'Running with Gru' What's it all about any way?

What's it all about?...

So I came to the realisation recently that a fair few people will of stumbled across my running blog here, and may not actually know who I am and what it is all actually about.

For this reason I recently updated my 'Running with Gru' Facebook charity running page  description to get it upto date and inline with my new fundraising plans for 2016.

That Facebook page is closely linked with this blog as my blogs are usually race reports from events I have done as part of my charity fundraising over recent years. That Facebook page and indeed this blog was originally titled '14 RUNS' which was my charity running campaign title in 2014 and 2015.

I renamed this blog and the Facebook page 'Running with Gru' to get it ready for 2016 and onwards and to bring it inline with my other charity fundraising project a Facebook charity running group titled 'Run or Cake...We run for cake and charity,  what else is there?'


Run or Cake, a brief intro...

The group was set up in Feb 2015 by myself as a way of encouraging runners in their training and supporting them, and at the same time raising money for a total of 4 and recently now 5 charities along the way.

It has indeed been far more successful than I ever dreamed of and as of this week we have raised over £1800 inc gift aid merely by collecting 50p forfeit payments off our runners in the group each time they fail to meet their self set weekly run targets.

The group has a fantastic bunch of fairly local and friendly runners who I know from my various running circles, and were all invited to join by myself or other members of the group.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/761659000585116/ 


Where does 'Gru' fit into this?

Well my nickname in Run or Cake is 'Gru' as I rightly or wrongly see the members of the group as my running minions (in a loving friendly way of course) and try my best to watch over them and look after them as I go along.

I also have a group of Adminions (get it?) who help monitor the runners and their individual targets and they give regular supportive comments and advice and support when needed.

In 2016 the group is continuing to succeed with ongoing donations and new members, although I have capped the membership at 100 members and I carefully consider requests to join the group on a local to the group basis and a friends in the group already basis. This enables members to easily get on with each other and support each other as they are often already friends and well known to each other.

My Running with Gru exploits for 2016 will mainly entail me running with fellow members of Run or Cake on a social and running support basis, as I try to enjoy my running events more with less pressure over speed and time and less pressure on my own individual fundraising total.

My fundraising link on Running with Gru has now also been changed to the Run or Cakes fundraising page as I hope to raise small amounts as I go along, but add them to the groups efforts.

Please support myself and our runners where you can by making donations via the Virginmoneygiving link on this page, which will automatically split the donation between our 5 charities which are all mentioned on our fundraising page.

 http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/runorcake


Another project...

I do have another charity project which is the now yearly 'Seaside24' run which you should be able to see a blog about back in October 2015 and also back in Sept 2014.

It does have it's own Facebook and Twitter pages for updates and pictures and of course a fundraising link.

The Seaside24 in it's first year was set up by myself as a charity run to raise funds for a charity called Chuf - Children's Heart Unit Fund, which is a charity based at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and deals particularly with heart operations etc on often very young babies and children. They operated on the baby of a former colleague, and as work colleagues were organizing a fundraising charity ball I decided to set up the charity run to run alongside it on the day.

In it's first year the event involved a team of runners running relay around our local seaside marine lake for a total of 24 hours and we raised over £1600 inc gift aid.

We also raised money for another local charity Community Link Foundation who help people in the local area with money towards much needed items and grants.

In 2015 I organized the Seaside24 again, this time for THHN- Torbay Holiday Helpers Network and again Chuf. this time we took it up a notch distance wise and we ran Seaside pier to Seaside pier by running from Blackpool South Pier to Southport Pier, a distance of 35 miles. This time we had a team of 10 runners and we all completed the distance together as a group. It was a fun day with lots of pictures a long the way, and we managed to raise over £1400 inc gift aid this time.

In 2016 the Seaside24 is returning for a third time, this time running around the marine lake again, but this time it will not be a relay. The entire team have committed to individually running (with a bit of walking at times) for the 24 hours. They can have rests and breaks when they like and they can retire early if they overdo it, but this will be a tough one. Some of us are going for 50+ and 75+ miles as a personal target.

The charities for this year are being finalised as I type as I await confirmation so I can set up a joint fundraising page for the donations to go to.

