marathon

London Marathon 2022

October 11, 2022October 15, 2022 russellsays

In the movie Gladiator, the evil Emperor Commodus confronts his nemesis, the noble warrior, Maximus, who is bound in chains. Commodus stabs Maximus in the ribs, then challenges him to a fight to the death.

Maximus is put in armour, to hide the blood, then released from his bonds. The two men are stood on a platform, which is raised from the dark under belly of the stadium up to the brilliant sunlight and chanting crowds of the arena floor.

As the thousands of spectators cheer, they know nothing of Maximus’ mortal wound. He must fight anyway. He reaches slowly for the floor and feels the dirt, steeling himself for battle.

…fast forward two thousand years, and here I am, the modern day gladiator, making my way through the crowds of Blackheath, towards my arena…

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marathon

London Marathon Load Up – Aldershot Road Relays

September 29, 2022September 29, 2022 russellsays

UK runners have been competing in road relays for over a hundred years. It’s a brilliant way to galvanise a team and prove spirit. This week, it was the S.England 6 Stage Relays, 6 runners in a team all running 6km.

I was selected for Kent AC and traveled down to London on Friday, the day before the race. It meant a lot to me, the only member selected who had also run in the 2012 team, when we claimed our only victory in the event. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, this year I have run the slowest 5k time of the A team and actually half the B team…

marathon

London Marathon Load Up – Lake Vyrnwy Half

September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 russellsays

What you want now Vs What you want most…Being tough is not about fighting every time, but picking your battles wisely. As brilliant as Lake Vyrnwy Half is, and I thoroughly recommend it to everyone, it is not London Marathon. It is not the event I’ve been training 12 weeks for.

10k

London Marathon Load Up – Weeks 2 to 8

September 12, 2022September 22, 2022 russellsays

This week I set myself the challenge of nailing my long run. When you’re training for the marathon, the long run is the most important session of the week. Zooming round the track or parkrun is fine, but if you are too tired to get in a solid long run, your training is not as relevant as it could be. I got out of the habit of prioritising the long run the last few months. I needed to get back on it.

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10k

London Marathon Load Up – Week 1 of 12

July 22, 2022July 22, 2022 russellsays

Then, the final race of the day was called, the Dads Race. I had totally forgot this was a thing. I was called over by some of the other dads. My kids started chanting for me to race. I did the bravest thing I could do in that situation.

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10k

Snowdon Twilight Race

July 4, 2022July 4, 2022 russellsays

Snowdon Twilight is an uphill only race on Snowdon. It starts on a Friday night to avoid the crowds. When I arrived, more than a few people talked to me like I had already won. I wasn’t so sure. Gavin Roberts was on the start line, he has been running very well recently and is a member of the current Welsh team. I knew he would be my main competition.
I was not feeling confident in my mountain ascent. It is a tricky skill to get the hang of, where the line between fine and f**ked is very thin. I let Gavin lead the way with the game plan of kicking on when we entered the final km…

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