Race Report: Fraserburgh Half Marathon

First I was going to run this race and then I wasn't and then I was again and I'm really glad I eventually did because it is a really great race :-) Basically I went off half marathons a bit after failing to get a PB at Crathes (not the race's fault, it was lovely) but I didn't enjoy it much on the whole, and first I thought I would target Fraserburgh for a PB, then my training went a bit to pot, and I thought sod it, I won't bother. Then my friend Maz said why didn't I run with her and try to pace her to a sub-2:15 (her PB being 2:17:59), and that sounded like a good idea so that's what we did.

We headed off on the Fraserburgh road trip in the Maz-mobile complete with Scott aka Tall Loon aka Mo Bro who was doing his first half, and Annie who wasn't running it but was going along to support and do a 4 mile run around Fraserburgh while we were racing.

We made good time to Fraserburgh and went to register in the manky pavilion with the horrible non-working toilets (the only downside of the day really, and not much of one all things considered), and met up with various folk.

The race started in a field and then headed out along the road and doubled back on itself for the first wee bit, which was a bit odd but gave us a good chance to survey the rest of the field as they ran back! Maz, TL and I all set off together and were very near the back at this point. TL got a "go mo bro" shout-out :-) Then headed off along the main road for a dull but short slightly uphill drag, and after that we were into country roads, parks, trails etc which was lovely. It was quite flat, but with some up and down undulations but nothing long or major.



(I am actually in this picture, just hidden behind the extreme tallness of Scott!)

I was supposed to be pacing Maz but she didn't need that much pacing really, so my pacing mainly just amounted to the occasional "Are you sure you want to be running this fast Maz?" :-) and boringly regular updates on how far we'd gone and at what average pace. Between us however I think we paced it pretty much perfectly and had the satisfying experience of picking off runners one by one over the whole second half of the race, I don't think anyone overtook us the whole way except for one girl at a water station and we soon caught her up again :-) We didn't walk at all apart from a short bit at the top of a hill for Maz to catch her breath, and a short stop at a water station in mile 7 (when my Garmin went onto auto-pause which perhaps thankfully put the kibosh on my pace updates! Note to self: turn off auto-pause for races!). And we actually managed a negative split :-)

At 9 miles TL went ahead a bit and we shouted at him to go on, he protested a bit but was soon persuaded and zoomed off into the distance never to be seen again (well, not till the end). We last saw him as a tiny fluorescent speck way up ahead. He finished in 2:08 having made up loads of time in the last 4 miles.

The last few miles back into the town were great as we kept a good pace, continued overtaking folk (lots of whom seemed to be really struggling by this stage), as soon as we saw anyone in the distance we knew we would be passing them. Back down the hill we had gone up early in the race, across some roads and roundabouts, bit of confusion at this stage about exactly where to go but we made it back into the field, saw 2:13 on the clock and ran for the finish (nearly missing the funnel in my case but let's draw a veil over that). :-)






Maz had a little cry at the finish line, and who wouldn't after 13 miles of my company ;-)

Lots of PBs and lots of fantastic running from all concerned. Maz ran really well and was very strong and great company throughout, I have no doubt she would have managed a PB anyway but it was nice to be a part of it :-)

Mile splits:
# 10:25
# 10:03
# 10:11
# 10:02
# 10:24
# 10:07
# 10:25 (this was actually 11:25 due to stopping at the water station)
# 10:07
# 10:19
# 9:55
# 9:57
# 10:20
# 9:27

Final time was 2:14:06 although it wasn't chipped so probably should've been several seconds less!

Fraserburgh Running Club who organised the race really pushed the boat out and it was the most amazing value for money, for my £14 non-affiliated entry fee we got: a long-sleeved technical t-shirt (admittedly my "small" t-shirt was more the size of a small tent, but hey), a massive spread of unlimited gorgeous free food and drink after the race, a goody bag with medal, sports drink, banana, crisps and chocolate bar, loads of fantastic high-quality pics on the website and Facebook which were free to download, etc.... Hats off to Fraserburgh Running Club, you are brilliant!

I might EVEN go back next year to try for a PB :-O

Pictures courtesy of Fraserburgh Running Club.

Blowin' in the wind: The Running Shop Aberdeen Beach 10k Race Report

It’s always, always windy down at the beach. Or “Es ist windig”, as we would say in our house, since for some mysterious reason ever since son did his German Higher, we always have to converse about the weather in German. Es regnet. Es schneit. Es ist neblig. Etc.

