Before we take a mid-summer Grand Prix break, there was still time for one more GP event with a trip down the A1 to Durham to hit the hilly trails, thanks to Elvet Striders.
Just in case you hadn’t heard – this is #SquadGoals
Heading into the business end of the Grand Prix season, points are getting more and more precious; with Walton, Hewitson and Kirby fighting it out at the top of the male standings; Knox, Shotton, Powell and Hewitson all battling for the female title.
Wednesday night saw a typically large group of DVRC’ers representing the club – with Charlotte Bowes, Glen Cooper, Neil Frediani, Sally Ann Greenwell, Bex & Chris Hewitson, John Kirby, Claire Knox, Jane Parnaby, Kirsty Robson, Rachael Smith, Claire Thompson and Sue Urwin.
The Willow Miner veterans amongst the group knew what to expect with the elevation… Newbies were heard commenting about how unnecessary that amount of hill climbing was!
At the end of the race, it was Chris Hewitson who lead us home, one second outside of the 40 minute mark, in 40:01, closely followed by John Kirby in 41:16 and Glen Cooper in 42:33. For the ladies, Bex made it a Hewitson double delight with 43:07, with Claire Knox next in at 46:58 and Claire Thompson (in new matchy-matchy socks and trail shoes!) in 50:36.
Finish of the night was reserved for Neil Frediani; who outstripped at least half a dozen finishers with his Hollywood sprint, much to the delight of the waiting crowd!
These results coupled with the rescheduled Stanhope 10k – we’ll be publishing the latest GP standings very soon. In what will be a tense finale to the year – it’s still all to play for!
This is my first attempt at a race report, so I hope you enjoy it.
When doing an ultra-marathon, the pre-race day prep is important. Rachel and I hit the road to St John’s of Dalry, in search of a service station with a burger king en route for a bit of carb loading. We found one just past Carlisle, being someone who doesn’t eat fast food all that often, I was surprised to find the choice of a TRIPLE XL bacon cheeseburger! Who knew they did a triple burger? You could even add more burgers! What is the best burger to bun ratio? How many should I have ordered? These are questions I will be pondering for some time to come.
Next stop was collecting my race number, and then finally to our hotel in Castle Douglas for a cheeky pint before bed.
Raceday was an early one, up at 4am, cup of tea and a couple Pain au chocolat to start the day, because it was too early for the hotel to make me breakfast. Before you knew it, we were off at 6am on what was going to be a long adventure in some of the most beautiful countryside that the UK has to offer. YAY ME!
To Checkpoint 1 – Stronpatrick (8 miles) With the race started it was difficult to gauge a good pace due to both 50mile runners and the 100mile runners having the same bib numbers, which was a bit annoying. It was however quite an uneventful 8 miles, if I am honest, to this checkpoint. Just settling into the race trying not to go too fast too early and wondering how much the sun was going to burn me and my very pale skin, later. It did bring a panicked message from Rachel and Paul Brunger thinking I missed a turn close to the checkpoint. This was very reminiscent of me going wrong on St Cuthbert’s Way, where I went 1.5miles in the wrong direction. No such issues this time, it’s just the GB ultra team for the giggles put the checkpoint 400m past the turn which would become a bit of a theme.
To Checkpoint 2 – Sanquahar Town Hall (26 miles) The sun was out, and it was starting to take its toll and I needed to find a way to cool down. approaching the check point I crossed into another runner coming from a shop with a Calippo. I was canny jealous if I am honest, but also equally too lazy to get one myself. Super wife Rachel was just round the corner with an ice soaked DVRC buff for my neck. I did eat a few ice cubes but all I could think about was how nice that prick’s Calippo would have been.
To Checkpoint 3 – Wanlockhead (34 miles) At this point the field was starting to spread out and with no one to talk to it was time for the choons! To create my playlist for the day I asked some friends for song suggestions. The song I loved the most during this period was Magenta Mountain by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (what a band name). This came on whilst running in a picturesque valley.
I did have an ironic moment of running the last mile into Wanlockhead, without any water, listening to Dry County by Bon Jovi. I did contemplate jumping into the streams near the village at this point, but thought better of it. My friend’s son also picked the song “Crab Rave” by Noisestorm, there was discussions after about this monstrosity making my playlist.
This was also the end of the section I hadn’t had a chance to recce prior to the race, and for me where the race really began. With the temperature still rising and zero shade ahead, I grabbed a third water bottle along with my running poles as I knew water would be an issue.
