Stevington 12k - photos of the AFF trio - 12th may 2012

Steve Upton on his way to first place

First place in the bag with the second runner nowhere in sight

Another great race for Warwick Browning

and the third of the Flyers trio, Bec Fleckney

Ahhh haaa Greensands - in photos!!

Day 133 Saturday 12th May 11.3 miles : miles to date 897.5

Ah, the Greensand Ridge route again. It must be nearer to summer by now, as the thoughts turn to running the GR relay event at the end of June. This is a jewel in the crown of off road running events in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, which is not that well known and intentionally low key. It is mainly a 34 mile odd relay event with six stages, limited to just thirty teams. Four years ago, me and Satnav Jones decided to run the while thing as the first solo runners. We were joined that day by a third chap who quizzed us on our marathon times, checking out the competition. Little did he know, all we wanted to do that day was finish it regardless of the time. I still recall him charging off into the distance straight from the start, when he could have ambled along, enjoyed the scenery, the route and the mickey taking that followed from the relay boys and girls. 

We ran the race for the next two years, being joined once by the Flying Scotsman himself, gorgeous  George Arbuckle and the next year by his fellow Highlander, the ultrateer Robbie Craig. Each of the runs were just great in their own way and some of my most memorable. Having done it though three years in a row, I decided to give it a miss last year, which was just as well as by then it had grown to 16 soloists with a few of the clubs faster lads running and a certain Mr. Huw Lobb, who turned up and smashed the course record by about two hours. It was truly amazing to see Huw take the course apart in the way that he did.

This year Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers are being finally and most ably represented by the fantastic female duo of Annie Page and Becs Fleckney. We would have had a third lady flyer in Niki Rouse, who unfortunately picked up an injury and can't run. Annie is very organised and has set up a training programme to make sure they don't get lost. Today was legs four and five and as we lined up, I said don't worry I know the route inside out, can run it blindfolded and backwards.

This is a pic of Becs, well into the run, but it's so good it has to go first!

We gathered at the handover between legs three and four, in sunshine for once albeit with a tad chill. Coming out of the parking area, it was a case of right turn Clyde up a hill. I resisted the temptation of telling the girls to walk, as we were only 42 seconds into the run, but in the race Ladies, WALK THE HILL!!

Not long after this photo, we came across the first checkpoint. Mmm, the girls said lets go this way. Mmm, no the ultraboy Owen said I've run this leg 46 times lets go this way. So, they all followed the girls.  Annie pointed out I was trying to make us run the John Bunyan trail. Doohhh. Have I taken over from Satnav, no. For the moment.

Our leader and the original (No.2 will be back - sorry in-house nicknames)

That will be my foot then! Don't you just love drought conditions? 

Ahh, a sneaky Jo trying to go for a run on a Saturday morning not expecting to see anyone...

Its the Holy Trinity...

Maulden Church which for any would be GR runner is I blessing in disguise - they have an outside water tap

Go Becs

Go Mike

Go the Silver Surfer - the man I am very glad to call my mate - Phil Clarke

Is that a hill? Mmm ok yes

Some slow Scottish bloke and hatman

See above

Now, I have no idea who that bloke is in front, but it seems to me that he looks like a really nice bloke, with a great sense of humour, one leg a tad smaller than the other, a tendency to run in circles, an attraction to male stalkers in flat caps and shades behind him and on the whole, the next  greatest running sensation. If you are Welsh, 44 and living in Bedfordshire.

The almost non existence road section

Look carefully and there is a runner in pink

Yeah. Love this one!

The best photo of the day!

And the, it was over. For me it was a very welcome shorter run. Eleven miles at what is likely to be John Bunyan pace. Perfect. Annie, by her own admission, struggled a bit and the "Original Niki " did really well although I suspect probably she shouldn't have run as far as she did. Well, if ON reads this, she will know herself what she should have done. However, what she should have done and what she did, doesn't detract from the fact that the girl is back with the gang. Whoooo hoooo. 

Right, time for a G&T me thinks?

