News in Brief

 

Max Newton returned to the racing scene after a break of about 12 years but there was no rustiness in his performance. In 1991 at the age of 18, Max ran a half marathon in 1 hour 25 mins and at Leicester on 14/10/07, Max ran the distance in 1 hour 23 mins.

 

Not to be out done, Dave Arnold ran the Gosport Half Marathon on 25/11/07 in 1 hour 20 mins, business as usual for Dave. At the Animal Aid Christmas Fayre in London on 2 Dec, Dave attempted to win or retain his fitness title but this time if correct he only just missed out.

 

With Colin Braybrook joining shortly albeit 2^nd claim although Dave is officially 2^nd claim for VRUK but wears our vest on many occasions, there is the possibility of a winning team if I can arrange a miracle! There is of course James Meldrum up in Liverpool who would be our leading runner.

 

In Scotland, we have the potential for a women’s team with Hazel Robertson, Alison Davie and Vicky Johnson who moved north from Birmingham earlier in the year. Caz Lyall-Ford is a specialist on the Scottish Fells and will be giving birth next year. We wish Caz luck!

 

Chichester 10K, West Sussex – 7/10/07

 

By Peter Simpson

 

 

Left to right: Shazza, Dave, Sid, John & Peter

 

This was the big occasion, not in terms of the numbers participating but the high quality of the faster runners. Normally in a 10K race of 1000 runners you may expect 20 runners to break 34 mins say but on this occasion there were 94. The event included the national, inter-county and regional championships but still allowed the likes of Vegan Runners UK to enter as it is an open event. Despite the competition, we fielded a strong men’s team in Dave Arnold (competed four times in the World Duathlon Champs and has probably ran 34 mins for 10K in his prime), John Morgan, Sidney Delara and Peter Simpson and our sole female competitor was Sharon Davidson.

 

Dave, now resident in Chichester, provided accommodation as necessary and co-ordinated social activities before and after the event and arranged for us to meet adjacent to the finish. Arriving at the meeting point we were greeted by a familiar vegan bodybuilder James with his business car advertising ‘Vegan Bodybuilding Nutrition’. I immediately thought we had an additional runner but he was only there briefly in support.

 

The start was on the access road to the car park but we would all have to take a sharp left onto the main road. I could not see how the runners lined up apart from the finish time indicators but I heard later that the elite had one lane and outside them were the main field of runners. Unfortunately as the race started there was a crush towards the left-hand side and a few runners ended up on the ground or pushed into the safety barrier, one elite female getting injured and obviously in distress.

 

It was not long before we turned right into a housing estate where we were constantly changing from road to pavement to verge as we weaved around the uninteresting modern estate. I was relieved to get out into the country. Early on Sid went ahead of me and opened a gap of maybe 40 metres and seemed to be holding it until about 4K. Sid had run a 5K event two days earlier and said it would likely slow him down. I passed Sid near Goodwood motor-racing circuit where motorbikes were trying to exit and cross the paths of runners. It was at this point that my earlier tiredness had disappeared and seemed to be going along at a good pace, passing many runners. There were a couple of short climbs but they just made me work harder. After climbing the last hill, the remaining 3K or so was fairly straight and slightly downhill if not flat. Near the end we had to turn left in the Festival area and right into the car park to finish. I was surprised to go under the clock at 41.07 (40.55 chip time) but it followed a couple of months of fairly regular training and events, also my best for 5 to 6 years.

 

Dave Arnold achieved 37.21 his best for maybe a year or so, John Morgan 39.54 also not far off his best, Sidney Delara 42.28 and Sharon Davidson 51.31. In the men’s team results (3 per team) we were pleased to finish 20 / 46 teams when considering the elite runners making up many of the teams. [Going back to the Bramley 10 miles in Feb07 we were the 4^th men’s team]. We re-grouped near the finish for our photo-call with assistance from Sally who also ran her first 10K in 54 mins. Dave is training Sally (a former international gymnast) to be a vegan as well as a runner so maybe Sally will be joining us sometime!

