It's now more or less a year since the coronavirus pandemic broke on us.
I took the time early last year to study infectious disease on a free course with Open University Openlearn and to take an excellent Futurelearn course about the early days of the pandemic put on by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. As a supplement to this I took an online course aimed at training US based contact tracers. I think as a result of gaining this knowledge as well as judicious use of some qualified social media feeds, I was more prepared than most to understand the implications of the pandemic, and how to behave within this entirely new environment.
Very early on I accepted that my running might have to accept some compromises, but I was always confident that I could find new goals and challenges to ensure that I never felt "locked down". On the contrary, for much of the past year, the very restrictions that have proved so onerous to many, have resulted in me carrying on with a routine of training on Dartmoor with my daft dog, Cocoa.
The big change has been the lack of true competition. No road races, no fell races, no trail races, and definitely no Parkruns. As I reflect now, what this truly meant to me was that "slowing down" became a natural progression, and, perhaps at times, this was a little bit too comfortable a progression. I can't remember when I last truly attacked a hill by running up it, or took the risk of running fast down one. Yes, I've still run my 3000Km + and climbed the 110,000 metres in the year, but really long hard efforts have been very few. "Aggregating" has replaced quality as I slipped into the MV65 age category.
What has been really good for motivation has been to replace my occasional social runs in a group with the coming together of a group of runners who are all coached by Natalie White. Most of us share the same goals (up to a point), and although we are from different walks of life, there's quite good empathy in the group. Probably as a result of this, most of us have entered and completed some of the "virtual Running Challenges" that have been put on by race organisers who have been deprived of the income from their races. For me, these have also been "aggregations".
In order:
Centurion Running One Community 100 mile challenge. For a week in late May I put together 13 separate runs and hikes to aggregate my first ever 100 mile plus training week. This began with a glorious solo 47 km round of 27 Dartmoor Tors of 500m height or more from home.
Centurion Running Community "One Up" elevation challenge. this was another week long challenge in late July where I ascended the equivalent of the 8848m of Mount Everest on my local Cosdon Hill. This meant 17 separate outings and once more an aggregate of nearly 100 miles.
Centurion Running Community 50 mile challenge. Late November for this one so not really an easier option, and I decided to 'complete' in just 4 efforts starting on the Wednesday. Three were pretty purposeful: a long tour of the Military roads loop on the Okehampton range, 15 miles clockwise on the Dartmoor Way between home and Moretonhampstead, and an extended round of the Sticklepath Horseshoe to finish.
Ultra Britain Virtual Spine race. I spent the whole of January this year aggregating the miles for the entire length of the Spine Race on the Pennine Way. 425 km of runs, hikes, dog walks in mid winter, some in full darkness.
Centurion Running Community "One Love" 50 km. What better way to spend Valentines weekend than 35 km of frozen Dartmoor in a Siberian wind on the Saturday, and the remainder in the pouring rain by road on the Sunday? I still have the chillblains!
I also entered the Virtual UTMB for the week of Centurion One Up, completing the mileage and elevation gain on a run above Lake Zurich a week later, and randomly this gained me a ballot entry to UTMB / CCC in August 2021 as a result.
Apart from a 5 mile "permitted run" with Lisa towards the end of May, all this was completed alone or with Cocoa for company, but there was one real race.
Somehow, against all the odds, I entered and ran a 55km linear trail race on the Exmoor section of the SWCP, organised by Climb South West on October 2nd. This hit one of those windows when "socially distanced" racing became possible, and socially distanced it certainly was with a small field strung out between Combe Martin and Minehead. It didn't catch a fortuitous weather window however, with the first named storm of the 2020 winter, Storm Alex, hitting Exmoor with strong winds and driving torrential rain from mid morning onwards. Looking back this probably at once one of my most resilient and simultaneously brainless race performances. Somehow I managed to miss one of only 2 aid stations on the route, at Porlock Weir, compounded this by missing a rendez-vous with Debbie minutes later, and then had to change soaking clothes in a disabled loo at Bossington. I drank hardly anything considering 8:48 of race time, and even managed to take a wrong turn after Countisbury that saw me sweeping down a lovely wide track towards the Bristol Channel, before it ended at someone's cliff side house! However I stuck at it, resigned to the misery of my fate. I wanted a better time. But then again drier shoes would have been nice too. I've never been so wet running.
So now winter is hopefully throwing its last at us all (peeing with rain and blowing a gale as I type this) and 2021 goals are there to be aspired to.
I have 2 races in my calendar, neither of which looks better than a 50-50 chance; I've had one shot of the Pfizer vaccine, and nearly 17 million of us in the UK are now "partially immunised; and I have 3 special Dartmoor challenges on my radar.
If my running year goes how I would like to plan it, it will go like this.
It will stop raining on or about March 15th and then we will have 6 dry cool weeks.
April 4th Ooser Trail Marathon in Dorset
Around April 25th - 50 Dartmoor 500m Tors in 50 miles personal challenge. Right in that magic window of dry moor / no bracken / few ticks.
Late May - either the LDWA Virtual 100 mile on the Dartmoor Way or a non-stop (overnight) hike of the Nigel Jenkins 72 mile Dartmoor Round.
Late June / Early July - a week in Switzerland with at least 4 days high level Alpine Hiking
6 weeks solid hilly preparation for CCC
August 27th - line up in Courmayeur for the start of 100km / 6100m + UTMB / CCC. Finish in glory in Chamonix about 22 hours later with friends and family around.
What are the chances?
Evolved to run. Born to run. Older, greyer, still running.