To Checkpoint 4 – Bigger on A702 (40 miles) After leaving Wanlockhead, you have the highest point in the race – Lowther Hill and its giant Golf Ball. Though this is a long climb, it is far from the worst, with the steepest of climbs coming shortly after. It was in this section I picked up the 1st of my Kists*just after the steep climb hidden in a random wooden toy cart. I felt like a millionaire picking up my shiny coin.
To Checkpoint 5 – Moffat Rugby Club (54 miles) This section started off well, when having tried to quick turnaround in the check point, I left my polls behind. Having thought about leaving them I made the decision to do a quick U-turn costing me a couple minutes to go get them. The marshals were worried for a moment, until I sheepishly admitted I’d forgotten my poles like an idiot.
At this point in the race the sun was everyone’s worst enemy. Having that third water bottle and iced buff was really helping. Having passed several runners at different points lying down in some shade to try and cool down, highlighted the struggle we were all facing.
Even with the extra bottle I was still running out of water, lucky for me another runner’s crew was waiting at Earshaig Forest just before the run down to Beattock and topped up one of my bottles to get me through the last 6 miles into the checkpoint and the halfway point of the race.
I chose this checkpoint as a reset place, so it was a change of top and socks along with a mugshot and the cold tea I made at 4:30am for good measure. With it getting dark and a big climb ahead the 3rd water bottle was dropped, and road shoes added as there was a long road section to come. I also grabbed an extra torch battery just in case (hello foreshadowing).
To Checkpoint 6 – Boston Memorial Hall (71 miles?) I got lucky when I left Moffat, I just happened to leave with a lovely lass named Charlie and we decided since it was going to get dark and we were both going at the same pace, we would stick together for a while.
The climbs out of Moffat were long but manageable and we were making steady progress. The top of Croff head was something else, however, with the wind really picking up, to the point we were both almost blown off our feet. Once we dropped into a valley at around 22:45 the weather eased with perfect timing to add on jackets and headtorches for the cold night ahead. Within a mile of running, I knew something was up as my headtorch wasn’t that bright, it then did the dreaded light blink to say it was going to die…FFS. Good thing I grabbed that spare battery yeah?….oh hold on it turns out that battery also didn’t charge properly and lasted about 20mins. I then had to root out the spare torch from the bottom of my bag. People may complain about mandatory kit lists in races, but this is why you need them!
As we continue through the dark and over a tiny bridge, I was able to pick up a second kist and became a double millionaire. We were then off to Potburn and the creepy abandoned caravan which freaked me out during my recce and was even worse in the dark and could easily have been out of some horror movie. As you would we picked up the to road from hell, with both of us shouting “where is the f*cking checkpoint” every few minutes whilst also trying not to stand on the thousands of dead frogs on the road. Honestly, horror movie stuff.
Boston Memorial Hall was supposed to be 71 miles it turned out to be 74! You also need to run an extra mile past the turning to St Mary’s loch to get to it. This wasn’t pleasant doing in the day, and more so in pitch black with 70 miles in your legs.
At the checkpoint I got pestered into eating some hot pasta and drinking hot tea at the hall. This immediately had me overheating and was then spewed. Delightful. Give me a warm mug shot and day-old cold tea any day.
To Checkpoint 7 Traquair (89 miles) DVRC legend Paul Brunger joined me at this point to push me for the next 30 odd miles to finish. To summarise my time with Paul; he talked at me quite a lot, but I don’t think I had the mental capacity to hold a solid conversation. I remember him talking about beer, taking small steps uphill because its “more efficient,” trying to convince me to do a back yard ultra, along with sharing insults from my running wife Claire Knox, about how I was taking too long. There was also a lot of “shall we start pootling.” Normally followed by me cursing under my breath then starting to run.
Having left the hall, it was clear Charlie was in trouble as was she struggling to eat. Her husband had agreed to meet us in 6 miles at St Mary’s loch. I was able to pick up some pace going down the hill to the loch, but it was clear she wasn’t able to continue, and she was picked up at the loch. Though I never got the chance to tell her in person, I am so grateful to have run with her through the night and I am sure better days are ahead when she attempts the full 215-mile race across Scotland.
Having left St Mary’s Loch, we were approaching sunrise and the heavens opened, still in my road shoes – this was not good, but the rising sun was just the lift I needed. The rain however would eventually take its toll on the soles of my feet, and we needed to get super wife to meet us on the roadside near the checkpoint, as no crew were allowed.
It was only 3 weeks earlier I recce’d from the loch, so my memory was quite fresh about this section, not fresh enough though as my 3rd and final kist was in this section, only a couple of miles after where I thought it was. (Sorry for making you look in the middle of nowhere Paul, but you got a coin and can be in the millionaire club)
We finally hit the checkpoint in a field and with super wife a mile down the road at the village hall, it was an in and out job (oo-er!). Tailwind refilled and away we go, but only after Paul ate some salted potatoes.
