.

In we came at the Texaco garage and it was food and drink time and as ever photo time, it was also family time for a few as a few peoples family were dropping in from time to time to support.

It was at this point at the 30 mile mark that I finally felt a sense of achievement for myself and particularly for the others, as this was uncharted territory for all of us except Eamonn, and it was really nice to see the others coming in minutes behind us with smiling faces as they clearly could feel the same.

Ice cream? they will want more cake next!

Penultimate stop No.7 and 32.5 miles in @RSPB Car park, Coast Rd.

Nearly there, some very relived faces here, including mine.

We left the Texaco and on towards our final stop at aid stop 7 and it was a welcome relief to know it was only 2.5 miles away, but It still required a few little walks every mile or so as the legs were destroyed now.

Southport Coast Rd finally came in sight and off we went down it, and as we looked over our shoulders we could see Blackpool where almost 8 hours ago we had set off from.

We could also see the huge sand hills next to our next aid stop and that was a very welcome sight.

It was in the last half a mile to the aid stop that I had my energy crash, I started to feel weak, hot and dizzy at the same time as I had exhausted my energy supply and the gel that I had had within the last 30 minutes clearly was not enough. I decided to walk a little and let Barry and Maddalena run on without me as I was risking falling over my own feet and flat on my face.

Within a few minutes Chris appeared from behind and I felt suitably recovered to run in to the aid stop with him.

Food, drink and lots of photo's again and we waited for everyone to come in and stuffed our faces with any remaining cakes as you will see from the pictures.

Jane had also rejoined us back at the last aid station and was running in with Sal and the others and was now ready to also do the final stage with us which would take her distance ran up to 25 miles, a great achievement considering she didn't feel well.

Told you, cake again...

And again...

And again, and we haven't finished yet, still 2.5 miles to go folks!

The final stretch, the end of a very long road and the typical Southport sunset welcomes the runners home at the close of the day.



Off we went for the final 2.5 miles accompanied by a glorious sunset as we approached the final section towards the Southport Pier.

 We had a few walks and admired the sunset and I hope I wasn't the only one who thanked the great man above for bringing me home safely to such a glorious sight.

It had been a really hard day and as the final beams of daylight shone from the settling sun I can safely say we had given our all and we were ready to put our feet on that last couple hundred of yards of pier ready for the finish.

We finally got to the pier and Chris's watch clocked the 35th mile and we waited for the last few runners and we joined the pier at its mid way stairwell and then ran the last couple of hundred yards to the Pier entrance.

We had done it, 35 miles stomped and plodded out over the last eight and a half hours including breaks, but we had managed to do it in a total moving/run time of 6 hrs and 16 mins, no mean feat but our motley crew.

The welcome home...

The final few feet of the Pier done and then it was a welcome home from family members for many, a great round off for the day.

And to end the day off nicely Eamonn gave us one more chorus of "Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!"

Final thanks...

Can I just say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who was involved in the Seaside24 event this year, and for your continued support during the months before it when I asked for runners and volunteers to accompany me on this challenge, especially with the fundraising aspect which is what it was all about for me. You and your supporters have raised an incredible £1300+ inc gift aid so far!

To see money like this raised by the event going to two great charities and particularly children's charities makes all the pain and effort worth it, and that alone will give me the strength and determination to continue on next year with whatever form the Seaside24 takes in 2016.

You are all truly wonderful people and I am happy I was gifted the chance to meet and run with you all.

God bless.