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.