To Checkpoint 8 – Fairnliee Hut (98miles)** After reaching the village hall in Traquair, Rachel was waiting with my pitstop seat so my soaking shoes and socks could be changed. This was the first sight I had of them since Moffat and the soaking feet miles hadn’t helped giving me blisters on the soles of both feet. Looking back feet management is an area I need to work on.
My feet will heal and with approximately 36miles, this would become a future John problem. Present John had a race to finish.
We had plenty of climbs to which I think shocked Paul a little, on one of the climbs towards the three Brethren, Paul offered to hold my polls whilst I ate some Hola Hoops. The next thing I see is him trying them out powering up the hill with them. I needed my “Boyz” and he was nicking off with them! I was struggling at this point and Paul, like a true champ kept me entertained, with me attempting to climb on top of the Three Brethren Trig point, at Claire Knox’s request, and then sending a picture to her threatening to stop my watch at 99.99 miles. This gave me a good laugh and took my mind off the hurt. Paul didn’t know it, but I did get a little teary after this point with everything hurting, but on reflection this was down to me knowing 100miles was in the bag and nothing would stop me from finishing.
Having worked our way down through the hills, “pootling” where possible over the jagged stones, then crossing a bridge to the hut, and the waiting super wife.
**This was 102miles in for me at this point not the advertised 98.
Bottles were filled, socks changed, and teeth brushed and off we went. Yes, I did say teeth were brushed; I don’t know why had this urge to brush them, but it felt so good!
Checkpoint 9 – Langlee community centre (106miles) and Finish. Leaving the hut, we only had around 7 miles to go. We had a long climb past a farm and a few unkind Stiles to climb, but this was the final push and at a minimum I needed to walk with purpose, and pootle where possible. The sun was also making an appearance again and it was getting hot. My feet were done, but Paul had one final trick up his sleeve to motivate me to the finish. With only 2 miles left he informed me we were being hunted down by another runner! In my head I was thinking he was bullshitting me to run, but I wasn’t going to take any risks…
Having climbed the stairs toward the community centre (at the marshal’s request, Claire Knox, there was no cheating!), Paul ushered me to the finish, with me giving a thank you as I passed. Super wife was just over the finish line, and it was amazing to get to the finish and see her. The amount of support and work she had done before, during, and even after the race is immeasurable. I am so thankful for her support.
I finally crossed the line at 13:08 and finished time 31:08:02. This was enough to have me finish 6th overall and 4th male.
On a sidenote, I stopped my watch with 1% battery left which worked out quite lucky, and there was someone chasing me down towards the finish.
Big thank you Rachel and Paul, along with everyone who supported me.
For those who like stats, here are some of the notable lines from my Garmin:
Total Distance – 108.6 miles
Elevation – 17,470 feet
Total Steps – 210,538
Fastest mile – 7:54
Average pace – 17:12
Max temperature – 31c
*kists = A kist is an individually sculptured container a few paces from the path and inside the container can be found Waymerks Coins
Tales from the trails, this weekend – with news from Ultra North, Stanhope 10k and Parkrun… with a bit of extra from our Wednesday night recce of the Captain Callcott Canter route.
We begin on Saturday morning with Kieran Ridley and Harriet Wilson taking on the Ultra North 55 event, with Deborah Swann, Sarah Reay and Vicky Parker taking on Ultra North 25.
Kieran waving to his fans, there…
Finishing his first ever ultra in 6 hours was our man Kieran and we’ve borrowed some of his post-race words/thoughts
“it was a great run, I really enjoyed it, apologies for my potty mouth when I seen some of you, excitement, adrenaline and sugar takes over (Gatesheed kid innit) Choppaz was a bit of blur and ankle break alley wasn’t as horrific as I remember it to be when I was training. Huge thanks to Natasha for running with me from Lintzford down to the viaduct, I defs would have finished later had she not. Absolute hero’s welcome at the end. Thanks everyone, great support. If anyone fancies a bash at it next year, give it a whirl, it was a good taster. Ps. In the words of Adele ‘if you can roll a a ball down it, walk up it! Solid advice!”
Harriet also smashed out the course over 7 hours and was also quick to pay tribute to the amount of support she received from DVRC members along the way…
Smells like Team Spirit
This, from Laura Peacock has to be the best of the bunch – how you can support your team members whilst also doing your washing – tremendous multitasking win!
Meanwhile, at the Ultra North 25, there was a PB for Sarah, who took the course down in 3 hours, alongside Deborah – with the two ladies being joined by Vicky to complete the course all under 3.5 hours! Great work from all 3!
