The summer months are finally here, with no excuse for not getting out and exploring the great British Countryside. So, we’ve updated our top 10 running routes and have listed these in our first article. Have a look at these if you need some inspiration for wonderful scenic places to run, and don’t forget there are hundreds more on our database of Good Run Guide Routes. We also have a race report from the Hinckley Half Marathon by Dave Johnson, plus updates on a selection of members’ Spring Marathon experiences. Enjoy your summer running.

Louise at GRG
www.GoodRunGuide.co.uk

Our 2011 Top Ten Routes

Site News

Since the last Newsletter we've been concentrating largely on behind-the-scenes changes to the site.  One of the areas we're looking at is the replacement of features on the site that depend on Adobe's Flash Player.  It appears that Flash content is becoming increasingly less supported by browsers (notably the iPad doesn't display any Flash content), so over time we plan to migrate away from this technology.  This month we released a new version of the photo slideshows for our routes and parks, which previously used Flash.  

We've also been continuing to upgrade the mapping features on the site to use the latest version of Google's maps application.  There are not many differences visually but the map images load much more quickly with the latest version. 

Last month we had a record number of visitors to the site, with almost 1.25 million pages viewed.  It's now five years since we launched the site and we're delighted that so many people are finding it useful.

As always, if you have any feedback about changes to the site or have a suggestion you would like to put forward, please let us know.

Hinckley Half Marathon Race Report

By GRG Member Dave Johnson - After an hour and a half, 59 seconds...

My fifth race in five weekends, and after four PBs... no fifth. I missed out by 59 seconds, posting my fourth best ever HM time.

We arrived nice and early, and had a wander around the start area, which was on the edge of a caravan site by the lakes of Bosworth Water Trust. A very nice venue, spoilt only by the cold wind!

Somewhere around a thousand runners collected together, most seeming to arrive just a few minutes before the 10:30 start, but I suspect many had been sheltering from the wind in their cars.

We got off bang on time, and were soon turning south along the country lane leading towards Shenton. The course from the start was mildly undulating and very scenic, and the sometimes narrow country lanes were very quiet, apart from the slap of running shoes on tarmac.

As usual many had started too far forward, and though I started in the 1hr 30min pen there was no way I could get up to anything like 1hr 30min pace for some time. The first half mile took me 3 mins 42 secs, but the second mile took just 6:52.

Near the staggered junction of Fenn Lanes with Foxcovert Lane on the right and then Mill Lane on the left, a marshal told us we were past half way and then, as I passed him, added "Hey, don't start sprinting yet!" I wish I'd had the breath and wit to come up with a response!

The first eight miles were pretty uneventful but very pleasant, and took 58 minutes and 11 seconds - an average 7:16 pace and only slightly outside my 1 hour 35 minute target. The eight mile mark brings the start of the first of two hills. I'd squeezed an energy gel down my throat just before the canal bridge, knowing that there was a water station just after it. I'd been a little caught out by the weather and found myself alternately wearing and carrying shades and/or cap - the cap being to keep the rain off my face but unwearable when running into the wind.

The first hill didn't feel too bad, but that ninth mile took me just over eight minutes. Coming out of Sutton Cheney over the crest of the hill we were heading north on Bosworth Lane and the pace picked up a little - the tenth mile completed in 7:24, but I'd hoped that the downhill section would bring my average back on track - it didn't!

Just after 'The Duckery' was the next water station, signalling the start of the second uphill mile, and slower than the first at 8:09. My main target was by now forgotten and my hope was just for a Personal Best, by however little.

Coming into Market Bosworth a marshal cheerily advised us that we should turn left in the town after which it was downhill. I already knew this, but it was still good to hear! When I reached the turn, however, I found that the road barely dipped below horizontal, and the wind, which seemed to have picked up, was suddenly right in my face, making this stretch feel worse than the hill I'd just climbed.

That feeling was perhaps a little deceptive, as the next mile passed by in 7:30, but even so I felt that a PB was slipping away. The sun was shining brightly now and the rain banished, but the wind was definitely slowing me down.

I gradually upped the pace and between 12½ and 13 averaged 6:38 pace. The finish sprint slipped through a gap in the hedge into the caravan park and although I daren't look at my watch I knew I could be close to a PB, so I put everything into that sprint. I saw two guys ahead of me having a bit of a race between themselves, but I was catching them fast and took the shortest, straightest route - right between them. As I closed in the gap narrowed, but there was no way I could go round now so I had to literally elbow my way through! As soon as I was safely over the line I turned to apologise, but I think they were both too exhausted to care, or perhaps just to short of breath to vent their anger!