Anyway, last night was, as ever, a windy night down at the beach, though a warm and sunny day in general. (Es ist sonnig. We don’t get to use that one much.) And I was running a 10k, and I was determined to get a PB, not least because a whole load of points had been bet on me to do so :-O My PB was 56:55, but I was aiming for sub-55 – a 25:02 5k last week indicated that this should hopefully not be beyond my powers. I think this is the fourth time I have run a 10k along the prom and the weather has been uniformly horrible every time, but last night was actually pretty nice apart from the aforementioned wind, which I’m sure I shall be mentioning a few more times before the blog ends.

These 10k along-the-prom races are fairly low key affairs with the start and finish lines being slightly nebulous concepts. None of your fancy timing chips or anything like that. However, it was the fullest I’ve ever seen it (the first one I did, in Dec 2009, only had about 80 people, probably because the ground was covered in snow and ice...). I’m very bad about estimating numbers but there seemed to be a few hundred people all milling about last night with loads of people I knew running – lots of people from Fetch, two of the mums from nursery, etc.

I positioned myself near the back and the race unexpectedly started before anyone was ready. Oops! Off we went along the upper level of the prom. Very congested for the first 100m or so but it quickly thinned out and I settled into a slightly-too-quick-probably 8:10-ish pace. The two mums from nursery were just ahead of me – one, Nicola, I knew to be slightly faster than me (sub-2 half marathon, and she ran 54 mins at Balmoral 10k when I only managed 59 thanks to That Hill). I figured I would try and keep them in sight for as long as possible.

The route consists of a lap and a half of the upper and lower prom, so obviously it’s very flat. The first 2k felt fine and I went through the first mile in 8:11. I thought this might be a bit quick, but actually I was quite glad to have gained a bit of time as when we ran down the ramp and turned onto the lower level, the wind hit me full in the face and running suddenly became much harder work. Second mile was 8:33 and third, which was all on the lower level, a lot slower in 8:50. It was a relief to turn onto the upper level again (and out of the wind) at the 5k mark. I’d got to 5k in 26:31, though, so was well on target for my sub-55 goal.

As I ran up the ramp to the upper level I passed one of the nursery mums who had slowed to a walk, having probably gone off a bit too quick. I gave a few encouraging (I hope) words and managed to pick up my pace a bit now the wind was behind me. I could still see Nicola up ahead. I went through the 4th mile in 8:34, passed TQ and Corrah who were cheerleading opposite the Leisure Centre, got a bit of a second wind and ran the 5th mile in 8:11. I passed a few people at this point and caught Nicola up at around the 8k mark, and had a wee chat. She later said I had spurred her on as she had been tiring at that point! I was feeling quite good at around 8k but I knew we were doomed to turn back onto the windy lower prom for the last 2k and sure enough, down the ramp we went and into the gale again. I really struggled in the last mile, and it was my slowest in 8:54. Nicola was coping with it a bit better and had gone ahead. However having got to 8k in 42:04 and to 9k in 47:32, I knew that short of a complete disaster I was definitely going to get a PB and be well under 55 minutes.

The last bit always seems really interminably long, when you can see the people at the finish but it seems a long long way to get there (even when it’s only a couple of hundred metres). I was going pretty slowly, but could hear shouts of encouragement as I got nearer and one of my speedy Fetch friends then ran alongside me for the very last bit, shouting at me to get a move on as everybody was waiting! This gave me just the kick up the backside I was needing to get to the finish! I didn’t notice the official time on the clock but I had 53:16 on my watch :-):-):-) so not a bad PB, three and a half minutes off my last one (set on the same route in January!). Think official time will be a bit higher as I started near the back and started my watch when I crossed what I thought was roughly the start line rather than when the gun went off.