Great work from both ladies!
Saturday proved to be immensely testing – with almost all of the weathers possible across the event, really testing out one’s mettle…
Oh hey, look at what Vicky is doing with her hands…
Also on Saturday we had the slightly shorter distance with our favourite 5k at ParkRuns – which included an international flavour once again, with Bex and Chris Hewitson jumping on a Friday evening flight to Amsterdam to collect the coveted Z ParkRun at Zuiderpark, in The Hague – another ticked off the Alphabeteer challenge.
Of course the DVRC vests were packed specially for the occasion
On the day, Bex finished first female with a new ParkRun PB – under the golden sub-20 mark (19:37).
Elsewhere, there was a bit of tourism with the Owens (Theresa and Terry) hitting the course at Fulham Palace, whilst closer to home, we also had members running at Gateshead, Chopwell Wood, Prudhoe Riverside and Town Moor. With Kirsty Robson, Megan Williams, Sally Ann Greenwell and Lindsey Dover all volunteered at Chopwell.
Another Grand Prix event rolled around on Sunday, with the rearranged Greener Miles Stanhope 10k event – that was due to take place earlier in the year but was scuppered by horrendous weather, on the original date.
This time around, we had a huge turnout for the club – Glen Cooper lead us home with an amazing 5th place overall finished!
Waving seems to be a theme of this weekend…
Natasha Powell was our first lady home, and second lady overall! Another stunning result from Natasha, as she continues to produce the goods!
See. Waving.
We’ll update the post once the full results are published – and we’ll also publish and update to the club Grand Prix scores!
To end this update, we’ll circle back to Wednesday evening, where a whole load of club members took to the course of our upcoming Captain Callcott Canter race, in memory of our dearly departed club captain, Andrew, to recce the route and finish off with a beer raised his honour.
This is the third month of recognising the effort, performance, attitude, commitment and attendance of club members; giving special praise to those who make the biggest improvement in training sessions and races.
And this month is no different – recognising someone who’s been on such a journey since she joined our club and is only going to continue improving. Every other race seems to be a PB, these days, and they’re always done with a smile on her face.
In her own words: “So last year the only half marathon I said I would ever do was the GNR, and I would never run a marathon… 5 halfs later, one tomorrow and a marathon training plan in action” – if that isn’t progress, we don’t want to know what is.
The coaches also added the following:
“my vote is also for Lindsey. She’s gone from imagining running is not for her to completely falling in love with it. By taking it one step at a time, picking up motivation, being motivating and inspiring to others.”
“My vote is for Lindsey has come on leaps and bounds since it started at the club”
“She really has “fallen in love “ with running! The improvements she has made over the past year are very impressive!! Always smiling!”
Never afraid to leave her comfort zone and always willing to try something new – June’s Trainer of the Month goes to…
Huge congratulations to Lindsey!
And another month begins – the grind of getting out there in the July heat will reward the next Trainer of the Month!
Once again, we made the annual pilgrimage from Prudhoe train station, to the sleepy Northumberland village of Ovington, for the Tynedale Harriers Pie & Peas 10k. It’s a 10k road race, where you get pie and peas at the end… what’s not to love?!
Another tremendous turn out from the best running club in the world™️ – especially for those who were only a few days into Chevy Chase or Triathlon recoveries. Cough, Chris/Megan/Ian, cough…
On day we were lead home by Grant Ramsden, sneaking inside the magical 40 minute mark, in 39:50, for the ladies, Bex Hewitson was first home in 41:04.
Even more enjoyable was the category results; with Bex finishing first in her category, joined by Sue Urwin and Kirsty Robson who were also first in their categories. Jill Lee and Theresa Owens who were both second in their categories, with Sarah Reay third in her category! Amazing return from all ladies!
Also claiming PBs on the day were Megan Williams (still apparently recovering from Chevy legs – imagine what that time could’ve been when in peak condition!) and Lindsey Dover – nothing better than beating yourself and your own previous best!
And Sally Ann Greenwell ran on her birthday… and brought cakes! A delightful pudding after the pie and peas main course!
Probably the most enjoyable aspect of Wednesday was the way that almost all of the club members stayed to cheer on each other finishing – as Megan said, “we might not be the biggest club, but we’re certainly the loudest” – not wrong.
As ever, July starts with the Chevy Chase, in Wooler, and another of our Grand Prix events. Away from there, we had the week starting off with the all-female Anita Nott 5k in Jesmond Dene; ParkRun; the Great North 10k; the Northumbrian Half Ironman and the Sunday Social! Best get this show on the road…
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again – if this ain’t #squadgoals, we don’t know what is…
We’ll start with the big one – the Chevy Chase, the 66th running of it – heaven knows how or why 65 of these have previously been run, but they have, and we’ll keep showing up each year to put ourselves through those gruelling 20 miles and 5000+ft of elevation.
