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.
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| Our intrepid team of runners and support crew. |
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| 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.
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| We have landed safely in Blackpool. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Approaching aid stop one, and getting a little warm. |
Aid stop No.2 and 10 miles in @ Warton BAE.
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| 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.
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| I think that's my 'and relax' walk. |
Aid stop No.3 and 16.5 miles in @ Preston Riversway Dock.
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| Happy to see a smiley face at 16.5 miles. |
Aid stop No.4 and 20 miles in @ Hutton roundabout.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Just approaching aid stop 4. |
Aid stop No.5 and 24.5 miles in @Liverpool Old Rd/A59 Junction.
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| 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....
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| Always room for cake. |
Aid stop No.6 and 30 miles in @Texaco, Banks.
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| 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.
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| Ice cream? they will want more cake next! |
Penultimate stop No.7 and 32.5 miles in @RSPB Car park, Coast Rd.
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| 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.
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| Told you, cake again... |
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| And again... |
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| 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.