 

Dave new in advance an ideal eating place for lunch, Café Paradiso, vegetarian except in name with plenty of options for vegans. I could not resist having two courses. We went on a mini-tour of Chichester on foot, the first stop being the Cathedral where Dave met some of his school pupils and asked them to take some more photos. Next we headed for the canal towpath, taking us in a southerly direction for a mile or so followed by photos on a minor bridge and walk back. Back to the city centre to seek out a suitable café, eventually having little choice but to go in Caffe Nero via a Chocolate Shop (forget the name) that consistently labeled their products as vegan where suitable. We stayed in Caffe Nero well after closing time without being tipped out! We met here another member of Chichester AC who ran the 10K in 36 mins and was sympathetic to veganism. I took the opportunity to pass on Vegan Society literature. It just keeps getting better!

 

I thought before I get back on the train to London I must quickly see Dave’s flat. Ended up having at least a 3-course meal plus the fruit drinks alongwith Sharon, John and neighbour Sally (part of the vegan training course). Spare you the details…

 

Thanks for your efforts Dave. Chances of VRUK meet-up for the 2008 Chichester 10K are likely to be quite high.

 

Kingston Running Festival 16 or 8.2 miles in Surrey – 14/10/07

 

By Andi Gaywood

 

This is my first attempt of this distance (16 miles) since having a short break of over 20 years from running. I have been putting a bit of extra work in with the training with my focus on endurance rather than times. This has included a bit more off road and treadmill work where I have been setting myself a target of 10 minute miles over a longer distance. Therefore my race plan (that's right folks I actually had a plan this time) was to stick to this 10-minute mile pace for as long as I could and just push through the remainder with whatever I had left.

My plan was going well up to the 10-mile marker and from here to mile 11 I slowed down to nearly an 11-minute mile. I managed to drag it back to just under the 10 minutes by mile 14 and in doing so I shaved off 9 minutes on my half marathon time set in Nottingham a few weeks back (Robin Hood Festival) however, after the 14-mile mark my legs started to get heavy and I kept pushing to the finish but doing a couple of 11-minute miles.

In the scheme of running it is quite a slow time (2h, 42m, 18s) but I was very happy with this and the course itself was very flat and quite enjoyable to run. It was a 2-loop race where people only doing the 8-mile run would filter off while the 16-mile runners did a second loop. Now its just a matter of trying to stick to this plan but over 26 miles in time for the Luton Marathon.

 

 

Cardiff Half Marathon – 14/10/07

 

By Peter Simpson

 

I was looking forward to returning to the Millennium Stadium after last year's event only to notice on the eve of the event that the venue had changed to Cardiff City Hall for the Start and ending in the Castle. This year I stayed at the Youth Hostel which unfortunately is close to a dual carriageway and as I discovered there was traffic most of the night! Took the fold-up bike to give that little flexibility although could have walked down to the Start.

 

Back in September we had 5 members entered but after missing the Bath Half Marathon last March due to illness, Karen Morgan suffered disappointment again with a calf strain in September and had to withdraw. Matthew Cole decided that due to insufficient training he would also withdraw rather than risk injury, that left Paul Snell traveling from Birmingham on the day and Ruth Newman from Swansea on the start line.

Considering there were maybe 7,000 expected, the facilities were stretched as you come to expect at a major event. Arrived 8am for the 9am start and it was soon very busy. Getting out of the City Hall was very slow due to the queues for toilets blocking the thoroughfare. Decided to go round the back of the building to the mobile toilets and inintentionally I ended up jumping the queue which stretched about 100 metres. After a little warm-up I decided it was best to get a good start position. At 840am few runners were lining up. A car near the start was in the process of being towed away.

The weather was ideal even better than in 2006 when it was mild but a little windy. There was no delay and off we went at a fair pace given the wide road. I was in good shape after several events since early August and with a flat course I thought maybe a sub-1.35 was possible. As we headed out via the Millennium Stadium to the Bay and 2-3 miles into the course I felt pain in my left calf. Here we go again, deja vu, the good spell has come to an end. I kept going for a while but had that feeling that I may have to retire with most of the field about to overtake. Stopped for a moment, gave the injured calf a massage and decided to continue very slowly, anticipating the next jolt of pain any time. Hundreds of runners appeared to go past me in the next mile or two but fortunately the pain eased but never went away. Slowly recovered my pace and began to feel confident that finishing was possible which earlier was unlikely. I was helped by the flat course and the calf strain was lower down.