15 of us headed up to the delights of Wooler, in Northumberland, to form the 184 starters of the 2023 Chevy Chase – early discussions at DVRC race HQ centred around the choice of vest, short sleeve or long sleeve; cap yes or no; suncream yes or no… and that was all just Hewitson! Kirby was on hand to talk tactics and direction to newbies, with a keen eye on his Grand Prix points, too.
We lined up for the now customary photo, with Paul Brunger narrowly avoiding disaster before we started, with a rather eager Royal Mail van almost taking him out, mid-hug, with another racer – who says the post is slow?!
After a pre-race briefing that absolutely nobody could hear, thanks to the canine interpreter informing his people, we heard the whistle and away we went… delightfully sunny with the cap, sleeves and suncream all looking like a great plan!
Hitting the first checkpoint at Broadstruther and the weather was still holding firm, as the elevation increased, so too did the breeze, but at this point it was welcome – blowing gently in the right direction and keeping things nice and cool after the early heat… That all changed once we hit Cheviot Knee and Cheviot for checkpoints 2 and 3. Our collective hats were all off for the incredible volunteers and marshals at those, as well as checkpoints 4 and 5 for Hedgehope and Langlee Craggs – we aren’t saying the wind was gale force, but a certain female captain was knocked clean off her feet at one point!
The sideways wind and rain at some point in the middle, meant that cap fitting was being tested, with suncream finding its way into the eyes – what a delight!
Welcoming us at Brands Corner was none other than our Jenny Yeo – taking on officiating duties AND walking to get there from the start – whilst giving us a little exclusive, that yesterday the first day she’d worn trainers since the Spine Race! Unsurprisingly and absolutely deserved, Jenny took home the ‘Spirit of the Chevy’ award at the end, complete with a lovely bottle of wine to help soothe the aches of getting up and down from her marshal point.
Say it louder for the people in the back – SQUAD GOALS
When all was said and done, 15 of us went out and 15 of us finished – all within the cut off time. Chips were eaten, beers were drunk. Some of us were heard saying it was a “disgusting” race, amongst other expletives, yet, they still had smiles on faces afterwards. Some races might seem off-putting at first, but when you’re with a group, team and club like this – anything is possible. This really is the best club in the world.
Find us a more satisfying drink… we’ll wait
Paul Brunger led us home in a brilliant 17th place overall, with Claire Knox as our first female in 22nd lady.
Incredible efforts and very proud that we had 100% completion within the allotted cut-off, we also finished 7th in the team results – what a day!
Rewinding back to the beginning of the week, saw the Anita Nott ladies 5k in Jesmond Dene – this all female race is run in memory of a Heaton Harriers athlete who sadly lost her life in 2006, whilst out on a training run. This year, we had Megan Williams, Kirsty Robson, Lindsey Dover and Sue Urwin representing us on the night.
Kirsty’s been getting rather inventive with her group selfies…
Leading us home in 23:53 was Megan, with Sue, Kirsty and Lindsey following – Sue claiming first place in her category! Great work, lasses!
Meanwhile, at ParkRun we had members running at Chopwell Wood and Tyne Green. Bex Hewitson claimed a new course PB at Tyne Green, along with Grant Ramsden claiming one at Chopwell. Grant and Beth both took on volunteer duties.
At the Northumbrian Half Ironman event, we had our own Ian Maddison taking on the swim-cycle-run triathlon event – finishing 108th overall and 11th in his category – 6:31 overall. What a tremendous achievement!
Sunday morning also saw the annual Great North 10k event, of course we had a squad lining up at the start…
Great North 10k – Great team
Leading us home in 46 minutes was Kieran Ridley, followed by Sue Urwin, Kirsty Robson, Claire Reed, Rachael Smith and Caroline Smith. Brilliant efforts on yet another windy day in the toon! Full results are here: https://www.greatrun.org/events/great-north-10k/
Last, but by no means least, was our customary Sunday Social group – hitting the trails of Chopwell Woods – we simply cannot get enough of those rolling hills and countryside – we are so lucky to have this on our doorstep.
Nobody was feeling RUFF this Sunday… (we’re here all week!)
We’ve also been updating the DVRC Worldwide map with more globetrotting members in Spain, Corfu, Turkey and Switzerland – keep those pics coming!
