RUN 164 - Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series Stage 6: Cornwall

The Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series (CTS) just gets more and more amazing! I was lucky enough to run and finish the Marathon course along the west coast of Cornwall today, from St Just, along the coastal path about 13 miles north towards St Ives (where Pirates of the Caribbean is about to start filming) before heading inland through the village of Zennor and across the farmlands back to St Just. Every step threatened to twist an ankle on the rocky terrain, with punishing assents of up to 700ft followed by fast tricky descents to cross rivers, bogs, ancient abandoned tin mines all while avoiding cows, bulls and not getting blown off the cliff into the Atlantic!

The course is tough, single file for much of the first half and tough to overtake without causing injury, but that probably helped me keep pace. I finished faster than both The Gower and Portland in 5hr 24m 49sec, a provisional 47th out of 120 in the marathon. It might not sound like a great finish, but theres no comparison to a road course, in a race where finishing is the goal of most who enter and in a field of massively impressive runners i'm feeling happy and strong, looking forward to testing my endurance in a road race later in the year.

I ran much better without the camelbak, and thanks again to my amazing wife and parents, they kept me fully motivated throughout the course with water, food and cowbells! much to the satisfaction of many of my fellow runners too.

The elevation chart clearly shows this was my toughest course so far, but the path itself was just as challenging, with hardly a single step landing on flat ground the entire way.

I continue to be amazed and inspired by the people i meet; first time marathoners, experienced fell/cross country runners who have tackled the Himalayas, arctic circle and beyond; a cancer survivor running his 130th marathon; and the camaraderie of runners willing to give up their race to help someone injured, i came across just such a pair helping a seriously dehydrated runner limp to the 11mile checkpoint, which was fortunately only a couple of miles away, an air ambulance fly by not long after, hopefully he got out ok. These races are extremely well planned out and managed, the entire day runs like clockwork from my point of view and i can't thank Endurancelife enough for everything they do to create these amazing races, i absolutely recommend any of their events, marathons and longer, or half or 10ks, theres something for everyone.

London marathon is tomorrow, I have to say i wish i was running it, its an entirely different kind of challenge, much more celebratory than the Coastal Series, but i'll always have the satisfaction of knowing what i've achieved today, and as always, i'm massively proud and looking forward to the next ... Exmoor on May 22nd!

[26.2m coastal - 5:24:49 - 12:23/m]

[First major assent up from ruins of a tin mine below]

[The rugged coast of the miles already run behind]

[Some flat ground finally before heading uphill again]

[Typical terrain and another river crossing]

RUN 163 - Pre marathon jog in the park

Running coastal trail marathons doesn't allow me to obsess over time, until i run any of these courses again another year i cant track any progress as each course is so massively different from each other. That does help make 'training' more relaxed, which i like, i run for fun, not for fitness or to achieve any specific goals, i just enjoy doing it. However i cant help wondering now, how fast might i be over a flatter road course, time to find an autumn road marathon. [2.17m - 15:49 - 07:17/m]

[Once around the park in Chiswick]

RUN 162 - Acton Green Common & Carb Loading

Another beautiful day in London, perfect for a light jog around Acton Green Common and back up Chiswick high street, stopped off at the flea market outside Sainsbury's to pick up a few things before heading home. I'm torn in this week before the Cornwall Coastal Marathon, i'm getting more sleep and feel full of energy, the weathers great for running, but i'm 'resting' and loading up on carbs and water, both of which i love. I cut my mileage back by a little more than half in the week before the race, sipping water throughout the day, forcing myself to drink more than i normally do, snacking on fruits, cereals and delicious Cliff bars, which i stocked up on when i was in back in Chicago in February. I'm going to need all the energy i can muster for this race, im finding it harder not to think about my finish times, and wondering what i might be capable of in a road race without 100's or 1000's of feet of elevation change, need to find a flyaway race in September or October! [About 3m - forgot to charge my Garmin]