Please follow our exploits on the Facebook link here and by all means search us out on Twitter under Seaside24.

https://www.facebook.com/seaside24 

https://twitter.com/Seaside_24

Anyway this was supposed to be a brief update about the various fundraising projects to help link everything together. I am leaving you with a 'copy and paste' from the page description section from my 'Running with Gru' Facebook page as I have just updated that and left a back story in there as well about myself and my fundraising since it's beginning in 2012. You can probably skip through a few sections of it as I have probably repeated a lot above.

Thank you all for your time, and indeed for past support , encouragement and in some cases donations.

Kind regards,

Gru :)



The 'copy and paste' from the Facebook page description....   

 Intro and a little about me:

I am a charity runner in my spare time and I like to at least think I am helping those in true need with what physical and mental attributes I  was given by God.

My time is my own and in my search for purpose in my life I decided to dedicate all my time and effort to fundraising to help improve lives where I can because as someone once said "A life not lived for others, is a life not lived".

I have been charity running since 2012 when I first started running and raised money for Age UK and Clic Sargent during my first year.

In 2013 I carried on fundraising after a close friend of mine died and I started fundraising for Mind, I did my first marathon in this year dedicating it to my friend's memory.

In 2014 I continued raising money for mind with my 14RUNS charity running campaign.

I also set up my own charity run concept the 'Seaside24' in 2014 which entailed a 24 hour relay run around my local Marine Lake. We fundraised for 2 charities at that event raising over £1600.

I repeated the 14RUNS campaign in 2015, but this time for THHN Torbay Holiday Helpers Network who give free holidays and free holiday accommodation to seriously ill children or bereaved families with children who have lost parents

Again in 2015 I organized another 'Seaside24' event, this time as a 35 mile Ultra from one seaside resort Blackpool to another Southport. Again raising money for 2 charities, just over£1400.


(Please note: This Facebook pages previous title was 14RUNS The Sequel and was the follow on from my original 14RUNS campaign from 2014, and ran through until the end of Oct 2015).

Now in 2016 the 14runs campaign is being renamed 'Running with Gru' to tie in with my charity running blogs new name, and to tie in with my other charity fundraising project 'Run or Cake'

https://www.facebook.com/groups/761659000585116/

I am trying to move away from all the physical pressure of me doing harder and harder events and am moving onto being a facilitator to fundraising by creating various fundraising concepts which involve group fundraising. This gives my body a rest, but certainly not my mind, time or commitment.

I will continue to run in 2016 and raise a little along the way but it will all go to my charity running groups fundraising page for 'Run or Cake' which raises money for 5 different charities with it's unique Run or Cake concept.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/runorcake

Running with Gru will become a running for fun concept as I run in multiple events alongside some of my fellow fundraising members of Run or Cake throughout the year, supporting them and encouraging them where I can.

I will write an accompanying blog/review for each event I run and include my fellow runners in the blog, hopefully recording a great event and a great run with friends..

The original fundraising link has now changed  to the new one which is the fundraising link for my charity running group 'Run or Cake' which I set up in Feb 2015, and will still raise funds for THHN alongside another 4 charities, Mind, Alder Hey Children's Hospice, Claire House Children's Hospice and MAMA Academy which is a stillbirth awareness charity.

SOCIAL MEDIA :

I have a 'Running with Gru' blog at the following web address for all my 2014/2015 and now 2016 exploits:

http://runningwithgru.blogspot.co.uk/

I am also on Twitter as Gru@RunningwithGru

https://twitter.com/RunningwithGru

This Facebook page will be the main hub for running related stuff and updates about my runs and fundraising, as well as the Twitter page so please follow them regularly if you can as your support is greatly appreciated and helps to motivate me throughout the year.

A little more detail about my previous exploits in 2014 and 2015:

2014: My running challenge and charity campaign comprised of 14 runs over different terrain and distances, mainly 10k's, half marathons, marathons, 24 hour events and multiday events,and they were all completed by the end of Aug 2014, I carried on running until Nov, hitting 20+ runs.

2015: I continued with the 14 runs theme by selecting another 14 running challenges again 10k's, halfs, fulls, 24hr events, multiday events and this time a 35 mile ultra charity run I set up.Despite gaining a repetitive hamstring injury in June I ended up doing a lot more than 14 in the end again, but finished the year still with hamstring issues. This convinced me to look after myself more and ease the pressure by aiding others to fundraise.


2014 and 2015 SPONSORS:

I was graced with a selection of sponsors who helped me in 2014 and then again in 2015 who stood up and backed me all the way and helped me cover some costs by paying some sponsorship.