This really is an ultra roundup… but first, we’ll have to rewind back to last Sunday morning at 8am, where our Jenny Yeo headed out from Edale in Derbyshire for the start of the Montane Spine Race. 286 (two hundred and sixty eight) miles later, she arrived at Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. And arrive she did… as the female winner! Rather than try to do any of this justice, we’ve obtained an exclusive interview with Jenny for you:
Jenny Yeo – that’s it. That’s the caption.
“Enough sleep has been banked to say something about this now although to be fair I’m still not sure what to make of it all really.
So first thing- how far was it? Obviously really really far but if you want specifics then the pennine way is 268 miles, although the gpx said 259 and my watch recorded 270 odd as it over records in the battery saving mode (this proved to be really annoying). The longest thing I’d ever attempted by quite some way. It took both ages and no time at all but more specifically 101 hours or so bringing me in 1st woman and 6th overall.
Turns out I can go a fair way on very little sleep (3 hours or so in the whole race) without the wheels falling off and I guess that’s something you are able to do or not, although kids and night shifts have probably helped train that one. No real hallucinations other than heading in to Middleton after being up 48 hours and nothing that dramatic to report. Few rocks that were cows, people that were trees etc
I had no definite expectations of time or placing promising myself there’d be no racing early doors or doing anything daft that would compromise my ability to keep going to the end. Despite being obviously tired and latterly with bloody sore feet I felt I was able to keep moving well and very pleased to find I could run better in day 3 compared to day 2 – go figure
The spine is a place where time is fairly meaningless for food- curry for breakfast (double portions), lasagne at midnight (triple portions) Fanta at 3am, haribo and babybels anytime. Thankfully the checkpoints were cracking and really look after you including an information board which reminds you of the day and some fantastic volunteers who couldn’t do enough for you. ‘You need superglue? No problem.’ ‘You’ve broken your watch strap? We can fix that’ Checkpoints also contained people who could do amazing things with feet which I needed from 100 miles in. Simultaneously they also made this rather bonkers endeavour feel both normal and pretty epic- thank you to everyone
Then there was the animals- loads of cows and sheep obviously but also some fairly feisty geese families that weren’t keen on me, rain bathing frogs that jumped at your legs and a gorgeous tawny owl heading out of Bellingham.
And of course it’s the people you meet on the way who really make these things what they are. The fantastic Laura Swanton Rouvelin who I ran so many enjoyable miles with, Phil Harris who seemed to find another gear up crossfell , Rob who wanted to sleep on a moor somewhere but was finally persuaded a bothy might a) be more comfortable b) he might not die. Helen and Andrew that got out their beds at 0230 to wave me through byrness- meant a lot guys, thank you. The post box pantry in dufton who stayed open for us and the wonderful woman who runs the oasis that is horneystead farm.
High point was heading out of hardraw up great shunner fell having sorted myself out at the checkpoint and feeling pretty good, like I could finish this in fact, whereas 5 miles previously I couldn’t imagine going another 160 miles. There were a few low points too for sure, especially along Hadrian’s wall, in the heat, sore feet, on my own. A power sob can do wonders it turns out.
Physically afterwards I’m still pretty tired although can now get through until lunchtime without a nanna nap. Otherwise knees up are not bad at all, knees down another matter. Oozy feet and calves so swollen they are bigger than my thighs. No shoe I own fits so the ‘family crocs’ 3 sizes too big are the order of the day.
You might ask why and I’m not sure really I have an answer other than it’s enormously liberating and pleasingly selfish to free yourself from societal norms for a week and do something that is ultimately just time for you. And you get to run an amazing route with fantastic scenery and say you did it on your own 2 (now rather minging) feet.
I can’t finish without thanking Peter (even though he hates this kind of thing) who’s put up with me wittering on about this event for ages and helped me recce loads of it, and Mark, Claire and Paul who came up to see me finish – thanks guys.“
Winner.
Absolutely incredible. There are no other words.
Adding to this Ultra update – Marc Runkee took on the Trail Outlaws St Cuthbert’s Way 100k, from Melrose to Holy Island on Friday night and into Saturday morning… Securing another exclusive for the DVRC website, we got this from Adele Sinclair:
The sun shines on the righteous
“Marc did the St. Cuthbert’s Way 100k (well 65 miles) He set off at 10:30pm from Melrose in the Scottish borders to head straight over the Eldon hills (part of the Jedburgh 3 peaks race). He had a great race through the night hours, holding 2nd or 3rd place for many hours. Unfortunately, the next morning painful stomach issues and the heat almost put an end to his race. Thankfully, he pushed on with determination* and and having lost lots of places he managed to pass quite a few again to finish 21st out of 72 starters of which 25 DNF’d-due to really tough hot conditions! He was told by Trail Outlaws that he was the first person to actually follow the real SCW path and trudge over the marshes onto Holly Island , rather than the usual causeway road route – genius!”