As usual when running out of the Bay we could see runners behind us going in the opposite direction. Reaching the more residential area to the west of the Stadium there was more support. We were soon entering the large parkland to the north which included the Castle but with still 5 miles or so to go. In this area it is like a multi-terrain course with tracks taking in the river bank. Across the other side of the river we could see runners a mile or two ahead. The calf meanwhile seemed to remain stable but the pain did not go away. With less than two miles to go we went out onto the perimeter of the park and by this time I was running at normal pace and pushing the pace as we approached the finish. There was the section where you had the choice of the cobblestones used by the emergency services or the field, the latter was much kinder to the legs. I did not realise that we had a similar path to come as we entered the Castle and little option to avoid it just ride the discomfort.

Despite the major blow early into the event it was a relief just to finish without much further calf damage, the time of 1.37.19 chip recorded was a bonus. We received a number of items of food including a can of Baxter's vegetable soup. The area was already fairly busy with supporters but with 1000s still to finish and not a lot of room and one narrow exit point from the Castle walls it was to become very congested later. Apparently a further exit point had to be opened up as an emergency. Returning to the City Hall for baggage was about half a mile walk with a limp.

 

Came limping back to the Castle to see if I could meet Paul or Ruth but given the congestion, the chances were slim as I waited outside. It turned out to be a poor choice for a meet-up given the size of the event. In fact Paul & Ruth crossed paths during the run when the chances were very slim. Paul was running his first half marathon and Ruth only her 2^nd. Ruth passed Paul but the distance did not increase substantially so Paul was desperate to try and catch up with Ruth by the finish but given the congestion lost sight of Ruth. Their times Ruth 1.53.27 and Paul 1.54.17. Paul was expecting to be well over the 2 hours given his limited training for that distance so was delighted with the result. Ruth was about 5 minutes below her previous time in Llaneli but without the congestion her time would surely have been closer to her best of 1.48.

 

Rather than relax back at the YHA I took a brief train trip out to the Rhymney Valley for a cycle ride and warm down.

 

 

Hanney 5 miles, Oxfordshire – 14/10/07

 

By Maria Hamilton

 

my first race in a Vegan Runners vest! After Fiona's stonking performance at Berlin (made of very stern stuff! Good grief! Words fail you!) I was determined at least not to Bring Shame on the club by stopping and walking (have been off since spring with a wonky hip & this was - um - let me think - er, my *fifth* run since I've resumed training! So I am not as fit as I was). And I didn't. I had cunningly brought along my better half (recovering from an inflamed Achilles) to run the Hanney 5 with me to ensure I wasn't last.

I should point out that on my first run out - a 3k fun run in a local village - I did have the opportunity to display great sportsmanship by being beaten by so many primary school children that their combined ages added up to more than mine! I think the course was short as 13min50 sounded suspiciously fast.

Anyway, the times aren't up yet but the Garmin says 45:44 so that'll be more or less right. Apparently the course is flat and rural but you know how it is: when you are desperately puffing along thinking, "I am so unfit, I Must Not Stop Yet", you don't really take in the view! (Anyway, the view - as is true of all of South Oxfordshire, and I'm not complaining mind, it's very handy when you're lost - always has Didcot Power Station in it!).

Like many people I have very quickly come to realise that putting my name on my vest is a priority or it will be "Come on, vegan!" all the way!

I see that Sharon ran it last year so I was very pleased to be able to keep the tradition going.

 

 

Candleford Canter Ladies 10K, near Bicester in Oxfordshire – 28/10/07

 

By Maria Hamilton

 

Having spent months not running while every few weeks a Runners World (and in particular the Events section) plopped onto my doormat, I have a lot of thwarted mental energy (sadly, not as much physical, yet!) and have been entering races with merry disregard as to whether I'll be any good or not.

Two weeks ago I plodded and puffed through the Hanney 5 (my grey and purple face clashing nicely with the black and green vest!), asking every marshal I passed for a lift. Or a piggyback. A go in their wheelbarrow. But! Encouragingly a man with a moustache clearly thought I would survive, and advertised today's race to me.