My employer Ramada Plaza Southport came on board in 2015 and backed me and I thank them for this.

During 2014 and 2015 I was very honored to of been given a personal discount on all my running gear needs throughout my campaign by a very kind supplier the Ultramarathonrunningstore.com based in the UK.

A very big thank you to them.

http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/

A big thank you also to Vital Events who put on various sporting events throughout the North West including a local Triathlon and Half Marathon.

A big thank you to them for 2015 as they agreed to come on board in 2015 as a sponsor

Take a look here: http://www.vitalevents.co.uk/

An extra special and BIG THANK YOU also to Colin from Holmes-Smith Butchers in Southport for sponsoring me for the full cost of the Hoka's that I mainly run in, and for helping me with my nutritional needs in 2014 and 2015.

I also had another new sponsor who have helped me in the past with my nutritional needs.

51 Trattoria, an Italian restaurant on the Promenade in Southport and just across the road from where I work. A very nice restaurant who agreed to sponsor me in 2015 :

http://www.trattoria51.com/

I'd also like to thank Sam and Run Geek.co.uk for their help in getting my custom designed running t-shirt designed and printed up with the 14RUNS logo's and the sponsor names etc and for doing the work for free.

RunGeek is a supplier of running clothing,footwear and running accessories etc and can be found at the following web address:

http://www.rungeek.co.uk/

Watch this space folks, and please support me along the way

Sponsors as ever will always be welcome so please get in touch through here.

Helsby Four Villages half marathon, where Thunderbirds are Go! but sadly not public transport.......

  
The past history of weather at Helsby and the pre race forecasts.....

Well what can I say. I wasn't ever going to run Helsby half marathon again after freezing my n*ts off at a previous event there in 2014 when the baggage reclaim was atrocious due to long and slow queues in very cold temperatures, and the following year the event was cancelled within hours of the start due to extreme conditions and an over zealous Health and Safety minded Police force.

This year though they promised full road closures, so no traffic Health and Safety issues and an improved baggage facility, and as it is usually a good run to open the year with I bit the bullet and entered.

I started to regret my decision in the days leading up to the event when I checked the local weather. We were having a cold snap and some light snow, and there was a danger it would melt and freeze and leave us with ice. After an initial forecast of -3C at 9am on the day of the event from a forecast done 3 days before I figured it was going to be a no go.
Thankfully the weather warmed (a little) to a forecast of 1C!

All eyes were on the Helsby Four Villages Twitter and Facebook feeds for info the night before and on the morning itself. Thankfully local people were giving localised reports of the conditions so it was pretty certain it was going to on OK and that it would be safe to set of.


The morning of the run.....

Well thankfully I had managed to get a lift arranged with a lady from Southport and Waterloo Athletics Club that had offered to car share. Along with Jane a fellow runner from that club and who is also a fellow member of my 'Run or Cake' group.

Drama for the morning was checking the forecasts as already mentioned to ensure it was actually worth traveling there. The biggest drama was Janes car would not start and she was stranded at home and it was a panic whether she would now be able to make it to the car share from Southport.

Thank fully she bit the bullet and ordered a taxi to Southport and then we all jumped in the car share vehicle and set off for Helsby.

Directions had been supplied by Helsby in the booklet that came with race numbers etc and a pc printout had also been supplied by the partner of the driver from Southport Waterloo Running Club.


At the venue....

I'm loitering in the back ground here, and pointing out the hot coffee van to a lady of camera asking where we got our hot coffee, she is actually stood behind it :)

We arrived safety and promptly after roughly an hour tops, and even managed to get into the main car park at the clubhouse and start area etc. We parked up and headed towards the hot drink facilities, food vendors and toilets etc.

It quickly became apparent that 1C was bl**dy cold, and the icy cold wind was even colder, and if that wasn't bad enough it decided to start snowing! Thankfully only for 20 minutes or so.

It was now a case of staying warm while you stand around , so the hot coffee became my last resort even though I wouldn't normally drink it within an hour of a run, but I had no choice if I was going to get through the cold. I already had Four layers on top, two layers below and a woolly hat and gloves, but I was still cold.


Find a friend time....

Find a friend time, I sense an impostor in the midst.