I was happy with my time, a bit disappointed that I faded badly in the last km – the wind certainly didn’t help, but I was tiring by then also. However I don’t think my pacing was too bad all in all. I had initially thought I would aim for around 8:45 miles but now think that was unambitious as without the wind factor (sorry to keep going on about the wind factor) I would have been below that the whole way. My overall pace was 8:33. Conditions are very rarely ideal though, this is a flat but windy course, other times the weather might be perfect but the route hillier, it’s not often everything comes together to provide dream PB conditions. I’m happy to be steadily reducing my 10k time! (And to have achieved another WAVA of over 60%.) Maybe one day I will run a 10k time beginning with a 4, you never know…

There were lots of PBs last night, wind notwithstanding, but good running (and supporting) all round, well done folks :)

A plod along the prom: Aberdeen Disability Sport 5k Race Report

In retrospect I'm actually quite pleased with last night's 5k performance down at the beach. I was gutted at the time to see 25:02 on my watch at the finish (no official times yet, but it wasn't chip timed or any fancy stuff like that). If the official time comes up lower I will definitely be claiming that one, since I started at the back, and as ever with these races, both start and finish lines seemed fairly nebulous concepts. (And I clocked 5.05km on my Garmin too.)

Anyway sub-25 or no, it's over 30 seconds off my previous 5k PB which was set less than a month ago at the Dunecht Dash, and given that it's only 11 days since the Edinburgh Marathon (about which the less said the better) and yesterday was one of the hottest days I can ever remember round here (a bit cooler by 7.30 in the evening, admittedly, but still very warm), I don't think it was too bad a result. And it has boosted my WAVA up to over 62% Geeky, moi?

Most importantly, I did manage to salvage some pride by finishing ahead of the wee girl in the club vest who kept coming past me for about the first 2.5k. (And I do mean a wee girl. She was about 9.) And yes, there was a point when I thought, here I am, struggling to get past a 9 year old, maybe my running is not quite as fabulous as I would like to pretend. But mainly, good for her, I wish I'd been doing that when I was that age instead of waiting till I was over 40!

A nice race on a lovely evening, which (unlike some despite their claims), really did cater for all abilities with several people still coming in around or after the 40 minute mark.

Chickens, cheers and a painful second half: Embra 2011

*sings* Where do I begin...

Brace yourselves, it might be a long blog. Warning - contains scenes of "digestive discomfort" :-O

Edinburgh was to be my second marathon, and I was very hopeful of a PB. My first was Loch Ness last October, a lovely marathon but not what anyone would call flat. I managed to squeeze under 5 hours with a time of 4:55:07. This year, I'm fitter and faster than I was then, and with Edinburgh being a much flatter course, I couldn't see what could possibly go wrong.

We headed down to Edinburgh on the Saturday, and took the little one to the zoo on Saturday afternoon. I was a bit anxious about the weather, since everyone I spoke to seemed to be predicting meteorological horrors of one sort or another, but it actually held out quite well - quite windy at times, but nothing too drastic. We had a nice afternoon during which I tried to do as little walking as possible, not entirely successfully, and played "spot the marathon runner". Then went to our B&B in Colinton (very nice, I can recommend it) and out for a meal at a local trattoria recommended by the B&B proprietor. I had a larger-than-usual meal of bruschetta followed by some lovely pasta followed by stranoffee pie (like banoffee pie, but with strawberries). All very delicious.

My plan was to get the bus into town in the morning, which since I don't know Edinburgh I was a little bit worried about, but I did a recce of the bus stop, double-checked the times and everything seemed to be in order. Got to bed early and had a reasonable sleep, though I woke up at 5am (bit early considering I didn't have to leave till after 8) and couldn't really get back to sleep after that. I did feel nervous, but not excessively so I don't think. Dressed, pinned my number on, checked I had everything I needed, hoped the Sellotape on my Garmin strap would hold out (it did) and went down for breakfast about 7.45. I met another guy there who was doing the marathon - his first one. His girlfriend was there too but she wasn't running. I ate a bit of porridge, a small bowl of rice crispies and a piece of toast, couldn't really manage anything else, then said goodbye to husband and daughter (who were planning a trip to Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World), and off I trotted to the bus stop. The weather wasn't bad. A bit cool and showery, but those are probably my ideal running conditions!

I made it to the start without incident - I'd been a bit doubtful which stop to get off at, but lots of runners got on the bus, so I just followed them - and arrived at Regent Road to see the baggage lorries, the starting pens (purple at the back, gold - my one - second back) and loads of people already milling around. I headed straight to the Portaloos, where the queues weren't yet too bad, then drifted about a bit, chatting to a few people and generally soaking up the atmosphere. At about 9.20 I thought I'd better take off my warm outer gear and put my bag on the lorry, but no sooner had I done so than the weather turned cold, windy and rainy and I spent a miserable 15 minutes or so huddled under some trees trying to keep warm! Found I was needing the loo again and went in that direction, but the queues were very long by then and since the announcer was already asking people to go to the pens, I didn't feel I had time. Probably a mistake.

