Tonight's post should be quite brief as it simply covers a few bits and pieces that have been happening recently.
Firstly, to those of you who haven't noticed, I have added a few extra pages to my UltraStu blog site. It was whilst chatting to some other runners at a recent RunSportShoes event in Brighton, that I realised that my blog needed some tidying up. I was commenting to one of the runners Jody Raynsford, who had just returned from completing the eight day TransAlpine trail race in Europe, that he may find some of my blog posts interesting. It was when trying to recall the title and month of the best blog posts that it became clear that some tidying up was required. So I have cut and pasted material from various blog posts and turned them into focused articles. As time permits, I will add a few more. But at the moment you will notice above that there are four articles. Hopefully these will be a useful resource to new visitors to my UltraStu blog. You will also notice above, the tab titled UltraStu Talks. This page is I guess to advertise myself, in that I am available to do talks to running groups, simply to share my ideas and to meet friendly and interesting people. So if you think you would like to "Meet the Man Behind the Blog", zap me an e-mail and we can arrange something.
Below are some photos from the RunSportShoes event in Brighton. Click here to see a brief feature on the day, which included a very enjoyable question and answer session with four interesting and inspirational runners: Mike Scholes, David Bradford, Kevin Betts and John Shippey Also included during the day were various other sessions, including a gait analysis whilst running on the treadmill in some complimentary Saucony shoes. So if you are looking somewhere to purchase some running shoes, and your local running store can't get the shoes you need, check out the SportShoes website.
Speakers Mike Scholes, David Bradford and Kevin Betts
Squashing Jody During Paired Stretching!
Back in August I was visiting one of my local running shops, The Jog Shop in Brighton, http://www.jogshop.co.uk/ to pick up some Jog Shop gift vouchers, prizes for my village 5km race. I'm going to get a bit side tracked here, but as this blogpost is sub titled "A Few Bits and Pieces" I will continue. Yes, the Kings Head Canter 5K is a great 5km road race that takes place in the picturesque countryside of East Sussex, on August bank holiday Monday. I am the race director and have been organising it for the last eight years, as part of my giving something back to the running and local community. We are fortunate that the race is sponsored by the 1648 Brewery, and The Jog Shop, Brighton. So all finishers receive a pint of 1648 beer, brewed on site at the Kings Head Pub in East Hoathly, located at the finish line of the race. The prize winners also receive Jog Shop vouchers, that seems to aid in attracting the top runners from Sussex. So the friendly village race is a great event, catering for all, from the super speedy runners, to the local villagers, including many youngsters, sampling road racing for the first time. If any of you ultra / marathon runners out there need some speed work, then keep this great race in mind next August. Check out the race website http://www.kingsheadcanter5k.org.uk/ that contains some excellent photos, to get a feel for the tremendous atmosphere.
Anyway back to being in The Jog Shop. While in the shop I picked up the free running magazine titled Running Free. If you haven't come across this magazine, I guess it has been going for around three years, it has one or two good articles each month, so worthy of a read. The magazine is available in running shops, as well as online at the following website: http://www.runningfreemag.co.uk/ So here I was glancing at the magazine, and on the cover it stated "Hit the Trail - Experts Share Their Favourite Routes P38". So I thought , I wonder who the trail experts are, maybe I might know them. I then got a bit of a shock, when I turned to page 38, and one of the experts happened to be yours truly! I had totally forgotten that a few months earlier I had e-mailed off some material regarding my favourite trail runs. Click the following link http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?eid=ffabecfe-2fcc-4234-83b2-a335339f28f7 to access the magazine, or you may possibly be able to read about my favourite routes in the image below.
Favourite Route Featured Zoomed In
(i) Beachy Head and Seven Sisters, down here in East Sussex. The description I provided has been edited, so not totally clear. However, to assist any runners that wish to run this great route, yesterday in the pouring rain, and gale force winds, I managed to convince my running mate Rob to join me in running the route, in order to obtain a GPS trace, which I am now able to post here on my blog. Total distance was 11.6 miles, and the coastal scenery doesn't come much better, however, we didn't see much yesterday as we had our heads down battling into the wind and the horizontal rain! Click here for details of the route on GarminConnect.
My favourite Beachy Head and Seven Sisters Trail Route
(ii) St Peter Port to Portelet, on Guernsey in the Channel Islands. This route is one of my favourites, as each summer we have our family holiday on the tiny paradise island of Herm, just off the coast of Guernsey. Herm Island is simply great for family holidays, with sandy beaches, and most important a three mile long trail that circumnavigates the island. However, even by alternating my laps of Herm Island, clockwise one day and anti-clockwise the next, I tend to head to Guernsey for my long run during the week. My long run is therefore the favourite route listed in Running Free, known as the Guernsey Cliff Path run. In the magazine the distance states around 15 miles, But looking on GarninConnect at some old GPS data I managed to find for one of the runs that I had logged, it indicates 16 miles, In recent years, since moving up to Ultra Distance events, I now usually complete the 36 mile lap of Guernsey, consisting of mainly coastal paths, which starts with the very undulating16 mile Cliff Path run and then flattens out for the remainder of the circuit. The images below show the route and the elevation profile. If ever in Guernsey, this run is absolutely fantastic, including the cakes and coffee at the cafe whilst waiting for the next bus to arrive and transport you back to St Peter Port. Click here for details of the route on GarminConnect.
My favourite Guernsy Cliff Path Trail Route
Whilst I am commenting on my summer family holidays on Herm Island, I can't not mention the Herm Island Fun Run. Yes, every year during August, a 3 mile trail race takes place on Herm Island. Like the Kings Head Canter 5K, it caters for all abilities, from speedy runners to young children. This year I was fortunate that no super quick runners turned up, so I was able to get around the island and finish first, and receive the complimentary Herm Island ice cream upon finishing, which my two boys specifically enjoyed upon finishing the race. More enjoyable than their pint at the Kings Head Canter 5K! Again I got a surprise when I was e-mailed the following link to a news item about the race. http://www.thisisguernsey.com/news/2012/08/18/one-man%E2%80%99s-stroll-is-one-boy%E2%80%99s-marathon-effort/
Coming Into the Finish
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Chris Mills Sprinting to the Finish
This link also contains some photos of the event which again illustrates the great atmosphere of this friendly community event. Whether an ultra distance event, or only 3 miles, the friendly supportive run community feeling is ever present!
Opps, gone a bit off track again! Back to the magazine features. Yes, the other day I was chatting to my physio Luke from Sportswise Sports Injury clinic, down here in Eastbourne. He's the chap that keeps me running, by treating me like a pin cushion with his acupuncture needles. The thought of needles isn't very pleasant, but the actual treatment isn't too bad, and they definitely do the trick in terms of relieving tension in the muscles. So Luke mentioned he had just been reading about me in the most recent Running Fitness magazine. So within a month, I received my third surprise of fame?! Not sure whether you will be able to read the article in the images below, probably best you can't so I don't get prosecuted for breaking copyright law! Alternatively go to the Running Fitness website where you can subscribe for three issues for only £3.
No signing off quote tonight. The post has been 'bitsy' enough!
All the best as you accommodate the many 'bits and pieces' within your lifes.
Stuart
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