It was now find a friend time, or find the ones you said you were going to run with at least.
In my case it was fellow 'Cakers' Catherine, Sal & Darren, Jane, Sarah,but there was also  fellow Cakers Trevor, Justin and Ian who would be running their own race. Also among other friends there was Ultra Darren who was out for a little half marathon jaunt.another Caker Sarah and her boyfriend Marc, several regular runners from the Facebook Running Discussion Board, Derek, Erica, Claire, Ed, John, Emma, Dave, David and several more who at the moment I cannot recall.


Last minute pre race rituals.....

So it was now time for the usual quick (who am I kidding) toilet visits and baggage check.I had seen a massive line of Port a loos and thought 'Yay, no probs with queues' until I got there and saw a huge queue. So I decided to queue for the ones in the clubhouse which for some reason had Women in as well because they decided it was acceptable to use our queue and facilities, which meant any guy waiting for a cubicle had to wait a hell of a lot longer. Luckily I went for the quick option.

Baggage check was next, bag already numbered and in within minutes, a vast improvement on previous years. Big credit to Helsby Running Club for listening to feedback even if it was negative at the time.


Race start......

Clearly the early stages, running with Catherine here.

It was 10.30am and we were ready for a prompt start, we found our little running pals and we were off, or at least we were shuffling along the exit road of the car park at least.
Over the official start and the chip mats and we were definitely off and running.

It was now a case of follow the 'Caker' as we tried to keep together. I started running with Catherine who started chatting away and the miles started to pass. Although when we hit two miles I do remember thinking It felt like 3-4.

We continued on and it become apparent very early on to me that I hadn't eaten enough last night and this morning as I'd been working til midnight and hardly eaten when I got in, and then had 4 hours sleep and struggled to eat breakfast. I was 3 miles in and already feeling hungry, that for me is bad as I only only feel hungry when my tanks empty and I usually slowly get slower and slower until I conk out.

We got to the 4 mile marker and I had slowed and was already falling behind Catherine as I could now feel my legs draining of instant energy. Don't let anyone tell you you have 2 hours of energy sat waiting in your muscles ready to get you through a long run. On a good day yes, but when you are under nourished that day and possibly the previous day the stores are running seriously low.

For this purpose I carry gels with me but I had failed to take one before I started which to be honest I shouldn't need on a good day and can be considered a waste, but sometimes it is worth topping up just in case. Today that would of prevented my now 4 mile conk out.
I got to the water stop and stepped to the side while I had a drink of water and resorted to taking the gel I was carrying for mile 9-10 where it is normally needed for the last couple of miles etc. As I was taking it Justin a fellow Caker stopped by and said hello and walked with me for a few minutes as I was taking the gel and drink.

I then realised that Catherine had ran on and was a lost cause as I was waiting for the gel to kick in, and I then wasn't sure where the rest of the group where who were originally just behind me. I couldn't risk waiting for them in case they had already passed and I then lost more time. So I carried on and ran with Justin who was running just the right pace.

We carried on and the miles passed and I felt a lot better as my energy had returned and I could run unhindered. The scenery didn't change much as it was country lanes and fields and more fields, farmhouse after farmhouse and the odd person clapping us as we went past.

Several well manned and enthusiastic water stations later and we were rapidly approaching mile 9 which is where the proper hilly bit starts. Justin had a gel to top himself up, and I was hanging on to the last bit of energy I had from the one I took at mile 4. I could feel myself waning but did my best to carry on and ignore it.

Thankfully we managed to get up the hilly bits without bother and I was actually surprised when we peaked the highest bit that didn't really appear to be the hill I remembered from last time.We even got a compliment of a lady who said "Well done" as we passed her and complimented us on our up hill pace and said she was jealous.

Not far away from the end now, couple of more miles.

It was now downhill for several miles but we couldn't get carried away as that can drain your legs as well, and I remembered last time I went hammering down this hill in 2014 and ended up with legs of jelly at the bottom when I discovered there was another mile or so of undulating ups and downs.

Finally the houses near the finish were in sight and it was over the finish line we went, straight down the finishing funnel to be handed our commemorative medal/coin in a holder, a goodie bag and some little ginger bread men (very little, more diddy men than men) also some water and juice drink and a foil blanket, also a nice little green Hi Viz reflective vest to go over your running gear when you run at night.

Approaching the finish line with our suspect running fashion, not sure who is worse :)

After a 5 minute or so chat with Justin I then bumped into Trevor who had finished way earlier and we decided to go back out down the road a little to cheer our fellow running friends in.