We gathered in the gold pen (all this pen business is a new experience for me, since Loch Ness is a lot smaller and they didn't have them there), while the weather changed from sunny to cold and windy and back again several times, and finally we were off - on the long shuffle to the start line. I reckoned it took about 10 minutes to reach the start line, but I didn't actually check the time when we crossed it - also a mistake, as it turned out. I was surprised at the speed with which most of my fellow gold people took off after the start! - given that they had all, presumably, put down similar time predictions to me, but were going off way faster than that. I was determined not to do that, though, and in fact didn't feel particularly tempted to, as it took me a while to feel I was warmed up and into my stride. I'd had a loose plan of aiming for 10 minute miles and seeing how I got on, but the first mile was a bit slower than that in 10:28. Then picked up a bit and ran the next several miles mainly just above or below 10 mins, apart from the 3rd one which was a bit quick in 9:38 (though largely downhill).

To be honest my memory of the surroundings is a bit hazy! We ran through city streets where spectators were applauding, and then along the seafront. There were Portaloos a few miles in and I did consider stopping, but the queues put me off. However, by 8 miles I couldn't postpone it any longer and dashed across a grassy bit to where there were about 5 Portaloos with a small queue. This obviously wasted a few minutes, but because my Garmin went onto auto-pause I wasn't sure how long, and this proved to be my next mistake because after that (and not having checked the exact start time) I didn't really have a clue how long the race had been.

Things went along OK for the next few miles - followed my fuelling strategy (tried and tested in previous races and long runs) of Shot Bloks and the odd gel, and up until about 17 miles I was on course for a good PB. Passed Fetchpoint at about 10 miles (? - can't quite remember) which was awesome, the red and yellow balloons were unmistakable! I was wearing my Fetch top and really enjoyed the calls from spectators as well as at Fetchpoint.

We were into the out and back section and I think the turn into the Gosford House grounds was about 17 miles. It was around this point that I started to feel quite unwell (though the chickens pecking away at the side of the path did cheer me up a bit). However I was developing quite a sore stomach and by the time we emerged from Gosford House I was on red alert for the next toilet! I think I must have made about 4-5 loo visits after that :( Every time I saw a Portaloo or a public one I was heading towards it like a homing pigeon. Even so my stomach was really sore and no sooner had I been than I wanted to go again :( My legs were also pretty tired by this stage and since I didn't dare take anything other than water, my energy levels must have dropped a lot. There was a fair bit of walking, especially around miles 22-23 which was a low point. I seriously wasn't sure I could keep going at this point - I was feeling sick as well as having a sore stomach, and felt like I was going to throw up a few times. My husband texted me at about 23 miles to ask how far I was, and I texted back to say I was struggling! I think he was worried I wouldn't finish! By this stage though even though I didn't feel like it at all, there was no way I was not going to finish even if I had to walk the rest of it. The massive headwind wasn't helping though! Still lots of encouragement from spectators and people going the other way, which was great, and Fetchpoint again gave me a lift (not literally although I could have done with one by this stage!). By this point I was doing a run a bit/walk a bit more "strategy" (ha!) and counting down the fractions of a mile to the finish.

I'd long since given up on my vague target of 4:40 or less, which I'd amended to 4:45, then 4:50, then a PB of any description, then just to finish in under 5 hours! Because of the time I'd lost going to the loo I really wasn't sure how long the race had taken. I thought I should manage under 5 hours but that I had blown my chance of beating my 4:55 PB. I was determined to finish with some semblance of dignity though and somehow managed to pick up the pace a bit in the last half a mile, especially when the noisy-spectator-lined final stretch approached, and even managed a sprint finish. Well, it felt like a sprint finish. It was actually about 9:15 pace but by that stage it felt very fast indeed! The clock said 5:06, my watch said 4:47 (and that I'd run 26.38 miles), I knew my chip time would be somewhere between the two but I had no idea what it would be.