The Candleford Canter was only half an hour north of where I live and I thought it would make a good training run - the race surroundings being good encouragement not to slack off overmuch, and also: very hard to get lost (I am one of those runners you see popping out of hedgerows at the side of dual carriageways and standing trying to work out which way is North so this is a big plus for me). This one was very well marshalled (including 'tache man, who said hello) and signposted with BIG BIG ARROWS. Good!

Despite the clocks going back we got there with only minutes to spare, and in fact the race started before I'd reached the finish line (I wasn't going to waste any energy running to the start point!). This is why, despite it being a pretty small race - just over 100 runners - I have a chip (sorry, Garmin) time of 58:22 but an official time of 58:35! However, my aim for this run was to try to get negative splits. In the end I think they were almost dead even, so I was happy. On average my pace was a bit slower than for the Hanney 5 - 9:24 vs 9:09 miles - but I felt much stronger and far more happy and relaxed (and able to appreciate the chocolate-box-village surroundings!). Didn't ask any of the marshalls for lifts!
More importantly, there was not a squeak from the dodgy right hip! The left hip complained towards the end, but I have a foam roller that I can throw at it - just a tight ITB, I think. The course was hilly (sorry, UNDULATING!) which is bad for PBs but good when you're just "running through" as it provides shelter from the wind, variety for the eyes (and legs), and lets you experiment with form. There was also a bridleway section (despite the drizzle, not toooo bad underfoot) which I greeted with cries of "let's off-road!" from my poor hips (who like a bit of mud & grass).

Great aftercare - we were offered apples, oranges, and (ripe!) pears at the finish, plus a goody bag with t-shirt, spot prizes (I got a spot prize, my first!) and foot cream (which I shall re-home as my feet are fine & I don't like the look of the ingredients). Yum yum. There were also cakes etc for sale and a village hall wherein the BAHs (Boyfriends And Husbands) can huddle while the ladies are out racin'. I spotted a massage bench but as I had my ITB knuckled and my arse elbowed last Tuesday I thought I'd leave it for more deserving cases.

It was my first all-women race and the only real difference, I thought, was that I did once have to stagger back coughing from one runner who had been overenthusiastic with the smellies that morning! I have not noticed that ever in a mixed race, but perhaps others have ?

 

 

Billericay 10K, Essex – 4/11/07

 

By Andi Gaywood

 

A couple of weeks before this race I had started to experiment with some hill training and interval work to try and get a bit further up the field in terms of finishing. My last few 10K's have been around the 56/57 mark with no real signs of improvement so hence the need for a bit more effort from me.

The race itself was a good PB potential course and had a nice mixed field of abilities. I knew that I had started well as my breathing was laboured and I was working harder than normal. The slight hills during the course I managed to negotiate without any problems and felt that the training was starting to pay off.

 

Throughout the course there were pockets of people cheering us along giving it a positive atmosphere which enabled me to enjoy the race more. I kept a good steady pace and tried to keep my breathing in this slightly laboured zone as I knew I would be close to my PB. At the half way stage I clocked 27:23 which was just outside my previous PB but as a rule I normally speed up a little during the second half of a 10K.

This came to light when I crossed the finish line and saw that I had managed to run under 54 minutes. My official time was posted as 53:30 which I was more than happy with and gave me a valuable learning experience on the rewards of training.

 

 

Watford Autumn Challenge Multi-terrain 5 miles – 11/11/07

 

By Peter Simpson

 

 

Maria in action around the first mile.

 

Ever since Sharon moved to her canal boat back in February she had been looking forward to this attractive event. On agreeing to select it as a VRUK meet-up, Sharon soon took on the publicity role and saw it as an opportunity for members to meet back at her canal boat, Belgium II. At the London Veggie Show on 30 June, along with the other VRUK meet-up events, Sharon in particular gave it a fair amount of publicity using the fliers she had written and similarly I publicised it at the London Vegan Festival and by e-mail to everyone registered.