I had my timing chip removed by a chap who made some joke which I thought funny at the time but I cannot for the life of me remember. Next stop was to collect my T-shirt from one young lady and a banana and some sort of recovery bar from an even younger lady, then it occurred to me to check my watch... 1:38 something... Bugger!

There was a great atmosphere at the finish in the sun and thinking over my race I felt it had been, despite missing my PB, a really good race, very well organised and marshalled, and with around a thousand runners a nice size. Had it not been so windy I feel sure I'd have got a PB even though the hills mean it's not a particularly fast course.

Never mind, maybe the Humber Bridge Half Marathon will be the one where I get my first PB since Coventry in October 2009, and maybe break 90 minutes!

Spring Marathon Stories

With marathons being ever popular I thought it a good idea to find out some more info about GRG members' real marathon experiences. To this end I started a topic on the forum to see what response would be forthcoming. I was delighted to get 8 members giving inspirational and interesting accounts of their 9 (yes, nine) Spring marathons. 3 ran London, 2 Brighton, 2 Paris and one each Llanelli,Wales and Maas, Belgium. For half the runners this was their marathon debut, while the quickest was Melanie running her 8th. All the runners had a positive experience and highly recommend trying it if you haven't yet. The slight exception was Kate who had an inexplicable (off days happen to us all) nightmare in Brighton but then a week later had great run in London.

For the full stories have a look at the Spring Marathon Topic on the Forum but I'll try to pick out a few highlights here. Cath ran Llanelli on a whim and enjoyed it so much she is running another in October, Pat ran London, missed her twiglets and had her cardiologist on speed dial, whilst Alison didn't enjoy the London heat but has great memories of her first and only marathon (maybe?). In Belgium, Jonathon enjoyed the smaller scale 'devil's' marathon and having space to run through the countryside. In Paris was the aforementioned Melanie having the hardest of all her marathon runs and Fabien who found it the hardest thing he has ever done in his life, which anyone who has run one can empathise with, but is now contemplating another one. Finally Bertie ran a big PB at Brighton with a negative split (2nd half was faster than the 1st) which tells its own story.

So if you've wondered about accepting the challenge of a marathon, read the stories and get inspired, or at least join in the forum and talk about it.

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League Talk

In the last edition of League Talk I speculated that it was far more difficult to set your best age graded score at the marathon than at shorter distances because of the training requiremnts to excel at that distance were more demanding. I thought I'd look at members Best Age Graded table which has been going since January 2010 for evidence of this. Also I was interested as to find out how has the rise and rise of the 5k parkrun phenomenon made an impact, if at all, and which distances are now the most popular.

Nearly 300 members have provided an age graded race and of those:

Best run at 5k: 20%

Best run at 10k: 30%

Best run at Half Marathon: 23%

Best run at Full Marathon: 5%

All other distances : <5%

What can we glean from these figures? Your guess is as good as mine, but from my point of view parkrun has made an impact but perhaps not as much as expected; 10k remains a hugely popular distance to set your best performance as does the half marathon and of course the marathon is tough, but we knew that.

Any comments, questions, please either mail me here or alternatively use the forum. I'm especially interested in the aforementioned ever expanding parkrun 5k's. I've started a Forum Topic for us all to have our say. What is your local parkrun like? Like or loathe I'd love to know! Maybe the next newletter can supply a list of the best, flattest, friendliest, most pictureseque or fastest.  If you have a parkrun route that you would like to share, please share this via the ‘Recommend a Route’ option on your Saved Routes page.

As if by design we can see at the top of the Best Recent Race Performance table (at the time of writing) is a run at Oldham parkrun by Graham Chesters with an excellent 85% age grading, second is a mile race by a familar top of the table name Peter Hutchinson and in third place a great run at the Yeovil Half by Hilary Young. Well done to all who are in the tables from the top to the bottom. Keep on racing!

Andy at GRG

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A Good Run Guide App for thre iPhone, iPad and other Smartphones.

Find out more

Did you know that you can share and compare your training with your friends on Good Run Guide.  And you can share information with other friends who aren't Members too.

You can copy routes to other Members, send personal messages and compare your stats, all of which can make your training more enjoyable and motivating.  You can also share your runs with people who aren't GRG Members by simply sending them a link from the Log Book entry page.

You can choose how much information you share in your Sharing Settings on the main Training Friends page.