There wasn't really any guidance or information on where to go at the finish line - or if there was I didn't see it - I just followed everyone else, met up with a Fetchie who had finished a couple of minutes before me and joined the crowds milling around for medals, goody bags, t-shirts, baggage reclaim, etc. It was all quite confusing, especially in my already confused state! The "Reunion Area" was nearby but looked like mayhem. I also heard someone saying that the big screens, supposedly for spectators to watch the finish, weren't working. My phone also wasn't working ("network busy") but a text came through from my husband saying that he hadn't managed to get to the car park, although we had bought a car park ticket, and the little one had fallen asleep in the car. He had managed to get a space on a side street some distance down the road. I couldn't phone him so I set off walking among the throngs of people hoping to find the right place. It felt like miles and I wasn't even sure I was going the right way! I think if I had found I had gone the wrong way, I would just have sat down at the side of the road and burst into tears. I wasn't far off doing that anyway. Luckily just as I was about to collapse in a weeping heap, I spotted what looked like the right road, and another runner kindly pointed me in the right direction. My mood was also lifted when the text with my official finishing time finally came through, and said it was 4:52:02 - much to my amazement, I did manage to get a PB :-):-):-)

I was very happy to make it back to the car, where daughter was fast asleep after a busy time at the Butterfly and Insect World where she got to hold a snake and a tarantula :-O

I don't know what caused the problems I had in the last 10 miles or so. I hadn't really eaten or drunk anything different from what I have had on other occasions. I didn't dare to take any more Lucozade or gels etc though, and that obviously didn't help my energy levels towards the end. I just felt terrible that whole way and I can't honestly say I enjoyed the race as a result, which is a shame, as I'm sure I would have otherwise. My stomach still felt bad all the way back up the road to Aberdeen, although I feel OK today.

Very relieved to get a PB, but also disappointed that I didn't do better. By the end though I was swearing never to do another marathon! I'm sure I will eventually, but I'm not sure these big races are for me. The finish was a logistical nightmare! It just seemed like mayhem, especially given that I was already dazed and confused! It was just as well husband and daughter didn't come to the finish, since they wouldn't have seen anything and would just have had to mill around in a big crowd for no reason. The Edinburgh course itself was OK, and the support was great especially at the end and at Fetchpoint, but I think if I do do another marathon, it will be a smaller one. (Unless my VLM ballot entry comes good, of course :-O)

Well done anyway to everyone who ran and thanks for the support :)

The awful statistics:

10k: 01:03:06
Half: 02:16:16
30k: 03:17:13
Marathon: 04:52:02 :(

Nice weather for ducks: Dunecht Dash 5k race report

Yesterday I ran my first 5k in quite a while, the Dunecht Dash, and despite it being two weeks till Edinburgh Marathon I had high hopes of a PB here. My PB of 26:45 was set last year (although it was at the Big Fun Run which I still maintain was short of 5k). I'm a lot quicker now than then so I was hoping I could knock a bit off even that overly flattering time. Sub-26 was a theoretical target but I thought that was unlikely, but would have been happy with any sort of PB. Dunecht Dash is a smallish race held within the grounds of Dunecht House, pretty flattish although with a bit of undulation and a slight uphill incline at the end.

We had been organised into Fetch teams of five - Fetch-tastics and Fetch –Defenders, just to compete against each other for a bit of fun, and I was in the second lot. Teams were led by the very speedy Mother Duck and Duckinator, who were also battling among themselves for 5k supremacy. (Please note all names used here are Fetch forum names rather than real names!!) The weather was, it is fair to say, absolutely crap. It was raining and cold and misty and generally rubbish. I couldn't find anybody to begin with as they were all huddled inside waterproofs and therefore well disguised. I didn't have my glasses on so short of going up to each person individually and peering under their hood, identification was a problem. I managed it eventually. The pre-race hanging about was not a lot of fun weather-wise – I don’t mind running in the rain but I do mind standing around getting cold and wet!

Finally the call went out for the 5k. There was the inevitable 5k jumping-about-to-music warmup, and I embarrassed myself jumping about idiotically for a couple of minutes, though more to avoid freezing than to actually warm up. Then we shuffled along to the start line, where Nywanda told me off for starting too far back, which was probably right enough as when the gun went off I had to run up on to the grass verge to pass people. Did the first kilometre in 4:58, which was probably a bit quick for me, but there was quite a bit of downhill. Second and third kms were both in 5:04, so I was doing a bit over 8mm pace. I managed to pass a few people. Looked back a couple of times and saw that Nywanda was just behind me up until (I think) about 3km when she must have slowed a little. The fourth kilometre passed in 5:03, while I wondered when the uphill was going to come, then finally I was into the last stretch with the finish line in view and a slight uphill gradient. I was quite tired by this stage and my pace dropped off a fair bit with the last km being in 5:21. I finished in 25:35 on my Garmin (with a distance recorded of 5.04km) so I was very happy with that, a PB of over a minute, although I would have liked to have held the pace a bit better in the last kilometre It wasn't chip-timed and my official time came in at 25:41, but since it took several seconds to cross the start line, I’m sticking with the Garmin time on this one. Overall pace of 8:10, anyway, and a sub-25 target to be aimed for...