*this Determination was brought on, by the way, by Mark Marchant telling him to “pull his socks up and stop being a winging little b*tch “ well, thats how he remembers it…
Marc Runkee: forever ruining his races times in the endless pursuit of a daft pose for a photo
351 miles between the two of them. In two races. Three hundred and fifty one. Never let anyone tell you you can’t do something. The human body is an amazing thing.
A bit closer to home, with the ParkRun updates – we had plenty of DVRC volunteers at our home course of Chopwell Wood – with Beth and Grant Ramsden, Kirsty and Tony Robson, Alan Vicarage, as well as Chris Morris timekeeping last weekend. We had runners tackling the courses of Blyth Links with Bex Hewitson volunteering for pacing duties (and the quickest pacer on the day, doing 21 minutes), as well as Prudhoe Riverside, Tyne Green and Chopwell Wood.
Sunday saw a big group head to the trails of Chopwell for a gorgeous morning run in the sun.
The Sunday Social – it does what it says on the tin
Every month we recognise the club member who made the biggest improvement in training sessions and races, as such, we’ve been keeping track of effort, performance, attitude, commitment and attendance…
This month the award can only go to one person and was a bit of no-brainer to pick – someone who has represented the club at national level for Team England, along with a host of other PB’s in other events.
Massive congratulations to Natasha!
Not only has she achieved big things this month and this year, but Natasha has turned up consistently to everything – be it Ultras, Blaydon Race or Sunday Socials, always with a big smile on her face and is super encouraging to others.
Very inspirational!
And so a new month begins and a new winner beckons for June – well done to everyone for your efforts and commitment to making Derwent Valley the club it is, and the club we all love so much.
Where else do we start this one, other than the iconic Blaydon Race!
A brilliant scene, for a wonderful night, with a fantastic group of people
After having a few group photos, we headed over the Millennium Bridge to join the thousands of others lined up on the quayside, for opera singer Graeme Danby’s full rendition of the Blaydon Races – much to the surprise of some, to hear about the actions of Coffy Johnny…
The lassies lost their crinolines!
Then we were ready for the off – with the traditional bell sounding the start of the 5.7 mile pilgrimage, gannin’ alang the Scotswood Road…with the DVRC aces!
Oh me lads, ye shudda seen us gannin’
As usual with the Ninth of Joon, it was a stunning night for running; with the water station at the old Armstrong’s factory probably keeping some from needing to see Doctor Gibbs, before we passed the folks upon the road and headed into Blaydon toon…
Love is: doing the same daft pose for race pics
Leading the Derwent Valley charge home was the Hewitson 1-2, with Chris coming in 305th, in 36:45, and Bex following in 38:05 for 388th place. Duncan Marshall, Glen Cooper and Alex Fiddes following in quick succession.
Kieran possibly felt like it was eighteen hundred an’ sixty-two, on a summer’s afternoon
In total, we had 35 runners representing the club with other highlights including Sue Urwin coming in 7th in her category, Neil Frediani 32nd in his category, Theresa Owens 14th in her category and Katy Carr was 13th in her category.
Natasha looking ready to sing the “Paddy Fagan”
Your DVRC rollcall for the evening (with most heading back to Swalwell Cricket Club for a club rehydration exercise) included: Nick & Melanie Armstrong, Susan Carney, Katy Carr, Emma Collins, Glen Cooper, Dave Cowell, Lindsey Dover, Alex Fiddes, Neil Frediani, Sally Ann Greenwell, Ashleigh Hancock, Jo Jarvie, Louise Liddle, Duncan Marshall, Chris Morris, Theresa Owens, Vicky Parker, Jane Parnaby, Natasha Powell, Sarah Reay, Claire Reid, Kieran Ridley, Kirsty Robson, Caroline Smith, Lauren Smith, Rachael Smith, Paul Stephenson, James Toal, Sue Urwin, Andrew Walton and Graham White.
Thumbs up if you’re living off the fumes of the Portuguese cocktails
Saturday morning’s ParkRun saw Lindsey Dover, Sally Ann Greenwell and Chris Morris volunteering at Chopwell Wood, with Matthew Scott, Claire Thompson and Terry Owens running. Neil Frediani ran Prudhoe Riverside and wrote their run report as a volunteer, while Paul Stephenson ran a course PB over at Keswick.
a rose between two thorns, Chris would have you believe…
Speaking of the Lakes, Laura Peacock and Eleanor Shotton were also over that way for the Coniston Trail Challenge 15km – another “scorchio” day clearly didn’t stop our two, as they both finished inside the top 100, in 2 hours flat… before heading off for a dip in Coniston Water!