Day 132 Friday 11th May 3 miles : miles to date 886.2 I have always known that running very long distances slows you down for short races, like say marathons. It should be no surprise therefore that the pins are for the sixth day in a row tired. So, I resorted to my emergency back up energy plan of Robbie Craig and a plate of Samaki na ugaili for lunch. My fellow ultrateer (temporarily suspended) has long preached the benefits of a good plate of Kenyan ugaili and to be fair, its lovely stuff. He mentions frequently that to run like a Kenyan, you have to eat like one. The slight problem, is that having done so, later I ate like an Italian, American and most of Europe as I moved from one foodstuff to another. It didn't help on tonight's regular and slow trot around the village, as the reality is I need a rest and not another 11 mile run. Like Saturdays planned run with the girls helping them to learn the Greensands Ridge route. Still, hopefully this time in two weeks we should be around 20 miles into the JB ultra trail run. We could do with a serious upturn in the weather mind you, as I would rather run all through the night in dry, warm conditions than the current damp overcast sky's we have at the moment. Still, as long as there are no injuries, I know that me and the lads will be towing the line at 6pm on the 25th May. If we can decide where to put the start line that is.

Day 131 Thursday 10th May 8.9 miles : miles to date 883.2 I'm not entirely sure that was a good idea tonight. Thursday club runs have become a quick, higher tempo cross country affair. When I am not er, knackered, they are one of my three staple harder runs of the week, along with faster speed work on a Tuesday and longer run on the weekend. The trouble is, I am still tired from Oxon and the following days run and I just dont have any energy. The reality is that not every run can be a corker and I probably should be tapering and cutting back. The normal likely lads were present and after a mile or so, I settled into a slower run with the amazing marathon mile muncher that is Paul Barton. Now, I like my marathons and ultra's but Paul is an out and out dedicated long distance specialist, having racked up a 100 marathons in a very short space of time and currently well on his way to the 200 mark. It was quite a sight to see the both of us miles off the pace in such a short distance and so far back that we thought that by the time we got back to the car park, everyone else would have left. I owe Paul one for dragging me around on what was a hard, slow and muddy run. Luckily, as I wasn't further up to help with the route, Phil Clarke managed to take the lads on two unscheduled detours so we weren't last! I even had time to take the mick out of Martin Beare and Terry Stanley for not running fast enough, despite the small fact that they both blasted around Silverstone 10k last night in amazingly quick times.

Day 130 Wednesday 9th May 3 miles : miles to date 874.3 Oh boy was I tired tonight. I think a mixture of the long run at the weekend, no rest and a 12 hour 37 minute man bug hit me late afternoon and I just felt awful. The feeling lasted until I got home and the moment I tried running, calvin the calf and his mate cyril tapped me on the shoulder and said, really? Do we have to? Yes was the answer to my two little running buddies, albeit I did promise a slow three miler around the village on my normal route. Sometimes when I don't feel good, I can snap out of it into the run but not today. My legs were sore, I was actually having a can't be bothered doing this type moment and for some reason my breathing was a bit laboured even at a slow pace. I know full well the answer is rest and I concede that Steve James is entirely right, but a slow three miler is in fact my idea of having a rest these days. I clearly wasn't right as after I got home, I declined a glass of red and even left half my pasta. Don't worry sports fans, a few weeks taper should get the pins working again in time for the inaugural John Bunyan ultra. Hopefully.

BMI ...again!!

Day 129 Tuesday 8th May 3.6 miles : miles to date 871.3 Due to a last minute flurry of paperwork, I missed tonight's club session and headed over to what turned out to be a mudfest run of Glastonbury proportions around Clophill woods. The first section wasn't too wet although the far side had been churned up by horses hoofs which is fair enough I guess given it is a bridleway. The conditions slowed me down a lot, which in hindsight was good given my legs are still feeling a little pummelled after the weekends running expeditions. Coming around one of the bends, I just glimpsed the sight of a foxes tail disappearing into the undergrowth. This was almost exactly the same spot that I have seen a fox on two earlier occasions. I am now fairly confident that it is the same one that I am seeing, given my in depth knowledge of the animals acquired through painstaking minutes searching the internet for fox related facts. Whilst searching for Basil Brush trivia, I wandered over to the BMI charts. I know I have had a moan about them before, so apologies for repeating myself, but what's the point in them? I weigh myself once in a blue moon, as I know if I have lost weight and more importantly if I am running faster. A number wont tell me that, although I did check out the scales yesterday. I have dropped down to 12 stone 1lb from 13 stone 10lbs at the start of this quest, despite my hedonistic party lifestyle. Ok, ok, despite a few jars in front of the television at the weekend. I have as a result picked up a marathon PB, unofficial half marathon PB, run every day, run a 40 mile race and yet on the BMI index I am still overweight!!! I think I only bother to look to make myself laugh at what you have to do to be "normal weight". To be on the right side of those charts, I think you have to live like a monk. Now I might have an A level in religious studies - no, really I have - but my monastic ambitions stop at the pub door. Right, time for a beer me thinks.