Also pleased to gain another WAVA of over 60% (61.29 to be precise)

I worked out later (how sad am I) that I had finished 20th out of 63 women, so in the top third of women even if in the bottom half of the race overall. This made me happy. (It doesn't take much.) I was 10th out of 24 in the FV category.

I finished 2nd in our team, woo! (although well behind the first placed people/ducks and the 2nd person in the other team, who was Thistle with a fantastic time of under 21 minutes, which also gave her the prize for 1st FV, yay! and was also 4th woman overall!). The battle of the ducks was won by our team captain Duckinator although Mother Duck was 2nd woman overall and first FSV.

We cheered all the others back in - Nywanda who was less than a minute behind me (with a new PB), BrianJ, mol, Maz, TQ and Corrah (both with great PBs). Corrah had a Fetch mobile guard of honour for the last bit! I'm sure we had the most supportive teams - hurray for the power of Fetch!

Well done everyone :)

Balmoral 10k: The good, the bad and The Hill

Mixed day out at Balmoral 10k yesterday...

Bad Things:

* Arrived late, stuck in traffic at 1.40pm when race was due to start at 2 and I knew there was a long walk from the car park (field) to the start. Hopped out of the car as soon as we turned into the car park (field) and ran to the start (along with many others, I should add), arriving a couple of minutes before 2, then immediately had to stand in the queue for the Portaloo as I was desperate. Heard the announcer starting the race while I was in the Portaloo and tagged on to the end of the luckily slow-moving crowd. I fully accept that this was all entirely avoidable and My Own Silly Fault for not setting off earlier.

* Spent the first couple of miles really struggling to settle into any kind of pace as it was SO crowded. Was weaving in and out of runners, up on the grass verge, etc. First mile was 9:41 and second 9:33 so it could have been worse, but I know I can run faster than this in a 10k.

* THE HILL. Not a Bad Thing as such as I knew it was coming. I saw two Fetch tops ahead of me near the beginning and caught up with TQ and Nywanda (who was looking very splendid in kilt, socks and face paint). I walked up most of THE HILL, but fast(ish) and managed to overtake a number of slower walkers. The few people who were running weren't doing so significantly faster than I was walking, so walking seemed the sensible option. Managed this mile in 12:38.

* Not being able to find husband and daughter for ages at the end of the race. Mobile networks not working for ages. Gah!

* The long long walk back to the car park in the rain with a tetchy four year old.

Good Things:

* Managing to pick up the pace in the last three miles (once the crowds had thinned out). Did miles 4-6 in 8:35, 8:39 and 8:37, and overtook loads of people, which was quite satisfying. I was relieved to finish under the hour in 59:21, having thought at the halfway point that I would have come in well over the hour!

* Took more than 6 minutes off my Balmoral time from last year, and confirmed that I am MUCH fitter now than I was then, as (hill excepted) it all felt much easier this time.

* Gave the skort its first public airing (see pic), and no-one laughed. Or if they did, I didn't hear them. It was v comfy to run in.

* Wore my Fetch top and was encouraged by a few shouts of "Go Fetchie!".

* Lots of support towards the end, high-5s from kids, friendly marshals.

* Saw various people at the end, sorry I was a bit distracted due to husband and daughter being AWOL! I promise I will be better organised for Dunecht in two weeks.

* Got a nice new t-shirt (see pic).

Having done this race two years in succession I'm not sure if I will do it again. It's a nice run but it's just too crowded (there were more people this year than last) and the last-minute panicked dash from the far-distant car park (field), not to mention the long walk back at the end, stressed me out. Admittedly some of this is entirely avoidable if we were only more organised, but we never are when travelling en famille.

Well done everyone :-)

Comparison of 2010 and 2011 split times:

2010: 2011:
# 9:55 9:41
# 10:17 9:33
# 13:32 12:38
# 9:27 8:35
# 9:53 8:39
# 10:26 8:37
# 2:12 1:45