A small and friendly event (around 160 runners) the Jog Shop Jog is not for the feint-hearted – 20 miles across rolling hills never is. And this year’s unseasonably warm weather made it even tougher.
Run over the South Downs means the terrain is mostly grass and trails, though the first 4 miles are run on the road. Some of the hills are steep enough to mean walking is better than running. So be prepared for the 20 miles to take longer than your best time for a marathon.
That said, the race is very well organised and the marshalling particularly good. Definitely one to add to your race programme.
Make a weekend of it and stay at the Kemp Townhouse, a 15 minute walk along the sea to the start at the Brighton Marina.
Perfect late summer/early autumn running conditions this year for a superbly organised race around the trails and paths of Beckenham Place Park.
The Beckenham 10k trail race has a testing course with a handful of sharp climbs, and plenty of grass and gravel. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming amongst the 200 or so runners.
At the finish you are greated with free tea and cake.
Always a welcome treat.
The Harry Hawkes 8 is a great little race.
Almost dead flat, the course is mostly tarmac trails along the river Thames, with a bit of grass, shale and road thrown in, as well as a jaunt through Kingston town centre. Well organised and marshalled, there are clear mile markers and a good atmopshere. Start and finish are outside Thames Ditton cricket club, which couples as race HQ, meaning there is plenty of space.
Only gripe is the 3 portaloos for 350 runners, but whenever do race organisers provide enough toilets?
Best of all though was the weather. Given the horrendous downpoors over the summer it was fantastic to run a race without a single drop of rain.
Sonia O’Sullivan ran too, adding a nice dollop of Olympic style glamour.
Well, almost.
Fancy running across the Lake District for 30 miles over two days carrying all your camping gear? Then the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon might just be the race for you.
As much a test of your navigation skills as your endurance running ability this is an excellent event and makes a real change to pounding the city streets. You run the race with a partner and there are 8 catergories to choice from – though there is a solo class for the elites – and even one for those who just want to walk. Mind you, for most of the 10 hours I was on my feet, the terrain was so tough I did plenty of walking, scrambling, and even crawling.
The weather in the mountains can always be a bit of a lottery so the organisers insist you have right gear to protect you from the elements and this year every bit of it came in handy. It rained a LOT, and at the times the wind was pretty rough. Specialist shops are the way to go and Lakesrunner, The Climbers Shop and Pete Bland Sports will have everything you need.
But don’t let the thought of bad weather put you off. The scenery is stunning and the feeling of exhilaration you get at completing the course more than makes up for getting a little damp.
The course changes each year and right up until race dayis a closely guarded secret, apart from where the race starts. At your alloted start time You are given coordinates of check points that you have to navigate to, and a time limit is imposed for completing each stage. Good navigation skills are the way to run a quick time and investing in developing these during your preparation, as well as some hill running, will be time well spent. Pete Hawkins’ excellent book Map and Compass is a great place to start, though my advice is to do a navigation course to give you enough confidence over the weekend.
The Saunders is a brilliantly organised event with a friendly atmosphere amongst the runners. At the end you are treated to a hearty broth plus a choice of four different types of cake.
During the last couple of hours of ‘running’ it was all I could think of.
A very popular race but not one for a setting PBs. Most of the first 6 miles is uphill, though that does mean much of the rest is downhill or on the flat, with the last 2 miles run along the promenade.
The crowd support is usually very good and this year was no different despite the awful weather.
That’s my view, but see what other runners think.
If you fancy making a weekend of it stay at the beautiful Swan House, a nice 30-40 minute stroll from the start line. Brendan the owner is a runner too.
Deciding to run a marathon is impressive. It takes courage to commit to even the concept of wanting to run 26.2 miles, but when you add to that all the training needed it becomes clear this is a big deal. So with this mind, setting yourself the goal of just completing the distance – irrespective of the time it takes – should not be sniffed at. Many runners do this, especially for their first marathon because you never know what could happen on race day. In contrast, other runners have times they would love to beat without being too precise, such as running sub 5 hours or sub 4 hours and so on. And a few others know exactly what time they would like to run.
Over the period of a 4 or 5 month training programme these goals may be revised up or down. If training is going well and you run a particularly good half-marathon in the build up this might encourage you to focus on a different time to reflect a greater than expected progress. It is easy to get carried aware here. Any endurance event is never a precise affair, there are plenty of external variables to affect your race no matter how thorough your planning and preparation.
It is important to reassess your goals and target times, but make sure they are appropriate and reflect a modification of your original ambitions rather a wholesale change of strategy.
The spring season of half-marathons is getting under way. Between now and the end of March major half-marathons will be taking place in the UK every weekend, with many on the same day, as runners build up to the big city marathons in April, including London and Paris. Running a half-marathon in your build up has a number of benefits. Not only is it a chance to assess how much progress you have made and if your training is on track to hit your marathon target time, but it also gives you valuable experience in running with a large amount of other runners. Another benefit is the opportunity to try out or develop a pre-race routine, such as how you might deal with toilets (always queue early) and leaving your baggage (don’t leave it to the last minute).
It is best to approach a half-marathon as a race in itself rather than as just another slightly quicker long run as part of your general marathon training programme. That means easing up a few days before the race as a mini taper and maybe an extra day’s rest immediately afterwards.
For those of you that haven’t made plans for a half-marathon find a race here and get signed up.
A very well organised race (apart from a slightly chaotic start) and a pretty flat course means there is definite PB potential in this half-marathon. The route is closed to traffic and uses country lanes and footpaths – all on tarmac – which means plenty of room and hassle-free racing, helped by the fact that there were only 2000 runners.
This year’s race was run in absolutely beautiful conditions: clear blue skies and spring-like temperatures. The race is in its 24 year and on this year’s evidence you can see why it continues to be successful, and a good choice for those training for the London Marathon in April.
That’s my view, but see what other runners think.
I have written before about the benefits of running with music.
Though here is no hard scientific evidence that it can improve performance, running to a beat can promote the ability to exercise for longer and for long weekend runs that is no bad thing. But whilst using an MP3 player or iPod stacked with your favourite music can bring benefits when you train, it may not be the best thing to use when in a race.
Because of health and safety concerns some event organisers have even gone so far as to ban them (though it remains to be seen if this can ever be enforced). So if you can’t live without your iPod then check on their policy when entering the race.
Saves any embarrassment on the day.
Read what other runners think.
My advice is that if you do use an MP3 player for training then do so sensibly, but leave it in your kit bag come race day.
Running a marathon with 1000s of other runners is an amazing experience. But running a race or two before then will not only help build your confidence to run with a large group of people, but also help you fine tune your race day preparation and give you that all important feedback on how well you are progressing.
Every year more and more races are added to the racing calendar and the long-established events become more and more popular. There has never been so much choice – you could race every weekend if you wanted to!
There is no comprehensive source of all UK races, though these websites between them cover pretty much everything:
Runner’s World events
Race Results
UK Results
Many races fill up weeks and even months in advance so sign up as soon as you can.