 

Come the day Sharon had planned the catering for the runners and in addition her work colleagues were invited. Alas apart from myself and Maria Hamilton & partner who unfortunately had to leave soon after the event to return home to care for their dog, the response from the vegans was rather disappointing. On the positive side Maria & partner travelled a fair distance to meet up with us for the first time and our three Vegan Runners vests were easily identifiable. Courtesy of Maria’s partner we have many photos for our album.

 

Sharon’s mother who is in support at most events sometimes on her fold-up bike, decided to make her debut.

 

It had rained leading up to the Start but cleared in time for the earlier 10am start. Another event, the Thames Towpath Half Marathon was scheduled to finish in the large Cassiobury Park, the home of the Watford Half Marathon & 10K events, after 11am. All runners would have passed Sharon’s home on the other side of the Grand Union Canal.

 

The route of the Autumn Challenge 5 miles first took runners for about a mile around the park before crossing the canal and heading out into the woods via a golf course for 3 miles and retracing the first mile in reverse.

 

Returning to running after the calf strain sustained in Cardiff four weeks earlier and recovering from a chesty cough, getting round the course without further aggravation was my personal aim. Started at a modest pace, it was only in the second mile that I began to work a little harder as we descended down the treacherous path into the woods. I overtook some runners in the woods but was feeling the effects of little training in recent weeks. The last mile back in the park feels quite long as the runners climb steadily for 100s of metres thereafter we descend to the finish. I finished in 37.59 (32^nd / 178) about 1.13 slower than the previous year. Sharon had helped a colleague around the course last year but this time was free to run her own event and finished in 45.25 for 94^th . Maria & Sharon’s mother were quite close at the end with Maria crossing the line in 48.42 for 121^st /178.

 

Maria’s partner is a keen photographer and we thank him for the many photos e-mailed later that day. Attempts to included them here were of poor quality so, recommend that you visit Maria’s photo album at

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/t00m45i/Watford5AutumnChallenge

 

Before visiting the Belgium II canal boat, I returned to the clubhouse where there was a large spread of refreshments but only the fruit was definitely suitable for us. I was desperate for a drink as I was still feeling the after effects of the cough but uncharacteristically there was no water provided at the finish.

 

On arrival at Belgium II, the last of the half marathon runners were still passing and others were seen earlier as I crossed Cassiobury Park. It was not long before lunch was served and we continued the social well into the afternoon. Before I departed Sharon took us on a short training cruise.

 

 

Stebbing 10 miles, near Dunmow, Essex – 11/11/07

 

By Andi Gaywood

 

This race is the second in a trio of weekend events which I have been training harder than normal for in the build up for my attempt at the Luton Marathon in December. I was optimistic at the start of this race following my PB in a 10K the week before which also built up my confidence. I learnt a lot about my own running last week and also what I have been reading with how it works in practice. It was a very cold morning and the village of Stebbing was a nice place for this event with great friendly marshals and a very friendly crowd. At the start I decided to try and go at my new 10k pace (PB from last week) and see if I can keep this up for the extra 4 miles.

There were a few inclines to deal with but I managed these ok and kept to my game plan of pushing that little bit harder. In previous races I have kept in a comfort zone (thinking about what pub to go to after the race) which although gets me round the course does not really improve my times and also lacks a certain feeling at the end of a race. That feeling being one where you are knackered and feel like you have actually achieved something rather than a day out plodding round some roads before you go home for tea and crumpets whilst brain draining watching an episode of East Enders on the telly.

At the 5 mile mark I was well within my PB time as I clocked 44:12 , this gave me a good boost to keep the legs moving and not to slow up at all. A couple small inclines had to be run up after this point in the race and the rest was very flat and made good running. I did slow a little at 7 miles but found some extra wind around 8 miles and decided to push a bit more as I knew I was running well. The last half mile I sped up a bit and overtook a few runners to cross the line in under 1 hour 28 minutes which was fantastic and I was very, very happy. The official time cheered me up even more as it was 1 Hour 27 Minutes and 10 seconds which was 7 minutes faster than my previous. Next weekend I go to Jersey for the half marathon and I hope to get a hat trick of PB's although from the write-ups there are a few hills to contend with.