“Right, quick selfie and then straight in the water, yeah?”
While over in the Pennines, Paul Brunger was taking home 3rd place and pocketing a cool £15 to spend on pies at the Roman Wall Show Fell Race, Peter Storey also smashing out a tremendous effort in the heat of the midday sun!
Rumour has it Paul ran straight from the finish line to the pie queue…
Sunday saw the social gang head for the relative shelter of Chopwell Woods
They say time spent amongst trees is never wasted and today was no exception… K. Robson 2023
And last, but by absolutely no means least, was our man John Kirby completing the little matter of the 100 mile, Ultra Scotland 50 & 100 Mile 2023
A man looking far too cool for someone about to run 100 miles
Not only did John complete the full distance but he only went and finished 6th out of 22 who managed to complete the full distance, out of 63 starters!
Monumental effort from John, despite Mr Brunger giving all of the encouragement to continue running at mile 89 – we’re told the air was turned ever-so-slightly blue… probably rightly so! John will be bound to throw a huge amount to credit to wife Rachel for crewing him, as well as Paul for running 32+ miles along the way.
Summer runnin’ had me a blast… It’s June and we’re heading towards Blaydon Race week, so it must be the hottest time of the day, now, surely?! Lots of reports of baking hot races, this weekend, so let’s get this show on the road!
Claire Knox and David Williamson headed over to the Lake District to take part in the Montane Ullswater Way Trail 20 miler, on an idilic Saturday morning… but maybe not for racing…
Heat? What heat?! Claire making it look easy…
Both of them turned in brilliant times on the day, with David finishing in 3:40 and Claire in 4:08… especially with over 3000 feet of elevation gain! David ended in 49th position overall, with Claire 21st female.
Also in the Lakes, was Sarah Reay – tackling the Grasmere Gallop 17k trail run… Sarah taking down the course in just over two hours. Despite a fall, Sarah took it all in her stride and completed the race to get the perfect finisher pic.
Satisfying photo is satisfying
Heading even further afield, to the north western coast of Wales, to be precise… Our very own Natasha Powell was representing Team England in the Lionsgate Backyard Ultra.
Natasha, 3rd from the left, with the rest of Team England
Smashing out 50 miles, across 12 loops, Natasha helped Team England to a third place finish. We’re all very proud of you, Natasha!
In her own words:
“Back home from an amazing weekend at the Lionsgate Backyard Ultra Wales. Welsh Championship 2023 running for Team England and it certainly was beautiful and brutal! Wild horses and the chance of adders on the route made it extra special and threw in a few challenges when the horses decided to fight amongst themselves on the path stopping anyone from passing them. Not ideal when you need to finish your lap in time or you’re out! The heat was another challenge altogether and even though I started the afternoon loops in a wet top it was almost bone dry less than an hour later thank you to Mark Marchant and Hazel Marchant at Greener Miles Running for the opportunity to run in this event as part of the team. I’m lucky to meet such amazing people doing these events. Thanks to my mam Julie Wheatley for crewing not only myself but my other team mates too, your bowl of water for soaking hats and buffs in was a godsend! 12 loops and 50 miles later (my second longest ever running distance) with nearly 7000ft of elevation is something I’m very proud of achieving. Until next time…”
Mark and Natasha with their 3rd place trophy
Whilst at ParkRun this week, Duncan Marshall ran his fastest ever ParkRun at Whitley Bay; with other members hitting the courses of Blackhill, Blyth Links, Chopwell Wood, Riverside, Prudhoe Riverside and Gateshead.
Did Chris mention he’d done Edinburgh Marathon? Wore the t-shirt just in case you hadn’t heard… Photo courtesy of Sarah Atkinson Photography
Another Chevy recce occurred today… Sadly no hilarity ensued… or if it did, the gang are remaining tight-lipped about it all… Something we can’t imagine being easy for Mr Morris!
Much more favourable conditions and zero drama!
This upcoming week sees another date on the Grand Prix calendar – with the Blaydon Race, obviously on the ninth of joon… We’ll all be heading back to our favourite watering hole, Pedalling Squares, afterwards, for appropriate levels of rehydration on a Friday night in the sunshine…
thank you to Mark Marchant and Hazel Marchant at Greener Miles Running for the opportunity to run in this event as part of the team. I’m lucky to meet such amazing people doing these events. Thanks to my mam Julie Wheatley for crewing not only myself but my other team mates too, your bowl of water for soaking hats and buffs in was a godsend! 12 loops and 50 miles later (my second longest ever running distance) with nearly 7000ft of elevation is something I’m very proud of achieving. Until next time…”
Derwent Valley Running Club 