[Scene of the battle of Turnham Green in 1642]

RUN 161 - Fulham FC, & Ash clouds

The skies are clear, not a single plane in the sky, but no ash cloud visible either! Last long run before next weeks Coastal Trail marathon in Cornwall, its going to be tough and rugged terrain, 1000's of feet of elevation change and; which its been near impossible for me to train for, but i'm feeling confident, strong and fast, fast for me anyway. I need to set a steady pace in the first half and save my energy for the hills of the second half. I look forward to the mental challenge as much as the physical, the chance to prove to myself that i'm capable of doing this. I don't train as hard or as scientifically as i could, i don't want to, i like running, and i want to enjoy every single time i go out, the races provide the drama and chance to test myself. Regardless of everything else in my life, this is entirely down to me and me alone. I'm not racing anyone other than myself. [9.85m - 01:17:37 - 07:52/m]

[A park along the River Thames near Fulham FC]

RUN 160 - Upper Mall & The Dove

Beautiful sunny day, breezy by the river along the Upper Mall though. I ran from home, up the the Mall and along to The Dove, a 17th century pub with the smallest bar room in the country! 33sqft if i remember correctly. Felt strong today after a day off yesterday, my cold has almost completely shifted and my legs feel strong, all bodes well for the race next week. I've decided to not use the Camelbak this time, i want to try and travel lighter and try and improve my performance and endurance. [4.27m - 32:51 - 07:41/m]

[The Dove on the Upper Mall]

Run 159 - Ravenscourt Park & Carters Steam Fair

Carters Steam Fair is in Ravenscourt Park this week, so i ran through today to check it out. lots of cool old fairground stuff, with old arcade games that my sister and i used to play when we were kids on the pier at Weston, might take my wife over there one night this week and enlighten her to this cultural marvel. The weather was beautiful perfect for running today. I've always felt that running improves my outlook, makes me more positive and confident. We've got a sick pet today, with a vet visit scheduled for the morning, its all that's on my mind right now. Running usually puts life's kinks into perspective for me, today i feel like running itself has been put in perspective. I'm OK with that, each run teaches me something. [3.54m - 28:50 - 08:49/m]

[Carters Steam Fair]

RUN 158 - Easy run on the Thames path to Richmond

I picked up a chesty cold last week, sinus's were all blocked up too, so i didn't run. Its painful not to, but i know from experience that for me personally its better to force myself to take the break and come back running healthy rather than continuing to run at 50% and risk making myself sicker. Especially as my next race is two weeks away, i got a couple of 20+ mile runs in, and I'm ready to taper, although i quite often feel like I'm not trying hard enough, the consistency of my mile pace over long distances is improving a lot, which says otherwise. 10 miles today takes me to Richmond and back along the Thames path. Those 5 miles from Chiswick going west are mostly paved or some light gravel, past 5 miles, the path is back to grassy mud; just as it is for about 3 miles east of Chiswick into the city. I think I'm going to plan my long runs for May's Exmoor marathon a little more carefully and take a train out of the city, looking for some more challenging training grounds. [10.07m - 01:22:31 - 08:11/m]

[Flood water from the Thames, Kew Gardens beyond]

RUN 157 - From Greenwich back to reality

Running takes you away, both physically and mentally, it's escapism and it's freedom. However it will always bring you back to where you started, usually recharged with new ideas and renewed enthusiasm, other times no distance is great enough, but it certainly doesn't hurt to try. I started today's run on a typically drizzly London morning at Greenwich knowing that the Thames path will take me all the way home, hopefully around 22 miles, the route came up a little short but it was worth the effort to travel across London at 6am on a Saturday morning to be able to run in a new place, and also to be running A-B straight home. The Thames path is a wonderful run route, perfectly signposted the entire way, i made one mistake on the whole route... i might head for the Thames Barrier next weekend. [20.59m - 2:52:25 - 08:22/m]

[No map required, just follow the sign]