Harry's Blog

The training had gone well in the first quarter of 2019... April  April means Thames Towpath 10 miler - a great flat, cheap local race organised by the West 4 Running Club. If you running you first ever 10k then a big ‘event’ race will make it even more special, but if you are a regular runner you get to appreciate these more low key races more, particularly when like this race, as a club champs event there will be plenty of other eagles there. It was the race where last year I saw my chances of making the Welsh Castles Relay team literally disappear down the towpath ahead of me as embodied by the backsides of fellow Eagles. Partly as a response I had suggested putting in a Vet’s team, to give myself a better chance racing over the welsh hills. It In the event I ran the Towpath 10 race 7½ minutes quicker than the previous year, which would have easily made the Open team. Setting off near the start still smiling Towards the finish So, then it was the big one – the London Marathon. I...

  2020 2020 started with the Serpentine New Year’s Day 10k again. With the upped mileage at the end of the year I had struggled to get close to 19 minutes at Gunnersbury and wasn’t too hopeful. My watch didn’t lock on to the GPS, I forgot to start it on the gun, and then it told me I was doing 4:06 min/km. It looked like I wasn’t even going to beat 40 minutes, after averaging 38:47 for five 10k runs in 2019. However, I had Melissah Gobson in sight, so I suspected something was up. I got my time print out straight after I finished: 37:15 and big new PB. Heading into the final km at the NYD 10k This was shortly followed by the Middlesex Cross Country championships at Wormwood Scrubs. The Met League course has just two big laps, and I sprinted in at the end of the second lap, having done a reasonable 8k. I had emptied the tank, so when I realised there was another 4k lap to go, I almost stopped. However, after a slightly slower 400m of recovery, getting passed by the slightly bemused ...

 Harry's Year of Running Q4 October October is the Cabbage Patch 10 miler. I was not quite a fast as at the Thames Towpath 10, but managed a good placing for the club champs, so I was happy enough. I saw a rival eagle on behind switchback off Richmond Bridge and spent the run-in to Twickenham thinking the foot falls behind me were him about to overtake. Cabbage patch 10 coming up to Richmond bridge November November and I had entered the Thames Meander Marathon partly out of curiosity of where my form was. Testing the theory that you can run a marathon without telling everyone, I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone except my family the day before, and toyed with idea of running it as a long training run. I hadn’t banked on England making the rugby world cup final that day, and almost didn’t start as Osterly Parkrun was cancelled due to the high winds and rain. However there is something about a race, and when the gun went off, so did I, and after a mentally tough final 6 miles  I en...

Harry's Year of Running Q3 June June meant driving over to Wales for the Welsh Castles Relay. As captain I had analysed the qualifying times and selected the legs for each of the runners, including some rejigging for a couple of late injuries. WCR info meeting in the King's Arms  ©  Caravaggio There is a separate race report with more detail of each leg - in short there is something about the event  that draws out fantanstic performances from everyone. I’d given myself the last stage of day 1 – a mountain stage which starts with a stiff climb of 170m and but has a great finish in Newtown as all the runners come together at the end of the first day. WCR Stage 10 start L-R ladies, Vets, Open I was worried about pacing it correctly up the hill, and then again on the steep descent the other side – this was hard tarmac not cross-country mud. It is a great feeling running a relay when you are in the form of your life, being cheered on by other eagles. WCR stage10 mid race The f...