I saw Erica, Derek, Sal and Darren, Jane, and Ultra Darren that I could remember and then stood chatting to Trevor who was waiting for a guy from his club he had been chatting to earlier and he wanted to clap him in.

After a while I suddenly realised it was way later than I thought, as I'd finished a lot slower than normal as I had agreed to run at 10 min mile pace with the others and had maintained that pace hoping we would all catch up etc.

It was now panic stations as I returned to the car park to discover no return lift as the original lift had been waiting a long time and collected Jane and then after trying to contact me and failing had made the decision to set off thinking I had jumped in with someone else as I usually finish a lot earlier than I actually did. It was my own fault.

I initially panicked that Jane was also stranded, but after waiting around for a while and being able to see there was hardly anyone left, I realised she must of been picked up as I'd already seen her cross the line at least 30 mins or so earlier so knew she had already returned to the car park.


Race over....but the adventure had only just begun!

That was the race/run part of the day done with as far as this blog is concerned, so feel free to stop here. If you want to know how a freezing cold embarrassed and stranded runner got home to Southport from Helby in Cheshire then read on.......

I eventually realised I still had my bag in the baggage tent, so I reclaimed that and decided to set of down the road towards home at least. By now everyone I knew had set off home and I didn't want to go online on Facebook or anything and try and get someone to come back for me, as I knew it was cold, we were all tired and we had already run a half marathon.

I carried on down the road and decided that Helsby train Station would be a good call as I knew they do trains that could one way or the other get me to Liverpool and Southport.

Sadly today was Sunday in January and that is obviously when the railways think nobody needs a train, and they had planned engineering works on the line somewhere on the line between there and Chester and there and Runcorn and Warrington

Helsby train station apparently without trains.

I got to the notice boards for Helsby train station to discover there was in fact a rail replacement bus service in place, somewhere down the road. But in big red PRINT was a notice that stated 'You must have your rail ticket in order to use the rail replacement bus service' this was impossible because the station was not manned and you got your tickets on the bl**dy trains from the conductor!

I decided I wasn't going to stand around for an hour in the vain hope that the rail replacement bus driver would let me on as I was cold and I honestly would of got hypothermia as I was still in sweat laden damp running clothes.



The long walk....

The image of that hill is going to haunt me, as it never seemed to get any smaller no matter how far away I had walked from it.

I decided that there was only one option, and it was a long walk to somewhere with a major train station. In this case I aimed for Runcorn and Runcorn bridge which on the journey there in a car didn't seem that far, and on the map seemed hardly any distance at all (You may have realised in previous blogs that I sometimes warn you that I can be an idiot at times!).

So off I went happily power walking down the long but scenic road trying my best to maintain a speed that warmed me up a little, and to be honest it wasn't too bad. I did have a few cold spots I couldn't resolve but I didn't feel there was any hypothermia risk although I did feel sleepy a few times so knew not to stop at all costs.

Just so you are aware, there were no buses on that route sadly on a Sunday (why would there be, after all we have trains!) but there were plenty of bus stops to remind me there were no bl**dy buses.

I went through several places along the way including the rather lovely Frodsham and I walked past multiple pubs and did consider going in for a bite to eat or a hot coffee. But I only had £18 on me and decided it was best to keep it as I didn't know how much trains would be, especially if I had to take a few.

Thankfully my memory is quite good with routes and I managed to pretty much reverse the route we had driven there by walking. I did get stuck when I eventually got to the major A roads and the motorway flyovers etc and as I walked through several sections of roadworks and fencing which were now across what would of been my right of way.

I eventually got to signs for Runcorn and was fairly confident I could get there on foot and then discovered the footpath was completely blocked and it had a diversion over to the other side of the main dual carriageway via a footbridge and then a very vague map on the end of it showing how to get back in the general direction of where I was trying to go.

The diversion was a joke, it crossed the road and went through a built up area and took several twists and turns. Once I got to the first lot of twists and turns I was now guessing on where I was going as I could no longer see beyond the houses etc in the built up areas.


Luckily I remembered right and eventually saw a sign for Upper Runcorn and as I walked down that road I approached a couple and asked if I was going the right way for Runcorn train station. I got an alarmed "Ooh!....yes, it's down this road" and they gave me a long description of how to get there, followed by a " It's a rather long walk" of which I replied, "So is the one I've just had to get here" and thanked them and set off.

They were right, it was a long way and by the time I finally caught a glance of the Runcorn bridge and eventually the station I had walked near on 9 miles, which to be honest sounds like nothing as I thought I had at least done another half marathon in distance at that point, and it had taken me just over two and a half hours!

Here is the route if you want to see it : http://m.walkjogrun.net/jsroute.cfm?rid=51120DEA-BDA9-BCF2-849962A62F22FA75



A train, an actual train!!......

Actual luxury.

So... Virgin Rail, I have never been so glad to see one of your stations and trains. I got a bargain priced ticket for £4.30 to get me to Liverpool Lime St on a nice comfy Virgin carriage. Although sadly I picked the carriage with lads drinking Stella on and multiple kids asked "are we nearly there yet?" over and over and over. But at least it was warm and I was finally sat down.

I was now happily content upon arriving in Liverpool Lime Street and wandered off to Central station to purchase one of it's finest tickets to travel on it's ultimate and luxurious and reliable Northern Line, only to be told by the nervously smiling ticket clerk, that " You are aware there is a rail replacement bus service from St Georges Hall to Sandhills and you have to get on that, and then catch the train at Sandhills back to Southport?" My inner monologue was screaming "Arrrrgggghhh!!!no sh*t Sherlock, of course I was aware, I'm stood here for fun, can you not see the huge smile on my face?"

So after thankfully not saying the above, I accepting his offer of buying my rail ticket there, so I could get on the same said bus at fricking St George's wherever it is Hall.

I went back out into the darkness as I tried my best not to look lost and went to where I at least thought St Georges Hall was. I wandered a bit and wasn't that far off when I eventually asked Dumb and Dumber in day glow Security jackets "Do you know where the rail replacement buses stop?" of which I just got confused looks, I figured where they were stood they would of been asked multiple times by tourists, but clearly not."Is that St Georges Hall over there?" I asked next, to confirm I was at least in the right area. "It's just a bit further down there" vaguely pointing off into the distance and the dark. "Ok, thanks" I replied, not sure if they had helped me or not.


Rail replacement buses....the height of luxury travel.

 

Luxury?...not so much.

So I found it, I got on, and then off again, as the driver in the first bus decided the bus behind him was going next! After 10 mins we were off, and after 10 mins or so arrived at Sandhills. Straight up to the platform to find a train sat there waiting, to go to .....Ormshirk! Arrrrggghh!!!! It was going to be another 20 odd minutes until the Southport train arrived, and the platform was literally in the highest part of the local area with a freezing cold wind blowing right through it. The tiny little closed shelter was already full of people so I just stood there and admired the view of Sandhills in the dark. To be honest, I think it probably looked better in the dark.


Southport bound at long last...

Open plan = Frickin cold and windy.

Miracle of miracles and the Southport train finally arrived and I manged to get myself a nice warm seat to endure another 45 minutes of my never ending story, never mind journey.

On that note I will let you know I obviously got home safe a mere four and a half hours after I finished my run, I had the longest ever shower to try and get my body temperature back to normal, and I ate an entire Jamaican Ginger Cake as a reward for my effort for the day, washed down with a full mug of hot milky coffee, my favourite :)


Final notes and thoughts.....

Thank you to everyone who ran with me today at various points, apologies to those I lost, it was never my intention, especially as I was trying the new 'Running with Gru' social aspect of the running events I am signed up for this year, of which there are many. Well done to everyone who ran at Helsby today, the conditions were tough, you all did well, and it was nice to see you all come home with a smile or grimace on your face.

Thankyou for reading my blog, sorry about the length, but it was a long day as I'm sure you will appreciate.

If you are feeling a little sorry for me right now, please feel free to make a little donation to the JustGiving link on this blog, all monies go to THHN-Torbay Holiday Helpers Network which is a Childrens charity.

Final thoughts....never underestimate the importance of pre race nutrition and food the night before and the morning of the run, it makes all the difference between a comfortable run and a bad one where your not sure you will actually finish.

Finishing late on it a run not only makes you miss the right sized T-shirts at a lot of events, it also makes you miss your lift home :)

My next run is at the Montane Grizedale 13/26 event, and again I am running with fellow 'Cakers' and am looking forward to it.

See you there folks!!

Gru.